Political Cornflakes

Herbert asks donors to pay up for prime inauguration seats. Becker's first veto. State saves by pulling food stamps from undocumented families.

Happy Thursday, the Senate began its debate on the new START Treaty, which Sen. Bob Bennett supports and Sen. Orrin Hatch opposes. Hatch doesn't think the Senate has time to debate the complex nuclear arms treaty despite President Barack Obama's calls for fast passage. It's just one of many lame duck issues splitting Utah's senators, the others being a budget and the DREAM Act. [CNN]

Topping the news: Gov. Gary Herbert's fund raising is more aggressive than ever — raising eyebrows about the size and scope of it, but the governor's staff say it's simply to recoup costs for some big events. [Trib]

-> Becker issues his first veto and those howls you hear are from dog owners. [Trib] [DNews] City Council Member JT Martin got into an altercation with a local lobbyist following the vote on the dog park. [DNews]

Happening today: The Bipartisan Policy Center holds a panel discussion with outgoing members of Congress, including Bennett. As previously reported, Bennett will work for the center in a resident fellow capacity after he leaves office on Jan. 4.

Tweets of the day: @ethanmillard "We speak english in this cunchry with our constushun and fedijal guvmint."

Where are they?

Gov. Gary Herbert holds individual meetings with most of his cabinet members and then sits down with representatives of the American Red Cross in Utah.

SLCounty Mayor Peter Corroon goes to the trustee meeting of the Convention and Visitors Bureau then delivers remarks at the graduation ceremony for the county's supervisory and management program.

AG Mark Shurtleff continues to recover from colon surgery.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker has breakfast with new House Speaker Becky Lockhart and state Sen. Curt Bramble, then meets with his diversity coordinator before holding a series of employee open door meetings.

WVC Mayor Mike Winder joins his colleagues in Taylorsville for a conference of mayors meeting and later attends the holiday employee reception at West Valley City Hall.

President Barack Obama speaks at the White House Tribal Nations Conference and later delivers a statement on the annual review of the Afghanistan-Pakistan situation.

In the news: As we reported yesterday, Hatch yanked all his earmark requests. Apparently other Republican senators didn't follow his lead, resulting in some uncomfortable questions from reporters. [TPM] [WSJ] [NatReview] [ABC]

-> Rep Rob Bishop writes an op-ed trumpeting his constitutional amendment that would gives states the power to kill acts of Congress. [DNews]

-> Utah's House members split along party lines 2-1 on don't ask, don't tell repeal. Chaffetz, Bishop against, Matheson for. [Trib]

-> The FDA and the supplement industry team for the first time in a bid to root out products tainted with drugs or steroids. [Trib]

-> Bagley's take on American exceptionalism. [Trib]

-> With federal approval, Chevron plans to purge oil from the east-bench pipeline. [Trib] [KSL] [DNews]

-> Pulling food stamp benefits from families with undocumented immigrants saves state $2 million. [Trib]

-> A Taylorsville Police officer files suit against the city alleging harassment and a hostile work environment. [Trib]

-> UTA adopts a budget approaching $1 billion. [Trib] The transit agency also approves new developments around rail stations. [Trib]

->ABC's Chris Vanocur had little luck getting UTA trustee Terry Diehl to talk about the audit that says he may have violated the law. [ABC4]

-> Federal Judge Dee Benson issued a restraining order to block — at least for now — the sale of assets from a polygamous church's land trust. [Trib]

-> Herbert vows to get to the bottom of Uinta Basin pollution and come up with solutions. [Trib]

-> Kennecott says replacing coal-fired power plants with a more efficient gas and steam plant will help clean up Salt Lake Valley's air. [Trib] [AP via DNews]

-> A NYTimes blogger takes a look at HEAL Utah's report that says major renewable energy is possible without nuclear or carbon capture. [NYTimes]

-> The Museum of Natural History will preserve a swath of nature at it's new location. [Trib]

-> Hatch defends the tax deal that is now waiting for action before the House. [KSL]

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— Matt Canham Twitter.com/mattcanham