Brian Vogt is the new director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade in the Colorado Office of the Governor.

The creation and subsidization of CAPCOs, certified capital corporations intended to encourage venture capital (VC) investment, is one of the more controversial policies some states have adopted to encourage the growth of tech-based economies. With substantial revisions to Colorado's short CAPCO experiment this month, questions are raised once again for other states that either have passed or are considering various approaches to increasing the availability of risk capital for new tech firms.

BioFlorida named Diana Robinson as its new president.

Brian Vogt has been appointed director of Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

The 2005 budget request submitted this week by Florida Governor Jeb Bush includes $20 million to establish two more Centers of Excellence at Florida universities.

Joe May, president of Colorado's community college system, announced his retirement, effective in February.

Robert Olsen, the director of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, will become the head of the Economic Development Administration's regional office in Denver.

Leroy Williams has been named as the new technology secretary for the state of Colorado. Williams, previously the state's chief information officer, will manage the Governor's Office of Innovation and Technology.

With a $310 million commitment passed by the state legislature and as much as $200 million in additional support from the county government, the California-based Scripps Research Institute has agreed to locate its first branch or satellite office in northwest Palm Beach County, Fla. In return for the financial support, Scripps is to work toward employing as many as 545 workers on the site by 2011.

Paul Ray has left his position as director of the Colorado Office of Life Sciences and Biotechnology.

The Florida Venture Forum named Robin Kovaleski as the first executive director for the organization.

The availability and use of equity capital for early-stage investments varies greatly across the country. Seen as an integral component of most tech-based economic development, access to venture capital (VC) is on the agendas of several states — but several different approaches are used to address the problem. Recent announcements in four states illustrate the point:

Colorado Governor Bill Owens has appointed Tim Fritz as the director of the Office of Aerospace and Aeronautics.

To help build the state's technology sectors, Governor Jeb Bush and the State Board of Education have selected Florida's first three Centers of Excellence. The Centers are designed to foster innovative, cutting-edge technology research at Florida’s colleges and universities, develop commercially viable applications for that research, and recruit high-tech industries and thinkers to the state.

The three projects are:

Marc Holtzman, Colorado's former science and technology advisor, is taking the position as president of Denver University.

Ed Linsenmeyer, with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, has been elected to serve as the Chair of the Federal Laboratories Consortium for Technology Transfer at the FLC's recent annual meeting. Larry Dickens, with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was elected Vice Chair.

Tom Wallace has stepped down as president of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum.

With state revenues posting a surplus, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush used his 2006-07 budget proposal to make his largest request yet to support efforts to diversify the state's economy through technology-based economic development (TBED). In total, the budget provides $630 million for several new research-focused initiatives, business recruitment funds, and other economic development programs.

Ray Gilley, president of Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, has been appointed chairman of Workforce Florida.

BioFlorida President Diana Robinson is leaving to join a private venture capital company once her replacement is selected.

Governor Bill Owen has named Trip Carter as the state's first aerospace advocate, the state's latest effort to help the industry, which employs approximately 110,000 residents and has $4 billion in revenues. Only Florida, California and Texas have larger stakes in the aerospace industry. As a result, the state has undertaken several initiatives over the past two years to develop and promote the industry's health as it goes through a transition period.

Colorado

An economic diversification package recently approved by officials in Orange County, Florida, is intended to offset some of the post-September 11 difficulties experienced by the local economy.



More than $1 million for the Orange County Economic Stimulus Package was approved in late January by the Board of County Commissioners. The initiative provides funding for five measures, including:

Last week, David Allen began his tenure as Assistant Vice President for Technology Transfer at the University of Colorado. Allen was the Assistant Vice President for Technology Partnerships at the Ohio State University.

Rick Kovar, executive director of the Rhode Island Technology Council for the past two years, resigned from his position. The 242-member Council is beginning the search for a new director.