Fresh Loaf

Amount of money seized from illegal drug operations in Gwinnett and other metro counties in 2008, in dollars: 70 million

Metro Atlanta’s ranking among 195 major cities in the U.S. as a drug-cartel activity center: 1

Georgia’s 6th District’s ranking among 435 congressional districts for having the happiest residents: 2

Peachtree City’s ranking among Georgia’s best affordable suburbs: 1

Median household income in Peachtree City, in dollars: 93,046

Number of homes for every one foreclosure in Cobb County in February: 406

Number of homes for every one foreclosure in Fulton County in February: 316

Number of homes for every one foreclosure in Gwinnett County in February: 264

Number of homes for every one foreclosure in Clayton County in February: 163

Sources: USA Today, AJC.com, Business Week, RealtyTrac.com

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Number of Georgians currently incarcerated or on probation or parole: 562,763

Georgia’s national rank for percentage of population in the corrections system: 1

Chance that a Georgian is in the corrections system: 1:13

Chance that a New Hampshire resident is in the corrections system: 1:88

Average daily cost, in dollars, to house and provide for a Georgia inmate: 48

Amount, in dollars, Georgia pays each year on its corrections system: 1.1 billion

Amount, in dollars, a state lawmaker recently proposed charging inmates for daily “room and board”: 40

Total population of the 20-county metro Atlanta region: 5.2 million

Total population of U.S. corrections system: 7.3 million

Sources: Pew Center, Associated Press, Atlanta Regional Commission, Georgia General Assembly

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Current amount, in dollars, of President Obama’s stimulus plan aimed to create jobs and spur the economy: 827 billion

Amount, in dollars, Mayor Shirley Franklin recently requested for Atlanta projects: 1.88 billion

Estimated number of city jobs Franklin says the federal stimulus plan could create: 40,000

Number of police officers Franklin wants to add with stimulus money: 200

Dollar value of sewer projects the city wants to build using stimulus funds: 801 million

Amount, in dollars, the city requested to build the International Terminal at Jackson-Hartsfield International Airport: 500 million

Number of federal dollars Franklin says would go to offset the city’s budget deficit: 0

Amount, in dollars, the Georgia Department of Transportation has requested for state projects: 3.4 billion

Estimated number of jobs Georgia could gain because of the stimulus package: 143,000

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, U.S. Conference of Mayors

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Number of people who gathered at The Standard Jan. 8 to memorialize slain bartender John Henderson: 200

Number of Facebook members for Atlantans Together Against Crime four days after Henderson was killed: 750

Number of members as of last week: 5,558

Estimated attendance at the group’s first anti-crime rally last week in Little Five Points: 175

Estimated attendance at a town hall meeting on neighborhood crime hosted last week by Council President Lisa Borders: 300

Percent reduction in police man-hours due to city-wide furloughs: 10

Number of restaurants that participated in a benefit last Wednesday to add to the reward to find Henderson’s killers: 79

Estimated amount the “dine-out” benefit raised toward the reward, in dollars: 50,000

Total dollar amount of the reward, as of Friday: 72,000

Sources: Atlantans Together Against Crime, AJC, Crime Stoppers Atlanta

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Yellow nails? She must be a smoker!

Amount Georgia lawmakers want to raise the price of cigarettes to offset a $2.4 billion deficit: $1

Georgia’s current tax on cigarettes: 39 cents

Nation’s average cigarette tax: $1.19

Estimated revenue the proposed cigarette tax would generate for the state: $350 million

Estimated tax revenue that would be raised if Sunday alcohol sales were allowed: $4.8 million

Number of signatures on an online petition calling for alcohol to be sold in stores on the Sabbath: 52,070

Dollar amount of a proposed “pole tax” that state lawmakers want strip club patrons to pay at the door: $5

Price of admission after 10 p.m. on a regular night at the Cheetah: $10

Minimum estimated revenue that could be generated if casinos were built in Atlanta and along the Georgia coast: $600 million

Sources: AJC, Associated Press, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, PetitionOnline.com, TheCheetah.com, 11Alive.com

(Photo courtesy of Photos.com)

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T-Boz Watkins

Amount that Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of TLC owes in back payments on her Gwinnett County home, according to foreclosure docs filed in December: $532,500

Square footage of the home, which is located in Sugarloaf Country Club: 10,000

Amount in back rent owed by NeNe Leakes, one of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” and her husband when they were evicted in September: $6,240

Amount that “Real Housewife” Sheree Whitfield is asking for her suburban Atlanta home, which was recently put on the market: $2.8 million

Dollar amount of a check that Whitfield recently bounced: $346.61

Amount that Whitney Houston’s stepmother is seeking from the pop diva after Houston allegedly kept her late father’s $1 million insurance policy — rather than pay off his mortgage: $723,000

