Special Guests to be announced.

Register online through NARC’s new event management system at www.narc.org/pubs/main/Telecasts.cfm. While this telecast is free, registration is recommended, and no permission or clearance is required for rebroadcast.

Access Information
Ku-band: Galaxy 11, transponder 13 (previously Galaxy 7)
Orbitol slot: 91 degrees west
Downlink frequency: 11960 horizontal
C-band: Galaxy 4R, transponder 12 (previously Galaxy 4 and 6)
Orbitol slot: 99 degrees west
Downlink frequency: 3940 vertical

DISH Network: To view, you need a subscription to the DISH Network basic service package. The Universityhouse Channel is 9411. For programming information go to www.universityhouse.nau.edu and click on 'schedule'. Universityhouse will air the telecast on DISH Network at 5:00 PDT; 6:00 MDT; 7:00 CDT; and, 8:00 EDT.

Local Cable Access: Check with your local cable TV stations to find out if viewing is available in your area.

For more information, please contact Peggy Tadej, Tadej@narc.org. To view Webcasts of previous shows, please visit www.eda.gov/NewsEvents/WebCastsVideos.xml.

Commerce Secretary Gutierrez and Federal Coordinator Powell to Lead Gulf Coast Business Investment Mission

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding Donald Powell will lead a delegation of business leaders to Louisiana and Mississippi on a “Gulf Coast Business Investment Mission” May 4-5, 2006. The mission will highlight investment opportunities in the Gulf Coast, including federal GO-Zone tax incentives, as part of an effort to promote economic growth and job creation in the region following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Gulf Coast Business Investment Mission will target industry sectors including agricultural processing, chemicals, energy, construction, fisheries, petrochemical, shipbuilding, real estate and financing, capital financing, transportation, manufacturing, retail and travel and tourism.

The mission will include stops in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Biloxi, Mississippi. In each city, participants will meet with key federal, state and local officials and other local decision makers to discuss the business climate and investment opportunities in the Gulf Coast.

Participants will also be briefed on incentives made available as a result of President Bush’s Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005. In December, the President signed this legislation that creates a Gulf Opportunity Zone with tax relief for businesses and entrepreneurs in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Businesses interested in participating in this investment mission should call the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Business Liaison at (202) 482-1360.

Workforce Innovations 2006 Conference to Focus on “Regional Strategies: Global Results”

The economic development community is reminded that Workforce Innovations 2006 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, July 11 – 13, 2006.

Co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), Workforce Innovations represents the premier annual conference where local, state and national workforce leaders – as well as their partners and colleagues from economic development and education – gather to discuss our nation’s workforce issues and challenges.

This year’s conference theme is “Regional Strategies: Global Results,” with a pronounced emphasis on attracting representatives and speakers from our U.S. regional economies. The conference planners believe that the current EDA FY 2007 budget direction – particularly the dimensions of the new Regional Development Account – make many of the July conference offerings of value to economic development officials looking to learn more about how the workforce system functions. Conference attendees will have a chance to learn more about ETA’s Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative as well as other efforts now underway in the employment and training sphere to help support the Administration’s American Competitiveness Initiative.

Please visit www.workforceinnovations.org to view the speakers and program. Registration is available on the Web site. The “early-bird” registration expires on May 31.

Federal Contracting Opportunities Available Through the Hurricane Contracting Information Center (HCIC)

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Hurricane Contracting Information Center provides a central point of reference for businesses, especially minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses and small- and medium-size enterprises, to register for and become aware of federal contracting opportunities in the Gulf Coast. While the HCIC does not award contracts, its mission is to ensure that businesses understand the process and are aware when opportunities become available. More information is available about HCIC at www.rebuildingthegulfcoast.gov.

“Measuring Broadband’s Economic Impact”

EDA announces the release of a new report, “Measuring Broadband’s Economic Impact,” prepared by the National Technical Assistance, Training, Research, and Evaluation Project; Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University.

The report finds that broadband access does enhance economic growth and performance, and that the assumed economic impacts of broadband are real and measurable. Communities in which mass-market broadband was available by December 1999 experienced more rapid growth in employment, the number of businesses overall, and businesses in IT-intensive sectors, relative to comparable communities without broadband at that time. The analysis did not find a statistically significant impact of broadband on the average level of wages; however, the effects of broadband availability by 1999 can also be observed in higher property values in 2000.

View the report (PDF)

EDA Update is brought to you as a benefit of a partnership among the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), to provide information about economic development practices and programs to economic development practitioners who serve distressed communities throughout the United States. This partnership also provides six telecasts and a quarterly magazine. For more information, visit the EDA Web site.