About Utah Politics - March 28, 2014

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Friday, March 28, 2014 - 8:30am

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

How to Sound Smart About Utah Politics - March 28, 2014

Herbert wants to wrap up Medicaid expansion by the summer. Democrats nearly recruited a top LDS Church official to run for office. An audit says the Utah State Fair gets too much money from the state.

Countdown:

28 days until the Utah State Republican and Democratic conventions
88 days until Utah's 2014 primary elections
221 days to the 2014 midterm elections
304 days to the start of the 2015 Utah Legislature
584 days to the 2015 elections
649 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
955 days to the 2016 presidential election

Today's Utah political news highlights:

Gov. Gary Herbert says he hopes to wrap up Medicaid expansion by this summer [Deseret News, Tribune].
Sen. Jim Dabakis says Utah's Democrats came close to recruiting LDS General Authority Marlin Jensen to run for office in 2012 [Tribune].
State elections officials are still trying to wrap their heads around the compromise between lawmakers and the "Count My Vote" group [Utah Policy].
An audit says the Utah State Fair gets too much state money in relation to the number of people who attend [Tribune].
South Weber Councilman William Poff is charged with embezzling $200,000 from an elderly assisted living center [Standard-Examiner, Deseret News, Tribune].
Utah's lawyers are engaging in mock arguments to prepare for their defense of Amendment 3 [KSL].
Utah County Republicans say they are seeing more interest from delegates at meet the candidates events [Daily Herald].
Republican Salt Lake County Council candidate Aimee Winder Newton is working to attract Democratic supporters [Utah Policy].
Utah's autism rate is not increasing, but it's still above the national average [Deseret News, Tribune].
Enrollment at Utah colleges continues to drop following the LDS Church's decision to lower the age requirements for missionaries [Tribune].
Ann Romney will be the commencement speaker at Southern Utah University [Deseret News].
A new healthcare clinic serving needy Utahns opens in Midvale [Tribune, Deseret News].

On this day in history:

1834 - The U.S. Senate voted to censure President Andrew Jackson for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States.
1854 - Britain and France declared war on Russia during the Crimean War.
1930 - The names of the Turkish cities of Constantinople and Angora were changed to Istanbul and Ankara.
1939 - The Spanish Civil War ended.
1941 - Novelist Virginia Woolf drowned herself near her home in England.
1969 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, died at the age of 78.
1979 - a partial meltdown occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania.
2001 - President George W. Bush rejected the Kyoto Protocol on climate.

Today At Utah Policy

Bob Bernick's Notebook: A Very Complicated Bill
I shouldn't feel too bad, says state elections director Mark Thomas, if I don't fully understand all the ins and outs of SB54, the "grand compromise" bill recently signed into law by Gov. Gary Herbert and passed by the 2014 Legislature that changes Utah's political party can...

Republican SLCO Candidate Reaching Out to Democratic Voters
Republican Salt Lake County Council candidate Aimee Winder Newton is ripping a page out of the Ben McAdams playbook...reaching out to voters from the other party....

Count My Vote Pulled in Cash from Both GOP and Democratic Heavy Hitters
The Count My Vote citizen initiative petition is now officially shut down, following the compromise in political party candidate nomination reached in SB54, passed earlier this month and signed by GOP Gov. Gary Herbert.But Friends of Count My Vote will continue to operate to...

Bryan Schott's Political BS: Political Blunderdome
Utah's Democrats like to blame their small numbers on the Hill on gerrymandering. If that's true, then why aren't they doing anything to reverse the tide ahead of 2020?...

Featured Items

Bernick and Schott and Politics - Episode #182
Jim Dabakis resigns as head of the Utah Democratic Party and Republicans consider suing over the "Count My Vote" compromise.Plus, find out why Bob's new nickname is "The Big Woo Woo"!Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick break down the week in Utah politics....

Weekly Survey: Grading Dabakis' Tenure
Jim Dabakis resigned this week as head of the Utah Democratic Party. What grade would you give his time leading Utah's minority party? Vote now....

Revenge of the Utah Establishment
The Los Angeles Times looks atUtah's new compromise election law, represented as "part of a larger move by the Republican establishment to reassert itself" over the Tea Party....

Mitt Romney: Featured Speaker at A Giant In Our City
Every year, the Salt Lake Chamber recognizes an individual who has had an immeasurable impact on Utah and our communities as A Giant In Our City--one of the most distinguished business recognitions offered in the state of Utah. This year, the Chamber has the pleasure of havi...