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Lawmakers Go Back to School
Utah is ranked in the top three states nationwide in legislator participation in America's Legislators Back to School Program, according to a press release from Sen. Howard Stephenson and Rep. Margaret Dayton, who co-chair the Education Interim Committee.
Legislators are entering classrooms throughout the nation with the following message: “Your ideas count!” Schools are inviting legislators to teach students the value of public service and being involved in the political process. “Competing pressures, debate, negotiation, and compromise--the very fabric of representative democracy--are brought to life when students interact with legislators in mock sessions, simulated hearings, bill drafting, and meaningful discussions,” said the press release.
For schools interested in scheduling a legislator, more information may be found by clicking here. Shelley Day, 801-538-1032, is the program coordinator. You can view the text of 2005's HCR 6 (re: Utah's Legislators Back to School Program) by clicking here.
Washington Watch
The Hill predicts that Sen. Orrin Hatch’s flag burning amendment will come up for a vote “months before next year’s election,” but will fall a few votes shy of the 67 (two-thirds) needed to pass. “Including Hatch, the amendment has 58 co-sponsors. Based on previous votes, the measure has the likely support of 63 senators — if senators vote the way they have previously.
Bishop Brings Government to Students
Congressman Rob Bishop will host an Education Conference for high school students in the First Congressional District this Friday at the State Capitol beginning at 8 a.m. The daylong program is designed to educate high school students about American government as a supplement to learning in the classroom.
The agenda includes workshops, lectures, and group discussions. Sen. Orrin Hatch and Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. will share experiences working at the state and federal levels of government. Hatch will also provide an update and insight into the Supreme Court nomination process. Discussion topics will include in-depth looks into state government, the three branches of the federal government, as well as political techniques and issues. Students will be encouraged to ask questions to elected officials and community leaders.
Invitations were sent to all high schools and school districts in the Utah's First Congressional District, inviting ten students from each school to experience a hands-on look into government. Student participants were then selected at the high school level by teachers and advisors.
Best Retirement in Pleasant Grove
A Utah Taxpayers Association survey of retirement benefits for general employees in Utah’s 30 largest cities found that Pleasant Grove offers the most generous retirement package, using tax dollars to contribute 19.34% of employee salary towards employee retirement.
All 30 cities participate in the Utah Retirement System (URS). With the exception of retirement costs for some older employees, 100% of the cost of the retirement system is funded by taxpayers. This year, taxpayers contribute 11.09% of state and local government employee salaries to URS. In addition to the URS-mandated contribution, many cities use tax dollars to offer additional retirement benefits. Four cities in this survey do not participate in Social Security, and retirement contributions for these cities were reduced by 6.2% to account for this. The survey does not include retirement benefits for public safety employees.
To see the results of the survey, click here.
Energy Watch
Oil from Shale Commercially Viable Utah has a lot of oil shale, and a Canadian company has announced that it has successfully processed oil shale and oil sand into high-grade, low sulfur synthetic crude oil. “The company's patented Chattanooga Process technology was used to produce synthetic crude oil from Colorado oil shale and has now been shown to be commercially viable.” See also story in Oil and Gas Journal .
Broadband Watch
Business Wire reports that Kennecott Land and Qwest Communications International Inc. have reached an agreement to make South Jordan's Daybreak development the first new Utah development to be connected via fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology.
Now You Know
Rampton the Myth-Buster
(From "Drat! Mythed Again" by Steve Warren)
Gov. Calvin L. Rampton recalled that in the 1964 campaign he had to run, not only against other candidates, but against his own two-syllable surname:
"The myth was that no governor from Utah whose last name contained more than one syllable could be elected to a second term. Indeed, up until 1968 history seemed to bear this out. Of the first five governors of Utah, three, Cutler, Bamberger, and Mabey, were one-term governors while the two whose names contained only one syllable, Wells and Spry, were re-elected. There followed five governors, Dern, Blood, Maw, Clyde, and Lee, all of them have single-syllable names, and all of whom were elected to a second term. In the 1964 primary, my primary opponent had a last name containing a single syllable. There were actually circulars distributed during that primary campaign telling Democrats that if they wanted to hold the governorship for more than a single term, they should not nominate a candidate with a multi-syllable last name. Fortunately for me, the myth did not have a great effect on the campaign."
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Utah
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