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What You Need to Know About Utah Politics Today - January 6, 2014

Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - 8:15am

 

What You Need to Know About Utah Politics Today - January 6, 2014
Same-sex marriage opponents call for Utah to ignore the ruling striking down Amendment 3. Utah lawmakers join other states in calling for a Constitutional Convention.

Countdown:

  • 21 days until the start of the 2014 Legislature
  • 169 days until Utah's 2014 primary elections
  • 302 days to the 2014 midterm elections
  • 665 days to the 2015 elections
  • 729 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
  • 1036 days to the 2016 presidential election

Today's Utah News highlights:

  • The plaintifs in the Amendment 3 case say granting Utah a stay to stop same-sex marriage would harm same-sex couples [Tribune].
  • Rep. Merrill Nelson says the ruling allowing same-sex marriage in Utah will eventually be overturned [Deseret News].
  • Opponents of same-sex marriage say the Legislature and Gov. Gary Herbert should ignore the ruling striking down Amendment 3 [Deseret News].
  • Weber State University begins offering benefits to same-sex couples [Standard-Examiner].
  • State officials don't expect Utah to become a destination for same-sex couples seeking to get married [Tribune].
  • Mark Shurtleff and Jason Powers deny allegations made against them in recently unsealed warrants [KUTV].
  • Sen. Todd Weiler talks more about his proposal to make the Attorney General's office appointed rather than elected [KUTV].
  • Senate President Wayne Niderhauser and Rep. Ken Ivory plan to push for Utah to join other states in calling for a Constitutional Convention [Standard-Examiner].
  • Rep. Gage Froerer is proposing a constitutional change to allow for recall elections for statewide officials, but not members of the Legislature [KUTV].
  • A Utah law allowing prosecutors to get phone and internet records in suspected child-pornography cases without the approval of a judge is not being implemented in the way it was intended [Tribune].
  • A number of newly-elected officials are set to take office this week across Utah [Tribune].
  • New blood on the Layton City Council may lead to a stalemate on a number of development projects [Standard-Examiner].
  • Utah's 2014 elections aren't expected to feature a lot of drama [Deseret News].
  • Environmental advocates say a permit granted to Kennecott Utah Copper for a rock crushing facility should be revoked because the impacts the business would have on the environment haven't been fully examined [Tribune].
  • Some clean air advocates say school-age children should stay inside even on moderate pollution days [Standard-Examiner].
  • State officials say Utah's air quality, while bad, is not as horrible as it was 20 years ago [Deseret News].
  • Salt Lake County Councilman Charlie Luke wants the state to ban the use of fireworks on "red" air quality days [Fox 13].
  • The Ogden City Council may abandon an informal straw poll they've been using to select leadership positions on the council because it might violate Utah's open meetings laws [Standard-Examiner].
  • Utah's economy looks to be in good shape heading into 2014 [Tribune].
  • The number of suicides among inmates in Utah jails is on the rise [Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • George Washington married Martha Custis in 1759.
  • New Mexico became the 47th state in 1912.
  • Former president Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919.
  • Year-round daylight saving time began in the U.S. on a trial basis in response to the OPEC oil embargo in 1974.
  • The U.S. Senate voted 88-4 to hold public hearings into the Iran-Contra affair in 1987.
  • Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the leg by to men including the husband of her rival Tonya Harding in 1994