From the Vickburg Post:
Canvassers employed by the U.S. Census Bureau will be seen working in Vicksburg and Warren County neighborhoods through July, according to agency timelines.
Teams of individuals with laptop computers or small, handheld devices much like PDAs are updating databases showing total housing units and living quarters as part of the initial phase of the national census, to be followed up with the mass mailing of forms to residences by mid-March 2010.
Population estimates completed by the agency for 2008 show Warren County with 48,087 residents. It stood at 49,644 following the 2000 Census, which was up nearly 2,000 from 1990. Slight drops have been recorded in estimates since then, done through statistical sampling. Locally, this year’s county total is down by nearly 800 from 2007.
Inside Vicksburg, the count was 26,407 in 2000, up nearly 5,500 from 1990. The 2007 estimate had the municipal population at 25,454. Municipal estimates for 2008 in Mississippi are incomplete.
Training for a Complete Count Committee of about 20 local individuals should wrap up this week. Along with some faith-based organizations, the committee will act as liaisons to the community so people can identify the canvassers and return their forms when they receive them.
“Some have actually called the police on them,” said Census Bureau Partnership Specialist Kelvin Rankin. “They are verifying if a residence actually exists where they are working.” Census workers carry identification.
Both local governing bodies have pledged to work through the Vicksburg Warren County Chamber of Commerce
Non-statistical information gathered in the Census is protected from disclosure. It is against federal law for Census Bureau employees to disclose or publish any private information, nor can any authority obtain personal identifiable data from the agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Violation of disclosure laws by Census employees can result in five-year federal prison sentences, fines up to $250,000, or both.
Census Bureau representatives working in Mississippi declined to specify how many canvassers are deployed in individual counties. More than 15,000 will be employed in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to a bureau release.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Census projections
From the Stateline.org story - projections on gaining/losing a Congressional seat for certain states:
States launch Census outreach efforts
Stateline.org reports on Census outreach efforts across the nation. Check it out:
With the 2010 Census a year away, some states already are bracing for the nationwide head count that will decide their share of U.S. House seats and billions of federal dollars. The new population numbers also will be used to redraw state legislative districts.
Determined to get every resident counted, states are launching Web sites and committees to spread the word to residents, including hard-to-count groups. Illegal immigrants, afraid to fill out their surveys for fear of deportation, and transient families, displaced by home foreclosures, present new challenges to outreach efforts.
Population projections estimate that next year’s count will shift some House seats from states in the Northeast and Midwest to states in the South and West, according to a recent study by Election Data Services, a political consulting firm based in Virginia. The total number of representatives, 435, will not change.
The Census results also will determine states’ share of federal funds.
“There are a lot of (federal) programs, which are based on census data formulas, and the better count that we can get means we’ll have more federal dollars coming back to us,” said Ditas Katague, who is directing California’s Census efforts for 2010.
Mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the Census determines the country's population every 10 years. Starting next April 1, the federal government will collect demographic information on the more than 300 million U.S. residents. Households that do not answer Census surveys are visited by federal workers.
Nine states —Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Utah — stand to gain U.S. representatives in the upcoming Census. Texas could gain the most: four additional seats. The state’s rapid population growth can be attributed to low death rates and a relatively young population with high birth rates, the result of a burgeoning Hispanic population, said Texas state demographer Karl Eschbach. Immigration from other states and foreign countries has contributed to its growth as well, he said.
With the 2010 Census a year away, some states already are bracing for the nationwide head count that will decide their share of U.S. House seats and billions of federal dollars. The new population numbers also will be used to redraw state legislative districts.
Determined to get every resident counted, states are launching Web sites and committees to spread the word to residents, including hard-to-count groups. Illegal immigrants, afraid to fill out their surveys for fear of deportation, and transient families, displaced by home foreclosures, present new challenges to outreach efforts.
Population projections estimate that next year’s count will shift some House seats from states in the Northeast and Midwest to states in the South and West, according to a recent study by Election Data Services, a political consulting firm based in Virginia. The total number of representatives, 435, will not change.
The Census results also will determine states’ share of federal funds.
“There are a lot of (federal) programs, which are based on census data formulas, and the better count that we can get means we’ll have more federal dollars coming back to us,” said Ditas Katague, who is directing California’s Census efforts for 2010.
Mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the Census determines the country's population every 10 years. Starting next April 1, the federal government will collect demographic information on the more than 300 million U.S. residents. Households that do not answer Census surveys are visited by federal workers.
Nine states —Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Utah — stand to gain U.S. representatives in the upcoming Census. Texas could gain the most: four additional seats. The state’s rapid population growth can be attributed to low death rates and a relatively young population with high birth rates, the result of a burgeoning Hispanic population, said Texas state demographer Karl Eschbach. Immigration from other states and foreign countries has contributed to its growth as well, he said.
Monday, April 20, 2009
2010 Census stirs debate in Washington
National Public Radio reports on the 2010 Census...
More than 100,000 people started work for one organization this month: the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2010 census doesn't start until next year, but it's already generating strong debate in Washington. The results will affect many things, including congressional district borders.
Newt Gingrich talks to Jacki Lyden about what the census means for the Republican Party. Then, Robert Shapiro, who oversaw the 2000 census, explains his belief that the 2010 census will be Bush's, and that Obama can't make substantial changes fast enough to do the kind of count that would shake things up.
More than 100,000 people started work for one organization this month: the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2010 census doesn't start until next year, but it's already generating strong debate in Washington. The results will affect many things, including congressional district borders.
