- Bettors in the political futures markets are bullish on the prospect of a Mitt Romney run for Senate in 2018 [Utah Policy].
- A staffer for Sen. Orrin Hatch says they expect President Donald Trump to reduce the size of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by 50%. Bears Ears could be shrunk to between 100,000 and 300,000 acres [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Associates of Mitt Romney say he clearly wants to run for U.S. Senate in 2018, but his campaign is in a “holding pattern” until Sen. Orrin Hatch decides on his political future [Deseret News].
- Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke suggests that the Bureau of Land Management could move their headquarters to Salt Lake City [Tribune].
- Some members of the Salt Lake County Council were caught off guard by Mayor Ben McAdams‘s decision to file suit against opioid manufacturers [Deseret News, Tribune].
- The stickers given to voters by Provo mayoral write-in candidate Odell Miner are causing problems for Utah County elections officials [Daily Herald].
- Damage control. Attorney General Sean Reyes pens an op-ed describing his part in a disputed legal opinion about the just completed special election in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District [Deseret News].
- Utah may have given more than $1 million in tax credits for renewable energy to people who did not earn them [Tribune].
- A legislative audit says high turnover of staff at the Utah State Board of Education is harming educational oversight efforts [Deseret News].
- An audit concludes problems at assisted living facilities and child care centers are not always remedied by the state [Tribune].
- Salt Lake City’s Redevelopment Agency is considering a plan to bring nearly 900 affordable housing units to the city [Tribune].
