2008 SustainLane US City Rankings

Coverage of the greening of the 50 most-populous cities in the nation, and the most complete report card on urban sustainability in America.

U.S. Catholic Population by State, 2008

Here is a list of states with their population and percentage who are Catholics according to the 2008 Official Catholic Directory. plus other numbers such as the ranking of dioceses and archdioceses.

Shifts to and from Daylight Saving Time and Incidence of Myocardial Infarction.

More than 1.5 billion men and women are exposed to the transitions involved in daylight saving time: turning clocks forward by an hour in the spring and backward by an hour in the autumn. These transitions can disrupt chronobiologic rhythms and influence the duration and quality of sleep, and the effect lasts for several days after the shifts.

Not incidentally, Daylight Saving Time returns on March 8, 2009 to most of the United States.

Prediction: U.S. Election Will Cost $5.3 Billion

The 2008 election for president and Congress is not only one of the most closely watched U.S. elections in years; it’s also the most expensive in history. The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics estimates that more than $5.3 billion will go toward financing the federal contests today. The presidential race alone will cost nearly $2.4 billion, the Center predicts.

U.S. Domestic Airline Fee Chart

Even though $140/bbl oil seems to be temporarily off the table, the airlines still tack on fees from reservation by phone to baggage to food. Here's a table that should help.

Americans Drove 15 Billion Fewer Miles than a Year Ago

New federal data show Americans are continuing a 10-month-long decline in driving habits, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced today. The decline is putting new pressure on the way road, bridge and transit projects are funded at a time of record growth in transit ridership, showing the need for a new approach for funding transportation construction, she added.

Enduring Poverty in America

The Federal Reserve System and its 12 member banks partnered with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program to produce a new, in-depth look at concentrated poverty in America. The two-year study, The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America, profiles 16 high-poverty communities across the United States, investigating the historical and contemporary factors associated with their high levels of economic distress.

FBI Releases 2007 Hate Crime Statistics

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released statistics which indicated that 7,624 criminal incidents involving 9,006 offenses were reported in 2007 as a result of bias toward a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or physical or mental disability.

Nearly Half Of States Fail On Emergency Plan Communication

Seven years after Sept. 11, and in the wake of many major natural disasters such as forest fires, hurricanes and flooding, nearly half of U.S. states either have no state-level emergency plan or do not provide it readily to the public, reveals a new study by George Mason University Communication Professor Carl Botan. MORE.

ACS Compass Products

Over the next six months, the Census Bureau will be releasing a series of handbooks, a set of presentations, and an e-learning tutorial to provide guidance to users on how to understand and best use ACS data. This set of educational materials is called the ACS Compass Products. This week marks the first release of ACS Compass Products and includes these audience-specific handbooks in PDF format:

What General Data Users Need to Know - This handbook helps general audiences understand the basics of the ACS, its opportunities and challenges, and how to access and use the ACS data on the Census Bureau's Web site. It includes concrete examples of how ACS data can be used to answer real-world questions about our society.

What the Business Community Needs to Know - This handbook acknowledges that to make effective use of the ACS, businesses need to understand how ACS data are collected and reported, and their advantages and limitations relative to the long form data previously collected during the decennial census. This handbook describes the data products available from the ACS and how to access them. Examples are provided with step-by-step instructions on accessing the data.

FFIEC 2008 Census Reports

Find current data using the FFIEC Census Reports tool. It provides access to 2008 demographic, income, population, and housing estimates for people by census tract. Search for these tracts by county or metro area.

Census tracts generally include between 2500 and 8000 residents. Rural counties may have only one or two census tracts, while most urban neighborhoods will have several. Get help locating them with these census tract maps from the U.S. Census Bureau.

2007 Census of Govts Counts 16 Million State, Local Employees

The nation's 89,526 state and local governments employed 16.4 million full-time equivalent employees in 2007, a 4.5 percent increase from 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

These State and Local Government Employment and Payroll figures are the first comprehensive data to be released from the 2007 Census of Governments. Local governments include counties, cities, townships, special districts and school districts.

Census Bureau's Counting of Prisoners Benefits Some Rural Voting Districts

Author: SAM ROBERTS
Date: Oct 24, 2008
Source: New York Times (NY)
Section: A
Page: 12

...

Concerns about so-called prison-based gerrymandering have grown as the number of
inmates around the nation has ballooned. Similar disparities have been identified in upstate New York, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Critics say the census should count prisoners in the district where they lived before they were incarcerated.

...

In 2006, experts commissioned by the Census Bureau recommended that the agency study whether prison inmates should be counted in 2010 as residents of the mostly urban neighborhoods where they last lived rather than as residents of the mostly rural districts where they are temporarily housed against their will.

...

"With only one exception nationwide," Mr. Wagner said, "every time a community learns that prison populations are distorting their access to local government, the legislature has reversed course and redrawn districts based on actual population, not the Census Bureau's mistakes."

The sole exception he cited is St. Lawrence County in upstate New York. ...

"In New York and several other states, the regional transfer of a minority population does have a representational impact," said Prof. Nathan Persily, director of the Center on Law and Politics at Columbia Law School. "There's no reason why a community ought to gain representation because of a large, incarcerated, nonvoting population."

Prof. James A. Gardner of the University at Buffalo Law School, said that because "prisoners don't want to be there, leave at the first opportunity, and
there's no chance they can vote, it is taking advantage of a completely inert
population for the purpose of sneaking out extra political power."

The Prison Policy Initiative found 21 counties across the country where at least one in five people, according to the Census Bureau's count, were actually inmates from another county.

...

more

Copyright © 2008 The New York Times Company

Country Insights

Country Insights is a source for statistical data, historical, economic, and political conditions for 199 countries around the world, including the United States.

State Bankruptcy Filings

Given the current economic situation, a timely resource: CreditCards.com compiled state-by-state statistics for bankruptcy cases. Click on a state; more information will appear below the map.

International Program Center

The International Programs Center (IPC) is part of the US Census Bureau Population Division. It conducts demographic and socioeconomic studies and strengthens statistical development around the world through technical assistance, training, and software products. For over 50 years IPC has assisted in the collection, processing, analysis, dissemination, and use of statistics with counterpart governments throughout the world. Check out their website, including these handy links to international statistical agencies!

Health Insurance Coverage Estimates

Census Bureau Releases Comprehensive Health Insurance Coverage Estimates by County.

2008 Great Places in America

"APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live. They are enjoyable, safe, and desirable. They are places where people want to be — not only to visit, but to live and work every day. America’s truly great streets, neighborhoods and public spaces are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement."

And two of them are in New York State.

