1990 Census

With the start of the 2000 census less than 90 days away and millions of federal dollars at stake, local officials are working to make sure every household in Carroll County is counted. "The information from the census is used to support the county's grant requests for any number of programs for a whole decade," said county spokeswoman Maggy MacPherson. "That's why it's so critical to have the most accurate count possible." MacPherson said several projects for the elderly and disabled receive funding based on population figures.

In a cavernous new $7 million warehouse in Rosedale, federal contractors are unloading boxes and lining up computers, preparing for an onslaught of more than 35 million U.S. Census forms that will arrive next spring when America pauses for its decennial portrait.Local planners -- with billions of dollars of federal funding and the division of electoral power at stake -- are updating mailing lists and forming publicity teams, hoping that every Marylander gets in the picture."It's an uphill battle," said Gloria Griffin, census coordinator in the Baltimore Department of Planning.

WASHINGTON -- Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court yesterday rejected the Clinton administration's plan to use statistical sampling to make up for individuals who get overlooked in the 2000 census.The court ruled that the allocation of House of Representatives seats after the next census must be based on a head count.The decision was a major setback for cities, for the Democratic Party and for a key part of its following: minorities, who are more often missed in counts by census-takers. The "undercount" in the 1990 census left out more than 4 million people, mainly urban minorities and children, according to the Census Bureau.

The count is coming.And with less than 21 months before it starts, city planners gearing up for Census 2000 are finding it's not as simple as counting heads.In fact, enumerating urban dwellers is one of the most complex challenges involved in the national census, which the Constitution requires every 10 years. "Most big cities have an undercount," said Richard Krummerich, an aide to Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke. "We have a big stake in this."City planners are taking steps to avoid missing residents.

HOUSTON -- President Clinton plunged into the debate over race, politics and the U.S. Census yesterday, urging Congress to permit the use of a new method for counting the population that Democrats say is more accurate but Republicans contend is unconstitutional.The president, joining forces with other members of his party and Census officials, contended that the 1990 Census missed whole segments of the population, largely members of minority groups, thereby throwing off decisions by government and business on issues from health care to advertising.

WASHINGTON -- Two years from the start of the 2000 Census, it is shaping up as the most contentious in 80 years, generating fierce debate in Congress, and litigation aimed at blocking the Census Bureau from changing the way it does business.During the past year, the dispute over the bureau's plans to alter its method of counting the population delayed passage of a disaster relief bill for victims of flooding in the Midwest, prompted Congress and the Clinton administration to set up an outside board to monitor the bureau and generated two lawsuits, including one by House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will begin wrestling in earnest tonight with preliminary plans for dealing with Carroll's most explosive issue -- population growth.Slow-growth advocates say the county -- which has grown by 16 percent, or 20,550 people, since the 1990 census -- has more people than it can accommodate, especially along the borders with Baltimore, Frederick and Howard counties.For example, South Carroll has seen its population grow by nearly one-third in seven years while Hampstead has seen a 51 percent growth and Mount Airy a 35 percent growth.

Baltimore's population declined by nearly 45,000 from 1990 to 1995, dropping to 691,131 last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates being released today. The city lost population at almost twice the rate of the 1980s. The 6.1 percent drop since 1990 approached the rate of loss during the 1970s, the decade of most severe decline."It follows the trend we've been seeing in the past. But we think future numbers are going to show a slowdown, a leveling off," said Charles C. Graves III, the city planning director.

WASHINGTON -- To cut costs and improve accuracy, the Census Bureau said yesterday that it would actually count only 90 percent of the United States population in 2000 and rely on statistical sampling methods to determine the number remaining.The plans, announced at the Commerce Department, mean that for the first time, the official tally of the U.S. population, done every 10 years and used to apportion seats in the House of Representatives, will be based in part on a scientifically determined estimate rather than the actual head count conducted through a massive direct mail campaign.

THE SUPREME Court last week agreed to consider the dispute between those who believe the Census should stick to counting people and those who favor using sophisticated statistical analysis to arrive at total population. Since much depends on Census Bureau population figures, this is an important political, social and economic issue.It has also been treated as something of a partisan one in the past. Big cities are Democratic turf. But New York City and Los Angeles are Republican-run today, so perhaps partisanship will fade away.