In the News

Farm Show Complex full of energy-saving additions

Reading Eagle Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Reading Eagle reports that this year's Pennsylvania Farm Show is taking place in a venue with new energy-saving features, from a wind turbine to aerators on faucets.

Over the past nine months, the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex has gone through a $3.6 million upgrade designed to save on energy and money.

All told, the upgrades are expected to save Pennsylvania more than $300,000 a year, said Patrick J. Kerwin, executive director.

Energy improvements will also save 1,650 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, he said.

Original source: Reading Eagle
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PA legislator, voted out of office, pushing algae's potential to create fuel

WFMZ Wednesday, December 15, 2010

State Rep. David Kessler got voted out of office last month, but is already working to bring algae-based fuel to Pennsylvania, WFMZ reports.

"We're talking about weaning ourselves off of foreign oil," Kessler said of his business venture, which is rooted in algae. "It's a blue green algae called TerraDerm."

In May, Kessler secured a $175,000 state grant to study the possibility of bringing that technology to Pennsylvania. Now, the results are in and positive.

According to the study, the initiative could bring more than 3,000 jobs to the state. It's also passed the first phase of testing for the military at the U.S. Air Force Labs in Ohio.

Original source: WFMZ
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PA intellectual property attorneys embrace high-tech devices

The Legal Intelligencer Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Pennsylvania's intellectual property lawyers are ahead of their colleagues in adopting devices like iPads and Kindles, The Legal Intelligencer reports.

In mid-November, The Legal Intelligencer ran a story headlined "Pennsylvania Firms Not Early Adopters of Tech Trends," in which several midsized general practice firms said they still prefer BlackBerry devices to alternatives like Apple's iPhone and see little practical use in devices like Amazon's Kindle eReader or Apple's iPad tablet computer.

Almost immediately after that story ran, we received feedback from lawyers who said they use these devices for work on a regular basis.

Invariably, they were intellectual property attorneys.

Original source: The Legal Intelligencer
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PA is No. 3 in U.S. for number of solar projects, says gov't survey

EarthTechling Wednesday, December 01, 2010

A recent government survey shows that Pennsylvania is one of the top states for generating solar power, EarthTechling reports.

The EPA highlighted new data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory�s (NREL�s) latest open photovoltaic survey, which ranks Pennsylvania third nationally in the number of solar projects operating today and fourth in installed capacity. According to NREL, the state now has 2,434 projects that account for 38.5 megawatts of generating capacity�enough to power about 5,800 homes�second only to California and New Jersey.

Original source: EarthTechling
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Pennsylvania No. 2 on solar jobs creation list

Pittsburgh Business Times Thursday, October 21, 2010

The National Solar Jobs Census ranks Pennsylvania, with 282 solar companies and 6,700 solar jobs, behind only national leader California in its survey, reports the Pittsburgh Business Times.

A large chunk of Pennsylvania�s calculation likely came from two southwestern Pennsylvania manufacturing projects--Solar Power Industries and Flabeg Corp.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, which issues grants, loans and tax credits to projects meant to spur economic growth, Solar Power Industries promised to create 510 jobs on top of its existing 165 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Westmoreland County (inside the former Sony factory). Flabeg, which opened a 209,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Clinton Commerce Park last October, promised the DCED it would add another 300 jobs to its 85 existing positions.

Original source: Pittsburgh Business Times
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PA set to receive $29M for small business loans

Pittsburgh Business Times Thursday, October 14, 2010

Pennsylvania's cut of the US Treasury's $15 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative is close to $30 million, reports Pittsburgh Business Times.

Under the SSBCI, states are offered the opportunity to apply for federal funds for programs that partner with private lenders to extend greater credit to small businesses. They are required to demonstrate a minimum �bang for the buck� of $10 in new private lending for every $1 in federal funding. Pennsylvania�s allocation is $29,241,232. That is expected to generate $292.4 million in new loans.

The funding is part of an incentive package signed into law by President Barack Obama Sept. 27, which also included restoration of many Small Business Administration programs that expired earlier this year.

Original source: Pittsburgh Business Times
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Warburg Pincus to buy $150M stake in National Penn Bancshares

Wall Street Journal Thursday, October 07, 2010

National Penn Bancshares got a $150 million boost from Warburg Pincus on Tuesday, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The private-equity firm has been looking to make investments in struggling banks amid hopes to benefit from potential rebounds.

National Penn President and Chief Executive Scott V. Fainor said the move will help the 127-branch Pennsylvania bank speed its ability to repay the $150 million of aid it received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Original source: Wall Street Journal
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PA earns No. 4 spot in state technology rankings

Government Technology Thursday, September 30, 2010

Cited for best practices in Enterprise IT and Health and Human Services, Pennsylvania earned a top-four ranking in the 2010 Digital States Survey, reports Government Technology.

