From: Jim Warren Subject: GovAccess.021: Leginfo popular; school & public access; Cal infoplans Feb.27, 1994 [Some kindly collegues are setting up a Internet GovAccess-files archive-site for access by ftp, gopher, etc. - to be announced in a later posting. --jim] "We trained hard, but it seemed every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization." -- Petronius Arbiter, ca. 60 AD [from John Dilley ] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 11,000 QUERIES TO CALIF. LEGINFO IN THREE WEEKS, *JUST* VIA UCSC'S GOPHER From watkins@scilibx.UCSC.EDU Thu Feb 17 18:09:08 1994 [reformatted --jim] ... My main contribution is to manage the InfoSlug Gopher system at UC Santa Cruz, ... I recently put up a friendly version of access to the California legislative information server that came out of your work with AB1624, like the folks at SV/PAL. With only a minimal announcement, we logged nearly 11,000 uses of the legislative info in the first three weeks, so the interest is clearly there. I've also recently added a link to a Gopher system that the legislature is apparently now running themselves, with some pretty good stuff in it. ... --Steve Watkins Science Library University of California, Santa Cruz watkins@scilibx.ucsc.edu --- [Notes: (1) InfoSlug's gopher is just one of at least half a dozen now used to fetch files from the Calif. Legislative Data Center's (LDC) ftp/ftpmail file-server. (2) The Univ. of California-Santa Cruz calls it "InfoSlug" because their proud campus mascot is the banana slug. (3) I *think* the legislative gopher is run by the state Senate's computer services; *not* by the LDC (but would be happy to be corrected on this). (4) When we were trying to push AB1624 through the Legislature, some legislators doubted that anyone except a few elite computer nerds would ever use such online access. One even carried on at great length about how no one cared about such information or what they were doing in Sacramento. --jim] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ONLINE ACCESS FOR CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS & LIBRARIES PACIFIC BELL & CALIF.PUC Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 16:33:29 -0800 (PST) From: "Gary Strong (XXXXXXXX.ca.gov)" [forwarded by a friend. --jim] Subject: Pacific Bell Announcement [reformatted for GovAccess. --jim] To: COSLA --- Yesterday I joined the President of Pacific Bell, my governor, members of the legislature, supt. of public instruction, and chancellor of the community colleges to announce a major initiative by Pacific Bell. Pacific Bell has committed to a $100 million investment in California public schools and public libraries in their territory (about 80 % of the state) to start them rolling on the communications superhighway. Pending approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, Pacific Bell will wire targeted locations within each institution for video and data applications, install service for free, and waive the usage charges for one year after installation. Pac Bell will also work with the California Public Utilities Commission to develop a special education access rate that will help ensure universal telecommunications service for educational institutions. In addition to basic data and video connectivity, Pacific Bell also will give public schools and libraries access to video-on-demand and other forms of interactive multimedia -- the high-speed lanes of the communications superhighway -- as the company deploys its interactive broadband network across its territory in California. --- Components of the initiative include: 1. Switched digital service, allowing telecomputing and interactive telelearning capability will be made available to all public K-12 schools, public libraries and community colleges in Pacific Bell's service territory by the end of 1996. Subject to regulatory approval, each institution can get free installation of four ISDN lines for these applications and Pacific Bell will waive the usage charges for the first year after installation. 2. The company will work with the California Public Utilities Commission to develop an educational access rate that will ensure affordable telecommunications connectivity for all schools and libraries in the state. 3. Subject to regulatory approval, Pacific Bell will connect public schools and libraries to its broadband network as it is deployed, allowing these institutions access to video-on-demand and other forms of interactive multimedia. 4. Pacific Bell will provide intra-building wiring at up to two sites at each public school and library -- a computer lab for telecomputing and a location for interactive telelearning. The company also will contribute $5 million in "seed money" to organize and support a drive to raise the funds needed to wire the remainder of classrooms in the state for full broadband capability. 5. Pacific Bell President Phil Quigley will spearhead a public/private consortium to ensure that every California classroom and library is wired and equipped for full access to the communications superhighway by the year 2000. As part of this effort, Compression Labs, Inc. has agreed to work with Pacific Bell on a program to provide the group videoconferencing systems for the schools. 6. Pacific Bell will expand its partnership with the Detwiler Foundation and the California Community Colleges for placing donated computers in the schools. 