California Emerging Technology Fund and the City of Vernon Announce Major Grants...

California Emerging Technology Fund and the City of Vernon Announce Major
Grants to the Southeast Cities to Close the Digital Divide
A three-year project will help approximately 3,200 residents of Los Angeles
County's southeast cities get ahead with high-speed broadband Internet access
and education

VERNON, Calif., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Emerging
Technology Fund (CETF) and the City of Vernon today presented grant awards of
$476,000 and $301,000 respectively to the Southeast Cities Technology
Collaborative for a three-year initiative to close the growing Digital Divide
among residents in the southeast cities of Los Angeles County. The event was
attended by Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) and chairman of CETF, Ronald Garcia, president of the
Southeast Community Development Corporation (SCDC), Leonis Malburg, mayor of
Vernon, former State Senator Martha Escutia, and Leticia Chacon, associate
director of Human Services Association (HSA) Bell Gardens.
"We're pleased to support the southeast community of Los Angeles County,"
said Michael Peevey, president of the CPUC and chairman of CETF. "Investing
in high-speed Internet access will encourage the social, educational and
economic advancement and help community residents get ahead. We think that
the Southeast Cities Technology Collaborative will be a model for other
regions to replicate."
Although adoption of high-speed broadband Internet technology is steadily
increasing across the nation and within California, many underserved
populations exist without Internet access. Almost all adults with household
incomes above $80,000 use computers (94 percent) and the Internet
(92 percent), while those with household incomes under $40,000 are far less
likely to use either computers (58 percent) or the Internet (49 percent),
according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Three in four
Californians (75 percent) report that they use a computer at home, work or
school, and 70 percent use the Internet. Latinos lag far behind other groups
with only 58 percent using computers and 48 percent using the Internet.
A recent study conducted by the University of California in Berkeley has
shown that residents of the southeast cities, including the communities of
Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, Vernon and
Walnut Park / Florence-Firestone, are largely disconnected from the Internet
due to the lack of broad public access to computers, technical assistance and
computer literacy education. This reality, referred to as the Digital Divide,
is a concern for California's future global competitiveness.
In order to bridge the Digital Divide, the Southeast Cities Technology
Collaborative will conduct a three-year technology initiative in these
communities to develop strong pathways for improving educational and health
outcomes by expanding community broadband access, implementing a comprehensive
computer literacy program and enhancing existing community service programs
throughout the region.
"We're grateful for this opportunity to advance our community," said
Ronald Garcia, president of the Southeast Community Development Corporation
(SCDC). "For California to be a global leader in broadband, there must be a
broader and deeper understanding among California policymakers, civic leaders
and consumers of how broadband technology can improve quality of life, enhance
economic prosperity and help reduce impacts on the environment."
This project is the first of many initiatives beginning statewide that
will help underserved communities and populations get ahead by closing the
Digital Divide through the use of high-speed Internet access and education.
CETF's overall goal is to make a substantial and measurable impact on bridging
California's Digital Divide in rural areas, urban disadvantaged neighborhoods,
and among people with disabilities. Achieving this goal will require both the
availability of broadband technology as well as the ability to access and use
it.
The Southeast Cities Technology Collaborative will serve at least
1,700 residents, plus 500 students with the adult education training programs,
and 1,000 children/youth over a three-year period. The Collaborative will
develop eight Regional Technology Centers in eight communities by
strategically locating 80 computer workstations in community facilities,
providing space and staff members to enhance early learning skills for
children, math and science skills for youth, career and workforce development
and financial literacy skills for adults. A total of 500 adult students that
successfully complete a three-month computer literacy class will receive a
free refurbished computer and two years of free AT&T DSL service.
A mobile computer lab with 15 laptops and a projector will be established
to provide life-skills, health awareness and job development classes at
on-site locations that want to offer classes yet cannot accommodate a learning
center. The Collaborative will partner with East Los Angeles Community
College (South Gate Branch), Southwest Community College and Huntington
Park-Bell Adult School and will refer students for advanced classes.
"By supporting this project, Vernon will be a part of truly transforming
and improving the quality of life for residents in nearby cities," said Leonis
Malburg, Mayor of Vernon. "The mobile lab will mean that people living in the
southeast cities will have access to the Internet and technology like never
before."
About the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF)
The mission of the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) is to close
the Digital Divide and ensure that California is a global leader in the use of
broadband technology (high-speed access to the Internet). The California
Public Utilities Commission directed the establishment of CETF in approving
the mergers of SBC-AT&T and Verizon-MCI in 2005. AT&T and Verizon are
contributing a total of $60 million in seed capital to advance broadband
deployment and adoption. CETF is a non-profit public-benefit corporation.
For more information, please visit http://www.cetfund.org or call
(415) 744-CETF.
About the Southeast Community Development (SCDC)
The Southeast Community Development Corporation is a nonprofit
organization focused on improving the economic, social, and educational
development of the residents of Southeast area of Los Angeles County. For more
information, please visit http://www.scdcorp.org or call (323) 585-4579.
About The City of Vernon
For more than 100 years, the City of Vernon has served as an industrial
and economic resource for surrounding communities in Southern California.
Vernon's businesses provide jobs for 50,000 people, many who live in diverse
adjacent communities including Bell, Bell Gardens, Boyle Heights, Commerce,
Huntington Park and Maywood.
SOURCE California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF)

Cesar Zaldivar-Motts, Southeast Community Development Corp., +1-323-585-4579,
mottscz@scdcorp.org; or Caitlin Gadoua, CETF/H&K, +1-310-633-9443,
Caitlin.gadoua@hillandknowlton.com; or Heather Herndon, City of Vernon,
+1-310-689-7538, Heather@SugermanGroup.com