Sale price of the home of “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino, which was put up for auction after she failed to repay money loaned to her to pay property taxes: $1.1 million

(Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

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Estimated number of people who were homelessness in Fulton and DeKalb counties for at least part of 2007: 22,000

Number of homeless children enrolled in metro Atlanta schools: 17,267

Percentage of Atlantans interviewed in 2007 who reported job loss or unemployment as their reason for homelessness: 42

Percentage of unemployed Atlantans as of October 2007: 4.4

Percentage as of October 2008: 6.8

Average monthly rent, in dollars, for a two-bedroom apartment in Atlanta: 834

Current monthly welfare benefits, in dollars, for a woman and two children: 282

Number of donation meters installed in downtown Atlanta to discourage the homeless from panhandling: 5

Number of new meters to be installed in other Atlanta locations: 11

Dollars, per month, that Baltimore collects from 10 meters in its main tourism district: 100

Sources: Hands On Atlanta, Tri-Jurisdictional Homeless Census and Survey 2007, United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, Georgia Department of Labor, ajc.com

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Atlanta’s volunteer rank out of 50 major cities: 31

Charlotte’s rank: 10

Atlanta’s road rage ranking: 6

Atlanta’s “Meanest Cities Towards Homeless” ranking: 4

Number of listed charitable organizations in Atlanta: 361

Number of violent crimes in Atlanta in 2007: 7,213

Number of Facebook groups about volunteering in the Atlanta Network: 41

Number of Facebook groups about partying: 297

Sources:Volunteeringinamerica.gov; nationalhomeless.org; autovantage.com; census.gov; superpages.com; facebook.com

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Pounds of marijuana seized during recent bust of “Gulf Cartel” drug ring in Atlanta: 51,147

At $200 per ounce, estimated cash value of marijuana seized: $163,670,400

Number of plastic bags required to sell seized marijuana in quarter-ounce portions: 3.27 million

At 85 joints per ounce, number of joints that can be rolled with 51,147 pounds of pot: 69,559,920

Number of Americans, out of 10, who report they regularly suffer physical pain: 4

Percent of those who say they’ve used marijuana to treat pain: 6

Percent of those who say they’ve used prescription drugs to treat pain: 60

Lowest price for one 40mg pill of narcotic painkiller Oxycontin at Drugstore.com: $6.47

At $200 per ounce of marijuana, the cost of a joint: $2.35

Sources: Atlanta Business Chronicle, Marijuana.com, National Families in Action, Drugstore.com, ABCNews, USA Today and the Stanford University Medical Center

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Number of major hurricanes to hit Georgia’s coast during the 19th century: 5

Number of major hurricanes to hit Georgia’s coast since 1900: 0

Number of Category 1 or 2 hurricanes to hit Georgia’s coast since 1900: 4

Years since last hurricane made landfall in Georgia: 29

People who used I-16 between Savannah and Macon to flee Hurricane Floyd in 1999: 2.5 million

Gallons of drinking water National Hurricane Center says family of four needs for a three-day evacuation: 12

Estimated damage caused by Floyd, which hit North Carolina as a Category 2 storm: $6 billion

Number of coastal Georgians who evacuated their homes in 1999 for Hurricane Floyd: 350,000

Population of coastal Georgia in 2000: 558,350

Projected population coastal Georgia in 2030: 844,161

Sources: Associated Press, Coastal Georgia Regional Development Center, Georgia Emergency Management Agency

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Number of tornado warnings issued last Tuesday in metro Atlanta because of Tropical Storm Fay: 5

Gallons of rain the tempest added to Lake Lanier, the metro area’s main source of drinking water: 22 billion

Number of days that additional water can last metro Atlanta: 50

Inches Lake Lanier rose last Monday and Tuesday thanks to the storm: 30

Number of feet the lake is still below full level: 15

Average number of gallons released daily from Lake Lanier this month: 1.2 billion

Number of years since the lake’s level has been that low: 52

Gallons that could be saved if pre-1993 metro Atlanta homes replaced their antiquated plumbing fixtures: 183 million

Percentage of respondents in a recent poll who said they were less concerned about the drought this year than they were in 2007: 48

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Rasmussen Reports, Metropolitan North Georgia Water District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

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Number of building permits issued in Decatur in 1995: 349

Number of building permits issued in Decatur in 2007: 822

Percent decrease in car volume at the intersection of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Church Street from 2001 to 2006: 20

Population of Decatur in 2000: 18,147

Population of Decatur in 2007: 17,914

Average household size in the U.S.: 2.58

Average household size in metro Atlanta: 2.7

Average household size in Decatur: 2.12

Source: City of Decatur 2008 Annual Report, Decatur Court Traffic Impact Analysis

