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Utah Public Policy Community
One of our long-term goals at Utah Policy Daily
is to develop more of a public policy community featuring lots of interaction with community
members (that’s you, our readers). We can create such a dynamic if readers will pro-actively
contribute newsy items and events and give us suggestions and ideas. We want to receive information
about policy issues you care about, including links to items of interest on other Web sites.
We want to publish a "People Watch" section mentioning the activities of elected officials,
staff, lobbyists, agency and association leaders, and other policymakers. These items don’t have
to be major events. Send us info about new appointments or hires, anyone in a new position, anyone
who has been honored in some way, or those making presentations or speeches. We want lots of names.
Remember, ours is a relatively small community and we’re interested in what each other is doing.
We're interested in what you’re interested in and what you’d like to share with others. Send it
all to daily@utahpolicy.com.
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News
Highlights
National Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean to visit
Utah Saturday (Salt Lake Tribune and
Deseret Morning News).
Gov. Huntsman in Mexico City to discuss trade issues (Tribune and
Morning News).
Tribune
editorial says BLM is too cozy with oil and gas companies.
UTA gets OK to begin work on commuter rail in northern Utah (Morning News). |
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Quote of the Day
"The City Council meeting last week about the iProvo project left people with
a sense of optimism. Anything that communicates otherwise isn't true."
--Bill Hulterstrom, chairman of the iProvo telecommunications advisory board who, along with other city leaders, defended the progress and health of the iProvo project. (Daily Herald).
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Wednesday Buzz
Written by LaVarr Webb & Associates |
Mass Transit: What Does Utah County Want?
In his most recent blog posting, Rep.
John Dougall
beats up on the Utah Transit Authority and particularly blasts
commuter rail. I’ve talked to other Utah County legislators who are
highly skeptical of rail transit, particularly commuter rail. That’s
fine. If Utah County doesn’t want rail transit no one should force
it on them.
I live in Davis County and I think citizens and
businesses are going to embrace commuter rail and think it’s
terrific. But what does Utah County want? Provo Mayor Lewis Billings
said recently on the KSL Doug Wright Show that Utah County is trying
to figure out its transportation future. That would be great, and
the sooner the better. No one knows for sure what Utah County wants
and it’s hard for UTA to be responsive when no transportation
consensus exists in Utah County.
Media
Watch
The Podcasters Are Coming
Ever been interviewed by a podcaster? I hadn’t either, until
Tuesday, that is. Podcasters aren’t aliens from outer space who suck
out your brains (or whatever is in there). Instead, they are fairly
normal humans who are a little obsessed with broadcasting over the
Internet. Podcasting is to traditional broadcasting what blogging is
to traditional publishing. It’s broadcasting for the little guy, for
the masses. Anyone can become a podcaster with inexpensive equipment
and access to the Internet.
In Utah, we have a pretty sophisticated podcaster in Jennifer
Napier-Pearce, who spent a lot of years in radio broadcasting. Since
leaving KCPW Radio, she has dabbled in podcasting and now does a
weekly podcast, posted each Friday, focusing on Utah politics,
culture and the environment. You can listen to her podcasts by going
to InsideUtah.com and following directions.
Jennifer called and asked to interview me about the little incident
of the Newspaper Agency Corporation rejecting my ad publicizing Utah
Policy Daily (See
my report
in July 5 UPD and
Tribune story).
She came to my office, stuck a microphone in my face, and asked
questions, just like a radio reporter. The interview will be posted
on Friday for anyone to download to their MP3 player or listen by
streaming the audio over the Internet.
Howard Dean Interview
Meanwhile, in the traditional radio world, KCPW Radio (88.3 FM,
105.3 FM, 1010 AM) news director Bryan Schott has interviewed
National Demo Chair Howard Dean and will air the interview Thursday
at 10 a.m. Said Bryan via e-mail: “I asked him about the pending
Supreme Court battle, and he started smacking Pres. Bush for being
‘in your face’ and doing things that divided the country. I then
pointed out he was doing the same thing with some of his recent
comments – and he agreed and said it was on purpose because he wants
to fight fire with fire. So I followed up asking him how he can
criticize the President for doing what he’s doing, and he kind of
retreated.”
