Black segregation falls, but Latino and Asian separation up

Black segregation in US drops to lowest in century (AP)
WASHINGTON – America's neighborhoods took large strides toward racial integration in the last decade as blacks and whites chose to live near each other at the highest levels in a century. Still, segregation in many parts of the U.S. persisted, with Hispanics in particular turning away from whites. A broad range of 2009 Census data released Tuesday also found a mixed economic picture, with the Poverty rate swinging wildly among counties from 4 percent to more than 40 percent as the nation...

Young, hip Seattle still very short on children
There's something missing from many Seattle neighborhoods: the sound of Children's laughter. Recent Census data indicate Seattle is continuing a decades-long trend of having the lowest concentration of children among all the major U.S. cities, except San Francisco. Less than 20 percent of all Seattle households included children younger than 18, compared with 34 percent nationally and 33 in Washington State. Seattle also has one of the nation's highest rates of married couples without children...

California Marijuana Laws Now Nation's Most Liberal
By Joe Eskenazi, Fri., Oct. 1 2010 @ 12:25PM After Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger affixed his signature on a Sen. Mark Leno-authored bill yesterday, California's marijuana policy became the nation's most progressive, pot Activists tell SF Weekly. While existing law calls for anyone busted with an ounce or less of pot to be tried for a Misdemeanor and fined $100, Leno's SB 1449 changes that to an "infraction." As a result, there's no longer any need for a trial, and there will be no criminal record...

Study: Autism may be linked to freeways
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Freeway Air Pollution has been linked to increased heart attacks and asthma and it may be also linked to Autism, U.S. researchers say. Children ages of 24 and 60 months at the start of the study lived in communities around Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento. The population-based controls were recruited from state of California birth files and were frequency matched to the autism cases by age, gender and broad geographic area. First author Heather Volk of The...

Census: Immigrants Head for Rural, Suburban Towns
Big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago all are home to well-established immigrant communities. That is no secret. But today immigrants are also fanning out beyond metropolitan centers into rural and suburban neighborhoods, according to new Census data released this week. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that immigrant populations rose more than 60 percent in rural and suburban towns where prior to 2000 they made up less than 5 percent of the population. Big cities like...

Best Places for Senioritis
Retirement has never been a hotter topic. The first wave of Baby Boomers—men and women born in 1946—will reach Retirement Age next year. More than 3 million Americans will turn 65 in 2011, the largest group to become eligible for Social Security in a single year. Most of these prospective Retirees are expected to remain in their current homes. Only 4 percent of the nation’s 36.8 million Senior Citizens (65 or older) moved to a new residence in 2008, the latest year analyzed by the U.S. C

Southern California housing market falters in November
Sales of Southern California homes swooned in November, and gains in the median home price decelerated considerably, according to data released Tuesday. A total of 16,208 new and previously owned houses and Condominiums sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was a 15.5% drop from November 2009 and the Lowest Level for a November since 2007, the firm said. The median price paid for a home in the region increased for the 12th consecu...

Housing Starts increase slightly in November
by CalculatedRisk on 12/16/2010 08:57:00 AM Click on graph for larger image in new window. Total Housing Starts were at 555 thousand (SAAR) in November, up 3.9% from the revised October rate of 534 thousand, and up 16% from the all time record low in April 2009 of 477 thousand (the Lowest Level since the Census Bureau began tracking Housing Starts in 1959). The increase this month was due to single-family starts, but the level is still very low. Single-family starts increased 6.9% to 465 thou...

Housing Starts and Vacant Units
by CalculatedRisk on 12/17/2010 01:36:00 PM Here is an update to a graph showing total Housing Starts and the percent vacant housing units (owner and rental) in the U.S. Over a year ago, I used this chart to argue that there would be no "V shaped" recovery, and that Housing Starts wouldn't rebound rapidly. See: Housing Starts and Vacant Units: No "V" Shaped Recovery. In that earlier post, I also argued that the Unemployment Rate would remain high throughout 2010. Hey, housing matters! Note: Ho...

Serf And Turf
Don't like the way wealth is distributed? Then you can join congressional Democrats and grump about it, or you can get some wealth for yourself. Ahh, if only that were true. The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that real median household income in the United States in 2009 was $49,777, not statistically different from the 2008 median. The nation's official Poverty rate in 2009 was 14.3 percent, up from 13.2 percent in 2008 — the second statistically significant annual increase in the po...

Latest Indicators: Jobless Claims Dip; Trade Gap Grows; Housing Starts Up
What is this? The number of people filing first-time claims for jobless benefits decreased by 3,000 last week, to 420,000, the Employment and Training Administration says. Bloomberg News says that signals "a labor market that is on the mend" in part because the slight decline was unexpected and in part because claims have now dipped in three of the past four weeks. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Economic Analysis says the nation's Deficit "on trade in goods and services" widened to $127.2 billion in t...

What's good for CEOs is good for the USA?
What Good For CEOs ... by digby "I want to dispel any notion we want to inhibit your success,” President Obama told 20 CEOs this morning, according to a source in the room. “We want to be boosters because when you do well, America does well."Really?Wall Street banks are on pace to pay out some $143 billion in compensation for 2010, just shy of their record year of 2007. But given the widespread layoffs of mid-level employees as a result of the Financial Crisis, average compensation set a ...

