The Week Ahead
Gov. Jon Huntsman testifies in Congress on Thursday in support of 4th congressional seat for Utah (See Morning News story). ... LaVarr Webb and Jennifer Napier-Pearce speak at International Association of Business Communicators luncheon on “Podcasting, Blogging, and E-newsletters: Making New Media Work for You.” For details, click here… For all the week’s political events, see the Utah Policy Daily calendar.
Bush on the War
Lots of events today and lots of new media broadcasts and articles remembering the terrorist attacks five years ago, on Sept. 11, 2001. For an interesting perspective on the war on terror from President Bush, read an in-depth interview conducted aboard Air Force One by Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot.
New Utah Policy Daily Feature
Utah’s Top Issues
It’s important for Utah policymakers and opinion leaders to be aware of and up-to-speed on the top issues facing the state. As a service to readers, UPD is going to weekly publish a list of what we think are Utah’s top issues. The list is not generated from opinion research, although we may periodically do a survey asking citizens about their top concerns.
Instead, the list is generated by observing what’s hot in the news media, what’s on the agenda of various policymaking groups, and what’s being discussed among opinion leaders and policymakers. We welcome suggestions and input from UPD readers.
In the future, we may link from the list of issues to stories and research on those topics, and we may invite experts to write opinion essays about some of the issues, or produce point-counterpoint articles. If you have other ideas, let us know by e-mailing daily@utahpolicy.com.
This week we’re dropping nuclear waste on the Goshute reservation from the list because it appears to have been adequately resolved, and we’re adding the 4th congressional seat and non-stop air service from the Salt Lake International Airport to Europe.
Utah’s Top Issues
Hottest of the Hot
- Special session for tax reform/transit funding
Emerging
- SLCIA nonstop service to Europe
- 4th congressional seat for Utah
- Tolling on highways
- Legislative judicial retention
- Snake Valley water pumping for Las Vegas
- SITLA land sale on Green River
Mature
- 2006 election campaigns
- Downtown SLC revitalization
- Immigration
- Washington County lands sales
- Open space funding
Getting Old
Oldies But Goodies
- Banks/Credit Unions
- Highway funding
- Vouchers/School Choice
- Education funding
- No Child Left Behind
- Healthcare reform/Intermountain Healthcare
Salt Lake Chamber Requests Help
The Salt Lake Chamber is asking Utahns who support non-stop air service to Europe for assistance. In an e-mail blast, Chamber President/CEO Lane Beattie says: “In partnership with the Governor's Office, the Salt Lake City International Airport is preparing a package of information to submit to Delta Air Lines urging that Delta implement the city's first nonstop flight to Europe next summer.”
The Chamber is asking Utahns to send a short letter supporting the nonstop flight—specifically if you and/or your business would utilize that flight. The letter should include the number of international flights to Europe that you would purchase and use if it is offered. Letters should be addressed to: Mr. Jerry Grinstein, Chief Executive Officer, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Post Office Box 20706, Department 940, Atlanta, GA. 30320.
The original letter, however, should be mailed to: Craig Peterson, Salt Lake Chamber, 175 East 400 South, Ste. 600, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111. The Chamber will submit all the letters together. Deadline is Monday, Sept. 18. For more info, call Chris Roybal, Senior Advisor for Economic Development, Office of the Governor, (801) 538-1000, croybal@utah.gov, Roy Williams, Executive Director, Salt Lake City Department of Airports, (801) 575-2408, roy.williams@slcgov.com, Meghan Holbrook, Chair, Utah Air Travel Commission, (801) 524-4743, mholbrook@zionsbank.com, or Craig Peterson, (801) 328-5049, cpeterson@saltlakechamber.org.
