SSTI Digest

The Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest hired Diane Durance as its new executive director, succeeding Art DeMonte, now a full-time business consultant. Durance formerly was president of the Ann Arbor IT Zone.

William "Chip" Farmer was named interim director of the Greater Richmond Technology Council. Farmer replaces Robert Stolle, who left in December 2007 to join Core Consulting, a business and information technology consulting firm.

The Indiana Business Incubator Society announced its plans to become a formal organization.

The Illinois Technology Development Alliance (ITDA) this week promoted John Noel to become ITDA's permanent president. Noel had been serving as interim president over the past 15 months.

Lisa Porter was named the first director of the new Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. Porter, NASA's associate administrator of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, said she will leave the agency in February.

Karen Sievewright is the new director of research and analysis at the Toronto Region Research Alliance. Sievewright replaces George Tolomiczenko, who left to become the executive director of research and scientific liaison at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada.

Brenda Wyland will join the Research & Technology Park Inc. at North Dakota State University as the incubator manager, effective Feb. 1, 2008.

The second installment of the Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes highlights from state-of-the-state, budget and inaugural addresses from Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia.

ArizonaGov. Janet Napolitano, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 14, 2008“Higher standards for students mean we must sustain a higher-quality corps of math and science teachers by expanding teacher loan forgiveness, scholarships, and incentives. Last year, you took a big step in this direction by providing initial funding for these incentives, and by funding more math and science teachers; I ask you to do the same this year. …

Using one-time lottery surplus funds available for fiscal year 2008, Gov. Joe Manchin wants to invest $80 million in world-class research and specialized job training to propel the state toward a knowledge-based economy. The proposal was unveiled to lawmakers during Gov. Manchin’s State-of-the-State Address last week in conjunction with the fiscal year 2009 budget recommendation.

Coinciding with a plethora of state-of-the-state addresses delivered over the past week, several governors have released budget recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year. The following states’ budgets include crucial TBED investments and reductions in programs. California Upon declaring a fiscal emergency and calling a special legislative session to address the current-year budget deficit of $3.3 billion, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled his fiscal year 2008-09 budget recommendation to lawmakers alongside the proposed budget stabilization plan aimed at reducing the deficit. The proposal calls for 10 percent reductions to nearly all general fund departments and programs, boards, commissions and elected officials, with limited exceptions.

On Tuesday, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released Science & Engineering Indicators 2008, its comprehensive biennial analysis of the U.S. and international science and technology landscape. This version provides thorough details about the features of a rapidly-changing global economy, as countries continue to make investments in their knowledge-based capacity and industries.  

With many states anticipating or already preparing for budget pressures, state leaders are increasingly looking for ways to increase their revenue streams. A new report from the Pew Center for the States finds that in many cases outdated state tax systems are stifling growth and failing to build a stronger tax base. Authors Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene argue that many of these systems have not been overhauled since the rise of service economy. In 2005, service industries accounted for 68 percent of U.S. gross domestic product; however, only a handful of states tax more than 80 of the 143 most common types of services. At the same time, other industries, particularly telecommunications, are subjected to a variety of taxes based on their former monopoly status.