COLORADO

• COLORADO COUNTIES INC. is celebrating a big win from the November election. The big victory came when voters easily passed Referendum A, which gives the state the ability to borrow against future highway dollars to begin road projects sooner.
  
  

FLORIDA

• If you’re playing along at home, add BROWARD COUNTY to your list of counties that are ready for Y2K. Officials report it took three years and $12 million. The county bought a new payroll system and made improvements to 9-1-1 and the computer-aided dispatch system to make sure everything was ready.
  “Years of preparation and good contingency plans will make it unlikely that any major problems will occur with Broward County systems,” said Evan Lukic, chair of Broward County’s Year 2000 Technology Steering Committee.
  Although Broward is ready for Y2K, the county will activate its Emergency Operations Center to monitor the situation.
  
  
• Alex Penelas, mayor of MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, has challenged residents there to prevent any more child deaths by gunfire this year. The county is providing free trigger locks to help prevent accidental shootings. Penelas asked all gun owners to make sure their guns are locked away, out of the reach of children.
  During the past eight years, the county has averaged three child gun deaths between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
  
  

ILLINOIS

• When you’re in LAKE COUNTY, don’t pass the preserves.
  The county’s forest preserve system was named 1999 National Gold Medal Grand Award Winner by the National Sports Foundation. The award is presented each year to the nation’s best systems for parks, conservation and recreation administration.
  Lake County scored high in service, development, planning and community participation. The county has been one of four finalists for the award the past four years.
  GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. Parks and Recreation was also a finalist this year.
  
  

MICHIGAN

• It started as a way to remind people about the tremendous costs of drunk driving. OAKLAND COUNTY Community Corrections Division Manager George Miller had a sign placed at the intersection of Crooks and Long Lake roads where three friends were killed when their car was broad-sided by a drunk driver. The sign reads “Drunk Driving: You Can’t Afford It.”
  “Apparently, people driving by these signs have called the Road Commission or somebody to find out who was responsible for them,” Miller said. “We’ve gotten some tremendous PR value out of the whole thing.”
  A year later, there are 32 signs in the county and surrounding MACOMB, ANTRIM and GRATIOT counties.
  “I think the signs carry a great message and I’m pleased other communities are picking up on it,” Miller said. “It’s the kind of sign that makes everybody think a little harder about the consequences of drinking and driving.”
  
  

NEW YORK

• NASSAU COUNTY is looking for some teenagers to buy cigarettes. The county will even pick them up from school and take them to the store to buy them.
  It’s all part of the county’s sting efforts, to keep vendors from breaking the law by selling cigarettes to minors (anyone under 18). It works like this: A Health Department inspector enters a store. Next comes a teenager, who attempts to buy cigarettes. If the sale is made, the department charges the vendor with a violation and the vendor must appear at an administrative hearing to answer the charge.
  Four years ago only 54 percent of vendors were complying. To date in 1999, compliance is 78 percent.
  Teenagers who take part in the program receive letters of commendation and many use the program to fulfill community service requirements at their schools. Parents’ permission is required. For more information about the program, contact Laurie Lutzker at 516/571-3232.
  
  

TENNESSEE

• The truth is out there…in McMINN COUNTY. An upcoming episode of the hit TV show the “X-Files” will feature some familiar props from the county. While the crew did not actually film in East Tennessee, the sci-fi thriller will feature police logos, uniforms and patrol cars modeled after the county sheriff’s department. The episode will be set in a fictional town, and will feature stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny investigating a church whose members handle snakes. The show will air in January.
  VIRGINIA
  
  
• Sorry, sludge. An AMELIA COUNTY ordinance banning land application of biosolids (treated sewage sludge) has been upheld in circuit court, according to the Virginia Association of Counties.
  The ordinance was challenged in court by 11 county farmers who wanted to apply the material as fertilizer.
  Unlike commercial fertilizers, biosolids are made available at no charge to farmers.
  The recent ruling on the ordinance is similar to a ruling of several years ago upholding RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY’s ban on biosolid applications. Approximately 30 localities in the state allow the application of biosolids.
  
  
• How do you calm down traffic? They’re finding out in FAIRFAX COUNTY, where the Board of Supervisors recently selected another five streets for inclusion in the Traffic Calming Pilot Program, a joint effort of the county and the state.
  The streets were chosen on the basis of community request and district supervisor recommendation.
  The two-year study allows installation of speed humps, traffic circles or chokers to reduce the speed of traffic on a residential street. Funding is provided through the state’s secondary road construction program.
  
  

WASHINGTON

• There’s still plenty of fallout from Initiative 695, the measure approved by voters which eliminates the motor vehicle excise tax. SKAGIT COUNTY Transit reports it’s losing 61 percent of its operating budget.
  But there may be help on the way. A recent meeting between Gov. Gary Locke and county officials yielded promises to make local government criminal justice and public health top priorities for relief, according to The Courthouse Journal, published by the Washington State Association of Counties and the Washington Association of County Officials.
  Locke says his goal is to assist counties by gaining legislative approval to spend money from an unrestricted reserve fund, leaving approximately $300 million available for assistance.