Fast Facts: Commission on Presidential Debates Announces Sites, Dates, Formats and Candidate Selection Criteria for 2008 General Election

The dates and sites are:
+ First presidential debate: Friday, September 26 University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS

+ Vice presidential debate: Thursday, October 2 Washington University in St. Louis, MO

+ Second presidential debate: Tuesday, October 7 Belmont University, Nashville, TN

+ Third presidential debate: Wednesday, October 15 Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY

The two backup sites are Centre College in Danville, KY and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Commission also announced formats for the debates.
All debates will be ninety minutes in length and start at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Each debate will be administered by a single moderator.

Additional info in the news release.

See Also: Commission on Presidential Debates Web Site

See Also: Presidential Debate History

See Also: CPD Announces 2008 Debate Host Applicants (April, 2007)

Source: Commission on Presidential Debates

+ 2008 Calendar & Holidays (via InfoPlease)

+ Getty Adds Music Search

+ CDC Launches Redesigned Spanish Web Site “CDC en Español”

+ AASL launches collaboration with PBS

Lists: Fast Facts: OMB Issues 2008 Release Date Schedule for Principal Federal Economic Indicators

Direct to List (6 pages; PDF)

Source: OMB

Fast Facts: Grandparents Day (U.S.) on September 9th

The first presidential proclamation was issued in 1978 — and one has been issued each year since — designating the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. In honor of our nation’s grandparents, the Census Bureau presents an array of data about these unsung role models and caregivers. In honor of our nation’s grandparents, the Census Bureau presents an array of data about these unsung role models and caregivers.

Facts and Stats include:

5.7 million
The number of grandparents whose grandchildren younger than 18 live with them.

1.7 million
The number of grandparent-caregivers who are married.

496,000
Number of grandparents whose income is below the poverty level and who are caring for their grandchildren.

2.1 million
The number of children who live with both a grandmother and a grandfather.

45,000
Number of grandparents who speak a language other than English and who are responsible for caring for their grandchildren. Of this number, 217,000 speak English very well.

Source: U.S. Census

Hebcal

This interactive resource offers several databases:

+ Interactive Jewish Calendar (from the year 0000 to the Present)
Export to Palm, Outlook, and iCal.

+ Date Converter

+ Sabbath Candle Lighting Times for Around the World
In the U.S., simply enter a Zip Code. Info is also available as an RSS feed.

+ Jewish Holiday Dates

+ Yahrzeit, Birthday, and Anniversary Calendar

+ Torah Readings

See Also: Mac Users: Mac OS X Dashboard Widget

Source: Hebcal (Thanks to Barry S. for the news tip)

See Also: Calendar Zone
A long list of interactive calendars.

New Website: European Union Institutional Reform

This website offers information on the latest developments of the European Union institutional reform. There are several stages which have been of particular significance: the Treaty of Nice (which came into force on 1 February 2003), the European Convention (which finished in July 2003), the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) 2003/2004 (October 2003–June 2004) and the European Constitution (signed in October 2004).

For an overview of all the stages which will result in this new Treaty you can also consult the detailed calendar of the reform.

Source: Europa

2008 Election Timeline, Presidential Debates, Primaries and Caucuses

To navigate the timeline, click and hold your mouse on each band to scroll left and right. The top band represents each month, the bottom each year. Clicking on the text will display information on each event.

See Also: 2008 White House Derby: The Field So Far
Podcasts and other info linked to each candidate

Source: CQ

See Also: Calendars: 2008 Presidential Primary Calendar (via NCSL)

New Web Resource: Gateway to the UN System’s Work on Climate Change
Includes:

+ Background
+ News
+ UN Leadership Comments
+ Webcasts
+ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Reports
+ Materials for Children
+ Climate Change Events (Calendar)

Source: United Nations

Fast Facts: August—History of the Month’s Origin
by Borgna Brunner
From the article:

After Julius’s grandnephew Augustus defeated Marc Antony and Cleopatra, and became emperor of Rome, the Roman Senate decided that he too should have a month named after him. The month Sextillus (sex = six) was chosen for Augustus…

Source: Infoplease.com

Calendars: 2008 Presidential Primary Calendar
Stay tuned to this calendar from the National Conference of State Legislatures for updates. We’ve also added this calendar to the ResourceShelf mega-compilation of calendars.

The July 2007 Issue of The World Almanac E-Newsletter Now Online
A must for the reference desk and/or fact “geek.” The newsletter contains a list of July events, “This Day in History,” a chronology of June, 2006 events and much more.

See Also: Back issues and subscription info (free)

See Also: The World Almanac Blog

Let the Music Play: Oodle Launches BandTracker
The well-known online classified site has launched (beta) a new specialty database (beta) that offers concert information for over 213,000 bands. Tools to track where a band will be playing live are also available. Each entry also contains a link to search for tickets on Oodle.

See Also: The Pollstar Database has info for more than 10,000 artists.

Fast Facts About Moms in the United States!

A number of facts about mothers and things related to moms in the U.S.A. Including:
+ 80.5 million
Estimated number of mothers in the United States in 2001.

+ 28,772
Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2004 — the place to go to purchase necklaces, earrings and other timeless pieces for mom.

+ 5.6 million
Number of stay-at-home moms in 2006.

+ 61% and 81%
Percentages of children younger than 6 living with married parents who eat breakfast and dinner, respectively, with their mother every day. The corresponding percentages who eat with their father were 30 percent and 64 percent.

Source: U.S. Census

+ Earth Day Overview (via Infoplease.com)

+++ Environment Resources (via USA.gov)
+++ Earth Day Resource (U.S. Government)
+++Earth Day 2007 (EPA)
+++ Envirolink Resources

+++ Earth Day Events
+++ A History of Earth Day
+++ Earth Day TV
+++ Earth Day Resources (via Ask.com Smart Answer)
+++ Environmental Health News (Uses Siderean Technology)
+++ Environmental Health Topic Guide (via MedlinePlus)

Databases and Other Reference Tools:
+ Envirofacts Data Warehouse (via EPA)
+ Tox Town (National Library of Medicine)
+ AirNow (EPA)
+ Right-to-Know Network
+ EarthTrends (via WRI)
++ Terms of Environment (Environmental Protection Agency)

+ Climate Change Resource Guide

• News Sites

• Books and Journals
• Company Information
• Government/Regulatory Environment
  • Canada
  • United States
  • International
• Policy Research
• Lobby/Special Interest Groups
• Statistics

Source: Winspear Business Reference Library, University of Alberta

2007 National Football League Schedules Released

+ Complete Schedule

+ Team-by-Team Schedules

+ 2007 primetime television schedule

+ 2007 preseason schedule

+ 2007 preseason national television schedule

Source: NFL