Mayor of Richmond Dwight C. Jones and Virginia State Senator Henry L. Marsh III joined the Department of Commerce’s U.S. Census Bureau officials in officially opening the local census office in Richmond. This office will employ about 1,000 personnel during peak operations for the 2010 Census. The Census Bureau is expected to open about 500 local census offices across the country and hire approximately 1.4 million people for the 2010 Census.

A larger percentage of foreign-born than native-born residents had a master’s degree or higher in 2007, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Nationally, 11 percent of foreign-born — people from another country now living in the United States — and 10 percent of U.S.-born residents had an advanced degree.These statistics come from Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007, a report that describes the degree or level of school completed by adults 25 and older. (More)

The United States Patent and Trademark Office will hold its annual Trademark Expo May 8-9 at the agency’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The 2008 Expo attracted 7,000 people and received wide media coverage. This year’s two day event will focus again on educating the public about the value and important role trademarks play in our society and the global marketplace. It will feature themed displays, company booths, costumed characters interactive exhibits and trademark related seminars for attendees. (More)

U.S. businesses spent $1.36 trillion on new and used structures and equipment in 2007, of which $1.28 trillion, or 93.7 percent, was spent on new structures and equipment, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These findings come from the 2007 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey, which measures spending on new and used structures and equipment for businesses with and without paid employees. Expenditures for new and used structures totaled $529.3 billion, an increase of $40.1 billion from 2006. (More)

During the past three winters, ozone—normally linked to hot-weather and urban pollution—has soared to health-threatening levels near a remote natural gas field in northwestern Wyoming. Now, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory have solved the problem of how ozone can form in cold weather at levels threatening to human health. Their results, published Jan. 18 in the journal Nature Geosciences, are forcing researchers to rethink the mechanics of ground-level ozone production. (More)