JEOPARDY! Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Show #5542
Category: WHICH U.S. CABINET DEPARTMENT?
$1000 clue in the first round: The Bureau of the Census

None of the contestants even rang in on this, the 28th question of the round; this is called a triple stumper in the J-archives lingo. I must admit that I knew it instantly, but then again would have been embarrassed if I did not.

Do you know?

Interestingly, a similar clue was also a triple stumper on Show #5036 - Monday, July 3, 2006.

The answer?

What is the Commerce Department?

Corporate philanthropy

Giving in Numbers, 2007 Edition is "an analysis of 2006 philanthriopy data from 136 leading companies." Giving was up overall, but while 57% gave more, 43% gave less. The latter may be attributed in some part by "beyond-budget donations" in 2005 in response to huuricanes Katrina and Rita.

USA Today notes difficulty of next decennial Census

For 2010 Census, counting gets tougher:
To count [families], the Census Bureau first has to find them. Complicating the task is a widespread climate of suspicion about personal data landing in the wrong hands and government's increased surveillance power. Much of the unease is engendered by the growing problem of identity theft and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The article also had an interesting timeline, provided by our good friends at Census.

2008

Fall: Recruitment begins for local Census jobs for early operations.

2009

Spring: Census workers go door to door to update address lists.
Fall: Recruitment begins for Census takers for 2010.

2010

February-March: Census questionnaires mailed or delivered to households.
April-July: Census takers visit households that did not mail in a questionnaire.
December: Census Bureau delivers population counts to president for apportionment.

2011
March: Census Bureau finishes delivering redistricting data to states.

U.S. economy generates 750,000+ green jobs

First Metro Green Jobs Report Projects 4.2 Million Jobs by 2038. "The report, released...by The U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayors Climate Protection Center, is the first calculation of its kind to measure how many direct and indirect jobs are in the new and emerging U.S. green economy."

The Business Birth/Death Model

Issues in Labor Statistics: How the Business Birth/Death Model Improves Payroll Employment Estimates (PDF. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program annually "adjusts its sample-based estimates of industry employment for the previous year to universe employment counts derived primarily from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)... Accurate CES employment estimates are made possible in part by the use of the “birth/death” model, an adjustment developed by BLS to account for the net employment change stemming from business births and deaths that cannot be captured in real-time by the CES sample."

The Economic Bailout

An Analysis of the Economic Emergency Stabilization Act (PDF) by CCH/Wolters Kluwer. President Bush signed EESA into law within two hours of its final passage in the House of Representatives on October 3, 2008.

Ten Questions and Answers About the Housing Crisis and the Financial Bailout— In Plain English from the Century Foundation

State Budget Damage 'Just Beginning'

“The damage is just beginning” in state budgets, the Rockefeller Institute’s latest State Revenue Report concludes. While overall tax revenues were “superficially strong” in the second quarter of 2008, sales-tax collections are down and declines in income-tax revenue are highly likely in the months ahead. More widespread budget cuts by states “are virtually certain,” the Institute reported. Read the news release.

Private Delivery Services accepted by the NYS Tax Department

"Generally, tax returns, payments, and other documents sent to the New York State Tax Department are considered to be ontime if they are postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service on or before the due date of the return, payment, or other document. As a result of the 1997 Taxpayer Bill of Rights, taxpayers can also use certain private delivery services, in addition to the U.S. Postal Service, with the assurance that returns, payments, etc., that are mailed on time will be considered to have been filed on time. However, only mail delivered by private delivery services that are designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury or by the New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance qualify for the timely postmarked is timely filed/paid rule." To view the entire document, Publication 55 (9/08), click here(PDF).
Note DHL, FedEx and UPS are on the list, but it must be for specific levels of service.

Best Performing Cities Index

The somewhat misleadingly titled Index actually ranks large and small metropolitan areas, separately, "by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth."

For New York State, the news could be worse. The best rank is for NYC/White Plains/ Wayne, NJ at #85, up from #148 last year.
Other improvemements:
96. Nassau-Suffolk (up from #139)
125. Binghamton (up from #147)
127. Syracuse (up from #174)
134. Utica-Rome (up from #164)
138. Albany-Schenectady-Troy (up from #166)

Not all the news was good. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown plunged from #87 to #159, while Buffalo-Niagara Falls (#183 to #180) and Rochester (#182 to #181) barely moved.

For the small cities, Ithaca (#97 to #64), Glens Falls (#77 to #72) and Kingston (#128 to #77) all were heading in the right direction.

Will Shifting Demographics Change Higher Education?

This report from the American Council on Education suggests the answer is yes: Shifting Demographic Realities May Require Higher Education To Re-examine Its Traditional Career Ladder.

Dealing with the Emergency

Influenza outbreak.
Terror attack.
HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a new Web-based interactive tool to help hospitals and emergency planners identify resource requirements to treat an influx of patients due to a major disaster.

Tool Estimates Resources Needed For Emergency Response

Bill to make Census Bureau independent agency introduced

From the office of Rep. Maloney:

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney introduced legislation to elevate the Census Bureau to the status of an Independent Agency in the federal government hierarchy, moving it outside of the massive Commerce Department. Joining Maloney as original cosponsors the "Restoring the Integrity of American Statistics Act of 2008", H.R. 7069 are Charles Gonzalez (D-TX), William Clay (D-MO), Michael Honda (D-CA), and Henry Waxman (D-CA).

"After three decades of controversy surrounding the decennial census, the time has come to recognize the Census Bureau as one of our country’s premier scientific agencies and it should be accorded the status of peers such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation," Maloney said. "This action will be a clear signal to Americans that the agency they depend upon for unbiased monthly economic data as well as the important decennial portrait of our nation is independent, fair, and protected from interference," the Congresswoman added.

Maloney’s bill was endorsed in a letter signed by every living former Director of the Census who collectively served seven Presidents from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush.

"Although appointed by different Presidents we are of one mind in our strong endorsement of the proposed legislation known as ‘Restoring the Integrity of American Statistics Act of 2008’ that will establish the Census Bureau as an Independent Agency. We believe that this is an Act whose time has come, and that its enactment will ensure that the Census Bureau can discharge its constitutional obligation to conduct the Decennial Census and carry out other statistical operations – such as the Economic Census and the Census of Governments – that the Congress requires," wrote the seven former Directors.

"Nearly every economic statistic reported in the news and relied upon by Americans is derived from data collected day in and day out by career professionals at the Census Bureau. Yet, the average American would be hard pressed to find this vital agency even on the Commerce Department’s own organizational chart on the government’s website where it is buried in the basement of 32 boxes on the chart!" Maloney said.

