Since these come up in other listservs also, I suggest that everyone
make a "rule" in your email program that shoots all messages with "out
of the office" in the subject line into a junk mail folder. Then you
will never see them.
Jay Hoekstra
Email: jay.hoekstra(a)gvmc.org
Grand Valley Metro Council, 40 Pearl NW, Suite 410, Grand Rapids,
Michigan, 49503
Phone 616-776-7605
-----Original Message-----
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net] On Behalf Of Kuo-Ann Chiao
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 12:17 PM
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: Re: [CTPP] Diana Portillo is out of the office.
These "out of office" messages shouldn't be going to the whole mailing
list.
Kuo-Ann Chiao
Director of Technical Group
NY Metropolitan Transportation Council
199 Water Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10038
212-383-7212 (office)
917-796-0841 (cell)
212-383-2439 (fax)
>>> diana_portillo(a)dot.ca.gov 3/20/2009 4:59 PM >>>
I will be out of the office starting 03/20/2009 and will not return
until 04/08/2009.
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.nethttp://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
LOCKE CONFIRMATION MOVING THROUGH SENATE; GAO FAULTS SYSTEM TESTING
PLANS FOR 2010 CENSUS
Plus: New Legislation; Recent Funding News; Congressional Oversight;
Stakeholder Activities
On March 19, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation unanimously approved former Washington Governor Gary
Locke to be Secretary of Commerce, sending the nomination to the full
Senate for a vote. The committee agreed to Gov. Locke’s nomination one
day after the President’s third nominee for the Cabinet post with
responsibility for the decennial census assured committee members at his
confirmation hearing that the Census director would continue to report
to the Commerce Secretary and that the Census Bureau had no plans to use
statistical sampling methods in the 2010 census to produce population
figures.
Committee Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) called the Commerce
Secretary position “undeniably crucial to the improvement of our
economy” and Gov. Locke, “a man with his finger on the pulse of what
direction America must head toward in generations to come.” The
chairman urged quick Senate confirmation of the nominee.
The committee’s senior Republican, Co-Chairman Kay Bailey Hutchison
(R-TX), said in her opening statement that she “was pleased to hear your
position that the census will stay in the Department of Commerce and it
will be handled on a professional basis,” referring to the traditional
courtesy meeting she had with Gov. Locke in the days before the
confirmation hearing. In an exchange with Sen. Hutchison later in the
hearing about the use of statistical sampling methods to adjust the
census count, Gov. Locke noted that the Supreme Court had ruled (in
1999) that the Census Act (Title 13, U.S.C., §195) prohibits the use of
sampling to produce the state population totals used for congressional
apportionment and said the Commerce Department “will enforce the law.”
The nominee pointed to other, acceptable uses of sampling, including to
measure census accuracy and to collect a wider range of data about the
nation’s demographic and economic characteristics.
Sen. Hutchison pressed Gov. Locke as to whether the Census Bureau would
statistically adjust the census numbers for purposes other than
apportionment, such as redistricting. Gov. Locke said there are “no
plans in the Department of Commerce or the Census Bureau to use any type
of statistical sampling with respect to population count.”
On February 26, after President Obama nominated Gov. Locke for the
Commerce post, Rep. Patrick McHenry wrote to the Governor, asking him if
he “intended to comply with the partisan ambitions of the President or
to fulfill your constitutional obligation as Secretary of Commerce and
oversee a fair and accurate 2010 Decennial Census?” The ranking
Republican on the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and
National Archives cited in his letter the “Administration’s plan to
circumvent the authority of the Secretary of Commerce and place the
traditionally non-partisan census under White House influence.” White
House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, in response to a reporter’s question
the previous day about Gov. Locke’s nomination, said, “The director of
the census always would report to the Secretary of Commerce.” The week
before Gov. Locke’s confirmation hearing, White House spokeman Benjamin
LaBolt issued another statement to clarify the Administration’s role in
overseeing the decennial census. “The president wants to ensure that
the census conducts a fair and accurate count. The census director will
report to the commerce secretary,” Mr. LaBolt said. “Like in every
census under Democratic or Republican administrations, there will be
interest in Congress and at the White House in this national priority.”
Rep. McHenry also asked Gov. Locke if his goal was to “count every
person or to employ statistical adjustment,” referring to what he called
“partisans who advocate statistical ‘adjustment’ or extrapolation over
precise counting.” The Census Bureau did not recommend that the results
of its post-2000 census coverage measurement survey be used to adjust
the results to correct undercounts and overcounts. In 1990, Census
Director Barbara Everitt Bryant, appointed by President George H.W.
