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President: We're Mostly Ready For Y2K Bug However, Some Local Areas Deemed Worrisome

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

President Clinton, receiving the government's final report on the Year 2000 computer problem, said yesterday morning that he expects no major national breakdowns to be caused by the so-called Y2K bug.

"The report documents remarkable Y2K progress in all of America's critical infrastructure area," Clinton said, adding that "I am confident the Y2K problem, therefore, will not put the savings or the safety of the American people at risk."

Despite the nation's progress in fixing its computers for operation on Jan. 1, the president's chief Y2K troubleshooter, John A. Koskinen, said the report also shows that a few national sectors could be regarded as potential trouble spots:

* "911" call centers. A survey of 2,700 emergency call centers found that only 50 percent of the centers were Y2K compliant as of Oct. 1. But the National Emergency Number Association expects computer fixes to be made to virtually all 911 call centers before year's end. The association has identified only seven call sites, which officials did not identify, that will not be Y2K ready on Jan. 1.

* Health care. About 40 percent of doctors and other health-care providers reported they were ready in late summer, and about 66 percent of providers in the Medicare fee-for-service program report that billing and medical records systems were reported ready as of October.

* Education. More than one-third of the nation's schools were not Y2K ready in a recent survey, and 4 percent of school districts say they will not be compliant by Jan. 1.

* Housing. As of late August, about 30 percent of the nation's public housing providers faced unresolved questions about their Y2K status, particularly their ability to receive subsidies from the Housing and Urban Development Department.

In general, Koskinen said he continues to worry that small cities and towns and numerous small businesses have not paid enough attention to their Y2K risks. If too many organizations wait to fix when systems fail, Koskinen suggested their operations could face significant disruptions. That's because they could end up at the back of a long line waiting for computer companies and software vendors to make repairs or provide upgrades.

The Year 2000 computer problem stems from the use in many systems of two-digit date fields. In such systems, computers could misinterpret "00" as 1900, not 2000, and either malfunction or crash.

The report by the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion said the federal government has completed work on 99 percent of its mission-critical systems. The report also gave high marks to the banking, electric power, telecommunications, air and rail, and oil and gas industries.

Clinton, in brief remarks on the South Lawn, said most of the nation's large trading partners "are in good shape" but said "we still have concerns about the Y2K preparations of some developing nations." He said the State Department would continue to provide updates and travel advisories for the public.

The council has prepared a Y2K checklist so that individuals may prepare for the date change. The information can be obtained at www.y2k.gov/

or by calling (888) 872-4925

HOW READY ARE WE?

Area localities

Richmond

*City officials said Richmond expects to by completely Y2K compliant. Richmond's 911 computers are Y2K-ready, said Diane Linderman, director of the Department of Public Works.

*Capt. Walter Howard said Police Department's computers are "probably 85 percent there .*.*. We shouldn't miss a beat when the clock rolls over."

*Anthony L. Johnson, chairman of the Richmond Public Schools 2000 Task Group, said the city school district is in good shape. "We took our programs to a disaster recovery site in Philadelphia. We set their main computer ahead to the year 2000. And we installed our back-up tapes on their computers and then we ran our programs to see if they worked .*.*. and they did."

Henrico County

*Henrico County Manager Virgil R. Hazelett said, " It is our full expectation that, come 2000, all systems will be 'go' without incident or interruption in services offered to our residents."

*Sgt. Joe Morris, a spokesman for the Henrico Division of Police said, "We've done extensive planning and we feel we're ready. We also will have people in place should there be problems."

Chesterfield County

*Officials said Chesterfield County has nearly finished preparing for Y2K and is checking with critical vendors. Chesterfield will open its emergency operations center from Dec. 31 to Jan. 4 to answer questions from residents, dispel rumors and collect information on any problems

CM+RT in the county. *The county school system is on schedule with its preparations, said Carl Chafin, assistant superintendent of administration. Computer system upgrades were completed in June. The school system contingency mirrors county government plans.

Hanover County

*Hanover Deputy County Administrator Cecil R. Harris Jr. said county internal systems have been tested and are Y2K compliant. He noted that "if the traffic lights don't work, I've got a mess out here, but I'm not in charge of traffic lights. VDOT is. So that's my caveat with all of this - the phone, the traffic signals and the electricity and so forth."

*The county's school staff told School Board members earlier this fall to expect smooth sailing. The report said upgrades have been made on more than 2,500 computers and area and school network routers, according to the report.

