News in Numbers
The number of months that regional school superintendents in Illinois have worked without pay because the governor wants the money to come from the districts rather than the state. A bill that would shift the funding responsibility failed in the House.
The number of Connecticut lawmakers that voted against the jobs bill that passed the General Assembly with nearly unanimous support.
The number of Internet items that U.S. government agencies asked Google to take down in the first six months of 2011. Google complied with 63 percent of the requests.
The rise in the rate of poor people living in suburbs since 2000. Cities only saw a 26 percent jump in their poverty rate during the same period.
The increase in Camden, N.J.'s violent crime rate from January to June. Nearly half of the police force was laid off in January.
The place that California dropped to on a list of the most energy-efficient states. The Golden State held the top title for the last four years until Massachusetts took the lead this year.
The number of high-traffic bridges in the nation that are "structurally deficient," meaning their “load carrying” elements are damaged or deteriorating.
The rise in West Virginia's teen birthrate from 2007 to 2009. In every other state during the same period, teen birthrates decreased.
The portion of the nation's solar energy jobs that are in California, which also generates the most electricity from solar energy.
The number of abortion clinics in Mississippi, where voters will decide whether life begins when a human egg is fertilized. Approval of the ballot measure would make abortion illegal in the state and conflict with the U.S. Constitution.
The number of third-graders in Arizona that fell "far below" the reading standards this past spring. Starting in 2013-14, all third-graders in the state must prove they can read proficiently or they'll be held back in school.
The number of jurisdictions -- down from 296 a decade ago -- that must provide bilingual ballots in the 2012 elections due to the size of their non-English speaking populations.
The portion of schools nationwide that would no longer be held to federal accountability systems under the first comprehensive bill overhauling the No Child Left Behind law. Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who leads the education committee, introduced the bill.
The gallons of water that San Antonio used in 2009 and 1984 even though the population grew by 67 percent in the interim. San Antonio's innovative water conservation efforts have made it one of the most efficient water-saving cities in Texas.
The age that children in California can now get the HPV vaccine, which guards against sexually transmitted diseases, without parental consent.
The jump in the number of social insurance administration jobs, such as unemployment administrators, over the past four years. During this same period, most other public job sectors were shrinking.
The rate that Baltimore public schools decreased their annual suspensions by over the past decade, while most districts suspended more students, mostly for nonviolent offenses. During this time, Baltimore also improved its graduation rate by 20 percent.
The amount of time that Michigan gave welfare recipients to plan for the end of their benefits under a new law capping cash assistance at 48 months. A federal judge said this wasn't sufficient notice and temporarily halted the law.
The year that Fannie Mae learned of and ignored extensive foreclosure abuses among the law firms it hired to remove troubled borrowers from their homes, according to a new report.
The funding that the Montgomery Public Schools district in Alabama will lose if the 231 Hispanic students who missed school the day the state's new immigration law took effect don't return. The new law requires schools to verify the immigration status of all students.
One figure cited for the number of Philadelphians that have gun permits from Florida. Pennsylvania and Florida have reciprocal agreements to respect each other's gun permits.
The portion of Pennsylvania voters who said the state should continue to award all of its electoral votes to the winner of the state's popular vote, instead of a GOP plan to award the votes by congressional district.
The number of fatalities linked to listeria-tainted cantaloupe from Colorado, marking the deadliest food outbreak in a decade. According to the CDC, the number of deaths will likely rise because the symptoms can take four or more weeks to show.
The amount of time, which is the longest nationwide, that D.C. area commuters spend in traffic each year. The national average of time stuck in traffic is 34 hours.
The annual health care cost of obesity to businesses in Texas by 2030 if current trends hold, according to a study from the state comptroller. The Legislature has passed laws to curb childhood obesity, but some say the latest one doesn't go far enough.
The number of mosquitoes that a single trap, which normally catches 50, caught in one night a week after Hurricane Irene hit Beaufort County, N.C. The state team that controlled mosquitoes fell victim to budget cuts this year, and now the insects are raising fears of disease outbreaks and hindering repair efforts.
The average time it takes a mortgage lender in Florida to repossess a persons home. So many cases are backlogged that the state may cut the courts out of the foreclosure process to speed it up.
The number of children -- of which nearly half live in low-income households -- that do not have broadband at home, according to a recent survey conducted by the national nonprofit Connected Nation.
The maximum jail sentence in Wisconsin for serving margarine instead of butter in restaurants, prisons or schools. Legislators are trying to repeal the law because serving margarine, which is cheaper, could save the state money.
The number of police officers recently laid off in Trenton, N.J., making it the fourth major city in the state to lay off at least 10 percent of its police force in the past year.