The bill would take effect in January 2012 after completion of the 2010 Decennial Census so as not to interfere with preparations for that important event. It also calls for a five-year term for the new Director by nomination of the President and confirmation by the Senate. A new independent Census Inspector General would be created by the legislation as well.

"Our goal with this bill is to begin a serious national discussion in advance of hearings next year in the new Congress. Census stakeholders, the Congress, and America’s businesses and universities that are the biggest consumers of Census Bureau data are encouraged to offer their views on what I believe is a long overdue step to ensure the professional independence of this agency," Rep. Maloney said.

"At the dawn of the American republic, both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison felt the Census was so vital to our democracy that they each took responsibility for our earliest censuses. It is indispensable to the basic principles of democratic representation that the decennial census itself is seen by the American public to be completely independent and nonpartisan," she concluded.

Commerce Dept. current organizational chart (PDF)

H.R. 7069 in PDF
***
September 23, 2008

To: Carolyn Maloney, Member of the House of Representatives

From: Vincent P. Barabba (1973-76 and 1979-81)*
Bruce Chapman (1981-1983)
John G. Keane (1984 – 1987)
Barbara Everitt Bryant (1989 -1993)
Martha Farnsworth Riche (1994-1998)
Kenneth Prewitt (1998-2001)
Charles Louis Kincannon (2002 - 2008)
*Years of service as Director of the U. S. Census Bureau

The signatures to this Letter served as Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, appointed by Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, G. H. Bush, Bill Clinton, and G. W. Bush. Although appointed by different Presidents we are of one mind in our strong endorsement of the proposed legislation known as “Restoring the Integrity of American Statistics Act of 2008” that will establish the Census Bureau as an Independent Agency. We believe that this is an Act whose time has come, and that its enactment will ensure that the Census Bureau can discharge its constitutional obligation to conduct the Decennial Census and carry out other statistical operations – such as the Economic Census and the Census of Governments – that the Congress requires and the nation needs.

We offer three reasons for our endorsement. First, following three decades during which the press and the Congress frequently discussed the Decennial Census in explicitly partisan terms it is vitally important that the American public have confidence that the census results have been produced by an independent, non-partisan, apolitical, and scientific Census Bureau.”

Second, the Commerce Department is responsible for many activities and several very large agencies. For the Commerce Department, the importance of the Census Bureau waxes and wanes, peaking as the Decennial approaches but then drifting down the Department’s priority list. The Census Bureau, however, conducts extensive preparatory activities for the Decennial Census during the entire decade preceding it. It also has other major statistical responsibilities in the years that intervene between Decennial Censuses – including producing the nation’s ongoing economic monitoring measures. As an Independent Agency it will more efficiently focus on these continuous responsibilities.

Third, as Directors each of us experienced times when we could have made much more timely and thorough responses to Congressional requests and oversight if we had dealt directly with the Congress.

The Census Bureau is the nation’s largest, general-purpose statistical agency. Establishing it as an Independent Agency, in the government’s highly decentralized system of statistical programs, will be broadly beneficial to other statistical agencies and programs in emphasizing that the nation’s statistical products are scientific and independent of partisan considerations. This is a valuable signal for the American public in a time of economic uncertainty and the corresponding high level of dependence on the numbers generated by the federal statistical system.

We congratulate you and your colleagues for initiating the Bill, and offer our services in any way that you might find useful.

Hearing on reducing the census undercount

Testimony from September 23 hearing from:
Steven H. Murdock, Director, U.S. Census Bureau
Robert Goldenkoff , Director of Strategic Issues, GAO
Kenneth Prewitt, Former Census Director, Columbia University
Roderick Harrison, Consultant, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Karen Narasaki, President and Executive Director , Asian American Justice Center
Joseph Salvo, Director, Population Division , New York City Department of City Planning
Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials

Not so incidentally, we count Joe Salvo as one of our own.

You are Like a Hurricane

An online tool, Historical Hurricane Tracks, helps users get a quick picture of coastal areas with the greatest frequency of hurricanes and tropical storms -- and that historical "snapshot" can help community members and local emergency managers develop better plans for storm preparation and recovery.

NOAA Tracking Site Looks At Historical Hurricane Activity.

One-in-Five Speak Spanish In Four States

At least one-in-five residents of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas spoke Spanish at home in 2007, according to new American Community Survey data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Nationwide, an estimated 35 million, or about 12.3 percent, hablan español at home.

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

Well, maybe you do where you are. But what about Bangkok, Thailand or Barcelona, Spain? Heck, what DAY is it in Bangkok when it's 5 pm in the US? I use timeanddate.com. I don't have to keep track which countries experience Daylight Saving Time differently from the U.S. or not at all.

What's Your Signage? - Signs for Small Biz

Since the JJ Hill Library plugged it, how can I not?



If you run a retail shop or have an office to meet with clients, what's the first thing your customers see when they get to your location? Your sign! So you want to make sure it presents the same good face for your business as you do.

The What's Your Signage? site includes articles detailing the importance of signage to a business and provides background on the elements of a well-designed sign. You can use this information to become an informed partner with the sign-maker of your choosing, or use the site's manufacturer locator to find recommendations.

What's the most important thing a good sign will do for your business? Reassure your customers that they've found the right place.

My reluctance to promote this is a function that this is product of the NYS Small Business Development Center, where I work, and I didn't want to seem self-serving. Well, if it's good, it's good.

Projections of Education Statistics

Projections to 2017.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Continuing resolution boosts funding for Census Bureau

From the 9/24/2008 Federal Times

The Census Bureau would get extra funds to conduct the 2010 census under the continuing resolution passed by the House today.
While the bill holds most agencies’ funding to current levels, the Census Bureau would receive $2.9 billion in 2009, up from $1.3 billion in 2008.
The vote comes one day after the head of the bureau told lawmakers that its efforts to launch the 2010 census would be set back significantly if Congress opted to simply extend current budget levels into 2009 under a continuing resolution.

This shows the danger of continuing resolutions. Census needs more money heading towards the decennial census than it does in some other years, and Congress actually responded to that fact.

Economic Freedom of the World: 2008 Annual Report

Source: Cato Institute

From the press release:
Economic freedom around the world remains on the rise but it has declined notably in the U.S. since the year 2000, according to an authoritative study released today by the Cato Institute and Canada’s Fraser Institute.

In 2000 the U.S. was the second-freest economy listed in Economic Freedom of the World, an annual report written by James Gwartney from Florida State University and Robert Lawson from Auburn University. This year the U.S. has fallen to 8th place, behind Hong Kong (ranked in first place), Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Chile, and Canada.

