ERMUSR MISC. ISSUES 01-13-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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SCHOOLS The need for new schools will ease with slower enrollment growth. But there's plenty of catchine up to do and strain in some areas, such as the West and South. The number of children entering elementary and secondary schools will increase by about 5% in the coming decade, considerably less than the 20% growth spurt between 1988 and 2001 . • Many schools require repairs. The average school is 40 years old and hasn't been renovated in 11 years. Estimated cost: Some $130 billion to bring them up to snuff. . .an especially heavy burden for older cities. A quarter of schools are overcrowded. During the next 10 years, new classrooms will be needed most in Alaska, Hawaii, Calif. , Idaho, N.M. , Nev. , Wyo. , Utah, Ariz . , Texas , Colo. , Ca. , Wash. , Ore. ana Fla. Pressure to hike property taxes to fund schools will lessen a bit as enrollment growth slows . But Zeman_ for financing will vary by locale. TELECOM Telecommunications networks are an infrastructure success story. The information superhighway is in good shape. The building boom of the late 1990s has led to ample capacity in undersea fiber optics and powerful communications satellites to handle global Internet traffic. The same is true for high-speed links between major U.S. cities. Some information side roads need work. . .smaller cities and towns and rural areas that aren't high on the list for fiber-optic connections. But relief is coming. Within three years, wireless options will enable such low-traffic areas to get access to high-speed networks. The radio spectrum is being reshuffled to improve communications. Airwaves are being reallocated by federal regulators. . .away from users whose ventures failed and toward companies with promising technologies. The result will be new, affordable wireless data transmission at high speeds available everywhere in the U.S. by the end of the decade. Internet security will improve as businesses step up investment. Spam and hackers won't disappear, but new software is being developed to keep both at bay. Federal regulations provide a powerful incentive for businesses to guard their customers' health and financial data. MORE PEOPLE Underlying U.S. infrastructure woes: Population growth, as well as economic and trade gains and consumption trends. Each year, there are simply more people traveling roads and highways and consuming water, energy and other resources. . .public and private. By 2015, 40 million more Americans. . .a total of 330 million. Growth is uneven, though. Calif. , Texas, Fla. , Ga. and Wash. will gain the most people. Growing the fastest are Calif. , N.M. , Hawaii, Ariz. and Nev. , adding more than 50% to their populations between 1995 and 2025. In contrast, the populations of W.Va. , Pa. , Ohio, Mich. , Iowa and N.Y. will grow by less than 10% over that time. The disparities will add to the challenge of finding solutions as policymakers grapple with America's infrastructure problems. Yours very tr y, Happy Holidays • Dec. 19, 2003 THE K INGER ASHY GTON ITORS Copyright 2003. The Kiplinger Washington Editors,Inc. Quotation for political or commercial use is not permitted. Duplicating an entire issue for sharing with others.by any means,is illegal. Photocopying of individual items for internal use is permitted for registrants with the Copyright Clearance Center,222 Rosewood Drive.Danvers,MA 01923. For details,call 978-750-8400 or visit www.copyrightcom.