Across the country, the "second tuition" of stealthy college fees has been putting the squeeze on new college students.---

Top of the Alty World

“Course Load: The Growing Burden of College Fees”—ProPublica

Critics blast President Barack Obama for passing bill protecting agribusiness-giant Monsanto.—Huffington Post

GOP Congressman is sticking by his opposition to same-sex marriage despite having gay son.--Salon

A Pentagon inspector has found the Army does a poor job with protecting data on its officers’ smartphones and tablets.—Wired

Top of Alty Utah

A food pantry closed its doors, citing federal sequestration cuts as the cause.--KUER

Immigration activists with the Salt Lake Dream Team are in a race to save a woman from deportation.—Salt Lake City Weekly

A gun-lobby group sends an e-mail saying Gov. Gary Herbert’s veto of the concealed-carry bill was a “victory” for liberal New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.—Salt Lake City Weekly

Utah GOP Chairman Thomas Wright is stepping down as party boss.—Utah Political Capitol

City Weekly reporter Stephen Dark reflects on witnessing Salt Lake City Justice Court Judge Virginia Ward in court, behaving in a manner as if she were intoxicated. Ward was recently booked on suspicion of possessing narcotics.—Salt Lake City Weekly

Rantosphere

Jim Hightower shows how Obama has fallen short on his promises of lobbyist transparency.

“Take a glance at all the special interests that paid $50 million for his January inaugural festivities. Except … you can’t. While the White House pledged that it would put the names of every donor online so people could see that there’s no conflict of interest, that’s all they disclosed. Just names of individuals. There’s no info on where they live, what corporation they represent, or how much they gave. Even the highly skilled watchdogs of the Sunlight Foundation haven’t managed to identify 40 percent of the individuals.”--Truthout

The Long View

The San Antonio Current takes a look at the south Texas “fracklands” and the health problems faced by rural residents.

“Mike and Myra Cerny moved from the San Antonio suburbs to Karnes County nine years ago, wanting a calm country life. Over the past two years, the trappings of oil and gas development have encroached on their small rural home. Drilling for wells in a field across the road from their house shook their walls so hard the ceilings cracked; more wells are now being drilled behind them. Big rigs speed down their rural farm-to-market road at all times of the day and night. Pallets flying off the backs of trucks have twice flattened their mailbox. Mike says he’s reluctant to buy another one.“That would’ve killed me if I was standing in my yard,” he said. What irritates the Cernys most, though, is the smell wafting in from nearby facilities.The activity won’t stop any time soon.”—San Antonio Current