FCC LAUNCHES “RURAL HEALTH CARE PILOT PROGRAM” WEBSITE Washington, DC -- The FCC has launched a website (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/rural/rhcp.html) that provides a consolidated source of information about the FCC’s recently announced Rural Health Care Pilot Program. The website includes the Order adopting the pilot program and the accompanying news release, a PDF slide presentation giving an overview of the program, and frequently asked questions (FAQs), The website will be updated periodically, as appropriate. The FCC’s pilot program is an innovative, enhanced funding initiative intended to help public and non-profit health care providers construct state- and region-wide broadband networks to provide telehealth and telemedicine services throughout the nation. The program will fund up to 85% of the costs of constructing those networks, as well as the costs of advanced telecommunications and information services that will ride over these networks. If selected, up to 85% of the cost of connecting to Internet2, a dedicated nationwide backbone, may also be funded by the pilot program. Connection to Internet 2 is not required, but may be requested by the applicants. Applications for the program must be filed no later than 30 days after the Commission receives approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the information collection requirements contained in the FCC’s Order announcing the pilot program. (The Paperwork Reduction Act collection requirements were published in the Federal Register on October 18, 2006.) The FCC will issue a Public Notice announcing OMB approval once that has occurred. - FCC - Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Contact: Robert Somers at (202) 418-1483. Wireline Competition Bureau Contact: Erika Olsen at (202) 418-2868.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!

Nevada Population Estimates and Projections From The State Data Center : Estimates to July 1, 2005 Projections through 2030 Mona Reno, Nevada State Data Librarian, has developed a great site and I will post more links in the near future.

From Free Government Information (FGI) blogs : American Indian Heritage Month November is American Indian Heritage Month. Following are some federal sites that offer excellent information about American Indians: Federal Resources for Educational Excellence, American Indian Heritage Month Resources The National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Education, American Indian Heritage Teaching Resources FirstGov, Native American and Tribal Cultural Resources And, if you’d like to include some Native American foods in your Thanksgiving celebration, the Native American Nutrition Education Database from the National Agricultural Library includes some sources with recipes. Mitsitam! (Which, to the Delaware and Piscataway people, means "Let’s eat!") Thanks to Lori Smith, FGI's guest blooger for this entry !!!

NEW ELECTION INFORMATION TO BE AVAILABLE ON WASHOE COUNTY WEBSITE AT CLOSE OF ELECTION DAY Reno, Nevada. November 6, 2006. Voters will be able to track more election result information than ever before on Washoe County’s website, http://www.washoecounty.us/voters/ By simply going to this link, or just logging onto the county’s main page at http://www.washoecounty.us/ and clicking on the link there, citizens can access up-to-date election result information as it is posted by election officials. Examples of data available on this site include: · number of the 1358 cartridges that have been recorded to date (new) · latest election numbers (results) by race (this was available in 2004) · Real-time election results mapping (new) · Link to statewide election information (new) · Link to Clark County election information (new) The real-time election results mapping is a new feature offered on the County’s website this election. Thanks to work done by the County’s Geographic Information System staff, this website will show voting results for 21 selected races and four state ballot questions (questions 2, 5, 6, and 7) as well as the County advisory question. The website displays results by precinct in a map format as voting counts are uploaded throughout the night. The site will be available at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. Voters are once again reminded to bring their sample ballots to their polling places to expedite voting tomorrow, although registered voters will be allowed to vote without their sample ballot in hand. Voters can go to the county’s website at http://www.washoecounty.us/voters/go to the YOUR Voter Registration Info link, enter their name and birthday (ex. 10-16-1961) to find out if they are properly registered and where they go to vote. Or, they can call the Registrar’s office at 328-3670.

GAO PROBES EPA LIBRARY SHUTDOWN From : Patrice McDermott, Director, Open the Government.org The Government Accountability Office is now investigating why EPA is closing its libraries, after Congress members, EPA employees, open government groups, and the Society of Environmental Journalists raised concerns. EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock is now publicly promising that EPA library material will be available digitally in the very near future - even as branch after branch of the EPA library system is being closed. "I have asked anyone to inform me, anonymously or otherwise, of any instance where they are unable to obtain a document they need that was previously available. And I am not aware of a single instance where that is happened, but I am all ears." Peacock can be reached at 202-564-4711 or by email. Still, Greenwire's Darren Samuelsohn reports that "The Bush administration has already shuttered EPA's Washington headquarters' library and regional posts in Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City. And there are reduced hours and public access in EPA's regional libraries in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Seattle." How the public or EPA employees are to access the documents Peacock promises them remains an unresolved question. Those who want documents from EPA's library will want to know that the digital system is already online and working - to the degree that some documents have already been digitized. A user can point his/her Web browser here to search for relevant documents, some of which will be available online. The Catch-22 is that paper copies of undigitized documents must in many cases be obtained through the EPA library holding them - which will in many cases now be closed. How long will digitization take? Peacock claims that all paper documents from now-closed branches will be digitized by January 2007 or sooner. Complete digitization of all documents in the system could take 2-3 years, Peacock says. He says he expects no restriction of public access during the interim.