Two tech powers in the Senate are facing serious challengers for re-election in 2000. Washington State Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn, D, became the first official challenger to Sen. Slade Gorton, R-WA, filing a statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission on March 22. And Rep. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, will challenge Michigan Sen. Spencer Abraham, R. Of the two, Abraham is expected to have a tougher re-election fight, but he may be helped by the likely independent candidacy of 1998 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Geoffrey Fieger. (Polls on both races are available on our Polls page.)

    The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced online last week that he will not run for president in 2000. He plans to instead expand his Wall Street Project and continue pressing Silicon Valley firms to put more minorities on corporate boards.

    Bob Dole has signed on as a director of the Web access provider OneMain.com. Dole has shied away from corporate board membership since his 1996 presidential defeat, but likes OneMain because the company aims to provide Internet access to rural communities, and is active in Dole's native Kansas. "I am excited to help direct the future of OneMain. Internet access continues to be an invaluable resource to enhancing the lives and personal growth of individuals across the country," Dole said, according to press reports.

    House Small Business Committee Chairman Jim Talent, R-MO, has announced that Rep. John Thune, R-SD, will head the Regulatory Reform and Paperwork Reduction Subcommittee, Rep. Mary Bono, R-CA, will helm the Government Programs and Oversight Subcommittee, and Rep. Steve Chabot, R-OH, will become chief of the Tax Finance and Exports Subcommittee. Rep. Sue Kelly, R-NY, has become vice chair of whole committee.

    George magazine has listed its "Twenty Most Fascinating Men In Politics," and a few tech-related names made the list. Antigay activist and occasional Kansas candidate Fred Phelps was No. 5, for using his Web site as "a monument to the Constitution's tolerance — and to Phelps' own intolerance." Justice Department attorney David Boies came in at No. 9 for "making Microsoft lose sleep." And Unabomber victim/Yale computer science professor David Gelernter ranked eleventh for criticizing "the public's apathy toward the technology it uses and the politicians it elects."

    Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale will lobby in Washington on behalf of AOL, according to The San Jose Mercury News. Native Mississippian Barksdale is a close friend of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, and AOL feels that Barksdale's lobbying influence is just another benefit of the two companies' merger. Barksdale has no plans to lead another firm or take another job, and will instead serve on corporate boards and make investments, Bloomberg News reports. "I'm not going to be in active management ever again," Barksdale said at a conference. "I've been at it for 35 years, and that's enough."

    Apple Computer has hired American Electronics Association Vice President for Domestic Policy Josh Tenuta as a lobbyist. He will work on issues such as e-commerce, Y2K, encryption and education at Apple.

    Ellen Youdin Wolfhagen will become the new counsel for the Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative Company on April 6. "Ellen is known for her ability to find the common ground," said SLD President Kate L. Moore. "She is extremely knowledgeable about our program rules and will be a valuable asset in brokering solutions that work for the e-rate's diverse stakeholders, service providers and applicants alike."

    Ralph Hinzman, an 87-year-old broker from West Virginia, paid $5,000 to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle their claim that he had not filed Y2K readiness paperwork, The Wall Street Journal reports. The problem? Hinzman, who makes just $20,000 per year through his home brokerage, does not use a computer in his work. He told this to the SEC but they ignored and charged him with missing deadline. SEC Assistant Regional Director Dan Gregus says that even brokers without computers can face Y2K problems if other companies they work with are not prepared. "They got a lot of educated people there," Hinzman said. "But no one with common sense."

    A group of "Microsoft Millionaires" is challenging Seattle-area techies to contribute money they made in the software and Internet boom into preservation of Washington State's Loomis State Forest, currently earmarked for logging by the state, USA Today reports. So far, the group has raised $3.9 million toward its goal of $13 million. "We're courting everybody," says former Microsoft attorney Bill Pope, but especially "the tech group that works 60 hours a day and has two kids at home and less time than the previous generation to get involved in community affairs."

    John Hart, senior vice president and chief technology officer of 3Com, said last week that "in the very near future, it will be a basic human right for the people of the world to have access to the Internet. Human beings who are not connected to the Internet may be at a disadvantage as the information age continues to grow at a rapid pace. Information and knowledge will potentially be the ultimate sources of influence and power around the world."

    Time Warner chairman CEO Gerald Levin told CNBC that his company does have the right to block Comcast's acquisition of MediaOne Group, but that it probably will not do so. "I don't think we'll reach that question," Levin said.

    Theo de Raadt, who heads the OpenBSD project, may be sued if he refuses to turn over theos.com to Theos Software. Theos is offering de Raadt a scant $35, the minimum cost of registering a new domain name. He is protesting via his Web site.

    Lakewood, CO, resident Carlyne Orr, 74, has been given the inaugural Microsoft Technology Award for Older Americans, recognized as a national model to help senior citizens hook up to the Internet. Orr lost many of her mental faculties after a 1980 accident, and credits information technology with her recuperation. "The computer is a great tool for stimulating your mind," she says. "There's a whole world out there, available with a click on the Internet."

    Buzz? Rumors? Hate mail? Self-promotion? Fire it off to Peter J.M. Orvetti.