Welcome to the shortest day of the year. This global warming is hell (just ask the folks in Colorado), but maybe we’ll get a nice January thaw.
UESP Wins National Recognition
"If you don't have the time or inclination to sort through 529's go straight to the Utah Educational Savings Plan." That's what Money magazine said about Utah's Educational Savings Plan in its November 2006 edition. Eric Schurenberg, the managing editor, repeated this on the Nightly Business Report.
As a result of positive national press, the Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) collects an average of $2.5 million a day. This 529 college savings plan has grown to include more than 83,000 accounts valued at $1.8 billion.
The jobs of tomorrow will require a college education. To compete in a global high-tech economy, post-secondary education is essential. That's why the State of Utah established UESP 10 years ago. UESP helps individuals start saving for the educational future of their loved ones.
UESP is a 529 college savings plan that allows you to save a little or a lot, according to your own schedule. There are several benefits to enrolling in UESP, such as: low fees, no minimum deposits or balances, tax incentives, and nine different investment options. One portion of the fee is waived for Utah residents. You can use the savings from a UESP account for any qualified higher education expense: tuition, fees, books, room and board, and required materials and equipment.
In order to receive a Utah State tax deduction for 2006, contributions must be received in the UESP office no later than 5 p.m. on December 29, 2006. The address is 60 S 400 W, SLC, UT 84114-5100. For more details regarding UESP, visit www.uesp.org or call 1-800-418-2551.
Utah 'Transit Revolution'
A segment of this week's Sierra Club Radio show looks at "the surprising public transit revolution taking place in Utah."
National Politics
NationalJournal.com unveils its 2006 Awards of Excellence. Examples include: Comeback of the Year: Joe Lieberman; Meltdown of the Year: George Allen and his "macaca moment" and other foot shots. "To Allen, we offer some good ol' country advice: Next time you find yourself in a hole, quit diggin'."
Media Watch
Holly Mullen Quits Tribune
National news media blogger Jim Romenesko posts an item about Salt Lake Tribune columnist Holly Mullen resigning after a column was spiked. Here’s her last column and the memo she sent to Tribune staffers:
Thanks for a great ride over the past nine years. This is a GOP (grand old paper). I'll miss it.
First, to calm the inevitable rumor mill: Like everyone else at the Tribune, I've been told to make my work local, local, local. And more local. Occasionally, I do like to take on a non-local topic. I did so for last Sunday. Terry exercised his editorial prerogative and pulled the column. I disagreed. I got mad.
Then I got smart.
Now for the context (that's the important part of every story, right?):
My decision rests on much bigger stuff than this one event. It kicked me into gear. I've needed to move on to something else -- at least for six months, maybe longer. I've contemplated exit stragegies, scrutinized finances, tried to find a color for my parachute.
On Monday, I resigned.
I'd be disingenuious by not adding that much of my angst has to do with this industry. I honestly love a lot of the changes coming down -- snappier stories, a 24-hour (well, almost) on-line news cycle. I don't feel especially comfortable with reporters blogging. Mostly because their best stuff keeps ending up in the blog and fails to get in the paper. And also because ethics seem more than a bit blurry sometimes.
Anyway, I've loved this paper, and this work. Newspaper work remains the noblest profession and I'm betting the industry will survive. It has to. Someone must bring meaningful stories to the world. Why shouldn't it be all of you?
I don't have a job. I truly am repotting. I told Terry I'm moving to another window. Maybe a different light source will help me grow. I'm 50 next year, but I'm not dead yet (yes, apologies to Monty Python).
Meanwhile I'm giving myself through January to ski, clean my cruddy kitchen cupboards, hang with my college freshman home for the holidays, ski, cook actual family dinners, run, ski and start a blog.
You can reach me at this e-mail. And a night of beer guzzling with any of you is always on my wish list.
Happy every possible incarnation of a holiday.
That's 30.
Holly Mullen
BTW, I have no idea what managers plan to do with my column space. But if they choose to keep it, and hire in-house (any number of you would do a great job) my brain is here to pick. Call me.
Wise Words
“I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I’m in a cabinet meeting.”
—Ronald Reagan (Source: Jeff Thredgold’s Tea Leaf economic update, which this week focuses on international currency values.
Blog Watch
In the comment section of this post, The Senate Site says: "We posted this blog last night as a gentle but clear counterbalance to [Tuesday's] Deseret Morning News editorial: An embarrassment of riches. This was not a 'shot across the bow' and shouldn't be interpreted as such. To our knowledge, the House hasn't taken a position on tax cuts, beyond the sheer amount they want to cut, and that it should be linked to education funding".... Utah Taxpayer analyzes Gov. Huntsman's proposed $100 million income tax cut.... At Out of Context, Glen Warchol reports: "Alexis Miller, a 24-year-old Westminster grad who works at REI, was headed south on I-15 near 7200 South during Sunday's snow storm. Her Geo went into a 360-degree spin and slammed into a guard rail. Uninjured but a little dazed, Miller climbed out of her totalled car to figure out how to get help. 'I could see in the distance the reverse lights of a huge SUV. It was reversing back up the Interstate towards me,' Alexis remembers. 'It backed up at least a half mile.' Out stepped [Sen. Curt] Bramble. He and his family were returning to the Utah County Free State from a holiday event. 'He asked if I was OK,' she says. 'His family was welcoming and super nice. They were all dressed in church clothes, but they invited me into their SUV for 45 minutes to wait for a state trooper.' When she learned her savior was a state senator, she joked, 'It was clear I wasn't a Republican.' ... Miller's car was adorned with several bumper stickers, including, 'Not My President!', with a photo of Utah's favorite president; 'No on 3' (the anti-gay union amendment); and 'Republicans for Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter's archvillain).' But probably the most regrettable was, 'Draft SUV Drivers First.' Miller, who even wiped off the snow off her bumper so Bramble could get a better look, not only lived to tell the tale, but, says, 'He had a sense of humor about it. He laughed.' ... 'It was really cool. He didn't do it for political gain,' Miller says. 'It was exactly what I would hope a public servant would do'".... Ed Meyer offers his personal Christmas wish list "for three investments the Utah State Legislature could make that will help rural Utah today and in the future".... SLCSpin says: "Mayor Peter Corroon is Utah's Politician of the Year. He has a tough road ahead. His popularity as a fiscally responsible watch dog will continue to embarrass the Republicans who have to keep going to Dolan/ Curtis/ Horiuchi/ Tetris. I think the public is finally catching on to their little games. Anyway, the Mayor has been right about the RSL Stadium project, and although he upset many many powerful people, he endeared himself to the electorate. I'm confident the public will shield him from the campaign revenge that's sure to pop up soon (and be very well funded)".... Paul Rolly reports: "The lobbying firm of Foxley and Pignanelli has agreed to represent Parents for Choice in Education and its pro-voucher agenda at the Utah Legislature this year, but only the Foxley part of the firm will be lobbying for that cause. Doug Foxley, a Republican insider, and Frank Pignanelli, a former Democratic legislator, teamed up several years ago to lobby for clients at the Legislature, using their bi-partisan affiliations as an attraction to clients. ... But Pignanelli is known as a public education supporter and worked hard in the recent election for several Democratic legislators who were targeted by Parents for Choice in Education in a particularly vicious direct mail campaign. So Pignanelli will have nothing to do with the lobbying for Parents for Choice in Education, and will not participate in the compensation paid to the firm for that lobbying contract."
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