Rolly - The Salt Lake Tribune

Paul Rolly: Dick Cheney and me, what a pair

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:45:02 MDT

Paul Rolly: Dick Cheney and me, what a pair

by Paul Rolly Tribune Columnist

Published May 19, 2013 04:45PM MDT

I met former Vice President Dick Cheney when he was a Wyoming congressman in the 1980s and I was an officer for the Utah Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. We were on a panel at an SPJ conference in Denver. The discussion centered on the government’s need for secrecy versus the public’s right to know. While there were four people on the panel, including a couple of academics, the discussion quickly devolved into a debate between Cheney and me because we were the most passionate...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Paul Rolly: Snakes trigger venom in Cottonwood Heights

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:07:40 MDT

Paul Rolly: Snakes trigger venom in Cottonwood Heights

by Paul Rolly tribune Columnist

Published May 17, 2013 10:07AM MDT

Residents in the Hollow Ridge neighborhood of Cottonwood Heights are joking they have been inundated with two kinds of pests recently. First, they learned one of their neighbors keeps 29 boa constrictors in his house, then, when word got out, their block was swarming with television news crews. Even USA Today has weighed in on the controversy. The neighbors also joke their Hollow Ridge area should be renamed Boa Ridge in honor of the newly discovered residents. Once neighbors complained, city o...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Paul Rolly: FreedomWorks, from hero to boogeyman?

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:54:08 MDT

Paul Rolly: FreedomWorks, from hero to boogeyman?

by Paul Rolly Tribune Columnist

Published May 14, 2013 07:54PM MDT

Just three years ago, the deep-pocketed political action committee FreedomWorks was claiming king-of-the-hill status with intraparty victories over Republican incumbents it deemed untrue to conservative principles. Among FreedomWorks’ claimed prey was former Utah U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, an 18-year veteran in the Senate who lost at the state GOP convention in 2010. He eventually was replaced by tea party favorite Mike Lee. FreedomWorks then set its sights on the other Utah Senate incumbent, Orri...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Paul Rolly: Tea party vs. establishment in GOP chairman race

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:43:36 MDT

Paul Rolly: Tea party vs. establishment in GOP chairman race

by Paul Rolly Tribune Columnist

Published May 13, 2013 10:43AM MDT

The race for state Republican chairman is shaping up to be a duel between establishment Republicans and tea party activists, with the specter of the right-wing political action committee FreedomWorks hanging over this week’s GOP convention like a thunder cloud. It’s a three-person race, but it seems to be down to two candidates — former Salt Lake County Republican Chairman James Evans and Wasatch County GOP boss Aaron Gabrielson. The third candidate, Hispanic Republican Assembly Chairman Marco ...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Rolly: Utah alcohol agency’s worst nightmare? Publicity

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:08:57 MDT

Rolly: Utah alcohol agency’s worst nightmare? Publicity

by Paul Rolly tribune Columnist

Published May 10, 2013 12:08PM MDT

The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is charged with administering and enforcing the state’s interesting set of liquor laws and, as such, has identified for its managers the agency’s Public Enemy No. 1. It’s news media coverage. With that fear comes the bureaucracy’s worst nightmare. A leak. We were informed of a DABC manager’s meeting Tuesday in which the agency’s spokeswoman Vicki Ashby gave a presentation on “the evils of media manipulation,” according to the source. Ashby highl...

Paul Rolly: Murray mayor’s speeding ticket turns into political circus

Wed, 08 May 2013 07:08:18 MDT

Paul Rolly: Murray mayor’s speeding ticket turns into political circus

by Paul Rolly Tribune Columnist

Published May 8, 2013 07:08AM MDT

Murray Mayor Dan Snarr’s speeding ticket dispute with Salt Lake City is attracting more interest among politicians than the recent Salt Lake County and Utah County Republican conventions. Snarr, you may recall, got a ticket while returning from a legislative committee meeting in February for speeding in a school zone. He entered a left-turn lane on State Street to go onto Harvard Avenue, but noticed at the last minute it was a one-way street, so he sped up to get back into the through lanes. He...

Rolly: My new favorite legislator is Brian Greene

Mon, 06 May 2013 09:39:31 MDT

Rolly: My new favorite legislator is Brian Greene

by Paul Rolly tribune Columnist

Published May 6, 2013 09:39AM MDT

Every year a few legislators become my favorites for the column fodder they provide. This year is no exception. Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, has established himself as one of the most strident gun-rights lawmakers, using some interesting logic. Greene may even supplant the Patrick Henry Caucus members, most of whom are gone from the Legislature, who entertained us for a while. He commented in a Salt Lake Tribune story April 27 that it took a private citizen in the Boston area to discove...