Archive for January, 2007
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007
Capitol Report 12
They grumble in the coffee shops about some sort of statewide lottery - other states do it, why doesn’t Wyoming? It’s particularly irksome for Cheyenne residents, who wonder why they have to drive ten miles south to buy Powerball tickets - spending their money in Colorado, instead of their home state.
Rep. Dave Edwards (R-Douglas) told […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Capitol Report 11
Three interviews this morning with radio stations around the state. Enjoy doing it. But isn’t it odd that journalists interview journalists about what’s in the news? It speaks to the dearth of coverage in Cheyenne – most media in Wyoming can’t afford, or won’t spend, what it takes. That means these legislators do their work […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Monday, January 29th, 2007
Capitol Report 10
We’re coming down the stretch toward a key deadline: at the end of this week, any bill that hasn’t been reported out of committee is finished. And still, it seems, there is no defining issue, no theme to the legislature. In recent years, some topic has always found its way to center stage – the […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
Capitol Report 9
The big news of the week – and maybe of the winter – and maybe of the year – oh, why not: maybe the decade – is not about the Wyoming legislature, it’s about the National Center for Atmospheric Research choosing the outskirts of Cheyenne as a location for constructing an enormous computer – “two […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Wednesday, January 24th, 2007
Capitol Report 8
The Wyoming House of Representatives, packed with new members, can’t keep its busy hands off the Hathaway scholarship program. Legislators in that chamber insist the changes they’ve made aren’t major, and that they make the scholarship program better by making it easier for students who don’t want to take the “success curriculum.” That curriculum took […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Monday, January 22nd, 2007
Capitol Report 7
This journal has been missing for several days not because of a lack of action at the legislature, but rather a lack of connectivity – a laptop that travels with me has cratered, and with it went columns, notes, and pictures of my daughter’s dog.
You can make up for lost notes by listening to the […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Wednesday, January 17th, 2007
Capitol Report 6
The House Minerals Committee met today to talk about the state’s desperate shortage of homes - an important topic, because Wyoming is faced with a growing population of “working homeless”, and a construction industry so busy putting up $250,000 homes there’s no one left to pound a nail on a $150,000 domicile.
The committee is considering […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Tuesday, January 16th, 2007
Capitol Report 5
A reporter performs triage at the legislature - you can only track so many events. And early mornings are the worst - there are numerous committee meetings, and you have to perform triage regarding which is the most important. If you weren’t in the Joint Appropriations Committee meeting this morning, you missed watching millions of […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Monday, January 15th, 2007
Capitol Report 4
It’s Martin Luther King/Equality Day, and that awkwardly lengthy title is a reminder that the legislature had a harder time recognizing the civil rights leader, holiday-wise, than much of the rest of the country. Objections to King’s personal behavior, and demands that other civil rights icons be recognized as well, made for an extended debate […]
No Comments » - Posted in Legislature by Geoff O'Gara
Friday, January 12th, 2007
Capitol Report 3
A short day for the legislature today, after a busy week of pomp and education - the legislators left early for home, so they can spend a cold weekend curled by the fireplace reading…hundreds of bills.
And a short column for me: we are charging toward our broadcast tonight - enduring dreadful temperatures to run cables […]