I-Tool Tips

Every year the federal government grants refugee and asylum status to "persons who have been persecuted or who have a well-founded fear of persecution" in their native countries. The legal difference between a "refugee" and an "asylee" is the former requests refuge outside the United States, while the latter requests it after entering this country.

The U.S. Office of Immigration Statistics compiles data on these two groups. Its latest report indicates that 60,108 persons were admitted to the United States as refugees in 2008. The leading countries of origin were Bhutan, Burma and Iraq. The leading countries of origin for the 12,187 asylees were Colombia, China and Haiti. OIS statstics are broken out by age, gender, marital and parent status and state of residence. Almost 16 percent of the 2008 refugees settled in California, followed by Texas with 8.5 percent. Likewise, California is the leading state of residence for the 2008 asylees (34.3 percent), followed by Florida (19.7 percent).

Today's Bee story about a summer camp that caters to children of atheists and other nonbelievers has gotten a lot of attention. Religion writer Jennifer Garza notes that only 1.6 percent of the adult population consider themselves atheists (and 2.4 percent agnostic). Those stats come from the 2007 Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey, which is based on interviews with over 35,000 Americans, 18 and over. A summary table shows religious affiliation is diverse in the United States, though 78.4 pecent of adults are Christian (including 51.3 percent Protestant and 23.9 percent Catholic). The full 143-page report breaks out the affiliation data by such things as gender, age, geography, education, income, race, ethnicity, marital status, offspring, etc. The survey also tracks people who have changed affiliations and calculates "winners" and "losers" among the faiths.

The Treasury Department annouonced today that the U.S. deficit in June was $94.3 billion. That pushed the total deficit for the current fiscal year (beginning on Oct. 1) past a record $1.1 trillion.

The Monthly Treasury Statement is a detailed report on the receipts, outlays and deficit of the U.S. Government. Included on that web page is a chart of monthly deficit figures from Oct. 1980 to the present.

The New York Times has analyzed the federal stimulus money earmarked for some 5,274 transportation projects around the country. The paper concluded that although two-thirds of the nation's people live in cities and surrounding regions (with the worst roads and traffic jams), far less than two-thirds of the stimulus funding is going to metropolitan areas. In fact, the largest 100 MSAs will get less than half of the $26.6 billion allocated for bridges, highways and other transportation projects.

Recovery.ca.gov is California government's web portal for reporting federal stimulus granted to the state. You can use an interactive map for tracking projects by type (education, energy, water, etc.) or geography (county, city, congressional district, etc.). Click on a "paddle" to see information on a specific project. You can also download data into a spreadsheet for further study. On the transportation front, there are 61 projects in the state totalling $2.6 billion. Without deeper analysis, it's difficult to know how much of the money is going to rural versus urban areas, but on the face of it, it seems more is going to less populated counties.

 

The American Bar Association, the main national lawyers group, unanimously rated Sonia Sotomayor as "well-qualified" to serve as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. It falls to the ABA's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary to examine the professional qualifications of each choice "to support and encourage the selection of the best-qualified persons for the federal judiciary. It restricts its evaluation to issues bearing on professional qualifications and does not consider a nominee's philosophy or ideology."

The ABA conducts extensive interviews and careful study of opinions to determine it's ratings ("well-qualified," "qualified" and "not qualified"). If you're curious about the scores of other judicial candidates, the ABA web site has rating charts going back to the 101st Congress (1989-90). Of the five sitting Supreme Court Justices whose nominations fall within that period (John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas), only Thomas didn't get a "well qualified" rating (he received a "qualified").

 

As if the state didn't have enough to worry about, the Fitch credit rating company recently downgraded California's general obligation bonds from "A" to "A-". Fitch lowered the rating, citing "the magnitude of the State's financial and institutional challenges and persistent economic and revenue weakening."

Of course, the State Treasurer keeps track of the gyrations in California's credit-worthiness. His web site includes a chart showing changes in bond ratings by Fitch and its competitors, Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's. S&P's ratings go all the way back to 1938. Look here for an explanation of each of the ratings codes.

The U.S. Census today released its latest place-level population estimates. New Orleans is the fastest growing town, increasing by 8.24 percent between from July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2008. Though increasing at a good clip, the Big Easy is nowhere near pre-Katrina levels.

Roseville, the sixth fastest in the nation, leads the state with 3.84 percent growth. Two other California towns are in the top 25 U.S. cities: Irvine (3.83 percent) and Victorville (3.30 percent).

With Minnesota's Al Franken taking a seat in the U.S. Senate, Democrats in that chamber potentially control 60 votes -- the number needed to overcome a Republican filibuster. That majority is comprised of 58 Democrats and two independents, Joseph Leiberman and Bernard Sanders.

The Senate web site provides a handy reference describing the party composition of the Senate for every Congress going back to the first (1789-1791). Each entry has the numerical breakdown, plus notes on any special circumstances (such as members dying or switching parties). 

Here's a question for history buffs: when was the last time one of the parties held at least 60 seats in the Senate? Answer: the 95th Congress (1977-1979) when the Democrats had 61 (with 38 Republicans and one independent, Harry F. Byrd Jr., who voted with the Democratic caucus). 

Incidentally, there's also a page showing the party division in the U.S. House (1789-present).

Given the state's limping economy and budget problems, it's understandable that Californians continue to be in a sour mood. That's confirmed by the monthly survey conducted by the California Public Policy Institute which tracks opinions about the economic outlook and the "general direction of things" in the state. The PPIC recently updated its two state polls. In June, a survey found 69 percent of adults saying we're in "bad times" economically (24 percent "good times" and 7 percent "don't know"). That negative view has dropped since January when 77 percent cited "bad times" (18 percent "good times" and 5 percent "don't know").

In response to the question about the general direction of things in the state, 70 percent of adults in June said "wrong direction" (19 percent "right direction" and 11 percent "don't know). Likewise the pessimism has fallen since the January poll.

The Bee just reported that officials have found the West Nile virus in a Yolo County chicken. The bird is part of a test flock used to monitor the spread of the disease. The find is significant because it suggests mosquitoes in that area are carrying the virus and could transmit it to humans.

The California Public Health Department, UC Davis and other agencies maintain WestNile.ca.gov, a robust web site loaded with information -- data, news, reports, FAQs, links and other resources -- on a disease which has killed 91 people since 2003. A West Nile summary (updated on a weekly) includes county-level statistics on mosquito pools, horses, dead birds, squirrels, monitor chickens, as well as human cases. You can also report a dead bird or squirrel on this site.