Daily news roundup, Jan. 9, 2008
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Jan 9, 2008 Posted by Bill Luckett
First up is this exciting news from Rep. George Bagby, D-Rawlins, who reports that James Elliott Jr., a Democrat from Saratoga, has been selected as the newest Carbon County commissioner. Congratulations to Commissioner Elliott, and thanks to Rep. Bagby!
Next, we have this piece from the Jackson Hole News & Guide, which demonstrated to all the people of Teton County just how out of touch their local Republican leaders are (I’ve included the entire piece below, because it’s just two sentences):
GOP goals
Abolish the federal income and estate taxes, deport illegal immigrants who are stopped by police, dissolve the Teton County Housing Authority, and begin planning for another bridge over the Snake River to the west bank. Teton County Republicans voted for these and other positions Saturday as they set their platform for the upcoming election cycle.
The Casper Star-Tribune reports that, by generally finding the state's school finance model constitutional and releasing its oversight of the system, the Wyoming Supreme Court capped 16 years of sometimes bitterly fought litigation Tuesday:
Closing a long chapter in school finance fight
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday that it is considering the pygmy rabbit for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. The species -- the smallest rabbit in North America -- is found in Wyoming, Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Washington. It is one of only two species that digs its own burrows. During the winter, 99 percent of its diet is sagebrush:
And here are some details about the pygmy rabbit review process:
The Gillette News-Record has this piece on state Rep. Tom Lubnau, R-Gillette, calling for Wyoming to seriously heed the need to manage greenhouse gases coming from coal-fired power plants. Increased awareness about greenhouse gases, of which carbon dioxide receives the most attention, has led Lubnau; House Speaker Roy Cohee, R-Casper, and Gov. Dave Freudenthal to lay out a proposal over the summer to create a legal framework for pumping the gases underground:
Legislator: Greenhouse gases must be managed
Wyoming Public Radio reports that, when our state has the most difficult standards in the country for citizens to place an issue on the ballot, this guy wants to make it tougher: