As a little girl growing up in rural North Carolina, I remember going to my Granddaddy’s fishing pond. My Daddy and Granddaddy loved to fish but as a six-year-old the fishing was boring to me. I was more interested in finding the worms to put on the fish hook. I’d
Tag: SAS
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2012/02/NC-DoT-DWQ-image.jpg)
The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials recently released a top 10 list of transportation issues that will be “talked, written or tweeted and legislated about” in 2012. As expected, funding constraints and Congressional action on reauthorization appear on the list but the group also notes that natural disaster
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-2.png)
My colleague, Steve Serrao, just published a blog post on the proliferation of varied law enforcement approaches and their related phraseologies. After reading, I concur – hence, this blog’s title. I am not a huge fan of the term “predictive policing”. While others may love it and live it, and
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-2.png)
The single most costly employee benefit for any organization is health insurance, and the price is going up. From 2003-2009, the costs per hour worked for employee health insurance increased from $1.03 to $2.00. These costs continue to increase from 5%-7% per year. The reality is that employee health insurance costs will continue
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-2.png)
Many cities and counties are taking the lead of private industry and developing 311 call centers to consolidate incoming calls for service and information requests from citizens. The business advantages are clear: Citizens have one number to call for service and information rather than having to waste time searching for
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/DataForGood-2.png)
All too often an unspeakable tragedy leads to a needed policy or operational change through a newly-realized criminal justice system gap. While we continually work to minimize existing gaps, the reality is that as law enforcement evolves, so does the crime and so do the criminals. In recognition of those
Yesterday, FORTUNE Magazine ranked SAS the #3 best company to work for in U.S. There was a palpable buzz all day around the Cary campus and on social media channels (if you’re on Twitter, search on the hashtag #ILoveSAS). It’s admittedly exciting working for a company that is consistently and
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/StudentsEducators-1.png)
A’s in the front, Z’s in the back. How many of us grew up sitting in alphabetical order next to the same few classmates throughout school? While this is a quick and efficient way to learn student names, which is no easy task, it is not the most effective way
You know the old joke about the guy who jumps into a taxi and asks the driver, “Do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?” and the driver replies, “Practice, practice, practice”. Well SAS OnDemand may not be your ticket to Carnegie Hall but it’s a great practice environment
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
Local governments are not immune to the rising demand for more accountability in government run services and programs, and the expenditure of public funds. Elected officials and citizens alike want to know what these programs accomplish for the public investment made. To date, the response to these questions and demands has been
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2011/12/RonCodySASMAN4.jpg)
Ron Cody and his supremely helpful book Learning SAS by Example close out our weekly SAS Author's Tip of 2011. Ron Cody is a household name in the SAS user community. And he deserves the moniker on his license plate of "SASMAN". Just mentioning Ron's name at user conferences incites awe. Sometimes
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2011/12/firstSASBookedited2.jpg)
This question and the 53 comments that followed became a highlight of SAS Publishing’s social media engagement in 2011. We initially posed this question on our Fans of SAS Books LinkedIn page earlier in the year and responses occasionally still trickle in. I've greatly enjoyed reading users’ experiences with their “first”
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/FraudSecurity-2.png)
2011 saw incredible change in the states as more than half of the governorships changed hands. As expected, that caused significant turnover at the State CIO level, as well. So while executive and technology policies changed in many ways, the dismal budget situation reinforced the need to allocate tax pay
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2011/12/Shostakcover3.jpg)
This week's SAS author's tip comes from Jack Shostak - manager of statistical programming at the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Despite his youthful appearance, Jack's been using SAS since 1985 and is the author of SAS Programming in the Pharmaceutical Industry and coauthor of Common Statistical Methods for Clinical Research with SAS Examples,
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2011/12/Burlew_headshot1.jpg)
SAS Press prides itself on being a place where users come to help other users. Collaboration is key here—not just between authors and the SAS Press team, but among authors alike. So we asked two of our authors, one experienced and one currently working on his first book, to share
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
