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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Friday, September 25, 2009

$6 Million in Stim Funds to Bethlehem Tech Center

Six million dollars in stim funds have been awarded to Bethlehem's Ben Franklin TechVentures. Below is a news release I've just received from the Department of Commerce.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra visited Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania at Lehigh University today to discuss job creation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Obama Administration’s strategy to spur American innovation.

“America's creative thinkers and innovators will lead the way to economic recovery,” Locke said. “President Obama is taking historic steps to lay the foundation for the innovation economy of the future. Earlier this week he laid out a strategy for American innovation that builds on more than $100 billion of Recovery Act funds that support innovation. Today we move that strategy forward.”

Locke and Chopra also announced a significant new Recovery Act grant for Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania to expand Ben Franklin TechVentures, its incubator/post-incubator facility. The $6 million grant, from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), will increase Ben Franklin’s ability to deliver to early-stage technology companies hands-on support, guidance and connections to key resources during the economic recovery. The construction of the facility’s addition will also create jobs in the short term.

“Ben Franklin TechVentures is an award-winning facility that now stands as a leader in Pennsylvania's tech industry, providing space and expertise for the businesses of the future,” Locke said. “This project creates jobs and fosters a favorable business environment for high-growth companies.”

Under the Recovery Act, 4.8 million Pennsylvania families have benefited from $2.5 billion in tax relief under the Making Work Pay Tax Credit. An additional 10,868 Pennsylvanians have taken advantage of the First Time Homebuyers Credit, receiving $87 million in tax relief. All told, more than $9.5 billion has been obligated to Pennsylvania under the Recovery Act.

“I am pleased to see stimulus funds at work for Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Ben Franklin TechVentures,” U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter said. “Support for this economic development initiative advances the role of market success through technology, ensures cutting-edge industry in the Lehigh Valley and helps hasten economic stability for Pennsylvania.”

Responding to aggressive goals set out by President Obama and Vice President Biden, Secretary Locke directed the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration to act expeditiously to deliver Recovery Act funds to communities where they were needed most. Across the country, the department has made vital investments in initiatives like workforce development and training centers, regional business incubators and transportation projects to connect communities to key markets.

With the delivery of today's grant, EDA has dispersed all $150 million of its Recovery Act funding one full year ahead of schedule.

“This grant should help promote economic development in the eastern part of the Commonwealth, and I am glad that the U.S. Department of Commerce is announcing this award today,” U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said. “This project is another example of how the Recovery and Reinvestment Act is delivering targeted investments that will help Pennsylvania’s economy turn the corner.”

President Obama’s strategy for American innovation seeks to harness the inherent ingenuity of the American people and the dynamic private sector to ensure that the next economic expansion is solid and broad-based. It focuses on critical areas where sensible, balanced government policies can lay the foundation for innovation that leads to quality jobs and shared prosperity.

The administration’s strategy has three parts:

1. Invest in the Building Blocks of American Innovation. Ensure that our economy is given all the necessary tools for successful innovation, from investments in research and development to the human, physical, and technological capital needed to perform that research and transfer those innovations.

2. Promote Competitive Markets that Spur Productive Entrepreneurship. It is imperative to create a national environment ripe for entrepreneurship and risk taking that allows U.S. companies to be internationally competitive in a global exchange of ideas and innovation. Through competitive markets, innovations diffuse and scale appropriately across industries and globally.

3. Catalyze Breakthroughs for National Priorities. There are certain sectors of exceptional national importance where the market is unlikely to produce the desirable outcomes on its own. These include developing alternative energy sources, reducing costs and improving lives with health IT, and manufacturing advanced vehicles. In these industries where markets may fail on their own, government can be part of the solution.

“Ben Franklin TechVentures will bring together technology entrepreneurs, Ben Franklin staff and Lehigh University faculty and students to their mutual advantage,” R. Chadwick Paul, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, said. “This 47,000 square-foot building addition will accelerate growth and innovation in our technology economy as more space becomes available in our expanded incubator/post-incubator facility.”

