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| MATR Newsletter - Fri Oct 26, 2007 |
"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." -- Don Marquis
Great resources for entrepreneurs: Hidden Gems: The 100 .edu sites every Entrepreneur Should Read http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Come Home Montana
Funding and Building your Business
- Montana Career Opportunity - Office Assistant - Northwest Regional RC&D
This position is located in the Northwest Regional RC&D office in Libby, Montana. The incumbent provides administrative and clerical support for the office and performs a variety of duties to increase staff effectiveness.
- Cut Bank connection leads new dentist back to Montana
"My wife and I knew all along that we wanted to return to Montana," said Lowery. They just didn't know when they would return or where they would land. But fate intervened and knew exactly where he should go to start his dental career.
Education
- IBM says it has a new way to profit from patents -- and wants to patent the idea
Beyond the circularity of the concept, IBM's application is notable because the company -- the world's top patent holder -- has been campaigning to improve the quality of patent filings and reduce so-called ''business method'' patents.
- Microsoft invests $240M in Facebook, valuing startup at $15B
Besides validating Zuckerberg's decision to rebuff a $1 billion takeover offer from Yahoo Inc. last year, Microsoft's money should be more than enough to pay for Facebook's ambitious expansion plans until the privately held company goes public.
- Planning a Course of Action Is Key to Mentoring Success
Mentoring programs have become popular ways for companies to groom their next generation of leaders, particularly for employees considered "high potential."
- Hidden Gems: The 100 .edu sites every Entrepreneur Should Read
Why not learn from the people who do learning best?
- Call for Presenting Companies for Venture Capital in the Rockies 2008
Now in its 25th year, Venture Capital in the Rockies showcases the region’s most promising companies for an audience of over 150 venture investors and service professionals from around the region and across the country.
- Tech Pay Approaches All-Time High
Techies were paid nearly record-high hourly wages in the third quarter, according to a new report released Thursday by staffing firm Yoh.
Connectivity & Communications
- Concerned about competition, Wyoming schools adjust grading scales
"When the Hathaway Scholarship came out, an A is an A," Pickett said. "You want to give your kids every advantage you can."
- University of Washington receives A- grade in sustainability
The institute defines sustainability as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
- University of Washington renews its search for Washington's brightest fifth- through eighth-graders
"WSYS is like a varsity sports team, except that instead of athletic ability we're looking for talented young scholars who have great minds and want to use them," said Kathleen Noble, director of the Robinson Center.
- Her classroom comes alive — and so do her students' minds
Students affectionately known as "Berries" benefit not only from a fun, invigorating learning environment but also from Berry's carefully crafted teaching strategies that instill self-confidence, etiquette and compassion. By appreciating the world around them, Berries build the foundation for character traits that will serve them a lifetime.
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Readers want to know what you Digg
Digg lets users vote on what its community should be reading.
- U.S. government considers mandating Internet service providers to forward customers' e-mails
There is no mandate in the U.S. governing e-mail forwarding, and industry officials say imposing one would be costly and unnecessary.
- When Are Internet Service Providers Legally Responsible For Content Posted By Others?
Congress enacted the immunity safe harbor contained in the CDA so as not to stifle Internet commerce by making interactive computer service providers immune from liability when it comes to the content of others. It is one thing to hold a service provider liable when it truly helps create and develop offending content that is subject to a legal complaint. But where does one draw the line?
Montana Business
- A Battle Over Venture Capital for Small Businesses
The amendment was meant to satisfy critics, among them officials of the Small Business Administration who argued that allowing venture capitalists to pour unlimited amounts of money into these fledgling businesses would fundamentally alter the concept of a small — and independent — business.
Montana Economic Development
- University of Montana Productions facing scrutiny. Will Elton John return to Montana?
Rose said in the e-mail that Elton John, who was considering returning to Missoula in April, would not be back unless significant changes were made.
- Big Sky scammers. State Auditor John Morrison fraud movie protects public
State Auditor John Morrison has used a $96,000 grant from the Investor Protection Trust to produce “Fraud Under the Big Sky,” a 52-minute film chronicling two major cases of securities fraud in Montana.
Regional Economic Development
- Big Sky Coalition hoping to spur changes to preserve the qualities so important to Montana's economic success
“We should be able to get emergency relief to come in and thin these woods,”
- New economic development district expected to bring opportunities to 5 eastern Montana counties
Now that the Eastern Plains EDD has been designated for the five southeastern Montana counties, it is time to work on a joint agreement for the smooth administration and efficient delivery of services to these five counties.
