Encouraging high-schoolers to study computer science

The demand for computer programmers exceeds the supply available to businesses in Washington that want to hire them. That's an opportunity that high-school students should take advantage of as they think about their future careers. But at the same time, they need to make sure they complete all the courses required for a high-school diploma.

Thanks to a bill by Rep. Drew Hansen that's nearing final legislative approval, it could soon be easier for high-schoolers to satisfy both those goals. House Bill 1472 calls for school boards to approve an advanced placement (AP) computer-science course as equivalent to a math or science course that counts toward meeting graduation requirements. Other states that do that, instead of treating the computer course as simply an elective, have seen more students enroll in computer science.

Read more about HB 1472 on Rep. Hansen's web page.

Read this story in Spanish.

There's (not) an app for that -- yet

The Washington State Legislature has an award-winning web site. All four corners boast web sites (you're visiting one right now), as do executive offices from the governor on down. If you want to find out something about state government -- how's that bill doing, what's this or that agency's latest initiative, where's the governor speaking next Thursday, or why are flags at half-mast outside government buildings -- you can sit at your computer and get your answer with a few keystrokes. We're a wired state government.

That only makes sense: With better than 85 percent of Washingtonians hooked up to the Internet, at home or at their business or, most often, both, we're well into the top 10 states for Internet penetration. We're a wired state.

Increasingly, however, we're also becoming un-wired. Mobile devices are changing the way people connect. Unfortunately, many of those great government web sites haven't adapted to this new reality and it shows.

This might not be such a problem were it not for two interesting pieces of data.

Last year, smartphones topped the 50-percent mark among U.S. cellphone users. For the first time, more than half the people you see carrying cellphones – and that's essentially everyone you see – are walking around with extremely sophisticated and capable hand-held computers that can also be used, in a pinch, as a telephone.

Second, and here's where the headline of this post becomes relevant, more of those smartphone owners (54.2 percent) used them to access apps than to access an Internet browser (52.1 percent) last year.

If there's an app for almost everything, what's missing? Conspicuously, most state-level legislative bodies. The Obama White House has a great app, the U.S. House has one, the Senate Republican Conference has one, and several U.S. representatives and senators have individual apps. Below that . . . crickets. As of last month, the National Conference of State Legislatures was aware of just seven legislative apps:

Alaska Legislature
Florida House
New York Senate
North Carolina General Assembly
Texas Senate Business & Commerce Committee
Utah Watch Bills
Puerto Rico Senate

Why? Various reasons, starting with cost. It takes serious skills to create a worthwhile, attractive, user-friendly interactive app, and those skills don't come cheap. Just the initial coding can run upwards of $15,000 for a relatively simple app, and the best ones, while appearing to be simple, aren't. Few legislatures have people on staff with the expertise to build an app, and in the midst of a recession, no one wants to be accused of unnecessary spending of public resources. 

Apps qualify as new territory – for us. But for the estimated 114 million Americans who use smartphones (not to mention 70 million tablets, and that stat is almost a year old), apps aren't new. They're expected, and more and more, they're preferable to traditional web sites.

Every legislature will have an iPhone and Adroid app sooner or later, and probably a Windows Phone app as well. Every caucus within those legislatures will have their app. The only question yet to be decided is, who'll get there the quickest, with the best product?

When was the last time you exercised with Walkman?

The Judicial Information System (JIS) is the primary information system for Washington state courts and the network that connects the courts with law enforcement agencies.

Sony Walkman (1979)

The JIS was state-of-the-art when it was created 35 years ago. What was also considered state-of-the-art in 1978? The Walkman. Our state's main judicial system is running on the efficiency and reliability of Walkman-era technology.

JIS is failing. Today, this behemoth wastes incredible amounts of time and money – and worse, it's unreliable. The system is expensive to maintain and faces the possibility of catastrophic failure.

Courts, like businesses, are urged to do more with less and use technology to work more efficiently and productively. How are the courts supposed to administer justice with a system like this?

A serious problem with JIS is that it doesn't relay to law enforcement when defendants are convicted of felonies. This has placed domestic violence victims in danger and can allow criminals to keep firearms. How can police be expected to protect us if they do not have accurate information on criminals?

Screenshot of the computer system used in Washington courtrooms.

If we want a justice system that functions and uses taxpayer resources effectively, then replacing these ancient systems is critical. The courts need $20 million to run the computer system and begin replacement.

The Senate Republican budget sweeps the entire $20 million for the JIS database and the replacement of the Superior Court Management Information System (SCOMIS).

It doesn't have to be this way. The House budget proposal fully funds the JIS and the replacement of the SCOMIS system. With this investment, we can greatly improve the accuracy and efficiency of our justice system. We can give judges, attorneys, and law enforcement the tools they need to protect us. And, we can save the taxpayers time and money.

Photo courtesy of the Administrative Office of the Courts and Wikipedia

The leading innovation hotspot of the world?

The Washington Economic Development Commission (WEDC) says Washington can accelerate job growth and become a global leader in innovation. The WEDC's report, "Driving Washington's Prosperity – A Strategy for Job Creation and Competitiveness," released last week, identifies five key drivers for ensuring job creation and competitiveness:

• Make talent a top priority
• Invest in entrepreneurship
• Connect through reliable infrastructure
• Regulate in the smartest ways
• Expand international business

The report also includes an analysis of the State's competitive strengths (research & development, patent production, technology jobs growth, venture capital investment, manufacturing and exports) and weaknesses (rate of jobs recovery, in-state production of scientists and engineers, workforce skills, household income, investment in transportation infrastructure and foreign direct investment).

Rep. Jeff Morris and Sen. Maralyn Chase serve in the WEDC, which provides the governor and the legislature with leadership and guidance on long-term economic development strategies to benefit all of Washington's citizens.

Read this story in Spanish.

Rep. Habib named to board of Innovate Washington

Rep. Cyrus Habib

Rep. Cyrus Habib will draw upon his background in working with high-tech entrepreneurs in his new position on the board of directors of Innovate Washington, a public-private partnership that seeks to spur cutting-edge economic development in the state.

Habib, who was appointed to the board Feb. 28 by House Speaker Frank Chopp, said:

This is a great opportunity for me to continue my work making Washington the No. 1 state for job creation and business innovation. My work in the Legislature will be substantially enhanced through the connection with business leaders and others at Innovate Washington.

Innovate Washington was created by the Legislature in 2011 to catalyze job creation and 21^st-century economic development by bringing together business and government leaders to focus expertise and investment on emerging technology businesses. It applies public and private financing to foster growth in the sectors of aerospace, advanced materials and manufacturing, clean energy, information technology, agriculture and life sciences.

Habib, a first-term legislator from Kirkland, is a lawyer at Perkins Coie in Seattle who specializes in providing legal services to high-tech startups. He is the sponsor of House Bill 1693, which seeks to attract entrepeneurs to Washington state by offering a business-tax break to new companies in targeted sectors of the economy.

Read this story in Spanish.

Washington elections website receives top marks

​A new report released by the Center for Governmental Studies looked at the elections websites for each state and found that Washington was the third best in the nation.

The report assessed how effective each elections website was in providing detailed and accessible information on candidates, ballot measures, audio/video of debates, sample ballots, etc. Washington was the only state to receive a “B” grade, putting it behind the only “A” states: Alaska and California.

Here is what they said about the Washington Secretary of State’s election page:

“Washington’s state election website provides much of the candidate information voters need to make informed decisions at the ballot box. The site provides voters with candidate lists, candidate photos, elected experience, other professional experience, education, community service, platform statements, phone numbers and email.”

Our performance is even more impressive considering how poorly other states fared. Around the country, elections websites were rather dismal. 42 states received “F” grades for their elections websites, and the “D” grades made up the next five.

You can read the full report from the Center for Government Studies here.

Read this story in Spanish.

School without walls, fixed schedules or group pacing gets top ranking

Have you seen TV ads of an online school that uses people as billboards? Some of them are kind of geeky, but its enrollment in our state has quadrupled in 18 months. So, geeky or not, they're getting the word out: Western Governors University offers affordable online bachelor's and master's degrees to working adults.

There are still some skeptics out there who don't believe in getting a degree online; they may just change their minds with last week's news that the Kirkland-based SR Education Group, which rates online colleges and universities, said Western Governors University is the nation's top-performing online school.

SR Education Group, started by a former Microsoft executive, created the ranking of online higher-education institutions using a combination of measures such as reputation among alumni, affordability, and graduation and retention rates.
WGU was founded in 1997 by the governors of 19 Western states. In 2011, led by former Seattle Representative Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney, and Reps. Larry Seaquist and Eric Pettigrew, the Legislature passed a bill to create a partnership between Washington and WGU that:

• Meets a key state need for affordable education in high-demand fields.
• Opens a wide window of opportunities for full-time workers, dislocated workers and other underserved adult learners who would otherwise not have a chance to get a degree.
• Offers the best of nontraditional opportunities — high quality, affordability, and flexibility.

All at absolutely no cost to Washington taxpayers.

A 2009 survey of employers in states that already had WGUs and who have hired WGU grads found that:

• 98 percent of employers rated employees with degrees from WGU as "excellent" or "good."
• 90 percent of employers consider WGU grads' preparation for the workforce either "good" or "excellent."
• 91 percent said they would be willing to hire additional WGU graduates.
• 81 percent of employers said they would recommend hiring WGU graduates to their associates.
• 79 percent of employers indicated that they noted a higher level of individual learning ability in WGU graduates.
• 82 percent rated WGU graduates higher than other employees in terms of self-motivation and direction.

Check out the Online College Rankings Report.
Read the story in the Seattle Times.
Visit the WGU Washington website.

Read this story in Spanish here.

Got broadband?

We sure do. In fact, not only do we have it, we're at the top of the list on broadband infrastructure. That's according to the fresh-from-the-oven TechNet 2012 State Broadband Index. TechNet is a network of CEOs and senior executives that promote the growth of technology-led innovation.

What puts us at the top are high rates of broadband use, a broadband-connected economy and better-than-average network speeds. Other tech states, like California and Utah, trail behind us ranking 5 and 9 respectively.

Upon hearing the news, the Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO), which is part of the Washington State Department of Commerce, issued this press release. It quotes Will Saunders, WSBO program and policy director, on the issue: "The state's ranking reflects state broadband planning going back to 2008 and more than $2.3 billion in public and private investment in infrastructure and training during that period. The study also confirms that we are ideally positioned for economic growth based on this work."

Saunders is right; one of the reasons we're leading the pack in 2012 is that in 2008 the legislature passed SB 6438, regarding high-speed internet services and community technology opportunities. The measure required the then Department of Information Services to come up with a statewide high-speed internet deployment and adoption strategy to:

• develop geographic information system maps and inventories of public and private high-speed internet infrastructure

• address management of proprietary and competitively sensitive data

• spur development of high-speed internet resources across the state

• track residential and business adoption of high-speed internet

• use local technology planning teams to help with internet deployment to disenfranchised or unserved areas.

Access to broadband means your morning paper loads quickly and you can watch the latest viral video in a snap. Being the best at access to broadband means it will be easier for the state to attract and grow companies, which means more jobs.

Graphic courtesy of Technet

Washington called 'enterprising': Folks in the know say we're gonna go 'Boom!'

Photo: Jeff McNeill via Wikimedia Commons 

A recent Seattle Post-Intelligencer article, Washington captures Top 10 ranking, trumpets news that our very own Evergreen State is one of "10 states that will [wait for it!] boom over the next five years."


That's right, folks: No sooner is the ink dry on an admiring certificate celebrating Washington's status as a Job Creator (see this recent HDC Advance blog: Who says Washington is a top state for producing jobs?), then along comes the National Chamber Foundation, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce think tank, with its Enterprising States Report hailing us at No. 6 on a most-laudable list -- indeed, it's a truly estimable cast and compilation of what these erudite think-tankers call "enterprising states." Yes!


No less a periodical than the redoubtable Forbes magazine says Washington's glowing marks owe to our robust aerospace and technology industries and our hearty standing in foreign trade. The widely quoted publication has previously ranked Washington among the five best states in the entire country to do business.


Go ahead, take a minute or two to check the Chamber Foundation's report linked up there a few lines back. You'll see for yourself these sterling qualities that captured the fancy of these observers long enough for them to single us out: productivity, livability, tax structure, trade, infrastructure, and an environment that encourages innovation. Only the most rebarbative of critics would dare question Washington's place among the top rank, the highest order of business-friendly states.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Got Net? Working toward a thoroughly wired Washington

Rep. John McCoy

Led by state Rep. John McCoy, legislative Democrats are continuing the demanding, extremely needed work of investigating and promoting broadband availability. It's a territory the investigating and promoting of which other communities, states and nations neglect at their great peril. McCoy chairs the pivotal House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee, which is monitoring state and federal work at establishing universal service reform. The McCoy committee, among its other missions, wants to find the best way to see to it that the so-called Internet Age is blind to color and economic class.

"We have before us a huge and fundamental goal," said McCoy. "It is the advancement of broadband services for citizens, communities and neighborhoods that right now are getting short shrift. We want to write -- we must write -- legislation that will strengthen broadband-availability in each of our 39 counties."

He emphasized that higher education and economic development "are intertwined with and, indeed, very closely connected with this booming technological sector of our 21^st-century economy. It's fundamental that we emphasize equitable opportunities in Washington's communities of color -- and in our communities of economic injustice and socio-political disenfranchisement."

McCoy noted a recent Seattle Times editorial -- "Mining deeper (and younger) for tomorrow's workers and citizens " (Tuesday, June 12, 2012) -- lamenting the dearth of engineers and scientists who have been produced by Washington's colleges and universities. The newspaper editorial emphasizes that businesses here in the Evergreen State are crying out for more women and men who are ready and qualified to step into new-century careers.

McCoy himself has a background very much heaped in technology. Retiring in 1981, his 20-year United States Air Force career had been filled with extensive training in computer operations and programming. He then worked as a computer technician in the White House from 1982 to 1985. McCoy went on to a management career in the private sector that continued his work and calling in the field of computer programming and operations.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

STEM education is key to growing Washington’s economy

Two new jobs reports show that Washington’s economic recovery is accelerating and that lawmakers are smart to invest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

One new report, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows Seattle had the eighth best job growth among the top 100 metro areas in the nation over the past 12 months – posting a healthy gain of 39,100 jobs.

More good news comes from the Forbes/Praxis Strategy Group study and the Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ). They’re reporting that Seattle not only led the nation in high-tech and STEM job growth over the past decade, the Emerald City is still reaping the benefits of strong growth in high-tech and STEM jobs.

The Forbes study reported in the PSBJ shows that Seattle beat out rivals such as Silicon Valley to become the best city in the nation for high-tech jobs over the past decade, with a whopping 43 percent increase in high-tech employment and an 18 percent increase in STEM jobs. The study also showed Seattle’s leadership in high-tech jobs has held firm during the past couple of years. In fact, the study says, “the Seattle metro area has posted 12% tech job growth over the past two years and 7.6% STEM growth, handily beating the performance of Silicon Valley.”

And the good news in high-tech employment continues. The PSBJ points out “Forbes' findings seem to be backed up by recent announcements that Amazon is hiring 1,000 new tech workers in Seattle and that other big tech companies, such as Facebook and Google, are expanding offices in the area.”

These numbers show we’re on the right path, but we can’t let up on the gas pedal just yet. Lawmakers like Rep. Marcie Maxwell (D-Renton) continue to push for additional investments in STEM education. In the December special session, Rep. Maxwell sponsored bills that created competitive STEM grant programs and added STEM knowledge to the Professional Educators Standards Board certification process. Both bills received bi-partisan support before being signed into law.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Great news for STEM, aerospace, and transportation

Sine Die (take two…) has finally come and gone. The hard work by House Democrats’ these past few months has paid off in big ways. As was discussed in this blog post, funding education was one of our primary goals for the 2012 session. A few highlights include:

• HB 2159, SB 5982, and HB 2156 - these bills will go a long way toward supporting STEM education, as well as enhancing educational programs which support Washington’s competitive aerospace industry.

• Both WSU and UW will be able to boost their fulltime FTE’s in engineering, following recommendations made by the Washington Aerospace Partnership, as well as Governor Gregoire.

Photo credit: BotMultiChillT

• Research institutions and community colleges statewide will be seeing additions of upgraded equipment in their facilities ensuring Washington’s students are trained in the most cutting edge technology and tools.

• HB 2190, SB 6445, and SB 6444 - respectively, these bills address immediate & future multimodal transportation needs, retain Washington’s eligibility to receive millions of federal dollars ($850M to be exact!) towards the Columbia Bridge Crossing, as well as ensuring users of the SR 99 tunnel will help to foot the bill for the project.

As it turns out, the Association of Washington Businesses was pretty pleased, as well – see for yourself!

Opportunities for scholarships!

How do you encourage students to not only go to college, but to enter science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) programs? This was the question high-tech employers, such as Boeing and Microsoft, were asking themselves when faced with the reality of a rapidly shrinking potential-employee market.

So, to address the issue, Boeing and Microsoft teamed up with the Legislature in 2011 to create the Opportunity Scholarship Board in the hopes of encouraging more high school graduates to prepare for careers in certain high-tech fields.

Fast forward to this coming fall - the Opportunity Scholarship Board will be awarding a whopping 3,000 STEM scholarships worth $1,000 each!

Photo credit: BArch Bot

You’re probably thinking, “Great, but I need to write a groundbreaking essay and jump through 20 other hoops to be eligible, right?” Wrong!

In order to qualify for an opportunity scholarship, all a person needs to do is meet the following criteria:

• Meet the income-level requirement – up to $102,000/year for a family of 4
• Have at least a 2.75 GPA
• Fill out the federal student aid paperwork and the scholarship application

That’s it! And better yet – since the scholarships are renewable for up to 5 years, they could potentially be worth $5,000 toward a STEM education.


The scholarship application is available here, and the deadline is April 16th.

Click here for more information, or check out this Seattle Times article.
To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Washington & Microsoft Launch Statewide IT Academy

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn and Microsoft today officially launched Washington’s new statewide Microsoft IT Academy. The web-based academy will ultimately offer cutting-edge job skills and certification in more than 700 public high schools, skills centers and other locations across Washington.

Washington is only the second state to create statewide learning opportunities through the Microsoft IT Academy program. The training and certification will be provided free to high-school students.

Earlier this year, lawmakers set aside $4 million of the new state budget to make the statewide Microsoft IT Academy a reality for 2011-2013. The state’s investment is expected to reap an estimated $30 million in products and services.

The Microsoft IT Academy includes training and skill certification in numerous Microsoft products and in advanced topics, such as programming, Web development and database development.

At the official launch of the program, which was celebrated at Ingraham High School in Seattle, Dorn said that within 10 years three out of every four jobs will require some technology skills.

“The Microsoft IT Academy is a game changer,” Dorn said. “It will put our state at the nation’s forefront in education.”

Want to learn more? Take a look at today’s OSPI press release.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.

Utilizing Puget Sound's tides for power

In our continuing commitment to provide clean, renewable, and inexpensive sources of energy, Washington is once again the nation's epicenter for pioneering technological advances.

The US Department of Energy has teamed up with our own Snohomish PUD, providing them a $10 million grant to install two tidal energy turbines on the floor of Admiralty Inlet, just west of Whidbey Island. It's estimated the rapid tidal action there could generate more than 1 MW of electricity – enough to power about 700 homes.



This latest generation of tidal turbine is designed to run silently and have little effect on the local ecosystem.

“This funding bolsters our efforts to operate and evaluate tidal energy technology in the Puget Sound in order to assess its technical, economic, and environmental feasibility,” said PUD Board of Commissioners President Toni Olson. “We’re excited to be leading the way in the research of this innovative energy source – another tool to help us and the nation combat climate change and attain energy independence. We greatly appreciate the support of members of the Northwest Congressional delegation to help us secure this funding.”

Rep. Jay Inslee has been a strong advocate for tidal energy, as evidenced by his leadership in funding for marine hydrokinetic programs at DOE.

“Oceans hold the potential to become an unlimited supply of baseload renewable energy,” said Rep. Inslee. “Critical research and development is being done right now to harness this energy in the Puget Sound. Snohomish PUD is truly a pioneer in pursuing this innovative technology, and I congratulate them for winning this hard-earned award, which is a significant victory for Washington state and the future of renewable clean energy across the country.”

Voters in Washington overwhelmingly passed Initiative 937 in the Fall of 2006, which requires utilities to obtain a greater share of their energy supply from green, renewable sources, and reach a minimum of 15% of our supply by 2020.

Since then, the PUD has actively studied several sites in the Puget Sound, which, if developed, could produce enough energy for tens of thousands of homes. The utility launched its research effort in 2007, working with several technical partners, including the University of Washington, the Electric Power Research Institute, the National Renewable Energy Lab and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Marine Sciences Laboratory.

For information about the PUD’s tidal energy research and development, visit the Snohomish PUD's website on tidal power.

Taking an electric slide back in time

Electric vehicles have been a popular topic for the last several years in the Legislature, and these high-tech vehicles are starting to hitting the road now.

However, one presentation given during today's session on electric vehicles, in the Technology, Energy and Communications Committee, asked the members to think back more than just a few years:


A representative from the Avista Corporation (previously known as Washington Water Power) brought up this article from 1913 to point out that this is an issue they, and many others, were working over 100 years ago. (you can see that presentation and others in the Electronic Bill Book, which we previously covered here).

PBS has a great timeline of electric vehicles, where they point out that these vehicles were doing pretty well in 1900, when "electric autos represent[ed] about one-third of all cars found on the roads of New York City, Boston, and Chicago."

Credited with a lot of advancements in history, an event in 1908 led the abandonment of electric vehicles for almost 100 years: Henry Ford and the Model T

Who first wired the White House for personal computers? Hint: It's a legislator...

The Herald published a very interesting and in-depth article about Rep. John McCoy yesterday. In addition to his work in the House, where he chairs the Technology, Energy and Communications Committee, McCoy has been instrumental at home:

Quil Ceda Village contributes millions of dollars per year to the tribal and local economies and the tribes donate millions to nonprofits. The tribes’ relations with their non-Indian neighbors are much improved from 20 years ago.

While John McCoy didn’t make all this happen by himself, he had a huge part in it.

You can read about McCoy's history, which includes work on the beginnings of the Internet and installing computers at the White House, here: John McCoy, Quil Ceda Village helped Tulalips to prosperity

Tuition, technology and more at today's higher ed committee meeting

The House Higher Education Committee is meeting this morning and the agenda includes reviewing recent studies about our state's tuition structure, the higher ed system design and how we can increase use of technology.

For background, you can check out the Higher Education Coordinating Board's draft report on tuition policy and check out our prior coverage on the issue.

Here's some information about HECB's system design plan which will help lawmakers figure out the best investments for educating more students to higher levels. The process is already causing some (ahem) lively discussion among certain stakeholder groups.

And if you're interested in technology issues (and some legislators are very very interested), here's a link to the Technology Transformation Taskforce site.

TVW is airing the meeting which just started.

Today's committee meeting line-up

Another full day of committee meetings continues. Some notable topics include:

• Right now the Education Committee is discussing federal Race to the Top funding and reviewing the status of the basic eduction funding bill passed last session.

• At 10, the Technology, Energy & Communications Committee will talk about efforts to expand broadband services statewide.

• At 1:30, the Finance Committee will hear a briefing on the latest Economic and Revenue Forecast, and discuss various implementation issues of the Streamlined Sales Tax.

• Also at 1:30, the Health Care Committee will get an update on federal health care reform efforts.

McCoy’s TEC committee will examine ‘green power’ in hearing

Chaired by state Rep. John McCoy, the House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee will receive the year’s first formal progress report on the implementation of Initiative 937 in a public hearing next Monday afternoon, Jan. 19.

The “green power” initiative was passed by voters more than two years ago. It directs that electric utilities with 25,000 or more customers must meet specific targets for energy conservation and the use of renewable-energy resources.

McCoy, D-Tulalip, says he wants to find “fair and realistic strategies to make the initiative work in light of current energy markets and renewable-production capabilities.”

The full news story is here.