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 Utah Grads Mostly Staying in Utah
Utah Foundation, a non-profit research organization, has released results of a new survey of recent Utah college graduates showing the state is not experiencing a “brain drain” of college graduates. The report is available online here.
The survey addresses Utah’s strengths and weaknesses in retaining college graduates and analyzes whether a significant “brain drain” is occurring with graduates leaving to work elsewhere.
Among Utah natives who graduated from Utah colleges and universities in 2004, 71% remained in Utah, and the number of graduates who left the state is offset by the 43% of out-of-state students who chose to stay in Utah after graduation.
Stephen Kroes, executive director of Utah Foundation, said, "With Utah's population growth, we would expect to be exporting some of our young people to other parts of the country, especially as the national economy grows and demands skilled workers. It is remarkable that even with this rapid growth, Utah can keep so many young graduates in our local economy. Utah appears to be a very attractive place for young college graduates to settle down, especially when we see that more than 40% of the out-of-state students choose to stay here after graduation."
Sen. Al Mansell is Assisting Relief Efforts
(Thanks to Ric Cantrell and Hayden Hill for putting this report together.)
After being back only a month from assisting tsunami relief efforts in Khao Lak, Thailand, Sen. Al Mansell is once again rallying disaster relief support – this time for hurricane Katrina victims. As president of the National Realtors Association, the former Utah Senate president is using the resources of Realtors nationwide in providing funds, information and manpower to the devastated Gulf Coast areas.
With a single email message, Mansell’s organization obtained 5,906 donations totaling $3.4 million in relief funds – and anticipates raising several million more in the next few weeks. The Realtors have earmarked every dime for individuals affected by Katrina with “not one cent spent on administrative costs,” Mansell said. He also notes that the vast majority of donations were in hundred dollar increments from individual members.
“[The funds] are being used to assist in rebuilding lives,” he says. “The money goes directly to the state associations so that at the state level they can decide the most worthy recipients.”
Another large part of the Realtors’ efforts is providing listings of vacant houses, apartment buildings, warehouses and even parking lots that can be used as temporary shelters. Directly following the storm, FEMA contacted the Realtors for an inventory of available housing in the surrounding five states. The Realtors’ response to the request was so staggering that the original Web site set up to house the information was soon overwhelmed with the profusion of listings.
The Red Cross also petitioned the Realtors help in the form of direct labor. Mansell received a call last week asking for 250 volunteers to go to the heart of the disaster and assist directly with relief efforts. The volunteers will bring their own food, water and gasoline and are told to expect to be gone anywhere between seven and fourteen days. “I know the response will be excellent,” says Mansell. “We’ll get more than 250.”
Mansell is visiting Mobile, Ala. and Jackson, Miss. this week to meet with state and local officials and work out exactly how the Realtors can best help. “We want to make sure they have the necessary staff. Whatever they need – the national association is willing to pay for it and make sure they’re taken care of.”
The National Association of Realtors, with around 1.2 million members, is the largest trade association in the country. “I don’t think people realize it, but Realtors are invested in the concept of communities,” says Mansell. “The better the community, the better the lifestyle. That’s why were down here, to rebuild people’s way of life.”
Utah Job Growth is Booming
A study reveals that by year's end, Utah is expected to rank in the top four or five states for overall job growth, despite energy cost increases. The report, done for Commerce CRG by Jim Wood at the U of U shows July was another good month for Utah's overall job market, up 5,400 jobs over June. Even with Utah’s relatively small population base, only seven states created more new jobs than Utah.
The top states for job growth in June were Florida, 42,400; California, 29,900; Georgia, 18,600; Arizona, 14,900; Washington, 12,800; Oregon, 9,200; Nevada, 7,600; Utah, 5,400.
Office jobs accounted for 40% of the job growth in Utah this year, meaning new office construction is likely. That is a big shift from prior years (between 2001 and 2003) when little or no growth occurred in the office sector. Major job growth occurred in services, heath care, finance/real estate/insurance, and information technology.
National Politics
Candidate Recruitment Could be Leading Indicator
In his latest e-mail column for National Journal (subscribe here), Charlie Cook says it’s impossible to know how the Katrina catastrophe and President Bush’s sinking approval ratings will affect the congressional elections in 2006 and the presidential election in 2008. Too many things can happen and there is too much time left to make any accurate guesses.
