The State with the Best Education Wins!
	MATR Newsletter - Mon Aug 1, 2005

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"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." --Vincent Lombardi

Montana Economic Development

• Montana Main Street Program Information Survey - Here's your opportunity to participate in your main street
  I was hoping that you would have a few minutes to answer the following questions concerning the program.


• Who really owns 'the last best place'?
  This time the word-mining assault comes from David E. Lipson, a merchant banker operating out of an office on Howard Hughes Parkway in Las Vegas. Lipson has applied for eight trademarks that would give him exclusive use of the phrase "the last best place."


• Council considers Montana film industry
  "That's what we're all here for, to advertise Montana,"


• A Last Best Place Wiki Helping a Trademark Bid Go "Paws Up"
  The idea of a Wiki is to enable people collectively to gather information, write about and comment on a particularly topic, and we thought this might be a good way to create a kind of clearinghouse and forum for the Last Best Place controversy.

Regional Economic Development

• SBA Newsline Eight August 2005
  Newsline Eight is the monthly newsletter from the SBA's Region Eight Office in Denver. Our office serves the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Over 10,000 individuals across America receive Newsline Eight.


• The Flight of the Creative Class A Policy Forum on The Intangible Economy with Richard Florida - The Recipe for Entrepreneurship — Three “Ts:”
  “Boy, we’ve got a big problem on our hands,” he concluded, reflecting on the current state of the country’s ability to attract and retain top-notch creative talent.

Government Technology

• Six Public-Sector Programs Win Innovations in American Government Awards
  "These ground-breaking efforts represent the shining stars in government innovations," said Gowher Rizvi, Director of the Ash Institute. "Each takes a creative approach to a significant problem and it is our honor to bring them well-deserved recognition and to encourage other government entities to replicate them."

Idaho Business

• Hagerman receives grant to market Idaho wines, wineries
  The Snake River Valley appellation would allow Idaho wineries to market as a region instead of an individual brand.


• Extended Systems of Boise nears sale to Sybase for $71.3 million
  Extended Systems was an early Boise technology spinoff, founded in 1984 by five former Hewlett-Packard Co. employees who were among the original founders of HP's Boise printer division, according to a company history. An early chairman was Ray Smelek, the man credited with bringing HP to Boise in 1973.

Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)

• SBIR grant interpretation hinders research
  In 2003, the SBA changed its interpretation of eligibility requirements for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants.

Universities and Economic Development

• Strong Cities and the New Leadership Role for Urban Universities
  As author and New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman has said, "The world is flat" -- we are suddenly competing with every community around the world for basic manufacturing requirements and provision of high-tech and biotech services. With this flattening taking place everywhere, we must accelerate change taking place within our communities, and reinvent our centers of learning -- our schools at every level -- at a pace and speed unparalleled in the history of the country.

Incubators and R&D

• Yellowstone microbes detailed in new book by MSU researcher
  "I conducted research at Nymph Creek and found organisms living in very hot water (122 degrees Fahrenheit), and in a very acidic environment," she said. "We looked at samples from the creek under a microscope and found microbes that no one had previously described."

Small Diameter Timber Utilization

• A Passion For Reclaiming: The Extraordinary Things People Are Doing With Reclaimed Wood
  Wood recovery is a new and growing industry that is developing due to rising timber prices, diminishing space in landfills, and specialty markets for antique woods.

Connectivity & Communications

• Start-up slashes cost of international wireless - Cambridge firm uses Skype technology to make cellphone calls
  Just as Internet phone technology has slashed the price of making conventional landline long-distance calls and enabled unlimited calling for as little as $20 a month, the iSkoot technology could put pressure on still-exorbitant wireless international calling charges.

Community

• Study Finds Parking Availability Encourages Driving - Study recommends imposing maximum parking limits, not minimum.
  "Fewer parking spaces also means fewer car trips,"

City Club Missoula

• Former Sen. George McGovern touts legacy of liberalism in America at City Club Missoula luncheon
  The nation needs a strong conservative movement to balance the liberal force, he said. What it doesn't need, he said, is people claiming to be either neo-conservative or neo-liberal.

Cool Stuff That's Coming

• Honda's experimental jet makes first public flight
  "They have Honda Racing and compete in F-1," he said. "Honda Aviation would enhance the brand image even more."

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