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How to Sound Smart About Utah Politics – July 1, 2014

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Local leaders and religious groups hail the Supreme Court ruling in the Hobby Lobby case. The Utah AG’s office misses a court deadline.

 

Countdown:

  • 126 days until the 2014 midterm elections
  • 209 days to the opening day of the 2015 legislature
  • 490 days until the 2015 elections
  • 566 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucuses (tentative)
  • 861 days until the 2016 presidential election

Tuesday’s top news stories:

  • Sen. Orrin Hatch hails Monday’s Supreme Court ruling that companies do not have to provide contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act [Tribune]. Utah religious organizations cheer the same ruling [Tribune]. 
  • Good grief! The Utah AG’s office misses a deadline in a court case over whether the state should have to recognize the same-sex marriages performed in Utah [Tribune].
  • Local leaders react to President Obama’s announcement he plans to use executive authority to address aspects of immigration policy [Deseret News].
  • Utah lawmakers join a national effort to call for a Constitutional Convention [Utah Policy].
  • The U.S. Department of Education dismisses a complaint by Salt Lake School Board member Michael Clara over alleged discriminatory hiring practices [Deseret News].
  • Real Salt Lake GM Garth Lagerwey talks about how the team’s fan base is reflective of the demographic changes in Utah [Utah Policy].
  • Robert McDonald, President Obama’s nominee to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, has ties to the University of Utah [Tribune].
  • Only six of the 11 UTOPIA cities are moving forward with a proposal from an Australian firm to operate the troubled UTOPIA fiber optic network [Tribune, Deseret News].
  • According to Census numbers, an overwhelming number of residents in Piute County live in poverty [Tribune].
  • The CEO of the Salt Lake Tribune says the company has no intention of ceasing publication [Deseret News].

Today in history:

  • 1863 – The Battle of Gettysburg began.
  • 1966 – The Medicare federal program went into effect.
  • 1987 – President Ronald Reagan nominated federal appeals court judge Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court. Bork was later rejected by the Senate.
  • 2000 – Vermont’s civil unions law went into effect.

Tuesday’s World Cup schedule:

  • Argentina vs. Switzerland (10:00 am, ESPN)
  • Belgium vs. United States (2:00 pm, ESPN)