This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch has some explaining to do.

Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" with Tim Russert on Sunday, Hatch defended U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in the firings last year of eight U.S. attorneys.

He singled out the fired U.S. attorney for Southern California, Carol Lam, stating: "She's a former law professor with no prosecutorial experience and was the former campaign manager in Southern California for [Bill] Clinton."

Wrong, wrong and wrong.

Lam's official biography shows that she was the assistant U.S. attorney in San Diego for 14 years and served as a San Diego Superior Court judge before being appointed U.S. attorney by the Bush administration.

She was never a law professor and was not involved in Bill Clinton's campaigns.

Hatch was repeating the same misinformation Rush Limbaugh spewed about Lam on his national radio program. What wasn't mentioned by Hatch or Limbaugh was that prior to her firing, Lam was investigating at least one Republican congressman in connection with the bribery scandal that led to the conviction of former Republican Rep. Duke Cunningham.

Hatch has written a letter to Russert apologizing for the misinformation. He said his description was actually about Lam's predecessor, Alan Bersin, who was appointed by Clinton, and was meant to point out that U.S. attorneys often are politically connected.

April Fools' Day: Hillary McCormack received her utility bill from South Salt Lake on Tuesday. It was postmarked Monday. The bill included the schedule for spring cleanup. The deadline for putting the stuff out on the curb, unfortunately, was Sunday - two days before the notice came.

Change the Christmas card list: After all the flak about the owner of the vanity license plate MERLOT having to give it up because someone got offended, and after my column item Wednesday about a Salt Lake City street named Claret (also the name of a wine), Lou Parker, of West Valley City, is hoping his daughters don't have to change their address.

They live on Merlot Way in West Jordan.

Also, a reader reports, St. George has a Burgundy Street.

Or you could walk: During a recent public hearing about the Utah Transit Authority's proposed elimination of bus routes from Sandy and South Jordan to and from businesses near Salt Lake City International Airport, one employee of L3 Communications said the plan would make it impossible for L3 employees to use buses anymore.

The UTA hearing officer responded that L3, with 3,200 employees in eight buildings, should be more civic-minded and move its operation closer to the new bus routes.

prolly @sltrib.com