Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced the funds.

According to MuniWireless.com, Philadelphia has received federal stimulus money to help establish or expand local computer centers. Eleven other cities will also claim a chunk of the $3.7 million allocated.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced over $63 million in grants that aim to expand the reach of broadband across the nation. Earlier this month, the president praised the work of the FCC as it unveils its national broadband plan.

As covered in Technically Philly’s Digital Philadelphia package, the city has been gunning for federal money for nearly a year. The city along with the community have also been building a case to receive Google’s experimental gigabit line.

Hat tip to Craig Settles for sending this our way.

Media Mobilizing Project founding member Todd Wolfson is interested in the role that media and communications can play in helping build movements to end poverty.

He hasn’t been the only one.

In 2007, MMP was awarded a $150,000 grant from the Knight News Foundation. With that money, the media organization has been helping other organizations use journalism to further their cause.

Since then, Wolfson and his team have helped create a network of 10 groups, like the Philadelphia Student Union, Pennsylvania Head Start Association, Casino-Free Philadelphia, Taxi Workers Alliance of PA and other service sector unions.

MMP’s aim is straight forward enough: teach the basics of new media concepts in order to help those groups get the good word out.

The grant helped MMP maintain a staff, create six six-week workshops to train organization leaders in Web, video and basic computer skills and purchase equipment and computers for each group’s respective community.

Now, Media Mobilizing is shifting gears.

Since its grant ended in March, it is trying to develop a business plan to generate revenue by creating video for nonprofits not in its current network. It’s also working with other groups, like the Philadelphia Department of Technology, to see what kind of opportunities can come through collaboration.

The future of Media Mobilzing seems uncertain, but strong. The organization just moved into a new office in West Philadelphia, and it seems that Wolfson has learned more than a media mogul about the future of journalism.

Still, Wolfson would probably be the first to tell you that sometimes, things just aren’t as they seem.

Rewind to 2005 when the city first unveiled its Wireless Philadelphia plan, when it hoped to provide Internet for every city resident.

It was a perfect opportunity for Media Mobilizing. Wolfson said that several aspects of its original grant application made reference to the possibilities that a wireless network could provide for a project like MMP.

Which is exactly why when Wireless Philadelphia began folding in 2008, it was a serious detriment to MMP, Wolfson says. So he took action.

“We were so excited about the technology and what it was promising. When the hopes and expectations didn’t come through and no one was holding Earthlink, the city and Wireless Philadelphia to account, we felt we needed to,” he says.

Wolfson helps organize the Philadelphia Digital Justice Coalition, a group of 30 organizations that put pressure on the city to save the Wireless Philadelphia and is currently helping shape Philadelphia’s Department of Technology’s $100 million Digital Philadelphia vision, which we reported on in May.

“We’re trying to think how the broadband stimulus package could be a part of this plan and how we need to marshall it in, in [Philadelphia Chief Information Officer Allan Frank]‘s terms, to create an information technology economy,” Wolfson says.

“But also, we need to think about digital human capital: how to make sure that all of Philadelphia has the skill sets to utilize and take advantage of the Internet.”

Wolfson thinks that 50 percent of the city’s population isn’t online, but says that the research is incomplete, and he hopes that the Department of Technology will compile a study to have a better idea.

“We have no idea what the digital divide in the city looks like,” he says. It’s something that Wolfson has devoted himself to fixing for the past 5 years.

“Watching a bunch of students in high school doing interviews with taxi drivers suffering because of a [limitation the Philadelphia Parking Authority has maintained], and watching the students grow by doing the research and journalism to understand this story is really beautiful,” he says.

Every Monday, Technically Not Tech will feature people, projects, and businesses that are involved with Philly�s tech scene, but aren�t necessarily technology focused. See others here.

One of the nation’s largest technology initiatives aimed at curbing traffic and pollution is coming to Philadelphia, according to a report from Stateline.org.

And we have plenty of traffic on I-95, which is said to handle more than 120,000 vehicles per day — as if that number had any meaning to you whatsoever.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, or PennDOT to friends, is gearing up for a $74 million undertaking that would equip 72 miles of I-95 corridor in and around Philly with intelligent transportation system installations.

The project is part of more than $257 million in cash from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which PennDOT plans to spend in Philadelphia’s five-county region, according to a department press release.

At least 22 states have requested federal funds for making their roads “smarter” by installing traffic cameras, creating express toll lanes, improving traffic signals and alerting drivers about accidents or delays ahead, as Stateline reported — all measures that are said to minimize traffic delays, thereby reducing carbon emissions. Last week, the Obama administration announced that another $1.5 billion in stimulus money could be spent on “innovative” road projects.

