November 21, 2011 (Daily Herald) - If Rep. Chris Herrod, R-Provo, or Sen. Dan Liljenquist, R-Bountiful, want to knock off Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in the 2012 elections, their easiest — and cheapest — route to winning the election will be knocking off Hatch in the state Republican Convention.
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November 20, 2011 (Real Clear Politics) - Utah\’s unique caucus system could push candidates and elected officials to cater policies to a small group of delegates instead of the general populous, a research group suggests in a new report.
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November 19, 2011 (Deseret News) - Being out of touch with the rest of the nation isn\’t necessarily a bad thing. Good public policy should be based on more than just following trends. But the way Utah\’s major political parties nominate candidates isn\’t only unique, it discourages people from participating in the political process and may be contributing to disturbingly low voter turnout.
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November 18, 2011 (Utah Pulse) - Two items of interest this week, first, a new research report on Utah’s unique convention/primary candidate nomination process is out.\r\n \r\n The Utah Foundation, a non-partisan public policy research organization, published this week an important historical/analytical paper on Utah’s convention/primary system.
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November 18, 2011 (Ballot Access News) - The Utah Foundation has just published a study of Utah’s unique primary system. Utah is the only state in which no one can get on a primary ballot for any non-presidential office unless the candidate has high support at a party nominating convention first.
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November 17, 2011 (Utah Data Points) - Do Utah’s election laws and practices allow “full opportunity” for people to become candidates and for “voters to express their choice?”
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November 17, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune) - A group of prominent politicos, including former Gov. Mike Leavitt, is lining up financial backers and nearing a decision whether to launch a ballot initiative that could reshape Utah politics by wresting control of the candidate-nominating process from relatively small groups of devout party faithful.
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November 17, 2011 (Deseret News) - The Utah Foundation is trying to spark discussion about the state\’s unique system of nominating political candidates.\r\n \r\n The research group has just released a report on the caucus and convention system and will host a debate featuring Utah Republican and Democratic leaders next month.
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November 04, 2011 (KSL) - Amid the festivities existed an undercurrent of fear as people questioned whether future generations would have access to enough food and clean water, shelter and opportunities for education. And in Utah, home to a fraction of the world\’s population, similar concerns apply.
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November 04, 2011 (Utah Policy) - A recent study by the Utah Foundation found that higher education was ranked by Utahns among the most important factors for a high quality of life. This isn’t surprising. Utahns have always taken pride in being well educated people. In fact, for several generations Utah has risen above the national average for educational attainment. Sadly, however, this is no longer the case.
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October 17, 2011 (KSL News) - Poor results and crumbling schools contribute to a perception many Utahns have that the state\’s public schools are under-performing, according to Canyons Superintendent David Doty.\r\n \r\n Speaking about a Utah Foundation report on quality of life Wednesday morning, Doty said public schools are not performing as well as they should be, and residents aren\’t happy about it.
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October 16, 2011 (Deseret News) - This past week, Gov. Gary Herbert made a live address to Utah\’s high school students emphasizing the importance of obtaining higher education, and Utah State Superintendent Larry Shumway spoke directly to the state of Utah\’s schools.
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October 16, 2011 (The Daily Herald) - Another study has slammed Utah for its funding of education. But at the same time, other developments show that Utah need not be left behind in the race to teach the next generation.\r\n \r\n Recently the Utah Foundation and Intermountain Health Care released a study of how Utahns view their quality of life. An important area of concern: public education.\r\n
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October 13, 2011 (Utah Pulse) - Utahns, in general, really like their quality of life here in the Beehive State. That much we know from any number of studies and/or anecdotal observations. But Utah does have problems – as well as many great opportunities. And it is going to take considerable effort and common determination to fix the “bad” things and keep the “good” things.
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October 11, 2011 (Deseret News) - The state superintendent of public schools is calling on the governor and other Utah lawmakers to throw their political might and checkbook behind education — outlining a host of budget priorities that include funding all-day kindergarten and new investments in technology.
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October 11, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune) - In his third annual State of Education speech Tuesday night, State Superintendent Larry Shumway praised teachers and Utah schools’ use of technology but had at least one major criticism: the state’s declining school funding effort.
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September 24, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune) - The Utah Foundation recently released its first biennial Quality of Life Index, based on a rigorously designed survey of what a representative cross-section of Utahns consider most important to their well-being. Environmental quality was near the top of the list.
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September 22, 2011 (The Daily Herald) - The movers and shakers are up at Sundance for the annual snapshot of Utah and the county.
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September 20, 2011 (Deseret News) - Utahns care about safety, public education and jobs, but don\’t think the state is performing well in those areas, according to a quality of life report released by the Utah Foundation.
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September 20, 2011 (Utah Data Points) - In Utah Foundation’s survey on quality of life, the dichotomy between the types of factors that Utahns felt were of high importance, and those that were of high quality was pronounced. The items that were of highest importance were all things that can be considered a part of Utah’s infrastructure and economic vitality, and can be affected by government and public policy.
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September 14, 2011 (KNRS - The Rod Arquette Show) - Why is Utah such a great place to live?
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September 13, 2011 (KCPW) - Jennifer Napier-Pearce interviews Utah Foundation President Steve Kroes about its recent report on quality of life in Utah.\r\n \r\n (Interview begins at 38:30 in the podcast)
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September 13, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune) - The single most important thing Utah’s leaders can do to improve the state’s quality of life is boost public education, residents say in a new report.
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September 13, 2011 (Utah Policy) - Steve Kroes, President of the Utah Foundation, speaks with Managing Editor Bryan Schott about their latest study on how Utahns rate their quality of life.
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September 06, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune) - A new Utah Foundation study finds that the salaries of Utah public school teachers are not at the bottom among neighboring states. That’s good news. Because Utah is often alone in the cellar when it comes to the states’ investment in education.
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