PRESS RELEASES for September 2011
09/28/11
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SecuredPay Solutions, Inc. LLC
Phone: 404-919-0004
Website: www.securedpay.net
SecuredPay Announces 2nd Patent Approved for Real-Time Payments on Wireless Mobile Devices
Atlanta, September 28, 2011: SecuredPay Solutions publicly announced today that they have been issued their company's 2nd U.S. Patent that covers Electronic Real-Time Payments on Wireless Mobile Devices. "...our patent covers electronic payments on the vast majority of today's wireless devices, from the latest cell phones to the ever increasing number of tablets we are seeing in the market.
See below for complete details.
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09/27/11
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wyoming is the best source of cost-effective, high-capacity renewable energy to help meet the demands of California's future energy market.
Date: September 23, 2011
Contact: Loyd G. Drain
Email: loyd.drain@wyo.gov
Phone: 307.635.3573
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
California Daily Classified Network in 32 newspapers reaches 3 million in circulation!
SACRAMENTO, September 19, 2011 – CNPA is launching the California Daily Classified Network program, the largest classified ad network of its kind in the country, effective October 1. The network will provide small businesses an opportunity to place small ads in 32 daily newspapers, including such major dailies as the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune and San Jose Mercury News. The network will reach more than 3 million in circulation and 10 million readers across California and provide the convenience of one order and one payment.
Contact: Maria Rodrigues, (916) 288-6010; maria@cnpa.com
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09/09/11
California Community Colleges Create Statewide Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Collaborative in Response to Strong ICT Employment Demand Detailed in New Report
The collaborative will work to coordinate, improve and promote ICT education and workforce development throughout the California community college system
Contact: James B. Jones, Mid-Pacific ICT Center (MPICT)
Office: 415.239.3600 / Cell: 415.867.6616
Office E-mail: jjones@mpict.org
Contact: John Carrese, CCC Economic and Workforce Development Centers of Excellence
Office: 415.267.6565 / Cell: 510.213.0642
Office E-mail: jcarrese@ccsf.edu
Contact: Pierre Thiry, CCC ICT Discipline/Industry Collaborative
Office: 415.239.3594 / Cell: 510. 701.1301
Office E-mail: pthiry@ccsf.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SecuredPay Solutions, Inc. LLC
Phone: 404-919-0004
Website: www.securedpay.net
SecuredPay Announces 2nd Patent Approved for Real-Time Payments on Wireless Mobile Devices
Atlanta, September 28, 2011: SecuredPay Solutions publicly announced today that they have been issued their company's 2nd U.S. Patent that covers Electronic Real-Time Payments on Wireless Mobile Devices. "...our patent covers electronic payments on the vast majority of today's wireless devices, from the latest cell phones to the ever increasing number of tablets we are seeing in the market. Any device that is processing secure real-time payments and not saving the customers card data on those devices - which is a huge security concern if they are - is likely to be covered under our patent. And now that we have our 2nd patent in place we are looking to partner with or license to companies that are already in this space, or those looking to establish control of this space..." says SecuredPay's CIO Lance Larsen.
"SecuredPay was formed to address real security concerns regarding who has access to a customer's card data and how that data is stored. A merchant's minimum standard should be to protect their customers' identity" said Roy T. Nelson, SecuredPay Chairman and original co-founder of the nationwide Melting Pot fondue restaurant chain.
John M. Johnson, SecuredPay's Executive Vice President of Business Development stated that "...SecuredPay's proven track record in the financial industry and proven approach to being ahead of the technology curve has positioned us very well to assist other companies that are emerging in this market space."
John also notes "...recent events have shown us that the market demand for the control of intellectual properties related to wireless devices and wireless processing is heating up, as evidenced in part by the latest patent bidding wars between companies including: Apple, Microsoft and Google. They obviously see the advantages of controlling the patents that will shape the future of mobility and how merchants and customers alike will leverage the devices that are in everyone’s pockets."
SecuredPay was the first company to obtain PCI ("Payment Card Industry") certification for SWIPE (“Secured Wireless Internet Payment Environment”), a product which allowed PIN debit card acceptance on a Windows based mobile wireless device using a virtual PIN PAD. "We have a solid record of successful development partnerships with companies such as HP (Hewlett Packard), Epson, TRENDnet Networking, TokenWorks Inc. and WaveSoft Technologies Corp. Processing for SWIPE was facilitated through Cynergy Data’s Lucy Gateway, Bypass Network, PaymenTech and FirstData. Overall SWIPE successfully proved our "Never Leaves the Customer's Hand" philosophy in several restaurant hospitality environments."
