A PICTURE OF COLORADO STATISTICS SHOW STATE HAS RIGHTS TO BRAG, PROBLEMS TO
SOLVE

Coloradans have seen their disposable income skyrocket and births
among teenagers plummet. They live in a state that dramatically cut
toxic chemical releases and doubled its spending for crumbling
highways. But a new report on life in the U.S. is not all good news
for Colorado.

The state remains among the top four in the nation in marijuana use
and suicides. The percentage of low-weight births continues to rise
and spending on higher education is among the lowest in the nation,
the Statistical Abstract of the United States reported. The report
rates the states in such categories as consumer prices, health
prospects, education and crime.

For Colorado, it found:

. Disposable income rose from $20,124 in 1990 to $26,332 in 2002,
taking into account inflation. Only eight other states ranked higher.

. Births to teen mothers declined from 11.3 percent of births in 1990
to 10.2 percent in 2001. The percent of babies born with low weights
went the opposite direction, rising from 8 percent to 8.5 percent.

. The amount of toxic chemicals fell 84 percent, from 15.4 million
pounds in 1988 to 2.5 million pounds in 2001. That's about twice as
fast as the national decline.

. Funds for state road projects almost doubled, from $922 million in
1995 to $1.6 billion in 2001. Stacey Stegman, state Transportation
Department spokeswoman, credited state legislation that earmarked
funds for priority projects and the advent of the T-REX project along
Interstate 25 for the hike.

But other indicators were not as rosy, as the state's relative youth
and affluence worked against it.

Colorado ranked third nationally in the incidence of marijuana use and
use of any illicit drug, according to a 2001 survey. It found 7.4
percent of residents 12 and older used marijuana at least once a
month. Vermont and Maine had higher rates.

"We have a number of things that conspire against us," said Bruce
Mendelson, director of data evaluation for the state's alcohol and
drug abuse office. "We are a younger recreational state. We are in the
middle of the country, in the middle of the (drug) trafficking
patterns. We've got a major international airport."

Mendelson said Colorado has traditionally been one of the highest
marijuana-using states.

The state also ranked high in suicides, 16.3 for every 100,000
residents. Only Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming had higher rates.

Barbara O'Brien, executive director of the Colorado Children's
Campaign, said suicide tends to be a "white, suburban affliction" more
prevalent in the West.

"We have a large affluent suburban population," O'Brien
said.

In addition, she said access to guns in Colorado makes suicide
attempts more deadly.

"This is going to sound grim, but we have a high success rate in
attempted suicides," she said.

She said there is no clear-cut reason for why the percentage of babies
born with low weights continues to climb in Colorado.

She thinks the state's rising population, combined with cutbacks in
health facilities offering prenatal care, is a big factor.

"Community health clinics say they have waiting lists all over the
state for people trying to get access to care," she said.

On the other hand, the decline in teen births is a national trend
spurred by the drumbeat against early pregnancies and the resulting
parenthood responsibilities, and welfare reform that requires
recipients to get jobs, she said.

"Suddenly, you can't just be a teen anymore," O'Brien
said.

Colorado did buck the national trend toward residents fleeing rural
areas for the cities.

Between 1990 and 2000, the state saw the percentage of residents
living outside metropolitan areas rise from 15.6 percent to 16.1
percent, the report said.

That, said state demographer Jim Westkott, is the result of Western
Slope growth in resort areas outpacing Front Range growth.

"It's the people that work up there, that build them and service
them," Westkott said.

On taxes: The good news is that Denver, compared with 29 other cities,
had the second lowest percentage of income paid for local and state
taxes, 4.3 percent for someone earning $25,000.

The bad news: Coloradans paid the eighth highest per capita federal
income taxes in 2000, $4,242.