This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If you have followed the GOP presidential debates this year, you might find it understandable that Republicans looking for romance might not want to disclose their party affiliation on a first date.
The online dating site WhatsYourPrice.com surveyed members to find how politics can affect going out. The site asked members to identify their political affiliation. Those who identified as Republican or Democrat were then asked if they have ever/would lie about their party loyalties.
Among more than 70,000 respondents, a majority (82 percent) of those who identified as Democrats said they have never or would not lie about their political preference. Republicans however, are more apt to lie about their stance, with 57 percent stating they would hide their beliefs to a potential love interest.
"It's one thing to privately show one's support when voting, but when it comes down to impressing a date, Republican singles aren't standing with their party," said Brandon Wade, founder and CEO of WhatsYourPrice.com. "The conservative stance on many social issues, such as gay rights and contraception, are quite controversial, so it's no surprise many singles would be tight-lipped about their affiliation, especially early on in a relationship."
In Utah, of course, just the opposite might be true.
Googling Trolley • When big corporations opt to locate a major operation in a particular place, they usually keep the decision secret until they are able to announce it in a news conference or news release, touting all the positives and getting as much publicity as possible.
That was the plan for Google Fiber, which reportedly has chosen Trolley Square mall for one of its new Salt Lake City locations.
Mall managers had sought to keep the news under wraps until an official announcement by the Menlo Park, Calif., company planned for later this month. Google Fiber is in the midst of building its fiber-optic network across the city in advance of offering high-speed service to homes and businesses.
But word on its Trolley locale is out now, after the Salt Lake City Planning Commission's public hearing last week on a proposed apartment and retail complex south of the historic shopping center.
In touting that project's economic benefits, Scott Howell, a former state senator who works for a developer, let slip Google's plans as he testified to a packed room of residents and city planners.
Can't be too careful • When Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, filed to run for re-election, he wanted to ensure everyone knew he was a Republican and that his party ties would appear on the ballot.
With all the confusion about how candidates will qualify for the ballot this year and court decisions still pending on whether the signature-seeking path still will be valid or if candidates will have to go through the convention delegate process to qualify, Weiler wanted to remove all doubt.
So he wrote his name on the filing form as Todd Weiler (Republican), as though that was part of his name.
Well, that sparked controversy.
How dare he use Republican in his name, some GOP foes in Davis County protested. They're Republicans too, after all.
Weiler has at least one Republican opponent this year named Heather Gardner.
So to avoid the controversy, Weiler removed Republican from his name on the filing.
You see, in a county where the GOP has tried to excommunicate members for signing the Count My Vote petition that would open up the nominating process to a greater voter pool, declaring yourself a Republican without going through the blood-oath ceremony is blasphemy to some.
Diversity in the Senate • At one moment during the recently ended Utah legislative session, Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, commented on a bill that would legalize a form of medical marijuana. He had seen dispensaries in other states that were dingy and dirty.
If it was to be done in Utah, he said, it should be dispensed in a setting similar to a clinic, with those administering the drug wearing white lab coats.
At that point, Sen. Alvin Jackson, R-Highland, the only African-American in the Senate, stood up and said, "What's wrong with black lab coats?"