SecuredPay's President Chris Faircloth stated "...leading industry sources have projected an estimated $984 billion dollar wireless mobile payment industry by 2014. As part of that market, SecuredPay, and those with whom they partner, will have the real ability to shape the mobile payment industry not only now, but for the foreseeable future."
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For Immediate Release
Date: September 23, 2011
Contact: Loyd G. Drain
Email: loyd.drain@wyo.gov
Phone: 307.635.3573
Wyoming announces that the newly released WECC 10-Year Regional Transmission Plan favorably positions Wyoming wind and transmission; and outlines economic and environmental advantages of regional energy solutions.
CHEYENNE, Sept. 23, 2011 – Wyoming is the best source of cost-effective, high-capacity renewable energy to help meet the demands of California's future energy market, according to a new study released by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), which coordinates the bulk electric system across the Western U.S. and Canada.
Approved by the WECC board on Sept. 22, the U.S. Department of Energy-funded “10-Year Regional Transmission Plan” study provides WECC's first interconnection-wide transmission plan and an interconnection-wide perspective on future energy transmission and generation.
In the year 2020, the demand for additional renewable energy to meet Renewable Portfolio Standards is greater in California than in any other Western state – representing 66% of all of the renewable energy demand in the WECC region through 2020, the 10-Year Plan notes.
California currently intends to meet its demand using renewable energy projects developed in California and has policies that generally favor in-state renewable development. However, WECC's analysis indicates that if California met just 20% of its demand with deliveries of high-capacity wind energy from Wyoming instead, California ratepayers could save on the order of $600 million every year, translating to billions of dollars in savings for those customers over time.
“Results presented in the Plan suggest there are opportunities for regional transmission and renewable resource development that should not be overlooked as states implement their own energy policies… so as not to forego potential economic and environmental benefits that may accrue to their ratepayers,” the Plan says.
“This information is helpful in our efforts to encourage California to look to Wyoming for its renewable requirements and to see that Wyoming can efficiently provide a portion of their renewable energy tomorrow, just as Wyoming efficiently provides Californians with significant affordable energy today,” Governor Matt Mead said.
“This study highlights how if California were to import only 20% of its incremental requirement for renewable energy between now and 2020, we can help them meet a portion of their RPS requirements in a more cost-effective manner, even with the cost of transmission factored-in,” said Loyd Drain, Executive Director, Wyoming Infrastructure Authority.
“We hope all decision-makers implement WECC's recommendation to 'accept the challenges of increased regional cooperation in transmission planning and development' to achieve these economic benefits.”
Two of Wyoming's six major transmission projects under development were highlighted in WECC's 10-Year Plan as providing the most cost-effective remote renewable energy resource alternatives to satisfy a portion of California's needs: The 3,000 MW, 600 kV HVDC TransWest Express Transmission Project, jointly developed by TransWest Express LLC and Western Area Power Administration; and the 3,000 MW, 500 kV DC Zephyr Transmission Project, from near Chugwater, Wyoming to the Eldorado Valley.
Despite WECC's significant modeled cost advantages of Wyoming wind energy over portions of California's renewable energy – and previous industry studies that have demonstrated the cost advantages of Wyoming wind energy as well – Drain cautioned that “Wyoming still must compete to ensure California utilities seek to purchase renewable power from Wyoming.”
“California sees, as Wyoming sees, that building more power plants creates more jobs and tax revenues and has been very eager to keep those benefits in California,” Drain says. “However, overall long-term economic growth really comes from keeping electricity costs as low as possible, and already California ratepayers have the highest average electricity retail prices in the West – almost double the electricity costs of Wyoming. We believe all California consumers and businesses will benefit if their utilities can provide a balanced mix of energy that includes not only in-state generation but also renewable resources from efficient producers like Wyoming.”
The full WECC 10-Year Regional Transmission Plan Summary can be found at www.wecc.biz. The Plan was produced using a broad stakeholder process including state regulators, utilities, environmental groups and federal agencies such as the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior.
From page 30 of WECC's 10-Year Regional Transmission Plan Summary
Contact Information:
For more information, contact Loyd Drain, Executive Director, Wyoming Infrastructure Authority at 307.635.3573 or loyd.drain@wyo.gov. Visit the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority website at www.wyia.org to learn more about the transmission activity in Wyoming.
About the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority:
The WIA, an instrumentality of the State, was created by the State Legislature in 2004 to diversify and expand the Wyoming economy through improvements in the state's electric transmission infrastructure and to facilitate the consumption of Wyoming energy. The authority is governed by a Board of Directors composed of five (5) members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. It is responsible for promoting the planning, development and financing of transmission facilities in the State including associated generation. In addition, the WIA has $1 Billion in bonding authority relative to the financing of transmission infrastructure in Wyoming.
