SSTI Digest

Midwest Angel Network Association Launched in Illinois Several Chicago area investors and numerous local organizations have launched MANA, or Midwest Angel Network Association, in an effort to make seed-stage investment a greater reality. MANA will be dedicated to strengthening the existing angel community and providing assistance and education to potential investors looking to join or form an angel fund or network. Although MANA does not provide angel funding directly, entrepreneurs can also look to MANA's website for direction in how to access angel funding and advisors or service providers who want to help start-ups. New Orleans Eliminates IT Tax The City of New Orleans has eliminated a 5 percent sales tax on custom software to aid the cause of local information technology firms, according to The Times-Picayune. As a result of the tax cut, the city is expected to lose $646,500 annually in tax revenue. Software executives in New Orleans say the ordinance will encourage business expansion and investment. Last spring, the Louisiana State Legislature voted to eliminate…

Todd Bankofier has been appointed president of the Arizona Technology Council. Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski has named Edgar Blatchford, a journalism professor at the University of Alaska, to serve as commissioner for the Department of Community and Economic Development. John Harrison is Governor Bob Riley's pick to serve as director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Harrison was the Mayor of Luverne, Alabama for the past 14 years. Ellen Hemmerly has been named president of the nonprofit Association of University Research Parks. David Iannucci is the new head of the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development. Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano named Gilbert Jimenez to lead the Department of Commerce and has asked Gail Howard to serve as her policy advisor on economic development. Jimenez was Bank One International's Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Mexico/Latin America. Howard comes to the administration from Arizona State University, where she has served since 1990 as the University's Director of…

Todd Bankofier has been appointed president of the Arizona Technology Council.

Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski has named Edgar Blatchford, a journalism professor at the University of Alaska, to serve as commissioner for the Department of Community and Economic Development.

John Harrison is Governor Bob Riley's pick to serve as director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Harrison was the Mayor of Luverne, Alabama for the past 14 years.

Ellen Hemmerly has been named president of the nonprofit Association of University Research Parks.

David Iannucci is the new head of the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano named Gilbert Jimenez to lead the Department of Commerce and has asked Gail Howard to serve as her policy advisor on economic development. Jimenez was Bank One International's Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Mexico/Latin America. Howard comes to the administration from Arizona State University, where she has served since 1990 as the University's Director of Economic Development and Constituent Outreach.

Charles W. Steger, President of Virginia Tech. has been elected chairman of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. Paula S. Gulak, Founding Partner of SyCom Technologies, is the new Vice Chairman.

Dennis Yablonsky, chief executive officer for the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, is Governor Ed Rendell's pick to serve as Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Central California's Regional Technology Alliance has changed its name to the Inland Empire techSOURCE.

Despite, or because of, the continuing fiscal crises facing nearly every state, technology-based economic development remains high on the agendas of most governors, as demonstrated in their recent speeches. Those excerpts pertaining to state efforts to build tech-based economies are provided below. States with Inaugural Addresses during the past 10 days included Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Dakota, and Vermont. Governors in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming gave State of the State Addresses. Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, State of the State Address, Jan. 13, 2003 "It is time to stop viewing our universities and community colleges as easy marks to balance the budget. Instead, we must recognize them as epicenters of economic development. They educate the workforces of tomorrow, and their research expands our horizons. "It is time to coordinate our efforts to develop Arizona’s promising tech sector...To achieve the economic…