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News
Highlights
Hard choices await on last
day to sign or veto legislation (Deseret
Morning News). RDA and Internet safety bills win approval
(Salt
Lake Tribune and Morning
News).
State transportation officials
concede that eco-groups are in the driver's seat on progress of
Legacy Parkway (Tribune
and Morning
News).
Nevada officials fighting Yucca
Mountain say their Utah counterparts have thrown them "under the
bus" (Morning
News).
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Quote of the Day
“Seed said Anderson is ‘stepping into a
leadership vacuum’ left by President Bush. If the president were
more environmentally conscientious, Anderson probably wouldn't be
in London, she said.”
-- Salt Lake Tribune story
quoting Deeda Seed on why Mayor Rocky Anderson is
traveling the world to crusade against global warming.
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Tuesday Buzz
Compiled and
Written by LaVarr Webb |
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Discs are Dead
The April edition of Wired Magazine has an interesting story
(not posted yet at www.wired.com)
that predicts that CDs and DVDs will become obsolete as Web distribution
kills them. When everyone is connected to the Web with high-speed
connections, there will be little need to move voice, video, documents
or data around via discs. We will simply store everything on the
Web and access it wherever we happen to be.
This will all be a lot easier, of course, if you happen to live
in Provo or one of the UTOPIA communities. Homes and businesses
in those communities will have the opportunity to be connected to
an ultra-broadband network hundreds of times faster than DSL or
cable modem, facilitating all types of high-bandwidth Web services.
Wired predicts that soon even movie theaters won’t rely on physical
media. Distribution of film to movie theaters from the studios currently
costs million of dollars a year. That will all go away when a theater
simply downloads its movies from a studio Web site. At home, consumers
will log onto any one of hundreds of video sites, some of them highly
specialized, to view a movie, television show, documentary, etc.
My daughter recently mailed to us a CD containing photos from the
Marshall Islands, where she is teaching school. In the future she
will simply upload the photos to an Internet site and we will download
them (sites already exist that do this). Discs containing computer
software are already starting to go away as most software can simply
be downloaded from the Internet. In fact, software residing on your
hard drive will eventually become obsolete as we interact with more
and more programs directly from the Internet.
The ultra-broadband connectivity offered by UTOPIA and iProvo will
facilitate these Web services and spark entrepreneurial activity
to create new ways of doing business over the Web.
Ashcroft at Law Day Fundraiser
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is bringing in former Attorney
General John Ashcroft for his Law Day fundraiser on Wednesday,
May 4, in Wells Fargo Building, 23rd floor, 299 South Main. A reception
will begin at 6 p.m. with dinner and program at 7. Tickets range
from $150 for individuals to $10,000 for major sponsorships. Contact
Dana Bowden, danasbowden@yahoo.com,
801.450.0165 or Ally Isom, abisom@xmission.com,
801.910.9463.
Dividing Up the Highways
A legislatively-appointed task force will have an interesting spring
and summer dividing up the state’s roadways among the state, counties
and municipalities. The Legislature felt that the current hodgepodge
system of overlapping roadway jurisdictions doesn’t make sense and
perhaps some roads need to be transferred from state control to
county or city control, or vice versa.
SB25, sponsored by Sen. Carlene Walker, creates the “Jurisdictional
Transfer Task Force” consisting of 13 members: 3 Senate members,
3 House members, the UDOT executive director or designee, 2 members
representing Metropolitan Planning Organizations, 2 members representing
counties, and 2 members representing cities. All but the legislators
are non-voting.
The bill requires UDOT, in cooperation with representatives of
the municipalities, the counties, and the metropolitan planning
organizations, to develop a list of prospective highway transfers.
The task force will also deal with funding issues related to highway
transfers. A final report, including any proposed legislation, will
be made to the Transportation Interim Committee before November
30, 2005.
Words to Live By
(Source: The Federalist Patriot)
"Freedom is independence of the compulsory will of another, and
in so far as it tends to exist with the freedom of all according
to a universal law, it is the one sole original inborn right belonging
to every man in virtue of his humanity." --Immanuel Kant
"Freedom is not a gift received from the State or leader, but a
possession to be won every day by the effort of each and the union
of all." --Albert Camus
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Sponsored
Article:
Taxpayers Association
Fights
Credit Union Tax Base Erosion
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The Utah
Taxpayers Association (www.utahtaxpayers.org)
is fighting the credit union industry’s attempt to dramatically
expand commercial lending and further erode the tax base.
In radio
and newspaper advertisements, the Taxpayers Association is asking
the Utah congressional delegation to oppose the Credit Union Regulatory
Improvement Act (CURIA) because it will further erode Utah’s tax
base and hurt Utah taxpayers. “Credit unions don’t pay corporate
income taxes, and all state income tax in Utah goes directly to
fund education,” says the newspaper ad. CURIA, which will soon be
debated in Congress, would almost double the commercial lending
authority of federal credit unions, taking more business off the
tax rolls.
