Washington, DC, USA. The chief executive of Utah inadvertantly gives reporters way too much information in his address. An influential Idaho politician endorses two legislative candidates — for the same House seat, but backed the loser. Arkansas tourism officials are taking "Clinton Country" to the next level. And in Kentucky, the education commisioner takes to the road with plenty of deluxe options. In case you missed those stories this week, Worth Noting fills you in.

 

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R) recently addressed the high gasoline prices facing drivers in his state and nationwide. In the process, Huntsman gave reporters a quote he would undoubtedly rather have kept to himself. “I feel that gas pain,” the governor said, before quickly advising the press in attendance not to “take that the wrong way,” according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

 

The former Idaho Secretary of State, Pete Cenarrusa, endorsed legislative candidate Julie Ellsworth in April, so it must have come as a surprise to her when Cenarrusa later turned up in her GOP primary opponent’s campaign materials as an avid supporter. Turns out, Cenarrusa — who is among the more influential Idaho Republicans — endorsed Ellsworth without realizing she was running in the same Boise district as Gail Hartnett, to whom he also had given his backing, The Idaho Statesman finds. While Cenarrusa said he really meant for Hartnett to win, that didn’t work out, either: Ellsworth prevailed in the primary. 

 

If there was any doubt Arkansas is Clinton Country, one needn’t look further than the state tourism office, which is promoting a tour of Bill Clinton-related places in the state as a Billgrimage, the Arkansas News Bureau reports. The tourism office is partnering with the state Department of Heritage and four Arkansas cities to create 130,000 new brochures that will help visitors navigate the former president’s local stomping grounds. No word on whether tourism officials will create a similar set of materials for ex-Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. A “Huckaspree,” perhaps?

 

Even as the Kentucky Department of Education is cutting back on travel expenses, its commissioner is driving a new 2008 Chrysler 300, with deluxe options that brought the car’s price to more than $30,000, according to The (Louisville) Courier-Journal.  “I don’t know anything about the price of the car,” the commissioner, Jon Draud, told the paper — while sitting inside the car. Upgrades that Draud requested included a V-8 engine, a GPS navigation system and hands-free phone technology. The car’s hefty price tag is “something I will look into tomorrow,” the chairman of the state Board of Education said.

 

 

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | larger

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment