Posted: 21 Feb 2010 05:15 AM PST

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(Akron Beacon Journal (OH) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Feb. 21--Over the past eight years, Ohio's Third Frontier Program has funneled well over $100 million into the Akron area.

The money is being used to build better fuel cells, invent lifesaving medical treatments and create fascinating new polymer and liquid-crystal products.

Grant recipients credit the program with directly creating more than 100 jobs in the area, retaining hundreds more that might have been lost without it, and fueling startup companies with the potential to employ thousands in the future.

Third Frontier is so influential that global companies have cited it as a key factor for opening offices here, their presence helping to put Northeast Ohio on the map in the advanced energy, advanced material and bioscience industries.

Of course, if you don't know any of this, you would be far from alone.

An Ohio Business Roundtable poll last year suggested only 18 percent of Ohioans were familiar with Third Frontier.

And yet in May, voters will again decide the fate of the $1.6 billion program when they are asked to approve Issue 1, allowing the state to extend Third Frontier beyond its 2012 expiration date by issuing $700 million worth of bonds to keep it going through 2016.

Launching campaign On Tuesday, economic development groups in the region are hosting a public campaign meeting to create and provide tools to Third Frontier "ambassadors." The event will run from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Holiday Inn at 6001 Rockside Road in Independence. (Register to attend at http://thirdfrontier2010.eventbrite.com.) Rebecca Bagley, president of the technology advocate NorTech, said the meeting targets people who already know the value of Third Frontier, including those who work for the businesses and institutions that have benefited from the state grants.

"They would be great advocates," Bagley said, because they're in a position to explain their employers' successes.

That kind of education might be critical to the issue's passing.

Worried about strategy State Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, was one of 14 legislators to vote against putting Third Frontier on the ballot -- but, he said, only because he fears it won't pass as written.

He noted the original Third Frontier issue failed the first time out, but passed the second time when it was tied to a capital improvements project that helped pay for road, bridge and sewer improvements around the state.

"That formula worked," said Seitz, who favored throwing another $100 million on Issue 1 to support public works jobs so that it "appeals to Joe Lunchbucket just as much as Irving Technogeek." It would also help pass Issue 1 in rural corners of the state that don't have the research universities and high-tech companies reaping most of the Third Frontier funds, he said.

But as the Ohio House and Senate struggled to agree on how much to spend on a Third Frontier expansion, Seitz said his idea was scrapped.

"I think Third Frontier is a great program. I liked it well enough to vote no on the ballot issue because we did not make it robust enough to pass," he said.

Bagley, however, thinks Third Frontier is strong enough to stand on its own this time.

"This time we have results," she said, noting a study done by a state-hired consultant last year.

Jobs and wages The analysis by SRI International found: --Third Frontier created or retained 48,000 jobs through the first half of 2009.

--The $681 million worth of grants awarded through that period generated $6.6 billion in economic activity and $2.4 billion in employee wages and benefits.

--The state effectively realized a return of nearly $10 on every dollar of its investment.

"Also this time, you have the stories," Bagley said.

She held up Kent Displays as an example -- a company using new liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology on new products, such as the paperless Boogie Board writing tablet already being sold, and LCD skins that allow users to change the look of their personal electronics and are set to launch this spring.

The products use a flexible version of LCD for which no manufacturing equipment existed until Third Frontier funds helped Kent Displays' launch of the world's first production line and add 30 jobs.

"Without this line, these products could not be brought to market. No other manufacturing infrastructure for them exists anywhere in the world, including Asia, where almost all glass LCDs are made," Chief Executive Al Green said.

Digital goggles Also in the neighborhood is AlphaMicron, another Kent company using KSU technology that allows LCDs to work on a curved surface.

The company has been selling digital goggles to skiers since 2005, allowing users to tap a button and automatically change tints to prevent glare. That same material has been applied to motorcycle visors, and a version for military forces should be finished by 2011, Chief Executive Bahman Taheri said.

The company is also selling auto-dimming mirrors for cars, and is working on development of a large area window that will dim to keep the sun out in the summer, but allow full sun in during the winter.

