Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Here are today's news highlights.
Is the prison headed to Salt Lake City? John Swallow moves one step closer to a trial date in July. Governor Herbert issues an executive order to reduce water use at state facilities.
Countdown:
- Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 68
- Days to the 2015 election – 152
- Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 229
- Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 236
- Days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – 237
- Days to the 2016 Utah primary election – 391
- Days until the 2016 presidential election – 524
Thursday's top-10 headlines:
- Rep. Jacob Anderegg says there are enough votes in the legislature to relocate the prison to Salt Lake City [Deseret News]. The head of the Prison Relocation Commission says that's not true [Utah Policy, Tribune].
- Former Attorney General John Swallow waives a preliminary hearing and is expected to plead not guilty to multiple charges when his trial begins July 20 [Tribune, Deseret News, Fox 13].
- Gov. Gary Herbert issues an executive order to reduce water use at state facilities [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune, ABC 4].
- Rep. Jason Chaffetz blasts the Obama administration for a lack of transparency because the number of Freedom of Information requests have doubled since he took office in 2009 [Utah Policy, Associated Press].
- Sen. Mike Lee says he will sponsor religious freedom legislation if the Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage this summer [Utah Policy, Deseret News].
- Contact lens makers ask a federal court to block a Utah law prohibiting price-fixing in that industry [Associated Press].
- Salt Lake City Mayoral candidates appear at a public forum to make their case to voters [Tribune].
- A federal court rules in favor of the EPA in a case involving pollution in the Uintah Basin [Deseret News].
- State regulators approve an air quality plan to reduce haze at the five national parks in the state but place no new restrictions on coal-fired power plants [Tribune].
- A billboard proclaiming "God loves gays" has popped up along I-15 in Utah County [Tribune, 2 News].
On this day in history:
- 1896 – Henry Ford wheeled his first car from a shed in Detroit and drove it around darkened streets on a trial run.
- 1912 – Massachusetts became the first state to adopt a minimum wage law.
- 1919 – Congress approved the 19th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing citizens the right to vote regardless of their gender, and sent it to the states for ratification.
- 1985 – The U.S. Supreme Court struck down an Alabama minute-of-silence law as fostering classroom prayer.
- 1989 – In what became known as the Tiananmen Square massacre, hundreds of student-led pro-democracy demonstrators were reported killed and thousands wounded as Chinese troops removed them from the square in Beijing.
