SSTI Digest

Sam Bodman, presently Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, has been nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Treasury. John Calvin, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development, has announced his resignation effective Dec. 15. TechPoint, Indiana's statewide technology council, has named Cameron Carter to serve as president and chief executive officer. U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson, V has been appointed Director of the John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), effective Jan. 5, 2004. Carol Ann Dykes is the new president of the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers. The new position of vice president of research and health services at the University of South Carolina will be filled by Harris Pastides.

Sam Bodman, presently Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, has been nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Treasury.

John Calvin, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development, has announced his resignation effective Dec. 15.

TechPoint, Indiana's statewide technology council, has named Cameron Carter to serve as president and chief executive officer.

U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson, V has been appointed Director of the John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), effective Jan. 5, 2004.

Carol Ann Dykes is the new president of the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers.

The new position of vice president of research and health services at the University of South Carolina will be filled by Harris Pastides.

By a narrow margin, Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would have permitted the state to issue up to $500 million in bonds over 10 years to fund technology-based economic development projects. Defeated 51 percent to 49 percent, Issue 1 would have made up the final component of Gov. Bob Taft's proposed 10-year, $1.6 billion Third Frontier project. The remaining $1.1 billion is unaffected by Tuesday's vote. Bond proceeds could have been used for research and development purposes, new product development and commercialization, capital formation, operating costs, and support for public and private institutions of higher education, research organizations and private companies. It would have permitted direct investment in companies by state government. In a state that has rejected only three bond issues in the last 26 years, Governor Taft speculated that the weak economy did the measure in. Political analysts cite other reasons why the measure was rejected, some of which may be helpful to others pursuing public votes for similar projects: The perception the measure…

State budget woes will continue into fiscal year 2005, reports the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. According to the five-page A Brief Overview of State Fiscal Conditions and the Effects of Federal Policies on State Budgets, FY05 estimates released by 21 state budget offices project a combined total shortfall of up to $33 billion — or 9 percent of those states' expenditures. Moreover, the center points out the total does not include FY04 shortfalls that are already emerging in many states as revenues fail to meet projections when the FY04 budgets were approved. While much media and political attention has been paid to the rising costs of some portions of state budgets, such as Medicare and education, the center reports that state revenues actually dropped by a total of $21.6 billion during FY03. Adjusting for inflation and population growth, state revenues for FY 2003 were $56.9 billion less than in FY01, the center finds. Despite 29 states raising taxes in the past year to deal with the continuing deficit, the center asserts that "state taxes now make up a smaller share of…

To stimulate business development and job growth in rural areas, officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) signed on Oct. 31 a collaborative agreement to create the Rural Business Investment Program (RBIP). The initiative will allow newly formed venture capital investment companies to leverage private capital funds with government financial assistance and to obtain both government and private grant resources for technical assistance. RBIP was created by the 2002 Farm Bill with funding through the Commodity Credit Corporation to support $280 million in guaranteed debentures and grants for technical assistance. Under the new agreement, USDA will enlist SBA's expertise in venture capital financing and reimburse SBA for carrying out the day-to-day management and operation of the program. Since 1958, SBA has operated the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, a public-private partnership managing $17.7 billion in more than 10,000 firms across America. Program officials expect to begin accepting RBIP applications in about six…

Coupling manufacturing's sharp employment drop with the perennial struggles of a rural economy and the current economic downturn can cause massive struggles for many of the country's sparsely populated areas. The closure or significant downsizing of one manufacturing plant can be terminal for a small, rural town. To revise that prognosis, North Carolina's Rural Economic Development Center launched the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship in late October, along with several other new initiatives. The institute will work with the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community College System and more than 30 economic and community development organizations statewide to put into place a 10-step business development strategy, including a $1.1 million initiative to help displaced manufacturing workers start their own businesses. The institute also will offer a range of grant and loan programs, education and training opportunities, and research and advocacy initiatives. The first initiative to take effect will be the New Opportunities for Workers (NOW) program to provide dislocated workers…

With the support of Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), BrainChild Maryland was launched this week to identify and capitalize on Maryland's most promising new technologies. The for-profit company will identify university and federal lab technologies that have the greatest potential for becoming viable products and services. BrainChild Maryland will then help to transform these ideas into new spin-out companies and licensing deals. Through its Challenge Investment Fund, DBED's Investment Financing Group is committed to investing up to $1 million over a four-year period in start-up capital in BrainChild Maryland. The company is raising an additional $1 million to 2 million from private investors. BrainChild Maryland also has formed a close partnership with the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), which is working to increase the number of invention disclosures and patent applications within Maryland's universities. The business model for BrainChild Maryland is based much on companies such as Zircle, which is trying to get jumpstarted with…