Census Data Show Immigrants Making Path to Suburbs
WASHINGTON — Immigrants fanned out across the United States in the last decade, settling in greater numbers in small towns and suburbs rather than in the cities where they typically moved when they first came to this country, new Census data show. Following jobs to rural and suburban areas, in industries like construction and the food business, immigrant populations rose more than 60 percent in places where immigrants made up fewer than 5 percent of the population in 2000. In areas that h...

Census: Rich Areas Richer, Poor Get Poorer
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, at least judging by the most extreme neighborhoods for median household income in the latest Census Bureau data. More Video ...

Latest Indicators: Jobless Claims Dip; Trade Gap Grows; Housing Starts Up
What is this? The number of people filing first-time claims for jobless benefits decreased by 3,000 last week, to 420,000, the Employment and Training Administration says. Bloomberg News says that signals "a labor market that is on the mend" in part because the slight decline was unexpected and in part because claims have now dipped in three of the past four weeks. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Economic Analysis says the nation's Deficit "on trade in goods and services" widened to $127.2 billion in t...

More D.C. area commuters leaving the driving to others, census data show
Network News X Profile View More Activity READ MORE Traffic & Roads See the latest alerts, a construction calendar, traffic cams and more to help you get around Washington. >> Dr. Gridlock is here to help >> Get transit tips | Traffic By the numbers DataPost Looking for research help, deeper understanding of the day's news, or do you just like numbers? Here's are some of the most interesting, searchable databases developed by The Washington Post and other local and national organizations ...

Americas 10 Poorest Counties in Appalachia, Deep South or on Indian Reservations
Friday, December 17, 2010 By Dan Joseph (CNSNews.com) - America’s 10 poorest counties, both in terms of the percentage of those living below the Poverty level and median household income, lie either on Indian Reservations, are in the Deep South or are found in the Coal Mining areas of eastern Kentucky.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Poverty and Income Estimates for 2009, the 10 U.S. counties with the highest percentages of their population living in Poverty are: 1. Z

Washington area is wealthiest and most educated region in the nation, census data show
The Washington area's affluence and education levels make it the wealthiest and most educated region in the nation, according to Census data released Tuesday that reflect five years of relative prosperity compared with the rest of the country. This Story More D.C. area commuters leaving the driving to others, Census data show Commuters data Poll: Have you changed your commute? Washington area is wealthiest and most educated region in the nation, Census data show U.S. Census Bureau: American C...

Housing Starts and New Permits Remain Weak in November
As the Housing Market continues to sputter, new construction has been very slow. Although Housing Starts rose 3.9% in November to 555,000, they didn't nearly overcome the 13.0% decline experienced over the two months prior. The Census Bureau also reports that new permits, which are more of a leading indicator, fell by 4.0% last month. The new home construction market remains relatively lifeless. While it might seem that there could be reason to hope for a new trend here, given the small rise in...

Family Report Shows Brokenness in U.S. Homes
Only 45 percent of American teenagers have spent their childhood with both parents legally married to one another, according to a recent report. The Family Research Council's "U.S. Index of Belonging and Rejection" also found that 55 percent of U.S. teenagers live in families where their biological parents have rejected each other. Read the entire report here . "We have undertaken this study because, bad though it may be, the out-of-wedlock Birth Rate is not the key measure of family intactne...

Census Bureau Data: Richest Counties Get Richer, Poorest Get Poorer
Source: ABC News Kentucky Has County With Lowest Median Household Income; Richest 3 in Virginia The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, at least judging by the most extreme neighborhoods for median household income in the latest Census Bureau data. The Census' American Community Survey, released this week, provides detailed neighborhood data, including languages spoken in a home, commute time and income levels. The poorest county, Owsley County, Ky., had the lowest median household income o...

House honors Norman Mineta
Rep. Mike Honda, a San Jose Democrat, won passage today of a bill honoring his predecessor, former Rep. Norm Mineta, the long time representative for San Jose who also served as the lone Democrat in former President George W. Bush's cabinet as Transportation Secretary. It is a rare tribute to a living former member, agreed to by both Democrats and Republicans. Mineta was the first Asian American mayor of a large city, San Jose, a member of the House from 1975 to 1995, chairman of the transpor...

Norm Mineta honored by House resolution
WASHINGTON -- Former San Jose mayor and U.S. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, who already has an airport named after him, received yet another honor Friday when the House of Representatives passed a resolution recognizing his career accomplishments. Sponsored by his close friend, Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, the resolution "honors the accomplishments and legacy of a great American hero ... for his groundbreaking contributions to the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community and to our n...

Separation as symptom
One need only drive in and about Milwaukee and its suburbs to realize the essential accuracy of a Brookings Institution assessment of the metro area as one of the most racially segregated in the nation. Yes, other researchers dispute the methodology, but even they agree that segregation is a problem here. That this "news" will cause hardly a ripple in the metro area's social consciousness points to another problem - a status quo to which too many are too resigned. Right. If a black o...

San Jose to outlaw plastic bags at checkouts
San Jose is to become the largest city in the U.S. to ban plastic carry-out bags, according to a report. The City Council voted 10-1 to introduce the ban on Jan. 1, 2012, in the hope of encouraging customers to bring their own bags, The San Jose Mercury News said. Bracing for a flood of tips from the public, detectives released dozens of photographs of unidentified women that were found at the home of the suspected "Grim Sleeper" Serial Killer. Full story The newspaper said the ordinance wo...