June 24, 2024(Standard Examiner) - A new report lists a slew of policy ideas to help solve Utah’s housing affordability crisis, from ways to address “not in my backyard” attitudes, to tax policies (including perhaps vacancy taxes) to increase the supply of ownable and rentable housing. The report released last week from the independent research nonprofit, the Utah Foundation, explores a variety of solutions, but many of them are focused on increasing the availability and supply of housing, including encouraging more density and … Continued
June 20, 2024(Deseret News) - Utah’s affordable housing crisis is a dire threat to the American dream for countless hardworking families in our state. This crisis doesn’t just hurt Utah families — if we don’t fix it soon, it could seriously stunt our state’s population growth and economic potential. The Beehive State’s recent ranking as the third-least-affordable place to buy a home in the entire country, behind only Hawaii and California, is an alarming indictment of our current policies. Salt Lake City … Continued
June 20, 2024(Utah News Dispatch) - A new report lists a slew of policy ideas to help solve Utah’s housing affordability crisis, from ways to address “not in my backyard” attitudes, to tax policies (including perhaps vacancy taxes) to increase the supply of ownable and rentable housing. The report released this week from the independent research nonprofit, the Utah Foundation, explores a variety of solutions, but many of them are focused on increasing the availability and supply of housing, including encouraging more density and … Continued
June 20, 2024(News From The States) - A new report lists a slew of policy ideas to help solve Utah’s housing affordability crisis, from ways to address “not in my backyard” attitudes, to tax policies (including perhaps vacancy taxes) to increase the supply of ownable and rentable housing. The report released this week from the independent research nonprofit, the Utah Foundation, explores a variety of solutions, but many of them are focused on increasing the availability and supply of housing, including encouraging more density and … Continued
June 15, 2024(The Salt lake Tribune) - Salt Lake City Council member Eva Lopez Chavez recently called up a real estate agent in the hopes of buying a home in the district she represents. Despite the boom in construction in Salt Lake City’s core, the 28-year-old who represents a downtown district found that there simply weren’t many homes available. The dearth of homeownership opportunities is “a huge vulnerability point,” Lopez Chavez said during a roundtable discussion Thursday afternoon. Lopez Chavez joined Steve … Continued
June 14, 2024(Morningstar) - SALT LAKE CITY, June 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Western Governors University’s (WGU) Michael O. Leavitt School of Health (LSH) recently launched an undergraduate degree program in psychology. The all-online program is backed with research and experiential learning, and trains students in evidence-based strategies that address various psychosocial issues. “We’ve launched the Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree to educate students in multiple areas of the field and build a strong foundation that promotes further … Continued
June 13, 2024(Utah Policy) - Housing affordability is historically low, but boosting it is not out of the realm of possibility. The Utah Foundation’s most recent research, “Boosting Utah’s Homeownership Affordability,” provides numerous strategies that public, private, and nonprofit policymakers can use to help Utahns obtain the dream. “Utah policymakers have taken several steps to support the need,” said Shawn Teigen, Utah Foundation president. “But there is still work to be done if we want to boost home ownership. Our report provides … Continued
June 13, 2024(Standard Examiner) - Labels like “far right” and “far left” get thrown around so much these days that they perhaps don’t mean anything anymore. How “far” one person’s worldview is from another’s is a matter of perspective. But if 62% of people agree on something, that’s the mainstream. This is the datapoint I hope Utahns have fresh in their mind when they vote this June. The primary for the party nominations is June 25. Ballots have already landed in … Continued
June 12, 2024(Cache Valley Daily) - Facebook Twitter Emai SALT LAKE CITY – How you saw Utah’s only gubernatorial debate prior to the June 25 GOP primary balloting apparently depended on which side of the political aisle you viewed it from. To Republican viewers, the debate between incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox and challenger Phil Lyman was a model of restraint and civility. It was so tame, in fact, that Cox called it ‘boring” in post-debate interviews with media representatives and Lyman … Continued
June 11, 2024(Fox13) - LEHI, Utah — There is no election where the economy isn’t one of the biggest issues. FOX 13 News gathered a group of experts at Thanksgiving Point, located on Utah’s Silicon Slopes, to address topics such as historically low unemployment and growing wages. Businesses far and wide are facing challenges, like a 2.8% unemployment rate, making it difficult to find people. “It’s the first time that I’ve known in my 18 years in working in … Continued
May 20, 2024(Public News Service) - More than 3 in 5 Utahns believe the state is on the wrong track and their quality of life is worse today than it was five years ago. A new report by the Utah Foundation paints a bleak picture of how Utah residents feel about their home state. Data in the report found the cost of living and government dysfunction were the most important issues for Utah voters in 2024. Rep. Robert Spendlove, R-Sandy, an … Continued
May 20, 2024(KSL) - Note: The Utah Foundation is non-partisan. Our research is simply referenced in this story which was published elsewhere as a paid political advertisement by Phil Lyman for Governor. Amidst a growing sentiment of discontent, Utah’s political landscape may be on the brink of a seismic shift. Phil Lyman, who is running for the Utah governor’s office, is emerging as a serious contender for the state’s top office. The recent Republican Party Nominating Convention served as a battleground, … Continued