The ads call
on Utahns to communicate their concerns about CURIA to Congressmen
Rob Bishop, Jim Matheson and Chris Cannon. “Tell Congress to stop
shifting the tax burden and start allowing competitors to compete
fairly,” says the newspaper ad, published in the opinion sections
of last Sunday’s Salt Lake newspapers. The Taxpayers Association
“heartily opposes” the erosion of the state’s tax base.
To view the
ad, go to:
www.utahtaxpayers.org/misc/curiahouse.pdf. The ad points out
that commercial and real estate loans done by big credit unions
“including the luxury mortgages they advertise, results in less
money for education—which means fewer teachers and larger class
sizes. . . . The only other option is for you and other businesses
to pay more in taxes to make up for the shortfall. So even though
credit union ads say that ‘a tax on credit unions is a tax on you,’
the opposite is actually the case.”
The ad notes
that the Utah Legislature, following a two-year study, asked Congress
to review credit union tax policy. “CURIA, by exacerbating the competitive
inequity among financial service providers, is completely contrary
to the policy set forth by Utah’s Legislature.
“If Congress
allows this massive expansion of tax-exempt business loans, Utah
schools will receive millions less in corporate income taxes, leaving
Utah families and tax-paying businesses to shoulder the burden.”
The Taxpayers
Association is Utah’s leading independent authority on tax issues.
Membership includes more than 2,500 businesses and individuals statewide.
(Sponsored
by The Council for Sound Tax Policy)
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Tuesday
March 22, 2005
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Please submit calendar items to Daily@UtahPolicy.com
- Mar 22:
Last day governor may sign or veto bills.
- Mar 22: Green Party of Utah Roots Local Monthly
Meeting, 12 pm, Sprague Library, 1100 E 2100 S.
- Mar 24: Libertarian Party Salt Lake County Meeting,
7 pm, Bohemian Brewery & Grill, 94 E 7200 South, Midvale.
- Mar 25: College Republican State Banquet,
6 pm, University of Utah Union Building West, Accuracy in Media
Director, Governor Huntsman (tentative). Contact Danielle Fowes
558-0350 or at daniellefowles@yahoo.com.
- Mar 26: Republican Women Federation Fundraiser
and Auction, "Heroes of the Heart," 5:30 pm, McKay Events
Center, UVSC, Provo. Speakers: First Lady Mary Kaye Huntsman
and Sen. Orrin Hatch. For more information, please contact
Suzanne Merrill - 801-796-0831.
- Apr 1: Sanpete County Democratic Convention,
5:30 pm, Manti Court House.
- Apr 2: Libertarian Party Utah County Meeting,
10 am to 12 pm, Golden Corral, 225 West University Pkwy, Orem.
- Apr 7: Carbon County Democratic Convention,
7 pm, Carbon County Courthouse, Price.
- Apr 7: Kane County Democratic Convention, 7 pm,
Kanab City Library, 374
N Main, Kanab.
- Apr 8: Utah County Democratic Convention, 6:30
pm, Provo City Council
Chambers.
- Apr 9: Davis County Democratic Convention, 11:30
am, Farmington
Jr. High School,150 S. 200
West, Farmington.
- Apr 13: Garfield County Republican Convention,
4 pm Teenage Republicans Convention, 6 pm County Convention and
Dinner featuring former Gov. Olene Walker, Escalante High School.
- Apr 13: Summit County Democratic Convention,
7 pm, North Summit
High School, Coalville.
- Apr 16: Cache County Democratic Convention, 8
am, The Little Theatre in Logan.
- Apr 16: Salt Lake County Democratic Convention,
9 am, Highland High
School, Salt Lake City.
- Apr 19: Democratic Delegates in S12 meeting to
select replacement for State Senator Ron Allen, 11 am, Hunter High
School.
- Apr 19: Tooele County Republican Convention,
7 pm, Tooele Health Department, 151 N Main St.
- Apr 23: Weber County Democratic Convention,
9 am, Eccles Convention
Center, Ogden.
- Apr 23: Morgan County Republican Convention
- Apr 23: Emery County Republican Convention,
7 pm, Castle Dale Recreation Hall
- Apr 23: Morgan County Democratic Convention,
7 pm, Spring Chicken Inn, Morgan.
- Apr 26: Green Party of Utah Roots Local Monthly
Meeting, 12 pm, Sprague Library, 1100 E 2100 S.
- Apr 28: Constitution Party National Executive
Meeting, Best Western Garden Inn, 154 West 600 South, Salt Lake
City. Open to the public for observation - seating very limited.
- Apr 29: Davis County Lincoln Day Dinner.
- Apr 30: Libertarian Party of Utah Convention
and Annual Memorial/Awards Dinner.
- Apr 30: Lincoln Club Convention Breakfast, South
Town Exposition Center, $5 suggested donation (this event will take
place before the Salt Lake County Republican Convention).
- Apr 30: Salt
Lake County Republican Convention
- Apr 30: Davis County Republican Convention, Davis
County Conference Center.
- Apr 30: Utah County Republican Party Organizing Convention,
7 pm, Canyon View Junior High, 950 N 700 E, Orem.
- May 1: Last day a veto-override session may begin.
- May 2: Normal effective date for bills.
- May 2: First day to file bills for the 2006
General Session.
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