Omaha Area Retail Trade Analysis

The retail trade industry is a critical sector of the economy, and is an important source of tax revenue for cities. This study examines retail sales trends in the Omaha area as well as factors that determine retail sales including total population, minority population, commuting, income, wages, and total employment. We examine trends during the 1990s, and in particular during the 1997 to 2005 period. The focus is on Douglas County and a group of surrounding Nebraska counties. We found that Douglas County remains the dominant retail center in Nebraska, but its market share is slowly eroding as competition from suburban retailers increases. Suburbanization of the Omaha area’s retail sector is likely to be a long term trend. If the Douglas County retail community is to maintain its position of dominance, it will need to pay close attention to both its competitors and to emerging market opportunities. The concentration of minority populations in Douglas County represents one such opportunity for niche oriented retail activity. Another is found in retail clusters built around Douglas County’s strongest retail sectors such as furniture, home furnishings, recreational vehicles, specialty foods and luxury items such as jewelry

Funding Public Services: Opinions of Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans

Taxes were in the spotlight in Nebraska last year when the governor proposed the elimination of the state income tax. Although this proposal did not pass in the Legislature, a review of the state’s tax system was authorized. While this study may focus more on the revenue side of the tax equation, the expenditures or spending side of the equation are important to examine as well. How do rural Nebraskans feel about the current level of spending for various items? How would rural Nebraskans fund five major public expenditures? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions. This report details 2,317 responses to the 2013 Nebraska Rural Poll, the eighteenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about public spending and taxes. Comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc. Based on these analyses, some key findings emerged

Funding Public Services: Opinions of Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans

Taxes were in the spotlight in Nebraska last year when the governor proposed the elimination of the state income tax. Although this proposal did not pass in the Legislature, a review of the state’s tax system was authorized. While this study may focus more on the revenue side of the tax equation, the expenditures or spending side of the equation are important to examine as well. How do rural Nebraskans feel about the current level of spending for various items? How would rural Nebraskans fund five major public expenditures? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions. This report details 2,317 responses to the 2013 Nebraska Rural Poll, the eighteenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about public spending and taxes. Comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc. Based on these analyses, some key findings emerged

AMPR and Radar Observations from Iphex: Data Quality Control and Product Generation

No abstract availabl

Funding Public Services: Opinions of Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans, 2013 Nebraska Rural Poll Results

Most rural Nebraskans seem content with current levels of spending on many public services and activities. Over one-half propose no changes in the level of spending for most of the public services listed. Only one item, unemployment compensation, had a majority say they would like to see less spending for it. And, many rural Nebraskans would propose an increase in spending for education as well as roads and bridges. Not surprising, many groups favor an increase in spending on items important to them. Younger persons are more likely than older persons to favor an increase in spending for education. Persons with lower incomes are more likely than persons with higher incomes to support increased spending for medical assistance to the poor. And, persons with agriculture occupations are more likely to support an increase in spending for roads and bridges. When asked how they would fund five major expenditures, rural Nebraskans are mixed in their preferences of funding sources. Many rural Nebraskans propose using income taxes, sales tax and property taxes to fund primary/secondary education, public safety and roads and bridges. Many rural Nebraskans propose user fees fund higher education. And, two in ten rural Nebraskans say no public funds should be used for higher education. Many rural Nebraskans have no opinion on funding sources for medical assistance to the poor. Just over two in ten rural Nebraskans say no public funds should be used for medical assistance to the poor. Younger persons are more likely than older persons to say no public funds should be used for medical assistance to the poor

Investigations into free tropospheric new particle formation in the central Canadian arctic during the winter/spring transition as part of TOPSE

