|
 The
Week Ahead
It’s a big political week, starting today with Pres. Bush
keynoting the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention. Mayor
Rocky Anderson welcomes the VFW to Salt Lake at 8:45 a.m.
Peace activists will gather (one protestor predicts 1,000 anti-war
activists) at Pioneer Park, according to a SL
Trib report The Trib says a Mayor Anderson email
calls for "the biggest demonstration this state has ever seen".
And while Anderson is protesting, the D-News
says Rep. Jim Matheson will meet Pres. Bush at the airport
and ride in his motorcade to the Salt Palace.
On Wednesday, school is back in session for much of the state–good
time to slow down.… Wednesday and Thursday, UFIRE (Utahns for
Immigration Reform and Enforcement) hosts public meetings with Rep.
Tom Tancredo (R-Co)…. Thursday, the Tax Reform Tax Force
and several subcommittees meet (calendar
here).
Saturday, the Utah GOP holds its state
organizing convention –10 a.m. SLCC Redwood Campus;
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour keynotes the event. A Sunday
Trib story
suggests the bad blood between Gov. Jon Huntsman
Jr. and State GOP Chairman Joe Cannon may have been resolved;
nonetheless "The tension between Cannon and Huntsman lends
an air of intrigue to the sometimes bureaucratic morass of the Republican
organizing convention." Meanwhile, the Trib’s
Paul Rolly says moderate Republicans rule the party,
making it all but impossible for challengers to unseat incumbents
(like State Rep. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, challenging
entrenched incumbent Sen. Orrin Hatch, or Patrick S. Reagan
and Jeremy Friedbaum challenging GOP Chair Joe Cannon).
Hatch Holds Fundraisers
Sen. Orrin Hatch will hold two fundraisers this week at the
multi-million dollar Holladay mansion of Ronald Gunnell.
The Wednesday and Thursday night events cost $2,000 per couple.
Blog Watch
Rep.
John Dougall tweaks the U. of U. and comments on state
IT consolidation efforts. . . . Lucy Burningham at NewWest.net
writes about the anti-war movement heating up in Utah as Pres.
Bush’s visit draws closer. . . KSL Radio personality Amanda
Dickson writes about being a "radio mom" on
KSLBlog. . . . Rep. Steve
Urquhart says the federal government is out of control and
needs to be reined in. . . . Charley
Foster has good insights on a variety of topics. . . Steven
Lawrence tells Rep. Chris Cannon how to respond to Tancredo
debate challenge on UtahPolitics.org.
. . . More on Rocky Anderson urging on war protests at Ethan
Millard’s SLCSPIN.
Blog Covers Orem City
Orem City Council member Karen McCandless writes: "Just
wanted to tell you your site has given me the courage to start my
own blog about my re-election adventure and Orem's political issues.
It is called ‘Out of the Frying Pan’. Its location
is: www.oremcitycouncil.blogspot.com.
I am still trying to get the hang of this blog thing. I see
it has potential though. . . Right now it has a lot of election
stuff on it, but I will be posting city council musings soon. Thanks
for your great site. It is what I use to stay informed."
New World of Internet Politics
Jennifer Scott writes about bloggers and a West Jordan discussion
group: "I loved your (Sunday, Morning News) column
about bloggers! Thank you for addressing this important element
of politics. As a Republican state delegate and newly-elected
member of the State Central Committee, I’ve been participating
in a number of e-mail groups and reading blogs to help me get familiar
with issues. Some are more valuable than others, but
overall the Internet has made it possible for a mother of young
children like me to get more involved than I would otherwise be
able to do.
"At the municipal level, my city has an extremely active
Yahoo Group discussing the actions of our city council. I
believe this group is unparalleled anywhere else in the state because
of the volume of activity. We have 185 subscribers and many, many
others who read from the Internet without subscribing. The
group is valuable because we have representatives of our City Council,
state legislature, Jordan District School Board and the print media
either actively or passively participating. Even those at
City Hall who disparage the group read it religiously (so my sources
tell me). Unlike most of the other political groups I have
found, this one is open to people of all political persuasions.
I would love to have you pay us a visit at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WJResident.
"Between this Yahoo Group and the online availability of city
council packets and audio of council meetings, I can do an awful
lot of legwork from home without having to hire a babysitter while
I attend countless public meetings. I am hopeful that more
people will be able to get involved politically if they can use
the Internet to follow issues and target their attendance at public
meetings to those meetings where they can really make a difference."
New Podcast
Matt Wood writes to say that www.PROVOPODCAST.com
was started in June by students eager to entertain in the local
music scene.
Now You Know
| Six Utah counties with the highest median household
income: |
| County |
Median HH
Income (2002) |
% of State Median
HH Income |
| 1 Summit |
$66,037 |
143.1% |
| 2 Morgan |
$55,981 |
121.3% |
| 3 Davis |
$55,623 |
120.5% |
| 4 Wasatch |
$50,615 |
109.6% |
| 5 Tooele |
$49,575 |
107.4% |
| 6 Salt Lake |
$47,892 |
103.7% |
| |
| Six Utah counties with the lowest median household
income: |
| County |
Median HH
Income (2002) |
% of State Median
HH Income |
| 1 San Juan |
$27,111 |
58.7% |
| 2 Piute |
$28,399 |
61.5% |
| 3 Grand |
$31,221 |
67.6% |
| 4 Wayne |
$31,545 |
68.3% |
| 5 Daggett |
$32,699 |
70.8% |
| 6 Sanpete |
$33,944 |
73.5% |
| Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local
Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) data. |
Wise Words
"Always retain the old, unchanging truth that happiness
is not created by wealth and luxury, but by simplicity, moderation,
a pure heart and a peaceful disposition." --Frederick J. Miller
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