New York's Empire Zones Program dodged a veto from Gov. George Pataki as an agreement was met with the legislature to restructure the program. The state budget, signed into law last week, extends the program and allows for an additional 12 zones to be created throughout the state.

Craig Watters is serving as interim director of the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at Syracuse University. Past director Nola Miyasaki has relocated to Hawaii to join a biotech company.

George "Mick" Stadler is the new CEO for the incubator at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Last week's Digest reported on three reports that have been issued recently raising concerns about America's standing in the world in encouraging innovation. Each of the reports suggested stronger action on the part of the public and the private sector to ensure the U.S. will remain competitive.

Victor Budnick, executive director of Connecticut Innovations, has announced his retirement effective April 1.

Chandler Howard, co-president of Bank of America, is leaving to become president and CEO of Connecticut Innovations.

A community essentially has two options for strategies to diversify its economic base: traditional economic development or technology-based economic development (TBED). The traditional approach of recruiting or inducing companies to relocate to their community from elsewhere creates an atmosphere of competition, rivalry and one-upmanship among cities and regions as they bid to buy firms' location decisions. Often, it is also difficult for small and mid-sized communities to compete on these terms.

ACCRA, a national nonprofit research organization, has named Jeffrey Blodgett of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) as president of the Board of Directors for 2005-06, beginning July 1.

Yesterday proved a big day for supporters of stem cell research as measures advanced in both Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Massachusetts law described in the May 16 issue of the Digest became law immediately after the state Senate voted 35-2 and the House voted 112-42 to override Gov. Mitt Romney's veto.

New York's lead agency for promoting tech-based economic development (TBED) in the state soon will have a new name, if not a complete makeover. Under enacted budget legislation, the New York Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR) will become the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation by Jan. 1, 2006.

Recognizing the benefits of a skilled workforce to match the new manufacturing and high-tech jobs of the 21st Century, states are turning to worker training and retraining programs in order to remain economically competitive. During the past month, Tennessee, Nebraska and Connecticut committed a combined total of $37 million for worker training initiatives.

Robert Chernow was appointed to the newly created position of vice provost for entrepreneurship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Innovation was a key term used in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address and is referenced heavily throughout his economic development agenda for the upcoming year. The governor proposed creating innovation hot spots, an innovation network and innovation venture capital fund. Efforts would be focused on accelerating technology transfer and providing funds to attract startup companies. Cleantech investments and support for competitive university-based projects that emphasize economic impact also are a priority for the governor.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that it will commit a total of $15 million to Columbia University, the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) and High Tech Rochester to create three proof-of-concept centers focused on turning university-developed, clean energy ideas into successful businesses. Each regional center will receive $5 million in seed money over the next five years, cost-sharing required, with the expectation of being self-sustaining once NYSERDA funding ends.

In Connecticut, Governor Daniel P. Malloy has proposed a Bioscience Innovation Act, which would create a 10-year $200 million fund to invest in the state's bioscience sector. The proposed fund would be administered by Connecticut Innovations, a quasi-public venture development organization. Governor Malloy's announcement was presented at the headquarters of Jackson Lab, a research and development institute that is being developed with assistance from the state of Connecticut.

The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Connecticut, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Utah. Our first four installments were in the Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23 and Jan. 30 issues of the Digest.

Revolutionizing STEM facilities, hiring new faculty, increasing undergraduate enrollment and even planning new dorms to house the anticipated influx of new students are part of Gov. Dan Malloy's proposed $1.5 billion expansion and investment in the University of Connecticut (UConn).

Pramod Khargonekar has been selected to serve as the National Science Foundation's assistant director for the Directorate of Engineering.

Dan Blake will join the Wisconsin Technology Council as the director of its Wisconsin Angel Network in mid-March. Blake succeeds Zach Brandon, who recently became president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.

With a continued push toward regionalism to better support the state's high-tech platform, lawmakers approved in the FY14 budget startup funding for a new statewide incubator program that provides grants for the incubators and tax incentives for client companies. The initiative is part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's planned expansion for the state's 10 regional councils.

Businesses on SUNY campuses outside of New York City, and on certain designated private campuses, will be exempt from sales, property and corporate state taxes under a new initiative unveiled this week by New York Gov Andrew Cuomo. In addition, employees of these businesses will be exempt from income taxes. Eligible businesses must have a relationship with the host university related to its academic mission. The state will offer an additional 3 million square free of tax-free commercial space at New York private universities as part of the Tax-Free NY initiative.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state has started accepting applications for the $25 million "Connect NY" program to promote and expand broadband Internet access. The grants will be awarded to public-private partnerships comprised of internet service providers, local governments and economic-development organizations.

The Department of Commerce announced the winners of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) Challenge, the Economic Development Administration-led competition seeking to help cities and regions develop a comprehensive economic development strategy. Greensboro, North Carolina, Hartford, Connecticut, and Las Vegas, Nevada each were awarded $1 million to assist in the refinement and implementation of their respective plans.

Whether to attract federal grants, keep up with demand to graduate more highly skilled students, or advance the capabilities for research and exploration, universities are pushing for state funding to invest in science buildings and other infrastructure needed to expand research capacity and improve competitiveness. In New Jersey, a measure to approve $750 million in higher education borrowing to build and renovate campus facilities will go to the voters in November.

The Obama administration announced winners of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge on Tuesday. The challenge — publicized earlier this year — is one of the key initiatives of the interagency Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters and is sponsored by a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Departments of Energy and Labor, and the Small Business Administration.

New energy plans unveiled by governors in Connecticut and Mississippi promise to capitalize on current strengths, build capacity for future projects, and encourage public-private partnerships to scale up clean energy projects and create jobs by attracting more R&D investment to the states. Connecticut's draft strategy proposes economic incentives to drive down costs of new technology and maximize the use of clean energy finance banks — an approach that is heralded as a model for other states in a recent policy report.