Still Broken: New York State Legislative Reform

From the website:

"Dysfunctional" is the adjective ascribed to the New York State Legislature by two reports issued by the Brennan Center for Justice: The New York State Legislative Process: An Evaluation and Blueprint for Reform, released in 2004 and the follow up, Unfinished Business: New York State Legislative Reform 2006 Update.

AG Cuomo's Comprehensive Plan to Reform Local Government Operations

In December 2008, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled legislation "to empower communities across the state with the ability to fundamentally reorganize and consolidate local governments." More here.

New ACS Compass Handbook

The Census Bureau released the ACS Compass Handbook for federal agency ACS users recently. To quote a sage man, "it seems to have a very good and clear description of the issues related to overlapping multiyear estimates, margins of error, and the use of ACS data by federal agencies for their different purposes."

New York City Payroll Posted on the Internet

The names, titles and base salaries of 427,759 New York City government employees are now posted on the web at www.SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center for New York State Policy announced today.

For the full text of this press release, click here.

Guide to the 2007 Economic Census

WHAT'S NEW: New Data for CDPs, more Towns and Townships, but Fewer Small Places; North American Product Classification System for service industries; Totals for minority business owners, omitted in 2002, will be reinstated for 2007; No DVD-ROMs or CD-ROMs.

Report schedule starts the 1st quarter of 2009. And keep clicking the forward arrow at the bottom of the page for more info.

Credit card industry facts, debt statistics 2006-2008

This page contains credit card-related statistics -- including statistics on credit card debt, credit card delinquencies, credit scores, credit card interest rates, bankruptcies and more -- compiled by the CreditCards.com staff.

The post in which the blogger links to himself

Good News, New York, about the Census, iff..., where the blogger vainly attempts to describe to the general public the importance of the 2010 Census, purportedly 15 months away, using his favorite Census-related photo ever.

Criminal Justice Statistics

The state Department of Criminal Justice Services is authorized to gather crime and criminal justice processing data from law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and corrections agencies throughout New York State.

Births and Deaths by Month, 1995-2002

This ABC News story from 2005 I came across while looking for something else.

Website lets public track illness

New Yorkers can now find out the hospital admission rates for preventable illnesses by ZIP Code through a new Web site initiated by the state Department of Health.

Domestic Homicide in New York State: 2007

Bellwether study provides comprehensive view of domestic violence fatalities in NYS

Missouri Census Data Center Updates

The Missouri Census Data Center has processed a number of new data files and updated some web applications to work with the new 3-year ACS data. The new data include a complete national collection of the ACS 3-year period estimates, both the MCDC's custom profile extracts (similar to the Bureau's profile reports available via AFF) and the complete set of base tables with MOEs. They have also converted the latest income and poverty estimates from the Bureau and the just-released state level population estimates.

For details please visit the MCDC home page - http://mcdc2.missouri.edu/ - and follow the various links from there. Uexplore/Dexter users may find it helpful to visit the MCDC Data Archive home page - http://mcdc2.missouri.edu/applications/uexplore.shtml - and look at the Recent Updates to the Archive section.

Be sure to note that the link to "ACS Profiles" in our Quick Links navigation box now takes you to the revised version of the application, modified to facilitate access to our 4-across profile reports with graphics for both the 3-year period estimates and the single-year data.

County Compensation by Industry, 2007

From the Bureau of Economic Analysis:
Total compensation of U.S. workers grew 5.2% in 2007 and most counties shared in that growth, according to statistics released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Compensation grew in over 90% of the 3,111 counties in the U.S., as the average annual compensation per job in the U.S. grew by 4.1% to $53,892. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, grew 2.6% in 2007.

PRB DataFinder

The Population Reference Bureau exists to collect and publish statistics about population, health, and the environment worldwide. For an introduction to a specific place - anywhere in the world - there's no better place to start.

The PRB DataFinder tool aggregates statistics on U.S. states and nations around the world. The interface is simple, belying the broad coverage and notable depth of available information. Focus differs, on a state vs. nation basis, but in addition to population demographics, you'll find statistics as diverse as CO2 emissions per capita, number of uninsured citizens, remaining natural habitat, percentage of women in leadership, vaccination rates, and more.

U.S. TOPICS
* Population Characteristics
* Education
* Health
* Labor Force and Commuting
* Economic Security
* Housing
* Family Structure

WORLD TOPICS
* Population Trends
* Education
* Economic
* Environment
* Health
* HIV/AIDS
* Reproductive Health

New York State Local Employment Dynamics (LED)

The New York State LED program is a recent partnership between the New York State Department of Labor and the U.S. Census Bureau. The data series is unique as it combines information from several different types of federal and state administrative data on employers and employees with core Census Bureau censuses and surveys, while protecting the confidentiality of people and firms that provide the data. This rich compilation of data provides an in-depth picture of local employment conditions unavailable elsewhere. This is the best data source for describing the churning that goes on in the labor market.

Health Care Costs, Biofuel Use Among Subjects in 2009 Statistical Abstract

The U.S. Census Bureau released this week the new Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009. First published in 1878, "Uncle Sam’s Almanac" is a summary of statistics on a wide range of important topics, from A (aquaculture) to Z (zinc production). Whether one seeks numbers on biofuel or banking, foreign trade or foreign aid, cars or bars, there is no better one-stop shop for statistics.

Updated State Health Stats

Statehealthfacts.org has recently added new and updated data on Demographics and the Economy, Medicaid & SCHIP, Medicare, Providers & Service Use, Health Status and Women’s Health.

Energy Outlook 2009

The Annual Energy Outlook 2009 released this week by the Energy Information Administration presents updated projections for U.S. energy consumption and production through 2030.

Oil Use and Import Dependence: For the first time in more than 20 years, the new AEO reference case projects virtually no growth in U.S. oil consumption.

America Will Soon Owe More Than Its Citizens Are Worth

The sum of America’s liabilities and other financial commitments now exceeds the collective net worth of its citizens, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation has calculated using the latest official data. Growth in the government’s unfunded promises for social insurance programs such as Medicare, combined with a drop in Americans’ net worth due in part by lower home equity values, is causing this unprecedented milestone.

In related news, bankruptcy cases filed in federal courts numbered over 1 million for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2008, up more than 30 percent when compared to filings in Fiscal Year 2007, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Global Health Facts

This interesting site provides data on a variety of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and more. One can access data by topic and by country. Maps are included that provide population statistics indicating who is afflicted with various diseases. The demographic information touches on median age, population density, contraceptive prevalence rate, maternal mortality ratio and life expectancy by gender. The interface can be a little clunky, but the data are quite good.