Daily news roundup, Jan. 7, 2008
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Jan 8, 2008 Posted by Bill Luckett
The state GOP’s presidential caucuses took place on Saturday, and the main issue seems to be whether the Republicans’ controversial decision to break their own national party’s rules and sacrifice half their delegates to their national convention was worth it. By and large, most media outlets answered that question with a resounding “no.” The Casper Star-Tribune notes that our state got virtually no national attention for its early caucus, and no candidates bothered to come here and woo the Wyoming delegates (well, not at least since superstar Duncan Hunter stopped by the first week of December):
The Gillette News-Record, however, apparently got this headline straight from Republican Party headquarters (which I find odd, because as a former journalist, I’ve long considered the News-Record to be among the top-quality papers in the state):
Candidates’ visits a clear sign it worked
I’ve got to tell you, when I spoke to the reporter for that story, it seemed like he had already made up his mind to believe the Republican Party line, but at least he found room for an opposing point of view. (Oh, and by the way, Mitt Romney won, that guy from Law & Order came in second, and Duncan Hunter took third. No love for Huckabee, McCain, Giuliani, or even Ron Paul, despite all those glossy messages.)
One more note on GOP caucus reporting. In Cody, Park County Democratic Party Vice Chair Kurt Graham was featured on Billings’ Q2 Television, which broadcasts throughout northern Wyoming. The reporter told me Kurt did a great job. Meanwhile, yours truly was interviewed live via telephone by Denver’s ABC affiliate for their 5 p.m. newscast. But that newscast was usurped by an NFL playoff game, and it aired on a different channel, so no one in Wyoming saw it.
On to other news. The Powell Tribune reports that the Park County Commission is satisfied with the change last year from a three-members board to a five-member one:
Commissioners happy with five-member board
The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle has this look at the Cheyenne City Council’s goals for the coming year:
Phoning while driving ban among goals
The Cheyenne paper also reports on a local effort to start a charter school:
Charter school supporters consider appeal
And the paper says the local school board did the right thing in rejecting the application:
Charter decision is no surprise
My former Casper Star-Tribune capital bureau officemate offers this formula for success:
Dems need millionaire supporters
The latest in the Casper Star-Tribune’s “Agenda 2008” series is this look at the likely explosion of coalbed methane development in southern and southeast Wyoming: