Region Looks to Broadband Access and IT Usage

The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) lacks the access, awareness and affordability of broadband Internet service – a direct bearing on the region’s ability to participate successfully in the national and global economies, a new report from DRA and the Southern Growth Policies Board finds.

 

Drawing on its high-tech cluster, Provo, Utah garnered the highest score in the 2008 Best-Performing Cities Index released today by the Milken Institute and Greenstreet Real Estate Partners.

The rebounding technology sector boosted several newcomers to the top 10 in the annual ranking of where America's jobs are being created and sustained. Metros that are highly dependent on resource extraction and export-intensive industries also showed success.

Southern Growth Policies Board recently announced the launch of two new, searchable web-based tools and the redesign of its website.

The second installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Colorado, Missouri, and New Mexico. Our first installment was in the Jan. 11 Digest. Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, State of the State Address, Jan. 19, 2012 "I also thank you for working with me to create a merit scholarship that gives all Alaska's children an incentive to complete a more rigorous high school curriculum. ... "... In its first year, this scholarship has been a remarkable success. Now we must secure it for future years.

The third installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Utah. The first and second installments are available in the Jan. 11 and Jan. 18 editions of the Digest. Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, State of the State Address, Jan. 19, 2012 "Following up on the recent "Imagine Delaware' forum sponsored by the News Journal, we are finding new ways to support entrepreneurs. Over the last months, we studied best practices at entrepreneurial support centers around the country...

As many states near the mid-point of their 2012 legislative sessions, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at some of the bills advancing in statehouses that could impact states' efforts to improve economic conditions. Several states are seeking to advance access to capital initiatives as they continue to struggle with declining revenue and tight credit restrictions. The following overview provides a sampling of TBED bills supporting access to capital, R&D enhancements and higher education standards.

Providing Access to Capital

A number of states recently have taken action to expand R&D tax credits and other legislation that would support innovation, commercialization and manufacturing. Hawaii, California, Maryland, Texas, and Florida have signed into law tax incentives and R&D tax credits and an R&D tax credit in New Hampshire went into effect.  The Maine legislature also passed a capital tax credit that will begin in 2014.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released the sixth edition of its bi-annual State New Economy Index last month. The report uses 26 indicators to assess the progress states have made adjusting to the realities of the innovation economy. Massachusetts lead in the rankings, as it has since the lauch of the index, while Delaware rose four ranks since 2010 to occupy second place. Read The 2012 State New Economy Index...

On November 6, in addition to the presidential election, eleven state and two territorial gubernatorial contests will be decided. Seven of these races (Delaware, Missouri, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia) include a sitting governor running for re-election, while the remaining six (American Samoa, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Washington) are open races.

Lawmakers in several states wrapped up their 2011 sessions in time for the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1 for most states, allocating funds and passing bills in support of tech-based economic development. Read more...

Governors in the Southern states were presented with findings from a new report on the growing gap in middle-skill jobs and urged to adopt a three-part policy framework for reversing the trend during the Southern Governors' Association annual meeting last week in Asheville, NC. The report found that middle-skill jobs account for 51 percent of the region's jobs today, but only about 43 percent of the region's workers are currently trained at this level.

Southerners voiced that focusing on innovation and technology-based business operations, supporting entrepreneurship, identifying community asset, developing skilled workforce and increasing community involvement in economic development strategies are vital for the South to recover from the current economic downtown according to a recent report — The Road to Recovery is Named Main Street — from the Southern Growth Policies Board. The report was assembled using comments of over 2,300 citizens from communities across the south.

Maine Governor Paul LePage named Phillip Congdon as the new commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development. Cogndon is a licensed professional engineer who spent more than 20 years with Texas Instruments in Dallas. He replaces Acting Commissioner Thaxter Trafton.

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.