Our community e-newsletter has a bright, new look! We're pleased to share it with you and hope you like it as much as we do. This look incorporates many of the comments and suggestions that came in from community business leaders like you. So, thank you for taking the time to let us know what you think. Keep those story ideas and event dates coming!

"Because the process is evolving, we're providing only a partial listing of forecasted procurement opportunities at this time," notes Dennis Roybal, the Lab's Small Business Program Manager. "However, we plan to expand the list and provide more information of value to our requesters, buyers, and, most importantly, prospective suppliers."

Procurement opportunities appearing on the list will generally be available to large and small businesses alike, but the Laboratory has a policy of maximizing the purchase of goods and services from small, locally-owned firms, and the Laboratory's Small Business Program Team is available to help small businesses develop the capability and capacity to compete successfully. The new website will be an especially useful tool for small businesses because it will alert them to upcoming procurement opportunities and give them the time they need to prepare.

The Small Business Program Team is available at business@lanl.gov.

SATOP gives small businesses access to top engineering minds inside NASA and its contractors, using a network of over 500 public- and private- sector organizations across the state. As a NASA Space Alliance Partner, the Laboratory can donate up to 250 employee hours a year helping small businesses, and these hours can be used responding to SATOP requests.

You can submit a request for technical assistance (RTA) at spacetechsolutions.com. SATOP will route it to the Special Alliance Partner best suited to help.

To address this issue, the Jemez y Sangre Water Planning Council will sponsor a workshop this month on Managing Landscapes and Watersheds for Water Resources. The Laboratory's Water Research Technical Assistance Office in Santa Fe, the City of Santa Fe, and the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association are cosponsors.

The workshop will focus on specific, practical steps for managing landscapes and watersheds to increase water availability and improve water quality. Examples will be drawn from best practices in New Mexico, across the country, and around the world.

The workshop takes place Wednesday and Thursday, September 21 and 22, at Sweeney Center in Santa Fe.

Presented by Quality New Mexico and entitled Why Baldrige? An Introduction to Performance Excellence, the workshop is aimed at business, Pueblo, and other leaders who would like to learn Baldrige fundamentals. It will feature speakers representing small businesses, international manufacturers, and a statewide health care provider.

The workshop takes place Thursday, October 20, at Bishop's Lodge in Santa Fe.

Computer Assets, with corporate offices in the Espa�ola Valley and branch offices throughout the Southwest, was one of the firms named. The company specializes in configuring, installing, and servicing communication systems.

Informed of the honor, company President, Damon Salazar, said, "Our corporate tagline, 'Just imagine what you can do,' reflects our philosophy that vision, technology, and teamwork make anything possible for our customers and communities."

Networx, Inc., an information technology company, was the other local firm named. But the honor didn't come as a surprise. Networx was recently identified by Hispanic Trends magazine and again by Hispanic Business as one of the fastest growing Hispanic companies in the U.S.

These honors are major accomplishments for an owner who kick-started his business in the mid 1990s with $500 in his pocket. "I partnered with a friend," said Matt Martinez. "One of our first customers was Los Alamos National Laboratory, who opened up the doors to government contracting."

Networx now has three contracts with the Laboratory. Their portfolio includes 70% government businesses and 30% commercial clients. Martinez says, "The best advice I have for entrepreneurs beginning their business is to constantly look for ways to enhance your capabilities and business processes, while treating your employees well, because the most important asset of your company is your employeees."

The Los Alamos Center is part of a $4 million program by the Department of Homeland security for research and development in bioforensics under the Department's National Bioforensic Analysis Center (NBFAC).

Los Alamos will focus on developing new methods of bioforensic analysis to support the work of the NBFAC. Identifying the bacterial strain used in the anthrax attacks would be a crucial step forward in identifying the perpetrators and any accomplices.