Many of Washington's programs aimed at enhancing the skills of educators in science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) fields will continue to receive state support in the coming biennium under Gov. Christine Gregoire's budget proposal - while other TBED initiatives did not fare as well.

Lonnie Emard has been named interim director of the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management, a recently formed collaboration of business, academic and economic development organizations intended to build information technology (IT) opportunities in South Carolina.

As governors across the nation seek to fill record deficits, many new and longstanding TBED initiatives are facing challenging cuts or elimination. At the same time, governors are shoring up support for critical, targeted investments in the economy that they say are needed now more than ever.

President Bush announced he will nominate Assistant Secretary of Commerce Sandy Baruah to serve as the administrator of the Small Business Administration.

The Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce has created the Economic Development Partnership to help businesses relocate to or expand in the county.

Steve Bazinet has been hired as executive director of the Maine Center for Enterprise Development.

Rahindra Bose is Ohio University's new vice president for research and creative activity and dean of the graduate college.

Armed with professional advice from mentors in scientific fields and free access to sophisticated design and engineering software, teachers and students from Hawaii, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Vermont and Virginia will participate in a national competition to solve a real-world engineering challenge defined by the aviation industry.
 

Vermont Governor James Douglas has released a plan to spend some of the state's share of funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on building a stronger base for technology-based growth. The $17.1 million SmartVermont suite of proposals includes funding for technology company loans, lending to small businesses, seed capital for entrepreneurs and support for regional economic development projects.

One of the biggest challenges for green technologies and products is breaking into the market. Achieving the critical mass that allows production volume to drive down prices is difficult, particularly when the commodity being sold is, at least initially, more expensive to make because more of the actual cost of production is captured in the green company's business model.

The newly-created Clean Energy Leadership Council, convened by the Washington governor's office and a state-wide public-private clean energy alliance, held its first meeting. The council will deliver a clean energy strategy and recommendations by December 1, 2010.

Lawmakers across several western states have reached budget agreements for the upcoming fiscal year or biennium allocating decreased or level funding for tech-based economic development efforts. Lawmakers also passed new legislation supporting job-creation efforts and investments in alternative energy. While funding for many of these programs appear secure in FY10, additional spending cuts are anticipated in the coming months if state revenues continue to decline.

In a special session on Tuesday, the Vermont Legislature enacted the state's FY10 budget, overriding last week's veto by Governor Jim Douglas. The budget eliminates or reduces funding for many programs related to economic development and TBED, cutbacks which were cited as concerns by Gov. Douglas in his veto announcement.

Gov. Jim Douglas last week signed a jobs bill that distributes $8.7 million in federal stimulus funds to help seed high-tech entrepreneurial ventures, increase broadband access across rural areas of the state, train workers for careers in emerging sectors, and provide low-interest rate subsidies on loans approved under the Vermont Jobs Fund.

The Research & Technology Development (RTD) Program, a flagship program of the Washington Technology Center has helped fill a critical role in enhancing Washington state's efforts in commercializing research by bringing companies and university researchers together. In SSTI's exclusive interview, Chris Coleman shares valuable insight on how the program continues to produce impressive returns after nearly two decades. Download the interview ...

The second installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, New Hampshire, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. Our first installment was in the Jan. 5 Digest.

Vermont Gov. Pete Shumlin has released a jobs package that includes a number of initiatives that could enhance the state's innovation economy. The jobs bill calls for a new creative economy office that would focus on technology efforts, a mentoring program for entrepreneurs, a statewide internship program, and a tax credit for companies that hire STEM graduates. Gov. Shumlin also has renewed his predecessor's pledge to extend full wireless voice and data coverage across the state.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, and Vermont. The first three installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12 and Jan. 19 issues of the Digest.

Earlier this month, Gov. Jim Douglas announced a plan to use $8.7 million in federal stimulus funds for job creation programs, including broadband infrastructure, low-interest loans and workforce training. Many of the proposals mirror last year’s SmartVermont plan, a proposal rejected by lawmakers that would have leveraged federal funds to provide $17.2 million for statewide economic development. (see the June 3, 2009 issue of the Digest).

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell dropped his previous nomination, Robert Sledd, as his secretary for Commerce and Trade and instead nominated businessman James Cheng. Cheng, whose nomination needs to be confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, was sworn in on January 17.

Entering its tenth year covering governors’ State of the State, Budget and Inaugural Addresses, SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from across the nation. The first edition includes excerpts from speeches delivered in the following states:

Arizona
Gov. Janice Brewer, State of the State Address, Jan. 11, 2010

Holli Baumunk, vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, has been named president and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association.

Gov. Christine Gregoire announced the first stages of her economic development program last Wednesday, highlighted by a proposal to inject $35 million annually starting in 2008 for the next 10 years into life sciences research at the state's universities. Gov. Gregoire also requested legislation be introduced this week that would facilitate the transfer of technology from research institutions to the private sector.