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SACRAMENTO, September 19, 2011 – CNPA is launching the California Daily Classified Network program, the largest classified ad network of its kind in the country, effective October 1. The network will provide small businesses an opportunity to place small ads in 32 daily newspapers, including such major dailies as the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune and San Jose Mercury News. The network will reach more than 3 million in circulation and 10 million readers across California and provide the convenience of one order and one payment.
"This is a great opportunity for small- and medium-sized clients to successfully promote their businesses across many of the Californian communities," said CNPA Immediate Past-President Ron Redfern, publisher and CEO of The Press-Enterprise in Riverside. "Additionally, this will greatly help the newspaper industry develop a wider online presence, which will enable us to compete against the large regional and national sites."
The California Daily Classified Network will provide participating newspapers with up to 12 ads per day. Some advertising options being offered are: 1) 7-day run of network Monday-Sunday priced at $1,500; 2) Two-day weekend run (Saturday and Sunday) for $1,000; 3) 5-weekday (Monday-Friday) run of network at $800. An introductory price of $1,200 for the 7-day statewide run will be in effect for the period October-December 2011.
Newspapers in the network have agreed to participate to support CNPA, increase their ad lineage and receive bi-annual rebates from 10 percent of the net revenue collected. Newspapers that actively sell into the network will also receive 15 percent commission for every ad they sell.
Similar daily newspaper network programs are offered by press associations in Arizona, Arkansas, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Pacific Northwest, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
CNPA Services, Inc. also administers the Cal-SCAN program, founded in 1991, with 240 weekly and small daily newspapers. Cal-SCAN has provided $300,000 to $500,000 annually to the association.
For more on The California Daily Classified Network, see http://www.cnpa.com/full_story.cfm?id=3573
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Mid-Pacific ICT Center (MPICT) Executive Director James Jones and California Community College (CCC) Economic and Workforce Development Center of Excellence Director John Carrese today announced the availability of a new report on information and communication technologies (ICT) in California and the creation of a new ICT Collaborative to coordinate, improve and promote ICT education and workforce development throughout the 112 campuses of the California community college system.
In the information, knowledge and innovation economies of the 21st century, we increasingly depend on ICT – as students, workers, organizations and society.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is a superset term encompassing all rapidly emerging, evolving, and converging computer, software, networking, telecommunications, Internet, programming, and information systems technologies. ICT is a comprehensive framework for organizing these inter-related, interdependent and rapidly changing high-tech fields and industries - and the ICT workforce that spans across organizations of all sizes, kinds types and industries. The ICT term is widely used outside the U.S., for example, by the United Nations, European Union, World Bank, and International Telecommunications Union.
According to the report, aggregated ICT industry and employment sectors are bigger and more strategically important than historically recognized in the U.S. and in California.
• ICT industries include about 4% of companies, 6% of private sector revenues, 4% of workers and 12% of private sector wages in California, with much higher job growth and compensation expected than for most other industries or the nation as a whole.
• ICT Workforce occupations span and are strategically important to all industries and most organizations, which leverage ICT for productivity. ICT occupations throughout the economy employ more than a million people in California today, include about 1 in 20 private sector jobs in the U.S. and in California, have strong job growth prospects, and pay median wages about twice the California average. ICT occupations are California’s 8th largest occupational cluster by job count, and employers are having difficulties hiring appropriately skilled ICT Workforce – even in this period of high unemployment.
The report, available for download free at www.mpict.org/ict_study_phase3.html, provides current ICT labor market information, analysis of CCC educational credentials related to ICT, plain language tools for effective communication in this complex and fast changing arena, advice and business/industry input on how to improve community college ICT education and workforce development efforts, and recommendations for further study.
The report also announces a coordinated response to this important strategic sector with the creation of a new CCC ICT Collaborative. The collaborative will work to coordinate and improve ICT related program offerings of the 112 campuses in the CCC system. The collaborative will build on work by the Mid-Pacific ICT Center (MPICT), a National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Center of Excellence working to improve 2-year college ICT education in a region that includes northern California.
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation. It is composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.76 million students per year. Community colleges supply workforce training, basic skills courses in English and math, and prepare students for transfer to four-year colleges and universities.
The Centers of Excellence (COE), funded in part by the Chancellor’s Office, California Community Colleges, Economic and Workforce Development Program, in partnership with business and industry, deliver regional workforce research customized for community college decision making and resource development.
The Mid-Pacific ICT (MPICT) Center is funded in part by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education program to coordinate, improve and promote ICT education, with an emphasis on 2-year colleges, in northern California, northern Nevada, southern Oregon, Hawaii and the Pacific Territories.
