School board • Proposed standards are meant to prepare Utahns for kindergarten and beyond.

Education leaders are considering implementing standards outlining what children should know before they enter kindergarten in hopes of helping them be better prepared, but some say the state is creeping into an area where it does not belong.

 Utah looks at giving kids a boost before kindergarten (Salt Lake Tribune, 1-13-12)

Since the onset of a recession rocked the Southern Utah economy three years ago, economists have been anxious for signs of recovery.

Slowly, those signs are starting to appear. Budget analysts with Gov. Gary Herbert’s office announced in November 2011 that they anticipate more than a $400 million surplus in revenues in 2011, forecasting improvement in four major key economic areas — employment, unemployment, wages and retail sales — in 2012, and an even bigger jump in 2013.

 Shaking off the effects of the recession (thespectrum.com, 1-4-12)

State spending • Advocates for the poor say earmarks rather than aid hurt flexibility.

Unveiling his budget for next year, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert last week bemoaned the growing share flowing to Medicaid.

The health insurance program for low-income people consumes 17.6 percent of Utah’s budget, hurting the state’s ability to fund other priorities such as public schools, said Herbert, sounding a theme popular among conservatives.  Click on link below to read more.

 Utahs budget debate transportation and Medicaid (Salt Lake Tribune, 12-20-11)

A growing number of custodial parents fell below the poverty line in 2009 as fewer received the full amount of child support owed to them. 

A new Census Bureau report showed that nationwide, 41.2 percent of noncustodial parents received the full amount of child support owed them in 2009, down from 46.8 percent in 2007.  To read more, click on link below.

Bad economy is taking toll on custodial parents (Deseret News, 12-11-11)