Electronic Industries Alliance President Dave McCurdy says that his group plans to expand to other issues a lobbying tactic it has begun aimed at garnering support for congressional passage of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) for China. The group has begun holding meetings with some House members who are undecided on PNTR in their districts to discuss the importance of the issue with EIA member company officials and workers. McCurdy said EIA would like to expand the idea beyond PNTR to ensure that congressional and presidential candidates are fully aware of the issues of concern to EIA. "We've titled this the Campaign 2000 Technology Tour," McCurdy said. "We're going to continue this after the China 2000 vote."

     Sun Microsystems has hired a new outside lobbyist, Robert Rarog, to work on legislation related to export control policy. Among Sun's top issues is getting the federal review time reduced on exports of high-speed computer products. Rarog currently is a consultant, but previously he worked for lawfirm Steptoe & Johnson and was a lobbyist for Digital Equipment. Prior to Digital, Rarog worked for the Office of Technology Assessment.

     The NetCoalition, a group of some of the nation's Internet's largest companies, has hired Piper, Marbury, Rudnick & Wolfe attorneys James Halpert and Ronald Plesser to provide legal advice. They plan to lobby on legislation that would restrict Internet wine sales, S.577, that would limit the liability of Internet service providers for illegal drug advertisements posted on the Web, S. 486, that would restrict Internet gambling, S.692 and H.R. 3125, according to recent lobbying forms filed with the secretary of the Senate.

     Senate Democrats will get a mix of politics and policy at their annual party retreat being held in Nemacolin, PA, beginning Friday. President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore are both expected to attend. According to a Democratic leadership aide, senators will attend briefings on technology issues, and will hear presentations from high tech business leaders. America Online's Steve Case and Gerald Levin, CEO of Time Warner, are expected to participate. Additionally, panel discussions will focus on privacy issues, which are getting increasing attention from the administration, and on arms control and nonproliferation issues. Case and Levin were also guests at the House Democrats' Caucus retreat in western Virginia in early February.

     Political portal Voter.com has hired Andi Hedberg, 25, to be political outreach coordinator in Washington. Hedberg had been a political field staffer and executive assistant to Bill Dal Col, Steve Forbes' campaign manager. Heberg is to focus on getting Republican organizations and candidates to use the Web site. Before the Forbes campaign, Hedberg worked for Hope, Growth and Opportunity, a conservative organization chaired by Forces. Before that, she helped set up Jack Kemp's Freedom and Free Enterprise PAC in 1997.

     Josh McClosky, who has been handling high-tech media for Alexander Ogilvy's Tech Policy Communications Group in San Francisco is leaving to handle press relations at CNet, an Internet news service, according to former colleague Joe Sheffo. Sheffo left Alexander Ogilvy in January to work on the Hill.

     TechNet, Silicon Valley's lobbying group, hosted its first recruiting meeting in Portland, OR, which is well on its way to becoming another "node" of the organization. About 40 company representatives attended including those from Timberline Ventures, KVO public relations, Intel and Hewlett-Packard. Often the high-tech region around Portland is called "Silicon Forest" because of the timber industry. TechNet also has opened branches in Texas and Indiana. Portland's representative is Rep. David Wu, D-OR, who is in a tough re-election fight.

     President Clinton named Mark S. Wrighton to serve on the National Science Board. Wrighton currently serves as chancellor and professor of chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. Members of the National Science Board serve as national science policy advisers to the president. The group also serves as the governing body for the National Science Foundation, which overseas many federal high-tech research and development programs. Prior to the Washington University, where he has been since 1995, Wrighton spent 20 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT he spent five years as provost.

     The Digital Media Association is ramping up its Washington, DC, lobbying efforts and is in the process of hiring a government relations person to work on e-commerce and copyright issues. The association, which includes CMGI, RealNetworks, America Online and eMusic, in February, gathered up its member CEOs and met with members of Congress as well as staff from the Federal Communications Commission and the Commerce Department. On April 24, DIMA members sent a letter to the Dept of Commerce commenting on legal barriers to e-commerce including aspects of copyright laws, which they believe unfairly discriminate against Internet music sales.

     Lycos President and CEO Robert Davis on Tuesday is participating in the White House's conference on raising healthy teens. Davis is scheduled to participate in a panel led by First Lady and New York Senate candidate Hillary Clinton titled "What Parents and Communities Can Do to Raise Successful Teens." During the summit, President Clinton also is planning to call upon Internet, media and entertainment executives to create family-friendly environments. Lycos' site includes a section especially focused on children.

     The Motley Fool, a personal finance investment Web site, said it named C. Patrick Garner as its new chief executive officer. Garner, 52, most recently was president of Coca-Cola's Southeast and West Asia division and spent three decades at the soft-drink company. "We've got our Fool," said David Gardner, co-founder of the Motley Fool. "Pat Garner is a perfect fit for us. His resume speaks eloquently of his skills as a brand-builder and global business strategist."

- by Bara Vaida