Greg Simon, former adviser to Vice President Gore, talked about the role government should play in fostering e-commerce at an Ariba e-commerce development conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. Simon said the government can help e-commerce businesses expand overseas by continuing to negotiate with foreign governments on policies that won't limit the ability of consumers and businesses to use the Internet. For instance, the United States has been active in pushing several countries to abandon laws that would tell Internet consumers that only one type of technology is acceptable for digital signatures to be legal. Simon also said e-commerce companies should be actively debating the role of government in e-commerce. "Business to business e-commerce companies need to be involved in the political debate," Simon said.

     America Online has that certain something. The Dulles, VA, online firm is attracting White House staff members who are packing up and heading over to Steve Case's camp. Julie Mason is moving from her position as Hillary Rodham Clinton's deputy press secretary to AOL's communications department. Jordan Tamagni, formerly President Clinton's speechwriter, now will pen pieces for AOL Chairman Case.

     And the "Champion of Science" Award goes to... James Sensebrenner, R-WI. The House Science Committee Chairman joins three other recipients of the Science Coalition's award for his support of federal funding of basic science research. "I'm tremendously honored to receive this award from the Science Coalition along with my partner in many of these efforts, George Brown. I firmly believe a commitment to a strong and vibrant scientific enterprise will pay immeasurable dividends improving our quality of life and expanding the limits of the scientifically possible," he said. The coalition also honored the late Rep. George Brown, Jr., D-CA, with the award. Nearly 200 members of the science and engineering community filled an auditorium to honor Brown, commonly referred to as "Mr. Science." At the American Association for the Advancement of Science, friends, family and colleagues assembled to honor the man whose illustrious career included serving as a member of Congress representing California, as well as chairman and ranking member of the House Science Committee. Offering kind words on Brown's accomplishments and contributions to the area of science and technology policy, and remembering his love of cigars, a distinguished list of guests spoke at the event, including Neal Lane, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Rep. Rush Holt, D-NJ; Rita Colwell, director of the National Science Foundation and NSF employee Patricia Garfinkel; Bruce Alberts, Lockheed Martin chairman; and Roald Sagdeev, a University of Maryland professor. "George Brown understood that technology and an enlightened government could transform the world for the betterment of the people," said Lane.

     What do 55 percent of AT&T managers do once a month? And 29 percent boast of doing it once a week? It's telecommuting. At a CapNet event in Reston, VA, the organization's director, Tim Hugo, introduced Rep. Frank Wolf, R-VA, as "one of the few members of Congress who understands the importance of technology in our lives." Wolf stepped up to the podium at AT&T offices to discuss his National Telecommuting and Air Quality Act, H.R. 2556. "The traffic in this area is tearing it apart. It is threatening the prosperity of the area, because people may decide to leave the area... The goal is to have people happy, and they are usually happy when the telecommute." Also singing the praises of telecommuting was former Congressman and scientist at the National Environmental Policy Institute, Don Ritter. "We are deeply engaged in looking at states and localities... No issue is more localized than this issue of telework," Ritter said.

     Jason Oxman, who penned the Federal Communications Commission's "The FCC and the Unregulation of the Internet," has taken on a new position as Covad Communication's senior government affairs counsel. "The decision to leave the FCC was difficult. I enjoyed working there, and it's a terrific agency," Oxman said. "The decision was made easy by the fact that Covad has many of the same goals as the FCC — making sure the local market is open to competition. Leaving the FCC was pretty easy to decide for a company that is fighting for survival." Oxman left his position as counsel for advanced communications in the Office of Plans and Policy to handle issues of importance to the broadband access and services provider of high-speed Internet access at the FCC and other federal agencies — namely getting incumbent local exchange carriers to comply with the Communications Act and open their markets. "Right now, one of the big issues that's coming up before the FCC is the application by Bell Atlantic that is very important to Covad — a provision that prevents Bell Atlantic from carrying long distance traffic in the region," Oxman said.

     The Digital Media Association will be singing an old tune, but with a new group of officers leading the organization out of the 1990s and into the new millennium. Peter Harter, who recently became Emusic.com's vice president and then a board member of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, has been appointed DiMA's president. "In its first year, beginning with only seven members, DiMA has made a mark in Washington and internationally just as Netscape and other Internet companies did a few years ago," Harter said in a statement. Harter was Netscape's global public policy counsel. "Now 25 members strong, DiMA looks forward to promoting government and industry awareness of issues for webcasting and electronic commerce." Vice president for business development of Spinner.com, Fred McIntyre, will serve as the association's secretary. Mike Farrace, president of Tower Online was appointed treasurer. Members of DiMA create technology for distributing entertainment content over the Internet.

     The skills that Jonathan D. Lee sharpened during his five years working on Department of Justice's Telecommunications Task Force made him a shoo-in for his latest appointment as vice president of regulatory affairs at the Competitive Telecommunications Association. Lee will serve as the association's middleman with the Federal Communications Commission and the DOJ, where he was responsible for tracking developments in the telecom industry.

     The first American woman in space is embarking on a new endeavor into cyberspace. Former astronaut Sally Ride has been named president of Space.com, a Web site focused primarily on information and headlines related to the space industry. In June, Ride was named a vice president of the company, created by former CNN financial news anchor Lou Dobbs. Ride was the first American woman to fly in space. She will start her new post effective immediately.

    Send comments and contributions to Jessica Smith.