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July 13, 2004
GovPro Newsletter
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 Volume 3, Issue 27
The weekly GovPro Newsletter is produced by the editors of Government Product News and Government Procurement Journal.
Visit: http://www.govpro.com a news-, product-, and issue-driven site for all levels of government.
Sponsored by Crown Equipment
This Week Legislators Delay Major Action Trash Revegetates Forts Grounds County Automates 1970s Land Records Majave Becomes New Flight Frontier Voice-Based Lie Detectors Expose Fraud News of The Weird
Features
2004 Sessions: Talk, Little Action in Most Legislatures
After four years of bruising budget battles, state lawmakers this year jousted over gay marriage, skyrocketing health care costs and how to pay for schools. But when the dust settled, most states either put off deciding some of the tough issues for another time or opted to let voters decide this November.
While it may only be July, most legislatures have wrapped up their regular sessions for 2004. And the new fiscal year began July 1 for all but four states (Alabama, Michigan, New York and Texas). Lawmakers in California, Illinois, Kentucky and New York are among those still trying to nail down final budgets for fiscal 2005.
For full text, visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrc0AJ
Sponsor Message
Crown Equipment
Crown Equipment designs, manufactures, distributes, services, and supports material handling products that provide customers with superior value. Electric lift trucks range from hand pallet trucks to very narrow-aisle (VNA) turret trucks. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrd0AK
Making Grass Out of Trash
Turning the U.S. Armys trash into a useful pulp is how the Agricultural Research Service is helping to revegetate the Armys training grounds at Fort Campbell, KY.
At the base, the Army is using a conveyor system to separate useful garbage from waste. The useful material is then heated and sterilized. After it is dried, a pulp, which looks like home insulation material, remains.
Thats when ARS takes over. Soil scientists H. Allen Torbert of the National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, Auburn, AL, along with Ken Potter of the Blacklands Research Center, Temple, TX, have planted native grasses on bare training areas. They are studying the soil chemical properties after the pulp, which contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, is added. It has a neutral pH.
Native grasses were successfully established, and a significant increase in plant biomass occurred between the first and second year of the project. The researchers were able to make the soil fertile again. The addition of native grasses not only has made bare areas look nicer, but has cut down on soil erosion. This research should be applicable to degraded agricultural soils and may be used in the future to grow grass in parks, golf courses and backyards.
The ARS soil scientists also conducted work at Fort Benning, GA, where the soil condition was even worse and needed a higher concentration of the pulp. The results, however, were the same. Degraded training areas became fertile grasslands.
The Army considers the research a success and is interested in expanding the technology to other bases, possibly to the other military branches.
More information on the research is available in the July issue of Agricultural Research magazine: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJre0AL
Comtec
Did you know Comtec manufactures solid plastic toilet partitions and Tufftec lockers of the same HDPE? These non-absorbent, odor and mildew resistant products are virtually maintenance free making them perfect partners for any high traffic area while saving you money in the long run. Call 1-800-445-5148 or e-mail info@comtecindustries.com for more information. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJgi0AE
News
County Streamlines Land Records Management
Tommy Ragland, Probate Judge for Madison County, Alabama, announced completion of the first phase of a project to use best-of-class imaging technologies to completely automate the Countys Land Records office.
Last year in Madison County we had over 100,000 documents filed, said Patty Hanson, Chief Clerk. When Judge Ragland came into office he immediately began looking at automating this document filing system to better serve our constituents.
Not only was our existing microfilm system slow and outdated, Hanson continued, but we simply were running out of room in the courthouse. We were up to our ears in desks, filing cabinets and people.
Madison County chose the imaging and automation solution offered by AmCad, Reston, VA. What just a few months ago were thousands of land records dating back to the 1970s saved in books, files and microfilm formats have now been converted to over four million backfile images stored on a Unisys server. Today these images are online internally, and Internet access will be available when the installation is completed in August. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrf0AM
Speak Up, Please--the Lie Detector Is Listening
Software for voice-based, lie-detector testing continues to improve, and is prompting other applications for the technology. For example, insurance companies are using voice stress analysis to determine whether customer telephone claims are fraudulent. There is still some disagreement over the reliability of having lie-detector tests use voice stress analysis, but law enforcement agencies have been using the technology for years. The National Institute for Truth Verification counts more than 1,400 law enforcement agencies in the United States, as well as state and federal agencies, as its customers, and only sells the Computer Voice Stress Analyzer to law enforcement agencies and the federal government. Voice-based testing can be conducted with a telephone call, and can be performed covertly, notes Detective Pat Kemper of the Springfield Township Police Department in Ohio. "It can really be done anywhere," says Kemper. "You can use it for anything." Source: The National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC).
FAA Issues License for First Inland Launch Site
The U.S. Department of Transportations (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it has issued a license for the first inland launch site in the United States at the Mojave Airport in California.
The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation issued the launch site operator license on June 17. The license authorizes East Kern Airport District (EKAD) to operate the launch site in support of suborbital reusable launch vehicle missions, as authorized by an FAA license, to take off at Mojave Airport.