More significant than the U.S.’s drop in the rankings is its fall in the freedom ratings: on a scale of 0-10, the U.S. fell from 8.55 in 2000 to 8.04, according to the Economic Freedom of the World Report: 2008 Annual Report. Only five countries have experienced a greater decline over the same time period: Zimbabwe, Argentina, Niger, Venezuela, and Guyana.

Which States Have Most Economic Freedom?

The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released the U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2008 Report, a ranking of economic freedom in the 50 states. Published in association with Forbes, the Index scores states based on 143 variables, including regulatory and fiscal obstacles imposed on businesses and residents.

South Dakota, which ranked 15 in 2004 (the last time the Index was published), has assumed the notable spot as the nation’s most economically free state, while New York consistently remains the most economically oppressed state, ranking 50 in all three editions of the Index.

The net migration rate for the 20 freest states was 27.36 people per 1,000, while it was a low 1.17 people per 1,000 for the 20 most economically oppressed states. "People are moving to the freest states and fleeing the least free states as our market-based migration metric of economic freedom predicts," said Lawrence J. McQuillan, Ph.D., director of Business and Economic Studies at PRI and director of the project.

Personal Income Tax: Analysis of 2005 Personal Income Tax Returns

From your friends at the NYS Tax Department comes a report describing "the prominent features of New York's personal income tax, with particular emphasis on the 2005 tax year. It also includes taxpayer profiles consisting of number of taxable returns, sources of income, federal adjustments, New York modifications, deductions,
dependent exemptions, tax liability and credits by NYAGI class, filing status and
return type. In addition, it includes separate sections on income, itemized deduction amounts, exemptions, available credits and information on refundable credits. Finally, it compares statistics for 2005 with those from the prior year for most of these items.

Accompanying this report are statistical tables that cover resident, part-year resident, and nonresident returns. The report also includes a description and statistical information from returns filed by fiduciaries of estates and trusts."

So go view the entire publication and download statistical tables.

Handbook of New York State and Local Taxes, August 2008 Edition

I'm such a geek for these things:

The Handbook of New York State and Local Taxes provides a general descriptive overview of the taxes which New York State and its local governments impose, and is revised periodically to reflect recently enacted law changes. It does not include non-tax revenue sources such as motor vehicle fees and the Lottery. Instead, it focuses on taxes, especially those administered by the Department of Taxation and Finance.

Download the entire publication.

Health Insurance Coverage for Small Businesses

As we'ver seen, the health insurance crisis isn't just for those 47 million Americans who don't have health insurance, it's for the 250 million that do. Many are offered - or not - by small business.

The Rockefeller Institute of Government’s Health Policy Research Center has issued a series of reports on private insurance coverage for small businesses. The reports, which were funded by the New York State Health Foundation, include a paper titled "From Access to Affordability," which is a nationwide scan of the various strategies states are using to try to address the growing problem of health insurance coverage for small businesses. In addition to the 50-state research, there are also three in-depth case studies on the strategies being used by Maine, Minnesota, and New Jersey and a comprehensive report that combines what was learned from the state scan and field research. For copies of the reports, please visit www.rockinst.org. Read the press release.

2007 American Community Survey Characteristics Data

On September 23, 2008, the Census Bureau will release 2007 data on social, economic, housing and demographic characteristics. These data cover topics ranging from language to education, from family size to work commute, and are available for more than 7,000 areas, including all congressional districts as well as counties, cities, metro areas, and American Indian and Alaska Native areas of 65,000 population or more. Special population profiles and Public Use Microdata Sample data will also be released. Data will also be available from the Puerto Rico Community Survey.

Help Improve the Census Bureau Web Site!

please take 10 minutes to fill out the 2008 Survey of Census Bureau Web Site Visitors. The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting this study to evaluate its online presence, products, and services to you. Your opinions and ideas are important to them. Your responses are voluntary and will remain confidential. This survey is being conducted under OMB Clearance Number 0607-0760, which expires on November 30, 2010. For further information regarding this clearance, please contact the Customer Liaison and Marketing Services Office at 301-763-4094.

FBI Releases 2007 Crime Statistics

After rising for two straight years, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation declined from the previous year’s total. The declining trend continued for property crimes, as those offenses were down for the fifth year in a row.

Statistics released...by the FBI show that the estimated volume of violent crime was down 0.7 percent, and the estimated volume of property crime decreased 1.4 percent in 2007 when compared with 2006 figures. The estimated rate of violent crime was 466.9 occurrences per 100,000 inhabitants (a 1.4 percent decrease from the 2006 rate), and the estimated rate of property crime was 3,263.5 per 100,000 inhabitants (a 2.1 percent decline).

Here's the paragraph I think is 1) most important and 2) most likely to be ignored.

Caution Against Ranking—Each year when Crime in the United States is published, some entities use reported figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime in a particular town, city, county, state, or region. Consequently, they lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents. Valid assessments are possible only with careful study and analysis of the range of unique conditions affecting each local law enforcement jurisdiction. The data user is, therefore, cautioned against comparing statistical data of individual reporting units from cities, metropolitan areas, states, or colleges or universities solely on the basis of their population coverage or student enrollment.

Star Rebate Check Mailing Starts September 29

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Robert L. Megna announced this week that the Department will begin to mail rebate checks the week of September 29 to New York homeowners who qualify for the 2008 Middle Class STAR Rebate Program.

The mailing will continue through the end of October.

Unlike 2007, most homeowners will not have to apply for this year's rebate. If a household's 2008 property information remains unchanged from 2007, no reapplication is necessary. These homeowners will get their checks automatically.

Property owners who did not apply in 2007, and homeowners whose property information changed during the past year, will have to apply. Applications to these households will also be mailed automatically beginning September 29.

Nearly 3.3 million households may be eligible for a STAR rebate, which is in addition to the STAR property exemption on taxpayers' school tax bills. It is expected that more than $1.1 billion will be turned back to homeowners through this year's rebate program.

Commissioner Megna said, "Every eligible household should take advantage of this benefit, which is targeted to middle class homeowners and senior citizens. It is income based, so those who need it most will receive the largest benefit."

Rebate checks and applications will be mailed automatically in alphabetical order, by county, meaning that Albany County homeowners will receive their checks or applications first, followed by homeowners in Allegany and Broome Counties. Mailing to all of the state's counties, including the City of New York, will be completed by the end of October.

Residents can access the Tax Department's website at www.nystax.gov to find out when their checks will be mailed and the amount of the rebate they will receive. Information for senior citizens getting the Enhanced STAR rebate, and information for homeowners who need to apply for the 2008 program, can also be found on the website.

Last year there were about 635,000 rebate checks mailed to senior citizens who receive Enhanced STAR, and about 2.3 million checks mailed to homeowners who get the Basic STAR exemption.

