Are Utah lawmakers passing too many bills in the final days of the legislature? Legislators approved spending another $500,000 on a controversial effort to de-list wolves. Utah's water picture gets grimmer.
Countdown:
- Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 145
- Days to the 2015 election – 229
- Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 305
- Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 312
- Days to the 2016 Utah presidential primary – 467
- Days until the 2016 presidential election – 600
Thursday's top-10 headlines:
- Lawmakers passed more than half of the bills they considered during the final week of the 2015 session raising questions that they're doing too much at the end of the session [Tribune].
- Legislators approved spending another $500,000 on efforts to de-list wolves as an endangered species [Tribune].
- Grantsville city officials approve changes in their zoning laws in an effort to block a potential move of the state prison to their community [Deseret News].
- Utah water experts say the past winter featured some of the driest conditions on record raising the spectre of continued drought this summer [Deseret News].
- A new study gives Utah a "B" grade for financial transparency, ranking the state #22 out of 50 [Tribune].
- New Jersey approves direct car sales paving the way for Tesla to open dealerships in that state. Utah lawmakers voted against a similar move during the just-finished legislative session [Washington Post].
- The NCAA basketball tournament starts today. Studies say the event will cost businesses nearly $2 billion in lost worker productivity [Wall Street Journal].
- A Gallup survey finds Utah workers are among the least engaged in their work, putting the state in the bottom 10 in the study [Tribune].
- Target will raise employee wages above the federal minimum to $9 an hour [MSNBC].
- President Obama will sign an executive order Thursday to cut greenhouse gas emissions by the federal government [New York Times].
On this day in history:
- 1918 – Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which established standard time zones.
- 1931 – The Nevada Legislature voted to legalize gambling.
- 1987 – Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as head of the PTL Club, saying he was blackmailed after a sexual encounter with a former church secretary.
- 2003 – An American-led coalition went to war against Iraq. The conflict began with the launch of U.S. cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs.
