Daily news roundup, March 10, 2008
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Mar 10, 2008 Posted by Bill Luckett
The moment we’ve all been waiting for! And Wyoming Democrats turned out IN FORCE. We had more than 8,700 people participate in our county caucuses on Saturday, for a record 15 percent turnout of registered Democrats. By comparison, in the last presidential race four years ago, 675 people voted across the state for a turnout of just over 1 percent. Oh, and Sen. Obama won the day. Here’s the Associated Press story that appeared in most of the nation’s papers:
Obama defeats Clinton in Wyoming caucuses
Here are some on-site caucus reports from:
Cheyenne: Barack on (Wyoming Tribune-Eagle)
Laramie (two stories): Albany knows who it likes (Laramie Boomerang); Sweet dreams (Casper Star-Tribune)
Jackson: Obama wins Wyoming behind avalanche from Teton County (JH Underground)
Green River: Clinton wins big in Sweetwater County (Casper Star-Tribune)
Sheridan: Local Dems turn out (Sheridan Press; front page view only)
Cody: County voters overcome apathy (Cody Enterprise)
Buffalo: County Dems second in state for caucus attendance (Buffalo Bulletin)
Wyoming Public Radio reports that my old PoliSci teacher (and one of the state’s foremost authorities on Wyoming politics) saw Obama’s victory coming:
UW professor says Obama had advantage over Clinton
“Westword,” the alternative weekly paper from Denver, has a piece on our caucuses on its “Dem-ver” blog site:
Wyoming Public Radio has the latest on one of our U.S. Senate candidates:
Gillette attorney Nick Carter will run for U.S. Senate
FROM THE LEGISLATURE
The news roundup got muscled off my list of priorities on Friday by the presidential candidates, so I missed the last few reports from the Legislature’s budget session, which ended on Friday.
Gov praises session (Casper Star-Tribune)
Panels will study smoking ban, other issues (Casper Star-Tribune) The Legislature’s Management Council assigned topics for the various committees to study over the next 10 months leading up to the 2009 general session.
Lawmakers will review workers’ comp concerns (Casper Star-Tribune) Another piece on interim study topics.
Governor signs gun confiscation bill (Casper Star-Tribune) After all, the revolution has a better chance to succeed if the ground rules are in our favor!
Legislative briefs (Casper Star-Tribune) Domestic violence penalty-enhancement dies; tax breaks will include more people; other issues are DNA evidence and Hathaway scholarships
Legislature passes doctor recruitment bill (Wyoming Public Radio)
CBM bill fails despite governor’s hopes (Wyoming Public Radio)
Wyoming’s no-frill legislature: It’s cheap, but is it a good thing? (WyoFile.com)
IN OTHER NEWS
The Gillette News-Record reports that a pair of wind industry officials believe Wyoming is headed in the right direction as it tries to double its output in the coming years. But they say the state still faces challenges — namely transmission capacity and location:
Transmission critical to wind energy
Also from the News-Record: Dray Fork Station is a big project:
What does it take to build a power plant?
How to clear legal obstacles, combine interests and pay for solutions for future water needs in a statewide plan were topics batted around in a lively discussion among the state's water leaders Friday
Few issues more complicated than how to share water
Even if this fall's sage grouse hunting season were twice as long as last year's, and had higher daily bag limits, it wouldn't be harmful to sage grouse populations in the long term, an official with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said:
Biologist: Keep grouse hunt as it is
Officials at Memorial Hospital of Converse County say an expansion project under way will help the facility meet significant increases in patients, staff and procedures:
Douglas hospital expects more growth
The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle continues tracking the controversy involving some Cheyenne City Council members and department employees. The paper is not pleased that the mayor won’t release details of city employees’ complaints: