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Blog Entries from April 2010

Secretary Locke Hosts Luncheon with New Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and U.S. Companies

Submitted on April 12, 2010 - 2:18pm
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Locke and Pinera shaking hands.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke hosted a roundtable dialogue and luncheon with new Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, Chilean and U.S. government officials, and select U.S. businesses at the Commerce Department today to match some of Chile’s post-earthquake reconstruction needs with the capabilities of U.S. companies. The Government of Chile estimates that the 8.8-magnitude earthquake on February 27 caused upwards of $30 billion in damages. President Piñera assumed office less than two weeks after the earthquake. (More)

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Secretary Locke Announces Grants in Iowa to Aid Flood Rebuilding Efforts

Submitted on April 9, 2010 - 11:34am
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Secretary Locke at podium

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke viewed new flood-resistant construction at the University of Iowa and announced grants totaling $30 million to assist in flood rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of the 2008 Iowa flood—part of a continuing effort by the Obama administration to help those impacted by the flooding. Locke was joined by Governor Chet Culver, Congressman Dave Loebsack and Mayors Matt Hayek and Jim Fausett. Commerce’s Economic Development Administration will administer the grants. (Remarks) (Press release)

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NOAA: U.S. Averaged Warmer-than Normal, Drier-than-Normal in March

Submitted on April 8, 2010 - 4:09pm
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Map of March temperature. Click for larger image.

NOAA’s State of the Climate report shows the March 2010 average temperature for the entire contiguous United States was warmer-than-average with several New England states experiencing one of the warmest March’s on record. Average precipitation for the U.S. was below normal, but heavy rainfall set March records in parts of the Northeast. Based on data going back to 1895, the monthly analyses are prepared by scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina. (More) (Temperatures) (Precipitation levels)

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Secretary Locke Encourages Census Participation at New York Rally with Congressman Crowley

Submitted on April 8, 2010 - 11:58am
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2010 Census logo. Click to go to Web site.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke joined Congressman Joseph Crowley for a 2010 Census meeting with New York community leaders. Locke and others rallied community leaders from the Bronx and Queens to make a “last call” for New Yorkers to participate in the 2010 Census. Although heavily populated, New York City is traditionally undercounted in the census, which causes the city and state to lose important federal funding. In 2000, only 57 percent of New York City households returned their census forms. Communities around the nation are focusing on getting residents to mail back their forms in a “March to the Mailbox” effort. (Remarks)

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Commerce Department Releases Open Government Plan

Submitted on April 7, 2010 - 3:46pm
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Screenshot of Commerce's Open Government Website

In response to President Obama’s Open Government Directive, the Department of Commerce released its first iteration of its Open Government Plan. The plan creates a process for making more data available to the public and identifies three flagship Open Government initiatives that help make the Commerce Department more accessible and interactive. In a blog post on the Department’s Open Government Web site, Secretary Gary Locke noted that the plan, “establishes clear goals and benchmarks for success, and lays the foundation for continued work on increasing openness, participation and collaboration at Commerce in the months and years to come.” (Open Government Plan) (Open Government Web site) (Secretary’s post)

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NOAA's GOES-15 Weather Satellite Captures Its First Image of Earth

Submitted on April 7, 2010 - 11:09am
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View of Eath taken by GOES-15. Click for larger image.

GOES-15, launched on March 4 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, joins three other NOAA operational GOES spacecraft that help the agency's forecasters track life-threatening weather—from tornadoes, floods and hurricanes—and solar activity that can impact the satellite-based electronics and communications industry. The black and white full-disk image shows North and South America with a storm system visible across the United States, indicated by a drape of clouds from New England westward to the central Plains. Further west is a cold front over the Rocky Mountains. Mostly clear skies are seen over the mid-Atlantic, southeastern U.S., Gulf of Mexico, California and Mexico. (More)

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Second Round of Census Forms Mailed to 40 Million Households

Submitted on April 6, 2010 - 2:18pm
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2010 Census logo. Click to go to Web site.

To reduce the estimated $2.7 billion cost of following up with households that fail to mail back their 2010 Census questionnaires, the U.S. Census Bureau has begun mailing second forms to approximately 40 million housing units in areas that had below-average response rates in the 2000 Census. “Census Bureau and a multitude of private sector research shows that sending a replacement questionnaire to households can significantly increase response rates in the end,” Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said. (More)

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Rick Wade to Kick Off National Main Street Business Tour in Michigan

Submitted on April 6, 2010 - 1:54pm
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Wade on podium. Click for larger image.

Rick Wade, Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, will travel to Battle Creek and Jackson, Michigan to kick off a national tour that will take him to Main Streets across the country to meet with business leaders and hear directly from them about the challenges they face in this economy, taking their concerns and ideas back to Washington. Wade will meet one-on-one with business leaders, talk to larger groups at chambers of commerce and tour local plants and manufacturing centers during tour stops. (Remarks)

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Norfolk, Va.-based NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson to Map Ocean Floor in Gulf of Mexico

Submitted on April 6, 2010 - 1:45pm
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Thomas Jefferson. Click for larger image.

Commerce’s NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, one of the most technologically advanced hydrographic survey vessels in the world, will depart its Norfolk, Va. homeport on April 6 to conduct a five-month long effort to map the seafloor and look for hazards to navigation off the Gulf coast. “The Gulf of Mexico has been affected by a number of large hurricanes in recent years, and our work will pinpoint the resulting hazards and shoals in these busy waters,” said Cmdr. Shepard Smith, Thomas Jefferson’s commanding officer. (More)

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Secretary Locke Visits Chicago, Outlines Plans to Create American Jobs Through Exporting

Submitted on April 5, 2010 - 4:19pm
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Secretary Locke with participants.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is at the University of Chicago for an export promotion forum with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin to discuss President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI) and what it will do to help U.S. companies, especially small- and medium-sized businesses, sell more of their goods and services overseas. Also speaking at the forum are U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, SBA Administrator Karen Mills, and Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg. The NEI aims to double U.S. exports over the next five years while supporting two million American jobs. (Remarks)

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