A fool says what he knows, and a wise man knows what he says. – Yiddish Proverb

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you’re a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm and humor.

This week’s topics include unemployment claims, Montana ExpoPark upgrades, Greg Robinson, Houston Astros, coronavirus, Trump’s job approval, Roger Stone, changes in the NFL, trash pickup fees, Democratic Primary, PC updates, and much more!

210,000

In the week ending February 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 210,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 205,000 to 206,000. The 4-week moving average was 209,000, a decrease of 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 212,000 to 212,250. (DOL.gov)

10,000

Cascade County (Great Falls) is looking at building a new multi-use arena that can seat up to 10,000 people at the Montana ExpoPark. (KRTV)

This would help the county attract more events with a place that can seat 10,000.

157

Former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Greg Robinson was arrested by border control agents Monday for alleged possession of marijuana. TMZ initially reported the news that was verified by a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Robinson was allegedly found with 157 pounds of marijuana in duffle bags in the cargo area of a vehicle at the U.S.-Mexico border at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint southwest of El Paso, Texas. (Yahoo)

Dumb…

83.5

The Houston Astros have faced a large amount of criticism due to their sign-stealing scandal that has dominated headlines during the offseason. With that in mind, William Hill sportsbook set an over/under on the number of Astros batters that will be hit by pitches in the 2020 season at 83.5. (CBS Sports)

I pick the “under 83.5” because after a few Astros being “beaned” MLB will step in to protect them and put a stop to it.

77

About three in four Americans say they are very (31%) or somewhat confident (46%) in the federal government’s ability to handle an outbreak of the coronavirus. This is a higher level of confidence than Gallup has found for the government’s handling of previous health scares. (Gallup Polling)

Just stay away from people and you should be fine…

49

President Donald Trump’s job approval remains elevated at 49% in the latest Gallup poll, the same as in the previous poll and up five points from an early January poll conducted before Trump was acquitted by the Senate in his impeachment trial. (Gallup Polling)

The election of 2020 will be interesting…

40

Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone sentenced to 40 months in prison for witness tampering, lying to Congress. (ABC)

17/7/3

ESPN is reporting that under the current CBA proposal that NFL owners are pushing for the playoff field to be expanded to seven teams from each conference, while the regular season would be increased to 17 games per team and the preseason shortened to three games per team, sources said.

This will be better…

7.5

The City of Great Falls trash pickup fees will be increasing by 7.5 percent, drop boxes by 5 percent, and cardboard recycling by 33 percent. (The Electric)

Ticketing people for driving while using a cell phone must not be paying off.

So much for the fiscal conservatives on the council…

6

The six candidates in the Democratic Primary debated each other last night for two hours in Las Vegas. It was a slugfest.

The big winner was President Donald Trump…

2

Thursday Numbers is being posted a little later today because the update to my PC took over two hours.

I am a patient man…

 

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