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The Utah Foundation for the Blind and Visually Impaired is sponsoring a "sports week" that runs through Saturday at Lehi High School for about 25 visually impaired Utah teenagers.

The teens stay in Lehi hotels all week, and volunteers assist them as they compete in various sports like wrestling, judo, track and field, gymnastics and soccer.

The organization uses specialized soccer equipment, including balls with rattles inside so the players can hear the ball while competing.

The event started out on a positive note, with a lot of excitement from the teens and their parents.

Then, Tuesday morning, they all discovered that sometime Monday night, someone stole all their soccer equipment stored at the high school.

Free-market solutions • Gene Lessar smelled a rat when he noticed gas prices were holding steady at $3.56 a gallon in Price when regular gasoline had fallen in Provo and other areas to $3.42. The little town of Wellington, a few miles south of Price, featured gasoline at $3.44.

So Lessar called the corporate offices of a couple of outlets to let them know about the discrepancy. After his chiding, he noticed the price for regular in Price fell 7 cents to $3.49 per gallon, to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. But then he noticed the price in Wellington rose to $3.49. Don't want to make their neighbors look too bad.

Here's a silver lining • With all the stories about ethics in government and the loopholes that still exist on limiting gifts lobbyists can bestow on legislators, two Utah lawmakers have instituted personal policies that should blow through the State Capitol like fresh air.

Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Bountiful, and Rep. Kraig Powell, R-Heber City, do not accept campaign contributions from lobbyists, special interests or corporations that do business with the Legislature.

Weiler took a page from Lt. Gov. Greg Bell, who instituted that policy when he was in the Legislature. He recently turned down $2,000 from a lobbyist, who told me he wasn't offended. In fact, he saw the gesture as refreshing.

Powell has had the policy since he first was elected in 2008. Both legislators have turned away several thousand dollars.

Money's good, company not so much • A Salt Lake Tribune story Tuesday noted that loopholes still exist in lobbyists' ability to buy legislators' meals without having to report how much or who benefits. One loophole is meals provided by lobbyists during conferences, like the recently completed American Legislative Exchange Council meeting in Salt Lake City.

One lobbyist-funded dinner was a western-themed affair at This Is the Place Heritage Park. While Senate President Michael Waddoups was happy to enjoy the meal paid for by lobbists, he kept exclusive company at his table, which included his favorite legislative colleagues.

No lobbyists were invited to join them.

Close, but no cigar • Monday night on MSNBC, commentator Jonathan Alter was talking about the effects of the tea party movement in 2010 and cited the toppling of three-term incumbent Republican Sen. Bob Bennett who, Alter said, "was the son of a president of the Mormon Church."

Well, Bennett is the grandson of former LDS President Heber J. Grant, so, for Alter, maybe that would be like a leaner in horseshoes.