Metro East Low 18 B6 Edition Weather anytime: Today: High 42, Forecast, Page The MassLive.com The Republican Company MONDAY, Short form expected on census The Census Bureau has chosen its Boston office in preparation for the 2010 head count. By STAN FREEMAN It was one of those "why me?" things. Known as the long form, it was viewed by many who received it during the once-adecade federal census as akin to an IRS audit. On it, more than 50 questions were asked during the 2000 census (as opposed to seven on the more common short form), addressing such topics as marital status, housing, place of work, education, disability and income. One in six households received it.
But, as the U.S. Census Bureau begins to gear up for the next national head count in 2010, the long form is gone. Well, almost. "This will be a short form only census," said Michael J. Horgan, assistant regional census manager for the Northeast office of the bureau.
Instead, the information on the long form, which is used to distribute nearly $200 billion in federal aid annually to states, will be and is already being gathered through the American Community Survey, which is a form sent to households on a rolling basis through the decade. That survey began in 2005. The federal government decided it needed more current information to make funding decisions than could be gathered once every 10 years. But even with only a short MARCH 24,2008 Smothers Brothers join the Springfield Symphony Saturday April 12 at 8 p.m. Tickets 413-733-2291 or springfieldsymphony.org EASTER TEARS Staff photo by DAVID MOLNAR The Rev.
Howard-John Wesley, senior pastor at St. John's Congregational Church in Springfield, wipes tears from his eyes during Resurrection Sunday service at Symphony Hall in Springfield yesterday. After 10 years at St. John's, Wesley will be leaving in April for a church in Alexandria, Virginia. "There are a few moments in life when you recognize you are part of a really special moment in time.
This is one of those moments as I celebrate my last Resurrection Sunday with you," Wesley said. See story, Page B1 Please see Census, Page A4 Nanotechnology poised for use In the last decade, the University of Massachusetts has won nearly $74 million in grants and awards for nanotechnology research. By STAN FREEMAN AMHERST It's been riding radar for most people, but gy the science of the very starting to find a place in the sciousness. While more people now term, many still do not know means or what its value will be. Nano, as a prefix, means one NEWS TIPLINE (413) 788-1200 Readers, please call The Republican with news tips and story ideas Index Classified D1 Local B1 Comics E2 Obituaries B4 Crosswords D5 Sports C1 Editorial A5 Television D6 Lifestyle E1 Weather B6 8 59966 00011 For home delivery call 788-1100 The Republican Online live.com Today Online: Get local news first as it happens at www.masslive.com U.S.
troop death toll. hits 4,000 By ROBERT H. REID soldiers' patrol vehicle about Associated Press 10 p.m. in southern Baghdad, according to a statement. BAGHDAD A roadside Identities of those killed bomb killed four U.S.
soldiers were withheld pending notifiin Baghdad yesterday, the mil- cation of relatives. itary said, pushing the overall Navy Lt. Patrick Evans, a American death toll in the military spokesman, expressfive-year war to at least 4,000. ed condolences to all the famiThe grim milestone came on lies who have lost a loved one the same day that rockets and in Iraq, saying each death is mortars pounded the U.S.-pro- "equally tragic." tected Green Zone, underscor- "There have been some siging the fragile security nificant gains. However, this situation and the resilience of enemy is resilient and will not both Sunni and Shiite extrem- give up, nor will we," he said.
ist groups despite an overall "There's still a lot of work to lull in violence. be done." A Multi-National Division The 4,000 figure is accordBaghdad soldier also was ing to an Associated Press wounded in the roadside bombing, which struck the Please see Iraq, Page A4 Casinos kaput, SO what's next? By STEVE LeBLANC gap. Associated Press Now, with the nation facing a possible recession and MasBOSTON OK, now what? sachusetts still lagging much That's the question dogging of the country in job growth, lawmakers as they search for the drive for new dollars is new revenues after the col- taking on a new urgency. lapse last week of Gov. Deval A frustrated Patrick said it's Patrick's plan to license three up to House Speaker Salvaresort style casinos in Massa- tore DiMasi and his leadership chusetts.
