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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Nov 25, 2005 |
“I detest computers. I’ve never sent an e-mail in my life, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna.” ----- U.S. Rep. David Obey, ranking member of the House Appropriations committee, at a conference-committee meeting during which he argued for spending on rural telecommunications programs
"Economic Value of Early Childhood Education as an Economic Development Tool" --- http://www.matr.net/article-17054.html
Come Home Montana
Education
- Building “Community” In Florence, Montana, 12/7, Florence, Montana
To gain momentum, the committee has arranged for a public presentation to be developed and given by a group of 15 architecture students from the University of Idaho on 12/7 at 5:00PM
- Featured "Come Home Montana" Community~EUREKA
The community is filled with local artists and has active organizations in the arts bringing in culture and activities.
- MOntana-Jobs.net Featured Career ~ Nonpoint Source Pollution Outreach and Education Coordinator #22002
- Montana-Jobs.net Featured Talent ~ Desired Field: Administrator
Montana Business
- BSU dean honored for mentoring - Cheryl Schrader one of 11 in U.S. to win 2005 award
Schrader was honored at a White House ceremony last week for her efforts to encourage women and other underrepresented groups to pursue and excel at careers in engineering.
- MSU College of Engineering names Durward K. Sobek II first Boeing Professor
"The Boeing Company is pleased with our long-time association with the College of Engineering,"
- GAO: Recommends Improved Access to Education Dept. Information
Education officials said that their Web site has been an important tool for disseminating resources about the requirements, but officials from most states and districts that we visited told us that they were unaware of some of these resources or had difficulty locating them, despite frequently using the Web site.
Montana Economic Development
- The Montana Manufacturing Extension Center Fall Newsletter
- Missoula man's invention takes the guesswork out of dining choices.
The new technology could turn a quick trip to the grocery store into a glamorous experience.
- Black Hills Corp. attempting takeover of NorthWestern Corp.
“NorthWestern wasn’t going to continue as a stand-alone company. Montanans’ ability to control their own energy future continues to get passed around.”
Funding and Building your Business
- DirecTV call center on direct track to go in Missoula
The company plans to employ about 800 people at the site, which will handle technical service questions from some of the company's 15 million customers.
- Economic Value of Early Childhood Education as an Economic Development Tool
Instead of generating new economic activity, state and local incentive programs too often simply relocate businesses. From a national perspective, jobs are not created but moved. Better to spur quality education and care for toddlers than to woo companies with cash, if economic development is the goal.
Regional Economic Development
- Firing Up Your Cold Calls
Some of the biggest commercial empires in history -- from Standard Oil to Microsoft -- were built on cold calls.
- When Customers Want to Hear from You
This excerpt discusses how a company might launch dialogues during customer "transitions," such as when they trigger a loyalty program or are poised to defect to a competitor.
- Failing Your Way to Success
Don't let a failed startup kill your entrepreneurial dreams. Get back in the saddle again with these encouraging words of wisdom.
- Busy Executives Fail to Give Recruiting Attention It Deserves
"There is so much pressure to complete day-to-day work that even when managers have the authority to expand their staffs, they don't have the significant time it takes to identify and attract new candidates,"
- Inside Entrepreneurship: How to pursue a trademark application
Every once in a while, it's nice to see our government take meaningful steps to help young entrepreneurial companies establish a presence in the marketplace in a budget-friendly way.
Idaho Business
- Referendum 'C' puts Denver on the map for companies looking at doing business in Colorado
The hard-fought ballot initiative allows the state to keep an expected $3.7 billion in taxes it normally would have refunded to voters in the next five years. Supporters said the initiative "tweaks" the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), allowing the state to recover from a devastating economic slump and re-invest in its infrastructure and schools.
- DOL Launches New Initiative Called Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development
The WIRED initiative will fund eight-to-ten sites where universities, companies, government, and workforce and economic development organizations partner to transform and rebuild their regional economy. Applications are due by January 5, 2006.
- Plan to be a part of the InterMountain Regional economic success of the Vancouver, B.C. 2010 Olympics
The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. may be a great opportunity for companies to further their business development in Canada.
Washington State Business
- Boise based Blackfin Technology wins Web site design award
"This is a really great achievement for us," said Curt Pliler, creative director at Blackfin.