This license brands Mojave as new frontier of flight, said FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey. The FAA will do its part, at every step of the way, to support the unlimited potential of safe commercial space transportation.
This action makes the launch site at Mojave Airport the fifth commercial spaceport licensed by the FAA. The launch site operator license authorizes the spaceport for five years from the effective date of the license.
News of the Weird: Bizarre but true stories about real people. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrg0AN
Links
Why spend taxpayer money on two or more machines when one machine will do? Bobcat presents the Toolcat(TM) 5600 -- built to handle many jobs with a wide choice of attachments! Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BHd20AE
Lyon Workspace Products is your single source for GSA-Certified lockers, modular drawer cabinets, racks, shelving, shop furniture and related storage products. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJYb0Ar
Offering interior and exterior signage, and complete wayfinding and installation services, 2/90 Sign Systems is your total signage solution. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BIzn0Ab
Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) is based in Minneapolis and is a world leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing solutions that help create a cleaner, safer world. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BInv0AX
DENIOS manufactures Spill Containment, Chemical Storage and related equipment. Systems provide safe, compliant, and efficient storage of flammables, corrosives and other hazardous chemicals or materials. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrh0AO
Strong Hold offers heavy-duty, 12-gauge steel cabinets, tables, and desks with 14-gauge shelves. The strongest storage units available. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJri0AP
John Deere. Better machines, greater choices. Lower prices, fewer hassles. Our complete online catalog brings the John Deere showroom right to you. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrj0AQ
KEG Technologies, Inc. - Sewer Cleaning Equipment for Experts. For toll-free information, phone: 866-595-0515 or fax: 866-595-0517. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrk0AR
Swenson Spreader provides Snow and Ice Control equipment designed to minimize downtime, increase productivity and most importantly - improve your bottom line. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrl0AS
You may qualify for a FREE Magazine Subscription
Complimentary subscriptions to Government Product News, a product-driven resource, and Government PROcurement, editorial targeting the public sector purchasing professional are available to those who qualify.
To subscribe to Government Product News visit: http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.75qj.15.1jf8.5c17
To subscribe to Government Procurement visit: http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.75qj.16.1jf9.5c17
******************************************************
If you would like to subscribe to this weekly newsletter for government professionals send a blank email to: mailto:GovPro_Subscribe@list.pentonmedia.com
If you would like to unsubscribe to the GovPro newsletter send a blank email to: mailto:GovPro_Unsubscribe@list.pentonmedia.com
GovPro Newsletter, 1300 E. 9th St., Cleveland, OH 44114-1503
The weekly GovPro Newsletter is produced by the editors of Government Product News and Government Procurement Journal.
Visit: http://www.govpro.com a news-, product-, and issue-driven site for all levels of government.
Sponsored by Crown Equipment
This Week Legislators Delay Major Action Trash Revegetates Forts Grounds County Automates 1970s Land Records Majave Becomes New Flight Frontier Voice-Based Lie Detectors Expose Fraud News of The Weird
Features
2004 Sessions: Talk, Little Action in Most Legislatures
After four years of bruising budget battles, state lawmakers this year jousted over gay marriage, skyrocketing health care costs and how to pay for schools. But when the dust settled, most states either put off deciding some of the tough issues for another time or opted to let voters decide this November.
While it may only be July, most legislatures have wrapped up their regular sessions for 2004. And the new fiscal year began July 1 for all but four states (Alabama, Michigan, New York and Texas). Lawmakers in California, Illinois, Kentucky and New York are among those still trying to nail down final budgets for fiscal 2005.
For full text, visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrc0AJ
Sponsor Message
Crown Equipment
Crown Equipment designs, manufactures, distributes, services, and supports material handling products that provide customers with superior value. Electric lift trucks range from hand pallet trucks to very narrow-aisle (VNA) turret trucks. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrd0AK
Making Grass Out of Trash
Turning the U.S. Armys trash into a useful pulp is how the Agricultural Research Service is helping to revegetate the Armys training grounds at Fort Campbell, KY.
At the base, the Army is using a conveyor system to separate useful garbage from waste. The useful material is then heated and sterilized. After it is dried, a pulp, which looks like home insulation material, remains.
Thats when ARS takes over. Soil scientists H. Allen Torbert of the National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, Auburn, AL, along with Ken Potter of the Blacklands Research Center, Temple, TX, have planted native grasses on bare training areas. They are studying the soil chemical properties after the pulp, which contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, is added. It has a neutral pH.
Native grasses were successfully established, and a significant increase in plant biomass occurred between the first and second year of the project. The researchers were able to make the soil fertile again. The addition of native grasses not only has made bare areas look nicer, but has cut down on soil erosion. This research should be applicable to degraded agricultural soils and may be used in the future to grow grass in parks, golf courses and backyards.
The ARS soil scientists also conducted work at Fort Benning, GA, where the soil condition was even worse and needed a higher concentration of the pulp. The results, however, were the same. Degraded training areas became fertile grasslands.
The Army considers the research a success and is interested in expanding the technology to other bases, possibly to the other military branches.
