Top 10 Issues of Concern for 2008

Yesterday, the Utah Foundation published a list of 10 issues of concern for the State of Utah in 2008. A new site, UtahPriorities.net has been established by the Foundation to share information on these issues. The site includes a forum for discussing the issues. Governor Huntsman spoke at the meeting where the issues were presented. With over 2.6 million pages of content, Utah.gov provides lots of plans, data, and other information on each of these issues.

Utah Foundation poll's top 10 issues of concern for '08

1. Energy issues, including utilities and gas prices

Governor's Energy Policy, Gov. on Energy Security, Hydropower Wave of Utah's Energy Future, Future of the Utah Coal Industry, Utah Energy Efficiency Strategy, Geothermal Resources in Utah, Wind Energy
Lots of energy resources are available, including maps and data of untapped mineral, wind, and geothermal sources. We should provide this data in formats that can be reused to add value, including kml.

2. K-12 education

K-12 Future Challenges, Designing the 21st Century Classroom, Weber School District Strategic Plan
UEN provides a common forum for school districts and will soon upgrade the network backbone to 10gig. New strategies for learning should be promoted. I understand that Utah's Electronic High School has some new innovations planned. I hope these include use of more advance collaboration tools and resources.

3. Taxes and government spending

Last month, the Legislature passed a bill that requires the state to make its financial records available to the public in a higher degree of detail.

4. Health care

Virtual Healthcare Interactive, Pandemic Flu Preparedness, eHealth Initiative, Evolution of Public Health Systems: Enterprise Approaches
Utah should continue its quest to be a leader in eHealth. I think that Doctor Sundwald has a good vision here.

5. Immigration

Immigration Overview, Senator Hatch on Immigration-related Crime, Immigration Is Us

6. Crime and security

BCI Crime Stats, Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice
Utah is sharing data through CrimeReports.com. This mashup provides a real-time glance at criminal activity. Over 35 local government agencies are participating.

7. Water supply and quality

Water Supply and Reservoir Storage, Utah Water Science Center, Utah State Water Plan
We must remember that we live in a desert. Our water agencies have done a great job at real-time monitoring of water resources. An example is the Sevier River Water Users Association. Eventually, we will be forced to conserve.

8. Environmental issues, including air quality and pollution

2007 Report on the Environment, Stegner Center

9. Transportation and traffic

Transportation Systems Planning and Programming, Traffic Volume Maps, St. George City Traffic Information Exchange
We should continue to improve real-time traffic monitoring systems and get somehow get ahead of the transportation planning cycle.

10. Dealing with Utah's growth

Envision Utah, Quality Growth Commission