Squeeze on Office Space
This week’s edition of the Economic Review, published by the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, says the state’s robust economy is putting the squeeze on industrial and office space along the Wasatch front, most notably in Salt Lake County. According to the report, Salt Lake County has seen a 32% reduction in available industrial square footage over the past year. When compared to last year, 2006 has seen a 42% increase in absorption of medium-sized industrial space. In the office market, Class A space in Salt Lake’s central business district is practically impossible to find. (Full story, click here.)
UDOT Launches Express Lanes Website
UDOT has launched a new website, expresslanes.utah.gov, which is "designed to help Utahns understand how travelers along Interstate 15 will benefit from the conversion to Express Lanes and learn how to receive notice of when the Express Lane passes are available" (see press release).
Campaign Tip
How to Run Against An Incumbent
Connect Personally With Constituents
(Source: Rep. Ronda Menlove presentation in the 2006 Republican Women’s Political Action Committee Leadership School Candidate Training Workshop. For more information, contact Kitty Dunn, RWPAC Vice President for Leadership, kittydunn@comcast.net)
This is the most important and critical factor for your success as you face an incumbent. You are running against someone who holds the confidence of your constituents. He or she represents them. They voted for this person in the past. They don’t want to feel like their past decisions were wrong or uninformed. They need a reason to change their vote. That is why it is so important that you are positive and not focused on negatives about your opponent.
Tell the voters why they want to change and vote for you. Use phrases like “it’s time for a change”, “new perspectives”, “different strengths and abilities”, and “majority party”. Try to communicate that the incumbent has had his/her turn, and now it is your turn to serve. This positive focus communicates an “I can be successful” attitude. You are going to be elected because you are the best candidate not because the incumbent has not performed or is weak.
-- Be careful not to say your opponent’s name.
-- Be careful not to “endorse” your opponent.
-- You have very limited time to communicate with constituents. Communicate you!
-- Be clear about your priorities and your issues.
-- Focus on a short list of issues that are MOST important to your constituents.
-- Communicate in “sound bites” that constituents will remember.
-- Give them something to remember.
-- Visit them in their homes, communities, places of work, organizations, schools, streets.
Washington Watch
Cannon Victory Sends Message
Editorial says Rep. Chris Cannon's 3rd District primary victory suggests "that those challengers who think they will win this year by attacking members of Congress who support sensible and humane immigration policies are in for a surprise" (The Capital Times).
Blog Watch
Called As Seen says: "The failure to purge [Rep.] Chris Cannon has left the [immigration reform] hard-liners in a bad position. They had their immigration referendum in a closed primary in one of the most conservative congressional districts in the country -- and despite spending several times more money than Cannon's 2004 challenger did, they managed to narrow Cannon's margin from 58-42 to 56-44. So, now, they will hide behind a shield of lies and spin, deciding that if they cannot get their 'enforcement first' bill (with conveniently movable goalposts), they will sabotage the chance for any bill at all" (see also here)... The Senate Site blog, noting that a newspaper in Spokane has begun broadcasting its twice-daily editorial meetings over the Internet, asks: "George Pyle and the Pyle-Drivers are blogging over at the Tribune -- respect them for that -- but how long until we see something like this webcast in Utah?"... Green Jello asks: "Should illegal immigrants in Utah be allowed to attend state colleges at in-state prices? If we as a country are truly ever going to make a stand against illegal immigration, then ... giving financial breaks to those who are in the U.S. illegally could definitely be viewed as counterproductive"... At Out of Context, Heather May reports: "If you spy Rocky Anderson buying alcoholic drinks -- and paying with his city credit card -- this weekend at the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival, rest assured: It's legal. Anderson is allowed to buy booze while on city business since he changed city policy last year. And it was the fun he had at the 2005 Jazz Festival that prompted the policy shift"... One Utah has noticed "a new, palatable, and recondite frustration among more than a few Utah Mormons over the [LDS] Church's effective alignment with the Republican Party's priorities and policies"... At First Things' On the Square, Joseph Bottum says: "The Los Angeles Times this week published its latest poll on 2008 presidential candidates, and the results looked bad for Mitt Romney: 'Thirty-seven percent of those questioned said they would not vote for a Mormon presidential candidate.' Except, perhaps, that the connection between distaste for Romney and distaste for a Mormon president is not clear. Certain votes typically surpass their polls: Much higher tallies are commonly recorded against homosexual marriage, for instance, than pre-vote polls predicted. For a variety of reasons, the specific rejection is stronger than the generic one. But other votes run in the other direction: The general level of anti-Catholicism, for instance (measured by this Los Angeles Times poll at 10 percent of the electorate), is larger than the measurable effect of anti-Catholicism in any one Catholic candidate’s campaign. I suspect that the effect of anti-Mormonism on Romney's campaign will be similarly reduced. Still, a 37 percent generic rejection is a large burden to overcome" (see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
-- Compiled by Golden Webb
Tax Burden High
The Utah Taxpayers Association has posted its July newsletter. This month's edition features articles on Utah's state/local tax and fee burden, the Association's opposition to the 2015 Transportation Alliance's sales tax increase proposal, and a piece by Assoc. Pres. Howard Stephenson on "economic illiteracy." To read it, click here.
