Senator Robert Menendez (D) sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano expressing concern about her testimony which doubted the Department of Homeland Security would be able to meet the Congressionally-mandated July 2012 deadline for 100% scanning. Menendez urges the DHS Secretary to do everything she can to either ensure the July 2012 deadline is fully met or that significant progress towards fulfilling the mandate is achieved. (Menendez press release and letter available at http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=309058)
Transportation communications and systems provider ARINC said it and partners started the ARINC Interoperability Test and Demonstration Center. The center will be equipped with public safety and homeland security voice, video and data technologies. They will include trunked and conventional land mobile radio systems, broadband wireless, video surveillance and physical security platforms.
The Port of Los Angeles states that continued weakened world economy and Chinese New Year observance factory closures contributed to a 32.56 percent decline in container traffic, year over year, for February at the Port of Los Angeles. Container volumes are down a total of 20.94 percent for the 2009 calendar year and 8.91 percent for the fiscal year, which began July 1, 2008. (News release, dated 03/12/09, available at http://www.portoflosangeles.org/newsroom/2009_releases/news_031309_econ_downturn.asp)
The National Institutes of Health public-access policy for government-funded research was made permanent by a provision tucked in the $410 billion spending bill signed by President Barack Obama. The policy requires researchers to submit their manuscripts to the NIH’s free PubMed Central Web site within 12 months of publication. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., recently reintroduced a bill that would scrap the policy, also known as open access (WID Feb 5 p4). He said it infringes on the jurisdiction of his committee and harms copyright owners. Researchers often assign the rights to their work to academic publishers, who cover the cost of peer review, so it will be published. Publishers historically have made the articles public after a lag that varies widely. The access provision hedges on the copyright conflict. It says the policy will be enforced “in the current fiscal year and thereafter,” but only “in a manner consistent with copyright law.” The policy was first approved, at that time subject to annual renewal, in a fiscal 2008 appropriations bill, upsetting Conyers (WID Sept 12 p1). The Alliance for Taxpayer Access, which supports the policy, said 3,000 new manuscripts are deposited monthly to PubMed Central, with more than 2 million visitors a day. “Improved access will enable universities to maximize their own investment in research, and widen the potential for discovery as the results are more readily available for others to build upon,” said David Shulenburger, the vice president of academic affairs of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, a member of the alliance.
Inmarsat revenue grew 73 percent in 2008 to $996.7 million, and operating profit grew to $531.2 million from $388.1 million, it said. For the fourth quarter, revenue grew 20 percent to $160.6 million, and operating profit 19 percent to $101.4 million. The biggest growth was in aeronautical sector revenue (45.4 percent), followed by land mobile (12.7 percent) and maritime (7.2 percent).
Knowledge Adventure launched its JumpStart Virtual World for kids after beta testing it since Dec. 1. JumpStart attracted more than 1.5 million game-play sessions averaging more than 45 minutes during the beta, it said. Knowledge Adventure said it recorded a 175 percent “spike in traffic” from November 2008 to January 2009. For $7.99 a month, parents can register their families at JumpStart.com to become members of the 3-D virtual world. The company said Adventure Land, a new 3-D virtual world, will be added to JumpStart.com. It was “specifically designed” for kids 5 to 8.
Knowledge Adventure launched its JumpStart Virtual World for kids after beta testing it since Dec. 1. JumpStart attracted more than 1.5 million game-play sessions averaging more than 45 minutes during the beta, it said. Knowledge Adventure said it recorded a 175 percent “spike in traffic” from November 2008 to January 2009. For $7.99 a month, parents can register their families at JumpStart.com to become members of the 3-D virtual world. The company said Adventure Land, a new 3-D virtual world, will be added to JumpStart.com. It was “specifically designed” for kids 5 to 8.
The following are the trade-related hearings scheduled for March 9-14, 2009:
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a press release announcing some details of the projects being funded by the $3.5 billion in funding that DHS will receive from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (i.e., the economic stimulus bill), which was enacted on February 17, 2009 (Public Law 111-005).
President Obama has issued a press release announcing that he will meet with Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva at the White House on March 14, 2009 to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation on global and hemispheric challenges, ensure a productive agenda for the Summit of the Americas in April 2009, etc. (Press release, dated 03/06/09, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Upcoming-Working-Visit-by-President-of-Brazil-to-Washington)