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Earliest date new U.S. offshore drilling might produce oil for market: 2030

Earliest date oil from the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge might produce oil for market: 2018

Estimated amount offshore and ANWR drilling will lower the price of gasoline per gallon in 2025: 3.5 cents

Barrels of oil Americans use daily: 21 million

Barrels of oil Tifton agricultural scientist J.C. Bell says he can produce annually using bio-mass (non-food plant materials): 5 billion

Percent of current U.S. oil consumption 5 billion barrels equals: 65

Annual budget of Bell’s research facility: $60 million

Exxon-Mobil’s average daily profit during the first-quarter of 2008: $119.3 million

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, Bell BioEnergy Labs, Tifton Gazette, CNNMoney.com

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MARTA’s current budget deficit: $43 million

Number of positions MARTA plans to eliminate because of deficit: 180

Number of these 180 positions that are currently vacant: 130

Number of future MARTA newly created station-agent positions being offered to newly laid-off MARTA employees: 50

Amount by which MARTA’s revenue from local sales taxes was below expectations during first-quarter of 2008: $6.9 million

Amount MARTA spent on fuel last year: $13.4 million

Amount MARTA expects to spend on fuel this year: $17.6 million

Number of trips MARTA passengers took in April 2007: 11,999,867

Number of trips MARTA passengers took in April 2008: 12,800,276

Amount MARTA contributes to Atlanta’s gross regional product: $476 million

Amount state contributed this year to MARTA needs: 0

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, MARTA, GeorgiaGasPrices.com, Mass Transit Magazine, Creative Loafing

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Amount Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign has raised in Georgia: $1,305,275

Amount Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has raised in Georgia: $2,458,219

Number of votes Obama received in 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary: 704,247

Number of votes McCain received in 2008 Georgia Republican Presidential Primary: 304,751

Number of votes Sen. John Kerry received in 2004 Georgia Democratic Presidential Primary: 293,265

Number of votes George W. Bush received in 2000 Georgia Republican Primary: 430,480

Number of votes Libertarian candidate for President Bob Barr received in 2000 to win Georgia’s 7th District Congressional seat: 126,312

Number of votes independent candidate for President H. Ross Perot received in Georgia in 1992: 309,657

Last time a Democrat won Georgia in a presidential election: 1992

Sources: Center For Responsive Politics, Georgia Secretary of State

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Percentage range of Georgia sixth and seventh graders who failed the state social studies exam: 70-80

Approximate percentage of Georgia eighth-graders who failed the state math exam: 40

Percentage of Georgia eighth graders who failed math exam last year: 19

Percentage of eighth graders required to pass state math exam before advancing to high school: 100

Georgia’s high school graduation rate in 2007: 72.3

Percentage of students who took it who passed Georgia’s high school graduation test in 2007: 79

Average SAT score in Georgia in 2007: 1,472

States with higher average SAT score than Georgia in 2007: 45

Sources: AJC, Georgia Department of Education.

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Estimated City of Atlanta budget shortfall in 2009: $140 million

Percentage of Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs budget Mayor Franklin proposes cutting: 15

Positions cut from the parks department in 1993 and 1998 due to budget concerns: 137

Positions cut from the parks department in 2002 due to budget concerns: 127

Approximate number of parks department employees today: 315

City recreation centers that will close temporarily this summer: 11

Recreation centers that will close permanently this summer: 2

Percentage total land in Atlanta devoted to public parks: 4.5

Park-related spending in Seattle per resident in 2005: $266

Park-related spending in Atlanta per resident in 2005: $91

Sources: City of Atlanta, Park Pride, Trust for Public Land

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Percent of Americans who live in counties with unhealthful levels of ozone or particle pollution: 40

Rank of Metro Atlanta among cities most polluted by year-round ozone: 12

Rank of Metro Atlanta among cities most polluted by year-round particle pollution: 6

Rank of Plant Bowen, a Georgia Power coal electricity plant in Cartersville, among national producers of smog-causing sulfur dioxide: 1

Days in 2007 when Atlanta’s air quality was rated “Good” based on Environmental Protection Agency standards: 113

Days in 2000 when Atlanta’s air quality was rated “Good” based on EPA standards: 76

People in Atlanta’s five core counties with asthma or chronic bronchitis: 384,547

Population of metro Atlanta in 2007: 4,029,400

Projected population of metro Atlanta area in 2030: 5,261,534

Sources: American Lung Association, Atlanta Regional Commission, Environmental Integrity Project, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division.

