UTOPIA Highlighted in U.S. Senate Committee
Paul T. Morris, executive director of the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA), was scheduled to testify this morning before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. The proceedings were to start at 7:45 a.m. mountain time, and Morris was to deliver his testimony between 9 and 10 a.m. The event was to be broadcast live on CSPAN2.
In his remarks prepared for delivery, Morris described the UTOPIA model of telecommunications service, emphasizing the open network wholesale approach that allows a variety of service providers to offer services on infrastructure owned by the cities.
He encouraged Congress to reject legislation that would hurt municipal broadband networks. “… we believe that it is prudent to recognize the vital role government has played in the development of all major infrastructure in the history of the United States, from railroads and canals to water, sewer, and power systems; from highways to the current telecommunications networks,” he said. “Municipalities have a key role to play as we work together to provide the most competitive and advanced telecommunications system in the world.” Municipalities should be able to chart their own courses, Morris said.
Computer Voting is Here
With computer voting now a reality in Utah, all of us are going to deal with it. In a note to Utah Policy Daily, Mark Steele of American Fork related his experience with computer voting on Tuesday:
I thought maybe you’d be interested in my experience today voting with the new touch voting devices in Utah County.
When I arrived, things were down because one of the poll judges had closed out the program instead of fixing a problem, so an expert had to come downstairs and restart the program. Once that was going, the process was this:
- State your name and sign in (this was like always). Theoretically we should show our ID, but they didn’t ask.
- A person at a computer then verified my name and entered a smart card in a device to code it with my identity. The first time I went to the voting machine, it turned out the card hadn’t been encoded properly and it didn’t work. That was corrected.
- The experience voting was good. The smart card coding produced the right races for me to vote on. The screen directions were pretty clear, there were lots of opportunities to change my mind, and I liked that a paper record of the vote was also automatically kept.
- Once I was finished, I returned the card and was on my way.
I see some challenges in widespread implementation:
- Will they have competent people running the registration computer at all voting sites?
- Will they have sufficient people to help the elderly and computerphobes that are totally confused/intimidated by the computer screen at the voting station? The elderly that voted when I did needed major help.
Blog Watch
Rep. Steve Urquhart says: "My first year in the Legislature (2001), the State had a huge surplus (we thought). As we were moving toward setting aside about $20M for the rainy-day fund, a fellow-freshman representative pleaded, 'How can we consider setting aside this money when there's so much need?' It raises an interesting and important question: how much should government pay for?"... Obiter Dicta by Steve says this news "hit close to home"... Two Guys from Quantico explains "why the xenophobes are wrong" about illegal immigrants... Charley Foster live-blogged the first semi-annual Utah Bloggers Conference (see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here)... Rob Miller hit the links with Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon at the Old Mill Golf Course... Out of Context reports that globe-trotting Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson can be a hard man to get a hold of.
-- Compiled by Golden Webb
UTC Wins 'Best of State' Recognition
The Utah Technology Council has been named best Association/Chamber in the Community Development category of Utah's 2006 Best of State (see press release).
Washington Watch
Hatch Needs One More Vote
The Senate is one vote away from passing a Sen. Orrin Hatch-sponsored constitutional amendment that would ban desecration of the U.S. flag (USA Today).
Bennett Accepting Academy Applications
Sen. Bob Bennett announces "that he is now accepting online applications from young men and women interested in nomination to attend the Army, Air Force, Navy, or Merchant Marine academies in July 2007" (see press release).
Matheson: No to House Pay Raise
House lawmakers give themselves a $3,300 pay raise that will increase their salaries to $168,500, squelching Rep. Jim Matheson's bid to force a vote on the issue (Associated Press and press release); Matheson votes for an emergency spending bill that includes more than $65 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, $1.6 billion for reconstruction and governance in Iraq, and nearly $20 billion in hurricane relief for the Gulf Coast (press release).
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