Salt Lake Crawler

Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Carroon unofficially launched his run for governor this week when he shook the County Complex rafters:

"I am NOT just another tax-and-spend Democrat. Am not. Am not."

Actually, Carroon said it with action rather than words — he vetoed a property tax hike that the rest of the Democrats on the council had approved.

"Given the current state of the economy, . . . and considering that the 2010 budget gap can be closed with prudent cuts in spending, this is not the time to increase property taxes"

Actually, it's a brilliant move.

Now, all Carroon has to do is follow the example of Congressman Jim Matheson and hynotize the rest of Utah into thinking he's a Republican.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's inept Senate campaign would be hilarious if it didn't stink to high heaven. Shurtleff, who is trying to unseat Bob Bennett, has been Facebooking supporters to attend a community meeting where they were encouraged to ask him "hard questions."

Unfortunately, Shurtleff's staff failed to ask a very simple question: WHO IS SPONSORING THIS EVENT?

The embarrassing answer is: Rick Koerber, aka the Free Capitalist (though the "Indicted Capitalist" is more accurate).

So much for Shurtleff's investigative instincts.

U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman indicted Koerber, alledging he ran a $100 million Ponzi scheme. Eighteen months earlier, Shurtleff's office declined to move against Koerber on a civil complaint brought to it by the state's Commerce Department, saying it needed more evidence.

Koeber's political ally Rep. Carl Wimmer set up a lunch between the Free Capitalist and the Hapless AG and pressured Gov. Jon Huntsman to fire Commerce Director Francine Giani for leading a "witch hunt" against Koerber.

Utah County knows how to celebrate the Independence Day of this nation of immigrants — throw a tea party, shoot off fireworks and bust  some illegals.

Apparently, anticipating the fun SB81 will bring if and when local cops are cross-deputized as ICE agents, a Utah County Sheriff's deputy pulled over a hispanic woman for failing to dim her headlights. He immediately grilled the woman and her son about their citizenship status. Latino activist Tony Yapias says until local cops are deputized as ICE agents, they can't question suspects on their immigration status:

”Latinos have to be vigilant so that deputies and police don’t harass them during traffic stops.”

The woman did have, uh-oh, an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in immigration court.

First Jocko, now Jocco. Sad.

The Hogle Zoo's star primate Jocco, thought to be one of the world's oldest capuchin monkeys at 45, passed on to a place where he again has fur and, we can only hope, is free to swing from South American trees.

Jocco also died in his sleep, but no DEA investigation is expected.

That doesn't mean Jocco went without controversy. While there may have been only one Michael Jackson — there may have been as many as three Joccos, says zoo mouthpiece Holly Braithwaite. Previous keepers, apparently, simply named the dominant male of the troop "Jocco."

"So, whenever one would die, the next one would become Jocco."

As for Jocko — I guess that's where American Idol comes in.

Tim Shorrock, who has written extensively about the National Security Administration, fears a sprawling NSA facility planned for Utah's Fort Williams will be used for domestic surveillance:

There's going to be lots of Mormons monitoring our phone calls and emails soon. And lots of contractors moving to Utah. (via Twitter)

Shorrock may have a point. Utah's National Guard is renown for its linguists (draw from the ranks of returned missionaries) and they have used in the past to intercept domestic drug dealers' phone calls.

If that's true, Sen. Orrin Hatch's billions-of-dollar secret pork project might trade jobs for freedom. (A little dramatic, but, hey, it's the Fourth of July.)