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In one lingering puzzle from 2000, an unknown number of legal voters were removed from Florida's rolls leading up to the presidential election, after a company working for the state mistakenly identified the voters as felons. At the same time, some counties mistakenly allowed felons to vote or turned away legitimate voters as suspected felons. A lawsuit filed in January 2001 sought to prevent similar errors, while another, filed just before the 2000 election, charged that the ban on felons voting discriminated against blacks and should be overturned.

New York Times news service, as seen here. Now, granted, it's not the First Page news that one would assume it would be, but we've gotta keep alight of the latest Jackson family faux pas or else our great nation will fall into chaos.

RPI's president is the highest paid university president while all us students and a LOT of the faculty is miserable with the way the school is run...

Here's a link to the column which does not require registration.

Very interesting, here it is reformated:

I'm part of a group that put a proposal in for LifeLog. This project seems like a good tie-in. More info on LifeLog: DARPA page

Please see the following articles if you are interested in reading what others have to say about it:

* CBS News: A Diary That Never Sleeps

* Geek.com: DARPA looking to record lives of interested parties

* The Oregonian: Step into one man's world, as recorded by the Pentagon's planned LifeLog

* Timesunion: Your diary's got nothing on LifeLog

Surelyann, RPI's current president, has been very supportive and pivotal in trying to secure "high-tech" employers and industry to come to the Troy/Albany area (yes, I left out Schenectady on purpose - not because GE doesn't bring good things to life, but because they're not really as attached to the initiative as the pols in Albany.)

As part of this initiative, locals have come up with the moniker of Tech Valley to describe the upper Hudson region. The area does have a lot to offer, housing is cheap, sprawl is relatively low (stay away from Colonie, though) and as RPI used to describe in their admissions info, "It's not in the middle of nowhere, it's in the middle of somewhere!" (2.5 hours to NYC, 2 hours to Syracuse, 3 hours to Boston, 3 hours to Lake Placid, etc.)

As someone who grew up, went to high school,and lived in Troy, escaped to NYC, and then transferred back to (and graduated from) RPI, I can say that Troy (and the surrounding area) definitely has a lot to offer (it's been described as other alumni friends of mine not from Troy as a great place to raise a family) - so there is good reason for tech jobs to move there.

The biggest problem thus far, however, has been local opposition and people afraid of expansion. About 2 or 3 years ago, the Rensselaer Technology Park tried to bring lots of jobs to the area and spark the Tech Valley thing, but locals in the Town of North Greenbush, where the tech park is located, killed the plan. The proposed chip fab plant was to be a boon to the area, but local squabbling (always a problem in parochial Albany and Rensselaer Counties) got to it before it could take root. Unless there have been significant changes in very recent history, my guess is that the local hometown opposition ("we don't need no stinkin' chip fab plant!") will continue to be vocal.

For what it's worth, though - President Jackson, RPI and SUNY Albany could really lead the region into great things - IF the locals allow it. Not to mention the kick-ass, two-time NCAA (1954, 1985) champion hockey team! ;)