There's so much happening on our local "red meat" political news front, we hardly know where to start
As luck has it, our
"usual" Northern Utah news sources are
over-brimming with red meat political news this morning. There's so much happening on our local news front, we hardly know where to start. Here's our short list however, which we'll throw out in no particular logical order:
1) Matthew Stewart Pretrial Motions. There's more news this morning concerning the
Matthew Stewart death penalty case, as the
Salt Lake Tribune reports that
"2nd District Judge Noel Hyde on Tuesday denied a previous motion from defense attorney Randy Richards declaring the death penalty was unconstitutional," additionally holding that
"the Utah Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the death penalty was constitutional." This ruling does not however dispose of a second pending defense team motion in which, according to the
SL-Trib, counsel assert that the Court should
"toss evidence related to marijuana cultivation" because
Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force agent Vanderwarf allegedly 1) asked for the search warrant based on
"stale information," and that this officer 2)
"lied" in his foundational search warrant affidavit, under circumstances which Richards characterizes as a
"blatant fabrication":
Oh my! Is it concivable that an
Ogden City police officer might actually lie in a search warrant affidavit?
"Say it ain't so, Joe!"
2) Governor Herbert - Snake Valley Pipeline Agreement. Both the
Standard and the
Tribune gleefully report that
"Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has rejected an agreement with Nevada that would allow Las Vegas to pump massive amounts of groundwater from the states' shared border," in an apparent effort to spare
Utah's Snake Valley residents, (and
"downwind" Wasatch Front residents ) from the potentially devastating effects of a
Nevada water-grab which might mimic the disastrous environmental results which happened decades ago in California's
once agriculturally-productive Owens Valley following a similar
Los Angeles, CA water grab:
We're scratching our heads wondering what's happened to Governor Herbert lately. With
last week's veto of HB76, and Wednesday's rejection of the proposed
Snake Valley intra-state groundwater pact, Herbert's suddenly become a
"Man of the People," one of those rare birds in
Utah politics who don't necessarily serve as obediant lapdogs to economic development interests, but actually listen to to their lumpen constituents. Seems that
"Governor Gary" is transforming himself from a
political zero to a
gubernatorial hero, right before our very eyes.
3) FBI investigates West Valley City Police. "The FBI has agreed to investigate allegations of corruption within the West Valley City police department's disbanded drug unit amid reports of a cover-up involving the officer-involved shooting death of an unarmed woman," the
Standard reports this morning:
Sodden question: Now that the
FBI is poking around in
WVPD's affairs, would it be good idea for these federal law enforcement authorities to take the short drive north to
Ogden City, to take a quick peek under the
Ogden Police Department "hood"? We know that there are at least
a few folks round town who might think so; but even more importantly,
howbout you?
4) Ogden Hinkley Tower Closure Lawsuit. Looks like it'll be a full employment economy for
Northern Utah lawyers, as the
Standard-Examiner breathlessly reports that
"The Ogden-Hinckley Airport is joining a lawsuit to try to stop the federal government from shutting down 149 air traffic control towers across the nation in an effort to cut spending":
Will
Ogden-Hinkley airport officials, along with a
whole potload of other hopeful plaintiffs succeed in compelling the
Federal Aviation Administration to spend monies that have been denied by the U.S Congress? Will a U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. have the audacity to rule that
"public safety" trumps the our federal Congresscritters' tightfisted, and ideologically-driven
"push toward U.S. fiscal austerity"? Will Congressman Rob Bishop, and the rest of the
Utah federal legislative delegation continue to embrace massive across-the-board, meat cleaver-style spending cuts, except of course when negative consequences are felt in their own backyard?
5) Women's Legislative Council Event. In connection with the above story, we'll also take the opportunity to alert you all of a
Weber County Women's Legislative Council (WCWLC) special event, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9. The featured speaker will be
Utah Speaker of the House Brad Dee. This might be a grand time to ask Rep. Dee what (if anything) the State Legislature has in mind concerning possible assistance which the legislature might have planned for the Ogden Hinkley sequestration problem,
wethinks, in the event that the FAA lawsuit plaintiffs fail to succeed with their lawsuit, inasmuch as the meeting agenda calls for
"discussion of sequestration is affecting Utah," and further provides for
"questions from the audience." Check out our link below for the full
"skinny," including time, date and location coordinates:
We've
eagerly followed on WCF similar
WCWLC events in the past, which graciously hosted events are always open to the general public. So we encourage all
Ogden-Hinkley Airport boosters to put this event on their calenders and plan to be in attendance.
That's it for now folks. So who wants to throw in their own 2¢?