Third Frontier grants helped his company grow from one part-time position to 40 people.

"There is a real need for funding from the state for projects which have the potential to create long terms, sustainable growth," Taheri said.

Polymer industry Third Frontier is also adding to the region's reputation as a global leader in medicine, and Akron's standing in the polymer industry.

Consider a pair of $8 million grants on which the University of Akron is the team leader: --One project is using advanced polymer research to create materials that are affecting everything from TV sets and computers to jet engines and the new High Altitude Airships being built by Akron's Lockheed Martin. Partners include Kent State University, the University of Dayton and 14 companies throughout Ohio.

--Another project is looking for breakthroughs in the medical areas of bone, joint and connective tissue problems. Called the Orthopaedic Cluster, it brings together physicians and researchers from UA, NEOUCOM, Case Western Reserve University, the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, Akron General Health System, Akron Children's Hospital and Summa Health System.

In both cases, the ultimate goal is to license the technology to startup companies that will create and make products in Northeast Ohio, creating jobs here.

Fuel cells are another major target for Third Frontier funds, and the Akron area is getting its share. Fuel cells create power through an electrochemical reaction, reducing the world's reliance on dwindling fossil-fuel supplies.

Long-term efforts Third Frontier is helping with long-term efforts -- like a fuel cell-powered generator rugged enough for the battlefield being developed by Lockheed Martin.

Other grant-funded fuel-cell projects are already on the market. Last year, Catacel Corp. in Garrettsville started selling catalytic inserts, a component of fuel cells.

The product has accounted for much of the company's job growth, from 13 people in 2006 to 32 employees, with expectations of another 15 or so over the next two years, President William Whittenberger said.

The growing fuel-cell cluster and the state's commitment to it are attracting global attention.

In 2005, London-based Rolls Royce was looking for a U.S. headquarters for a fuel-cell enterprise when it settled on Jackson Township -- specifically, a $4 million Fuel Cell Prototyping Center that Third Frontier was helping to build at Stark State College.

"A key factor in the company's decision to locate in Ohio was the state's Third Frontier initiative to build an industry around fuel cells. Unlike any other state, Ohio government leaders understood the link between economic development and legislative policy," said Mark Fleiner, president of Rolls Royce Fuel Cell Systems.

Rolls Royce has since acquired an Alliance fuel-cell company that was on the block and getting eyed by out-of-state buyers, and now employs 38 people.

Official support The key to passing Third Frontier is not to get hung up on a name, business and state leaders said. People who don't know what "Third Frontier" means will still appreciate the result, they said.

"It's important to view Third Frontier as a jobs program," Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher said. "It's creating jobs now and in the future and for decades to come. It's why it's the envy of every other state in the country." And Gov. Ted Strickland said he is confident that efforts like Northeast Ohio's regional campaign meeting will carry that message.

"This issue in the past has never been a partisan political issue, and it must not become a partisan political issue now. That's why it's so important to have regular people as spokespersons who will get out and advocate for this." Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.

To see more of the Akron Beacon Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ohio.com.

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Super cars rack up miles, loyalty - Great Falls Tribune

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 03:50 AM PST

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(3 of 5)

"It's a rust bucket now," Meis said. "I still drive it; it still starts up."

His fleet of high-mileage vehicles doesn't stop there; he also has a 2004 Toyota Matrix with more than 400,000 miles.

So what's the secret?

"I just don't abuse them, to some degree, I guess," he said, adding that any car can go forever if it's maintained.

Even so, every car has to give up the ghost sometime, and that day might have come for Meis' Bronco. It was T-boned in late January, and Meis is waiting for an estimate to see if it will be fixed or totaled out.

The fleet of Subarus

It's safe to say Doug Morse and his family like Subarus. He, his wife and his daughters own five, ranging from a 1983 GL to a 2008 Outback. Three of the vehicles have topped 150,000 miles, and the GL now sports 371,117 miles — nearly 200,000 miles more than when Morse bought it in 1993.

"I bought it kind of as a runner — and it keeps running," Morse said.