team to pave a way out of the Patrick's bill promised an fiscal crunch. Patrick said leginjection of hundreds of mil- islative leaders have rejected lions of new dollars into the four of his revenue raising state's coffers at a time when proposals, including the casiMassachusetts is struggling with a $1.3 billion spending Please see Budget, Page A6 And it is on the scale of a billionth of a meter that nanotechnologists are working. How many nanometers wide is the head of a pin? Roughly a million. Using a growing array of tools to manipulate the basic building blocks of matter at this scale, atoms and molecules, scientists can create new materials with slipperi- exotic properties, such as super ness or the ability to conduct electricity under the more efficiently than conventional connanotechnolo- ductors. small is In essence, the science is a new appublic con- proach to building things, starting at the atomic level and working up from there.
recognize the Since 1997, the University of Massachuwhat it setts has won nearly $74 million in grants and awards for nanotechnology rebillionth. search. Fishing boat sinks Four crew members died yesterday and another was missing after a Seattle-based fishing boat sank in high seas off Alaska's Aleutian Islands, the Coast Guard said. The dead were among 47 crew members who abandoned ship after the 184-foot Alaska Ranger developed problems. Fortytwo crew members were recovered safely, but a search was continuing for the missing person, said Chief Petty Officer Barry Lane.
Full story, Page A3 Cheney's help sought Palestinian leaders asked Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday to pressure Israel to halt settlement construction and voiced other complaints that deflated Cheney's hopeful words about Mideast peace. Palestinians had little expectation their meetings with Cheney, a strong defender of the Jewish state, would produce anything concrete. While that was the case, the Bush administration did get another chance to nudge the two sides toward an agreement before President Bush leaves office in January. Full story, Page A6 44 We've been able to see things at the nanometer scale for a lot longer than we've been able to manipulate things at that scale. 19 Prof.
Robert M. Weis, UMass "We've been able to see things at the nanometer scale for a lot longer than we've been able to manipulate things at that scale," said Robert M. Weis, a professor of chemistry at UMass and a faculty Please see Nano, Page A4 Staff photo by MICHAEL S. GORDON Kenneth R. Carter, a professor of polymer science at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, works with a nanotechnology imprint lithography tool Friday in the Silvio O.
Conte National Center for Polymer Research at UMass. NEWS TO In Pope a speech speaks at the on end of Easter conflicts Sun- GO A QUICK RUN THROUGH SOME OF TODAY'S TOP STORIES College earmarks swell Congress set aside a record $2.3 billion in pet projects for colleges and universities last year for research on subjects like berries and reducing odors from swine and poultry, accord: ing to an analysis by The Chronicle Higher Education to be published today. Congress approved 2,306 earmarks last year for higher education, compared with 223 in 1990, The Chronicle said. The earmarks included several centers honoring legislators. While such pork-barrel projects range far beyond academia, they are particularly controversial in higher education because they bypass the normal route for financing peer-reviewed scientific research.
Full story, Page B5 day Mass yesterday at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said that on the joyous day of Easter, "in particular, how can we fail to remember certain African regions, such as Darfur and Somalia, the tormented Middle East, especially the Holy Land, Iraq, Lebanon and finally Tibet, all of which I encourage to seek solutions that will safeguard peace and the common good." Benedict singled out the Middle East and Tibet among places most in need of peace and denounced "selfishness, injustice, hatred and violence" between individuals and peoples. Full story, Page B6 Falcons lose to Monarchs If the Springfield Falcons can be grateful for anything these days, it's that their nightmare of a three-game weekend is over. Still the Falcons find themselves out of playoff position (the time being, at least), after dropping a 4-2 count to the Manchester Monarchs yesterday, before 5,359 at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Springfield sits in fifth place in the Atlantic Division, and trails the Monarchs by a point, after having dropped all three games since Friday. Full story, Page C1 7.
Are you ready? Available this month via the Web site www.dicmar.com, a parent offers tips on sending a child to college. The guide provides checklists, warnings and tips on health insurance, budgeting, packing for dorm life and the other twists of college. See stories, Page E1 71.