But it will be interesting, he said, to see how current events impact candidate recruitment and retirements, which are going on right now. If Republicans are dispirited and a large number decide to retire from the House and Senate, and if recruitment of qualified candidates is hampered, then the GOP could suffer in 2006 and 2008. If Democrats are excited about their prospects, they could have fewer retirements and more easily recruit good candidates to run next year.
“This is very important, because for Democrats to have any realistic shot at taking the House, they have to find some talented challengers in perhaps two dozen districts with potentially vulnerable, in some cases, highly vulnerable, Republican incumbents,” said Cook.
Bush’s approval rating is at 39 or 40% in most polls, and Cook believes it has bottomed out and won’t go much lower. President Clinton’s worst approval rating was 37% in a Gallup poll.
Strong Support for a Woman President
A new poll shows overwhelming majorities of Americans feel comfortable with a woman President of the United States, (79%), Vice President (84%), and as a Supreme Court Chief Justice (90%). The poll was conducted by Roper Public Affairs and was commissioned by The White House Project, a national non-partisan organization created to advance women's leadership across sectors, including the U.S. presidency. The poll shows that a majority of Americans feel men and women are equally suited to handling today’s complex issues of foreign policy, homeland security, and the economy.
Now You Know
(From "Utah Trivia" compiled by Allan Kent Powell and Miriam B. Murphy)
Q: Which Tooele County boomtown flirted briefly with the idea of taking the county seat away from Tooele City?
A: Mercur.
Q: Utah's twelfth territorial governor is remembered by the name of which Salt Lake Valley City?
A: Murray (Eli H. Murray).
Q: Which Sevier County town, known as Warm Springs and Omni, changed its name in 1865 after a good crop of wheat was produced?
A: Richfield.
Q: What city was known for a time as "City of Roses?"
A: Farmington.
Q: Which Juab County towns were called Salt Creek and Chicken Creek by early settlers?
A: Nephi and Mona.
Q: For whom was the city of Orem named?
A: Walter Orem (owner of an interurban railroad that ran between Salt Lake City and Provo).
Q: Although settlers wanted to name their town in southern Utah County for the Ute chief Guffich, he declined the honor in favor of which of his sons?
A: Santaquin.
Q: Why did the town of Tremont change its name to Tremonton?
A: Postal authorities confused it with Fremont, Utah.
Q: Which Utah city ws first known as Brownsville?
A: Ogden.
Q: What community was first known as Pond Town?
A: Salem.
Q: By what name did the Shoshone Indians call the Green River?
A: Seeds-kee-dee-Agie.
Grant Money for Grand County
Grand County is receiving a federal grant for the operation of an adult drug court program, according to press releases by Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Jim Matheson. Matheson said the $448,320 grant was requested by Grand County Attorney Happy Morgan. Hatch said the grant will build on the efforts of the many attorneys, police, judges and court personnel who implemented the volunteer program to monitor those under the court’s supervision. The program focuses on treatment rather than incarceration.
Matheson Co-Sponsors ‘Good Samaritan’ Bill
Rep. Jim Matheson is co-sponsoring legislation-HR 3717, which offers limited liability relief for construction contractors who serve as "good Samaritans" during disasters (like hurricane Katrina). A Matheson press release says construction contractors are needed following disasters, such as the 9-11 attacks or natural catastrophic events, to help with search, recovery and cleanup efforts. “But many companies who are eager to help worry about the lack of liability protection afforded under normal government contracts.”
Washington County Receives Grant
Rep. Matheson has also announced that Washington County law enforcement will receive a $21,047 “Edward Byrne Justice Assistance” grant to support local crime-fighting efforts there. "Law enforcement relies on this critical source of funding to keep drugs out of our communities. I strongly support ongoing federal funding of the Byrne grant program. I am pleased that Washington County has another means to combat illegal drug trafficking," a Matheson press release said.
Link to Correction
Salt Lake County Auditor Sean Thomas asked us to mention a link to a correction published in the Salt Lake Tribune to clarify an earlier story that mischaracterized his proposal for RDA reform. The correction states: “Part of Salt Lake County Auditor Sean Thomas’ proposal to replace redevelopment agencies with a city-controlled direct tax levy includes a tax shift that would amount to a zero net increase of taxes paid by residents. It adds no additional taxes because taxing entities, such as school districts, would reduce their rates as cities increase their rates. A story Friday omitted the offset component of Thomas’ plan.”
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