Gilmore unveils plan to immerse state in e-government
     Virginia Gov. James Gilmore, R, issued an executive order at the end of last month that will submerge the state in the world of electronic government.
     The board plan includes everything from electronic procurement to digital signatures to access opportunities for the underprivileged and will be executed by the newly created Electronic Government Implementation Division.
     Virginia's technology sector has been growing at a rate three times that of the Commonwealth's overall economy. In 1994, Virginia became the second state to establish a Web site, and is home to technological hot spots like the Dulles Corridor.
     Gilmore's plan, Executive Order 65, has a deadline of March 1, 2001 for having a statewide system in place.
     "'Electronic Government' is an important endeavor that will enable citizens and businesses to interact with a more streamlined, service-oriented government," Gilmore declared in the order. "In this environment, citizens and business will not simply receive information or participate in transactions passively. Rather, they will become involved in a more active dialog with their state government."
     The order calls for establishing a task force to diminish the digital divide, outsourcing responsibilities for each state employee's needs, the acceptance and protection of electronic signatures and the establishment of educational programs that would teach agencies, higher institutions and local governments how to use electronic procurement.
     "Successful e-government will be achieved when all Virginia's citizens and communities are efficiently using the tool of technology, especially the Internet, to actively participate in their state government," Gilmore said.

Connecticut Governor Launches Official Kid's Web Site
     On June 1, Gov. John Rowland announced the launch of an official State of Connecticut Web site to serve as a children's extension of the state's award-winning ConneCT Web site.
     ConneCT Kids offers age specific information on state history and government, educational games and more. Logos and artwork the site were contributed by students as part of a contest during the site's construction.
     "I am excited that ConneCT Kids will serve as an educational and entertaining destination for children where they can learn about our state's past heritage and present attractions," Rowland said.
     Not only is the site fun, but it's educational as well. Children can share their own Connecticut traditions by submitting personal stories describing their cultural backgrounds, relating how their families came to the state and telling of historic things they've done themselves.
     Aspiring artists, scientists and business leaders can publish their own web pages with a Connecticut themselves on ConneCT Kid to share their experiences with others.

Ohio Falls Short In E-Commerce Department
     Ohio is one of the states lagging behind in the area of e-commerce, according to the first of three reports released last month, and may not be ready to adequately handle electronic commerce on a global level.
     The Ohio Supercomputer Center, the technology policy group issuing the reports, is working on recommendations on how to get more small businesses into the e-commerce world. As of last month, Ohio ranked 33rd among the 50 states for e-commerce readiness.
     The Ecom-Ohio project, launched last fall, compares regions of the state with each other and with others in the country to assess the state's infrastructure reliability and usage. The project is sponsored by the state Department of Development and private companies.
     "Education is going to be a big concern," OSC program director Jude Geist told civic.com. "We need to promote the benefits of electronic commerce to the businesses and government." The report results found that about 18 percent of those people surveyed didn't use the Internet because they were "reluctant" and these people were from smaller businesses and were less likely to use technology than those who were not reluctant to utilize the Web. Central Ohio has the highest computer use in the state with about 78 percent surveyed agreeing that they used a computer. Regional Internet use was highest in the Central and southwest areas, with usage numbers reaching 31 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
     Ohio Gov. Bob Taft is appointing a panel to review and address the issue of e-commerce and will be chaired by his new Science and Technology Advisory Chair Frank Samuel, according to OSC. Taft has created also a Technology Action Board to oversee funding and design a statewide strategy for business formation and job creation based on research and technology. What those statewide strategies are remain to be seen.

NAM Chairman Addresses 'New Economy' And PNTR In Boston
     James H. Keyes, chairman & CEO of Johnson Controls and chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers, addressed a crowd of about 160 at the Chief Executives' Club in Boston Wednesday on the impact of U.S. technology-based manufacturing productivity, increases on the economy and the outlook for Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China.
     "The fact of the matter is that growth comes from, and will continue to come from, innovation and the application of technology, with a sharp focus on quality and the customer," Keyes said. "Technology can do wonders for a no-growth market or industry."
     According to NAM statistics, manufacturing productivity growth surpassed 4.7 percent annually from 1996 to 1999, more than double the rest of the economy.
     From 1992 through 1997, manufacturing accounted for 30 percent of America's economic growth, the largest percentage of any sector of the economy. Overall U.S. economic growth increased at an average rate of 3.1 percent between 1992 and 1997, while manufacturing's share grew by 5.2 percent.
     "There is a new economy out there, all right, but it's much broader than just Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley," Keyes said.
     "The dot-coms can turn out all of the whiz-bang software and gadgets in the world, but if nobody uses these innovations productively, they're really not much more than a bunch of toys."
     And he didn't let attendees forget the importance of the manufacturing business to the future.
     "As American manufacturers, we are the ones who take cutting-edge technology and turn it into something useful; something that makes a product safer, more affordable, of better quality, or more environmentally friendly," Keyes said. "In other words, we're all part of the new economy - the very notion of a new economy and an old one is a false dichotomy."
     NAM supports PNTR status for China and meaningful Chinese accession to the World Trade Organization. The group backs export control laws and protection of market access to global business opportunities made possible via the Internet.
- by Liza Porteus