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Mayor Mike McGinn named Beth Hester as his new director of communications. Hester has served as the general manager at the award winning Seattle Channel for the last three years, having joined the Channel in 2002 as content manager. She began her public service career in 1993 as a budget analyst first for the City of New York's Office of Management and Budget and later for the King County Office of Budget and Strategic Planning. In 1997, she became manager of external and governmental affairs for King County Executive Ron Sims, moving on to the position of state lobbyist for the King County Council in 1998.

Beth's broad knowledge of the City's departments, programs and policies make her a strong addition to my team," according to Mayor McGinn.

Public computing and broadband adoption conference
Join us June 27-28 in Cleveland for the Community Broadband Adoption Impact and Sustainability Conference. Sustainable Broadband Adoption and Public Computing Center project staff and other digital inclusion practitioners are implementing strategies to creatively engage, equip, train, and support those left out of our digital society. Learn from each other, share best practices and brainstorm solutions. See more here. The conference is hosted by Connect Your Community, a project of OneCommunity.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke hosted the launch of a new national digital literacy resource website. DigitalLiteracy.gov is designed to share and enhance the tools necessary to teach computer and Internet skills and to help adults and children use the Internet safely and responsibly. DigitalLiteracy.gov provides a central space where practitioners such as libraries, schools, community centers and workforce training centers can share and rate digital literacy content and practices. DigitalLiteracy.gov is an interagency effort spearheaded by the Department of Commerce, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and seven other federal agencies.

In March, the City of Seattle released a formal solicitation seeking proposals for an organization to manage public access television. After receiving and evaluating proposals, the City, through its Chief Technology Officer Bill Schrier, announced the Seattle Community Colleges Television as the apparent successful proposer. The City and the colleges are currently in contract negotiations and expect to execute an agreement in June. This new manager will replace SCAN TV, the previous public access TV organization that held the City contract.

The Washington College Bound Scholarship provides hope and incentive for students and families who otherwise might not consider college as an option because of its cost. Low-income 7th and 8th grade students who sign a pledge by June 30 of their 8th grade year are eligible. Scholarships are based on tuition rates at Washington public colleges and universities and cover the tuition and fees (plus $500 for books) not covered by other state financial aid awards.

Students promise to graduate from high school, demonstrate good citizenship, and seek admission to a college or university. Family income will be re-checked and college admission confirmed after the student graduates from high school.

To sign-up online go here. Middle-school counselors also have this info.

Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion: thought starters for individuals.

q&a

Have a question for Mayor Mike McGinn? Join host C.R. Douglas on his last Seattle Channel show as he sits down with the Mayor on Wednesday, June 29, at 7 PM for Ask the Mayor. Call (206) 681-8821 between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. or email your questions. Also, follow their conversation on Twitter or Facebook with the Seattle Channel’s accounts. You can also submit questions through Twitter and Facebook as well.

This month, C.R. Douglas will be leaving the Seattle Channel after nine years of hosting City Inside/Out and City Inside/Out: Council Edition where he served as a reporter and host for the Seattle Channel'S weekly news and interview programs. His last show with the Seattle Channel will be this month's Ask the Mayor, a monthly call-in program with the Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn on June 29.

C.R. has been named "The Charlie Rose of Seattle" by Seattle Magazine, "Best On-Air Interviewer" by the Seattle Weekly and "Local Political Genius” by The Stranger. He is the recipient of two Emmy Awards (NW Region) and multiple NATOA Awards (national). You can check out his past shows at the Seattle Channel. We wish C.R. luck in his future endeavors - we'll miss you!

To subscribe or unsubscribe to Brainstorm, please email us, and we'll add you to our email notification list, or subtract you per your request. If you have ideas for future stories, please let us know and we'll try to accommodate them. We encourage you to visit the City of Seattle's Community Tech pages, seattle.gov/tech.

Collage of the Denny Terrace Computer Lab and its volunteers.

With funding from a Bill Wright Technology Matching Fund Grant, the Denny Terrace Computer Lab (DTCL) opened its doors for the first time in early 2010. The DTCL is a unique three-computer minilab, and benefits from an amazing network of volunteer and staff support.

After receiving confirmation that they were a TMF grant recipient, Denny Terrace formed the Denny Terrace Lab Committee to make plans for purchasing equipment and managing the lab. Seven residents volunteered to serve on this committee for 20 hours a week to make sure the lab meets the needs of residents. It was a successful venture.

Prior to the lab opening, Project Coordinator Oscar Escalante and Community Builder Marcia Johnson (along with the Lab Committee) distributed a resident survey to assess the needs of residents. The classes they created were in response to the needs identified in the survey. The first round of basic computer classes, taught by the project coordinator and the technical assistant, were well-attended. After getting feedback from class participants, the instructors made individual lesson plans according to the needs of the students, and topics ranged from Office 2007 to online business research to basic computer skills.

It soon became clear that the DTLC needed to hire more instructors to meet needs of lab users. Two excellent instructors were hired: Galina Dadiomova and June Rhotan. Galina taught general computer classes and June taught Excel classes. After completing Galina’s course, 100 percent of the students reported that they could easily work with a mouse and keyboard, and all attendees created email accounts. After completing June’s Excel classes, students could help out in the lab by completing tasks like entering the sign-in sheet into a spreadsheet.

Volunteers were necessary to have open lab time, and residents stepped in to fill the need. Denny Terrace’s final report reveals that that nearly fifty percent more volunteer hours were logged than required by the grant funding!

