Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008!

The 2008 edition of the Statistical Abstract of the United States is now available online. I am so excited! This resource is where to go when looking for who, what, and how many of just about anything in the United States. Published since 1878, the 2008 edition has 64 new tables. Here is a sampling:

Marriages and Divorces--Number and Rate by State: 1990 to 2005 [Excel] [PDF]

Purchasing Power of the Dollar: 1980 to 2006 [Excel] [PDF ]

Snow, Hail, Ice Pellets, and Sleet--Selected Cities (Portland included) [Excel] [PDF]

Top States and Cities Visited by Overseas Travelers: 2000 to 2006 [Excel] [PDF]

Weekly Food Cost of a Nutritious Diet by Type of Family: 2000 and 2006 [Excel] [PDF]

Online Identity Management

The Pew Internet and American Life Project released a new report titled Digital Footprints: Online identity management and search in the age of transparency. The 50 page report has some interesting statistics:

47% of Internet users have searched for information about themselves online.

60% of Internet users are not concerned about how much information is available about them on the Web.

61% of Internet users do not feel the need to limit the amount of information about themselves online.

The report is based on a December 2006 national telephone survey.
-found on iLibrarian

Possible Web Sites of Interest off Today’s News.

The Waddling Bandit

From the FBI -
FBI facial reconstruction

Bank Crime Statitics

Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy

Teen Birth Rates Rise for the First time in 14 years

Rain (I was curious)

Why raindrops are different sizes

State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States

GODORT (Government Documents Roundtable) has set up a wiki that includes links to government agency’s for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Make sure you check out the Oregon page . In addition to the agency links, it includes a comprehensive list of state licensing boards.
The wiki is maintained by dozens of volunteers.

Oregonian Researcher Blogger Retires

I'm officially leaving this blog in the most capable hands of news researcher Lynne Palombo - who actually took over the bulk of the postings three months ago.

It's been a fun blog to write with a few dedicated readers and I want to thank all the people who have knowingly and unknowingly contributed. I hope we've appropriately credited you over the years.

Continue to check this blog for research tips, valuable sites, and timely resources.

Best to all,
Gail Hulden
Soon-to-be-retired News Research Director
The Oregonian

Foreign Films Translate Into Growing Revenue Stream, Newspapers Do Not

The U.S. Census released the 2006 Service Annual Survey: Information Sector Services, a series of economic tables that are part of a larger package. The Information Sector includes newspaper publishers, books and periodicals; the film industry; broadcast companies; telecommunications companies; and Internet service providers.

Details from the survey:

Foreign film admissions revenue increased 18.7 percent to $216 million in 2006, thanks in large part to Pan's Labyrinth and The Lives of Others.

Revenue from admission to domestic films remains flat.

Broadcast television and cable television are up. So are music publishers and radio networks.

Newspaper publishers and greeting cards are down in revenue. Newspaper publishers showed a 1.7 percent decline, falling to $48.9 billion. Greeting card publishers are down 9.4%.

Diversity Sources for Journalists

The Asian American Journalists Association offers its stylebookonline.

GLAAD's resource guide and stylebook.

Maynard Institute for Journalism Education's Diversity Guide.

Society of Professional Journalists: Guidelines for CounteringRacial, Ethnic and Religious Profiling.

-Courtesy of Barbara P. Semonche, Director, Park Library
UNC-CH School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Trucks Travel 91 Billion Miles as Part of $312 Billion Industry

On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2006 Service Annual Survey: Truck Transportation, Couriers and Messengers, and Warehousing and Storage. The report states that total revenue for truck transportation, couriers and messengers, and warehousing and storage reached $312 billion in 2006. In addition to total revenue, the report provides, size of shipments, revenue by commodity shipped, origin and destination of shipment, and inventories of revenue-generating equipment.

2007 Preliminary Population Estimates

The Population Research Center at Portland State University has posted the 2007 Annual Population Estimates. County (Multnomah has increased by almost 10,000) and City figures are available in PDF, or download all tables in Excel.

ODL Numbers Removed From OJIN Records.

In keeping with the requirements of Senate Bill 583 - The Oregon
Identity Theft Protection Act. The display of the drivers license number will be removed from the OJIN Display and Print Case.
This change is effective January 1, 2008.

Weather Sites for Monitoring "The Storm"

National Weather Service
Public Info: 503-261-9248 best for quotes, updates. Go to the dropdown box on the home page for the latest releases, storm reports et al.

Oregon Climate Service
Go deeper for maps, forecasts, daily observations, etc.

Surf Reports

MesoWest: Real time weather data.
Click on the plus signs. Good for peak winds and temps.

You're now officially "weather involved." Courtesy of Stu.