Blog Watch
Rep. Jeff Alexander says: "The Salt Lake County council has put an initiative on the November ballot to approve a property tax increase to pay for light rail in Salt Lake County. I believe this is bad policy. I don't believe this is a good use of property tax and I don't like the way the county is framing the issue. ... I also don't approve of the way the county has written the ballot initiative. All they are asking the voters to do is approve an $895,000,000 bond. There is no mention of a property tax to pay back the bond or how much it might affect home owners or businesses. The county needs to be more honest with the voters. Instead of leaving this property tax initiative on the ballot the legislature should change the law so a sales tax has to be approved instead of a property tax. The House has already shown strong support to make the change to an optional sales tax. ... [T]he ball is in the Governor's court to put the issue on the special session. If the issue is put on the call it is time for the Senate to take seriously the need to make the change from property tax to an optional sales tax for transit and transportation"... At Out of Context, Dan Harrie says UPD's LaVarr Webb is neck-deep in conflicts of interest, and an anonymous commenter agrees, saying: "Webb lacks ethics big time. His Utah Policy Daily is out there as a public service, and yet it is really just another Republican spin mechanism. Republicans and ethics are simply lost in space"... At the Senate Site blog, Sen. Michael Waddoups says the Utah Supreme Court's ruling that the University of Utah's firearms policy violates state law "sends a clear message to those who would circumvent the workshop by which our laws are crafted. Our Constitution sets up the democratic process whereby our people are governed and it does not include a state agency dreaming up their own laws. I commend Mark Shurtleff, Ray Hintze, and Brent Burnett at the AG's office for arguing this case, and I appreciate Justice [Jill] Parrish for enunciating the Court's opinion so well. I commend the Utah Supreme Court for upholding the law" (see also here, here, and here)... Utah Taxpayer says: "At the Utah Foundation education forum Thursday, several groups presented positions on education finance and reform. ... Obviously the forum wasn't exactly balanced with regards to spenders and reformers, but with the exception of the predictable cheap shots that Commissioner [Richard] Kendell took at reformers (Kendell was playing to the audience that consisted mostly of public education employees), the forum went reasonably well" (see also here)... The Warren says: "It's official: SLC Mayor Rocky Anderson has gone off the deep end. When invited to [today's] official 9/11 commemoration ... Rocky declined. Like his fellow Moonbat Conspiracy Theorists, Rocky isn't going to be fooled by this 'commemorative' walk. It's really a secret Rovian plot designed to gin up support for Chimpy's Illegal War in Iraq. Ooooo-kay. So I guess we can now throw out all that flowery talk about supporting the troops and opposing terror. Given his history, this isn't surprising. What is surprising is how many people are still willing to treat him seriously. Rocky isn't patriotic. He isn't courageous. He isn't even neutral. He's on the other side"... House District 51 candidate Lisa Johnson says: "In a time when partisanship is strong and emotions are high, I'd like to make a ... plug for civility. Good public policies are best established through open debate and honest discussion. Name-calling and accusations don't get us anywhere. As the campaign season heats up, let's keep this in mind. Although political views can be strong and deeply held, they are, after all, only political views. When it comes down to it, we do more for our communities through our friendships and our service than most of us will ever accomplish in politics"... WaPo's Chris Cillizza says: "Ask any political junkie which states are most important when it comes to winning the 2008 Republican presidential nomination and you're sure to hear Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The state missing from that list is Michigan, which, as things stand now, could be the key state in the fight for the nomination. Why? Because the state is set to vote on the first Tuesday of February 2008 and the two leading candidates -- Arizona Sen. John McCain and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- are already gearing up for a battle royale. ... Despite concerns from conservatives about the bona fides of McCain and Romney, the two men are head and shoulders above their rivals for the nomination in terms of recruiting top fundraisers and building organizations in the state."
ULCT Convention
The Utah League of Cities and Towns is holding its annual convention Sept. 13-15 at the Sheraton City Centre Hotel in Salt Lake City. For more info, click here.
National Politics
New Direction for America?
National Journal cover story by Richard E. Cohen takes an in-depth, even-handed look at the top policy priorities of Democratic congressional leaders and the “Six for ‘06” agenda that Rep. Nancy Pelosi promises to pass within 100 hours of Democrats taking control of the House.
Washington Watch
Hatch: $10M for HAFB
The Senate approves "the Department of Defense spending bill for the next fiscal year, which includes funding for several key programs that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) requested for Utah military installations, including $10 million for Hill Air Force Base (HAFB)." Says Hatch: "Supporting our bases -- and especially Hill Air Force Base -- is among my top priorities. With these appropriations, the military is meeting its needs with Utahns' expertise. Military officials know that when they want the job done right, they need to come to Utah" (see press release).
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