VIRGINIA GOVERNOR CALLS FOR ACTION ON DIGITAL DIVIDE
Last month, Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III, a Republican, called on the information technology haves in northern Virginia to work with the have-nots in the state to establish a Digital Dominion that will “make the opportunities of the Internet available to every citizen.”
Gilmore urged action during an event marking the completion of a two-year special commission that assessed the impact of technology on Virginia and the creation of two new commissions. The first commission will provide guidance to businesses of all sizes how to use the Internet while the other will work with big cities, small towns and other parts of the state to transform them into wired “e-communities.”
Referring to technology-rich northern Virginia’s role in stimulating the state’s economy, Gilmore told officials that “rather than focus on the development of a single region, we want all regions to share in the promise and prosperity that technology can bring to every corner of the commonwealth.”
Kenneth Johnson, a northern Virginia business executive who will co-chair Gilmore’s new business assistance panel, said the state’s commitment “is not so much about creating jobs.
“It’s much more difficult than that — it’s creating jobs and getting them to the areas that need jobs, creating economic engines,” Johnson told The Washington Post.
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