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania is part of a four-center, state-funded economic development initiative that links companies with business and technical experts, universities, funding, and other resources to help them prosper through innovation. The organization’s strategy encompasses three key areas: developing early stage, technology-oriented companies; helping established manufacturers creatively apply new technologies and business practices; and promoting an innovative community-wide infrastructure that fosters a favorable business environment for high-growth companies. It also operates Ben Franklin TechVentures, an award-winning incubator/post-incubator facility, on Lehigh’s campus. Ben Franklin Technology Partners helps clients to achieve and sustain market success and competitive advantage through technology. For more information, visit: http://nep.benfranklin.org/.

22 comments:

ironpigpen said...

Today's Morning Call poll

"Should Obama Be President For Life?"

SURE - SOUNDS WONDERFUL!

Bernie O'Hare said...

For a minute there, I thought you were kidding. Then I went and checked. No matter how we may feel about Obama or anyone else, the very notion of an American president for life is very disturbing.

ironpigpen said...

It is f----ing OUTRAGEOUS TO EVEN ASK THAT QUESTION!!!

Shame on The Morning Call.

For shame, for shame, for shame.

Yeah, like the MC clowns are angling for a bailout.

(Trial balloon, this question TO GAUGUE FUTURE PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF A COUP?)

Last time I checked EIGHT PERCENT SAID YES!

THIS IS F---ING AMERICA!!!!!

Or, at least it used to be.

ironpigpen said...

Obama's Administration is DANGEROUS

To continue to deny such is foolish.

HOW MANY CZARS?

And who are they (Van Jones, Cass Sunstein, etc.)

UNCHECKED ABSOLUTE POWER, these Czars.

Obama's Administration is OUTRAGEOUS.

Okay, time for Obamabots to just dismiss the old IPP as a blatant racist who is just plain crazy.

ironpigpen said...

Gauge, not gaugue

BUT WHO CARES ANYMORE

Time to polish my bad German and think about the future.

Got Brown Shirts ? said...

Mmm mmm mmm. Barack Hussein Obama.
He puts in stimulus,
And we end up with lots this.
Mmm mmm mmm. Barack Hussein Obama.

Here's the version in English. I'll have a link to the original German version shortly:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zrsl8o4ZPo

ironpigpen said...

8.8 said yes to Obama for life this morning at MC

it is UP to 9.3 this afternoon

LOVELY!!!

Good work Obamabots

ironpigpen said...

9.6 yes for Obama For Life as of 4:15 PM

Omentum on the upward swing, or so it would seem.

Former Vice-President WALTER MONDALE has come out and reiterated the thought that ALL PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE WITH POLICIES OF OBAMA ADMINISTRATION are --- RACIST!!!

What a shocker.

Anonymous said...

Mondale, the colossal loser.

But I digress.

Hey, we got the federal version of Phat Rendell's big cardboard check!

A company that Algore has a hand in just got a billion to build green cars. The company is in FINLAND.

Gimmecrats. Obama bless 'em.

Anonymous said...

Hey Ohare if you want to delete hate speech and nothing but personal shots you should delete the last four comments.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Those comments do not attack any specific person and basically, amount to little more than partisan rhetoric. I am more concerned about hate speech directed at the specific people commenting here. Rather than answering the rhetoric w/ more rhetoric, what do you think? Is this grant a good idea? Will it result in the jobs promised? Will anyone come back in six months to see how the money is being spent? (I think feds are better at this than state or local gov't). Is it really ever a good idea for a government to finance private enterprise? Why has the fed bureaucracy grown so much in six months?

While I think this grant is a good idea overall, those questions are out there. Some people like PigPen are so passionate they can't help but get caught up in rhetoric. Spike Rogan would be the liberal version of PigPen. I admire their passion.

Anonymous said...