More information on the research is available in the July issue of Agricultural Research magazine: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJre0AL
Comtec
Did you know Comtec manufactures solid plastic toilet partitions and Tufftec lockers of the same HDPE? These non-absorbent, odor and mildew resistant products are virtually maintenance free making them perfect partners for any high traffic area while saving you money in the long run. Call 1-800-445-5148 or e-mail info@comtecindustries.com for more information. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJgi0AE
News
County Streamlines Land Records Management
Tommy Ragland, Probate Judge for Madison County, Alabama, announced completion of the first phase of a project to use best-of-class imaging technologies to completely automate the Countys Land Records office.
Last year in Madison County we had over 100,000 documents filed, said Patty Hanson, Chief Clerk. When Judge Ragland came into office he immediately began looking at automating this document filing system to better serve our constituents.
Not only was our existing microfilm system slow and outdated, Hanson continued, but we simply were running out of room in the courthouse. We were up to our ears in desks, filing cabinets and people.
Madison County chose the imaging and automation solution offered by AmCad, Reston, VA. What just a few months ago were thousands of land records dating back to the 1970s saved in books, files and microfilm formats have now been converted to over four million backfile images stored on a Unisys server. Today these images are online internally, and Internet access will be available when the installation is completed in August. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrf0AM
Speak Up, Please--the Lie Detector Is Listening
Software for voice-based, lie-detector testing continues to improve, and is prompting other applications for the technology. For example, insurance companies are using voice stress analysis to determine whether customer telephone claims are fraudulent. There is still some disagreement over the reliability of having lie-detector tests use voice stress analysis, but law enforcement agencies have been using the technology for years. The National Institute for Truth Verification counts more than 1,400 law enforcement agencies in the United States, as well as state and federal agencies, as its customers, and only sells the Computer Voice Stress Analyzer to law enforcement agencies and the federal government. Voice-based testing can be conducted with a telephone call, and can be performed covertly, notes Detective Pat Kemper of the Springfield Township Police Department in Ohio. "It can really be done anywhere," says Kemper. "You can use it for anything." Source: The National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC).
FAA Issues License for First Inland Launch Site
The U.S. Department of Transportations (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it has issued a license for the first inland launch site in the United States at the Mojave Airport in California.
The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation issued the launch site operator license on June 17. The license authorizes East Kern Airport District (EKAD) to operate the launch site in support of suborbital reusable launch vehicle missions, as authorized by an FAA license, to take off at Mojave Airport.
This license brands Mojave as new frontier of flight, said FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey. The FAA will do its part, at every step of the way, to support the unlimited potential of safe commercial space transportation.
This action makes the launch site at Mojave Airport the fifth commercial spaceport licensed by the FAA. The launch site operator license authorizes the spaceport for five years from the effective date of the license.
News of the Weird: Bizarre but true stories about real people. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrg0AN
Links
Why spend taxpayer money on two or more machines when one machine will do? Bobcat presents the Toolcat(TM) 5600 -- built to handle many jobs with a wide choice of attachments! Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BHd20AE
Lyon Workspace Products is your single source for GSA-Certified lockers, modular drawer cabinets, racks, shelving, shop furniture and related storage products. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJYb0Ar
Offering interior and exterior signage, and complete wayfinding and installation services, 2/90 Sign Systems is your total signage solution. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BIzn0Ab
Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) is based in Minneapolis and is a world leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing solutions that help create a cleaner, safer world. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BInv0AX
DENIOS manufactures Spill Containment, Chemical Storage and related equipment. Systems provide safe, compliant, and efficient storage of flammables, corrosives and other hazardous chemicals or materials. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrh0AO
Strong Hold offers heavy-duty, 12-gauge steel cabinets, tables, and desks with 14-gauge shelves. The strongest storage units available. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJri0AP
John Deere. Better machines, greater choices. Lower prices, fewer hassles. Our complete online catalog brings the John Deere showroom right to you. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrj0AQ
KEG Technologies, Inc. - Sewer Cleaning Equipment for Experts. For toll-free information, phone: 866-595-0515 or fax: 866-595-0517. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrk0AR
Swenson Spreader provides Snow and Ice Control equipment designed to minimize downtime, increase productivity and most importantly - improve your bottom line. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/egfP0D8eaH0JQA0BJrl0AS
You may qualify for a FREE Magazine Subscription
Complimentary subscriptions to Government Product News, a product-driven resource, and Government PROcurement, editorial targeting the public sector purchasing professional are available to those who qualify.
To subscribe to Government Product News visit: http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.75qj.15.1jf8.5c17
To subscribe to Government Procurement visit: http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.75qj.16.1jf9.5c17
******************************************************
If you would like to subscribe to this weekly newsletter for government professionals send a blank email to: mailto:GovPro_Subscribe@list.pentonmedia.com
If you would like to unsubscribe to the GovPro newsletter send a blank email to: mailto:GovPro_Unsubscribe@list.pentonmedia.com
GovPro Newsletter, 1300 E. 9th St., Cleveland, OH 44114-1503
