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Romney's opponents seize on his wealth. Abstinence-only bill proposed. Sandstrom's immigration bill blocked.
Happy Thursday. Mitt Romney's opponents want to paint him as a rich incarnate: that he is the cartoon version of the problem America faces in that it's the wealth vs. the rest of us -- and Romney has, in many ways, helped make it easier to label him that way. Politico's Maggie Haberman explores what may be Romney's biggest weakness -- or at least what Democrats and rivals want you to think -- that he's not relatable to the rest of Americans. [Politico]
Topping the news: One lawmaker is pushing bill that would outlaw teaching teens about contraception, making schools choose between teaching abstinence-only or skipping sex ed entirely. [Trib] [ABC4]
-> The House blocks Rep. Stephen Sandstrom's immigration measure with employer sanctions from even opening a bill file. [Trib] [DNews] [UtahPolicy]
Tweets of the day: From @taylordmorgan: "Lobbyist files report late, assessed $50 fine. Pays it in pennies. Glad we have an intern." [Instagram]
From @rosssiler: "Very cool that Salt Lake City is exploring bid for 2022 or 2026 Winter Olympics, but they'll have to step up their bribery game."
In other news: Amid 10-year anniversary celebrations of the 2002 Winter Olympics, Utah leaders get serious about exploring a bid for Salt Lake to host the 2022 games. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13] [ABC4]
-> Sen. Orrin Hatch vows to make saving Hill Air Force base from potential Defense Department cuts his top priority. [StandEx]
-> Utah's federal delegation fights back at the Obama administration for its plan to drastically reduce available land for oil shale and tar sand mining. [Trib] [APviaABC4]
-> Meanwhile, SUWA's Steve Bloch says that oil and gas exploration is at a high right now and warns not to believe Republican rants about the Obama administration's restrictions. [Trib]
-> UTA's FrontRunner will be up and running in Provo by December after Utah County cleared $52 million in sales tax revenue bonds for UTA. [Trib]
-> Judging from her tenure as mayor of Saratoga Springs, is Mia Love fiscally frugal or a big spender? [Trib]
-> Utah Policy's Bryan Schott looks at recent trends in presidential elections to show that Utah's Democrats could be in trouble if Mitt Romney leads the ticket come November. [UtahPolicy]
-> Rep. Rob Bishop's earmarks to Weber State University are being called into question now that his son is a lobbyist for the school. [Trib]
2012 watch: A Romney-supporting Super PAC releases new data that identifies the donors of a mysterious big sum. [Globe]
-> Four years ago, Romney ended his campaign at the Conservative Political Action Committee meeting in Washington but don't expect tears this time around. [Politico]
-> Newt Gingrich lands on top in Oklahoma according to a poll released Wednesday. [CNN]
-> The New York Times digs into Ron Paul's early life, providing deeper insight into the congressman's distinctive worldview. [NYTimes]
-> Romney brings his battle to Gingrich's turf in Atlanta just one day after he suffered defeats against underdog Rick Santorum. [WaPost]
-> Santorum says he is the candidate with momentum, and his fundraising dollars surge after his three-state caucus sweep. [CNN] [LATimes]
-> Gingrich doesn't say a word about his recent losses at a speech in Ohio, focusing instead on his next step in the south. [WaPost]
-> Jon Huntsman and Donald Trump continue their dislike for each other, with the two trading allegations about who didn't want to meet with whom. [TheHill]
-> The Huffington Post offers, for educational purposes, the Five Things You Should Know About Mormons. Don't worry, it's nice. [HuffPost]
Heard on the Hill: "I have no desire to participate in a public meeting with several of my colleagues in their pajamas." - Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, on a bill to allow online meetings.
The Session: The push to define "personhood" in Utah was dropped when the bill's proponent said it would be too much of a distraction from other education-reform bills on the docket. [Trib]
-> Lawmakers move forward with a plan to revamp several of Utah's environmental boards despite objections from advocates worried it will favor the industry rather than the public. [Trib]
-> Earning tenure at Utah universities will continue to stick for at least another year after a ban that would have ended the system was killed by a House committee. [Trib] [DNews] [Herald]
-> A bill to support teachers and evaluate their performance was passed by the House in a move that would help districts create peer-mentoring programs for new or struggling instructors. [Trib]
-> A bill that will set aside two days in August to honor "fallen heroes" in the military or law enforcement cleared both houses and is now on its way to the governor for signing. [Trib]
-> A push for a building code upgrade to save energy in Utah homes gets stuck in a legislative committee for the second straight year. [Trib]
-> Last year it was feral cats, this year: Coyotes. [UtahPolicy]
-> Rep. Stephen Sandstrom gets national recognition from his party as he's backed by the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program. [Trib]
-> Lawmakers advance a bill that would allow Utah cancer docs to dispense drugs so long as they properly report it and don't keep any pennies for themselves. [Trib]
-> The senate passes a bill that would cut Utah class sizes, capping them at 20 students for kindergartners and at 22 for students in first, second and third grades. [Trib] [Herald] [DNews]
-> A proposal to build a $1 million tunnel under 9000 South in West Jordan to eliminate "one of the last bottlenecks" along a trail got backing from a Senate committee. [DNews]
-> Legislators pose concerns about UTA's ability to continue walking a financial tightrope, worried that a future taxpayer bailout is in store. [Trib]
Where are they?
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-- Thomas Burr and Laura Schmitz
Twitter.com/thomaswburr
