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Colorado State Representative Tim Fritz is resigning his seat to become director of Colorado's Office of Aerospace and Aeronautics.

John Hansen is the new Secretary of Technology for the State of Colorado. Hansen retains his position as Chief Technology Officer as well.

Gwinnett County (GA) Commission Chairman Wayne Hill is the new president of the National Association of Regional Councils.

As the economy struggles, unemployment rates rise to a nine-year high, and manufacturing continues to shed jobs, the Modernization Forum reports the House Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee appropriated just $39.6 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). The FY 2004 funding would slash the program's funding from the FY2003 level of $106.6 million, a 63 percent cut.

Details on a $110 million initiative to create more jobs and stimulate the Massachusetts economy were released yesterday by Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran and other state leaders. The initiative, Mass Jobs: Investment and Opportunity, is an innovation-friendly plan to streamline government functions and encourage growth in emerging technology through capital formation, regional development, and stability in regulation and taxation.

Ohio Governor Bob Taft today signed into law Am. Sub. House Bill 1, putting into place the newest components of his Third Frontier Project to foster tech-based economic development (TBED) and growth in Ohio.

The previous issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest (June 27, 2003) included a story with the headline "Québec Investing More Than $500M for Biotech." It was the kind of big initiative with a hefty price tag that a few states have launched and most others salivate to replicate. A perfect item for the Digest.

The problem is that big initiative never actually happened.

To develop and promote higher education research facilities and faculty in Virginia, Gov. Mark Warner proposed $218.8 million in his fiscal year 2006-08 biennial budget proposal for investment in university R&D. In response, state institutions of higher education have pledged to match the governor's proposal with a $299 million commitment.

Nearly 40,000 people in 120 countries have placed deposits with the British commercial space company for the opportunity to become tourists in space, according to Virgin Galactic. Last Tuesday, New Mexico's governor said he wants the state to spend $100 million over the next three years to help get them there.

Following months of debate that ended in a veto last month by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, an agreement was made last week on a $600 million tax relief package for businesses, which now awaits the governor's anticipated signature. Gov.

One of the most critical federal partners involved either directly or indirectly in determining the success of most state tech-based economic development strategies seeks input from the science and engineering (S&E) community in the development of its next five-year plan.

On paper, the Jan. 4 FedEx Rose Bowl, which pits the Universities of Texas and Southern California against each other, will decide college football's national champion.

Most of the media coverage for the MoneyTree™ Survey of venture capital investments, prepared quarterly through collaboration of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, focuses on the amount of money invested in a particular state or region during the given period and its change relative to another given time period.

With the upcoming two Monday holidays for Christmas and New Year's Day, the next issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest will be published on Jan. 9, 2006. The Funding Supplement will reconvene publication the week of Jan. 9 as well.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could have more money to spend on science and tech initiatives in fiscal year (FY) 2004, thanks to a 63.1 percent increase in R&D funding approved Tuesday by the U.S. House of Representatives. Approximately $900.4 million – or $348.4 million more than the previous year – will go toward DHS's Science and Technology (S&T) budget in FY04.

South Carolina's three major research universities were awarded a total of $30 million this week to establish the state's first six centers of excellence, according to The State, a Columbia, S.C.-based newspaper.

As many states are striving to increase their academic research capacity in areas that will strengthen long-term economic competitiveness, the governor of the Lone Star State is pursuing an alternate course that closely resembles traditional business recruitment and retention models.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) has issued a new study showing Maryland continues to underperform in some key areas of innovation while leading competitor states in other areas.

The St. Louis BioBelt announced this week it is well along in launching four new initiatives designed to position the region as a "location of choice" for start-up and evolving plant and life science companies.

A new 225-page report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce examines employer demand for information technology (IT) workers, the IT education and training landscape, and the role of employers and workers in IT education and training. Education and Training for the Information Technology Workforce, mandated by the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act of 2000, highlights five broad findings:

Rosellen Kraus has announced she will be leaving the Central Florida Technology Partnership at the end of the summer.

The Virginia Institute for Defense and Homeland Security has named Hugh Montgomery, Jr. as the consortium's first director, effective July 1.

Rosellen Kraus has announced she will be leaving the Central Florida Technology Partnership at the end of the summer.

The Virginia Institute for Defense and Homeland Security has named Hugh Montgomery, Jr. as the consortium's first director, effective July 1.

Neil Shpritz, executive director of the BWI Business Partnership in Maryland, is retiring in October.

Fred Tompkins, professor and interim dean of the University of Tennessee (UT) College of Engineering, has been named interim executive director of the UT Research Foundation.