Reader Response
Correction
Rep. Fred Hunsaker, who is a sharp-eyed UPD reader, caught an error
in a Now You Know item last Monday listing the number of registered
voters in the top five counties. We left out Cache County, Hunsaker’s home base, which has 64,675 registered voters, putting it
ahead of sixth place Washington County, with 58,303.
Comment Button
Reader Ryan Frandsen suggests we include a way for readers to post
comments on UPD items. It’s something we’ve thought about and would
like to do. It wouldn’t be feasible to add a comment button in the
e-mail version that shows up in subscribers’ in-boxes, but we could
probably do it in the version that is posted on the UtahPolicy.com
Web site. Frandsen said being able to comment would be “a fun way to
contribute to the dialogue. It’s like a slow-moving chat room, but
in the case of UPD I think the discussion boards would be much more
intelligent (hopefully) and informative –- particularly if those who
are plugged into public policy will contribute.” We’ll look into it.
Check Calendar for Herbert’s Events
Joe Demma, chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, is going to see
that UPD receives the public portion of Herbert’s schedule each
week, so we can post his upcoming events on the calendar. That will
be an excellent service so readers can attend Herbert’s speeches and
appearances if they desire. We encourage other elected officials to
also send us their schedules. We recognize that not every event is
public and not all details can be published for security reasons.
Washington
Watch
Stem Cell Press Conference
Sen. Orrin Hatch will join
Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Edward Kennedy
(D-MA), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today at an 11:30 a.m. press
conference with Michael J. Fox and other patient advocates, urging
passage of stem cell research legislation, says a Hatch press release
(not yet posted).
“The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S.471/H.R.810) is designed to
expand the current federal funding policy for stem cell research. The
legislation would allow federal funding for stem cell research using
stem cell lines derived under strict ethical requirements from excess
in vitro fertilization embryos, regardless of the date they were
derived.”
Activist Judiciary
Last Friday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower
court’s ruling that the Partial Birth Abortion Act passed by Congress
in 2003 is unconstitutional (Carhart v. Gonzales). Sen. Orrin Hatch
was swift to issue a
strong response:
“Once again, a court has failed to protect innocent life. This
decision is another unfortunate example of an activist judiciary with
little respect for the policy judgments of the American people’s
elected representatives.”
Drought Relief
Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns have activated Interagency Drought Action Teams to coordinate
drought relief to communities in Western States that face the greatest
potential water shortages this summer, says a DOI
press release.
Now You Know
Bennett’s Big Win
Sen. Bob Bennett won every county in Utah last year in his 69% to 28%
re-election victory against Paul Van Dam. Bennett’s best county was
Utah County, where he rolled over Van Dam 121,241 votes to 20,521. His
worst county was Summit, where he won 7,488 to 7,073.
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Wednesday
July 13, 2005
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Please submit calendar items to Daily@UtahPolicy.com
- July 13:
Several legislative meetings scheduled today. See legislative
calendar for details.
- July 13: Lieutenant Governor Herbert speaks at
the Utah Mortgage Brokers breakfast, 9 am, Little America Hotel,
Salt Lake City.
- July 13: Lt. Gov. Herbert participating in the
Change of Command Ceremony at Dugway Proving Ground, 10:30 am.
- July 13: East Side Republican Women's Club
meeting, 6:30 pm, Holladay Library, 4800 South. Matt Throckmorton
will be the speaker, the topic will be immigration and illegal
immigration. Anyone is invited to attend.
- July 13: Young Democrats of Utah Concert
Fundraiser featuring Whiskey's Wake, 7 pm, Kilby Court, 738 S Kilby
Ct (approximately 350 West) Salt Lake City. Guest speaker is State
Party Chairman Wayne Holland.
- July 14: Lt. Gov. Herbert and Florida Governor
Jeb Bush will accept awards on behalf of Utah and Florida at the
Education Commission of the States' "2005 National Forum on
Education" in Denver, Colorado. The award is the Frank Newman Award
for State Innovation in Education.
- July 14: Washington County Republican Party
Summer Leadership Appreciation Social
at Vernon Worthen Park.
