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St. Louis Business & Technology News
"When you think Saint Louis, think Saint Louis Front Page," a weekly publication covering the news and events in the greater St. Louis area. 
How To Reach Us:St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com |
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COLUMBIA, MO, (SLFP.com), January 12, 2010 - Ground will be broken on Thursday, January 14, for a $62 million construction project that will improve the Columbia Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility. Federal, state and local officials will participate in a formal ceremony to announce the project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. As part of the Act, Missouri received $146 million for drinking water and wastewater projects. The project is expected to create 58 new jobs when construction starts later this month. Completion of the project is projected for the summer of 2012. The construction project will upgrade existing treatment facilities, increase biosolids-handling capabilities, improve the liquid treatment process, and provide better odor control. Included in the treatment plant improvements are measures to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption. High-efficiency single-stage blowers, for example, will reduce annual energy consumption by 26 percent. A new combined heat and power system will be 26 percent more efficient than the existing system. Danforth Center to Collaborate With Dow AgroSciences on Food Safety COLUMBIA, MO, (SLFP.com), January 12, 2010 - Researchers working at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have entered into a research collaboration with Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), to study how its EXZACTTM Precision Technology can help improve the root crop cassava for millions of people living in developing countries. Dow AgroSciences' EXZACT™ Precision Technology provides a versatile and comprehensive toolkit for targeted genome modification in plants. Its demonstrated ability to specifically and efficiently add, edit or delete genes at targeted locations in plant genomes delivers a means for engineering multi-gene stacks, editing native genes and more efficiently producing crops with enhanced plant performance and value-added traits such as improved nutrition. As part of the collaboration, researchers at the Danforth Center will generate data demonstrating the utility of what could be a key technology in its quest to improve nutritional value and virus resistance in farmer preferred varieties of the root crop cassava. Dow AgroSciences is donating its technology to this effort and providing access to intellectual property, validated, high-quality zinc-finger reagents, and expertise through free consultation with Dow AgroSciences'' EXZACTTM Scientific Leader, Dr. Vipula Shukla. Targeted transgene insertion and genome editing represents the future of plant biotechnology. This announcement comes on the heels of the Danforth Center's recent success in completing the cassava genome sequence. "This collaboration with Dow AgroSciences builds on the significant work and expertise in place at the Danforth Center. Coupled with the completion of the cassava genome sequence, we see many pieces coming together that will contribute to our goal of enhancing food security for millions of malnourished people living in developing countries. We are grateful to Dow AgroSciences for their willingness to share this exciting new technology with us," said Nigel Taylor, Ph.D, assistant research member, Danforth Plant Science Center, who is leading the project. "In the context of global agriculture, there is a significant need to enhance cassava production and nutrition to feed people in developing countries," said Antonio Galindez, President and CEO of Dow AgroSciences. "EXZACT Precision Technology can help solve the complex technical issues facing these research programs. The Danforth Plant Science Center is a globally recognized leader in this area. They are doing outstanding, significant work, and we want to help them be successful." Missouri Employers Given First Priority for Economic Development ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), January 10, 2010 - Helping existing Missouri businesses grow is the fastest and most reliable way to create jobs and jumpstart the state's economy, Gov. Jay Nixon said during tours of major employers in Kansas City and Springfield. Accomplishing that goal is what the Governor's new "Missouri First" initiative is all about. Under Missouri First, the state will retool its economic incentive programs to provide an additional incentive to companies that already are located and employ workers in the Show-Me State and are considering expansion. Currently, Missouri's economic tools make no distinction between a long-time Missouri employer and an out-of-state company considering relocation. Gov. Nixon said acknowledging and rewarding the loyalty of existing Missouri employers is of paramount importance for economic growth. "As we look for ways to create jobs and transform our economy, it's critical that we acknowledge and support businesses that are already making a difference by employing folks here in Missouri," Gov. Nixon said. "My administration will continue to be absolutely relentless in competing to bring new jobs and new investment to our state, but we're going to be equally driven to help our existing Missouri businesses create jobs. By retooling these economic incentives to focus on growing our existing businesses, as well as attracting new companies, we'll be positioning Missouri to prosper in the years to come." Missouri First is the third major component of Gov. Nixon's comprehensive jobs package for 2010. The package also includes the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA), which will create a dedicated fund to help attract and grow high-tech businesses in the state, and Training for Tomorrow, an initiative that will invest $12 million in educating Missourians for in-demand careers at Missouri's community colleges. Here's how Missouri First will work: Under current law, businesses currently are eligible to apply for a variety of state economic incentives if they plan to either expand operations within Missouri or relocate from another state. These incentives are subject to a specific cap per business per year, with no distinction between existing Missouri employers and out-of-state businesses. In fact, some out-of-state businesses could be eligible for larger overall incentives than existing Missouri businesses because of additional economic tools that are available to help companies relocate to the state. Such additional incentives often help defray the costs of constructing roads and other major infrastructure items that are necessary to prepare property for a business' relocation. Missouri First would change the law regulating certain incentives to authorize the Department of Economic Development to provide additional resources to existing businesses that are considering expansions in the state. Specifically, the Department would be allowed to increase the incentive cap for businesses that have had a presence in Missouri for at least five years. The Department would be able to increase the cap by up to 2 percent of the total incentive amount for each five-year increment the company has been located in Missouri - up to 10 percent of the total incentive for companies that have been in Missouri for 25 years or more. Missouri First would apply to a number of state economic incentive programs, including Quality Jobs and Enhanced Enterprise Zone, as well the New Job Training, Retained Job Training, and Customized Training programs. While this initiative will provide additional resources to existing Missouri businesses, it will not increase the overall size of any economic incentive programs. In addition to a per-business cap on the amount any one company can receive, each state economic incentive program also is subject to an overall per-year cap. Missouri First will allow the Department of Economic Development to increase the per-business cap in some cases, but the overall per-year caps remain unchanged. "All across our state, our economy is driven by businesses that have employed Missourians for years, if not for generations," Gov. Nixon said. "These businesses have been a vital part of Missouri's past, and we must make sure they continue to be an integral part of our future. By providing these additional incentives for growth, we'll help these loyal Missouri businesses expand and create the jobs of tomorrow. Together, we'll get Missourians back to work and turn this economy around." The Missouri First legislation will be sponsored in the Senate by State Sen. John Griesheimer (R-Washington) and in the House by State Rep. Tim Flook (R-Liberty) and State Rep. Sam Komo (D-House Springs).  
The Saint Louis Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2010 Moore Design Group. |
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