Editorial: Good news from the census front

Thursday, April 20, 2000 | 9:24 a.m.

The Census Bureau released Wednesday its preliminary figures for those who have returned their census questionnaires -- and there is promising news for Nevada. In contrast to 1990, when just 61 percent of this state's residents returned their mail-back forms, 63 percent already have done so this time. Nevada is one of just 11 states that had a return rate better than in 1990.

An undercount in 1990 was estimated to have cost Nevada about $200 million in federal benefits that are tied to census data. Secretary of State Dean Heller took some heat from naysayers for advocating a $788,400 media campaign to encourage Nevadans to return their census forms this year, but the results show this has been money well spent.

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