Bush, did recommend an adjustment of the raw census counts based on the
post-enumeration survey; Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher rejected
the recommendation.
Meanwhile, eight professional associations, led by the American
Statistical Association, sent a letter to President Obama on March 10,
urging him to nominate a Census director quickly “because of the need
for strong and decisive leadership in the decisions now being made in
preparation for the 2010 Census.”
GAO cites “weaknesses” in 2010 census testing plans: The Government
Accountability Office (GAO), in a new report issued this month,
concluded, “[C]ritical testing activities remain to be performed before
systems will be ready to support the 2010 census.” GAO officials told
members of the Census Bureau’s House oversight subcommittee at a March
5th hearing that while the agency has “made progress in conducting
system, integration, and end-to-end testing for the 2010 census, [much]
remains to be done.” The auditing agency cited “lack of sufficient
executive-level oversight and guidance on testing” as two key factors
contributing to “weaknesses in the Bureau’s IT testing.” The GAO report
notes that the Census Bureau is “still in the preliminary phase of
program planning and initial system development” for paper-based
operations, which the Census Bureau will use instead of handheld
computers to follow-up with unresponsive households during the census.
The 2008 Dress Rehearsal, GAO said, included end-to-end testing for some
(e.g. address canvassing and group quarters validation) but not all
(e.g. nonresponse follow-up, enumeration of transitory locations, and
group quarters enumeration) key census operations.
The report, “Information Technology: Census Bureau Testing of 2010
Decennial Systems Can Be Strengthened” (GAO-09-262), is available
on-line at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09262.pdf. Statements and
testimony from the hearing of the House Subcommittee on Information
Policy, Census, and National Archives are available at
http://informationpolicy.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2318.
The Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government
Information, Federal Services, and International Security also held a
hearing on March 5, “Lessons Learned: How the New Administration Can
Achieve an Accurate and Cost-Effective 2010 Census,” featuring two
former Census directors, GAO, and other census experts. In addition to
noting that “a number of operations and support systems still need to be
designed, planned, or tested,” GAO expressed concern about the cost of
the 2010 census, saying the Census Bureau “finds itself lacking
sufficient policies, procedures, and trained staff to develop
high-quality cost estimates[.]” “[U]ncertainties surround the Bureau’s
readiness for 2010,” GAO cautioned. Hearing statements and testimony
are available at
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&Hearing….
Legislation would create an independent Census Bureau: Reps. Carolyn
Maloney (D-NY), Charles Gonzalez (D-TX), Charlie Dent (R-PA), and Jim
Gerlach (R-PA) introduced legislation (H.R. 1254) to establish the U.S.
Census Bureau as an independent federal agency and to create a fixed,
five-year term of service for the Census director, all starting in 2012.
The head of the Census Bureau currently is appointed by the President
and confirmed by the U.S. Senate and serves at the pleasure of the
President; Census directors routinely resign at the end of a President’s
term of office.
In a press statement announcing introduction of the bill, Rep. Maloney,
a member of the Census Bureau’s oversight subcommittee, said the
agency’s work “is too important to be a stepchild of a larger
organization – buffeted by year-to-year budget whims and political
storms,” a reference to the Department of Commerce of which the bureau
is a part. She suggested that an independent Census Bureau could
“conduct its ten-year planning, testing and execution process without
interference.” Rep. Dent said that Congress must “assure the American
public of the Census’ integrity, objectivity and dedication to its
crucial task.”
Some Republicans questioned the benefits of removing the Census Bureau
from the Commerce Department. A spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA),
the senior Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, said, “Simply turning a troubled agency loose at this time is
not the answer.”
Seven former Census directors signed a letter in support of the
“Restoring the Integrity of American Statistics Act” when it was first
introduced in the last Congress. The former agency heads, who served in
both Republican and Democratic Administrations, said Americans must have
confidence that census numbers are produced by an “independent,
non-partisan, apolitical, and scientific” agency. They noted that the
Census Bureau’s activities are not always a priority for the large
Commerce Department and that the Census director could offer “more
timely and thorough responses” to Congress if it had direct access to
lawmakers.
Ten stakeholder organizations, led by the American Statistical
Association and including the National Association of Latino Elected and
Appointed Officials (NALEO), also sent a letter of support to Rep.
Maloney that noted the independent status of several other federal
research agencies.
Congress finishes funding bill for 2009: Congress gave final approval
to, and the President signed, an omnibus spending bill for the remainder
of Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009), which ends on September 30. Public Law
111-8 includes $3.14 billion for the Census Bureau, the amount requested
by the Bush Administration last year. About $2.7 billion of the
appropriation is for 2010 census preparations. (See the February 24
Census News Brief for more details on census funding in this bill.)
