Stat of the Week

For the fourth consecutive year, the University of Washington has supplied the Peace Corps with the most undergraduate volunteers. The University of Washington tops the list at No. 1 with 101 registered volunteers in 2009; followed by the University of Colorado at Boulder with 95, the University of California, Berkeley with 89, Michigan State University with 86, and the University of Florida with 79.

The Peace Corps has been a long standing tradition since 1961 and the University of Washington has played a significant role in its legacy, sending a total of 2,614 volunteers to the organization. Overall, the University of Washington ranks No. 3 behind the University of California, Berkeley with 3,412 and the University of Wisconsin-Madison with 2,906.

The Peace Corps is a federal agency determined to achieve peace by living and working in third world countries. Over its 49 year history the Peace Corps has sent volunteers to 139 countries. Currently, volunteers are stationed in 74 countries, including: South Africa, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Ukraine, Morocco, and Indonesia.

With school back in session and winter weather (for those of us in the northern part of the northern hemisphere) in full bloom, some are keeping themselves warm thinking of summer vacation. Year round people come to the Greater Seattle region from all over the world to visit our urban and outdoor pleasures. Who are the top sources for international tourists in Washington state you ask?  We provide the answer in the stat of the week:

It’s getting easier to find a job in Greater Seattle, according to Juju.com, a job search engine which publishes Job Search Difficulty Index for Major Cities (January 2010). Seattle is listed as the 14th-easiest city in which to land a job. Seattle has 5.10 unemployed individuals per advertised job, an improvement over last month’s ranking of No. 18 when the city had 5.33 unemployed people per advertised job.

Seattle remains the nation’s most literate city, according to the annual survey conducted by Dr. John Miller, the president of Central Connecticut State University. This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources. Dr. Miller examined other quality of life surveys for this year’s survey, and discovered that the highly literate cities often rank high in other quality of life metrics as well.

Three Washington universities made the Kiplinger’s list of “best values in public colleges” this year. The University of Washington in Seattle ranked no. 7, Western Washington University in Bellingham ranked no. 54, and Washington State University in Pullman ranked no. 95.

The survey ranks over 500 schools using academic and financial criteria, then factors in academic quality. The final rankings are based on cost and financial aid available at each school.

Kindle, a wireless reading device, was the most gifted item in the history of Amazon.com this holiday season. In fact for one day customers from around the world purchased more Kindle electronic books than paper books.

Global orders for Amazon.com hit a record breaking 110 items per second on December 14, 2009 adding up to 9.5 million items sold worldwide. Other popular items included the Apple iPod touch 8GB and Garmin nuvi 260W 4.3-inch GPS.

More than 390,000 book titles are currently available for Kindle. Amazon.com first released the electronic book reader in November of 2007.

Washington State ranks second this year for the number of teachers who received certification in a national teacher-certification program. 1,248 Washington teachers achieved Board Certification in 2009, a 36% increase over last year. The state now ranks fifth in the total number of teachers certified under the program, run by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a private nonprofit organization.

Washington State wines made an impressive showing in Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Wines of 2009, with 11 spots on the list. Charles Smith Royal City Syrah received the number 2 ranking, and was the only wine on the list with 100 points. Poet’s Leap received the highest scoring Riesling, with the number 8 spot.

Here is the list of Washington State wines and their scores:

Amazon, Greater Seattle’s giant online retailer, saw a 28% increase in unique visitors on the Friday following Thanksgiving, ranking it the most visited site on Black Friday according to comScore. Early reports suggest that “Cyber Monday” online sales may set a new record. ComScore will report Cyber Monday data on Wednesday.

Wine Spectator, the world’s leading consumer wine magazine, has been ranking the world’s best wines for years.  This year the title for “No. 1 Wine in the World” goes to a Washington State wine, Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Columbia Crest is part of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in Woodinville.  In light of the prestigious award, Ted Baseler, President and CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, confirmed that “this is an historic moment for Columbia Crest and for all wineries in Washington.”

Wine Spectator staff sampled 17,000 wines before choosing Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon as No. 1 choice.  Criteria included quality, value, availability and excitement.