News In Brief

BRING BACK THE BLAZE ORANGE

The new swimsuits for Los Angeles County lifeguards have been making quite a splash. Just not the type that was hoped for. For one thing, the lifeguard union says, the trunks are too baggy. On top of that, the colors are muted. Then there's the large Izod logo on them. But the real damper, the union says, is the pocket, which could fill with water and hinder rescues, although a safety test turned up few, if any, problems. But to smooth over the situation, there's now talk of the lifeguards choosing which suit they want to wear.

I DIDN'T WIN? THAT'S GREAT!

Douglas Couvertier, about whom we wrote last week, couldn't be happier that he wasn't elected to town council in Southwest Ranches, Fla. When we last looked in on him, he'd learned he could lose his pension from his regular job in the Miami-Dade Fire Department if he assumed a council seat. It was too late to remove his name from the ballot. So he asked people not to vote for him. Only 74 did.

Voting-age ranks have grown almost 5 percent since '96

When Election Day arrives Nov. 7, the Census Bureau projects 9 million more Americans will be old enough to vote than were eligible in 1996, the last time the US chose a president. In terms of numbers, the largest increases tend to come in states with some of the largest populations (California, Texas, Florida). But Nevada leads all states in the percentage of voting-age population growth. The calculations do not include absentee-ballot voters who live abroad. The states projected to experience the largest gains in numbers and in percentage terms:

Numbers

California 1.8 million

Texas 1.2 million

Florida 696,000

Georgia 473,000

Arizona 380,000

Percentages

Nevada 15.9%

Arizona 11.7%

Idaho 9.0%

Texas 8.8%

Georgia 8.7%

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