The Week Ahead
It’s week six, the last full week of the legislative session. The size of this year’s tax cut has been determined: $220 million. Now other budget decisions can be made and the overall budget should come together rather quickly. The major issue yet to be resolved is the nature of the tax cut: what combination of income, sales or other taxes will be cut. With eight working days to go, floor time will increase a great deal this week to work through the numerous bills awaiting action. See House and Senate schedules this week and the legislative calendar for committee agendas and links to audio and video.
Monday Musing
Newspapers Demonstrate Their Value
With falling circulation and declining advertising revenue, newspapers face enormous challenges these days and a lot of people are writing them off as dinosaurs in the Internet Age. As a former journalist and lifetime avid newspaper reader, I hope the good old print newspaper never goes away.
The occurrences of the last week show just what a terrific information source traditional newspapers can be. The coverage of the Trolley Square shootings and the aftermath brought out the best in both the Salt Lake City dailies. Coverage has been simply terrific. The papers delivered far more depth, substance and insightful coverage than TV, radio, or blogs, and they did it in a timely way, updating their web sites frequently.
I read a lot of news on-line, but there’s still nothing like sitting down with a good printed newspaper when a big story breaks. Both Salt Lake papers delivered the facts, the drama, the insights and the human element about as well as I’ve ever seen anything covered in Utah. Both papers published excellent graphics mapping the path of the killer and the timeline, showing exactly what happened. The papers published all their information on-line as well, but it’s just not the same reading from a menu of stories on a computer as it is perusing a well-packaged printed paper. I appreciate the fact that smart editors have organized the paper, using headline sizes, placement and design elements to give weight to the most important stories. I can quickly scan across a page and get a grasp of the entire package, stopping to read what I’m most interested in. It’s hard to replicate the excellent design, typography, graphics and story placement on-line that we get with a printed paper.
However, I recognize that I’m part of a dying breed that still likes printed newspapers. I hardly know any young people who spend time with a printed paper. To flourish in the future, newspapers must evolve and become the premier information source for young people. And that’s only going to happen on-line.
Competition for Entrepreneurs
The Economic Development Corporation of Utah’s weekly newsletter says a major entrepreneurial funding competition will held during the Governor’s Utah Economic Summit ’07, March 22 at the Grand America Hotel. The competition will result in up to a $100,000 equity investment being offered to the winning entrepreneur by Utah’s Angel investors—a group of successful businessmen and entrepreneurs who provide early-stage seed capital to business startups. Also, EDCUTAH is moving offices, up one floor in the Utah One Center. The economic development organization will take up its new digs on the 21st floor on Feb. 26.
National Politics
Who Wins the Web Campaign?
Washington Post column by E.J. Dionne Jr., wonders which presidential campaign will become the online phenomenon of 2008 and says: “This is the election in which Internet campaigning will reach maturity.”
Washington Watch
Hatch Introduces Cancer Bill
Sen. Orrin Hatch joins "a bipartisan coalition in cosponsoring the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act," which "authorizes the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to award grants for the development and operation of up to eight centers for the purpose of conducting research on environmental factors that may be related to breast cancer" (see press release).
Cannon to Tour Border Fence
Rep. Chris Cannon "will be visiting the southwest border with DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. Congressman Cannon will tour the border fence area around the San Luis Point of Entry and view the completed fence areas and those under construction" (see press release); Cannon commends "Pleasant Grove High School, Lt. Col. Salvador Battle, and everyone involved in the 'Pocket Flag Project' for their dedication to our men and women in uniform deployed in the global war on terror" (press release).
Wise Words
“Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of exceptional characters.”
— Samuel Adams (Source: The Federalist Patriot)
Today in Political History
Feb. 19, 1942: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, authorizing the relocation and internment of Japanese-Americans; within months, more than 110,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry or citizenship are relocated to remote camps built by the U.S. military. (Source: National Journal 2007 Calendar of American Politics)
Sutherland Endorses SB 248
The Sutherland Institute hails the Utah Supreme Court's decision in the Jones v. Barlow case (see press release) and endorses Sen. Curt Bramble's SB 248 (press release).
Blog Watch
At the SenateSite, Senate Pres. John Valentine says: "This session my friend Greg Curtis, the Speaker of the House, has done some remarkable things he can be proud of. One of the reasons he has experienced better success this year is that he has been kinder and gentler. Smarter. And I believe he has inspired others in that direction. This is significant to our body because it allows a more deliberative, careful discussion of the policy merits. Another reason for his success is that he has chosen his battles carefully. ... Whatever else people may think of Greg Curtis, our experience has been that he keeps his commitments. ... Everyone benefits when legislative politics look more like a boardroom and less like a pep rally. This year's legislative session, so far, is something Utah citizens can be proud of and we give the Speaker due credit for his share in that development." Valentine’s post comes in response to this Paul Rolly column. (For more Legislature-related posts, see Beach Music and Boat Shoes, Winter's Haven, Utah Democratic Caucus, Utah State Democratic Party, Under The Dome, Utah Taxpayer, CoolestFamilyEver, and Out of Context).... Andrew Sullivan says Mitt Romney is a religious bigot (see also RCP Blog and UNCoRRELATED).
Favorite Headlines
(Source: James Taranto’s Best of the Web)
What Would We Do Without Documentaries?
"Documentary: Nixon Was an Odd Fellow"--headline, Indianapolis Star, Feb. 15
What Would We Do Without Terror Experts?
"Terror Expert: Terrorists Will Stop at Nothing"--headline, Naples (Fla.) News, Feb. 15
'It Was So Smooth, and It Stuck to the Roof of My Mouth'
"Peanut Butter Recalled"--headline, KOMU-TV Web site (Columbia, Mo.), Feb. 15 |