PennDOT’s plan will add 59 closed-circuit surveillance cameras to its network of 175 that already feed into a regional traffic control center in King of Prussia, which is manned 24 hours a day. Technicians there use the cameras to spot accidents or delays and disptach appropriate help to speed up traffic recovery.

PennDOT spokesman Charles Metzger says every five minutes of traffic disruption causes at least a half hour of delays.

The region will also get 39 new electronic signs that can display travel times, accident and emergency alerts and other messages you may or may not read. Tens of vehicle sensors and travel-time detectors are also being added and are scheduled to be finished by the year’s end. The boards, aided by these new sensors, are meant to alert motorists to delays and suggest alternate routes.

These highway technology improvements are lauded for putting more funds directly into the economy, by way of worker salaries. Just 20 percent of money for more traditional highway projects, like road paving or bridge repair, goes to payroll, according to a January analysis by the U.S. Department of Transportation. That figure is nearer to 50 percent for tech projects.

That’s not the only traffic project the feds are funding around here.

Montgomery County officials are using at least $14 million in stimulus cash to add interchange ramps near Henderson Road in Upper Merion, as KYW reported earlier this year.

PhillyCHI chair Dave Cooksey and human-computer interaction PhD holder Kellie Rae Carter open Refresh Philly session before city CIO Allan Frank takes the stage.

The Nutter administration will invest $100 million during the next four years in city technology, according to plans unveiled tonight by Philadelphia Chief Information Officer Allan Frank.

How they will is far less clear.

Frank unveiled his vision for a Digital Philadelphia Monday evening in front of a crowd of more than 75 members of the Refresh Philly design and developer community, as rain mist drifted past wall-length windows on the 45th floor of the Comcast Center.

The CIO hopes to employ a strategy that would procure federal broadband stimulus dollars to fund a longterm initiative overhauling the city’s technology infrastructure and its Phila.gov Web site.

“I basically want to blow the damn thing up,” he said to members as they clapped in support.

Frank said he’ll be open to input from the Philadelphia tech community leading up to a rough deadline to submit a proposal for federal stimulus dollars on August 15.

The city will hold large stakeholder meetings in June with city agencies, venture capitalists, education and health care institutions and business leaders in the Philadelphia technology community, he said.

Frank included few details but offered hypothetical scenarios of his vision, including a high tech enterprise zone, a government-underwritten broadband network to bridge the digital divide, and Web mashups that would give users access to city archives housing historic photographs, property records, and more.

Earlier, PhillyCHI chair Dave Cooksey and human-computer interaction PhD holder Kellie Rae Carter opened the session�focused on user experience and ways in which to improve Philadelphia�with a lecture detailing how governments have retooled vital services though complex design trials.

On three projector screens positioned in the room, Cooksy and Carter showed slides that detailed Philadelphia’s budget shortfalls, which Frank played off of later as gray skies cleared and lights dotted the North Philadelphia skyline.

“I look up North Broad Street and I see a textile industry that doesn’t exist anymore. I see the cycle of life. This is just how it happens,” he said, peering over glasses perched on the tip of his nose.

“When I look up there I think about Big Jobs. An opportunity to really think about building and fostering a new economy.”

Frank called the technology plan a “tremendous opportunity,” given current economic conditions, mayoral support and burgeoning technology community.

“What I’ve got is the best burning platform I could have,” he said, shaking both his fists emphatically.

Frank asked the crowed how to connect with citizens in the electronic age, sharing plans to continue embracing trending social media platforms like Twitter, and fielded questions from the largely digitally connected audience.

He deflected questions about city’s stance on open source technologies, Web site user experience testing and mobile device adoption.

“We need your help,” he told the crowd.

“Sign on with me for the Digital Philadelphia vision. You can define this.”

Staff writer Christopher Wink contributed to this report.

A graph on recovery.pa.gov breaks down how stimulus funds will be spent in Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday, Governor Ed Rendell announced plans to ensure accountability for the distribution of $16 billion that Pennsylvania will receive from the federal economic stimulus package. Gov. Rendell unveiled a new Web site to track how funds are spent, recovery.pa.gov, and said he would appoint a Chief Accountability Officer to oversee the process.

“The Web site we’re unveiling today provides a window to this process for everyone to see. The public will be able to track how every dime is spent and for what project and where. We’re committed to making this an open process for everyone,” Rendell said in a press release.

