This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Romney: "I'm also unemployed." Huntsman sick, skips GOP confab. Poll: Utahns back guest-worker law.
Happy Friday. It's going to be a busy seven days starting tomorrow, so enjoy your Friday. Republicans will gather Saturday for their state convention and weigh a resolution calling for the repeal of HB116, the state's guest-worker immigration law. On Tuesday, former Utah Guv Jon Huntsman Jr. makes his presidential bid official. And a week from today, Huntsman and Mitt Romney will be in the state for multiple events.
Topping the news: A new poll by the DNews/KSL shows 61 percent of Utahns support the guest-worker law that requires a background check. [DNews]
-> Rep. Jason Chaffetz accuses Sen. Orrin Hatch of sabotaging Chaffetz's fund-raising effort — something Hatch's people flatly deny. [Trib]
-> SL County leaders are pushing consolidation of police forces to save costs. [ABC4]
-> The effort to reform Utah's open-records law may be running out of gas as GOP lawmakers lost interest in a renewed public relations battle. [UtahPolicy]
2012 watch: David Letterman's segment on Getting to know Jon Huntsman: "There's no reason to get to know Jon Huntsman." [LateShow]
-> Huntsman debuts a new campaign logo and offers donors the ability to hitch a ride on his announcement plane on Tuesday. [Trib]
-> Huntsman bows out of speaking at the Republican Leadership Conference because of a bad cold but his campaign-to-be says it won't affect his launch Tuesday. [ABCNews]
-> Mitt Romney to Floridians: "I'm also unemployed." [NYTimes]
-> Romney continues his hit on Obama "bump in the road" comments with a new video. [MittRomney.com]
-> National Review's Jim Geraghty asks if Huntsman is too nice to be elected president. [NRO]
-> The Christian Science Monitor, meanwhile, asks if Huntsman — who is little known and starting late — can actually carve out a path to win. [CSMonitor]
-> The heads of two gay Republican groups attended Huntsman's D.C. fund-raiser this week. [Politico]
-> Fox13's Max Roth says Huntsman is gaining some buzz but it's not all positive. [Fox13]
Tweet of the day: From @EveCall (Hatch campaign spokeswoman Eve Call): "@DickArmey wouldn't receive an endorsement from @FreedomWorks since he voted to raise the debt ceiling multiple times. #dickfacts."
Happy birthday: Today to BYU's Kelly Patterson and on Saturday to veteran Utah pollster Dan Jones, Tiffany Gunnerson and BYU's Joel Campbell. And on Sunday send birthday wishes to Ryan Frandsen.
Where are they?
Sen. Hatch has no public events today.
Sen. Mike Lee appears on Fox and Friends this morning and on Saturday heads to the State GOP Convention.
Neither Rep. Jim Matheson or Rob Bishop have any public events.
Rep. Chaffetz does a photo shoot with the SL City Weekly ("I am keeping my shirt on!" he jokes), attends a GenX luncheon and an evening Republican barbecue event.
Gov. Gary Herbert meets with Dan McConkie and Jeff Packer and then sits down with his communications team.
AG Mark Shurtleff attends the TARS convention at the Capitol and later lunches with former state Sen. Carlene Walker.
SL Co. Mayor Peter Corroon is in Berkeley, Calif., for the National Association of Counties.
SLC Mayor Ralph Becker is in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting.
WVC Mayor Mike Winder also attends the GenX luncheon at Lamb's Grill.
President Barack Obama heads to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to chat with wounded soldiers and later meets with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and then greets young elected leaders from across the United States.
In other news: Conservative radio host Mark Levin goes after FreedomWorks for its campaign against Hatch. [DailyCaller]
-> Utah's new jobless claims ticked up slightly while the nation's sees a minute drop. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley offers his own redistricting map and names the regions of Utah in Bagley style. [Trib]
-> The Utah Corrections Department taps the Glendale community, on Salt Lake City's west side, as the site for a new 300-bed parole center. Controversy is sure to follow. [Trib]
-> Convicted monkeywrencher Tim DeChristopher's sentencing is delayed but the protests will go on. [Trib]-> A sympathetic veteran has paid Leah Carson's $440 fine for her role in using protected state records to compile a list of more than 1,200 suspected undocumented that was then widely distributed to police and media organizations. [Trib]-> Paul Rolly chronicles the escalating feud over immigration between Utah County Republicans Jeremy Roberts, the county GOP secretary, and Brandon Beckham, candidate for the state party's vice chairmanship. [Trib]-> The Utah Supreme Court refuses to wade into the legal quagmire of the United Plan Effort — the trust of a polygamous sect in southern Utah. [Trib]
-> Want to weigh in on the debate over repealing HB116, Utah's guest-worker law? icount has an interesting discussion started. [icount]-> The federal case pitting EnergySolutions against Utah and a regional waste compact is officially closed months after the nuclear services company — who had been represented by now-Sen. Mike Lee — lost its appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. [Trib]
-> Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott take on Utah's redistricting process, the resignation of Rep. Jackie Biskupski and whether Utah will ever legalize medical marijuana. [UtahPolicy]
-> Bernick says Hatch's re-election battle begins Saturday at the state GOP convention. [UtahPolicy]-> EnergySolutions submits its study — a thick, highly technical look — at the future of depleted uranium disposal in Utah. [Trib]-> New federal regs are announced for Indian reservations but experts say any impact on Utah air quality is years away. [Trib]-> Utah health care providers say the state is on the brink of being able to quickly and safely share medical records to help patients changing doctors, seeing a specialist or needing emergency care. [Trib]-> The teachers' union representing Canyon School District educators has declared an impasse in contract negotiations with the district. The next step? Mediation. [Trib]-> The Jordan River Commission backs Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon's proposal for a $110 million bond for parks and trails - or at least it supports most of the plan. [Trib]-> The long-stalled Cottonwood Mall projects gets new life. [Trib]-> University of Utah mathematician Christopher Hacon wins a prestigious Italian science award. [Trib]-> Initial tests on a suspicious powder found at Ogden's federal building indicate it is harmless. [Trib]
Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com.
— Thomas BurrTwitter.com/thomaswburrwith editor Dan Harrie