SSTI Digest

Nearly $43 million in grants were awarded October 1 to 74 non-profit organizations, including state and local governments, by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). 



NTIA made $42.8 million available through its Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), which extends the benefits of advanced telecommunications technologies to underserved communities and neighborhoods. The grants subsequently were matched by $46.7 million in contributions from the private sector and state and local organizations. 



Grant winners from across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico provide services in such areas as telemedicine, public safety, distance learning, community information, and other innovative services. 

As Congress and the Bush Administration look at national economic stimulus packages, debate is beginning in some states to enact similar measures to reverse the direction of their local economies. Various tax cuts for businesses invariably are included in the states’ discussions. The most recent edition of the Federal Reserve Research Roundup (3rd Quarter, 2001) includes a timely review of a recent working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston that looks at the relationship between corporate investment decisions and state and local taxes. 



The Research Roundup article by Monique Morrissey follows in its entirety (reprinted with permission from the Financial Markets Center ): 

A Rhode Island Economic Strategy: 10 Ways to Succeed Without Losing Our Soul recently was released by the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council. The report outlines 10 economic development initiatives through four themes centered on places, people, clusters and connections. 



Rhode Island must "strike a balance between collaborating and competing with its neighboring states" if it wishes to remain a center of New Economy activity, according to the report. To do so, the state must secure its share of the Boston Metro's high-wage industries while addressing infrastructure and the region's global competitiveness. 



Some highlights among the report's 10 key strategies: 

California 

Capital Valley Ventures, a business accelerator with a three-month training program for tech entrepreneurs, is coming to the Sacramento region, the Sacramento Bee reported. The venture is being spearheaded by Jack Crawford Jr., founder of NetLink, NetSource, 2Publish and Campus Engine. Crawford reportedly plans to start a workshop series capable of holding 25 people interested in beginning new businesses. The series, scheduled to begin this month, will involve three-hour sessions held once a month for three months and offer training on raising capital, forming a management team and generating revenues. More information is available at: http://www.capitalvalleyventures.com 

SSTI's fifth annual conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies, will take place December 3-4, 2001, at the Omni William Penn in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The conference agenda remains intact from the original mid-September dates with almost all speakers reconfirmed. (see the conference agenda on SSTI's webpage: http://www.ssti.org/Conf01/agenda.htm [expired] ) 



More Seats Available! 

While the event was sold out for the September dates, the new schedule allows the conference to accommodate a greater number of participants because of the additional meeting space available. Interested parties are encouraged to register online through the conference web center: http://www.ssti.org/Conf01/conf01.htm [expired]

Gov. Don Sundquist has named Tony Grande to be the new Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD). Mr. Grande formerly was ECD Deputy Commissioner as well as its Assistant Commissioner of Tennessee business services and director of manufacturing services. 



Marianne Hudson is leaving her position as Vice President - Marketing & Communications with the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center to become a program manager at the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. 



Bruce Johnson is the new Director of the Ohio Department of Development. Mr. Johnson formerly served in the Ohio Senate. 



Senate nomination hearings were held this week for John Marburger, President Bush's nominee for Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Phillip J. Bond, nominee for the position of Undersecretary of Technology for the Department of Commerce. 

Gov. Don Sundquist has named Tony Grande to be the new Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD). Mr. Grande formerly was ECD Deputy Commissioner as well as its Assistant Commissioner of Tennessee business services and director of manufacturing services.