The maximum benefit for those receiving the Basic STAR rebate goes to upstate homeowners earning $90,000 or less, and New York City metropolitan region homeowners earning $120,000 or less. The benefit diminishes until a homeowner's income reaches $250,000. Taxpayers earning over $250,000 are not eligible for the rebate, but continue to receive the STAR exemption on their school tax bills.

Applicants are encouraged to apply on line at www.nystax.gov. All applications must be received by December 31, 2008. Enrollment is easy and the rebate checks are mailed to homeowners as the applications are processed. Online applications take less time to process and the check is issued faster than with a paper application.

To apply, the homeowner only has to verify the property information provided on the application, enter the names, social security numbers, and all required information for all resident property owners and their spouses, verify the mailing address, and submit the application.

This year, rebates for Basic STAR recipients are subject to offset for debts owed to New York State agencies, the Internal Revenue Services, and certain other states.

New Report Finds Retrenchment in State/Local Social Welfare Spending

Instinctively, this seems a logical result of belt tightening by states and localities, but it still shows the scary state of the "safety net". A new report entitled The New Retrenchment: Social Welfare Spending, 1977-2006 is now available on the Rockefeller Institute’s website. The report shows recent declines in social welfare spending — including cash assistance, medical assistance, and social services — as well as major shifts in the relationship between state fiscal capacity and social welfare spending. Read the news release.

Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Review

Newsletter of the Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council

Volume 5, Number 3, Fall 2008 available here includes:

Preparing Village "Main Streets" for Planning Guidebook Complete
Why Downtown Planning?
G/FLRPC Revolving Loan Fund: Helping to Create Jobs in the Region
A Sense of Place
Upcoming Events
Recent G/FLRPC Publications
Recent G/FLRPC Presentations
G/FLRPC Staff Comings and Goings

Company Insight Center

J.J. Hill Library's recommendation this week is Company Insight Center from BusinessWeek magazine, which "profiles 42,000 public and 322,000 private companies from across the globe. For public companies you'll find detailed financial data, executive pay, news stories, and stock performance. Private company coverage is much thinner and includes contact info and varying degrees of news coverage."

In Digital Age, Federal Files Blip Into Oblivion

Here's a scary story for data users from the New York Times by ROBERT PEAR.
Published: September 12, 2008

WASHINGTON Countless federal records are being lost to posterity because
federal employees, grappling with a staggering growth in electronic
records, do not regularly preserve the documents they create on government
computers, send by e-mail and post on the Web.

Federal agencies have rushed to embrace the Internet and new information
technology, but their record-keeping efforts lag far behind. Moreover,
federal investigators have found widespread violations of federal
record-keeping requirements.

Many federal officials admit to a haphazard approach to preserving e-mail
and other electronic records of their work. Indeed, many say they are
unsure what materials they are supposed to preserve.

This confusion is causing alarm among historians, archivists, librarians,
Congressional investigators and watchdog groups that want to trace the
decision-making process and hold federal officials accountable. With the
imminent change in administrations, the concern about lost records has
become more acute.

We expect to see the wholesale disappearance of materials on federal
agency Web sites, said Mary Alice Baish, the Washington representative of
the American Association of Law Libraries, whose members are heavy users
of government records. When new officials take office, they have new
programs and policies, and they want to make a fresh start.

A Chance at Free Credit Monitoring

"If you opened a credit card account, got a car loan or mortgage or used any other line of credit in the past 20 years, you may be eligible for free credit monitoring for up to nine months because of a recent class action lawsuit settlement with TransUnion, one of the three major credit-reporting bureaus...

Under the $75 million settlement, TransUnion will provide free credit monitoring... plus the ability to block third parties from viewing your credit history. You qualify if you had an open credit account or an open line of credit from a registered subscriber with a credit bureau between Jan. 1, 1987, and May 28, 2008.

You can choose from two options—six months of credit monitoring valued at nearly $60 and the possibility of getting an additional cash settlement, or nine months valued at $115, which has more services but disqualifies you from a cash settlement.

To receive either, register before Sept. 24 at www.listclassaction.com or call 1-866-416-3470 toll free."

From AARP.

Sales tax data

I do love this stuff:

2007-2008 Annual Statistical Report of New York State Tax Collections - Statistical Summaries and Historical Tables

This publication contains a series of statistical tabulations detailing taxes administered by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The information presented includes revenues and selected tax structure and consumption information for the State's major taxes. It also presents data for some locally imposed taxes.

This edition presents information for New York State Fiscal Year 2007-2008 (SFY 2007-2008) and some historical statistics. New York State's fiscal year is April 1 - March 31.

To download the entire publication and statistical tables, please visit here.

Identity theft

From someone who's been a victim a couple times, what to do.

Fire statistics resources

Next month is national fire prevention month, so here are links to some info.

U.S. Fire Administration. Fire Statistics

Fire Statistics (Center of Fire Statistics) June 2006

Yes, some of it is NOT in English. Still, if you look on page 46 (table 2a) Note row for U.S., as well as figures for other countries (see also p. 12 for some table explanation). Not so incidentally, for U.S.A. in 2003, (country no. 1), population is given in thousands (290789; adding 3 zeros, 290,789,000).

Census Should Only Count Legal Residents, GOP Platform Says

According to an AP wire story,
The 2008 Republican platform...says only those legally residing in the United States should be counted in the next census.

"The integrity of the 2010 census, proportioning congressional representation among the states, must be preserved," says the platform language, which is a reinterpretation of the Constitution that could affect how congressional seats are apportioned. "The census," it says, "should count every person legally abiding in the United States in an actual enumeration."

The 14th Amendment of the Constitution, ratified in 1868, says that representatives to the U.S. House "should be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed."

"Our mandate is to count all residents regardless of legal status," said Mark Tolbert, a spokesman for the Census Bureau.

Interesting, if unfortunate. Will a McCain Presidency actually alter the 2010 census, or is the platform just rhetoric to be ignored if the candidate is actually elected? as far as I know, the Democrats have made no suc statement in their platform.

2010 Census and the GAO, again

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week released the following report:

2010 Census: Census Bureau's Decision to Continue with Handheld Computers for Address Canvassing Makes Planning and Testing Critical. GAO-08-936, July 31.

Highlights.

Well, yeah. My sense is that the general public has no idea what's involved in the Census in terms of planning and testing; I think most people think they just print up the forms every 10 years, and wait for them to come back in the mail.

Most Movers Stay in the Same County

Geographical mobility, unsurprisingly, is a function of life stages.

2008 World Population Data Sheet

The Population Reference Bureau’s 2008 World Population Data Sheet and its summary report offer detailed information about country, regional, and global population patterns.