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Cost of one ton of Appalachian coal in 2007: $40

Cost of one ton of Appalachian coal in 2008: $90

Percentage of electricity price increase Georgia Power recently requested from the state Public Services Commission: 3

Number of times Georgia Power has requested rate increases during the past five years: 5

Amount Georgia Power parent company, Southern Co., spent on government lobbying in 2007: $14.5 million

Number of new coal plants planned for Georgia: 2 Amount of energy, in megawatts, the two coal power plants can produce: 2,050

Amount of energy, in megawatts, that one wind turbine among many located off the Georgia coast could generate in clean energy: 160

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Augusta Chronicle, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Public Service Commission, Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute, OpenSecrets.org

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Home foreclosures in United States in March: 234,685

Home foreclosures in Georgia in March: 11,047

Percent increase from February 2008: 44.8

Percent increase from March 2007: 63.2

Number of states with more home foreclosures than Georgia in March: 3

Percentage drop in home sales reported by Atlanta-based homebuilder Ashton Woods in early 2008: 32.1

Number of property liens filed against Atlanta home developer Hedgewood Properties in the first quarter of 2008: 75

Number of liens filed against Hedgewood in 2007: 86

Sources: Atlanta Business Chronicle, U.S. Census Bureau, RealtyTrac.com, 11Alive.com

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Days Gov. Sonny Perdue, First Lady Mary Perdue and Secretary of State Karen Handel recently spent in China on a foreign trade mission: 5

Price for one round-trip business-class ticket from Atlanta to Shanghai: $13,839.15

International business trips Perdue has taken since 2003: 14

Jobs for Georgians Perdue’s trade mission reportedly secured: 20

Georgia unemployment insurance initial claims in the first two months of 2008: 107,431

Annual value of time and fuel metro Atlanta loses because of traffic congestion: $2 billion

State Department of Transportation’s current budget shortfall: $1 billion

Amount state will allow Georgia counties to raise together for regional transit projects: 0

Sources: AccessNorthGa.com, Delta.com, Georgia Department of Labor, Georgia Trend, Office of the Governor.

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Current projected revenue shortfall in Atlanta: $65 million

Amount by which Atlanta exceeded its budget during fiscal year that ended June 2007: $90 million

Amount city overestimated its year-to-year budget surplus since 2003: $241 million

Estimated revenue shortfall city predicts it will face next year: $120 million

Amount of city’s budget shortfall when Mayor Franklin took office in 2002: $82 million

Percent property tax hike imposed in 2002 to cover city’s budget shortfall: 51

Percent by which the city has rolled back property taxes since then: 22

Percent by which all 15 city departments were recently asked to cut their budgets: 25

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, City of Atlanta Dept. of Finance

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Number of games Braves finished behind division champions in 2007: 5

Seasons the Braves have finished below .500 since 1991: 1

Combined age of Braves top four starting pitchers: 150

Combined number of Cy Young Awards they’ve won: 3

Last time a Braves pitcher won a Cy Young Award: 1998

John Smoltz’s career strike-outs per nine innings: 7.95

John Smoltz’s strike-outs per nine innings in 2007: 8.62

Number of starting pitchers in 2008 who were also in the rotation in 2004: 1

Number of starting players in 2008 who also started in 2004: 1

Last time the Braves won a post-season game: 2005

Last time the Braves won a post-season series: 1999

Source: BaseballReference.com

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Tons of CO2 emitted in 2007 by Plant Scherer, a coal power plant outside Macon: 27,200,000

Since 2002, number of states with lower increase in CO2 emissions than Georgia: 48

Pounds of CO2 emission stopped annually by replacing three incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs: 300

Pounds of CO2 emission stopped annually by inflating your car tires correctly: 250

Pounds of CO2 emission stopped annually by setting your thermostat two degree cooler in winter and warmer in summer: 2,000

Pounds of CO2 emissions stopped annually by switching from average American diet to a vegetarian diet: 3,000

Minimum number people, businesses and municipalities turning off all lights for one hour on March 29 for Earth Hour: 160,000

U.S. home fires caused by candles between 2000 and 2004: 16,400

Sources: Environmental Integrity Project, National Fire Protection Association, www.earthhour.org, International Herald Tribune, www.stopglobalwarming.org

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Years since U.S. invasion of Iraq: 5

Total number of U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan: 7,284

American troops killed in Iraq: 3,987

American troops from Georgia killed in Iraq: 123

American troops from metro Atlanta killed in Iraq: 36

American troops from Georgia wounded in Iraq: 858

Youngest Georgian killed in Iraq: 19

Oldest Georgian killed in Iraq: 57

Sources: Military Times, Brookings Institution, U.S. Dept. of Defense, National Archives

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