The Legislature's special session, which begins Tuesday, has some light fare and some meatier issues that could be a sure bet for heartburn. A few words on some of the menu selections:

• The debate over whether to provide $4 million in state funds for expansion of the Salt Palace Convention Center is expected to be dicey. Construction of the $62 million project is under way but its funding is still up for debate. Unfortunately, this issue is clouded by conflicts between Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson and elected officials in northern Utah over construction of the Legacy Highway.

We've long supported the Legacy Highway. We also support state participation in the construction of the Salt Palace Convention Center because convention business ultimately benefits the entire state. Conventions attract people who might not ordinarily travel to Utah. When they come, the state, its people and its incomparable physical attributes speak for themselves. These visits enable conventioneers to judge Utah's merits first-hand, rather than base travel decisions on tired myths and urban legends.

• The other difficult political issue is Utah's stance on the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Some contend the act is an attack on federalism and that Utah, as a matter of state's rights, should be able to establish its own school accountability measures.

To a large degree, NCLB is an unfunded, cookie-cutter mandate. But unlike the state's "accountability measures," which have meant little more than publishing test data and school report cards, and encouraging parental involvement in schools, NCLB levels sanctions. A number of Utah schools have gone to extraordinary lengths to achieve NCLB's measure of "adequate yearly progress" or to work their way off the "school improvement list." Schools that remain on that list face sanctions that can include the state taking control of the school.

Lawmakers can argue about the method, but it's hard to argue with the results. NCLB has made some strides in closing the achievement gap between the haves and the have nots, ethnic minorities among them. Lawmakers must take extreme care to ensure that Utah's accountability measures address the achievement gap, which was the core principle of No Child Left Behind.

• Most of the items on Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s 15-item call are housekeeping issues. Two of those are of special interest: state funding for a veterans' nursing home in northern Utah and an appropriation for a pilot program in 3rd District Court under the Drug Offenders Reform Act, or DORA. Utah needs to help provide a second veteran's nursing home because it is the right thing to do. Men and women who served their country deserve the utmost in care and dignity. Meanwhile, DORA places a high priority on drug rehabilitation, with the purpose of ridding criminal offenders of addictions that likely contribute to their criminal behavior. Although neither project is expected to receive the full funding backers requested, both are worthy causes, and Huntsman and the Legislature are to be commended for revisiting these issues now.