- Agriculture is not dead, group says - Partnership focuses on rural Idaho's future
Idaho's leaders need to recognize that agriculture and timber aren't dying parts of the state's economy, but a growing $10.4 billion segment that offers the best hope for progress in the rural areas of the state.
- Small-business owners power Idaho's economy
Main Street is where the state's citizens go to work, so policymakers should consider just how programs, rules and regulations will affect the state's job-creating small businesses.
Government
- Young entrepreneurs got message, changed business
That lesson and an invitation from Buffett to attend Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in Omaha, Neb., have stayed with the two and underscores their new venture: creating interactive shopping-mall kiosks.
- Venture Capital: A look at three more Seattle-area Web 2.0 startups
"As an ex dot com entrepreneur, I wonder if the Internet world will ever get away from catchy labels and buzzwords. I cringe at Web 2.0 as it brings back the bad memories of the dot com era."
Other Economies
- Governor Announces New Members of Capital Finance Advisory Council
The purpose of the Council is to assist the State of Montana in promoting sound fiscal management by maintaining a coordinated, consistent approach when agencies are incurring debt through obligations.
University Business Plan Competitions
- Iowa and Nevada seek more university brainpower, R&D boost with plans and funding to lure top faculty
Gov. Tom Vilsack on Thursday outlined an initiative to spend $50 million to attract leading scientists to Iowa and spark new research and product development. "The only way America will maintain its standard of living is by being smarter and more innovative than the competition," Vilsack said.
Incubators and R&D
- UC-Berkeley team wins Intel-sponsored entrepreneur contest
The technology promises to deliver new levels of miniaturization, longer battery life and lower cost, the university said.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Science.gov 3.0 Launched - available to everyone but will be especially helpful to scientists and information specialists in their searches.
"Science progresses when knowledge is shared and Science.gov 3.0 provides researchers with a tool to hone their queries, resulting in more precise results."
- U.M. receives $4.3 million grant to study emergency response
The grant is to study whether or not Rocky Mountain region health-care providers and emergency responders could answer the challenge of an infectious epidemic or bioterrorism event.
Careers
- UM students meet real world in invaluable internships
“I find that internships can be a great addition to education in the classroom,” she said recently. “They really give the student some hands-on education.”
Non-Profit News
- Making Credibility Your Strongest Asset
Dealmakers often forget the power of a good reputation.
Energy
- More using computers to follow disaster news and donate
Roughly 18 percent of Internet users said they had used the Web to donate to charities.
Connectivity & Communications
- Ada County, Idaho garbage may soon be source of power
How can garbage create electricity?
- Forests paying the price for biofuels
Rising demand for green energy has led to a surge in the international price of palm oil, with potentially damaging consequences.
- Energy adviser for Utah is big fan of collaboration
The governor has instituted an Energy Advisory Council, a 14-member group of energy stakeholders, and spearheaded the Utah Energy Forum, which meets quarterly to discuss energy policy developments.
- Power grid must grow -- but who will pay?
The risk of a blackout like the one that left the East Coast in the dark in 2003 keeps rising.
Community
- Thinking Big--the need for a new, more powerful, more energy efficient internet
The largest potential internet business would have to be the internet itself.
- Anyone can write a blog, but will anyone read it?
In the past few years, blogging has become, next to e-mail and instant messaging, a common way for people to spend countless hours on the Internet.
- Craigslist founder planning Net-based news venture
"technologies that promise to help people find the most trusted versions of the more important stories."
- Broadband Over Power Lines: Ready For A Big Breakthrough?
"I wouldn't even call [broadband over power lines] a niche," Song says. "For most, it would be the second or third choice behind cable and DSL."
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Affordable housing goes 'green'
City officials and others are recognizing that energy-efficient buildings, while they may cost a bit more to build, are far more affordable than traditional housing in the truest sense of the word.
VIRUS ALERTS
- IBM discovers carbon nanotubes 1,000 times brighter than light-emitting diodes
Using nanotubes to convert electronic signals to optical photons will use less heat and energy than previous methods.
- The Ultimate Geek Gift Guide plus the Top 20 Geek Novels
We've divided the list into three categories -- home, mobile and novelties -- each packed with must-haves and surprises to help you in your gift search.
- Computer Worm Poses as E-Mail From FBI, CIA - 'Sober X' Web Threat Spreads Quickly
It's being called the worst computer worm of the year
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