March 26, 2010(Deseret News) - There were no fireworks Thursday during the first joint campaign appearance of GOP Gov. Gary Herbert and Democratic Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon. Instead, the major gubernatorial candidates focused on many of the same voter priorities identified through a survey funded by the Utah Foundation, Deseret News and KSL to kick off the 2010 Utah Priorities Project.
March 26, 2010(Salt Lake Tribune) - Should Utah score high marks for its handling of education dollars — or find itself with a failing grade? The answer to that question separated Republican Gov. Gary Herbert and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, a Democrat, on Thursday as the two candidates for Utahs highest political office met face-to-face for the first time this season to deliver opposing campaign pitches.
March 25, 2010(Deseret News) - Jobs and the economy top the list of issues facing the state, according to a new poll that also found many Utahns believe their quality of life is declining.
March 25, 2010(KSL TV) - The non-profit organization Utah Foundation released a new study of Utahs priorities, taken from a citizen survey. But the issues are already playing a part in the political season — especially in the race for governor.
March 25, 2010(Fox 13 News) - Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday there is no reason for his fellow Republicans to question U.S. Sen. Bob Bennetts conservative credentials, but he stopped short of saying the three-term incumbent should be re-elected. [Includes coverage of speeches at Utah Foundation annual meeting].
January 13, 2010(Salt Lake City Weekly) - Want to be a real ‘nowhere man?’ Try being carless in Salt Lake City on weekends, beginning April 4. Reduced sales-tax revenues are forcing the Utah Transit Authority to consider eliminating or reducing Saturday service on a number of routes.
December 10, 2009(Salt Lake Tribune) - Gov. Gary Herbert plans to issue an executive order Friday, directing state agencies to make immediate 3 percent across-the-board spending cuts to help cover a shortfall in the current budget year.\r\n \r\n The order will give broad latitude to department heads to implement the cuts, necessary because the recession has driven down tax collections by as much as $190 million.
November 28, 2009(Salt Lake Tribune) - At first glance, Utah students seem academically superior to those in most other states.\r\n \r\n Utah students have a higher high school graduation rate than the nation on average; they have a higher average ACT score; and they meet or beat national averages on nationwide math, reading, writing and science tests.\r\n \r\n But a deeper look at the data shows Utah students might not be doing as well as they appear to be.
November 12, 2009(KUER Radio) - Property taxes are much lower in Utah than many other states — even neighboring states in the Mountain West. But voters have shown time and again that raising them is potential trouble for politicians. Even so, in a time of tight budgets, they may be the place elected officials look for new revenue. KUER\’s Dan Bammes reports.
November 10, 2009(Deseret News Editorial) - Utah used to be known for the education level of its residents; but not anymore.\r\n \r\n A research brief published last week by the Utah Foundation used data from the census and the American Community Survey to track the state\’s educational trend since 2000. An earlier foundation report tracked it from 1940, the first year the census gathered such information, to 2000. The news isn\’t good.
November 10, 2009(Deseret News) - National statistics show that more women enroll in college than men, but in Utah, women remain a minority at many of the state\’s colleges and universities.
November 08, 2009(Ogden Standard-Examiner) - According to the Utah Foundation, our state is falling behind in its rate of growth of college-educated adults compared to the national increase of college graduates.
October 30, 2009(KCPW Radio) - A new report from the Utah Foundation shows the state is falling behind in national rankings for college graduation, particularly among young people. Foundation President Steven Kroes says the trend is concerning, and policymakers should act to reverse it.
August 09, 2009(Deseret News) - The room is packed wall-to-wall with people whose facial muscles are tense, their eyes glaring and their lips turned down; when they talk, their fingers jab like knives through the air — these are the telltale signs of a property tax-hike hearing, one of the few times regular people show up for a local government meeting.
July 28, 2009(Salt Lake Tribune) - Utah continues to rank last in the nation when it comes to money spent per student, and the gap between what Utah spends and what other states are doling out continues to grow, according to census data released Monday.
June 23, 2009(Salt Lake Tribune) - Two economists at Brigham Young University in Provo believe they have found an answer to the puzzling question of why the rate of personal bankruptcy filings vary so greatly from state to state.
April 09, 2009(Deseret News) - The number of Utahns filing for bankruptcy protection has increased 56 percent during the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year.
March 19, 2009(KCPW Radio) - The Utah Foundation hosted a conference addressing the future of Utah\’s economy yesterday. Overall, panelists were optimistic, and gave recommendations on how the state can emerge ahead of the game. KCPW\’s Faroe Robinson reports.
March 12, 2009(KSL Editorial) - The piper wants to be paid. He always does.\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n However, according to a recent Utah Foundation analysis of saving and spending in Utah in recent years, getting out of debt won’t be easy for far too many households in the Beehive State. The study raises serious concerns about how Utahns will cope financially as the recession deepens and the economy tightens.
March 10, 2009(Deseret News) - By now, most of us are familiar with the story of how we got here. On the banking side, it happened with risky mortgages that were subsequently chopped up and sold as securities to financial institutions far and wide. That mess may take years, and a lot of pain, to clean up.
March 06, 2009(Provo Daily Herald) - As of this writing, it looks like the Legislature is going to raise vehicle registration fees by $20. But this year there are families that wish they’d try some other way to raise money.
March 05, 2009(Salt Lake Tribune) - Utahns may be saving more and buying less as the result of the recession but for many the high debt levels they took on during the good times could make it especially tough to get through the trying times ahead.\r\n \r\n In most respects, Utahns were not much different people in the rest of the country, according to a new report by Laura Summers, a research analyst at the Utah Foundation.
February 27, 2009(Deseret News) - Americans are saving more and consuming less during this recession, and that includes Utahns, who in boom times followed the national trend of amassing personal debt.
February 12, 2009(St. George Spectrum) - Pushing to make water conservation and efficiency more of a priority, Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, introduced a bill designed to protect the world’s most precious resource.
October 27, 2008(Deseret News) - My wife and I have started a new round of wrangling with our health insurance provider.\r\n \r\n This happens about once a year. They won’t pay for a child’s regular visit to the doctor because they say the doctor’s office failed to fill out a form properly. The doctor’s office complies, and then the insurance company once again balks for some technical reason. And each time, we deal with a different representative on the phone.