Newt Gingrich talks to Jacki Lyden about what the census means for the Republican Party. Then, Robert Shapiro, who oversaw the 2000 census, explains his belief that the 2010 census will be Bush's, and that Obama can't make substantial changes fast enough to do the kind of count that would shake things up.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Letter to Congress
Robert Groves will face a confirmation hearing in early May, according to media reports. Here's a copy of a letter sent urging Congress to confirm his appointment. The letter is signed by six former Census directors.
Behind the scenes - a profile of Commerce Secretary Locke
From the NY Times...an interesting read. Enjoy.
Family Secrets
The new Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke of Seattle, is a former Eagle Scout, prosecutor, and popular two-term governor whose idea of a good time is to crawl under the kitchen sink with plumber’s tape and a gob of grease. Just one week into the new job, he flew home to mow his lawn.
After reading the background file that the F.B.I. put together on Locke, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison characterized the latest member of President Obama’s cabinet with one word — “boring.”
But Gary Locke does have a family secret that is anything but eye-glazing.
Yes, he is widely known as the nation’s first Chinese-American governor, with a stirring family saga, as President Obama said in introducing Locke.
“Sometimes the American story can be told in the span of a single mile,” Obama said, referring to the distance between the place where Gary’s immigrant grandfather worked as a house servant nearly a hundred years ago and the Capitol where Locke was sworn in as Washington state governor in 1997.
Yet there would be no Lockes in America, no great story of the kid raised in public housing who went on to Yale and high office, no presidential kudos, if that same grandfather had not lied to get into the country.
Family Secrets
The new Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke of Seattle, is a former Eagle Scout, prosecutor, and popular two-term governor whose idea of a good time is to crawl under the kitchen sink with plumber’s tape and a gob of grease. Just one week into the new job, he flew home to mow his lawn.
After reading the background file that the F.B.I. put together on Locke, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison characterized the latest member of President Obama’s cabinet with one word — “boring.”
But Gary Locke does have a family secret that is anything but eye-glazing.
Yes, he is widely known as the nation’s first Chinese-American governor, with a stirring family saga, as President Obama said in introducing Locke.
“Sometimes the American story can be told in the span of a single mile,” Obama said, referring to the distance between the place where Gary’s immigrant grandfather worked as a house servant nearly a hundred years ago and the Capitol where Locke was sworn in as Washington state governor in 1997.
Yet there would be no Lockes in America, no great story of the kid raised in public housing who went on to Yale and high office, no presidential kudos, if that same grandfather had not lied to get into the country.
Census workers in Southwest MS
Census workers prepare for 2010 Census, reports the Brookhaven Daily Leader.
The decennial census won't be taken for another year, but census workers are now knocking on doors in the area conducting a preparatory survey.
Workers are updating the census bureau's residential address list to provide an accurate database to ensure each home receives an official census questionnaire in April 2010.
"We want to make sure we count everyone once and in the correct place," said Jeff Behler, U.S. Census Bureau deputy regional director for the Dallas Region, which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
More than 1,300 listers will be canvassing the state during a 10-week operation that began last week, Behler said. The goal is to confirm existing addresses, enter new addresses and delete the addresses of homes than no longer exist.
"We don't target specific counties at a time," he said. "We hit all areas at once."
Behler said the workers would be visiting homes during daylight hours and homeowners may know the person.
"We try to hire locally because they know their area better than anyone else," he said.
Canvassers will provide a "courtesy knock" when they arrive at a residence and may ask a few questions if someone is home, Behler said. However, they will only verify the address and ask about any additional living quarters, such as an apartment over the garage, on the property that may not be visible to the eye.
"We need to make this as accurate as possible," he said. "We only get this opportunity to update the address list every 10 years."
To help with accuracy, census workers will be using hand-held computers equipped with global positioning system mapping software for the first time. The 2000 census was conducted completely on paper.
Census accuracy is important, Behler said, because the information gathered is used to redraw districts in the U.S. Congress and in the distribution of federal funding to state and local governments. The 2010 census is expected to shift several congressional seats across the nation.
Census workers can be identified by an official bureau badge and will display identification cards in the windshields of their vehicles.
Any questions regarding the census or to report inappropriate behavior by workers can be made by calling the bureau at 1-800-563-6499.
The decennial census won't be taken for another year, but census workers are now knocking on doors in the area conducting a preparatory survey.
Workers are updating the census bureau's residential address list to provide an accurate database to ensure each home receives an official census questionnaire in April 2010.
"We want to make sure we count everyone once and in the correct place," said Jeff Behler, U.S. Census Bureau deputy regional director for the Dallas Region, which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
More than 1,300 listers will be canvassing the state during a 10-week operation that began last week, Behler said. The goal is to confirm existing addresses, enter new addresses and delete the addresses of homes than no longer exist.
"We don't target specific counties at a time," he said. "We hit all areas at once."
Behler said the workers would be visiting homes during daylight hours and homeowners may know the person.
"We try to hire locally because they know their area better than anyone else," he said.
Canvassers will provide a "courtesy knock" when they arrive at a residence and may ask a few questions if someone is home, Behler said. However, they will only verify the address and ask about any additional living quarters, such as an apartment over the garage, on the property that may not be visible to the eye.
"We need to make this as accurate as possible," he said. "We only get this opportunity to update the address list every 10 years."
To help with accuracy, census workers will be using hand-held computers equipped with global positioning system mapping software for the first time. The 2000 census was conducted completely on paper.
Census accuracy is important, Behler said, because the information gathered is used to redraw districts in the U.S. Congress and in the distribution of federal funding to state and local governments. The 2010 census is expected to shift several congressional seats across the nation.
Census workers can be identified by an official bureau badge and will display identification cards in the windshields of their vehicles.
Any questions regarding the census or to report inappropriate behavior by workers can be made by calling the bureau at 1-800-563-6499.
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