Since joining SAS, I no longer run screaming from social media, blogs, etc. In fact, I embrace exploring different mediums to highlight how SAS is assisting today’s law enforcement. To that end, and in recognition that sometimes less is more, I give you this short intro. SAS continues to push
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2011/12/Bailercover22.jpg)
This week's featured tip comes from Professor A. John Bailer and his popular book Statistical Programming in SAS. SAS Press published John's book a little over a year ago and it's a one-size-fits-all resource. Data analyst and SAS user Christine Leonard Westgate says it best in her review "For programmer-analysts tasked
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2011/12/9ofnov1.jpg)
Last month’s bestseller list is an eclectic blend of new, tried and true, and titles related to what you do. (think industry). SAS Press books do cover a wide variety of topics. But these top 9 in November are a particularly striking example of that. November was a strong month for us. And we publish
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
Water and wastewater treatment plants are among the most complex facilities built and maintained by utility companies, whether public or private. Each facility contains thousands of pieces of equipment worth millions of dollars that must operate in concert for the many complex treatment processes to function effectively. The consequences of these assets
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2011/11/collica-cover.gif)
Yes, it’s a holiday week, which means Thanksgiving-related posts and people telling you what they’re thankful for. You know it, you love it. So here’s my shot: I’m thankful for new editions. That’s right—second editions, third editions—if it’s new and updated, I’m all for it. Go with me on this….
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/02/StudentsEducators-4.png)
I recently attended The Education Trust’s 2011 National Conference on closing gaps and raising achievement for ALL students. This was my first Ed Trust event and I walked away baffled by the data about the inequities in our education system, and the persistent gaps between the affluent and impoverished. First,
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
When I moved last year from Denver to the Washington, DC area people told me to prepare myself for the long hours I would spend in my car. I had no idea. It takes forever to get anywhere. Once, during a snowstorm it took me 9 hours to drive 10
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/sastraining/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
JSM, Miami Beach, FL, July 31–August 3 Miami Beach in August is hot. Ridiculously hot. Almost as hot as our preview copies at this show. Conference goers were extremely excited about a number of our upcoming statistics titles, including Customer Segmentation and Clustering Using SAS® Enterprise Miner™, Second Edition, by
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
On September 10, 2001, I was attending a law enforcement conference in Atlantic City, NJ. While I have attended hundreds of similar meetings, this conference stands out for several reasons. First, and most obvious, it was the eve of the day where most of our lives were indelibly altered. Second,
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
For the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the communications team of the National Collaborative for Bio-Preparedness (NCB-P), of which SAS is a partner and the analytics provider. That experience was heavy on my mind as I recently watched the film Contagion. I may drop some minor
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/StudentsEducators-1.png)
Halloween is around the corner and children everywhere will wear masks throughout their neighborhoods for a night of trick-or-treating fun and, likely, too much candy. A masking has also occurred in education policy with the No Child Left Behind Act, sans the candy at the end of the night. That
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/StudentsEducators-2.png)
With an increasing volume of curriculum to cover and no time to spare, teachers often hit the ground running with the full throttle rigor and relevance critical to teaching and learning. However, I argue that the first two R’s are futile if teachers don’t have meaningful relationships with their students.
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
Private sector vendors/suppliers seeking to conduct business with government often find frustration with the maze of policy and legislative hurdles encountered during the procurement process. As difficult as the experience may have been from the private sector perspective, take a moment to look at the other side of the procurement
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
In 2009, SAFETEA-LU—the legislation that outlines federal transportation funding for the states—expired. Since then, members of Congress have been kicking the can down the road, passing funding extensions instead of passing legislation. The major impact of this failure to act is that the U.S. continues to slip further and further
![](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/02/StudentsEducators-3.png)
As schools across the country delve into a new year, I want to bring my readers back to teaching basics with Part 2 of my Three R’s series on Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships. Here's Part 1. As students flood our halls and classrooms, are they eager and excited for the challenging year ahead? Do