VERNON, September 11, 2008 – The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) and the City of Vernon today presented grant awards of $476,000 and $301,000 respectively to the Southeast Cities Technology Collaborative for a three-year initiative to close the growing Digital Divide among residents in the southeast cities of Los Angeles County. Please read the attached press release for more information.

September 23 - The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) jointly released a report with a comprehensive, searchable database of state government initiatives for access to advanced communications. Entitled State Broadband Initiatives: A Summary of State Programs Designed to Stimulate Broadband Deployment and Adoption, the report surveys state initiatives in seven key areas: broadband commissions, task forces, and authorities; public-private partnerships; direct funding programs; state networks; telehealth initiatives; tax policies; and demand-side programs. Taken together, they provide a checklist for policymakers who want to move forward and encourage investment in and adoption of high-speed broadband networks.

Hosted by the Pat Brown Institute:

From touch-screen voting to online campaigning, technology is shaping the future of civic engagement. But what does this mean for e-democracy—especially for those individuals and communities without access to the latest technology? This panel will consider the promise of technology and how it may enable us to acquire and disseminate information. In debating various notions of e-democracy, the panel will look at the degree to which the digital divide may hinder any aspect of these expectations. Our experts also will address what local, state, and national policy initiatives are designed to address the anticipated problems.

On May 5, 2008, Commissioner Rachelle Chong from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) visited the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center (SNBC) in San Francisco. The purpose of the visit was to learn about SNBC's community technology programs.

http://www.snbc.org/

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) has released its first survey in a series on public opinion and information technology conducted with funding from the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) and ZeroDivide.

Survey Findings:

• Less than half of California Latinos (48%) have home computers compared to about eight in 10 or more for whites (86%), Asians (84%), and blacks (79%). Just four in 10 Latinos (40%) have Internet access and a third (34%) a broadband connection at home.
• Among households with incomes under $40,000, half have home computers, but only four in 10 (40%) have home Internet access and just a third (33%) have broadband.
• Twenty-nine percent of Californians have DSL, 19 percent have cable modems, 5 percent have wireless, and 2 percent have fiber optic or T-1 connections. Just 7 percent have dial-up connections.

To access the full report, please click HERE.

Providing research and case studies that show how digital tools and applications can improve children's education, health, employment, and civic opportunities, this Issue Brief urges groups working on children's issues to include technology planks in their platforms and policy agendas. In addition to working for equitable access to digital tools for underserved children, the report encourages leaders of children to lobby for changes in public programs serving children to make them more effective, efficient and accessible by incorporating information and communications technology.

The California Teleconnect Fund (CTF) is a program of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) created in 1997 to provide discounts on telecommunications services to schools, libraries, health care institutions, and certain community-based organizations (CBOs) in California. CBOs with programmatic activity in the areas of technology, health care, job training, job placement, and educational instruction qualify for the discounts and are required to submit an application for approval to the CPUC. These discounts create new opportunities for qualified CBOs to offer affordable access to technology, training, and other resources to individuals in low income and underserved communities.

Critical regulatory issues must be addressed before the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act can serve the needs of underserved communities.