The majority of servers and applications in Pennsylvania executive branch agencies, boards and commissions have been consolidated into and are hosted by the Data PowerHouse and Enterprise Server Farm. The PowerHouse has 268 physical servers, 337 virtual servers, five IBM and Unisys mainframes, and 185 terabytes of configured storage. In the coming years, server virtualization is expected to save $45 million through reduced space and power needs.

Original source: Government Technology
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Harrisburg U's social media ban: Epilogue

Fast Company Thursday, September 30, 2010

Student surveys, essays and forums reveal a largely positive reaction to Harrisburg University of Science and Technology's social experiment of banning social media for a week, reports Fast Company.

Upon the week's end, students responded to surveys, wrote essays, and participated in focus groups to discuss their experiences going cold turkey on social media. According to Darr, around 68% of the student responses were positive, demonstrating that most found the ban enlightening and revealing. However, the rest of the responses were negative: Some called the ban a "publicity stunt" and some "were not so eloquent in terms of what was said," Darr chuckles.

"One of the principal things we observed was the students' realization of how stressed they were over checking status updates on a variety of social media sites," he explains. "They weren't even aware of the stress they were under."

Original source: Fast Company
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More than 1,000 Central PA jobs open at Amazon

Carlisle Sentinel Thursday, September 23, 2010

Amazon is looking to fill up to 1,700 positions by the end of the year at its three Central PA distribution facilities, reports the Carlisle Sentinel.

The company recently opened a 1-million-square-foot warehousing operation on Allen Road in Carlisle. About 600 employees are expected to be hired for that facility this year and 1,500 people could be working there by next year, Barnard said.

The new building will serve as a "flagship" for Amazon, he noted, shipping and receiving general merchandise.

Original source: Carlisle Sentinel
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NPR goes inside HU's social media ban

NPR Thursday, September 23, 2010

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology probably got more media attention than it bargained for when it announced its social media ban experiment. NPR updates the story with reactions.

"I know of at least 10 people who have bypassed it, and you can say hacked into Facebook," (freshman Nathan) Clarke says.

Jason Hyers, a senior majoring in computer information systems with a concentration in system security, has been learning how to protect Internet sites from hackers. By now, he likely also knows how to hack a system.

"Monday morning it was actually my job to try [to find] some holes through the system," Hyers says. "It was nice to put my skills to use. Just realizing, 'Hey, I am learning stuff and my knowledge here is actually practical.'"

Original source: NPR
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Development officials aim to boost PA economy through technology

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Thursday, September 23, 2010

From the Philadelphia Navy Yard to the Innovation Center of Wilkes-Barre, federal money is helping technology development improve regional economies in Pennsyvlania, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

(Brian) McGowan, who is chief operating officer of the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration, was in Pittsburgh for the annual conference of the State Science & Technology Institute, a group representing state economic development officials.

The Economic Development Administration on Tuesday gave the institute a $480,000 grant to copy successful regional economic development programs in other regions of the country. Mr. McGowan cited Pennsylvania's Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority as an example of a program that would help promote job growth in other regions.

Original source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Small federal agency in PA hits brakes on Marcellus Shale drilling rush

New York Times Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Delaware River Basin Commission, an obscure-but-potent federal agency has imposed a moratorium on Marcellus Shale drilling as it prepares regulations, reports the New York Times.

That makes the state-federal hybrid agency one of the first regulatory bodies to initiate a moratorium on drilling and marks the most skeptical approach yet to driller's claims that producing gas from shale is perfectly safe for human health and the environment.

DRBC executive director Carol Collier said Pennsylvania and New York regulators do not have strong authority to regulate water issues, and the commission can fill in the gaps to protect the Delaware watershed.

Original source: New York Times
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How to beat the Tweet: Harrisburg U. bans social media for a week

Mashable Thursday, September 16, 2010

Students will be barred from using social media, instant messaging and other online communication except for email at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, reports Mashable.

NPR reports that university Provost Eric Darr chose to enact the temporary ban because he wants students to think about how much they�re using technology in their daily lives and what kind of impact it has. From NPR�s interview it doesn�t seem that he�s anti-technology or anti-social media per se; he just believes today�s college students take its role in their lives for granted.

"Often, there are behaviors or habits, ways that we use technology that we may ourselves not even be able to articulate because we�re not aware of them," Darr says. Students will write reflective essays about their experiences after the blackout has ended.

Original source: Mashable
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Keystone Edge parent company IMG among Inc. 5000's fastest growing media outfits

Inc. Thursday, September 09, 2010

Boasting three-year growth of 170 percent, the Michigan-based parent company of Keystone Edge, Issue Media Group, was ranked No. 22 in the media category and No. 1672 overall in the recently released Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest-growing companies.

Issue Media Group develops web magazines about local communities that report on development, creative people and businesses, vibrant neighborhoods, and popular places to live, eat, shop, work, and play.

Original source: Inc.
Read the full story here.

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