Casual Friday
Endangered June Suckers Being Raised in Springville
The recovery of the endangered June sucker got a boost June 27 when more than 3,500 June suckers, four inches in length, were placed into two ponds at the Division of Wildlife Resource’s Springville State Fish Hatchery.
Placing June suckers in the Springville hatchery doubles the number of hatcheries in Utah where the fish is being raised. Before being placed in the Springville hatchery, June suckers in Utah were raised only at the DWR’s Fisheries Experiment Station in Logan.
The Springville hatchery has traditionally been a game fish hatchery, raising more than one million trout each year. The hatchery was closed in April 2005, however, after whirling disease was discovered in the hatchery.
Read full story and view photos.
Weekend Events & Outdoors Report
Outdoors Report
-- Learn about living and working in Canyonlands National Park in the Tribune
-- Morning News reports on fishing at Strawberry Reservoir and along the Mirror Lake Highway
-- Discover peregrine falcons living in downtown Salt Lake City in the Morning News
-- The Tribune takes readers to Deer Valley for mountain bike racing
-- Find out about upcoming events in the Morning News’ Outdoor Notes
-- Check out the Tribune’s Recreation Roundup for sports and recreation activities this week
-- Use the Morning News’ interactive map of Utah to plan your outdoor pursuits across the state.
-- The latest wildlife news and information and the fishing report on the DWR website
New Films
-- Pirates of the Carribbean, Tribune review
-- Best Movie Bet for Families: Cars. Read the Tribune review
Concerts
-- Park City International Music Festival through July 23, venues vary
-- Jazz on the Plaza, Thursdays at 6 p.m. through July, The Gateway
-- 4Play Concert Series, Wednesdays at 8 p.m., through August 2, Gallivan Center
-- WorldStage! Under the Stars Concert Series, Mondays at 7:30 p.m. through August 21, Utah Cultural Celebration Center
-- Twilight Concert Series, Thursdays at 7 p.m. through August 24, Gallivan Center
-- Lunch Bunch Concert Series, weekdays at noon through September 22, Gallivan Center
-- Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival, Friday – Sunday, Washington Square
-- Poverty Awareness Concert, Friday, 6 p.m., Gallivan Center, $5 suggested donation
-- Concert in the Park: Janet Todd, Friday, 8 p.m., Brigham Young Historic Park, free
-- Ballif Duo, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Assembly Hall, free
-- Concert in the Park: Pizzicato Strings, Tuesday, 8 p.m., Brigham Young Historic Park, free
Theater
-- “Seussical the Musical” through July 8, St. George Musical Theatre
-- “Jane Eyre” through July 8, Riverton Arts Council
-- "Spitfire Grill" through July 10, Hale Center Theater Orem, Morning News review
-- “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” through July 21, Center Street Musical Theatre
-- “Once on This Island” through July 22, Center Street Musical Theatre
-- "The Rivals” through July 22, StageRight TheaterCompany
-- “My Fair Lady” through July 22, Scera Shell Outdoor Theatre
-- "Crazy for You" through July 29, Hale Center Theatre, Tribune review
-- "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" through July 29, Terrace Plaza Playhouse
-- "Route 66” through Aug. 2, Old Lyric Repertory Company
-- “Postmortem” through August 3, Old Lyric Repertory Company
-- “Dames at Sea” through August 4, Utah Musical Theatre
-- “Noises Off” through August 4, Old Lyric Repertory Company
-- “Two by Two” through August 4, Utah Musical Theatre
-- "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" through August 5, Terrace Plaza Playhouse
-- "Saturday's Voyeur 2006” through August 20, Salt Lake Acting Company, Tribune and Morning News reviews
-- “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” through September 1, Pickleville Playhouse, Morning News review
-- "Peter Pan" through September 1, Tuacahn Amphitheatre, Ivins
-- "South Pacific" through September 2, Tuacahn Amphitheatre, Ivins, Tribune review
-- "Pirates of the Caribbean 2: The SeaQuel," Desert Star Theatre
-- “Desperate Homemakers: The Big Fat Sequel to My Big Fat Utah Wedding,” Desert Star Cabaret Theatre
-- "The Rat Pack Remembered," Desert Star Dinner Theatre
Museum Exhibits
-- Intimacy Without Restraint: The Gesture Paintings of Hyunmee Lee Exhibition through July 9, Utah Museum of Fine Art
-- The Face of Utah Sculpture Exhibition through August 24, Utah Cultural Celebration Center
-- Wind Pieces: New Sculpture Exhibition through August 26, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University
-- In Focus: National Geographic Great Portraits Exhibition through September 23, Utah Museum of Natural History
-- Material Culture: The Art of Fine Textile Exhibition through September 30, Looking Back: 75 Years at the Salt Lake Art Center Exhibition through October 14, Salt Lake Art Center
-- Rooted In Tradition: Art Quilts from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum through October 15, Utah Museum of Fine Art
Et Cetera
-- Sundance Outdoor Film Festival, Mondays at sunset through August 21, Gallivan Center
-- Utah Shakespearean Festival through September 2, Cedar City
-- Downtown Farmers’ Market/ Downtown Art & Craft Market, Saturdays through October 21, Pioneer Park, 8 a.m.–1 p.m.
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