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Ten Things You Need to Know for Wednesday – June 24, 2015

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Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. 

What's at stake for Utah when the Supreme Court rules on Obamacare subsidies? An audit says the AG's office needs more transparency. Some advice for the frontrunners in the Salt Lake City mayoral contest.

Countdown:

  • Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 48
  • Days to the 2015 election – 132
  • Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 209
  • Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 216
  • Days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – 217
  • Days to the 2016 Utah primary election – 371
  • Days until the 2016 presidential election – 504

Wednesday's top-10 headlines:

  1. The race for the White House: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will announce his 2016 plans on Wednesday [Washington Post]. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will make his 2016 bid for the White House official next week [Politico].
  2. The Supreme Court will rule on whether federal subsidies to pay for health insurance are constitutional either this week or next. Here's what's at stake for Utah [Utah Policy].
  3. Some veteran Utah political consultants give their thoughts on where the Salt Lake City Mayoral race stands right now [Utah Policy].
  4. A legislative audit says the Utah Attorney General's office lacks in accountability and transparency [Deseret News, Tribune, KUER].
  5. Utah State University finally reveals the details of the $6.3 million contract with Maverik for naming rights to their football stadium [Tribune, Deseret News, Fox 13, KUER].
  6. The Utah Attorney General's office says Sen. Jim Dabakis went too far with a Facebook post claiming the office is readying to invalidate Utah's same-sex marriages if the Supreme Court rules state bans on such unions are Constitutional [Fox 13].
  7. Sen. Orrin Hatch wins praise for advancing his trade legislation in Washington. The bill faces one final vote before heading to President Obama's desk [Utah Policy, Tribune].
  8. DABC leaders say they need more money to run adequately state liquor stores [Deseret News, Fox 13].
  9. Rep. Kraig Powell plans to sponsor legislation to raise the legal smoking age to 21 in Utah [KSL].
  10. The Salt Lake City airport plans to raise parking rates for travelers [ABC 4].

On this day in history:

  • 1948 – Soviet forces blockaded the western zones of Berlin, setting the stage for the Berlin airlift.
  • 2004 – Federal investigators questioned President George W. Bush for more than an hour in connection with the news leak of a CIA operative's name.
  • 2009 – South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. He stayed on as governor and was later elected to Congress.
  • 2011 – New York state legislators approved same-sex marriage.