News Articles

Roads and transit: Fuel tax must be raised

March 24, 2013 (Salt Lake Tribune) - Republicans hate taxes, but in Utah, our Republican-dominated leadership also loves roads. And therein lies a conundrum. \r\n \r\n A new study by the Utah Foundation compares the state’s transportation needs through 2040 — totaling about $70 billion — with what current taxes and fees will provide — about $43.4 billion.

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Report: Utah needs additional $11 billion for transportation by 2040

March 19, 2013 (Deseret News) - Utah lawmakers will need to consider imposing a standard sales tax on gasoline, raising the gas tax, increasing fees for public transportation users or some combination of those measures in order to pay for expected transportation costs through 2040, according to a report released Tuesday by the Utah Foundation.

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Utah lawmakers might raise gas tax to help pay for transportation costs

March 19, 2013 (KSL News) - Utah lawmakers will need to consider imposing a standard sales tax on gasoline, raising the gas tax, increasing fees for public transportation users or some combination of those measures in order to pay for expected transportation costs through 2040, according to a report released Tuesday by the Utah Foundation.

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Voice your opinion on the caucus system

March 07, 2013 (The Spectrum) - The Utah Republican Party is currently seeking input about how Republican candidates are elected. In a sense, the current caucus system is in question and the party is looking for opinions.

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Does governor lack respect for Utah voters?

March 05, 2013 (Deseret News) - Gov. Gary Herbert apparently questions the wisdom of Utah’s voters. He recently suggested that a Republican under investigation for a potential federal crime could still defeat a qualified Democratic candidate for statewide office. What does that say about Utah voters?

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Building Utahs workforce key to becoming Silicon Valley East

January 30, 2013 (Deseret News) - The burgeoning IT corridor in southern Salt Lake County and northern Utah County is poised to be the focal point of Utah\’s economic future. It\’s where the state\’s two largest metropolitan areas converge, both of which have major universities and expanding transportation systems. Companies including Adobe and eBay already call it home.

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Sunday Edition: 2013 Legislature and proposed assault weapons ban

January 27, 2013 (KSL) - In this Sunday Edition: a preview of Utah’s 2013 Legislative Session. We’ll talk to legislators, reporters and political experts about what we can expect this year. Plus, the latest gun debate has fired up both sides. Doug Wright offers his opinion on how to have a logical discussion. And lots of people see whales off the coast of California, but most people have never seen a pod like this one.

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Editorial: Nominating Candidates

January 11, 2013 (Deseret News) - In a report published a little more than a year ago, the Utah Foundation, a nonpartisan research group, said a system that made it easier for candidates to compete and qualify for primary elections would have changed the look of many elections over the past decade.

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Background research on Utah’s caucus-convention system

January 08, 2013 (Utah Data Points) - The news reports a proposed ballot measure to reform Utah’s nominating system. \r\n \r\n This might be a good time to remind readers of an excellent report by the non-partisan Utah Foundation about a year ago. The report’s author, Morgan Lyon Cotti, published a guest post on our blog summarizing the report. The full report is at the Utah Foundation’s website.

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Children at risk: Reform education spending

December 22, 2012 (Salt Lake Tribune) - There will be a lot of talk during the 2013 session of the Utah Legislature about public education. Gov. Gary Herbert has already laid the groundwork with his budget recommendation, which would channel about two-thirds of the state’s expected revenue increase into the classroom, primarily as a small salary hike for employees and to pay for a projected perennial enrollment increase.

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Study reveals pros and cons of rural schools attendance

December 04, 2012 (Vernal Express) - The Utah Foundation released a report last week on the educational challenges faced by Utah’s rural schools. This extensive report includes results from high school senior, high school principal and school district superintendent surveys, all administered by Utah Foundation.

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Evaluating Rural Education in Utah

December 04, 2012 (KCPW - City Views) - Utah’s rural students have a higher graduation rates, but fewer go to college. Those are conclusions from a new study by the non-partisan think-tank Utah Foundation. On Tuesday, we’ll examine the challenges and opportunities to students in the state’s rural areas.

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Fewer Rural Students Admitted to College than Non-Rural

November 29, 2012 (KCPW) - The percentage of high school students from Utah’s rural areas who attend college is much lower than that of their city and suburb dwelling counter parts. That’s according to a new study by the Utah Foundation that examined the challenges faced by Utah’s rural schools. Research Analyst Shawn Teigen says rural students are offered fewer advanced placement courses that would allow them to score higher on college entrance tests.

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Mitt or not, Utah voter turnout was paltry

November 23, 2012 (Salt Lake Tribune) - Even in a year with Mitt Romney on the ballot, Utah citizens turned out to vote in lackluster numbers that will likely put the state among the lowest voter turnout in the nation.

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Environment is overlooked in campaign 2012

October 29, 2012 (Salt Lake Tribune) - The non-partisan Utah Foundation surveyed voters this year and found environmental issues were the seventh highest priority in the election year, making them a consistent top-ten issue for Utah voters.

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