Year 2000

A securities industry trade group's initial computer tests last week for year 2000 glitches were successful. The Securities Industry Assn.'s test turned ahead computer clocks at 29 brokerage firms and 13 exchanges and clearing and settlement firms, then ran simulated trades to see if they would work. Based on preliminary feedback, the trades were successful. More demanding tests are to follow.

In the most dramatic warning yet of an impending computer crisis in the government, a congressional panel said Wednesday that 37% of the most critical computers used by federal agencies will not be updated in time to handle dates in the year 2000 and will be subject to widespread failure.

KCET Channel 28 will produce a new half-hour documentary series examining major issues affecting Southern California and their implications for the region by the year 2000, officials at the public-television station said Tuesday. The series, debuting July 12 at 7:30 p.m. and airing on subsequent Wednesday nights, will be called "By the Year 2000." It will tackle such issues as pollution, transportation, aging, demographics, housing prices and the use of crack. The first program explores how the global "greenhouse effect" can change Southern California.

Los Angeles County motorists will face gridlock on the freeways and find streets in disrepair by the year 2000 unless more than $3 billion can be raised, a study warns. "We need to keep our streets from crumbling out from under us," said Ginger Gherardi, manager of highway programs for the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. "Our study shows that we are falling far short of that goal."

Making sure all computers in the Los Angeles Unified School District have the technological dexterity to change from Dec. 31, 1999, to Jan. 1, 2000, will cost $48.5 million--toward the top of estimates provided to the state's largest district last fall. The budget, approved by the school board Monday, is less than those faced by some other bureaucracies, including Los Angeles County, where estimates are twice as high. Nonetheless, the amount gave some board members pause.

Sixteen months before the year 2000 actually arrives, an army of attorneys has begun to mobilize over what may be the most calamitous aspect of the year 2000 problem: the spillage of a messy technical issue into the even messier realm of the courtroom. At least 16 lawsuits already have been filed around the country in connection with year 2000 problems, including six against Intuit Inc. concerning older versions of its Quicken personal finance program.

If there's one good thing to be said about KCET's public-affairs series "By the Year 2000," it is that the little half-hour show doesn't shy away from big topics. If there is one bad thing to be said about "2000," it is that the show--either limited by imagination or budget--often gives short shrift to these subjects. Tonight's offering, "The Lessons Planned" (airing at 9 on Channel 28), is a case in point.

As the 1990 census draws to a close, government officials and demographers are discussing how best to conduct the census in the year 2000 and beyond. Amid continuing controversy over whether the latest census should be adjusted to offset an expected undercount of minorities and poor Americans, many question if traditional enumeration procedures will work as well in the future as they have in the past.

If you want to set your sights high for the coming millennium, climb to the highest point on the African continent, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Into Africa is offering two millennium climbs. Participants will fly to Nairobi, Kenya, where they will be transported to Marangu in Tanzania. Two routes are available: the Marangu Route, which is a five-day climb, and the six-day Machame Route, which is more gradual. Though Mt.

Student enrollment at UC Irvine, already causing crowding problems this year, is expected to swell by 41% by the turn of the century, according to a report presented to the University of California regents Thursday. The number of UCI undergraduates, about 10,500 in 1985, will grow to 14,592, according to the report, which also predicts that the number of graduate students will grow from 1,427 last year to about 2,650 in the year 2000.