A recent report by the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) recommends the state’s next steps to develop its biotechnology industry should include the creation of a privately managed early-stage capital fund for investing in start-up companies, to be financed by the Legislature.
Looking for information on individual states or on key statistical indicators? If so, the SSTI Weekly Digest archives are a resource that should prove helpful in your search.
By visiting www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm, one can browse headlines or view Digest articles dating back to 1996 or use any of these tools:
Peter Bianco has been named executive director of University Enterprise Laboratories, a nonprofit entity created by the University of Minnesota that provides incubator laboratory space for bioscience start-up companies.
Peter Bianco has been named executive director of University Enterprise Laboratories, a nonprofit entity created by the University of Minnesota that provides incubator laboratory space for bioscience start-up companies.
Former Massachusetts House Majority Leader Salvatore DiMasi has replaced Thomas Finneran as Speaker of the House. Finneran recently resigned to run the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.
Eugene Huang will replace Virginia Secretary of Technology George Newstrom, who is resigning after two years in the position.
Jesse Jones is the new CEO of Ohio's IT Alliance. Jones formerly was chief technology officer of the City of Columbus.
Fred Kocher has been elected president of the New Hampshire High Technology Council, which advocates technology-based businesses in New Hampshire.
Laurie Lachance recently was named the next president of the Maine Development Foundation, Maine's economic development policy organization. Lachance is a former economist for the Maine State Planning Office.
Kenneth Lynn has been appointed president of KCCatalyst. Lynn formerly was a consultant to biotechnology companies assisting in technology acquisition, strategic planning, and commercial development.
Tino Mantella has been appointed president of the Technology Association of Georgia, a nonprofit organization that focuses on promotion and economic advancement of the state's technology industry.
Secretary Aris Melisssaratos of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development recently announced two new appointments. Leslie Sipes-Pachol will serve in the position of executive director for the Maryland Economic Development Commission, and Paul Mauritz has been promoted to become Assistant Secretary for Technology Strategy and Business Development.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco appointed state bond commisssion director Sharon Perez to serve as undersecretary for the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, and Secretary Michael Olivier named Dane Revette director of the agency's energy cluster.
This is the second installment of SSTI’s look at the Inaugural, Budget and State of the State Addresses delivered in the past week. With a heavy emphasis on alternative energy, TBED priorities continue to receive significant time in the speeches delivered by the nation’s governors at the start of the 2007 legislative season. Selected excerpts of new initiatives are provided below:
Arkansas
The gradual aging of the American workforce and the domestic migration of young workers may be at fault for slow economic growth in many states that have historically been successful in promoting high-tech business, according to this year’s Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy.
Recently, Enterprise Florida Inc. and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development joined SSTI as state sponsors. We are pleased to have 38 state science and technology (S&T) organizations show their commitment to technology-based economic development as state sponsors. Our members see value in the educational opportunities, technical assistance and quality research information SSTI provides.
The Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network recently selected Lisa Blakely, a former Bank of America executive, as its CEO.
Earlier this month, Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced Darrell Brock and Jim Host as new co-chairmen of ConnectKentucky. Brock, commissioner of the governor's Office for Local Development, and Commerce Cabinet Secretary Host joined existing chairman John Hall, retired chairman and CEO of Ashland Inc.
The Alaska MEP, a new nonprofit entity formed by the Alaska Native Arts Foundation and the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, has named Robert Pope as the first Interim Director.
The Metropolitan Development Association, of Syracuse and Central New York, also recently named a new chairman, John Zawadzki, of its Regional Development Alliance.
The Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network recently selected Lisa Blakely, a former Bank of America executive, as its CEO.
SSTI annually scans the inaugural, budget and state of the state addresses given by the nation's governors to see how TBED priorities fare as the state leaders present their legislative priorities for the year. If the addresses are right, more than a handful of states will be "the" leader for alternative or renewable energy within a variety of time spans. Highlights of speeches available at press time include:
Arizona
Last month, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill that will contribute $270 million to the construction of five biotechnology research facilities across the state. The funding source will be bonds backed up by cigarette tax revenue, as issued by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Gov.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced that his proposed budget for 2007-08 will include a $95 million initiative to support new and existing facilities for high-tech research. The California Research and Innovation Initiative would provide funding to several university-based projects around the state hosting clean energy, biotechnology, and nanotechnology research and commercialization activities. Gov.
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle has submitted her budget proposal to the state legislature for the fiscal biennium 2007-09, including significant increase in the amount allocated for certain state economic development entities. The High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), a state agency that develops and supports Hawaii’s science and technology resources, would grow from average annual expenditures of $4.2 million in the 2005-07 biennium cycle to $9.8 million in the next cycle.