Angel & Venture Capital News
Boise Gains First Angel Investor Network
Lean Budget Doesn't Stop Idaho's TBED Agenda
Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne dedicated a portion of Monday's State of the State and Budget Address to describing how tight the 2005 fiscal environment would be for his state. The temporary sales tax will lapse, costing the state $170 million in foregone revenue. The one-time $83 million in federal bailout funds are depleted. State employees will get a 27th biweekly paycheck this calendar year, resulting in an additional budgetary burden of approximately $20 million.
People
The Acting Director for the Idaho Department of Commerce is Roger Madsen. Madsen also is serving as director of the state Department of Labor.
Georgia Launches Aerospace Innovation Center
To expand on the state's Centers of Innovation strategy, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced in November the creation of the Middle Georgia Aerospace Innovation Center (MAIC). The center is comprised of numerous partners, including the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism's Office of Science and Technology, the University System of Georgia, private institutions and companies, and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (ALC).
People
The Idaho Economic Development Association has named Jan Rogers as new president.
Georgia Research Alliance Seeks $40M Dedicated VC Fund
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue this month proposed a new $40 million Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Venture Capital Fund to be fueled by $10 million from the state legislature and subsequently matched with $30 million from the private sector. Of the entire suite of GRA initiatives, this will be the first program not funded entirely by the state of Georgia.
Tech Talkin’ Govs, Part IV
The fourth installment of the Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from governors’ speeches delivered in Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Georgia – see article in this issue of the Digest.
Kentucky
Gov. Steve Beshear, State Budget Address, Jan. 29, 2008
People & TBED Organizations
Dr. Donald Colbert is the new executive director of the Augusta BioBusiness Center and Georgia Medical Authority. Colbert replaces Lenie Roos-Gabridge, who retired in July.
People & TBED Organizations
The Georgia Biomedical Partnership has become Georgia Bio, The Life Sciences Partnership.
People
John Kotek, formerly with Argonne National Laboratory-West, has been named deputy manager of the Department of Energy's Idaho Operations Office. The office oversees the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.
People
Mike Leavitt of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory has been appointed the Co-chair of the Federal Laboratories Consortium State and Local Government Committee.
People
Stephen Jeffery has been appointed the new president/executive director of the Technology Association of Georgia.
Tech Talkin' Govs IV
As more states settle into their 2003 legislative sessions, fewer Governors are giving Inaugural or State-of-the-State addresses. During the past 10 days, the Governors of Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont and Wisconsin offered outlines of their priorities for the coming year(s). The following excerpts are directly relevant to building a technology-based economy.
Georgia
People
W. Glenn Cornell has been named commissioner of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism.
OneGeorgia Awards Include $1.5M for TBED
Nearly $1.5 million in grants from the OneGeorgia Authority will go toward specific initiatives promoting technology-based economic development in Georgia. The awards are part of almost $7.5 million in grants and loans being awarded to 16 of the state's most economically distressed communities.
People
Idaho Falls businessman LaMoyne Hyde was appointed by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to serve as Director of the Idaho Department of Commerce.
People
Bill Todd, former CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance, has joined the staff of Gov. Sonny Perdue to work on special projects.
Georgia's Rural Divide Program Threatened in Budget Battle
The FY 2004 budget passed by the Georgia Senate last week eliminates all $32 million the House approved for the OneGeorgia Authority, the state's loan and grant program targeting rural tech-based and traditional economic development. Created in 2000, the OneGeorgia Authority was anticipated to spend $1.6 billion over 25 years (one-third of the state's tobacco settlement funds) to assist the state's most economically challenged areas based on unemployment and poverty rates.
People
Elizabeth Sellars is the new manager of Idaho Operations for the Department of Energy.
People
Laurence Gebhardt has been selected to serve as the first director of Idaho's TechConnect East.
People
Jack Spencer is the new president of the Georgia Biomedical Partnership.
People
Gary Mahn, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce, has announced he will resign from the position at the end of the year.
GRA Expands VentureLab To Georgia’s Research Universities
The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) is facilitating the expansion of VentureLab at the state’s research universities. Piloted at the Georgia Institute of Technology, VentureLab is a strategy for enhancing and accelerating the process of spinning new technology-based enterprises out of university research.
Idaho Partnership Creates Regional S&T Office
Governor Dirk Kempthorne has announced the creation of TechConnect East, a regional science and technology office to be located at the Idaho State University Incubation Center in Pocatello, Idaho.
People
Dr. R. Kelly Dawe was named the inaugural Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Distinguished Investigator, a new level of investment made by GRA.