SSTI Digest

Geography: Colorado

TBED People and Organizations

The Piedmont Triad Research Park laid off Bill Dean, director of the park, and Nancy Johnson, marketing director. Park officials said that the park's project manager and executive assistant also were laid off.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter announced that he has tapped Don Elliman, director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development, to serve as the state government's first chief operating officer.

The Florida STEM Council, funded by a $580,000 grant from Workforce Florida, has been created to connect education, workforce, business and economic development leaders to identify opportunities to build and measure the state's supply of workers with skills and knowledge in these fields to support innovation in existing and emerging industries.

Malcolm Kahn has been appointed vice president for enterprise development & licensing at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation has named Kevin Carr as interim CEO, replacing Tracy Taylor, who resigned last month.

Jill Kline has been named the new Wyoming Entrepreneur.Biz associate state director. Kline, previously the NE Wyoming SBDC regional director, replaces Debbie Gorski.

Jennifer Kmiec has been appointed Marshal University's associate vice president for economic development effective, July 1.

Larry Pederson has been named director of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering at North Dakota State University.

Utah's Lt. Governor Gary Herbert tapped Jason Perry, the state's director of economic development, to lead Herbert's transition into the governor's role.

Frances Scarlett has been named regional director of the Small Business & Technology Development Center at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Enterprise Florida President and CEO John Adams has announced the appointment of Crystal Sircy as senior vice president for the Business Retention and Recruitment division. She succeedsBob Rohrlack, who in April became the president and CEO of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

M&T Bank chairman and CEO Robert Wilmers has resigned his pro-bono position as chairman of Empire State Development Corporation (ESD). Wilmers' resignation follows, Marissa Lago'sdeparture from her post of president and CEO for the state's primary economic development agency. Dennis Mullen, has been named by Gov. David Paterson as ESD's chairman. Mullen, also assumed Lago's duties. He has been ESD's upstate president.

Western States Scale Back on 2010 TBED Investments

Lawmakers across several western states have reached budget agreements for the upcoming fiscal year or biennium allocating decreased or level funding for tech-based economic development efforts. Lawmakers also passed new legislation supporting job-creation efforts and investments in alternative energy. While funding for many of these programs appear secure in FY10, additional spending cuts are anticipated in the coming months if state revenues continue to decline.

Sponsor: Bill will create jobs

Superclusters push CSU inventions

Superclusters can be explosive.

Tech Talkin' Govs, Part II

The second installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses delivered by the governors of Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont. 

SSTI Job Corner

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

TBED People and Organizations

Gov. Jim Douglas plans to merge the Vermont Departments of Economic Development and Housing and Community Affairs. Douglas's deputy chief of staff Betsy Bishop was appointed commissioner of the Department of Economic Development. She replaces Mike Quinn, who stepped down after serving six years in the position.

Governor Outlines $12M Economic Stimulus Plan for Colorado

Gov. Bill Ritter announced his administration's plan to inject $12 million into initiatives that promote job training, provide small businesses with access to capital, and invest in the state's New Energy Economy and bioscience sectors.

Several Statewide TBED Issues Win Voter Approval

The outcome of Tuesday's election resulted in several wins and some defeats for TBED among the more than 150 ballot measures presented to voters across the nation. Outlined below are the unofficial election results of select ballot measures from each state's respective election office and local media reports as of Wednesday, Nov. 5. More detailed information on the measures is provided in last week's issue of the Digest, which is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2008/102908.htm#election.

Election Preview: Voters to Decide on Statewide TBED Issues

While the Presidential election takes center stage on November 4, voters in several states also will cast their votes on statewide ballot issues affecting the TBED community. In addition to the 11 gubernatorial races and more than 5,800 state legislative seats up for grabs, voters across the nation will consider measures to provide funding for public education, expand investment in alternative and renewable energy, lift restrictions on stem-cell research, and eliminate income tax and state spending caps. Following is a summary of selected ballot issues from across the nation.

TBED People

Energy RoundUp : States, Governors and Feds Turn Attention to Need for Clean Energy

National Governors Association
Twelve states recently received grants of $50,000 from the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices to support clean energy initiatives and to overcome obstacles preventing the adoption of clean energy technologies in their region. The awards were made through NGA’s Clean Energy State Grant Program, a part of the association’s Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative. Several companies and foundations, including American Electric Power, Dominion Resources, The Ford Motor Company and The Rockefeller Fund, have provided financial support for the grants, which are intended to fund state projects that support research, analysis, training or outreach to advance clean energy implementation.
Highlights from the list of awardees include:

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