News roundup: Corporations may be people, but Romney says he's no business

Mothers more hesitant about Obama. Romney as the mortgage collector. Chaffetz spends summer break on the presidential trail.

Happy Friday. For the past 15 years, one Texas family has written their mortgage checks to Willard M. Romney and the presidential candidate just let them refinance. How did it happen? It is a story of a real estate deal gone bad. [NYTimes]

Topping the news: Mitt Romney might have once said "corporations are people," but that doesn't mean he was referring to himself. A reporter tried to reframe the debate over whether Romney should release more tax returns by suggesting a potential investor would want to take a look at more than two years of a business' financials. Romney's response: "I'm not a business." [BusinessWeek] [WaPost]

-> Rep. Jason Chaffetz, running in a safe Republican House district, is spending his summer break hitting the campaign trail for Romney, first in Colorado where he shadowed President Barack Obama and soon in Nevada. [Trib]

-> Women are more likely to vote Obama for a second time, but mothers are less ready to give him another shot. [Reuters]

Tweet of the day: From @ChrisStewart4UT: "I'm excited to eat some deep-fried funnel cakes (maybe I'll try the butter) tonight at the #slcofair!"

Happy Birthday: To state Rep. Fred Cox and on Saturday twin sisters Neela and Neena Pack, celebrate. They just wrapped up internships in Washington, D.C. Neela with the Federal Judicial Center and Neena with the Department of Justice. On Sunday, the lovely Jennifer Burr Linn, wife of our own Thomas Burr, blows out the candles.

Farewell, and thanks: This is the last edition of Cornflakes for our summer intern Andreas Rivera, a recent University of Utah graduate. We thank him for all of his effort and wish him the best in all future endeavors. Once a Cornflaker, always a Cornflaker.

In other news: Utah Democrats paid $5,000 for useless documents concerning redistricting, much of which was already public. [Trib]

-> State and local officials negotiate responsibilities on managing Snow Canyon State Park, but the public is left out of the conversation. [Trib] [ABC4]

-> Paul Rolly says the Republicans for Ben McAdams Facebook group use of the Republican elephant symbol isn't breaking trademark law because it's different enough. [Trib]

-> Former state Rep. Carl Wimmer has landed a job as a high school resource officer in Gunnison. [DNews]

-> Peggy Fletcher Stack points out the Mormon vs Mormon debates between Sen. Harry Reid and Mitt Romney, as well as two Republican's in Arizona clashing in the primary. [Trib]

-> Democratic candidate for governor Peter Cooke names prominent Utah Democrats to his campaign team. [DNews]

-> The Trib's Matt Canham talks about Utah's role in the presidential debate over welfare waivers and what Chaffetz is up to on his summer break. [KCPW]

-> Lee Benson says the campaign fight between Rep. Jim Matheson and Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love shows the greatness of this country. [DNews]

-> Bernick and Schott debate Cooke's demand for seven gubernatorial debates. [UtahPolicy]

-> Bernick ruminates over Romney's vice presidential decision. [UtahPolicy]

2012 watch: Spiritual leaders traditionally deliver prayers at the Republican National Convention, but will Romney pick a fellow Mormon, especially since he tries to avoid discussions about his faith. [AP]

-> The Romney camp demands that Obama denounces a Super PAC ad, which implies Romney is to blame for the death of a steelworker's wife because he was laid off and couldn't access proper treatment for her cancer. [TheHill] Previously denying knowing the man's story, the campaign has admitted to being aware of him. [Politico]

-> As the Republican National Convention approaches, the conservative base is still unsure if Romney is truly right enough, or too moderate for their tastes. [CNN]

-> The Democrats will be trailing Romney campaign in their own bus, "The Middle Class Under the Bus."[CNN]

-> Conservative columnists say Rep. Paul Ryan should be Romney's pick for VP. [Reuters]

-> Obama criticizes Romney's policies against the renewable energy industry, a hot topic in swing states Colorado and Iowa. [Reuters]

-> Republicans suspect Obama wants to repeat the auto bailout with other industries and cry foul. [TheHill]

Where are they?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz tours the Oracle facility in Salt Lake County.

SL Co. Peter Corroon judges various events at the Salt Lake County Fair, then appears at the Tour of Utah award ceremony.

SLC Ralph Becker attends the Project for Public Spaces Workshop in Vancouver, British Columbia.

WVC Mike Winder meets with Justin Allen of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.

President Barack Obama hosts Muslim community leaders at an Iftar dinner to celebrate the Islamic holiday Ramadan.

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to you inbox. [Trib]

— Matt Canham and Andreas Rivera Twitter.com/mattcanham and Twitter.com/andreascrivera