A daily dose of online news from beyond the Beltway.

By Ryan Thornburg
Washingtonpost.com Staff
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1998

With time running out on Colorado's legislative session, the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos football team is lobbying hard to convince two state Senators to change their minds and support a controversial stadium bill.

A Senate vote on the bill was postponed by supporters Monday because they did not have enough votes for it to pass. The measure would increase the statewide taxpayer contribution for building a new stadium from the current $180 million to as much as $265 million. The Broncos have said they won't be able to build a new stadium if the increase is not approved.

"Barring pornography on the Internet is a reasonable regulation for the government to impose." – Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Illinois, Peter Fitzgerald, in Monday's debate. (The Chicago Tribune, Feb. 24)

Stadium Bill Still Stalled (The Denver Post, Feb. 24)
Broncos Scouting for 2 Senate Votes (Rocky Mountain News, Feb. 24)

www.NevadaTechnophobes.gov
Hoping to improve constituent contact via e-mail, Nevada state legislators spent $378,000 last year to buy themselves laptop computers. But a new study shows that less than half of the lawmakers have even turned their computers on since Jan. 8. Of the 63 legislators, 19 said they had their own computer and 26 said they had not received enough training to be able to use them.

Not all of the lawmakers shunned their computers, though. Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick set a record by turning on his computer more than seven times a day.
Legislators, Computers Don't Mix (The Las Vegas Review-Journal, Feb. 24)

Sen., Gov. Hopefuls in Illinois Trade Barbs
Republican U.S. Senate candidates and Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls clashed in separate debates Monday. GOP Senate candidates Peter Fitzgerald and Loleta Didrickson sparred over abortion and transmission of pornography on the Internet during their first televised face-off. The more conservative Fitzgerald said he opposed both in all circumstances. Didrickson said her more moderate stance would make her a more viable candidate against Democratic incumbent Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun.

On the radio, the four Democrats vying to replace retiring Republican Gov. Jim Edgar battled each other over gun control and school financing. The three trailing candidates – former Justice Department official John Schmidt, U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard and former U.S. attorney Jim Burns – focused on front-running former attorney general Roland Burris. The state primary is March 17.
Candidates Argue Who's Best for GOP (The Chicago Tribune, Feb. 24)
GOP Senate Hopefuls for Illinois Spar Over Abortion, Voting Records on Taxes (The Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Feb. 24)
Conservatively Speaking Fits Now (The Chicago Tribune, Feb. 24)
Even Front-Runner Burris Hit in Debate as Gloves Come Off (The Chicago Tribune, Feb. 24)
Four Democratic Candidates for Illinois Governor Clash Over School Financing, Taxes and Gun Control (The Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Feb. 24)

Delaware, Utah Governors to Head National Governor's Association
Delaware Gov. Thomas Carper (D) is scheduled to replace Ohio Gov. George Voinovich (R) as chairman of the National Governor's Association in August. Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R) will take Carper's place as the organization's vice chairman and move into the chairmanship next year. That post will put Leavitt in the national spotlight, and he'll have other opportunities, too. If he wins a third term in 2000, Leavitt will preside as governor when Utah hosts the next Winter Olympics in 2002.
Leavitt Assuming High-Profile Post With Governors (Salt Lake Tribune, Feb. 24)

From Calif., N.C., Candidates Hit the Airwaves
U.S. Rep. Jane Jane Harman (D-Calif.) has yet to announce her gubernatorial campaign platform, but she is hoping two television commercials will increase her profile among Californians. Self-financed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Al Checchi has already spent $7 million on TV ads since November.

In North Carolina, Democratic attorney John Edwards begins running commercials today in an effort to oust Republican Sen. Lauch Faircloth, who on Monday became the first Senate candidate there to launch his TV campaign.
TV Ad Blitz For Harman Starts Today (San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 24)
Senate Race Hits Airwaves (The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Feb. 24)

Minnesota's Freeman Launches Gubernatorial Bid
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman formally began his gubernatorial run Monday. Freeman, whose father is former governor Orville Freeman, joins Hubert Humphrey III and Ted Mondale – sons of former governor Hubert H. Humphrey and former vice president Walter Mondale – in seeking the Democratic nomination. Former State Auditor Mark Dayton and state Sen. John Marty are also running to replace retiring Gov. Arne Carlson (R).
Freeman Launches Gubernatorial Campaign Focused on Education (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Feb. 24)

Former Treasury Secretary Bentsen Hospitalized in Texas
Lloyd Bentsen, the 77-year-old former U.S. Senator, Treasury Secretary and vice presidential candidate, was hospitalized in Houston Sunday after suffering from exhaustion. He is expected to be released in a few days.
Lloyd Bentsen Is Hospitalized for Exhaustion (Austin American-Statesman, Feb. 24)

Campaign Contributions Raise Doubts About Price of Justice in Texas
Forty percent of campaign contributions raised by Texas Supreme Court justices come from people with cases before the court, according to a report released Monday by the non-partisan group, Texans for Public Justice. Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips said he does not think that any current justice has been influenced by the contributions.
40 Percent of Justices' Campaign Funds Linked to Bench Cases, Study Finds (The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 24)
Study Faults Business Gifts to Justices (The Dallas Morning News, Feb. 24)

Deaths: Ribicoff, Russell
Abraham A. Ribicoff, Connecticut's first and only Jewish governor and one of its longest-serving senators, died of heart failure Sunday at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale, N.Y. He was 87. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Temple Emanu-El, 1 E. 65th St., at Park Avenue, in New York City.

Donald Russell, former South Carolina governor, U.S. senator and federal judge, died late Sunday at his Spartanburg, S.C., home from cancer complications. He was 92. A graveside service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Floyd Greenlaw Cemetery in Spartanburg.
1968 Moment Stands Out As Ribicoff Is Mourned (Hartford Courant, Conn., Feb. 24)
Former Gov. Russell Dies (The State, Columbia, S.C., Feb. 24)