In this paper, we investigate the role of in situ new particle production in the central Canadian sub-Arctic and Arctic as part of the TOPSE experiment. Airborne measurements conducted primarily in the free troposphere were made from 50° to 90°W longitude and 60° to 85°N latitude during the period from February to May 2000. Data pertinent to this paper include 3–4 nm diameter (Dp) particles, ultrafine condensation nuclei (Dp \u3e 3 nm), fine particles (0.2 \u3c Dp \u3c 3 μm), and the possible nucleation precursor, sulfuric acid, and its precursor, sulfur dioxide. For data averaged over this period, most species showed little evidence for a latitudinal trend. Fine aerosol number concentrations, however, showed a slight increase with latitude. The evolution of various species concentrations over the period of the study show that fine particles also had a consistent temporal trend, increasing at all altitudes from February to May, whereas sulfur dioxide at the surface tended to peak in late March. Ultrafine condensation nuclei and 3–4 nm particles showed no temporal trends. Little evidence for in situ new particle production was observed during the study, except for one atypical event where SO2concentrations were 3.5 ppbv, 2 orders of magnitude higher than typical levels. This paper cannot address the question of whether the observed condensation nuclei were produced in situ by a low particle production rate or transported from lower latitudes

Higher measured than modeled ozone production at increased NOx levels in the Colorado Front Range

Abstract. Chemical models must correctly calculate the ozone formation rate, P(O3), to accurately predict ozone levels and to test mitigation strategies. However, air quality models can have large uncertainties in P(O3) calculations, which can create uncertainties in ozone forecasts, especially during the summertime when P(O3) is high. One way to test mechanisms is to compare modeled P(O3) to direct measurements. During summer 2014, the Measurement of Ozone Production Sensor (MOPS) directly measured net P(O3) in Golden, CO, approximately 25 km west of Denver along the Colorado Front Range. Net P(O3) was compared to rates calculated by a photochemical box model that was constrained by measurements of other chemical species and that used a lumped chemical mechanism and a more explicit one. Median observed P(O3) was up to a factor of 2 higher than that modeled during early morning hours when nitric oxide (NO) levels were high and was similar to modeled P(O3) for the rest of the day. While all interferences and offsets in this new method are not fully understood, simulations of these possible uncertainties cannot explain the observed P(O3) behavior. Modeled and measured P(O3) and peroxy radical (HO2 and RO2) discrepancies observed here are similar to those presented in prior studies. While a missing atmospheric organic peroxy radical source from volatile organic compounds co-emitted with NO could be one plausible solution to the P(O3) discrepancy, such a source has not been identified and does not fully explain the peroxy radical model–data mismatch. If the MOPS accurately depicts atmospheric P(O3), then these results would imply that P(O3) in Golden, CO, would be NOx-sensitive for more of the day than what is calculated by models, extending the NOx-sensitive P(O3) regime from the afternoon further into the morning. These results could affect ozone reduction strategies for the region surrounding Golden and possibly other areas that do not comply with national ozone regulations. Thus, it is important to continue the development of this direct ozone measurement technique to understand P(O3), especially under high-NOx regimes

The Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR) - Initial Results from the Integrated Precipitation Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx)

No abstract availabl

Integrated Disposal Facility FY2011 Glass Testing Summary Report

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was contracted by Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC to provide the technical basis for estimating radionuclide release from the engineered portion of the disposal facility (e.g., source term). Vitrifying the low-activity waste at Hanford is expected to generate over 1.6 x 10{sup 5} m{sup 3} of glass (Certa and Wells 2010). The volume of immobilized low-activity waste (ILAW) at Hanford is the largest in the DOE complex and is one of the largest inventories (approximately 8.9 x 10{sup 14} Bq total activity) of long-lived radionuclides, principally {sup 99}Tc (t{sub 1/2} = 2.1 x 10{sup 5}), planned for disposal in a low-level waste (LLW) facility. Before the ILAW can be disposed, DOE must conduct a performance assessment (PA) for the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF) that describes the long-term impacts of the disposal facility on public health and environmental resources. As part of the ILAW glass testing program PNNL is implementing a strategy, consisting of experimentation and modeling, in order to provide the technical basis for estimating radionuclide release from the glass waste form in support of future IDF PAs. The purpose of this report is to summarize the progress made in fiscal year (FY) 2011 toward implementing the strategy with the goal of developing an understanding of the long-term corrosion behavior of low-activity waste glasses