Earlier this month Governor Jeanne Shaheen released New Hampshire in the New Economy: A Vision for Expanded Prosperity, the first-ever comprehensive economic development plan for the State of New Hampshire. The plan calls for New Hampshire state government to focus its activities toward encouraging innovation, strengthening education and workforce development, retaining and protecting the quality of life, and extending economic opportunity to every citizen in every part of the state.

South Carolina Governor David Beasley has appointed a 17-member Technology Advisory Council. The Council is to examine how South Carolina can attract technology-intensive companies, find strategies to promote high technology jobs and identify specific technologies that are important for other industries.

The South Carolina Technology Alliance has released South Carolina Technology Initiative 2000, a science and technology strategic plan outlining six specific recommendations for strengthening the state’s position in a knowledge-based economy.

With the start of the new year, a number of state legislatures are reconvening. Quite a few states have significant research, science, and technology issues on their legislative calendar, including the following:

The South Carolina Technology Advisory Council (SCTAC) has released a technology strategy for the state. Creating South Carolina's Future Through Technology: Strategies for Developing a Knowledge-Based Economy grew from a 1995 strategic plan for economic development, Approaching 2000: An Economic Development Vision for South Carolina.

With the sustained depth of the recession, the IT crash, the rapid growth in unemployment and the speculative office construction craze of the late 1990s, one would expect office vacancies to climb and property lease rates to edge down in many cities. Following this thought further might suggest, with cheaper office space available, the need for publicly supported low-rent technology incubator space would decrease.

Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns has appointed Richard Baier as the state's first rural development director. Baier will work closely with the new Nebraska Rural Development Commission.

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.

The New Hampshire High Technology Council has announced Paul Houle is the new president and chief executive officer and Mary Collins will serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Carla Patterson is the new director of the Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

George Bald is returning to serve as Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development. Bald served in the position from 1998-2004.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford named Joe Taylor to serve as the new Secretary for the S.C. Department of Commerce. Taylor succeeds Bob Faith, who is taking Taylor's position as chairman of the S.C. Jobs-Economic Development Authority.

Chuck Henderson has announced he will retire as president of the University of Nebraska's 130-acre Technology Park next June.

Dan Curran is the new director of the Business Development Division of the Nebraska Department of Development.

Sean O'Kane, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, is resigning from the position at the end of his two-year term in March to return to the private sector.

Besides supporting life science research in universities, one of the other key areas states and communities are using to encourage the growth of a local biotech industry is by supporting an increase in the availability of wet lab and other biotech facilities. Biotech space, however, is extremely expensive compared to other traditional tech incubator facilities for a variety of reasons (design, HVAC, environmental, security, regulatory, etc.)

A wake-up call. That's what the final report of the Lincoln Technology Council said the city received after learning one of its top employers was expanding its operations in a nearby city instead of Lincoln because of perceived weaknesses in Lincoln's telecommunications infrastructure.

The Greenville Spartanburg Anderson Technology Council has named Philip Yanov executive director.

The South Carolina Women's Business Center has opened its doors and already has 30 customers, the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) recently announced. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Women's Business Center will focus on serving only manufacturing facilities in 2003 but will add services to other types of businesses in 2004.

The University of Nebraska Technology Park has named Steve Frayser as president.

Broadband access is considered by most to be a key ingredient for encouraging innovation and building a local tech-based economy. Access for many rural areas, however, remains geographically or financially out of reach. Earlier this month, the New Hampshire Rural Development Council (NHRDC) unveiled a plan to change that for the businesses, government and individuals in the northern portion of the Granite State.

An initiative aimed at creating 2,500 new jobs throughout New Hampshire will offer low-interest loans to companies who commit to creating new jobs or expanding their current employment base in the state.

Jason Williamson is leaving his position as vice president of community development for the South Carolina Technology Alliance to become a founding partner in a new start-up tech firm.

Capturing an overwhelming majority of the votes needed to override Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto, the South Carolina Legislature prevailed last week in its efforts to position the state as a leader in hydrogen technology.
 

Jay Moskowitz was named the first president of Health Sciences South Carolina.