How to Sound Smart About Utah Politics – March 26, 2014

How the cost of the Swallow investigation ballooned to more than $4 million. Love named to next level of GOP’s “Young Guns” program. Utah preparing for a population explosion.

 

Countdown:

  • 30 days until the Utah State Republican and Democratic conventions
  • 90 days until Utah’s 2014 primary elections
  • 223 days to the 2014 midterm elections
  • 306 days to the start of the 2015 Utah Legislature
  • 586 days to the 2015 elections
  • 651 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
  • 957 days to the 2016 presidential election

Today’s Utah political news highlights:

  • How did the cost for the House investigation into John Swallow move north of $4 million? Here’s an explanation [Tribune].
  • Mia Love named to the second-tier of the GOP’s “Young Guns” program [Utah Policy].
  • Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says she won’t oppose legislation allowing the federal government to reimburse states like Utah that paid to re-open national parks during last year’s shutdown [Deseret News].
  • Utah families are hailing the passage of a new law allowing the use of cannabis extract to treat seizures [Tribune].
  • Envision Utah wants ideas from residents on how to prepare for Utah’s population doubling in the next 35 years [Deseret News, Tribune].
  • Rep. Rob Bishop’s bill to restrict the creation of more national monuments is expected to come up for a vote in the House on Wednesday [Tribune].
  • Utah State University’s enrollment dropped, but not as much as expected, after the LDS Church lowered the age requirements for missionaries [Standard-Examiner].
  • A new study says Utah is tops in the nation for number of residents who are struggling to pay for healthcare [Tribune].
  • Another study finds most Utahns struggle to earn enough money to pay rent [ABC 4].
  • Sugar House residents push back against a proposed zoning change to allow taller buildings along the streetcar line [Tribune].
  • Congratulations to Utahn’s Against Hunger’s Gina Cornia who has earned national recognition for her leadership of that group [Deseret News].

On this day in history:

  • 1827 – Composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna, Austria at the age of 56.
  • 1874 – Poet Robert Frost was born in San Francisco.
  • 1892 – Poet Walt Whitman died at the age of 72.
  • 1911 – Playwright Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Miss.
  • 1945 – The battle of Iwo Jima ended.
  • 1979 – The Camp David peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
  • 1982 – Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial took place in Washington, D.C.
  • 1999 – Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder for giving a lethal injection to a am whose death was shown on “60 Minutes.”
  • 2000 – Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia.
  • 2003 – Former Sen. Daniel Moynihan died at the age of 76.
  • 2011 – Former Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro died at the age of 75.