This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
GOP White House candidates distance selves from Romney. Bennion criticized Gill on same day Gill's office prosecuted Bennion's wife. Zuckerberg roundtable to feature Hatch.
Happy Thursday. Some potential Republican presidential contenders in 2016 are already showing signs that they'll run a completely different campaign than Mitt Romney, even to the point of distancing themselves from Romney's economic points. In visits to early voting states, Sens. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and former Sen. Rick Santorum are reaching out to working-class voters in the belief that Romney didn't pay enough attention to them. [TheHill]
Topping the news: SL Co. GOP Chairman Chad Bennion unleashed his harsh criticism of DA Sim Gill's ruling in the case of the police shooting of Danielle Willard on the same day that Bennion appeared in court to testify in his wife's defense over a child abuse charge filed by Gill's office. [Trib] Also, for those unfamiliar with Bennion, a profile we did back in 2003: [Trib].
-> Some Republicans are pushing to oust Bennion after his controversial remarks. [UtahPolicy]
-> Sen. Orrin Hatch will join an immigration roundtable in Utah today hosted by an advocacy group associated with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The discussion will focus on the economic need for immigration reform. [DNews] [TheHill]
-> Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that the idea of shutting down the federal government would not stop Obamacare because some of the funding is mandatory. [DailyCaller]
Tweet of the day: From @TheOnion: "BREAKING: @nytimes Receives Pulitzer For Coverage Of 'Http/1.1 Service Unavailable' Story."
Happy birthday: to UtahPolicy's Bryan Schott, BYU's Quin Monson and Rep. Jim Matheson's chief of staff, Meg Joseph.
In other news: All seven Latinos running in the SL Co. primaries this week lost their races. Republicans, however, likely received a boost from the SL Co. GOP naming those candidates who are registered Republicans on its website, despite municipal elections being supposedly nonpartisan. [Trib]
-> Although the results won't be finalized for almost two weeks, recounts are unlikely in most municipal primary races. [Trib]
-> Around 800 ballots from Tuesday's primaries have yet to be counted, which means the candidates advancing to the general election in November may still change. [DNews]
-> A proposal for a constitutional amendment to protect religious organizations from performing same-sex marriages could help Utah Republicans on the 2014 ballot. [UtahPolicyd]
-> Pat Bagley offers his take on the U.'s new study about sugar alternatives. [Trib]
-> Joshua Kyler Hogan, an 18-year-old Weber State student who pleaded guilty last year to a failed bomb scheme at Roy High School in January 2012, won 5 percent of the vote in the Roy mayoral primary. Hogan is keen to put the events of last year behind him. [Trib]
-> Although two wildfires either side of the Salt Lake Valley have displaced hundreds of people and scorched thousands of acres, currently the smoke is not causing any problems for air quality as the plumes are going directly up. [Trib]
-> Herriman is looking for an interim mayor to serve until Joshua Mills's replacement is elected in early November. If you fancy the spot, submit a formal application by Aug. 26. [Trib]
-> A new app, currently in beta testing, could help Utahns gauge the impact that the level of smog on any particular day could have on their health. The app, which measures real-time pollution levels, should be ready to download by September. [Trib]
-> The leader of Latinos in Action, a nonprofit program that emphasizes cognitive, social and linguistic skills among Latino teens, believes a similar program could be effective for Native Americans. [Trib]
-> The UTA is looking to extend its ski-bus service in Ogden, which it piloted last year and deemed successful. Weber County, Ogden and ski resorts will continue to subsidize operation costs. [Trib]
-> After five months of debate failed to produce a conclusion, UTA board members are seeking to hire a consultant to help them decide whether they should abolish the agency's police department. [Trib]
-> Testing out the hypothesis that state management is better for economic development than federal management, a group of economists from Utah's public universities are gathering data to map the potential economic impact of the state's proposed takeover of 30 million acres of federal land. [Trib]
Nationally: Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for misusing around $750,000 of campaign funds. [WaPost] [CNN] [Politico]
-> The Pentagon announced Wednesday that following the Supreme Court decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, it will begin extending federal benefits to same-sex spouses of military personnel no later than Sept. 3. [WaPost] [NYTimes]
-> Potential GOP 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Wednesday that he didn't believe there was any objective evidence to show that black voters are being disenfranchised in modern elections. [WaPost]
-> Hillary Clinton has been offered several formal academic roles at prestigious universities, including Harvard and Yale. Accepting one of these positions could offer Clinton a valuable platform for a 2016 presidential run. [Politico]
-> The success of navigators — a new category of worker under the Affordable Care Act, created to help the uninsured navigate the new health insurance markets — is expected to vary from state to state, depending on how much funding and training they will have to work with. [NYTimes]
Where are they?
Gov. Gary Herbert holds a Cabinet meeting, talks to the VP of the Romanian Senate and attends the Moon Lake Electric 75th Anniversary event.
SLC Mayor Ralph Becker meets with a delegation from Romania.
President Barack Obama remains on vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]
— Thomas Burr and Isobel MarkhamTwitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/i_markham