May 20, 2024(Salt Lake Tribune) - When Gov. Spencer Cox announced his plan to build 35,000 new starter homes in the state, he knew that Utahns who have struggled to keep, or even get, a roof over their heads would doubt whether the effort was meant to help them. “I understand that there will be some pushback saying this is just going to benefit homebuilders,” Cox said at a December news conference in a western Weber County neighborhood that sprung up … Continued
May 15, 2024(Yahoo News) - Before the pandemic in February 2020, I was perplexed when “politicians listening to voters” was at the top of Utahns’ concerns in the Utah Priorities Project. The project seeks to uncover the issues that we think the state should do something about. After my initial confusion, that high ranking made a bit more sense. After all, in 2018, Utahns voted to approve three ballot initiatives: Legalize medical marijuana. Expand Medicaid under Obamacare — or the … Continued
May 15, 2024(Salt Lake Tribune) - Kris Crockett has a good salary and enough for a downpayment on a home, but can’t find a house she could afford in Salt Lake City’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. She’s renting now in Marmalade District and loves it, but hasn’t seen homes for sale below $600,000 or $700,000 — and doesn’t feel comfortable paying $500,000 for a town home. “It’s kind of demoralizing and depressing how out of reach it is right now and how … Continued
May 15, 2024(Deseret News) - Before the pandemic in February 2020, I was perplexed when “politicians listening to voters” was at the top of Utahns’ concerns in the Utah Priorities Project. The project seeks to uncover the issues that we think the state should do something about. After my initial confusion, that high ranking made a bit more sense. After all, in 2018, Utahns voted to approve three ballot initiatives: Legalize medical marijuana. Expand Medicaid under Obamacare — or the … Continued
May 13, 2024(Salt Lake Tribune) - Much like May blossoms, Utah’s latest attempt to ease its housing crisis is unfolding with the spring home shopping season. Yet this big-dollar gambit to spur construction of 35,000 new starter homes across the state in five years is meant not so much at helping today’s would-be buyers as it is in averting a worse hit later. Gov. Spencer Cox, his new housing czar and the Republican-dominated Legislature have aligned $300 million in subsidized loans for builders and … Continued
May 08, 2024(Salt Lake City Weekly) - The Day the Music Died The creative tension between sports and arts may be a given—but the existential battle for dominance in Salt Lake City is not. The city and state governments have been giddy at the prospect of hosting major league sports in downtown, but now the effort appears to be at the expense of the Utah Symphony. The Legislature has authorized financing to help a National Hockey League team settle in. It’s all … Continued
May 05, 2024(ABC4) - The Utah Foundation’s Chris Collard joins the show to share insights into the issues that are top of mind for Utah voters. From housing to political discourse, the Utah Foundation asked voters to rank issues based on their perceived importance. The data that came back shines a light on where voters stand. Collard explains the findings.
May 05, 2024(The Independent) - Some battles are worth the fight. For eighteen of my twenty-four years in Washington County, I have been involved in public land issues; specifically the contentious Northern Corridor highway proposed through our Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, most of which is now Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. The highway is in the news again along with renewed interest in transferring public lands to the state. I’ve written about the Northern Corridor recently, but an update is … Continued
May 03, 2024(Axios) - As Utahns anticipate the upcoming gubernatorial election, cost of living and political dysfunction are the top issues on voters’ minds, per a new survey released by the Utah Foundation, a nonpartisan policy research organization. The big picture: Voters ranked 17 of the most pressing concerns they consider when assessing their choices for governor. Housing affordability and politicians not listening to voters nearly tied for the top two, followed by affording non-housing needs, government overreach and partisan politics. Zoom in: The issues … Continued
May 02, 2024(KPCW) - A new report by the Utah Foundation paints a bleak picture about how Utah residents feel about their home state. Data in the report found the cost of living and government dysfunction were the most important issues for Utah voters in 2024. Rep. Robert Spendlove, R-Sandy, an economist for Zions Bank, said there is growing political and economic disenfranchisement among Utahns. “People just don’t feel like they have the opportunities that they’ve had in the past,” … Continued
May 02, 2024(KSL) - The study conducted by the Utah Foundation reveals that housing affordability and politicians ignoring voters are the top two concerns among Utahns. Follow the below link to watch the KSL TV news story.
May 02, 2024(Utah News Dispatch) - Legislators in the House Chamber are pictured on the first day of the legislative session at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) In the Utah Foundation’s recent release about what matters most to Utahns, the issues of “politicians (not) listening to voters” and “government overreach” ranked in second and fourth place. This should come as no surprise. Currently, the Utah legislature is painfully out … Continued
May 02, 2024(Kiowa County Press) - TRANSCRIPT Welcome to 2024 Talks, where we’re following our democracy in historic times. Protesting against the idea that their tuition dollars, that our US taxpayer dollars, are being used to fund the ongoing genocide that has now killed over 35,000 Palestinians, half of which are children. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hamoud says the Biden administration has failed to take enough action to slow genocide in Gaza, and that’ll sway voters. Hundreds more pro-Palestinian university students were … Continued
