GOT MITT? SLOC DOES, AND HIS CUTTING THE GAMES' BUDGET

          New SLOC President Mitt Romney said yesterday that
     "profit, pride and pageantry come second" to the 2002
     Olympics and its athletes, according to Linda Fantin of the
     SALT LAKE TRIBUNE.  Romney's proposal to "economize" the
     2002 Winter Games will cut $14M from the budget.  But the
     "savings come in the shadow of another" $81M in "unexpected
     costs," including a $41M "budget calculation error," which
     will increase the budget from $1.45B to $1.52B.  If SLOC
     organizers "fail to raise the necessary funds, Romney has
     identified" $84M more in cuts.  Romney said that OPUS, the
     marketing arm of the 2002 Games, has "secured" $548M in
     sponsorships, $326M of which goes to SLOC (SALT LAKE
     TRIBUNE, 3/12).  Romney's cost-cutting proposals range from
     "a six-month hiring freeze to eliminating free lunches for
     trustees."  The only "possible exception" to the hiring
     freeze, which will save $6M, is the hiring of a new COO. 
     Cutting board expenses and staff travel will save an
     estimated $2M (Lisa Riley Roche, DESERET NEWS, 3/12).