- Energy session in Choteau, Montana will examine decentralization, conservation
"We'd like to really encourage the governor and other policy makers to slow down for a second instead of trying to meet the whole Northwest region's energy needs from Montana," said Brouwer.
- Grow Montana recognized for efforts
Founded 2 1/2 years ago, Grow Montana is focused on promoting local food as a source of economic development.
Idaho Business
- Why some regional clusters work better than others
While good science is at the core, we found three other factors to be especially powerful in determining a cluster's competitiveness and growth potential.
- Top Economic Development Websites. How does your community stack up?
Advanced Web Page Technology covers the breakthroughs that are helping economic development professionals leverage the power of the Internet to provide enhanced business attraction services and greatly expand the marketing of a community.
- The Broadband Divide: Rural Access Lags Far Behind Cities
The ugly nightmare of the digital age is that new information technologies will increase the advantages of urban and suburban America and deepen the disadvantages of small towns and rural America.
- Two of the most unlikely places in rural America to find economic success — and community colleges are at the center of the action.
There’s an unfortunate if not unavoidable tendency for talk about rural communities to veer at times into hopelessness. State legislatures and Congress don’t seem to put rural concerns on the stove, much less on the front burner. Too many rural communities are seeing an out migration of people. And with fewer people, it’s just harder to build an economy.
Washington State Business
- When shoppers walk into the new Cabela's "destination" store in State Line Village, Idaho on Nov. 9, it's almost a given jaws will drop.
Cabela's officials say that the average customer gets swallowed up for more than three hours inside. And it's no wonder with 125,000 square feet of nearly 350 wild game mounts from antelopes to zebras, a laser arcade, aquarium, gun library and restaurant among the features.
- Idaho State University looking at running E. Idaho hospital
University President Arthur Vailas said the agreement could be the first step toward creating a statewide public health network based in Pocatello.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Venture Capital: Allozyne raises $30M for MS drug
Allozyne's technology -- developed at the California Institute of Technology -- is still in the early stages of development.
Non-Profit News
- PPL Montana awarding grants to Montana schools
The money goes towards programs that teach students the important role they play in maintaining a healthy environment.
- Montana Campus Corps Service Projects Aim to Make a Difference
During the nation’s largest day of service, Campus Corps volunteers will participate in projects in Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Columbia Falls, Havre, Helena, Missoula, Pablo and Wolf Point.
Energy
- Inside Entrepreneurship: Answers for non-profit startups
More and more non-profit organizations are trying to reduce their dependence on donations and grants by generating innovative "program revenues."
Making the Most of the American Prairie
- Austin leads the nation in home energy efficiency. Council approves zero energy homes program
"We're taking action today that will lower the cost of utility bills, make housing more affordable, help improve air quality and take critical steps in the fight against global warming," Mayor Will Wynn said.
- Berkeley going solar - city pays up front, recoups over 20 years
Berkeley is set to become the first city in the nation to help thousands of its residents generate solar power without having to put money up front - attempting to surmount one of the biggest hurdles for people who don't have enough cash to go green.
Commuter Rail Development
- A sagebrush state shows its spirit - Idaho renews it's valuable resources after devastating fires.
In response to the devastation, Otter this month has drummed up support for a statewide, citizen-led volunteer effort to rehabilitate all that torched land by replanting it with millions of sagebrush seeds. The greenish shrub is native to rangeland in Great Basin states such as Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada, where it’s the official state flower.
Montana Education Excellence
- Walking the line: Making the most of rail's potential. City plans to capitalize on development opportunities
FasTracks kicks off in earnest next year when crews start building the 12-mile, West Corridor light-rail line through diverse and history-rich neighborhoods from downtown to Golden.
- Rocky Mountain College hosts high school computer competition
This is the fifth year Rock has hosted the event, which has expanded with teams from the western part of the state coming to compete against their eastern counterparts.
- Montana's first lady encouraging teachers to apply for technology grants by Nov. 1
The cut-off date for the grant is fast approaching; you have until November 1st to apply. Five teachers will be chosen, each receiving a $5,000 grant.
- 'Shut Up' 101 at the University of Montana. Campus 'Teaches' Politics via Crackdown on Speech
What caused the university to so severely circumscribe the spending necessary to disseminate political advocacy? Was it big-money corruption, or the appearance of it, in student politics and government? Not exactly.
- University of Montana Ranked in Top 100 Colleges in the Nation
UM President George Dennison expressed support for the ranking approach, noting that it emphasizes social mobility for students through access to Pell grants; defines research not only in terms of dollar volume but also by the number and percentage of graduates who go on to advanced work in their disciplines; and service, including participation in the Peace Corps and ROTC and other forms of civic engagement.
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