Washington's Estate Tax: Revenue for Higher Education and Early Learning

Washington has had an inheritance or estate tax since 1901. The United States has had an estate tax in place since 1916. Initiative 920, which would have repealed Washington's estate tax in November 2006, was resoundingly defeated by the people, 62% to 38%. Our estate tax raises over $100 million annually, on average

Motion measurement of acoustically levitated object

A system is described for determining motion of an object that is acoustically positioned in a standing wave field in a chamber. Sonic energy in the chamber is sensed, and variation in the amplitude of the sonic energy is detected, which is caused by linear motion, rotational motion, or drop shape oscillation of the object. Apparatus for detecting object motion can include a microphone coupled to the chamber and a low pass filter connected to the output of the microphone, which passes only frequencies below the frequency of sound produced by a transducer that maintains the acoustic standing wave field. Knowledge about object motion can be useful by itself, can be useful to determine surface tension, viscosity, and other information about the object, and can be useful to determine the pressure and other characteristics of the acoustic field

Losing by Degrees: Rising Costs and Public Disinvestment in Higher Education

Washington's public colleges and universities are a critical resource for building a prosperous future for our state and fulfilling the promise of opportunity for all. Without strong public institutions of higher education, our youth will be stymied in striving to reach their full potential, and our state will not remain competitive in the global economy. Yet over the past two decades, the state's financial support for higher education has not kept pace with population growth and rising costs. Public institutions differ from private colleges and universities in their commitment to providing access to higher education and improving the well-being of all state residents. The University of Washington, in its statement of values, describes "Being Public" as follows: "As a public university we are deeply committed to serving all our citizens. We collaborate with partners from around the world to bring knowledge and discovery home to elevate the quality of lives of Washingtonians." As centers of education, research, and innovation, public colleges and universities spur economic development throughout the state. Washington's business leaders have long expressed the need for a more highly trained workforce, with more public investment in every level of education, from preschool through graduate study. Governor Christine Gregoire said in her 2009-11 Budget Proposal, "Washington's public colleges and universities are the economic engine that drives the state's economy and will drive our recovery." To build a strong foundation for Washington's future, we must increase public investment in higher education as a part of upgrading our whole public education system. Doing so will require identifying new sources of public revenue

Time-Dependent Quotas for the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery

It is now officially recognized by the governments of Australia and Japan that the southern bluefin tuna fishery has been overexploited and that harvests must be controlled. A dynamic programming model applicable to multicohort fisheries is developed for finding approximately optimal time-dependent quotas. Results from applying the model to the southern bluefin tuna fishery indicate that restricting or eliminating the Australian catch of under 4-year-olds would benefit both countries.Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

ObLog: the combination of object-oriented and logic programming

Object-oriented programming has often been advocated as a means of improving and enhancing the facilities provided by a given programming environment. This thesis is concerned with an examination of the benefits of providing object-oriented facilities in the Logic programming language - Prolog. We consider these benefits from two different perspectives, specifically examining what benefits Prolog can gain from objects, and conversely, what benefits object-oriented programming can gain from Prolog. A previously proposed model of object execution in Prolog was used as the basis of this research. In implementing this proposal we have critically examined how well the model supports the principles of object-oriented programming, and in those areas which we consider deficient, identified alternatives for improving the model which have subsequently been implemented for the purposes of assessment. The name we have selected for our augmented system is ObLog, drawn from Ob(jects) in (Pro)log. We critically examine the suitability of ObLog in terms of object-oriented programming by implementing a series of example applications based on a Block World specification. The thesis concludes by proposing some areas in which further research might usefully be conducted

G86-824 Snow Mold Diseases of Turfgrasses (Revised February 1991)

How to identify, prevent, and control the principal snow molds of turfgrass in Nebraska. Principal snow molds of Nebraska turfgrass are Fusarium patch (pink snow mold) and Typhula blight (gray snow mold). Of these two, Fusarium patch is usually the most prevalent and, due to the general lack of continuous snow cover during winter, probably the most damaging. Although snow molds occur on most types of turf grown in Nebraska, fine-leaved turf types are more often seriously injured than coarser lawn grasses

EC81-1865 Home Garden and Landscape Disease Series Quick Guide to the Chemical Control of Diseases of Home Garden Vegetables

Extension Circular 81-1865: Quick Guide to the Chemical Control of Disease of Home Garden Vegetables; A chart of different types of home garden vegetables and their compactable chemical spray for diseases control

The effects of composting period and mineral amendments on a 50:50 blend of pine and hardwood bark

This research was designed to refine a composting process for a 50:50 blend of pine and hardwood bark to be used as a container growing medium. The first experiment studied the effects of composting period and mineral amendments on the preparation of blended pine and hardwood bark media, and the succeeding experiments studied plant growth in the media prepared in the first experiment. Equal volumes of pine bark and hardwood bark were composted in partitioned windrows. Daily heat production during composting was monitored and used to determine targeted endpoint temperatures. Targeted endpoint temperatures were 50°C and 40°C. Mineral amendments tested were S, KNO3, and MgSO4. For comparison with composted media, four media currently being used in the nursery industry were also tested. Physical and chemical properties of all media were examined. Composting to 50°C took only six weeks while nine weeks were required to reach 40°C. Shorter composting to 50°C resulted in 7% less shrinkage and a greater percent air capacity. Composting to 40°C resulted in a greater amount of small particles, percent total pore space, and percent water holding capacity. Mineral amendments had little or no effect on physical properties of composted media. The pH and electrical conductivity of composted media were not influenced by endpoint temperature or mineral amendments. Physical and chemical properties of composted media were intermediate of comparison media. Rhododendron cv. \u27Red Ruffles\u27, Photinia x fraseri, and Juniperus conferta cv. \u27Blue Pacific\u27 were grown in the previously described media. Photinia and juniper grew equally well in media composted to 50°C and 40°C. Azaleas grew best in media composted to 40°C. Mineral amendments had little or no effect on plant growth. Plants grew as well or better in composted media than in comparison media. Since six weeks of composting to a 50°C endpoint and elimination of S, KNO3, and MgSO4 frequently produced better growth than other media tested, it appeared to be an excellent medium for container nursery production