June 2010

In recent years, Minneapolis has been one of the key cities working to get its residents connected to free Internet. In 2006, the city signed a contract with USI Wireless to build a citywide wireless network. Now as part of that ongoing effort to bridge the digital divide, the city announced 117 "Wireless Minneapolis" hotspots for residents and visitors to access the Internet for no charge.

"A wireless city benefits everyone in the community whether you're a resident, business owner or visitor," said City Council Member Gary Schiff, chair of the city's Information Services Policy Steering Group, in a statement. "By investing in the tools, training and technology necessary to increase Internet access for all, we've found new ways to connect to our community and for our community to connect to the world." When connected to one of the hotspots, users can access any website on the Internet for up to one hour. When that time expires, the session ends. But users can log on again for extended access. For homeland security purposes, a credit card will be required to access the Internet at a hotspot, but the card will not be charged, according to the city.

Department of Commerce and its Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Economic Development Administration announced four innovation forums to be held across the country in late June and early July with university leaders and key stakeholders to discuss the role of universities in innovation, economic development, job creation and commercialization of federally funded research.

The events will take place at the University of Massachusetts Boston on June 29, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles on July 8, the University of Michigan on July 13 and Georgia Institute of Technology on July 15. Speakers include Locke, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director David Kappos, federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, National Institute of Standards and Technology director Patrick Gallagher and the four university presidents. Forum participants will discuss how to move an idea from the lab to the marketplace, strategies to support commercialization, regional economic development, and entrepreneurship education.

President Obama's decision to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the top battlefield commander in Afghanistan, a move freighted with military and political implications, vaulted the war to the top of the media agenda last week for the first time in seven months.

The war accounted for 25% of the newshole studied for the week of June 21-27 according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. The removal of McChrystal as head of NATO forces in Afghanistan - only days after intemperate comments by McChrystal and his staff appeared in Rolling Stone magazine - unleashed a torrent of coverage, much of it commentary and analysis. The last time the war attracted attention of this magnitude was the first week of December last year when Obama announced he was sending 30,000 additional troops, according to PEJ's News Coverage Index, which analyzes the content of the news from a range of media. The story managed last week to surpass coverage of the Gulf oil spill, which fell to second place (at 23%) after six consecutive weeks as No. 1. Among the twists the disaster took last week was the temporary removal of a containment cap that had been capturing some of the leaking oil. Technicians removed the cap to test it when another piece of equipment appeared to have bumped into it and damaged a vent.