Hi and welcome to another edition of Tech Briefs, Cardinal News’ weekly roundup of items covering the digital and life sciences landscapes. We go live on Wednesdays.
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Vaughan named Virginia broadband office director
A longtime leader at Virginia’s Office of Broadband has removed “acting” from his director title.
Chandler Vaughan has been acting director since February, when Tamarah Holmes moved from that office to direct the Department of Housing and Community Development. A broadband office newsletter last week announced that Vaughan was selected to lead the office on a more permanent basis.
Vaughan was associate director for the previous five years. Holmes had run the office for the previous six.
Both have been responsible for managing about $1 billion in federal, state, local and private funds sparked by the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act. The funding, administered through the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative, or VATI, is meant to provide statewide broadband internet access to homes, businesses and community centers.
According to the newsletter, VATI last month helped deliver broadband access to 3,235 locations across the commonwealth. VATI funding since July 2021 has provided internet capabilities to more than 230,000 previously unserved locations, according to numbers updated in June.
The office last year finalized its plan for a more recent federal initiative, the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, $613 million for more than 100,000 locations without high-speed broadband.
According to the newsletter, the office has signed contracts with 19 of the 24 internet service providers who won BEAD awards.
“With contracts now in place, providers can begin the required environmental reviews in preparation for construction, advancing efforts to connect the remaining 85,000 unserved locations across the Commonwealth,” the newsletter read.
RBTC’s Beer + Biotech events moved to new RoVa Labs building
Roanoke’s newly christened biotech incubator includes an event space. A Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council-hosted event appears to be making it a home.
RBTC’s monthly Beer + Biotech, which rotated around various brewpubs and event spaces, has settled at RoVa Labs, a Roanoke and Carilion Clinic collaborative effort that opened in May. The event is scheduled there through November, according to the RBTC events calendar. Beer + Biotech usually includes a presentation, but none was listed yet for any of the dates.
[Disclosure: Carilion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
So far, Tiny Cargo Co. is the only tenant in the building, with features that include about 30,000 square feet of wet- and dry-lab spaces, along with commercialization support.
Beer + Biotech made its RoVa Labs debut in May and, after a June and July break, is set to happen again at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 19 in the recently renovated building at 1030 S. Jefferson St.
Other upcoming RBTC monthly events include Morning Jolt with WoTech, online at 8 a.m. July 15; and AI Decoded, Aug. 13 at the QCowork Coworking Space, 105 Roanoke St. East, Blacksburg. Visit RBTC’s event calendar for more information.