- July 14: 2005 Sutherland Transcend
Series,"Civility, Integrity and Politics - Being an Authentic
Citizen," Breakfast Keynote begins at 8:30 am. For more information
contact Lisa Montgomery at 801-355-1272 or email
si@sutherlandinstitute.org.
- July 14: Legislative Audit Subcommittee meeting,
4 pm, room W110.
- July 14: Davis County Libertarian Party meeting,
7 pm, 1617 North 350 East, Layton.
- July 15: Lt. Gov Herbert speaks to Polynesian
Youth during annual Scholarship Golf Tournament in Utah County, 8am.
- July 15: Governor Huntsman and Lt. Gov. Herbert
meet with local government officials to follow-up on the Governor's
Economic Summit in June, 10 am, Salt Lake Hilton. The Lt. Gov. will
be speaking about critical infrastructure needs, specifically
transportation.
- July 15: Southern Utah Democrats Social Action
Committee meeting, 10 am, JB's Restaurant.
- July 15: Lt. Gov. Herbert to participate in "Slow
the Flow" press conference at DNR headquarters, 12:30pm.
- July 15: Tax Review Commission, 1 pm, room W125.
- July 15-Aug 15: Candidates wishing to run for a municipal
office this year need to file a Declaration of Candidacy with their
municipal clerk.
- July 16: Free public lecture by Howard Dean,
Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, 12 pm, Westminster
College in the Concert Hall of the Emma Eccles Jones Conservatory.
The lecture is provided by the Associated Students of Westminster
College, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, and the Utah
Democratic Party. Seating is limited and available on a first-come,
first-served basis.
- July 16: Lt. Gov. Herbert in Moab to participate
in promoting travel and tourism. He will be involved in promoting
boating and Dead Horse Point.
- July 18: Special Districts Subcommittee of the
Political Subdivisions Interim Committe, 9 am, room W125.
- July 18: Child Welfare Legislative Oversight
Panel, 1 pm, room W020.
- July 18: Tourism Task Force, 1 pm, room W110.
- July 18: Southern Utah Democrats Executive
Committee meeting, 6:15 pm, Santa Clara Library.
- July 19: Utah County Planning Commission
meeting, Utah County Administration building, 100 East Center,
Commission Chambers.
- July 19: Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee,
10 am, room W125.
- July 19: Executive Appropriations Committee
meeting, 12:30 pm, room W135, House building.
- July 19: Government Records Access and Management
Task Force meeting, 1:30 pm, room W125.
- July 19: Legislative Management Committee, 4 pm,
room W135.
- July 19: State Senate Democratic Caucus A
Midsummer Night's Dream, 5 pm to 7 pm, Baci Trattoria, 134 W.
Pierpont Ave (250 S), Salt Lake City. Contact Sen. Gene Davis at
801-573-6672 or
wgdavis@msn.com
- July 19: Utah House Republicans Third Annual
Bowler's Ball, 6:30 pm, Shepherd's All Star Lanes in West Jordan.
Interested parties should contact Kat Dayton at 801-580-4743.
- July 20: Legislative Interim Committee Day.
Meetings scheduled throughout day. See Legislative
calendar for details.
- July 20: Salt Lake County Democratic Party
Campaign 101 Training, 6 pm, party headquarters, 455 South 300 East,
suite 302, Salt Lake City. Please RSVP to
slcounty@utdemocrst.org.
- July 21: Weber County Libertarian Party meeting,
7 pm, Etched in Stone Design, 2031 Lincoln Avenue, Ogden.
- July 27-29: Utah Association of Counties 2005
Recorders Summer Workshop, Cache Administration Building, 179 North
Main, Logan. Contact Calleen Peshell for more details at
435-843-3180 or
cpeshell@co.tooele.ut.us.
- July 28: Salt
Lake County Libertarian Party meeting, 7 pm, Rocky Mountain Pizza
Company, 3977 S. Wasatch Blvd, Holladay.
- July 29: Filing Deadline for Candidates, Platform
Amendments, and Resolution Amendments to the State Organizing
Convention, 5 pm.
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