A daily dose of online news from beyond the Beltway.

By Ryan Thornburg
Washingtonpost.com Staff
Friday, June 25, 1999

Despite his still unofficial and amazingly late entry into the Republican presidential campaign, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch has snatched up some top-notch names to help his effort in New Hampshire. State Republican committee executive director Ken Egan and political director Patrick Hynes are leaving their jobs to work for Hatch, much to the surprise of their boss.

"A Democrat in Arizona? He's got about the same chance as he does in Utah!" – Arizonan Luann Jaramillo, on the presidential prospects of Bill Bradley, who appeared at Thursday's Arizona Diamondback game. (Arizona Republic, June 25)

A Hatch consultant expects that the campaign will soon hire key staff in Iowa as well. Hatch plans to participate in the state's August straw poll among Republican candidates.

• Two Top Republican Aides Signing on to Sen. Hatch Campaign (The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H., June 24)
• Hatch Plans to Compete in Iowa GOP Straw Poll (Des Moines Register, June 24)
• White House 2000 (washingtonpost.com)

Reich Considering Gubernatorial Bid
Former Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich may be carrying the banner for Massachusetts progressives in the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
• Former Labor Secretary Quietly Considers Race (The Boston Globe, June 25)

EPA Chief Won't Make Florida Senate Run
EPA head Carol Browner is not considering -- at least not right now -- a Democratic bid for retiring Republican Connie Mack's Senate seat, an agency spokeswoman said Thursday. On the GOP side, the strongest candidate, Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, says he won't run either.
• EPA Chief Won't Run for Senator Mack's Seat (The Miami Herald, June 25)

Leading Conservatives Laud Court Decisions
Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson and the Wall Street Journal editorial board are among those praising Supreme Court decisions that increased the authority of state governments.
• Thompson Hails States'-Rights Victories in Supreme Court (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 24)
• Editorial: The Federalism Revolution (The Wall Street Journal, June 25, subscription required)
• In 3 Cases, High Court Shifts Power to States (The Washington Post, June 24)

New Mexico Governor Wants to Consider Legalizing Drugs
New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (R) said Wednesday that he would like drug legalization to be one of the solutions considered for solving the state's problem with illegal drug use. He called the "war on drugs" a "miserable failure."
• Gov. Wants To Discuss Legalizing Drug Use (Albuquerque Journal, June 24)

Florida A.G. Surrenders; Will Defend School Voucher Program
Eight months after saying in a campaign speech that a school voucher program would be the equivalent of waving the white flag on public schools, Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth (D) said Wednesday that he would gladly defend the state against a lawsuit seeking to stop the nation's first statewide voucher plan.
• Butterworth Endorses Vouchers (St. Petersburg Times, June 24)

S.C. Calls Special Session; Video Slot Debate Expected in Ky.
After the state House failed by one vote to pass a compromise on video poker, South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges (D) on Thursday called the legislature back into special session next week to hash out the differences. Kentucky lawmakers will likely take up a similar debate when they convene next year.
• No Poker Bill (The State, Columbia, S.C., June 24)
• Bills to Allow Casinos, Video Slots in Works (Lexington Herald-Leader, June 25)

Whitman Expected to Sign Parental Notification Law
Eleven years after it first began circulating around Trenton, a law requiring girls under 18 to notify their parents before having an abortion has passed the state legislature. New Jersey becomes the 40th state to pass such a law, although they have been permanently or temporarily voided in nine states.
• Parental Notification of Abortion Approved (The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., June 25)

George Flint: Nevada's Brothel Lobbyist
This from the people who brought you news of California's growing porn lobby: Retired minister George Flint is lobbying state government for the Nevada Brothel Association. He began his lobbying career in 1963, working for Nevada's wedding chapel industry.
• Brothel Lobbyist Maintains Low Profile at Legislature (Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 25)
• Porn Lobby Makes Headway in California (Early Returns, Aug. 31, 1998)

Ryan Thornburg can be reached at ryan.thornburg@washingtonpost.com