Countdown: Â There are 55 days until the start of the 2014 Legislature, 203 days until Utah’s 2014 primary elections, 336 days until the 2014 midterm elections and 763 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses.
John Swallow, we hardly knew ye!
- On his last day in office, Attorney General John Swallow says there’s no way he can convince Utahns he’s innocent [Deseret News].
- Candidates are starting to file to be one of the three names sent to the governor as replacements for Swallow at the December 14th Republican State Central Committee meeting [Utah Policy, Deseret News].
- One of those candidates, Brent Ward, has some troubling ties to the John Swallow scandal that are raising questions about whether he would be the best choice as a replacement [Tribune].
- The House committee tasked with investigating Swallow will meet this weekend to decide how to wrap up their probe now that Swallow has left office [Daily Herald].
- Meanwhile, two lawmakers who have been among the biggest critics of the Swallow investigation say the committee should stop spending money on the effort following Swallow’s investigation [Standard-Examiner].
In news not involving John Swallow:
- Cache County’s economy is close to full employment with a 3.7% unemployment rate [Logan Herald Journal].
- Salt Lake City names Liz Buehler as the coordinator of homeless services [Deseret News].
- Critics of a proposed gun range near the Weber River say the facility poses a risk of lead contamination [Standard-Examiner].
- Utah agents help bust hundreds of counterfeit websites aiming to rip off consumers on “cyber Monday” [Tribune].
- Garbage collection fees may soon be on the rise for some Salt Lake Valley residents [Tribune].