2007 Judicial Facts and Figures

Judicial Facts and Figures is a set of tables containing historical caseload data primarily for the fiscal years from 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2002 through 2007. The tables include data on the U.S. Courts of Appeals, the U.S. District Courts, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts.

Great .gov Web sites

These 10 sites show agencies putting the power of the Web to work. From Government Computer News. No, Census is NOT on the list.

Rutgers Market Research Guide

From J.J. Hill library:

When someone hunkers down to do "market research" they can be embarking on about a thousand different journeys. They may focus on customers, competitors, industry data, or any number of other options - so having a guide to those options can help.

The Rutgers University Library offers one such guide, with this market research pathfinder. From commercial reports to government data and research centers, this collection (which focuses on consumer income, consumption, and demographics) highlights some of the best market research the Internet has to offer.

While a couple of the links within the guide don't go exactly where they intend to, the resource as a whole is an excellent intro to this multi-faceted research task.

The SIC/NAICS thing

An interesting conversation arose on a listserv I monitor about someone doing industry research at the SIC level. This led to conversations about why. I wrote:
NAICS was supposed to supersede SIC as of the 1997 Economic Census.
SIC, last updated in 1987, won't be revised, but NAICS will, every five years (2002, 2007).
That said, a lot of data are still in SIC.
Someone noted that the business analysts, all "recent business school grads", are only being taught SIC, not NAICS.
Others noted the D&B Market Identifiers File 516 database on Dialog uses both NAICS and SICs but other D&B products on Dialog only use SICs, as does the print D&B Industry Norms/Key Business Ratios.
The SEC still uses SIC codes, though "value-added vendors allow for searching by NAICS.

So why does SIC linger? One vendor reportedly suggested that while the government pushed for NAICS, the private sector is still happy with SICs. Companies such as D&B and RefUSA have each developed extended codes; e.g. SIC 7389-11, which differ from each other, of course.

I suspect that SIC will eventually shrink away, but may take a while. As one librarian noted: "Despite any residual warm feelings for SIC codes--extended or otherwise--that we may have, the SIC manual has no future. The Feds (OMB) are not going to revise it, whereas the NAICS codes will be updated every five years. As the years go by SICs will get more and more out of date. One only has to look at earlier SIC manuals to see how certain industries wither and flourish over the decades since the first one in 1939."

Census Bureau Releases 2007 ACS Data

U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2007 American Community Survey Data on Income, Poverty, and Earnings.

The Census Bureau released income, poverty, and earnings data from the 2007 American Community Survey (ACS), in conjunction with the Census Bureau's annual release of income, poverty, and health insurance data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey.

Data are again available for the nation, the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, every congressional district and all counties, places, school districts, and metropolitan areas with populations of 65,000 or more.

The Census Bureau's Web site now contains guidance on comparing 2007 ACS data to 2006 ACS data, as well as comparing 2007 ACS data to Census 2000 data. This guidance may be found here.

The ACS Web site recently was redesigned to make navigation easier and to help users find the information they need more quickly. Information about the 2007 Data Release can be found here.

September is National Preparedness Month

I received an e-mail from the CPM Industry Insider that had a link to the article Survey: American Small Businesses Not Prepared For Power Outages. Probably not coincidentally, on the very same day, SBA sent out a press release about September being National Preparedness Month, from which I will quote extensively:

Homeowners, Renters and Businesses Are Encouraged to Plan Before Disaster Strikes

WASHINGTON – Recent floods in the Midwest and hurricanes/tropical storms in Texas and Florida have cost homeowners, renters and businesses millions of dollars in damages. These events serve as reminders to the public to have a disaster preparedness plan in place.

National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is designed to enhance the public’s awareness of the necessity of having an emergency plan in place to respond to a natural or man-made disaster. The U.S. Small Business Administration is one of the many government and private sector coalition partners participating in this fifth annual National Preparedness Month.

"There’s a tendency – and it’s human nature – to think that a large-scale disaster is not going to happen where you live," said SBA Acting Administrator Sandy K. Baruah. "Accepting the inevitability of an emergency, and then taking responsibility for your own recovery are the necessary first steps toward protecting your family, your assets, and your community."

To prepare for disasters, SBA offers the following tips:
• Develop a solid emergency response plan. Find evacuation routes from the home or business and establish meeting places. Make sure everyone understands the plan beforehand. Keep emergency phone numbers handy.
Business owners should designate a contact person to communicate with other employees, customers and vendors. Individuals and business owners should ask an out-of-state friend, colleague or family member to be a “post-disaster”
point of contact, supporting the flow of information about short-term relocations, recovery, additional sources of assistance, etc.

• Make sure you have adequate insurance coverage. Disaster preparedness begins with having adequate insurance coverage – at least enough to rebuild your home or business. Homeowners and business owners should review their policies to see what is or isn’t covered. Businesses should consider “business interruption insurance,” which helps cover operating costs during the post- disaster shutdown period. Flood insurance is essential. To find out more about the National Flood Insurance Program, visit the Web site at www.floodsmart.gov.

• Copy important records. It’s a good idea to back up vital records and information saved on computer hard drives, and store that information at a distant offsite location. Computer data should be backed up routinely. Copies of important documents and CDs should be stored in fire-proof safe deposit boxes.

• Create a "Disaster Survival Kit." The kit should include a flashlight, a portable radio, extra batteries, a first-aid kit, non-perishable packaged and canned food, bottled water, a basic tool kit, plastic bags, cash, and a digital camera to take pictures of the property damage after the storm.

More preparedness tips for businesses, homeowners and renters are available on the SBA’s Web site.
The Institute for Business and Home Safety also has information on protecting your home or business. To learn more about developing an emergency plan, visit the DHS’s Ready Campaign Web site at www.ready.gov or call 1-800-BE-READY to receive free materials.

The SBA makes low-interest loans to homeowners, renters and non-farm businesses of all sizes. Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace damaged real estate. Individuals may borrow up to $40,000 to cover losses to personal property.

Non-farm businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may apply for up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster damaged business assets and real property. Small businesses that suffered economic losses as a direct result of the declared disaster may apply for a working capital loan up to $2 million, even if the property was not physically damaged.

The Death of Census.gov?

Following up on yesterday's piece about the SEC's EDGAR changing, the J.J. Hill Library wonders whether other government sites will follow. "A recent study from Princeton researchers suggests that the government give up creating their own Web sites altogether and instead focus on creating data feeds of government information to third party site creators. Interesting, in that this would surely result in better-designed sites, troubling in that it may bring agendas into the mix of public data. We’ll keep a keen eye on the developments."

