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Arizona, New Mexico Sign Security Deal
by Chloe Albanesius
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Monday announced an agreement to share unclassified information between their states in an effort to bolster security.
The Democratic governors signed an understanding at the National Governors Association (NGA) winter meeting. The agreement authorizes interstate security exercises and allows New Mexico's Border Center for Excellence in Research and Intelligence to exchange law enforcement and intelligence information with Arizona's Counter Terrorism Information Center.
Both states will be able to invite surrounding states to join in security exercises if necessary. The agreement also acknowledges that the strong relationships developed with Mexico's northern border states will enhance the New Mexico-Arizona agreement "so as to better protect both U.S. and Mexican citizens."
Brig. Gen. Annette Sobel, New Mexico's homeland security adviser, and Arizona Homeland Security Director Frank Navarrete will coordinate the effort. The two will be required to develop specific information-sharing protocols by July 31.
"The safety of our citizens is of primary importance," Napolitano said in a release. "I'm pleased we can work together in this unprecedented way to coordinate our states' security resources." Richardson agreed. "There is no higher priority for my administration than the security of New Mexicans."
Broadband Network Aids 'First Responders'
A coalition of California and federal officials participated this month in a communications exercise using equipment produced by Silicon-Valley based PacketHop, the company announced on Wednesday.
Participants used PacketHop's high-speed, mobile Internet network to enable immediate communication among law enforcement and emergency "first responders" using laptop and tablet computers and personal digital assistants. If certain equipment is destroyed in a terrorist attack, PacketHop Vice President of Sales Gregg Rowland said, "our software makes a network survivable by routing around something that might fail."
"The issue here is that public safety has problems in interoperability today [with] the low-band data that they're using," Rowland said. "By employing mesh and by using commercial, off-the-shelf wireless broadband ... we can provide applications that have never been provided before." The approach thus far has been used mainly by the military, he said, but PacketHop has "recast it to meet the needs of homeland security."
PacketHop reached an agreement with the participants, known as the Golden Gate Safety Network (GGSN), to do the exercise as a means for California to help meet its homeland security requirements and enable PacketHop to test its technology. The company's next step will be a four- to six-month test program with various agencies, Rowland said.
Exercise participants included: the National Guard; the U.S. Park Police; marine units from the U.S. Coast Guard and San Francisco Police Department; the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services; Marin County; and San Francisco.
Texas Prosecutor Honored For Child Protection
Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott on Tuesday received the Commitment to Children Award from the Center for Child Protection for his child-protection work, including the efforts his cyber-crime unit has made to stop online predators. "Serving and protecting children is one of my greatest duties as attorney general, and I am proud to partner with the Center for Child Protection in this effort," Abbott said in a release.
His office last week announced that it has arrested its 57th child predator since Aug. 8, after a two-week sweep that included arrests in nine different Texas counties, in Florida and Ohio. In the sting, members of the cyber-crime unit often posed as children in online chat rooms and planned meetings with individuals who thought they were arranging sex with minors.
In other news, a Kansas man on Tuesday was convicted of computer crimes for having in his possession the computer files of his former employer. Joseph Rupnick, a former employee at the Sac and Fox Casino, was found guilty of one felony count of computer crime and two counts of misdemeanor computer trespassing. He faces up to a year in jail.
Florida Prosecutor Wants To Attack Spam
Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist on Friday announced that he would ask the state legislature this year to give the attorney general's office the authority to prosecute Florida companies that send unsolicited commercial e-mail.
"Our goal is to prohibit the dissemination of deceptive e-mails, stop e-mail with misleading information on the subject line and prevent the use of Internet domain names without permission," Crist, a Republican, said in his weekly newsletter. "This state gave the people the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they wished to receive telemarketing calls. In the same way, they should not be subjected to unwanted e-mails."
State Sens. Rudy Garcia and Holly Benson, both Republicans, will sponsor the legislation.
Michigan To Provide Matching R&D Grants
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm last week announced that the state will provide matching grants for Michigan businesses applying for federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants. The state is prepared to make $1 million available for matching grants of up to $15,000 each for Michigan businesses that will use the federal and state funds to research and develop products that could be brought to the market.
"The emerging business fund represents a strong commitment from the state to help new, high-tech businesses take root in Michigan and create jobs," Granholm said in a release. "The best ideas may die in the research lab or end up somewhere else if entrepreneurs don't have access to early-stage capital."
The initiative is part of the governor's seven-point plan to bolster Michigan's economy, a subject that she will address in a new e-newsletter launched last week.
Granholm, meanwhile, reiterated her commitment to developing the state's manufacturing industry at this week's winter meeting for the National Governors Association. "We need help for the manufacturing sector, which is critical for our nation's economy," she said.
Virginia Approves Distance-Learning Bill
The Virginia Senate on Monday cleared to the governor a distance-learning bill that by Jan. 1, 2005, will require state universities to include in their strategic plans information on how they will utilize distance learning, if at all, to improve education.
Under the measure, H.B. 617, those schools that plan to use the service would have to detail how they plan to do so and update their plans every five years.
"As a first-generation college graduate, I understand how important a higher education is to competing and succeeding in this global economy," Attorney General Jerry Kilgore said in a release. "With over 60,000 students expected to enter Virginia's institutions of higher education over the next six years, it is important that we are innovative in our efforts to ensure that every student who wishes to have a four-year degree has the access and ability to do so."
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