KEY INDUSTRIES

BANKING

*"The depository financial institutions in Virginia are prepared for the century date change and your money is safe in these insured financial institutions. For several years, financial institutions have implemented computer upgrades . . . and been under the close scrutiny of state and federal regulators. The result is 99.9 percent of the nation's financial institutions are ready for Y2K. . . . One hundred percent of the banks, savings and loans and credit unions in Virginia meet or exceed requirement standards for year 2000 preparedness."

- E. Joseph Face Jr., banking commissioner,

State Corporation Commission,

Bureau of Financial Institutions

SMALL BUSINESSES

*The National Federation of Independent Business reported recently that only one in four small business owners considered Y2K a serious problem. The federation also estimated that 30 percent of small businesses had done nothing to address the issue. *"Is it hype or is it reality? We don't know the answer. Most of the smart small businesses I know have prepared themselves and have made sure they are compliant. But there are some that are taking a wait-and-see attitude."

- Pat Haynes, chairwoman of the Virginia

Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee

TRANSPORTATION

*Richmond International Airport has one last area to check: the computer system that keeps track of parking revenue. "We've met all the governmental deadlines on Y2K procedures."

- Robert C. Brammer, acting executive director

*The Air Transport Association, representing major airlines in the United States and Canada reports that airlines have completed, on average, 99.5 percent of their Y2K preparations, said spokeswoman Sophie Bethune. Testing will continue up to Dec. 31. "We're confident it will be as safe to fly then as it is on any day," she said.

*Amtrak railroad has tested all signal, dispatch, switching, locomotive and passenger car equipment on company-owned track from Washington to New York. Where Amtrak runs on other railroads - such as [CSX Corp.]'s track from Richmond to Washington - the railroad must count on those railroads to be Y2K compliant, said Amtrak spokesman John Wolf. "We're ready," said Craig MacQueen, vice president of corporate communications at CSX Corp., which operates a 23,700-mile system.

TRUCKING

*The trucking industry's main concern is how customers, suppliers and others will deal with Y2K problems. "Most trucking companies are confident their services won't be affected."

- Dale Bennett, executive vice president

Virginia Trucking Association

MANUFACTURING

*"We don't foresee anything that would have any type of significant impact on the economy."

- Laura Brown Narvais, vice president

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Tminus28&counting.down), December 03, 1999

Answers

Bwhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. What a total JOKE

-- ah (ah@ah.ah), December 03, 1999.

"'The report documents remarkable Y2K progress in all of America's critical infrastructure area," Clinton said, adding that "I am confident the Y2K problem, therefore, will not put the savings or the safety of the American people at risk.' "

Why did he have to say it this way? Savings or safety? He is truly King of the sound bite!

Koskinen is a 'troubleshooter!?'

BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Koskinen is a paid PR shill for the Clinton administration. Nothing more, and certainly nothing like the hero on the Y2K movie of the week on NBC, although, that's the parallel they would love people to make.

"Don't worry, Johnny K will fix everything. Why is my now bald-head glowing in the dark? What's that smell? Did that sound like a chemical plant exploding to you?"

Why do people that wouldn't trust this administration to tell them the time of day trust them when it comes to something as potentially devastating as Y2K?

-- ariZONEa (johnny.k@tothe.rescue), December 03, 1999.

Don't even THINK about taking YOUR money out of the bank!

Yeah--and keep GOOD records. (Wonder what we'll play those records on if the power is off?). Wonder what NEW laws will make those records relevant in case of problems...(they CAN'T be used, by law, folks!--any records in YOUR possession cannot be considered evidence).

Did I forget to mention not to take your money out the bank?

-- Sceptic (whodotheythink@theyrekidding.com), December 03, 1999.

>Police Department's computers are "probably 85 percent there .*.*. We shouldn't miss a beat when the clock rolls over."

Say waaaaaaa????

After you hire five thousand clerks to create a manual file card system then you will have some data you might be able to use...very, very slowly.

Everybody has already bugged out of Richmond, right?

-- cgbg jr (cgbgjr@webtv.net), December 03, 1999.

"The Year 2000 computer problem stems from the use in many systems of two-digit date fields. In such systems, computers could misinterpret "00" as 1900, not 2000, and either malfunction or crash."

When you read that bit-o-boilerplate, you know who the target audience is.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), December 03, 1999.

I'm Your New KING!!! Take this and 'Parse" it....Election? What Election?

-- King (Klintoon@Whorehouse.com), December 04, 1999.