The debate over how to best teach Utah children took center stage last night. More than 200 teachers, parents and education officials met to discuss the pros and cons of the Common Core standards at a meeting held at the Granite School District offices by the Utah Board of Education. Mary Lamb, a sixth grade teacher in West Valley City, spoke in favor of the new standards, saying they help keep everyone on the same page.

Salt Lake City’s budgeting process for next year is expected to be much smoother than in years past, with revenues up instead of down, bolstered by an estimated million dollars in sales taxes from the newly opened City Creek Center. But Mayor Ralph Becker says the city is still $11.5 million behind on its projects.

Governor Gary Herbert is supporting the head of the Utah Department of Transportation despite the controversy over an employee who was wrongfully terminated. At his monthly news conference on KUED Thursday, Herbert called UDOT Executive Director John Njord extraordinary, and raised questions about those publicizing the issue. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on why the incident has created a war of words between the Governor and the state’s Democratic leader.

While Utah Senator Orrin Hatch more than survived last weekend’s Republican state convention, it still ended with Hatch having to face his first primary election since originally winning his first Senate race in 1976. So what lies ahead between now and June, when he’ll go up against former State Senator Dan Liljenquist on the GOP ballot?

Utah Congressman Jim Matheson is pressing the Department of Energy on a five-year contract it awarded last year for the removal of 3.1 million tons of radioactive mill tailings from the Moab Tailings Project Site along the Colorado River. Noting that five million tons have been removed in the past three years, the congressman says under this slower pace, the project won’t be done by 2019 as required by law.

The race between longtime U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch and former state senator Dan Liljenquist will continue. Saturday, Utah Republican Party delegates forced the two into a primary election after Hatch narrowly failed to reach the number of votes needed to walk away with the GOP nomination. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on his reaction to Saturday’s results, which will put him in his first primary since he was originally elected to the Senate in 1976.

Utah Democrats avoided primary elections in nearly all their big races at the state convention held Saturday. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the U.S. Senate race pitted two candidates who have both run against longtime incumbent Orrin Hatch in the past against each other at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

This year’s election for U.S. Senate could be a rematch. After challenging him in 2000, former Utah Senate Minority Leader Scott Howell is once again mounting a campaign against incumbent Orrin Hatch, who’s seeking a seventh term in office. Howell served 10 years in the Utah legislature, and was an executive for 34 years with IBM, where he says he’s helped produce economic growth.

The only Democrat in the race for Utah governor this year has chosen the son of a former governor as his running mate. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, Vince Rampton says he can’t fill his father’s shoes, but it’s not a bad idea.

A new report by the Utah Foundation shows the priorities of Republican state delegates are changing. The report finds delegates are less “tea party” oriented, putting them more in sync with voters. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on the survey and what it reveals about the possible outcomes for this week’s upcoming GOP convention.