Health Care Watch
Clark’s Bill Goes Public
Rep. David Clark’s long-awaited health care reform bill, HB133, is available for public review at the legislative web site. While some legislators have worried that health care reform is too complex to take on this session, this legislation really only establishes a framework for reform. It outlines a study process for the difficult and controversial aspects of reform that will likely take two or three (or more) years to work through. Clark says all legislators and stakeholder groups will have plenty of input and time to become fully knowledgeable about the difficult issues involved before final decisions are made.
Mark Shurtleff is “Safe”
Lou Jacobson, columnist for StateLine.org, has analyzed state attorneys general races across the country and ranked them based on how vulnerable or safe they are. He ranks Utah AG Mark Shurtleff’s seat as one of the safest in the country: “Two-term Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff (R) has ruffled feathers, especially among conservatives, by backing hate-crimes legislation, opposing an anti-gay-marriage amendment and, most explosively, prosecuting splinter sects that practice polygamist-arranged marriages with underage girls, a crusade that led to death threats. But many voters respect his prosecutions, and Democrats acknowledge that his seat is not a target.”
Legislative Priorities
This week's Economic Review newsletter from EDCUtah contains a story about the legislative priorities of Senate President John Valentine and House Majority Leader David Clark. The two say economic development will be high priority during the session, with bills that will address sales taxes, property taxes, healthcare reform, energy, and additional funding for USTAR and the Fund of Funds. Citing the need for healthcare reform, Clark says, “I don't mind participating in healthcare, but I can't pay everything I make to healthcare. That's the path we're on” unless something is done about spiraling costs.
Legislative Preview Tonight
Tonight's episode of KUED's Utah NOW will preview the 2008 Legislature and "explore the fallout from the voucher fight." Guests will include the University of Utah's Mathew J. Burbank and the Trib's Paul Rolly. The program airs at 8:30 p.m.
Today in Political History
Jan. 18, 1778: English navigator Captain James Cook discovers the Hawaiian Islands, which he dubbed the "Sandwich Islands" after the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Sandwich. About 350,000 Hawaiians inhabited the islands.
Jan. 18, 1912: English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reach the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had gotten there first. (New York Times)
Jan. 18, 1919: The Versailles Peace Conference begins with the goal of drafting a treaty to settle issues related to World War I. (Source: Perspicuity)
Jan. 18, 1990: Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting. (Source: NBC5)
Wise Words
“In reality there is perhaps no one of our natural Passions so hard to subdue as Pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will now and then peek out and show itself.”
-- Benjamin Franklin (Patriot Post)
Utah Landmarks
Flaming Gorge
"Just below [Henry's Fork] we entered the mouth of the first canyon and encamped amid the cottonwood trees surrounded by bluffs 1200 ft. high and on one side nearly perpendicular. It is the grandest scenery I have found in the mountains and I am delighted with it. . . . The river winds like a serpent through . . . nearly perpendicular cliffs . . . but instead of rapids it is deep and calm as a lake." George Bradley, one of John Wesley Powell's 1869 crew, was not the first, nor would he be the last, to be impressed with the canyons of the upper Green River. About 60 river miles below the town of Green River, Wyoming, the Green entered a series of canyons that were of rare beauty, and yet were largely unknown except to Indians, outlaws, and river runners.
First was Flaming Gorge, named by Powell for the brilliant, flaming red of its rocks. Here was supposedly the site of the legendary "Green River Suck," said by early river runners to be a cataract that continued for "six or eight miles, making a sheer descent . . . of upward of two hundred and fifty feet." It didn't really exist, but it made a good story. After only a couple of miles, Flaming Gorge gave way to two short canyons in quick succession: Horseshoe Canyon and Kingfisher Canyon. The former was a long, U-shaped bend; the canyon walls here were of buff-colored Weber Sandstone, which contrasted sharply with the predominant red shades. Kingfisher Canyon was named by Powell for the many kingfishers "playing about the streams." (Source: Utah.Edu)
National Politics
Best Stories From . . .
-- San Francisco Chronicle: Columnist Debra Saunders, noting the "daily rants against John McCain" by conservative radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham, says: "Their McCain pile-on would not be so egregious if only the White House ... were at stake. With 165,000 troops serving in Iraq and 26,000 serving in Afghanistan, Republican voters must guard more than their party purity. They have to vote ... with an eye on what is most important: Iraq."
-- The Politico: The GOP is facing a threat that spells trouble for its candidates "from the top of the ticket down to the most obscure races. The problem is the funk of the foot soldiers."
-- Washington Post: Columnist David Broder says it's "stunning to realize that the three current and former senators who have survived the shakeout process -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards -- have not a day of chief executive experience behind them. By contrast, the Republican field is loaded with people who are accustomed to being in charge of large organizations."
-- Boston Globe: Columnist Ellen Goodman says of Clinton and Obama: "I have a dream. Or at least a dream ticket. Why not the two front-runners on one ballot?"
Yes to Transparency Bill
The Sutherland Institute has endorsed Sen. Wayne Niederhauser's proposed "Transparency in Government Finance" legislation (SB 38). Says Sutherland: "History shows us that a free and prosperous Utah requires an informed public and a government committed to act in an ethical and principled manner. SB 38 is an important piece of legislation that statutorily gives citizens the information to function effectively as a government watchdog by shining a bright light on the spending activity of our state and local governments" (see press release).
