Utah, like the rest of the nation, experienced a year in 2008 that ended much differently than it began. The Beehive State saw a period of full employment, job growth and revenue surpluses slide into an economic recession, as unemployment rose, housing sales and construction tanked, and so did the state budget. To help you keep track of those and other developments during the year just ending, we've given The Thumb free reign today. Although many issues are too complex to be summarized so arbitrarily, we've done our best to give you a parting glimpse of 2008.

Thumb Up: Good election » The best thing Utah voters did on Nov. 4, and perhaps the least surprising, was to keep Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. in office for another four years. The next-best election result was the defeat of Greg Curtis, the bully-boy speaker of the House. Still another plus: Salt Lake County re-elected Mayor Peter Corroon and gave him a 5-4 Democratic majority on the County Council. Slim majorities enhance bipartisanship.

Thumb down: Bad election » Utah's minority party was unable to crack the GOP's veto-proof majorities in either house of the state Legislature. Single-party dominance breeds insularity and excess, and stymies the ethics reform so sorely needed on Capitol Hill. Voters in the 3rd Congressional District, xenophobic about illegal immigration, elected right-wing firebrand Jason Chaffetz, who will make far more noise than law. And Mitt Romney's flawed presidential campaign exposed, once again, Americans' distrust of Mormons.

Thumb down: Breaking up is hard » When a group of cities and communities on the east side of Salt Lake County voted in 2007 to leave the Jordan School District and form a new district, their leaders said it wasn't about the money, but better education. But when it came time to divide the assets this year, money mattered most. The old and new districts couldn't agree on who got what, so a three-person arbitration panel will do it for them. We still hope legislators will fix the law that triggered this whole fiasco.

Thumb down: Bubble bursts » Utah's high-flying housing market did not escape the deflation of the bursting housing bubble, nor the credit freeze and layoffs that followed. The stagnating economy forced legislators to cut the state budget by $354 million, and another revenue shortfall of more than $400 million is looming.

Thumb down: Ravaging the West » Bush administration officials rushed to implement six new Bureau of Land Management regional plans that open up millions of acres, including thousands with wilderness qualities, to drilling and off-road-vehicle use. Among the losers are the West's wildlife, archaeological treasures, fragile forests and deserts.

Thumb down: Don't mess with Texas » The April raid by Texas authorities on the Yearning for Zion Ranch was deeply flawed, beginning with the apparently bogus phone call that set it off. Officials compounded that false start by removing 439 children from their parents for two months with only a fig leaf of due process. But some good may come if the criminal charges filed against 12 men stand up in court and cause the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to abandon the odious practice of arranged marriages of underage girls.

Thumb up: People power » The folks in Sevier County who don't believe a coal-fired power plant may be good for their neighborhood or their lungs forced the issue onto the ballot with an initiative petition. Democracy rules.

Thumb down: Hinckley passes » A universal outpouring of love and respect followed the death of Gordon B. Hinckley, 97, in January. The late president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints played a seminal role in explaining his often-misunderstood faith to others.

Thumb down: Crandall Canyon revisited » The fallout from the 2007 Crandall Canyon coal mine tragedy continued, with the mine operator and federal mine regulators sharing the blame for the deaths of nine men. In response, the state Legislature created the Office of Coal Mine Safety, but refused to re-establish a mine inspection program. And Congress failed to approve new mine safety regulations. Because of the lessons learned at Crandall Canyon, underground coal mining is safer than it used to be. But it's not yet as safe as it could and should be.

Thumb down: Hidden danger » Kennecott Copper and Utah dam safety officials conspired for decades to hide the dangers posed by an old mine tailings pond near Magna. It took a Salt Lake Tribune investigation to reveal the dam could give way in an earthquake and inundate more than 200 homes. The company, which has spent $13 million to drain and reinforce the pond since 1989, apologized and paid for a not-yet-completed independent dam safety study. But state officials are clinging to a misguided policy that requires private dam owners, not the state, to make safety concerns public.