NewsWatch: Infrastructure -- "Free Wi-Fi" Post Mortem, Wind Energy Report, More ...

DOE Releases Offshore Wind Energy Report
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today the release of a report from the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which comprehensively analyzes the key factors impacting the deployment of offshore wind power in the United States. The report, Large-Scale Offshore Wind Power in the United States: Assessment of Opportunities and Barriers, includes a detailed assessment of the nation's offshore wind resources and offshore wind industry, including future job growth potential. The report also analyzes the technology challenges, economics, permitting procedures, and the potential risks and benefits of offshore wind power deployment in U.S. waters. DOE

173 Innovative Government Programs Receive Awards
Harvard's JFK School of Government announced 173 government programs selected for its Bright Ideas program -- a collection of new solutions that can be considered and adopted today.In its inaugural year, Bright Ideas is designed to recognize and share creative government initiatives around the country with interested public sector, nonprofit, and academic communities. Ash Center

Governor Kills $8.7 Billion Hudson River Tunnel Project (Video)
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie killed plans for a new train tunnel to connect his state with New York's Manhattan island Thursday, saying billions of dollars in possible cost overruns made the project "completely unthinkable." CNN
UPDATE
Governor to Reconsider

A "Free Wi-Fi" Postmortem
The 2010 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plan, Connecting America, doesn't even mention municipal Wi-Fi. Contrast that with the Federal Trade Commission's 2006 report, Municipal Provision of Wireless Internet, which listed Wi-Fi first in its list of major technologies used to provide citywide wireless Internet access. What happened? Technology Review

Gartner Evaluates Maturity of 1,800 Technologies
Media tablets, private cloud computing, and 3D flat-panel TVs and displays are some of the technologies that have moved into the peak of inflated expectations, according to the 2010 Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle. Gartner

HHS Announces Investment in Community Health
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced awards of $727 million to 143 community health centers across the country to address pressing construction and renovation needs and expand access to quality health care.  The funds are the first in a series of awards that will be made available to community health centers under the Affordable Care Act. HHS

Ideas to Make the Subway Better
The NYC columnist, Clyde Haberman, asked readers to suggest low-cost ways for the perpetually cash-starved Metropolitan Transportation Authority to make taking the subway a more pleasant experience. They responded in droves -- apparently all that waiting around on crowded platforms incubates ideas (among other things). New York Times

Despite Questions, St. Petersburg Moves Forward on Red-Light Cameras
Despite growing questions about whether red light cameras make intersections safer, the City Council continued its support of introducing them by next summer as a way to fine motorists who don't stop at traffic signals. The City Council voted 6-1 on Thursday to hire a vendor to install 20 cameras among the city's 298 intersections with traffic lights. St. Petersburg Times

Tokyo Electronics Show Gadgets Unveiled (Video)
Tokyo's Ceatec Electronics Show features future gadgets including touchscreens in which you touch the back, not the front of the screen, cars in the home as a video/sound room, better 3D screens, heads-up displays and more. BBC

Photo by Andrew Barclay. Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic