Blog

Utah Thrives — Better Air Quality Begins at Home

Written by: Dan Bammes

Efforts to improve Utah’s notorious winter air quality have focused on vehicles and industrial sources. But it turns out significant pollution comes from furnaces and water heaters in our homes. That problem has been getting some attention in the current legislative session. Efforts are underway to encourage the installation of new, cleaner water heaters in new construction. They emit far lower levels of nitrogen oxides, or NOx. The NOx fumes react in the air to … Continued

Utah Thrives — Proposals for Full-Day Kindergarten

Written by: Dan Bammes

The Utah Foundation Research Report Lessons from Our Neighbor: Learning from Colorado’s Educational Success pointed out much broader participation in full-day kindergarten in Colorado. In Utah, 13% of five-year olds attend full-day kindergarten. In Colorado, that number is 74%. Data from Colorado’s Department of Education show the boost kids get from participating in high-quality preschool and full-day kindergarten programs continues into high school. Here in Utah, there have been a number of steps toward implementing … Continued

2015 Top Ten – Transportation Funding & Traffic Safety

Written by: Dan Bammes

The Utah Foundation Board of Trustees determined the issue of transportation funding was the top research finding of the year in our published reports. Highway safety is a related issue, and the question of using mobile phones while driving was ranked eighth among the top ten.   Transportation Funding   The Utah Foundation research report The Roads Less Traveled: Survey Analysis and Research Regarding Utah’s Local Roads included a survey of local government officials from … Continued

Utah Thrives — Legislative Action on Air Quality

Written by: Dan Bammes

With the legislative session set to begin in a few days, air quality will once again be a concern for Utah’s state senators and representatives. Whether it has the same political urgency as it has in past years may depend on just how polluted the air gets – and the view from Capitol Hill. Utah Foundation’s Dan Bammes talks with two members of Utah’s Legislature, Democratic Representative Patrice Arent and Republican Representative Steve Eliason, about … Continued

2015 Top Ten — Quality of Life and Voting

Written by: Dan Bammes

In this post, we’ll look at four of 2015’s top ten research findings identified by the Utah Foundation Board of Trustees. Quality of Life Two items from the biennial Utah Foundation Quality of Life Index made the list:      7. The Utah Foundation Quality of Life index decreased primarily due to quality decreases in traffic conditions, safety and security from crime and having family nearby.      9. Non-Wasatch Front respondents and respondents with … Continued

Utah Foundation’s Top Ten Research Findings from 2015

Written by: Dan Bammes

The Utah Foundation Board of Trustees sets the research agenda at the beginning of each year, and responds with guidance and adjustments as the year goes along. At the end of the year, board members also look back at the Foundation’s work and evaluate the relative impact our research reports have had on the community and policy makers. We recently asked them to evaluate our efforts in 2015, with members voting on the significance of … Continued

Individual Contributions Make the Season Bright for Utah Foundation

Written by: Dan Bammes

In 1945, when Utah Foundation was created by a group of business leaders in Salt Lake City, individuals could sign up to support its work for one dollar. And what is that work? Suzanne Pierce Moore has been a supporter of Utah Foundation since her children were young. She talks about hearing a former executive director, Mike Christensen, talk about the Foundation’s work providing non-partisan, independent research to the public and policy makers in Utah. … Continued

Gold is King in Utah Exports

Written by: Christopher Collard

Census Import/Export Data The US Census recently made its import/export data free to the public. In the past it was only available with a subscription. You now only need to create an account to access the data – which is only a bit annoying. In commemoration of the liberation of the import/export data, Utah Foundation is posting this brief overview of what’s available and what you can do with it. Unlike the Census’s Fact Finder, … Continued

Broadband Internet Ties Utah Together

Written by: Dan Bammes

Utah, as it turns out, has better high-speed internet access than most other states. A new report from Utah Foundation says government action has had a role to play in that — from local initiatives such as Utopia and iProvo to statewide systems such as the Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN). While some of the local initiatives have had a rocky start, they’ve also helped to set the standard for the expansion of private … Continued

Utah’s Gender Wage Gap

Written by: Christopher Collard

Last October there was some buzz created by 24/7 Wall St ranking Utah as the number one worst state for women. The gender wage gap, or the difference in pay between an equally skilled, equally experienced man and woman was one factor used in the ranking. Estimating the pay gap is somewhat difficult. Numerous factors determine wages such as, skills, education, experience, and others. Using U.S. Census data we attempt to deconstruct the gender wage … Continued