This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The morning "seminary" meetings Gov. Mike Leavitt held at the Governor's Mansion leading up to his inauguration to a second term in 1997 resulted in perhaps an unintended (or possibly desired?) effect.
It singled out the only statewide elected Democrat at the time as being, well, different.
As inauguration day approached, lobbyist and Republican insider Ron Fox, who Leavitt had appointed to be in charge of the festivities, asked all the state elected officers scheduled to be sworn in to go a "rehearsal" the day before.
Leavitt got a bye, but all the others had to show up, including Lt. Gov. Olene Walker, state Treasurer Ed Alter, state Auditor Austin Johnson and Attorney General Jan Graham - the only Democrat.
As they went through the motions that would be official the next day, Fox produced the largest Bible that Graham had ever seen. Graham inquired about the apparently steroid-enhanced book to be used for the oath of office. Fox explained that it wasn't just any old Bible. It was a "Quadruple." He said it included the Bible, and three LDS scriptures: the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants.
Graham, an Episcopalian, said she was uncomfortable swearing on the LDS Scriptures and preferred a regular Bible. Inauguration staff seemed miffed, but they let her have her Bible.
The next day, at the inauguration, the four Republicans put their hands on a huge book to take their oath. The lone Democrat had her hand on what appeared to be a relatively skimpy Bible, perhaps a symbolic gesture of the party's status in Utah.
The other side of Rocky: Say what you want about Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson - and folks in the more conservative and Republican areas of Salt Lake County have said plenty.
But Anderson's Salt Lake City isn't facing millions of dollars in bond commitments to pay for the fiber-optic network, UTOPIA, while constituents in other cities of the county could be stuck with a huge bill. That's because the city leaders in the communities complaining about the outspoken liberal mayor jumped on board with the high-tech project promising to provide communication services throughout the Wasatch Front, while Anderson resisted.
He was able to keep his city from signing on to ensure money was available for services that some apparently believe are less crucial than television and computer service - like police and fire protection, for example.
An epidemic? Jim Silver, a 66-year-old retiree from Murray, was driving home from shopping at Lowe's recently when he found he could not move his left leg. Fearing a stroke, he pulled over and tried to get out of his car, but had to lift his left leg off the floorboard with his hands to even move it.
When he looked inside his car, he discovered the problem. A huge wad of yellow bubble gum was stuck to the floor mat, which he must have picked up on his shoe while walking in the store parking lot.
It's a good thing he didn't go to a medical emergency center, where he likely would have been charged $1,000 for the bubble gum diagnosis and then had his claim denied by his insurance company.