- A dead man was found Saturday inside a boat in a Cortez yard, but foul play is not suspected.
- Democrats in Utah are calling for more information about the costs and results of a legal analysis of a possible lawsuit to demand federal public lands be transferred to the state.
A dead man was found Saturday inside a boat in a Cortez yard, but foul play is not suspected. The Journal reports that Police Chief Roy Lane said the man is known to police but they are not releasing his identity yet. An autopsy will determine cause of death.
Democrats in Utah are calling for more information about the costs and results of a legal analysis of a possible lawsuit to demand federal public lands be transferred to the state. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that nearly $640,000 in state money was paid to attorneys, lobbyists, a research group, and even a polling firm in preparation for the suit, which is predicted to cost $14 million. The Tribune says the legislature’s Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands hired a New Orleans law firm to analyze the viability of the case. The firm presented its analysis to the commission’s two Republican chairmen in January, but released to the public only the arguments in favor of the potential lawsuit. Democrats on the seven-member commission also want to see the entire report, but the lawyers are refusing to provide it because they say they were hired only by the commission’s chairmen and those are their clients. The commission voted in December to move forward with the lawsuit, with the two Democratic members dissenting.