I opined: "How will this play in the copyright issue? Currently, most govt stuff can't be copyrighted, but if the vendor brings 'value-added', then who owns what?
Maybe I'm being overly cynical. Probably not."

Goodbye, Edgar. Hello, IDEA

SEC Plans Switch From Edgar To Interactive Database

Edgar, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s electronic database of corporate filings, will be replaced by a new system dubbed IDEA, or Interactive Data Electronic Applications, the SEC announced Tuesday.

“This isn’t just a renaming of Edgar,” but an entirely new approach, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said at a press conference to unveil the new system.

IDEA will supplement Edgar to start and eventually replace it altogether. Once the system is up and running, Cox said it will give investors faster and easier access to key financial information about public companies and mutual funds.

I Love My Librarian Award Announced

From the announcement:

Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded the American Library Association $489,000 to support a new Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.

Administered by the ALA’s Public Information Office and Campaign for America’s Libraries, the award will launch this year and will continue annually through 2013. The award encourages library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community.

USFA Announces 2007 Firefighter Fatalities Report

The report continues a series of annual studies by the United States Fire Administration of on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States. The USFA is the single public agency source of information for all on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States each year.

IRS Issues Summer 2008 Statistics Of Income Bulletin

he Internal Revenue Service released the summer 2008 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin, which features tax year 2005 data on the growth in profits and tax liability reported by foreign-controlled domestic corporations.

According to 2005 data, there were 61,820 foreign-controlled domestic corporations (FCDCs), accounting for 1.1 percent of the total of all U.S. corporations. However, FCDCs generated $3.5 trillion of total receipts with $9.2 trillion of total assets, accounting for 13.7 percent of receipts and 13.9 percent of assets reported on all U.S. corporation income tax returns.

Fertility rates dropping among older women

A Census story in the Times Union (Albany).

Do Business Definition Decisions Distort Small Business Research Results?

According to SBA: This working paper has two purposes. It presents special tabulations from the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Business Owners (SBO) to offer the public detailed information on businesses with and without employees and their owners (including owner age, home-based status, franchises and financing).
Second, the authors consider the characteristics of nonemployer and employer businesses. Their examination shows that research results based on data on nonemployers are not necessarily applicable to employers and vice versa.

A copy of the report is located here and the research summary can be found here.

Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Brian Headd or Radwan Saade at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov.

Canadian dollars per litre

On a website, I saw a reference to the price of gas as 1.279. Initially, I didn't get it. Then I realized I was on a Canadian website and it was a reference to Canadian dollars per liter. So what is that in US dollars per gallon? And how do I figure it out without having to do two calculations, one for liter to gallon and another for the currency.

Google, of course. To use my example, type: 1.279 CAD per litre in USD per gallon and click "Google Search". When I did it at noon on August 11, the result was "1.27900 (Canadian dollars per litre) = 4.58349234 U.S. dollars per US gallon". By the way, it doesn't matter if you spell "litre" or "liter".

What you will need is the three-letter code for currency, which you can find several places, including here, one of the sites noted on this website.

More about Google's unit conversions g=here.

Tip of the cap to Arthur @ AmeriNZ, who mentioned this on his podcast.

My Blogger Nightmare is Over

Last week, I found that I could post blogs on this blog - thus the test posts, whicjh I'm leaving up for posterity - but that I couldn't actually see the main blog page. This was weird, because it happened to only one of my five Blogger blogs. Moreover, if I had the specific link to a previously posted item, I could get to that.

Looking through Blogger help, I finally discovered that a number of people were having the same problem, getting an error message that started with bX. I posted my situation on some Blogger board and Saturday, it seemed to be working again.

Actual content soon.

test2

Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems

The Reason Foundation's 17th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems measures the performance of all state-owned roads and highways from 1984 to 2006. The study calculates the effectiveness and performance of each state in 12 different categories, including traffic fatalities, congestion, pavement condition, bridge condition, highway maintenance costs, and administrative costs.

test

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Estimates of U.S. population for July 1, 2007

La Paz, Ariz., Population is Nation’s Oldest County. Also, 302 counties, or nearly one in every 10, are “majority-minority” — meaning the county had a population with more than 50 percent minority residents.

Among the majority-minority counties with a minority population of 1 million or more were Bronx, N.Y.; Miami-Dade, Fla.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Queens, N.Y.; Bexar (San Antonio) and Dallas, Texas; San Bernardino, Calif.; Kings (Brooklyn), N.Y.; Harris (Houston), Texas; Santa Clara (San Jose) and Riverside, Calif.; Cook (Chicago), Ill.; and Orange, Calif.

International Visitation to the U.S. on the Rise

Visitor Spending Hits Record High in May

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that 4.3 million international visitors traveled to the United States in May, an increase of 14 percent over May 2007. For the first five months of 2008, visitation was up 12 percent compared to 2007. International visitors also spent a record $11.8 billion in May, a 21 percent increase from May 2007.

Lodging, Rental Car and Meal Taxes on Travelers in the Top 50 U.S. Cities

From National Business Travel Association via Docuticket.

New York Adjusted Gross Income and Tax Liability

New York Adjusted Gross Income and Tax Liability - Analysis of 2005 State Personal Income Tax Returns by Place of Residence

This annual study provides statistical information on New York State personal income tax returns that were timely filed during 2006. The data are from full-year resident, full-year nonresident, and part-year resident returns. The report categorizes returns as either taxable or nontaxable, depending on the presence or absence of taxable income and income tax liability. Data presented include the distribution of New York adjusted gross income and tax liability by residence and the value of deductions, exemptions, and taxable income by income class.

To download the entire publication and statistical tables, please visit here.

Occupational Pay Comparisons Among Metropolitan Areas 2007

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Occupational Outlook Quarterly

Summer 2008

In this issue:
+ Working in politics (PDF; 881 KB)
+ The class of 1993: Earnings and occupations by college major, 1 and 10 years after graduation (PDF; 2.1 MB)
+ Healthcare jobs you might not know about (PDF; 664 KB)
+ Brief items of interest to counselors and students
+ You’re a what? Home stager (PDF; 216 KB)
+ Job openings by industry (PDF; 280 KB)

Is Cuil Cool?

A new search engine, Cuil - pronounced "cool" - started today. You can read all about its claims of being "better than Google" here and here, among many other places. Apparently, it was having start-up jityters, as one person indicated that one couldn't access it at all fotr a time.

But I got through and tried New York State Small Business Development Center; it actually suggested the whole name after I had typed New York State Sm

My result:
We didn’t find any results for "New York State Small Business Development Center"
Some reasons might be...

a typo. Please check your spelling.
your search includes a term that is very rare. Try to find a more common substitute.
too many search terms. Please try fewer terms.
Finally, try to think of different words to describe your search.

