Virginia Receives Broadband Mapping Grant

From the NTIA Press Release from March 5:

"NTIA has awarded the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology $1,799,979 for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a two-year period in Virginia, bringing the total grant award to approximately $2.3 million. The Virginia Center for Innovative Technology is the designated entity for the state of Virginia.

Awardees will collect and verify the availability, speed, and location of broadband across the state. This activity is to be conducted on a semi-annual basis in the next two years, with the data to be presented in a clear and accessible format to the public, government, and the research community."

Partners with CIT include the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) and Virginia Tech.

Recent News Articles about GIS Web Portals

Three recent news articles about GIS web portals in Virginia have been published.



Middlesex County

A nice article in the Southside Sentinal about Middlesex County's new GIS web portal, including a discussion by VGIN Advisory Board member Stan Hovey on the value of orthophotography and GIS education.



Waynesboro

The City of Waynesboro has unveiled their new online GIS. See the article in the NewsVirginia.com



James River Association

The James River Association was recently profiled in NBC12.com discussing their new "Runoff Calculator", which allows citizens to assess your impact on the James River watershed.

GovTech Magazines 2010 "Doers, Dreamers and Drivers"

Virginia has several names listed in Government Technology Magazine's ""2010 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers" article. Leading the list is Deputy Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson, who has been the key driver behind Virginia's Broadband and Broadband Mapping efforts. Other notable Virginians mentioned in the article are Wanda Gibson, CTO, Fairfax County, Bill Greeves, communications and IT Director, Roanoke County, and Bill Hobgood, project manager, City of Richmond. With four of the twenty-five names listed, the most for any one state, Virginia is once again showing the way with its leadership.