Many areas of the country are experiencing a brain drain, an outmigration of recent college graduates leading to a decline in the available labor pool of entry level workers, young entrepreneurs and future civic leaders. A new initiative, however, hopes to reverse that trend in Northeastern Pennsylvania by strengthening the social, networking and professional relationships among young skilled workers in the Wilkes-Barre region.

Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for the past five-and-a-half years, Sam McCullough is resigning effective October 25.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans has awarded a $6.44 million grant, the largest-ever economic development grant given by the Bush Administration, to Advancing California’s Emerging Technologies (ACET) to expand the Oakland Alameda Bio Tech Incubator to a 40,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art laboratory.

Manufacturing is a robust driver of California's economy according to a Manufacturing Matters: California's Performance and Prospects, a new report prepared by the Milken Institute. The analysis was prepared for the California Manufacturing and Technology Association.

Greater Philadelphia First (GPF) and the Science Center, a consortium of 34 regional academic and scientific institutions, have established a major new joint initiative designed to make it easier for science and technology entrepreneurs to start, grow and expand their businesses. Modeled on UCSD CONNECT in San Diego, CONNECT Greater Philadelphia will assist entrepreneurs by linking them with needed business, academic and other resources.

The legal ban on non-compete contracts may have played a role in and continues to affect the development of the high tech sector in California. This is the conclusion of Rob Valletta, Research Advisor, in the August 16, 2002, edition of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter. The article, On the Move: California Employment Law and High-Tech Development analyzes the relationship between high tech development and states that do not legally allow non-compete contracts.

The Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania promoted Stephen Brawley to serve as president and CEO.

Alan Brown was named executive director of the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center, a newly formed economic development initiative.

Jeanne B. Berdik has announced her retirement as Vice President of Workforce Education and Development at the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Catalyst Connection. See next article for job posting.

SSTI Affiliate, the Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC) seeks candidates to become the organization's Vice President for Workforce Education and Development. The senior-level position is responsible for the management of all Catalyst Connection and Pittsburgh Technology Council education programs and services and IT workforce development and recruitment strategies.

Michael Anastasio is the new director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, effective July 1. He was serving as deputy director of strategic operations for the lab.

John Dixon, director of the University of Michigan's Life Sciences Institute, a cornerstone in the state's life sciences initiative, has resigned to join the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Diego.

Kevin Harter is leaving his position as president of the Central Pennsylvania Technology Council to become senior vice president of the new Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker has been named President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. The Governor will assume his new position on Feb. 1.

Note: With this issue, the SSTI Weekly Digest is launching a new occasional "Programs with Results" series — articles profiling a variety of technology-based economic development programs that have been around many years and are yielding positive results. Our goal is to help answer the question "What Appears to Work?" with models that potentially could be duplicated in other states, regions or communities.

Fritz Bittenbender will become president of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association in December.

Innovation Philadelphia, the public-private partnership dedicated to enhancing the global innovation economy of Philadelphia, has unveiled the first Innovation and Entrepreneurial Index, a comprehensive study examining where Philadelphia stands in relation to key competitors in the Innovation Economy.

Bay Area Regional Technology Alliance (BARTA) has been renamed the TechVentures Network as the Bay Area's leading source of access to financing, business data and services for emerging technology.

Dennis Yablonsky, who has been serving as CEO for both the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse and the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse for most of the past year, has decided to focus exclusively on the biotech initiative. His replacement as president and CEO at the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse is David Ruppersberger.

To shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of the region's biotechnology cluster, Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Economic Development (CED) has published A Biotechnology Action Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The CED report says the Pittsburgh biotechnology cluster largely depends on the amount of available venture capital and the development of new technologies and that total funding levels must be increased to continue biotech development.

San Diego Community College Chancellor Augie Gallego has been selected as the new chairman of the American Council of Education, only the second community college executive to hold the position since the organization's founding more than 80 years ago.