State and Local Tech-based ED RoundUp

Lincoln, Nebraska

Mayor Don Wesely's Technology Council has proposed to end the competition between Lincoln and Omaha for educational and economic resources, favoring a collaboration geared toward economic development, the Associated Press recently reported. The collaboration is expected to create new technology industries and help lessen the struggle for development in territory in and among the cities. Lincoln's strength, the presence of the University of  Nebraska-Lincoln, traditionally has been pitted against that of Omaha — venture capital and telecommunication infrastructure.



Pontiac, Michigan

Mayor Willie Payne recently announced the sale of $33 million in Tax Increment Financing Authority bonds to finance development at the former site of a state hospital, according to the Associated Press. The bonds, which include $10.2 million to purchase the former Clinton Valley Center, will make way for the Pontiac Oakland Tech Center technology park. Expected to yield millions of tax dollars, new residents and jobs, the $350 million project includes a 670-home residential development.



Montgomery, West Virginia

Plans are underway for the Upper Kanawha Valley Technology Community, a proposed three-story, 36,000-square-foot technology park that backers hope will bring more than 300 jobs, according to the Charleston Gazette. Early in 2001, $2.35 million in federal funds was earmarked for the center; in September 2001, the Upper Kanawha Valley Economic Development Corp. received a $132,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The tech park, to be housed in the former G.C. Murphy building, is a result of collaboration among the City of Montgomery, UKVEDC and the West Virginia University Institute of Technology.



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