THE LEFT LANE
Women rule R&B list

Tom O'Neil, author of "The Grammys: The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to Music's Highest Honor," and veteran music analyst Paul Grein, both handicappers for O'Neil's entertainment awards Web site, goldderby.com, agree the field boasts ample talent. They part ways in predicting the victor.

Vying for the prize are the late Aaliyah's self-titled swan song, India Arie's "Acoustic Soul," Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama," Destiny's Child's "Survivor" and Alicia Keys' "Songs in A Minor."

"Alicia Keys will win," Grein contends. "Her album had the combination of factors voters look for in a commercial home run: critical acclaim, industry respect. There's the promise of a long, significant career. She's certainly off to a good start."

O'Neil favors Aaliyah in this Feb. 27 contest (7 p.m. on CBS).

Aaliyah was 22 when she died last August in a plane crash, having just completed her role in "The Queen of the Damned," which opens tomorrow. Her album, which entered "Billboard "at No. 2 six weeks earlier, shot to the top after her death.

Higher education

Young women in the United States are more educated than young men. That's one tidbit found in a new Census Bureau report profiling the country's demographic, socioeconomic and housing trends. Among the highlights:

• In 2000, only 11 percent of women at the end of their childbearing years had four or more children, compared with more than three times that percentage in 1976.
• The number of students enrolled in elementary school and high school in 2000 (49 million) matched the previous record set in 1970 when "baby boom" children attended school.
• For the first time ever, computers in 2000 were found in most of the country's homes (51 percent). In 1998, the rate was 42 percent.

For more census statistics, check out this Web site: factfinder.census.gov.