According to the release, citizens will be able to track expenditures that will be updated quarterly and provide input on how funds are invested. A sample template on the Web site shows that individual projects will be tracked by county, and provide details such as completion status, location, project schedule, dollar value of contracts, contractors, and the number of jobs created and saved. The site will be linked to Pennsylvania’s accounting system.

An example of how a project will be displayed for tracking on the State

Rendell estimates that of $9.8 billion set aside for Pennsylvania’s state and local agencies, $5.8 billion will be spent this year, as reported by the Associated Press. Of the $9.8 billion, the site breaks down how the funds will be spent in the commonwealth:

• Health Care – $4 billion
• Education - $2.56 billion
• Transportation Infrastructure – $1.4 billion
• Energy Independence – $472 million
• Other Infrastructure & Housing – $361 million
• Job Training & Other Relief for Pennsylvanians – $1.1 billion, including:
  • $425 million for Job Training/Unemployment Services
  • $347 million for State Budget Relief
  • $120 million for Crime Fighting/Victim Services
  • $116 million for Targeted Assistance to Pennsylvania Families
  • $82 million for Child Care and Head Start

The site also estimates how the economic stimulus could directly benefit citizens in Philadelphia.

• Tax relief: Individuals earning up to $75,000 will receive a $400 tax credit in 2009 and 2010, and married couples filing jointly and earning $150,000 will receive $800. 506,941 individuals and households will likely qualify for the tax credits.
• Unemployment compensation – 23,800 unemployed persons in Philadelphia who qualified for unemployment compensation at the beginning of the year will receive a $25 per week increase in unemployment benefits, along with the possibility of additional benefits through the rest of the year.
• Health insurance for unemployed – Health care will be made available to individuals who are involuntarily separated from their jobs between September 2008 and January 2010. COBRA will pay 65 percent of the monthly premium for individuals earning less than $145,000 and couples earning less than $290,000. The provision could benefit 53,900 unemployed persons in Philadelphia.
• Health insurance – 478,885 low income children and adults can continue to receive health care through the Pennsylvania Medical Assistance program. Federal support will also help 28,881 children and teens in Philadelphia who are not eligible for Medical Assistance.
• Food assistance – 355,219 low income individuals and families could potentially be given a 13.69 percent increase in the maximum Food Stamp benefit, effective in April 2009. Provisions also suspends the 3-month limit on assistance for many unemployed childless adults for the next 18 months.

Last Sunday we outlined Philadelphia’s “shovel-ready” tech proposals that could potentially be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and although it is still unclear what funds Philly will receive, we’re beginning to have a better picture since President Obama signed the bill.

Last week, The Morning Call reported that $101 million will be afforded to alternative energy investments through the state’s energy program. Some of that could go toward Philly’s proposals of installing 3,000 LED lamps in signalized intersections that could save the city $1 million per year in energy costs. It could also be funneled into plans for a Residential Solar Energy loan fund.

There’s good news for Health Camp Philadelphia, who followed up on our proposal post with hopes that electronic medical records could become a reality for medical institutions throughout the city. According to Modern Healthcare, $19.2 billion has been earmarked in the bill for health information technology. Gov. Ed Rendell spoke at the National Governors Association’s annual winter meeting on Saturday, and expressed support for long-term datelined provisions, such as the switch to electronic records. Some health care systems, like Albert Einstein in Philadelphia, have made in-roads on their own for an electronic switch, as we reported.

State public school districts, colleges, and universities will be able to tap into more than $1 billion being set aside for Pennsylvania, including $25 million to update school technology. And according to the Inquirer, $138 million of Pennsylvania’s education fund is specifically for the Philadelphia School District, which will receive between $40 million and $50 million for low-income children, $24 million in special education money, and an additional portion of $39 million up for grabs for state K-12 and higher education in the state.

President Obama warned mayors across the nation Saturday that he will keep a watchful eye on stimulus spending and “call out” mayors that spend money on pork projects. While merited, it is to be seen how the warning will affect Philadelphia’s project plans laid out in early February by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Rendell backed Pennsylvania’s mayors Sunday on Fox News, saying that he expects to put people to work on Pennsylvania’s “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects by May.

If one project stands out from the rest as one that could face President Obama scrutiny, it’s Philly’s proposal for a $115,000,000 expansion of the Central Library. While 300 new computers with high-speed Internet access would be a great advantage for the Central Library’s crowded computer lab, this project seems less pressing than what many struggling branches across the city face.

We’ll keep you updated on any Philly technology related stimulus news as it comes.