Sunday, Dec. 04, 2005

Numbers

1 million Tons of wasted fish--28% of the annual U.S. commercial catch--that get tossed overboard, often because they are not the desired species

4 Pounds of so-called bycatch discarded by Gulf Coast shrimpers, the worst offenders, for each pound of shrimp kept

21.2 million Cubic yards of debris removed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since hurricanes Katrina and Rita

40 Percentage of New Orleans that is still without power

44 Percentage of federal employees eligible to retire within five years

72 Percentage of recent college graduates surveyed who said they had at most limited interest in working for the Federal Government

$430 Record-setting price per sq. ft. paid last week for the air rights above a Manhattan church, twice the going rate

$30 million Amount the church will get in the deal--which does not involve any construction in or above it--so high-rise-apartment developers can secure Central Park views

Sources: USA Today (2); New Orleans Times-Picayune (2); Office of Personnel Management; Partnership for Public Service; New York Times (2)