He hasn't had to do much to the car other than minor maintenance. However, he did have a tune-up on the carburetor, a part not found on many newer cars.

"It is a funny word anymore, isn't it," Morse said.

Even with a fleet of Subarus that includes vehicles anywhere from 12 to 25 years newer, Morse's favorite is still the GL.

"I guess after you have a car for that many years, you kind of get attached to it," he said. "Most of my friends know I'm pretty well sold on that car."

Morse said he particularly enjoys the GL in the bad winter weather, though unlike its newer all-wheel-drive brethren, it needs to be manually pulled into four-wheel drive. He even has taken it into the mountains to hunt for the perfect Christmas tree, a task usually reserved for those in pickups.

"We're a little lower than the rest of them," Morse said, laughing. "We just have to drive a little smarter to keep it from getting belly hung."

Morse, who said he couldn't imagine driving another make of car, said that after seeing photos of people with two generations of Subarus, his family took a picture with all five cars and their regular drivers and sent it to the Subaru Web site. It hasn't been used yet, but he's still hoping.

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Automobiles : MOTORCYCLES,ATVs,MOPEDS - Frederick News-Post

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 12:51 AM PST

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Can NE1 write normal? - CNEWS

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 02:09 AM PST

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EDMONTON -- OMG! Ppl sure don't no how 2 rite NEmore!

Translation: Zounds! People's grasp of written English has degenerated to an appalling state!

If you don't believe me, just ask city cops, who these days are forced to wade through so-called "textspeak" (or "txtspk") in witness statements and auto collision reports filled out by the public.

"Sometimes it's almost unintelligible," says Sgt. Maurice Brodeur, who runs a patrol squad in the city's southeast division. "We look at it and just have to laugh."

Brodeur has received messages so laden with baffling textspeak that he's had to phone his kids and ask them to translate terms, which these days can be as arcane as NE1 (anyone), F2T? (free to talk?) or even ROTFLMAWTIME (rolling on the floor laughing my a-- off with tears in my eyes).

Brodeur says it's a sign of the times.

With kids as young as nine or 10 carrying cellphones, instant messaging has become the preferred form of communication.

Since text messages (and now Twitter updates) must be restricted to about 150 characters, it's only natural that users shorten words and phrases, substituting "u" for "you," "g2g" for "got to go" and "ttyl" for "talk to you later."

Texters will also drop vowels to save characters, so "keyboard" would become "kybrd."

Now kids are even using the common textspeak abbreviations in conversation — saying "lol" (laughing out loud) when something's mildly funny or "jk" instead of going through all the work of saying "just kidding."

Those same shortcuts are showing up in handwritten communication.

Combine that with sloppy penmanship — thanks to the increasing use of keyboards — and you can imagine the difficulty cops have reading some witness statements.

"There's no question, (textspeak) is creeping into the language," acknowledges Sgt. Tony Simioni, head of the Edmonton police union. "But as long as we can understand what they're saying, we can work with it."

Of greater concern, he says, is making sure that young police recruits don't do the same thing.

"People don't realize how much of our job is writing," he says, "and we have to maintain a very high standard."

That's Const. Ashley Emerson's job. He trains new recruits how to properly write reports.

Potential recruits must pass an essay and grammar test before they're even accepted into the police department, but even after that they spend a lot of time honing their writing skills.

"The biggest thing I see these days is the desire to abbreviate," he says. "That's more of an issue now than it ever was before."

Emerson explains, "just the other day I handed an assignment back to a (brand new) recruit and I had to tell them, 'this isn't a text message, it's a police report.' "

The trainee had referred to a subject's girlfriend as a "gf."

He often catches trainees shortening words like "complainant" to "co" and "suspect" to "su."

Those kinds of shortcuts are unacceptable, he explains, because lawyers have to be able to look at all the paperwork in a case one or two years down the road and understand everything perfectly.

Slang is constantly evolving, and a word or phrase that means one thing now might mean something entirely different in the future.

"For me," says Emerson. "OMG stands for outlaw motorcycle gang."

andrew.hanon@sunmedia.ca

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