Thanks to the U.S. Census Bureau

Now couldn’t be a better time to recount history … take 1940 for example…

1940 was the beginning of recovery from the Great Depression, war, and jobs were a hot topic. Sound familiar?

So when the U.S. Census Bureau released archives from 1940 this past Monday, online traffic bloomed to a soaring 22.5 million hits.

The American census, a tradition dating back to the late 18th century is globally recognized for its comprehensive record-keeping.

The rule is on “Census Day” every year the books are opened on the census of exactly 72 years ago.

Was 1940 that big of a deal or are Americans just Internet information crazed?

It’s amazing how we have 3.8 million pages of census data at our digital fingertips, while many methods for collecting census data are pretty old school.

Will 1940 have the answers for 2012? Surely 22.5 million people might find something.

artweek:

Make sure you vote for your favorite skateboard design starting tonight at midnight and vending friday morning at midnight! 

One of our committee members has a submission in here! He also yells “SKATE OR DIE” whenever someone skates by :)

As election season moves into high gear, UMBC faculty are providing media with insight into both local and national political developments.

Laura Hussey, assistant professor of political science, commented for AP on Maryland state Sen. Anthony Muse’s campaign to oust U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin. Muse has promoted himself as a better advocate on issues such as consumer protection, but Hussey notes that Cardin maintains an incumbent’s advantage, benefiting from name recognition, prominent endorsements and strong financial support.

Hussey argues that if the seat were open, rather than occupied by an incumbent, demographic and geographic differences between Muse and Cardin would play a greater role in the election. Muse has suggested that Maryland is poised to elect an African-American to the U.S. senate at a moment when there are no black U.S. senators.

Don Norris, professor and chairman of UMBC’s Department of Public Policy, predicted for the National Journal that “there won’t be any surprises” in the Maryland and D.C. Republican primaries—Romney is likely to easily take the lead in both.

“The Republican electorate in Maryland is a little more moderate”—and Romney-friendly—“than in other states below the Mason-Dixon line,” says Norris. Although the primary might be less exciting in Maryland than other states, the delegates are just as important. “Romney’s waging a war of attrition against Santorum and Gingrich,” Norris argues. “Every time he wins a delegate…[it] goes into the plus column to eventually get to the 1,144 that he’s got to have.”

artweek:

littleheat:

whoo!

Balloon Drop!

This was so fun!

The Washington Post this weekend featured a reflection on the turbulent development of Nationals Park, home to the Washington Nationals. The article concluded with a comment by UMBC economics professor Dennis Coates, who wrote a report opposing the stadium deal in 2004.

Coates argued that sports facilities redistribute (rather than increase) leisure spending and asked: “Does it make sense to spend all those tax dollars on a stadium that will just attract the entertainment dollar from Georgetown or Adams Morgan to the ballpark area?” However, he also suggested the investment might pay off if the District’s goal was to attract suburbanites’ leisure spending.

Recent findings indicate that this might indeed be what is happening: 60% of game attendees are from Virginia, 25% from Maryland and 15% from the District, which means Virginians are disproportionately contributing their leisure funds to D.C.’s coffers.

3639miles:

post balloon drop #commons #artweek #umbc (Taken with instagram)