Blog Watch
-- Rep. Steve Urquhart, in a post on the upcoming legislative session and on the House Rules Committee, which he chairs, says that in the past each chamber has "shovel[ed] garbage forward to the other chamber, counting on the other to kill it. And, even then, most bills are killed by the clock (when we constitutionally turn into pumpkins at midnight on the 45th day), rather than by an actual vote. This is a bad practice. To do its part, I plan for the House Rules Committee to more aggressively filter out bills that we deem don't have a shot at actual passage. And -- as you can imagine -- we'll catch all sorts of grief for being oppressive thugs."
-- At The Senate Site, Sen. Greg Bell solicits public input on a bill he's running this session that would provide for the compensation of exonerees.
Lighter Side
“The candidates should never keep shouting the word change to three hundred million people with a TV remote in their hands.”
—Argus Hamilton (Patriot Post)
Casual Friday
Fishing Report
Bear Lake cisco should start to run any day now. The Bear Lake DWR office posts current info at 435-946-8501 every day by about 4 pm. As of today, there is a skim of ice over about half the lake but the Cisco Beach area has open water and you can launch there. If it stays cold and calm, the entire lake may freeze within a day or two. But it may not, and people may be wading to dip net the cisco. Open water or ice, people will still go after the little fish. The worst case is when the Cisco Beach area has unsafe ice, making it hard to get to the fish.
Ice fishing remains good, but is spotty on some waters. If a water gets heavy pressure, like Strawberry, areas with easy access get hammered. Hike away from the crowds and you will almost always do better. As a general rule, if you don't catch fish within about 30 minutes, move to a different spot.
Some fishermen like to use snowmobiles to get away from the crowds. If you intend to fish in shallow water (25 feet or less, which is often where the rainbows hang out), the noise from a snowmobile may put the fish off for a time. Wait quietly to give the fish a chance to regain confidence before you become impatient and move.
Fish Lake is a bright spot for ice fishing, but many other waters are also good. Full outdoors report.
Outdoors Report
-- Morning News schralps Snowbasin’s most popular runs
-- Utah paralympian takes on new heights in the Tribune
-- Bear permits increased in the Morning News
-- Tribune lauds city official’s wisdom in protecting Salt Lake’s watershed
-- Ski with Picabo Street in the Morning News
-- Find out about upcoming events in the Morning News’ Outdoor Notes
-- Check out the Tribune’s Outdoor Notebook and Recreation Roundup for sports and recreation activities this week
-- For the latest wildlife news and information and the fishing report visit the DWR website
New Films
-- Cloverfield: Tribune review
-- Falling (Fallen): Tribune review
-- There Will Be Blood: Tribune review
-- 27 Dresses: Tribune review
Concerts
-- Paradigm Chamber Orchestra, Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., Wasatch Presbyterian Church, 1700 S. 1700 E., $10
-- “Musical Menagerie,” Salt Lake Symphony and pianists Ning Lu and Jie Lu, Saturday, 2 p.m., Libby Gardner Concert Hall, U., $8
-- LeeAnn Morgan and Carlton Vickers, violin and flute, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., de Jong Concert Hall, BYU, Provo, free
-- NOVA Chamber Music Series, Sunday, 3 p.m., Utah Museum of Fine Arts
-- Organ Recitals, every Saturday, noon, and every Sunday, 2 p.m., Temple Square Assembly Hall
Theater
-- “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” through January 19, Pinnacle Acting Company
-- “The King and I” through January 21, Music Theatre West, Logan
-- “The Vertical Hour” through January 26, Pioneer Theatre Company
-- “Tosca” through January 27, Capitol Theatre
-- “What the Butler Saw” through February 2, Wasatch Theatre Company
-- “Cheaper By the Dozen” through February 9, Heritage Theatre
-- “Don’t Drink the Water” through February 9, Hale Center Theater Orem
-- “Lend Me a Tenor” through February 9, Hale Centre Theatre
-- “Once Upon a Mattress” through February 9, Rodgers Memorial Theatre
-- “Robin Hood” through February 9, Academy of Performing Arts
-- “Forever Plaid” through February 15, Terrace Plaza Playhouse, Logan
-- “Man of La Mancha” through February 16, St. George Musical Theater
-- “My Valley Fair Lady” through March 22, Desert Star Theatre
Museum Exhibits
-- SF Recycled and Masters of West Coast Assemblage and Collage Exhibitions through January 26, David Kimball Anderson: To Morris Graves Exhibition through February 2, Salt Lake Art Center
-- Cinderella: Masks, Magic, and Mirrors Exhibition through March 31, Utah Museum of Fine Arts
-- Minerva Teichert: Pageants in Paint Exhibition, through May 26, Brigham Young University Museum of Art
Et Cetera
-- Salt Lake Gallery Stroll, Friday, 6 – 9 p.m., downtown
-- Cottonwood Canyons Foundation Full Moon Snowshoe, Friday, 7 – 9:30 p.m.
-- Park City Film Music Festival, through January 27
-- Sundance Film Festival, through January 27, Park City |