It’s the first item on Google. Meh.

And as a matter of vanity, I cuiled my blogs and they showed on the 7th page, while they're on the first page on Google.

As this writer noted: Cuil Not So Cool.

US a better bargain for foreigners

Cost of living shifts on global scale.

Naturalizations in the United States

From the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

State Export Data

Annual estimates of U.S. exports by State and commodity group based on each State’s share of U.S. agricultural production.

2010 Census Cost

2010 Census: Census Bureau Should Take Action to Improve the Credibility and Accuracy of Its Cost Estimate for the Decennial Census. GAO-08-554, June 16.

Highlights.

UN Recruitment Exam

2009 UNITED NATIONS NATIONAL COMPETITIVE RECRUITMENT EXAMINATION
For U.S. citizens seeking junior professional posts.

EXAMINATION CRITERIA (all must be met)
1. Be no more than 32 years old as of December 31, 2009 (UN requirement).
2. Have at least an undergraduate degree (advanced degree is an advantage but is not required) in one of the following occupational fields or related areas:
· Administration
· Economics
· Finance
· Information Technology
· Public Information
· Social Affairs
· Statistics
3. Be fluent in English and/or French, the two working languages of the
Secretariat. Knowledge of additional official languages of the UN (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish) is a definite advantage.

NOTE: The exam may be limited to the 40 most qualified Americans per occupational group.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 31, 2008

Detailed information and application forms may be obtained at target=_new>www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/examin/ncrepage.htm
Examination will be held on February 24, 2009, in New York City and San Francisco.
Travel expenses to and from exam site will NOT be paid by the UN or U.S. Government.

Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths

Provisional Data for 2007.

ZIP Code to MSA

There's bad news and then there's good news.

The bad news is that the US Department of Labor link noted here no longer works. I discovered this when I was contacted by a Ph.D. student named Alan who came across the post.

I called the DOL to ask what was up. The person there, clearly reading a script, referred me to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That person, confused by why DOL referred me there, passed me on to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Census guy told me about this great program called the State Data Centers. Specifically he mentioned one in Missouri that has a cool database:

1. Click on the link on the right of above page to GEOCORR 2K.
2. Pick a state or states. (The Census guy I called tried NY.)
3. Select one or more SOURCE codes. (He picked the MSA). Select one or more TARGET codes. (He picked 5-digit ZIP, which are actually ZCTAs).
4. You need to pick a weighed variable. (He picked as 2000 Pop census). He picked CSV, and Codes and Names in both category.
5. Then run it. Then download it.

(I haven't tested it, but Alan probably wanted to flip what I got by putting ZIP on SOURCE and MSA as TARGET, which may be more like his goal.)

Still, since GEO IN GEO doesn't work on the American FactFinder for this purpose - for good reason - I really liked this solution. Not so incidentally, one can use this tool for other calculations as well, down to the block level.

Census Nixed Married Gay Couples

While the Canadian census will count same-sex married couples, the Census Bureau in the US contends that the federal so-called Defense of Marriage Act -- which defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman for all purposes related to federal regulations -- prohibits it from recognizing same-sex marriages, such as the ones now legal in Massachusetts and California. "For the 2010 survey, the bureau intends to maintain the policy established in 2000, whereby it will edit the responses of married same-sex couples. Same-sex spouses will be reported as "unmarried partners" in all census tabulations. Read the Census position.

New Birth, Death, and Employment Firm Size Data

Advocacy funded, U.S. Census Bureau Statistics of U.S. Businesses dynamic data has been updated to 2005. The data contains firm/establishment births, deaths, and related employment creation and destruction data by firm size, industry, and geographic location.

From 2004 to 2005, firm births numbered 644,122 and deaths numbered 565,745. Firms with fewer than 500 employees accounted for 78.9 percent of the net employment growth during this period. See the dynamic data sections of http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/data.html for details.

Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Brian Headd at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov.

TradeVibes Company Search

From the J.J. Hill library.

Looking for detailed information on private companies, such as funding source, number of employees, names of key decision makers, and competitor listings? Good luck. This type of information is generally locked in the realm of expensive databases.

But TradeVibes isn't expensive. In fact, it's free. And it brings together just this type of detailed information on thousands of private companies throughout the consumer Web, technology, and advertising industries. There's that fairly strict industry focus, but if you're looking for data on a Web-savvy company, you'll likely find it here.

The site is built on a wiki platform, so anyone can contribute, but that makes it all the better as a good starting place for tech company research.

Baseball

From BNET: "From its origins amid scandal to its status as a legal monopoly to its modern-day experiments in online media, here's how the business of Major League Baseball has evolved." Also check out The Revenue Model: Why Baseball Is Booming and MLB’s Labor and R&D Formula, also linked off the post above.

Word clouds

I've read about word clouds, a/k/a tag clouds, how they reflect which words are being emphasized in a website/blog or newspaper or any written document. From Tag Crowd here's the one done on July 15, 2008 of the NYS Data Center website:

access affiliates age areas available bureau business census center change community contact cpi data demographic development economic empire employed ethnicity federal file history index individual information issues local metro ny organized page planning population product program rather records residents resources site state statistical subject symbols view web year-to-year years york

created at TagCrowd.com

And here's the cloud for this blog:

account affairs affiliates age agencies article available billion births blog bureau business census center com comments crime data department distinct fusion gas green growth hispanic immigration indian internet labels links litigation local network nys past pm population post prices program provide public reversal roger site skip state web years york

created at TagCrowd.com

Other sites that can generate clouds are Wordle and the Tag Cloud Generator.

Census Switch Worries Some

Yet another article. Subtitle: "Return to Paper Forms Leaves Little Time for Adjustment".

How to turn Census data into business knowledge

That's the provocative title of this article from the J.J. Hill library blog. It links to an Ad Age article about The Changing Face of the U.S. Consumer.

Crime in the United States

From BUSLIB-L:

The FBI tracks crime in its annual publication, Crime in the United States. Numbers for 2007 are preliminary, but 2006 is final.

There is a site called CrimeReports.com, which allows police departments to voluntarily load their crime stats (you can then run analytics for each department on daily, weekly or monthly intervals). For a list of participating agencies, go here. No NYS agencies are represented.

Census re-examines using Internet for 2010 count

This is "a reversal from its earlier assertion that it did not have the time to develop an application and could not adequately protect information from cyberattacks." Internet is merely an option being considered, not a sure thing. Read the whole article here.

World Population Approaches 7 Billion

The population is expected to go from 6 billion in 1999 to 7 billion in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More detail data is available at The International Data Base.