Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Bell Aquaculture Company Profile: 'Yellow Perch at Sea in the Cornfields of Indiana'

Quoting from the company profile by Robert Puro:

"What’s makes Bell Aquaculture stand out, aside from the fact that it is the nation’s largest producer of yellow perch, is the company’s dedication to sustainability throughout every link in its operation. Even before Bell built its innovative aquaculture facility and harvested its first fish, sustainability was priority one.

To insure efficient and sustainable water usage in its aquaculture operation, Bell uses an indoor state of the art Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), which was developed at the Freshwater Institute in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. On a flow basis Bell’s RAS reuses 99.8% of the water in the system. Additionally, the water that the fish are farmed in is purified on-site and held to almost the same standards as the municipal water supply. 'We want to make sure that we are good stewards of everything we do including the water that we use,' said McCowan. Having an indoor system also insures against danger from outside environmental contamination of any kind."

Link to the Seedstock Company Profile of Bell Aquaculture

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Inside Line: "Fundraisers brimming with success"

Quoting Joanne Davidson's column in the Denver Post:

"The Cat Care Society celebrates its 30th year by hosting Tails of the Painted Cats at Green Gables Country Club on June 5. KOA's April Zesbaugh will emcee the 4 p.m. dinner and auction of 16 fiberglass kitties that have been painted by such artists as Jane Dorsey, Claudia Roulier and Irlene Owada."

Gallery of all the Painted Cats: http://www.catcaresociety.org/paintedcatsgallery.html

Link to Joanne's column

Friday, May 27, 2011

Colorado Bolsters Funds for New Bioscience Companies, Job Creation

Industry supporters gathered at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science May 26th to celebrate Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper's signing of The Innovation Reinvestment Act, Senate Bill 47. The announcement is made by Holli Baumunk, President & CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA), who says the bill was initiated during the 2010-11 legislative session by the CBSA in partnership with the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association (CCIA) and sponsored by Senator Rollie Heath, Representative Cheri Gerou, and Representative Jim Riesberg.

"Colorado's bioscience community is simply thrilled that, beginning in 2014, up to $2 million annually will be added to our state's Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program," Baumunk says.

Video - signing ceremony:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC5AuUlete8

Video - Gov Hickenlooper's remarks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuW18m0kRxI

Video - Rep Cheri Gerou's remarks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOkrlER1PWY

Audio Download - Steve Orndorff's remarks:
http://tinyurl.com/OrndorffRemarks

Link to the Business Wire release

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Denver's Cat Care Society Celebrates 30 Years of Service to the Community

The Cat Care Society (CCS) is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year. The announcement is made by Shari Shiffer-Krieger, CCS Executive Director, who says the milestone is being officially commemorated June 5th at Green Gables Country Club with the auction of 17 painted fiberglass cats, each about 28" tall and painted a different theme by local artists. Link to buy tickets.

"Our 30th anniversary art event, 'Tails of the Painted Cats,' has been in progress for more than a year now to raise awareness of our past 30 years of growth and the work going on every day for the cats being helped by our cageless shelter and other related projects in the community," Shiffer-Krieger says.

Link to the 30th Anniversary Milestones pdf

Link to the PR Web newswire

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

FETCH: John's Davidson's Pet Focused Blog at the Denver Post Website Shares News About The 30th Anniversary Cat Care Society Painted Cats Collection

Quoting from John Davidson's May 8th Pet Calendar:

"Denver’s Cat Care Society is celebrating its 30th Anniversary with the “Tails of the Painted Cats” art event, showcasing 16 local artists who have painted a large fiberglass cat with a special theme — Carousel Cat, Tutan-KHAT-mun, Georgia O’Kitty and more.

To see all of them, the Painted Cat Gallery is found at:
http://www.catcaresociety.org/paintedcatsgallery.html.

On June 5, the Painted Cats will be auctioned at a Dinner/Auction Gala at Green Gables Country Club. Tickets for the Gala are $75 each."

Link to the posting - scroll down to the Pet Calendar

2010-11 Legislative Initiatives Extend Colorado's BDEGP Program to 2018 & Increase Grant Funds by $26 Million through 2018, totaling $53 million

The Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) has been fortunate to have passed/supported four financing bills through the 2010-2011 Legislative Session that will help the bioscience community grow in Colorado. The state has extended the BDEGP program to 2018 and increased grant funds by an additional $26 million through 2018 for a total grant program of $53 million. Quick overview:

SB 159: Distribution of State Share of Limited Gaming Revenue (CBSA supported) - HB1001's BDEGP program receives its funding from gaming and we were able to retain our funding at a slight decrease to $5.25 million per year.

HB 1283: Extending the Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program (HB 08-1001) CBSA bill - Extends the sunset date of the program from 2013 to 2018.

SB 47: Innovation Reinvestment Act (CBSA /Colorado Cleantech Industry Association bill) - Provides additional funding for the BDEGP program. It takes the net increase in State Corporate Income Tax Withholdings within the Bioscience and Clean Tech industry sectors and splits it out 50% to the General Fund, 25% to Bioscience and 25% to CleanTech. Bioscience's 25% will go to the BDEGP program which is estimated at approximately $2 million of additional monies per year. This will go into effect in 2014.

HB 1045: Innovation Investment Tax Credit (Colorado Software and Internet Association bill, CBSA supported) -provides up to $20,000 for individual angel investors that invest in a minimum of $25,000 per company. Currently identifying funding for the program.

Link to the CBSA's Advocacy webpage

From ColoradoBiz, trends in tech: 'A status report on Colorado's top six tech sectors'

Quoting from the May 2011 ColoradoBiz report by Eric Peterson:

"Holli Baumunk, president and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) in Denver, is bullish, and she has the numbers to back it up.