If you haven’t had a chance to find activities and learning opportunities for your kids this summer, it’s not too late. Here are some programs that are both educational and fun:

Seattle Tilth Summer Garden Camps for kids ages 3 to 14 to learn about the earth, organic gardening and how to enjoy nature in the city. Two locations at Rainier Beach Learning Garden in south Seattle and the Good Shepherd Center in north Seattle.

iD Tech Camps at the University of Washington offers kids ages 7 to 17 opportunities to experience real campus life at the University of Washington, while they study in computer labs, eat in the university dining halls, and take campus tours. These academic camps have an average of six students per instructor and customized curriculum for beginner to advanced learners.

The Burke Museum offers kids ages 5 to 14 camps that teach youth about dinosaurs, science, nature, and a very popular session on searching through the museum’s wonderful behind-the-scenes collections to uncover an archeological mystery.

Seattle YMCA offers a comprehensive listing of their summer offerings for Seattle and King County. These include summer day camps, overnight camps, indoor and outdoor camps. Visit them and click on your location at the bottom of the page for activities and opportunities near you!

Sadly, this August 2011 will end the Digital Arts Service Corps, originally started as the CTC VISTA program. The Corporation for National and Community Service has not renewed funding of the work of Transmission Project, which operated the program to build the capacity of public media and technology organizations.

This program provided valuable service to digital media and learning centers across the country. Reclaim the Media and KBCS are among the last placement sites, where Amber Cortes has been working. She’s been helping to develop the KBCS website and make the switch to an open source content management system. She is the New Media Gallery Artist in Residence at Jack Straw for 2011-2012. See one of Amber’s animated pieces, Best Frenemies: Animated!, on her You Never Know Radio site.

See more on the Transmission Project and Digital Literacy Service Corps here.

Seattle and six other cities will be the first sites for a new Americorps VISTA program launched by Google, together with the HandsOn Network, the volunteer arm of Points of Light Institute. The HandsOn Tech Corps is intended to help nonprofits effectively use technology to further their missions. HandsOn is currently recruiting 24 new positions, which you can apply for online now at HandsOnNetwork.org. These members will work full-time for one year developing introductory seminars and trainings for smaller nonprofits. The Tech Corps members will learn how to facilitate use of Google products and other tools and cloud-based offerings for nonprofits. The Transmission Project has an interesting review of the specified technology orientation of the project on their blog. After orientation, three-person teams will serve nonprofits in the Bay Area, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Pittsburgh and Seattle.

City Council member Bruce Harrell celebrates the new Tech Matching Funded lab with community members at the Central Area Senior Center.

The Energy and Tech Committee of the Seattle City Council recently held a discussion of a proposal called the Great Student Initiative introduced by Councilmember Bruce Harrell. Representatives from Comcast, Microsoft, One Economy, CenturyLink and Seattle Public Schools discussed programs to provide reduced $10/month Internet and a $150 computer for low-income families. The Comcast Broadband Opportunity Program is for school lunch eligible families. It was created as part of their buyout of NBC Universal agreement with the FCC, and will roll out in time for fall school. CenturyLink’s program is in earlier planning and is part of the terms of their purchase of Qwest. See more on the Seattle Channel.

Do you have a computer network set up at home? This may include the ability to use laptops throughout your home, print from any room, and watch TV and get movies online. While we love the convenience of being able to be “mobile” within our home, there are several security risks to consider. Sony was recently hacked twice this month, where customer accounts were robbed of $1,225, as well as accumulated points for use with their accounts. These things happen, even when people are very vigilant and careful with only visiting trusted sites. Is your home network protected?

CERT Coordination Center has an excellent breakdown of what those risks may be, defines some of the acronyms we struggle around (What are TCP and UDP ports, anyway?), and actions you can take to protect your computer systems. Take a few moments to read through it. You might be pleasantly surprised by how much you know and are already doing, but learning a few more tips is definitely a plus.

Creating Facebook groups is an easy way to allow members of your organization to communicate with each other, post announcements for your group, share documents, photos and much more. To create a group, login to your Facebook account. On the current version of Facebook, the groups link is on the left. Click on 'Create Group,'and follow the instructions. You must choose whether to make your group open, closed, or secret. Once your group is created, start inviting your members.

Agree or disagree with me? Drop me a note: Derrick Hall.

Causality Brand Grant
Causality offers full and matching service grants to help nonprofits and good causes access branding, marketing and interactive services at no or low cost. Causality will select a minimum of three of organizations to receive these grants, awarded as professional branding and marketing services, valued at $1,000 - $35,000 or more. These grants help organizations build capacity with dynamic and sustainable tools to help elevate their branding, marketing and interactive communications and enhance their ability to serve their constituents. We awarded a record number of grants during the Winter 2011 cycle to organizations across the US.
Deadline: June 30

Seattle Foundation Basic Needs and Environment Grants
Seattle Foundation recognizes that environment is central to our region’s quality of life and our economy. They support organizations that work to improve the health of Puget Sound, promote sustainable growth and cultures. The Seattle Foundation is also committed to providing the most vulnerable people in our region with tools to strengthen their economic resilience. This includes not just emergency needs, but long-term needs as well. Non-profits are invited to apply for either and/or both of these categories. If you have not received funding from Seattle Foundation in the past, please contact them directly for more information at grantmaking@seattlefoundation.org or (206) 515-2109.
Deadline: August 1

Social Networking Privacy: How to be Safe, Secure and Social.

Jack Straw Productions Audio Artist of the Week podcast.

Engaging Teens in Civic Problem Solving Online from CitiZing in Minnesota.

Back issues of Brainstorm including techtips and linkage are now available in our online archives. Previous TechTips and Linkage are also available. Click to revisit all previous issues.

Free cable broadband Internet service is available for organizations providing technology training to community members. The free service is offered within the Seattle city limits, based on the City's cable franchise agreements with Comcast and Broadstripe (Millennium). For more information and to download a short form to make application, go to our tech web. If you have questions, email Derrick Hall or call (206) 233-5061.