7. The company will field dedicated resource teams which will work directly with schools and teachers to help them fully utilize the new telecommunications equipment and resources at their disposal. At the same time, the company will collaborate with universities and colleges to help increase the emphasis given to educational issues in the teaching curriculum. --- >From my view this is a tremendously exciting proposal and one which will change the direction of some of our efforts over the next few months. I will keep you informed. --- Gary E. Strong California State Librarian %%%%%%%%%%%%%%% >From farber@eff.org Thu Feb 17 04:26:06 1994 Subject: Fwd: Pac Bell proposing BASIC PLUS service which would include Internet access To: interesting-people@eff.org (interesting-people mailing list) PACIFIC BELL ANNOUNCES VISION FOR UNIVERSAL SERVICE; Proposes choice of two basic service packages LOS ANGELES--Feb. 16, 1994-Speaking at a public hearing held by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Pacific Bell's Charles Smith, vice president and general manager for the Los Angeles region, announced Pacific Bell's vision of universal service for the Information Age. "Information technology must be used to advance social integration, not to push it backward," said Smith. "Our company does not takeA merica's social integration goals lightly. On the contrary, we take it as our responsibility to contribute, and we understand that our capacity to contribute is great," he said. Smith pointed out that Pacific Bell provides discounted telephone service for low income customers who qualify, and in fact, serves more Universal Lifeline Telephone Service customers than all 1400 local phone companies in the country combined. In describing Pacific Bell's vision for universal service, Smith explained that the company believes there should be a choice of two basic service packages, both available to all customers and with Lifeline plans for both: - BASIC SERVICE - to include voice grade dial tone, touch-tone, access to 9-1-1 emergency services, the Operator, 4-1-1 Information, 6-1-1 repair service and annual white page directories. - BASIC PLUS - to include user-friendly access to wideband services, such as databases and the Internet. This service, available to everyone, would be optional at the customer's request and would cost more than basic service. Pacific Bell's proposal for two basic service packages is supportive of the California Public Utility Commission's (CPUC) position taken in its recent infrastructure report to the Governor. In Smith's statement at the public hearing, he also discussed the subsidy issue, saying "whatever subsidies are raised should be collected in a competitively neutral way from ALL companies that supply telecommunications in any form. We leave unresolved the question of precisely when a provider of local service assumes the obligation of providing universal service, but there should be no threshold below which a provider can escape the obligation to contribute toward the support of low-income customers," he said. Smith also talked about Pacific Bell's announcement Monday to put $100 million into a program for school and library digital wiring. "We believe there should be special discount rates for public schools, libraries, hospitals and clinics," he said. "We will seek a discount school rate from the Public Utilities Commission immediately. All 7400 locations will be wired in less than three years." In closing, Smith emphasized two other core beliefs: - Pacific Bell believes in open access for the purpose of providing information, as well as for the purpose of buying it. - Pacific Bell believes we'll need public electronic libraries, just as we've needed public libraries in the paper world. Pacific Bell is a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis Group, a diversified worldwide telecommunications corporation based in San Francisco. CONTACT: Pacific Bell Gary Sanderson, 213/975-4074 Charlene Baldwin, 415/542-4640 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%% MORE RE CALIF INFO TECH STRATEGY AND SCHOOL & LIBRARY COMMUNICATIONS [I had posted a message that I'd received stating that the state's reports on these issues were not available online. Apparently the sender was wrong -- according to list-lurkers in Texas, Minnesota and Apple. :-) --jim] --- >From sjg@tenet.edu Wed Feb 16 18:59:25 1994 Jim, I obtained a copy of the CA Telecommunications report from the Mosaic server at Berkeley. If any wants the file have them contact me and I'll send it to them. Keep up the good work and HaGD __ | | sjg@tenet.edu /__ __|__ _ _ __|__ Stuart Greenfield, Analyst / | | | _\ | | Texas Performance Review __/ | |__| (_| | | 111 E. 17th St., Rm 1105 Austin, TX 78774-0001 (512) 475-4361 475-0286 (FAX) ----- >From oconnor@haven.com Wed Feb 16 20:16:29 1994 From: oconnor@haven.com (Mike O'Connor) ... The strategic telecommunication strategy report that came out of the PUC *is* online. i got it out of the 'what's new in January' pages of mosaic (the WWW brouser from NCSA) but it musta really been an ftp site. ... (warning, the whole thing is pretty long for email but the exec summary is pretty good) mike o'connor [phone: XXXXXXXXXXXXX--deleted by jim] university of minnesota (AIS, CUFS, Ops Development, Quality) ----- >From K1686@AppleLink.Apple.COM Wed Feb 16 22:26:17 1994 From: K1686@AppleLink.Apple.COM (Educational Suppt Sys, Cradler,K12) Senator Morgan, Assembly Members Farr and Quackenbush, authored SB 1510 - the Morgan-Farr-Quackenbush Educational Technology Act of 1992. The California Master Plan for Educational Technology, was a major input to this Act. No, it's not online. The CPUC calls for the creation of a Schools and Libraries Information Technologies Grant Program with the provision for funding up to $150 million annually for the Golden State Education Network. The report to the Governor from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) was produced by the Strategic Planning Division of the PUC. Besides the Governor's office try calling the PUC for a copy of the report. For further information about SB 1510, The California Master Plan for Educational Technology, or the Golden State Education Network (GSEN), Contact John Crader, 565-3000 . %%%%%%%%%%%%%%% VIP(??) EMAIL ADDRESSES From: "Thaddeus P. Bejnar" lgllawlib@TECHNET.NM.ORG Sun Jul 11 21:16:23 1993 ... > President Clinton: president@whitehouse.gov [valid] > Vice President Al Gore: vice.president@whitehouse.gov [valid] > Tom Clancy: tclancy@aol.com > Scott Adams: sadams@aol.com > Todd Rundgren: mquayle@aol.com > John Perry Barlow: barlow@aol.com > Billy Idol: idol@well.sf.ca.us > Roger Ebert: 76711.271@compuserve.com > Andrew Tobias: 70641.473@compuserve.com %%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Mo' as it Is. --jim Jim Warren, columnist for MicroTimes, Government Technology, BoardWatch, etc. 345 Swett Rd., Woodside CA 94062; voice/415-851-7075; fax/415-851-2814 >> To join the GovAccess list, email a request to jwarren@well.sf.ca.us .<< >> Permission herewith granted for unlimited reposting and recirculation.<<