For the record, I believe the Mcall poll question was "Do you agree with Momar Khaddafi that Barack Obama should be President for life?" I'm guessing and hopeful that it was tounge in cheek.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Yeah, it probably is tongue in cheek. Who would agree to make anyone president for life?

ironpigpen said...

10% - that's who.

According to The Morning Call's final stats.

How funny is that?

To even ASK the question is reckless and ridiculous.

Planting seeds, easy to see.

ironpigpen said...

You even said so yourself, O'Hare == THE VERY NOTION is DISTURBING.

The very notion.

Okay, time for spin cycle.

Anonymous said...

ironpig pen this is not mean just partisan, lets wee how ohare reacts, you are freeking nutz!

Hugo Chavez said...

There's nothing wrong with being President For Life.

I am.

I just completed the shutting down of all remaining non-government media in Venezuela while I was writing my speech praising your new guy.

You stupid Americans should follow our enlightened example and make Obama your president for life. He really is my kind of guy.

We used to be the "Axis of Evil." Now we're kind of an "ACORN of Hope!"

Mmm mmm mmm Barack Hussein Obama!

LVCI said...

Bernie O'Hare said... "Is it really ever a good idea for a government to finance private enterprise?

In the past when the USA was chugging along actually manufacturing things, not just shuffling derivatives and investments around... The government didn't have to pay Western Electric to build a technology center. It came about because of the demand for it.

Building up a technology center in the hopes that sometime in the future something useful might come of it is a bit like investing in Silly Putty-- we're still looking for a practical use for it

That goes to for the KOZ programs as well. By way of example, the 'Riverfront Project' in Allentown. At one time PRIVATE INVESTMENT built A&B meats, the brewery and Lehigh Structural Steel which formerly stood on that site because there was an actual market for those products.

In today's way of thinking, we take peoples' (taxpayer's) money from their pockets to invest in the hopes their will come a market for them.

Quite simply put, years ago demand drove the need for investment. Today we hope investment will create demand.

The later being 'speculative capitol investment'. That's called 'high risk' investment. Using taxpayers' money is not what I'm comfortable with.

That similar kind of reasoning for 'speculative high risk investment' didn't work out too well for the Bethlehem School District.

ironpigpen said...

ANON 12:42

Say man,

I always wee alone so leave my nutz out of this, please

:)

-----------------------------------

Hugo Chavez,

Did one of your state-controlled-media sports people write this brilliant piece of projection or what?

"With Cole Hamels entrenched as the Phillies No. 1 starter, (Carlos) Carrasco could make a nice compliment as a No. 2 by 2009."

PORK ILLUSTRATED, 2008 season, Volume 5, page 45

2009 Carrasco with AAA IronPigs

20 st, 6-9 w-l, 5.90 ERA (ouch!)

2009 Carrasco with Cleveland Indians

3 st, 0-2 w-l, 9.64 ERA (6 HR allowed in 14.0 ip)

Oh well, so much for projections. Maybe you can nationalize the Cleveland Indians and do something to help Carlos get going. You know, throw his opponents in jail or something.

GUSTAVO CHACIN, it must be said, did have a very nice season flying under the radar for the IronPigs (18 st, 8-4 w-l, 3.21 ERA).

Just curious, how much of a Venezuelan's Major or minor league salary do you confiscate, er, ah, tax?

LVCI said...

Just standing by to see just how far these comments can go off topic.. jeez!

Bernie O'Hare said...

I infintely prefer OT comments that do not attack specific commenters to those that do.

Anonymous said...

$6M is a wasted Obama fart in the general direction of Bethlehem.

This stimulus nonsense is scam. Al Gore's car high-end luxury car company is getting $500M to pad the pockets of some heavy hitting donors.

BTW, that's "change" being inserted in your ass. ---> )*(

I prefer my government to run gambling and lottery enterprises. I'm confident Jefferson and Hamilton would be cool with it.

Proceeds benefit senior citizens. You gotta play to win.