When the current legislative session started, new House Speaker Greg Hughes talked about tackling the “big, hard fights,” which he said could be "potentially transformational" for the state of Utah.

Now, it seems at least one of those fights might take place in a much smaller arena, away from the jeering crowds. The co-chairman of the Prison Relocation Commission would like the Legislature to give the commission the authority to decide on its own where to put the prison that now sits in Draper. Hughes says he supports that plan.

Listening to some Utah lawmakers, you get the impression kids today are more ignorant than ever before of U.S. history and the way government works. If only things were as when today’s adults were children, voters would be informed and the future of the republic would be bright.

That’s how you remember the good ol’ days, right?


So while it sounds suspiciously like something the Common Core would require, conservatives now 

The day may come when the feisty folks of Deer Trail, Colo., look like the most far-sighted people of their generation.

I’m talking about the ones who wanted to issue hunting licenses to shoot drones out of the sky. The idea was defeated in a referendum last year — the final gasp of resistance to a technology that surely soon will wash over us.

Are people aware of what the law says?

Let me rephrase that, slightly. Are Americans, many of whom can’t name the vice president, let alone their representative at the state Legislature, aware of the details and nuances in specific state laws?

One Utah lawmaker, Rep. Jacob Anderegg, R-Lehi, seems to think so. He believes a lot of drivers in this state now hold their cell phones on their laps while they drive because last year’s Legislature passed a bill outlawing the use of a phone while driving for just about anything except talking or looking up an address.

He is sponsoring a bill this year that would lighten up a bit on the restrictions. If it passes, you soon would be able to access the Internet to listen to music.

I don’t mean to pick on Anderegg. A lot of 

If you were among the roughly 300 million Americans who did not watch the Grammys last weekend, you probably still heard about its segment on domestic violence, including a videotaped message from President Obama.

The president hit the right notes, talking about the need for “a culture where violence is intolerable, where survivors are supported.” Domestic violence is a huge problem that remains largely hidden and difficult to confront. According to the website safehorizon.org, one in four women will be a victim 

Brian Bennion wonders why kids in his part of Utah are so taken with e-cigarettes. It’s a good question not easily answered.

You could say the same about a question that goes something like this: Why are Utah lawmakers so reluctant to tax and regulate this new nicotine-laden product the way they do regular cigarettes? The current legislative session will demonstrate whether this reluctance is deep-seated.

Bennion is the executive director of the Weber-

Not many states have a defining natural feature that locals actually discourage visitors from seeing.

Go to Arizona, and people are happy to take you to the Grand Canyon, which is even better in person than in pictures. Go to Wyoming and Yellowstone awaits with inviting lodges and a website full of handy trip planning tools. Washingtonians are all too happy to direct you along well-defined pathways to scenic parts of Mt. Rainier or to drive up Mt. St. Helens.

Utahns are hearing some strange political noises these days. State lawmakers, mostly conservative to the core, are entering a legislative session with a booming economy — December’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percent — and a healthy state surplus — estimated at $638 million — and yet many voices are calling for tax increases.

A news conference on Tuesday typified this. Business leaders and the Salt Lake Chamber joined to say it’s time for lawmakers to “look at all the options on the table.” While they didn’t specifically endorse an increase in the state income tax or gas 

A year and a half ago, I took the family on a vacation to Sweden, where my wife was born. Our itinerary had us skirting Stockholm on certain days because President Obama was coming to visit, and traffic was severely limited.

Swedes were atwitter. It was this president’s first visit.