Congressional oversight hearings continue: The House Subcommittee on
Information Policy, Census, and National Archives will hold a hearing to
examine the 2010 census Regional Partnership Program on March 23, at
10:00 AM in Room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses include
Acting Census Director Thomas Mesenbourg and other Census Bureau
officials; New York City’s 2010 census coordinator; and representatives
of the Government Accountability Office and Draftfcb, the 2010 census
Communications Campaign contractor.
Last week, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (GA), chair of the Republican Census
Task Force and a member of the census oversight subcommittee, raised
concerns that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
(known as ACORN) had signed on as an official 2010 census “partner.”
Rep. Westmoreland told FOXNews.com that, “all the different charges of
voter fraud … should be the concern of every citizen in the country. We
want an enumeration. We don’t want to have any false numbers.”
FOXNews.com called ACORN a “group with a history of voter fraud” in a
March 18 report, citing charges against a handful of ACORN employees
during the last election cycle for fraudulent voter registrations. A
spokesman for the non-profit organization told the news outlet that,
“ACORN as an organization has not been charged with any crime.” The
group, which calls itself the “nation’s largest grassroots community
organization of low- and moderate-income people,” said it is “committed
to a fair and accurate count.” Another member of the Census Bureau’s
oversight panel, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), said that he is “fairly
confident that the penalties for an individual manipulating the count
are pretty severe.”
In 2000, tens of thousands of national and community-based
organizations, businesses, and state and local governments were part of
the Census Bureau’s Partnership Program, widely credited with helping to
stem the decline in census mail response. The Census Bureau asks its
“partners” to help recruit census workers and provide space for testing
and training temporary employees, distribute census materials, and
sponsor community events to promote the census.
Stakeholder activities highlight 2010 census: With the start of the
2010 census only a year away, stakeholder organizations are highlighting
the importance of an accurate count and mobilizing their constituencies
across the country to promote participation.
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
(NALEO) and the Brookings Institution hosted a discussion on “Politics,
Policy, and the 2010 Decennial Census,” moderated by NPR News Senior
Washington Editor Ron Elving, in Washington, DC, on March 18. (A
summary, transcript, and audio recording are available at
http://www.brookings.edu/events/2009/0318_census.aspx.)
The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation is hosting a “Census
2010 Call to Action Leadership Summit,” featuring presentations by
senior Census Bureau officials and program heads. Members of the
Congressional Black Caucus also will participate in the March 23 event.
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights will mobilize its national
network of social and economic justice organizations in support of the
2010 census with a conference call on March 24. As part of its “Calling
for Justice” series, LCCR will focus on “Making the Count Right:
Achieving an Accurate 2010 Census for Underrepresented Communities.”
On March 25, a coalition of Latino organizations -- including Voto
Latino, the National Institute of Latino Policy, MALDEF, and LULAC --
are hosting “The State of Latinos: Census 2010.” Members of the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus and census oversight subcommittees, as
well as senior Census Bureau staff, will join the discussion. (For more
information about any of these events, please visit the web sites of the
sponsoring organizations.)
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a legislative
and policy consultant working with a wide range of census stakeholders
to promote an accurate 2010 census. All views expressed in the News
Briefs are solely those of the author. Please direct questions about
the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at
TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to
other interested individuals and organizations and to reprint any or all
of the information. Ms. Lowenthal is a consultant to the nonpartisan
Census Project, organized by the Communications Consortium Media Center
in Washington, DC. Previous Census News Briefs are posted at
www.thecensusproject.org.
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA Resource Center
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
These "out of office" messages shouldn't be going to the whole mailing
list.
Kuo-Ann Chiao
Director of Technical Group
NY Metropolitan Transportation Council
199 Water Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10038
212-383-7212 (office)
917-796-0841 (cell)
212-383-2439 (fax)
>>> diana_portillo(a)dot.ca.gov 3/20/2009 4:59 PM >>>
I will be out of the office starting 03/20/2009 and will not return
until
04/08/2009.
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.nethttp://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
While group quarters may not make up a substantial portion of the
population in some areas they do elsewhere, particularly in military or
college towns. In some cases this can make up more than 30 percent of
the population in the urbanized area and have a large impact on the
transportation network. Good, detailed information will be vital to
developing good transportation network analysis.
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net] On Behalf Of Patty Becker
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 4:45 PM
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: Re: [CTPP] 5-year ACS data
I share Ed's concern over the impact of these rules, although some of
them are the result of the switch to the ACS itself.