'Bioscience is one of the few sectors that's been growing in the past two years,' Baumunk says. From 2005 to 2010, the biotech and pharmaceutical industries in Colorado grew by about 3 percent, while the larger industry suffered through a 4 percent contraction over the same period nationally. And Colorado's medical device industry outdid biotech and pharma by growing 8
percent over those five years.

However, not all is well in bioscience, Baumunk says. 'We're a little concerned about regulatory issues at the federal level and financial issues around the country,' she says. 'The FDA is undergoing major reforms that are having an impact on the bioscience industry. It's becoming a lot more stringent toward the medical device industry.

New devices could have to go through the same trials a drug goes through. The cost of that is extremely high. What we're really concerned about is what this will do to U.S. competitiveness globally. If we're constantly implementing more and more regulation on our companies, it's not going to be cost-effective for them to manufacture here. It's a long haul already, and this makes it longer.'

Proposals to lower the length of a patent on biosimilars, generic versions of biotech drugs with expired patents, from 12 years to seven have also raised the industry's ire, Baumunk says.

'It doesn't give companies enough time to recoup their investment,' she argues, noting that the average drug requires a decade to get out of the red. 'Why develop it? Where's the money? Another thing we're very concerned about is lack of financing for emerging bioscience companies. Venture capital money has really dried up.'

The CBSA is pushing for a five-year renewal of the Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program, which funneled $27 million to early-stage companies in recent years. 'We want that to continue,' Baumunk says. Same goes for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding at the federal level.

Nevertheless, Colorado is well-positioned with its fast growing medical campuses and programs at the state's institutions of higher learning. Baumunk cites both University of Colorado and Colorado State University as well as Colorado School of Mines. 'We are really lucky to have all of these research institutions.'"

Link to the article at cobizmag.com

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Reminder: the Cat Care Society's 30th Anniversary 'Painted Cats' Opening Reception is Tonight at the LAC Gallery

Reminder: the Cat Care Society's 30th Anniversary 'Painted Cats' Art Collection is now on display at the Lakewood Arts Council Gallery and tonight (Thursday, May 5) is the Opening Reception, 7-8:30 p.m. The event is open to the public. See all the Painted Cats, plus other great feline art on display. We encourage you to join us. The LAC Gallery is located at 85 South Union Blvd #C.

Click here for the flier

Note: that's 'Mo Meowsic' by local Artist Pat Lickly in the photo.

Link to the online gallery of the 'Painted Cats' collection (only if you can't make it to the Gallery Reception tonight).

Thank you, KWGN, for news about the Cat Care Society's Painted Cats Collection at the Lakewood Arts Council Gallery

KWGN's Everyday Show featured the Cat Care Society's Painted Cats Art Collection on Wednesday, May 4. We appreciate the reminder about the Opening Reception, Thursday Night, May 5, 7-8:30, at the Lakewood Arts Council Gallery. See all the Painted Cats, plus other great feline art on display.

The LAC Gallery is located at 85 South Union Blvd #C.

Click here for the flier

Note: that's 'Peace' by Artist Pam Schmidt in the photo.

Link to the KWGN Everyday webpage

Monday, May 2, 2011

Cat Care Society's 16 'Painted Cats" Featured at Lakewood Arts Council Gallery During May, through June 4



"Tails of the Painted Cats," the 30th Anniversary Art Event for the shelter cats at the Cat Care Society (CCS), are now on display at the Lakewood Arts Council Co-op Gallery during the month of May through June 4. A public reception is Thursday, May 5, 7 - 8:30 p.m., at the LAC Gallery.

On June 5, the Painted Cats will be auctioned at a Dinner/Auction Gala at Green Gables Country Club. The emcee is cat lover, April Zesbaugh the host of Colorado's Morning News on KOA. The Auctioneer is Don Martin. Tickets for the Gala are $75.00 each and available by calling 303-239-9680 or visiting http://www.catcaresociety.org/painted_cat_ticket_form.html

In addition to the sixteen Painted Cats that comprise the 30th Anniversary collection, local artist Jane McFadden Dorsey created the project's original "promo cat," Georgia O'Kitty, as sponsors and artists were recruited over the past year. Sponsored by Poppy Shiffer-Krieger, Georgia O'Kitty is on display at the CCS lobby. For a $10.00 donation per ticket, names are entered in a drawing to take her home. The winner of Georgia O'Kitty will be announced at the June 5 Dinner/Auction Gala at Green Gables Country Club.

Link to the PR Web newswire

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Colorado BioScience Association Science Series: Personalized Medicine - Video Highlights Now Posted

The session was held April 28, 2011, at the Scientific Education Research Institute (SERI), Thornton, CO. Participants in the session included: Dr. Ron Sokol, Director, Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) - keynote speaker; Fred Mitchell, CEO, Beacon Biotechnology; Dr. Larry Gold, Chairman and Chief Science Officer, SomaLogic; David Brunel, CEO, Biodesix; and Dr. Pauline Gee, Chief Science Officer, BodySync. Vicki Jenings, Director of Business Relations, Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, moderated the session.

Video links:

Dr. Ron Sokol, Director, Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) - first of four parts: http://youtu.be/X8iiwUAzXH0?hd=1

Fred Mitchell, CEO, Beacon Biotechnology - first of two parts: http://youtu.be/VnEjbe1mHAY?hd=1

David Brunel, CEO, Biodesix - first of two parts: http://youtu.be/Ea2ot7Q8e4M?hd=1

Panel Discussion - first of two parts: http://youtu.be/DIEfNg9-a98?hd=1