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GOP rep apologizes for 'wetback' remark. State officials weighing tax hike for education. Romney pokes fun at grandkids' names.

Happy Friday. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, is apologizing after he said in a radio interview that his father used to hire "wetbacks" to harvest tomatoes. The slur, of course, didn't go over well and Young says he meant "no disrespect" and that he knows its unacceptable to use the term. [HuffPost]

Topping the news: Panelists at a Utah Foundation meeting, including Sen. Aaron Osmond, suggested that in order to sustain the state's education and transportation needs, taxes must be raised to fund both - without making them compete for funds. [Trib] Bob Bernick offers his take on that: [UtahPolicy].

-> Police are looking for a suspect who stole an AR-15 out of Utah gun lobbyist Clark Aposhian's vehicle this week. [Trib]

-> Mitt Romney pokes fun at his own grandkids' names during a radio interview. [NYMag]

Tweet of the day: From @anamariecox: "My Twitter game is off. Feeling very Indiana."

Happy birthday: On Saturday to former state Rep. Lori Fowlke and on Sunday to state Rep. Jim Dunnigan and ABC News' Meredith Nettles.

In other news: Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill to set up an 11-member committee that will spend $1.7 million to study relocating the Utah State Prison. [Trib]

-> In the aftermath of a 27,000-gallon diesel fuel spill in Willard Bay, Herbert said federal regulators aren't doing enough to monitor Utah's pipelines, and promised to step up the state's efforts. [Trib] [Herald]

-> To protect against wildfires, Herbert signed a bill that allows the state forester to prohibit target shooting in high fire risk areas. [Herald]

-> Herbert also signed a much-debated bill that bans smoking in cars where kids under 15 are present. [DNews]

-> While in town for the Republican Governors' Association meeting, Texas Gov. Rick Perry found a liking for Herbert's office chair - saddling up to his desk and holding up a customized Utah license plate that was made for the Utah governor.[HoustonChronicle]

-> Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman laid out a plan for the future of the GOP at a speech at the Reagan Presidential Library. [APviaHerald]

-> Herbert tapped Rollin Cook, a former Salt Lake County deputy sheriff and jail boss to lead the state Department of Corrections. [Trib]

-> Despite an outcry over how state earmark funds are allocated, cities in the western part of the Salt Lake valley will be seeing road improvement projects soon. [Trib]

-> Utah County commissioners are floating the idea of expanding their co-op library system to include Provo and Orem. [Herald]

-> In the wake of a week which saw two same-sex marriage cases argued before the Supreme Court, Paul Rolly recalls the man who married a duck in Salt Lake City in the 1970's in protest of the city's gay marriage laws. [Trib]

-> Bernick and Bryan Schott talk about the most and lease effective lawmakers in their weekly video chat. [UtahPolicy]

-> Former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist offers praise for his one-time rival, Sen. Orrin Hatch, arguing that Hatch's work to insert Amgen language into the fiscal cliff deal was wise. [DNews]

Nationally: With the Senate set to take up gun control legislation at the beginning of April, President Barack Obama made an emotional appeal to lawmakers, asking them to remember how America felt after Newtown. [WaPost] [Politico] [NYTimes]

-> Sometimes, even the chief justice of the United States has his credit card numbers stolen. [WaTimes]

-> According to a new Pew Research Center poll, roughly 43 percent of Americans support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants - out of a larger 71 percent who think that immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country. [Politico]

Where are they?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz hits a Jeep rally in Moab and meets with the president of the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Ariz.

Gov. Gary Herbert takes a personal day.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker has an emergency communications center budget meeting and a general budget meeting.

President Barack Obama flies to Miami to tour a tunnel project and deliver a speech on the economy.

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 Emily AndrewsTwitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/emilytandrews