Recent events make it clear that the digital divide is in the air in Sacramento.
Benefiting from the buzz around the latest Falling Through the Net Report from the U.S. Commerce Department and several recent forums on the issue, CIOF's Policy Group, made up of representatives from each CIOF site and the Coordination Team, has increased the awareness of community technology's promises and challenges, and increased policymakers' eagerness to finding solutions to the digital divide. The CIOF Policy Group has been hard at work getting the word out about CIOF as an important model to interested opinion leaders, policy makers, and policy implementors. Jeff Carr and Louise Steenkamp, from Plumas County Health Services, represented CIOF at an informational hearing in Sacramento and did a great job providing official testimony supporting community technology, highlighting CIOF and their two sites in particular. Jeff and Louise were joined by presenters from other organizations working to address the digital divide. CIOF is quickly becoming recognized as a model worth replicating.