Gomers: What’s going wrong

The Gazette Editorial Board

WEST NILE: State officials have confirmed the first case of West Nile virus in Iowa this year, a reminder to all Iowans to take precautions as summer progresses.

Officials urge Iowans to do what they can to eliminate standing water in ditches or other recesses - where infected mosquitoes tend to lay their eggs.

Last year, there were 44 reported cases of West Nile in the state.

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COSTLY STORMS: It may be a small fraction of the heartache and havoc wreaked by recent storms, but it's expected the estimated $1 million in damage that Cedar Rapids Community School District facilities suffered in June weather events will take the rest of the summer to address. School officials say Cleveland Elementary, Jefferson High School and Washington High School bore the brunt of the damage - at Cleveland, alone, about one third of the classrooms were damaged, including interior ceilings, cabinets, floors and electrical work. At Jefferson, athletic fields and buildings were especially heavily hit.

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FUNDING SLOWDOWN: State transportation officials got word last week they could be looking at millions of dollars in cuts in federal road and transit project funding unless Congress acts to replenish the Highway Trust Fund. The fund, created in 1956 to pay for the national highway system, has been dwindling as motorists drive fewer miles and have been purchasing more fuel-efficient cars, is expected to run dry in August.

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