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Blog Entries from April 2009

Secretary Locke, Governor O'Malley Urge Americans to Get Ready for TV Transition

Submitted on April 29, 2009 - 8:02pm
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Residents of Liberty Senior Center listen as Secretary Locke addresses the group. Click for larger image.

Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley encouraged Americans to prepare for the June 12 switch to digital television at a community gathering at Liberty Senior Center in Randallstown, Maryland. Secretary Locke commended local volunteers who are assisting senior citizens who rely on over-the-air television in their community with the upcoming digital transition. “The national switch to digital television is just around the corner, and there won’t be another delay,” said Secretary Locke. (More)

Salazar and Locke Restore Scientific Consultation under the Endangered Species Act to Protect Species and their Habitats

Submitted on April 28, 2009 - 4:08pm
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Image of sea turtle underwater. Click for larger image.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the two departments are revoking an eleventh hour Bush administration rule that undermined Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. Their decision requires federal agencies to once again consult with federal wildlife experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—the two agencies that administer the ESA—before taking any action that may affect threatened or endangered species. (More)

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Commerce Secretary Locke Meets with China's Minister of Commerce

Submitted on April 27, 2009 - 4:24pm
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Secretary Locke and MinisterChen shake hands, with U.S. and Chinese flags in the background.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke hosted a meeting with China’s Minister of Commerce Chen Deming at the Commerce Department. The Secretary and Minister Chen reaffirmed the commitment of both governments to continuing to build a positive and cooperative relationship that strengthens trade and creates jobs in the United Statesand China. The two leaders underscored the importance of achieving concrete results at the next meeting of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade and discussed issues such as increasing U.S. exports to China and the need to avoid protectionism. (More)

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Secretary Locke Statement on World IP Day

Submitted on April 26, 2009 - 8:52am
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Department of Commerce seal.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke released the following statement on World Intellectual Property Day: “U.S. companies are among the most innovative in the world. As we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day we are reminded of the important role intellectual property rights play in stimulating American ingenuity and spurring economic growth and jobs. Unfortunately, counterfeiting and piracy take an enormous toll on American industry and workers, costing billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year. The Department of Commerce is working to combat this problem through trade agreement compliance, active engagement with foreign leaders, and educational outreach.” (More)

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Residential Mover Rate in U.S. is Lowest Since Census Bureau Began Tracking in 1948

Submitted on April 22, 2009 - 11:59pm
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Bureau of the Census seal.

Commerce’s U.S. Census Bureau announced that the national mover rate declined from 13.2 percent in 2007 to 11.9 percent in 2008—the lowest rate since the bureau began tracking these data in 1948. In 2008, 35.2 million people 1 year and older changed residences in the U.S. within the past year, representing a decrease from 38.7 million in 2007 and the smallest number of residents to move since 1962. “Even though the number of people who changed residence in 2008 dropped by 3.5 million from the previous year, millions of Americans continue to move,” said Tom Mesenbourg, acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau. “As we gear up for the 2010 Census, we will be looking to get an accurate count of everyone in the country, regardless of whether they moved in the past year or not.” (More)

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Researchers Give High Marks to New Technology for Fingerprint Identification

Submitted on April 21, 2009 - 10:00pm
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Image of fingerprint. Click for larger image.

Overworked crime scene investigators can take heart at the results of recent tests at Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of new technologies that automate the manual portion of latent fingerprint identification. Prototype systems evaluated by NIST performed surprisingly well for a developing technology: half of the prototypes were accurate at least 80 percent of the time and one had a near perfect score. Automating the manual portion of the work frees up time for trained examiners to spend time on very difficult images that the software has little hope of processing. (More)

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Commerce Secretary Locke Addresses Motion Picture Summit

Submitted on April 21, 2009 - 4:40pm
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Secretary Locke at podium during remarks to Summit.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke talked about the motion picture industry’s importance to the U.S. economy at the Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) Second Biennial Industry Summit. “Movies and TV shows are direct products of the freedoms we enjoy; that’s part of why they’re so popular around the world,” Locke said. “The Obama administration is well aware of the impact of counterfeiting and piracy on our industries and workers, and we’re working to combat it.” (Remarks) (www.stopfakes.gov)

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Secretary Locke Announces $5.25 Million Investment in Arkansas Job Creation, Economic Development

Submitted on April 17, 2009 - 1:46pm
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EDA seal.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, on his first official trip since taking office, presented $5.25 million in Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants to create jobs and strengthen the Arkansas economy in the wake of the severe storms, flooding and tornados that occurred in 2008. Locke was joined by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe and Sen. Mark Pryor.“The Obama Administration is committed to creating jobs, encouraging innovation and improving our nation’s competitiveness,” Locke said. (Remarks)

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Vice President Biden and Secretary Locke Outline Funding for Smart Grid Initiatives

Submitted on April 16, 2009 - 8:10pm
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Vice President Biden and Commerce Secretary Locke at podium. Click for larger image.

Vice President Joe Biden, on a visit to Jefferson City, Mo. with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, detailed plans by the Department of Energy to develop a smart, strong and secure electrical grid, which will create new jobs and help deliver reliable power more effectively with less impact on the environment to customers across the nation. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Vice President and Secretary outlined plans to distribute more than $3.3 billion in Smart Grid technology development grants and an additional $615 million for Smart Grid storage, monitoring and technology viability. (White House Release) (Secretary’s Remarks)

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NOAA Dedicates New Chesapeake Bay Research Vessel

Submitted on April 15, 2009 - 2:55pm
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Image of the R/V Bay Hyrdo II speeding through the water. Click for larrger image.

Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) christened a new state-of-the-art research vessel, R/V Bay Hydro II, which will collect oceanographic data in the Chesapeake Bay region—data critical to safe navigation and environmental protection in the nation’s largest estuary. The dedication took place in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, featuring a ceremonial breaking of a champagne bottle over the bow and a cannon salute from the USS Constellation. (More)

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