The way the Census samples group quarters for inclusion in the ACS
prohibits low level geography reporting for them. We'll be lucky to get
anything meaningful by county. However, we will get the SF1 and SF2
tables from the 2010 census itself, so at least we will know where the
GQ are, the type, and the population in them, by block. (See Table P37
in the 2000 SF1.) I would submit that, for the most part, people who
live in GQ are not very active in terms of using the transportation
network, in any event.
The basic rule that there will be suppression in tables with more than
100 cells calls for a major rewrite of the table structure itself--for
everyone, not just the CTPP community. For example, right now getting
the unemployment rate requires you to use a table with more than 100
cells. This needs to be fixed by adding a simple table showing labor
force status, maybe by sex, but definitely not by age. This will result
in a smaller table and there will be no suppression. I'm sure that many
of you can find your favorite examples of this problem.
In your responses to the FR notice, please emphasize the need to redo
the detailed table structure. That's the only way we're going to get any
semblance of the data we need.
Patty Becker
At 03:35 PM 3/20/2009, you wrote:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by ryoko.chrispy.net
id n2KJZJI6014332
Now that dust has settled maybe we can get on with the order of the day.
On March 6th the Census Bureau published a notice in the Federal
Register asking for comments on the 5-year ACS data products. As part
of the notice the users were given a set of rules that will establish
data availability.
Did you know that NO Block Group data will be available for Group
Quarters (Rule 1)? Or that all Block Group and most Tract data for
"Means of Transportation to Work" crossed with any variable, even Sex
will NEVER be available? (Rule 7). Attached is an analysis of the
impact of Rule 7 using some information gathered through our CTPP
development efforts.
Things do not look good!
The Federal Register notice
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/FedRegNotice_E9-4803.pdf
The Real Rules
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/proposal_acs5yearproducts.pdf
The 5-year table shells prior to the application of any suppression
rules
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/users_guide/
although the website says it applies to 2005-2007 ACS data these are the
same tables for the 5-year data according to the Census Bureau
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA RC-TST-PLN
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.nethttp://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------
Patricia C. (Patty) Becker 248/354-6520
APB Associates/SEMCC FAX 248/354-6645
28300 Franklin Road Home 248/355-2428
Southfield, MI 48034 pbecker(a)umich.edu
Now that dust has settled maybe we can get on with the order of the day.
On March 6th the Census Bureau published a notice in the Federal
Register asking for comments on the 5-year ACS data products. As part
of the notice the users were given a set of rules that will establish
data availability.
Did you know that NO Block Group data will be available for Group
Quarters (Rule 1)? Or that all Block Group and most Tract data for
“Means of Transportation to Work” crossed with any variable, even Sex
will NEVER be available? (Rule 7). Attached is an analysis of the
impact of Rule 7 using some information gathered through our CTPP
development efforts.
Things do not look good!
The Federal Register notice
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/FedRegNotice_E9-4803.pdf
The Real Rules
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/proposal_acs5yearproducts.pdf
The 5-year table shells prior to the application of any suppression rules
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/users_guide/
although the website says it applies to 2005-2007 ACS data these are the
same tables for the 5-year data according to the Census Bureau
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA RC-TST-PLN
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
Please delete me from this mailing list- I am getting too many emails
from people who should not be replying to all when they respond.
Marlie
Marlie Sanderson, Assistant Executive Director
North Central Florida Regional Planning Council
2009 NW 67th Place
Gainesville, FL 32653-1603
(352) 955-2200, ext. 103
so that those of you who want to drop off the list due to the volume of unhelpful mail don't perpetuate the very problem you are trying to avoid, go here to unsubcribe:
http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
Please do not respond to this message.
John Hodges-Copple, Planning Director
Triangle J Council of Governments
PO Box 12276
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
919-558-9320
johnhc(a)tjcog.orgwww.tjcog.org
Me too!!
Wally Johnson
Transportation Planner
Sherman-Denison MPO
1117 Gallagher Dr., Suite 300
Sherman, TX 75090
www.sdmpo.org
903.813.3531 voice
903.813.3539 fax
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net [mailto:ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net]
On Behalf Of Pesch Dave
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 9:55 AM
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: RE: [CTPP] (no subject)
Delete me also
- David Pesch, Rochester, MN MPO
_____
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net [ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net] On
Behalf Of Marlie Sanderson [sanderson(a)ncfrpc.org]
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:27 AM
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: [CTPP] (no subject)
Please delete me from this mailing list- I am getting too many emails from
people who should not be replying to all when they respond.
Marlie
Marlie Sanderson, Assistant Executive Director
North Central Florida Regional Planning Council
2009 NW 67th Place
Gainesville, FL 32653-1603
(352) 955-2200, ext. 103
