Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 332 days left in 2016.
Obama plans to visit a mosque for the first time as president. Utah GOP Delegates support Cruz and Rubio for president. Utah GOP lawmakers hear pitches about medical marijuana legislation.
The clock:
- Six days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – (2/9/2016)
- 17 days to the Nevada Democratic Caucuses and South Carolina Republican Primary (2/20/2016)
- 20 days to the Nevada Republican Caucuses (2/23/2016)
- 24 days to the South Carolina Democratic Primary (2/27/2016)
- 39 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 51 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
- 83 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
- 149 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 282 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Wednesday’s top-10 headlines:
- President Barack Obama will make the first visit of his presidency to a U.S. mosque on Wednesday [Washington Post, New York Times].
- Jeb Bush‘s campaign takes out a full-page ad in New Hampshire trashing Marco Rubio [Politico].
- Utah GOP Delegates favor Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio for president. Donald Trump is far behind those two in third place [Utah Policy].
- A comparison of two recent surveys finds Utah Republican Delegates are much more conservative than Utah Republicans as a whole [Utah Policy].
- The number of lobbyists outnumbers lawmakers on the Hill by a stunning 4-1 margin [Tribune].
- Sen. Jim Dabakis is tweaking his proposed constitutional amendment to boost funding for public education with a way to protect higher education [Utah Policy].
- A bill to eliminate straight-ticket voting dies in a House committee [Deseret News, Tribune, Fox 13].
- House Republican Caucus members discussed medical marijuana legislation but declined to take an official position on the issue [Deseret News].
- UDOT officials warn lawmakers that highway projects will suffer if a plan to divert funding to the Lake Powell Pipeline is approved [Tribune].
- Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams delivers his State of the County address, touting technological advances for a more responsive and open government [Tribune, Deseret News, KUER].
On this day in history:
- 1690 – Massachusetts Colony issued the first paper money in America.
- 1783 – Spain recognized the independence of the United States from Great Britain.
- 1870 – The 15th Amendment was ratified. It decreed the right to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.
- 1813 – The 16th Amendment, allowing the establishment of an income tax, was ratified following a vote by Wyoming.
- 1973 – The Endangered Species Act was signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
