About Utah Politics - April 2, 2014

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

How to Sound Smart About Utah Politics - April 2, 2014

Utahns beat the deadline to sign up for health insurance. Herbert signing bills at a rapid pace. SB 54 vote could cause problems for a number of Utah Republicans.

Countdown:

• 23 days until the Utah State Republican and Democratic conventions
• 83 days until Utah's 2014 primary elections
• 216 days to the 2014 midterm elections
• 299 days to the start of the 2015 Utah Legislature
• 579 days to the 2015 elections
• 644 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
• 950 days to the 2016 presidential election

Today's Utah political news highlights:

• Thousands of Utahns sign up for health insurance before the Affordable Care Act deadline [Deseret News].
• Members of Utah's Congressional delegation says President Obama's victory lap over the healthcare law is premature [ABC 4].
• Governor Gary Herbert is signing bills from the 2014 session at a rapid pace [Tribune].
• A number of Republican legislators are getting some heartburn for their vote on the compromise measure with "Count My Vote" organizers [Utah Policy].
• Here are our "most vulnerable" Utah House seats in this year's election [Utah Policy].
• Here are the four most-likely candidates vying to replace Jim Matheson in Congress [Tribune].
• Rep. Jason Chaffetz is trying to figure out why the U.S. State Department spent $400,000 on a statue of a camel [Daily Herald].
• The Division of Air Quality is eyeing some new controls to reduce wintertime pollution in the area near Vernal [Tribune].
• The Utah Supreme Court heard a "secret" case on Tuesday that may be related to the shooting of a civilian by two West Valley City civilian [Deseret News].
• A Park City resident wants to ban plastic bags at grocery stores [KSL].

On this day in history:

• 1513 - Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida.
• 1792 - Congress authorized the first U.S. mint, in Philadelphia.
• 1917 - President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany.
• 1982 - Argentina seized control of the Falkland Islands from Britain.
• 2005 - Pope John Paul II died at the age of 84.
• 2009 - A 19-count federal racketeering indictment was returned against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Today At Utah Policy

SB 54 Vote Could Cause Problems for Some Legislators
Fourteen GOP state House members and three Republican senators, all seeking re-election this year, are facing some tough questions by their party delegates over why they voted for SB54 in the 2014 Legislature, which ended just a few weeks ago....

The Top-5 'Most Vulnerable' Utah House Seats in 2014
There's a bi-partisan bent to our list of the "most vulnerable" seats in the Utah House heading into the 2014 election. Three are currently held by Democrats and two belong to the GOP....

2014 Candidate Tracker
The latest updates from Utah's 2014 elections!...

A Microcosm of the Good, Bad and Ugly of Utah's Current Election System
If you want to see the strengths and weaknesses of the current caucus/delegate/convention system in Utah, listen to the recent debate among the three Republican candidates for House District 57....

Featured Items

'Utah's Own' Food Products Contribute to a Tasty Economic Summit
World class business leaders will gather together to learn, network and share some meals during the 8th Annual Governor's Economic Summit Conference, April 3, 2014 at the Grand America Hotel....

It's Time to Stop the 'Edsel' Public School Funding
If you build a new car, with lots of new technological gizmos, and you name it after your son Edsel, but it doesn't sell, you stop production....

NRCC 'Young Guns' Puts Utah 4th District Congressional Candidate Bob Fuehr 'On the Radar'
The National Republican Congressional Committee last week identified Bob Fuehr as "on the radar," placing the Utah 4th District Congressional candidate on its three-tiered "Young Guns" program....

U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson and EDCUtah Investors Discuss Public Policy at QIU Event
EDCUtah investors and friends joined in a lively conversation with Congressman Jim Matheson last week during the Quarterly Investor Update meeting at the Utah Opera Production Studios in Salt Lake City....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Escalante residents tour 'Little Valdez' oil spill site

As veto deadline nears, governor signs scores of bills

Jordan District leaders talk bonds, growth

Wintertime controls a possible fix for Uinta Basin ozone

Rolly: Merrill Cook, combative candidate, now a tender caregiver

Governor's mansion to glow blue in support of autism

Deseret News

Jay Evensen: Will Internet voting ever be a reality?

Editorial: The Patient CARE Act offers an alternative to ACA

High winter ozone hit Uintah Basin in 2013

Federal education official says technology, early learning can unlock a child's potential

Utah ranks 3rd in US for most self-employed women

Arrests highlight 'prevalent' problem of human trafficking in Utah

Utahns among the millions signing up for health insurance

Other

Provo planning to annex Orem? (Daily Herald)

Chaffetz questioning purchase of $400k camel sculpture (Daily Herald)

Recent N. Utah storms ease panic about water supplies (Standard-Examiner)

Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert visits PCHS (Park Record)

National Headlines

DNC worried about midterm turnout because 'lower turnout means that we'll lose' (Washington Examiner)

Harry Reid dismisses cancer patient Tom Coburn's Obamacare concern (Washington Examiner)

Paul Ryan Is About To Become The Most Powerful Member Of The House Of Representatives (Business Insider)

Ryan budget attacks Obama's climate agenda (The Hill)

Lawmakers oppose Pollard's release (The Hill)

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul Says GOP Must Appeal To Hispanics, Get 'Beyond Deportation' (Fox News)

FBI conducts sweep of state Senate office said to be Yee's (Los Angeles Times)

Teacher: 'I was bullied' for opposing testing system (MSNBC)

What We Know About Who the CIA Tortured, How, and What Good It Did (The Wire)

This is how Hillary Clinton responds to her husband's April Fools' Day tweet (The Week)

Californians in the Quake Zone Mostly Uninsured (NBC News)

Wise Words

Intelligence
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office."
Ambrose BierceQuotations Page

Lighter Side

Bad Idea
"One of President Obama's secret service agents is in trouble now after getting drunk and passing out in a hotel hallway. In his defense, it's spring break! He was wearing a helmet with a beer on either side. That was a bad idea." Conan O'Brien Political Humor

Wise Words

Intelligence
"In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office."
Ambrose BierceQuotations Page

Lighter Side

Bad Idea
"One of President Obama's secret service agents is in trouble now after getting drunk and passing out in a hotel hallway. In his defense, it's spring break! He was wearing a helmet with a beer on either side. That was a bad idea." Conan O'Brien Political Humor

2014
Bizarre, Crazy, Silly, Unknown Holidays & Observances

Stone= Diamond       Flower= Daisy

*International Children's Book Day

National Day of Hope

National Ferret Day

Paraprofessional Appreciation Day

*National Love Your Produce Manager Day

*National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

National Walking Day

*Reconciliation Day

Whole Grain Sampling Day

*World Autism Day