Craig Axford, the Democratic National Committee organizing director for Utah, has sent four open-records requests in the past month for copies of checks relating to Utah House Speaker Greg Curtis' alleged double dipping of travel expenses when he was both a state legislator and counsel to then-Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman two years ago.

If you will recall, Curtis received travel reimbursements from the state of Utah because of his legislative position while using a county car.

After those revelations, Curtis wrote a $760 check to the state to settle the debt. Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom later ruled that what Curtis did was not illegal, but he should have paid the reimbursement to the county instead of the state. So Curtis wrote another $760 to the county and later received a check back from the state for $760.

So with the election coming up and Curtis challenged in his Sandy legislative district by Democrat Jay Seegmiller, the Democrats sent a records request for a copy of Curtis' first check to the state Treasurer's Office, which was the wrong place. They sent a request to the state Administrative Services Office. Wrong again. They finally got it right by sending the request to the speaker's office.

Now, they have sent a request for a copy of the check the state wrote back to Curtis.

The suspicion is they plan a blockbuster announcement just before the election that Curtis publicly paid the money back, then demanded it be returned to him after he became speaker. It appears the Democrats might not be aware of Yocom's ruling and Curtis' payment of the $760 to the county.

So, should we tell them, to save them from embarrassing themselves? Or not?

A deal is (not) a deal? The Mountain View Men's Golf Association, a loyal supporter of golf activities at Salt Lake County-owned Mountain View Golf Course in West Jordan, is thinking about pulling out of county recreation facilities.

The more than 200-member association has had tournaments at Mountain View for more than 38 years and sponsors frequent golf days each year. But none of that counts, apparently, to Salt Lake County officials.

The association called in early January to schedule several two-day tournaments, including one for Sept. 9 and 10. About a week before the tournament, the tee times for Sept. 9 were canceled in favor of the Jimmy Soto Golf Benefit Tournament, which guaranteed 144 players for the day. The association, which had made its reservations nine months in advance, had only 80 players scheduled over two days.

Mountain View head professional Todd Meyer reportedly was ordered to renege on the men's club agreement by Salt Lake County golf officials because the Soto tournament, with more players, would bring in more money. But if the association pulls up stakes altogether, who loses in the long run?

prolly

@sltrib.com