On paper, the Jan. 4 FedEx Rose Bowl, which pits the Universities of Texas and Southern California against each other, will decide college football's national champion.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Gov. Jim Douglas plans to merge the Vermont Departments of Economic Development and Housing and Community Affairs.

The Complete description of this opportunity and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Four recipients selected as best practice models in technology-based economic development were honored during an awards ceremony last week in Cleveland during SSTI's 12th Annual Conference. The awards follow a national competition emphasizing impact and replicability in approaches to building and sustaining tech-based economies.

While the Presidential election takes center stage on November 4, voters in several states also will cast their votes on statewide ballot issues affecting the TBED community. In addition to the 11 gubernatorial races and more than 5,800 state legislative seats up for grabs, voters across the nation will consider measures to provide funding for public education, expand investment in alternative and renewable energy, lift restrictions on stem-cell research, and eliminate income tax and state spending caps.

Southern Growth hired Ted Abernathy, Jr., former Executive Vice President & COO of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, to serve as its Executive Director, filling the vacancy created by Jim Clinton's resignation in September.

The outcome of Tuesday's election resulted in several wins and some defeats for TBED among the more than 150 ballot measures presented to voters across the nation. Outlined below are the unofficial election results of select ballot measures from each state's respective election office and local media reports as of Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Oregon

In a period of tightening budgets, it is important for stakeholders to know that the investments they are making in tech-based economic development are yielding positive economic results - and returning revenue to the state. Recent impact assessments to examine comprehensive TBED programs in three states show how smart these investments have been. More telling, different evaluation models were used in all three states and they each reached similar conclusions: strategic TBED investments can stimulate economic growth.

On March 12 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. in San Francisco, SSTI is co-hosting a meeting with officials from the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) that we would encourage you or one of your colleagues to attend. TIP and MEP are two of the most market-driven programs operated by the federal government. Both programs have launched new investments and innovative services in the last year.

The following overview is a synopsis of select recent announcements from research parks across the nation, including groundbreakings and development plans to support vibrant regional economies based on science, technology and innovation. 

The fifth installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses from governors in Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Utah.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's secretary of Housing and Economic Development, Daniel O'Connell, resigned for personal reasons and was replaced by Greg Bialecki, an undersecretary who has been responsible for business development

On March 12 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. in San Francisco, SSTI is co-hosting a meeting with officials from the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) that we would encourage you or one of your colleagues to attend. TIP and MEP are two of the most market-driven programs operated by the federal government. Both programs have launched new investments and innovative services in the last year. The meeting will give you a chance to learn about:

This afternoon, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell signed a $650 million package of tax incentives, loans and grants to spur the development and use of clean energy technologies within the state. The governor believes that the bill will help the state leverage as much as $3.5 billion in private investment and help the state build a stronger clean energy industry. Highlights from the Alternative Energy Investment Act include:

Several bills from the 2008 legislative session were signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell during the past two weeks, including the fiscal year 2008-09 budget, providing enhancements to K-12 programs encouraging science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and a measure to significantly expand the Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) tax incentive program.