A meeting of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) Board has been scheduled for Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the Tinton Falls Municipal Building, 556 Tinton Avenue, Tinton Falls, NJ 07724. Formal action may be taken at this meeting. A copy of the proposed agenda can be found 48 hours prior to the meeting at the websites of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority: www.nj.gov/fmera, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority: www.njeda.gov.

By Tom De Poto/The Star-Ledger
October 9, 2012 

Among the first orders of business yesterday for new Economic Development Authority president Michele Brown was to lift a cap on tax credits for residential projects. 

With little fanfare, Brown got right down to business at her first meeting and rolled efficiently through the morning’s agenda in 70 minutes. 

The board yesterday modified a decision at last month’s meeting that approved $100 million in Urban Transit Hub funds for large-scale residential development. The program had been on hold since February when demand outpaced the funding. The agency had approved $250 million in funds, with only about $30 million remaining.

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Please be advised that the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Residential Competitive Solicitation, as outlined in this public notice posted in the New Jersey Register, is expected to be released in late October 2012.  Deadlines for responses to the solicitation will be adjusted to reflect this revised timeframe.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s next public Board Meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 36 West State St., Trenton, NJ 08625. A copy of the proposed agenda can be found prior to the meeting at www.njeda.gov/Board. Following the Board Meeting, minutes and the full agenda will also be available at www.njeda.gov/Board.

Basking Ridge Patch
October 2, 2012 

New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno visited Bernards Twp. on Monday to meet with business owners and discuss the state of business in Bernards, following an invitation from the Bernards Township Regional Chamber of Commerce, the chamber’s executive director said. 

After receiving a call from the governor’s staff, the chamber’s executive director, Al LiCata said he arranged stops at several businesses in the downtown area to meet with the owners, a tour of downtown business area and a roundtable discussion with chamber members about “the state of business in Bernards.”

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By Stacy Jones/Star-Ledger
September 27, 2012

When Mario Casabona reminded TechLaunch’s 10 resident CEOs on Tuesday to start thinking about tax returns, the room filled with groans and sighs. 

The truth is that poring over Schedule C or 1065 forms is a good problem to have. As the first TechLaunch cohort, the entrepreneurs had $20,000 to spend on their startup companies and several even managed to find paying customers. 

TechLaunch, a startup itself, is the state’s first technology accelerator. With a $150,000 investment from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and twice that in matching funds from private investors, the center has been mentoring, educating and grooming 10 early-stage companies for a Nov. 1 debut with investors. New Jersey hopes if it builds a startup-friendly ecosystem, with accelerators, incubators and affordable co-working spaces, the entrepreneurs will stay instead of flocking to New York City or Silicon Valley in California.

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By Juliet Fletcher/The Record
September 27, 2012

* The federally financed effort will advise, train and fund small-business ventures in foreign markets. 

New Jersey small businesses with an eye to export will soon be able to seek state grant money to develop foreign markets. 

In a step aimed at giving promising smaller businesses some international reach, the state’s new International Business Development and Protocol will administer a $204,000 grant from the federal Small Business Administration to advise, train and even fund companies’ first steps beyond U.S. borders. 

Michael Van Wagner, the executive director of the state’s Business Action Center, which includes the international development arm, said New Jersey would use the federal money to allow a variety of small companies everything from small trips to international trade shows – a bet he says can pay off for the state in terms of job creation and economic productivity.

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NBC40.net
September 25, 2012 

Acting New Jersey Governor Kim Guadagno helped small businesses connect with buyers from all over the world in Atlantic City Tuesday. 

They were in town for discover 2012, the U.S. commercial service global business forum, which allows New Jersey and regional businesses to meet with exporters from around the globe. 

One of the goals of the conference is to teach small businesses how to do business with the world at large.

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By Katie Eder/NJBIZ
9/21/2012

After a run-in with New Jersey’s nonprofit marketing arm three months ago at an international biotechnology convention in Boston, Michal Kaczmarski, markets editor of England-based Foreign Direct Investment Magazine, pitched a feature idea to his editor to determine firsthand if the state lives up to the group’s enthusiasm about its business-friendly climate.

“The biotech conference was a good opportunity for me to speak to the most active and helpful agencies about how they go about promoting their states … but there’s a difference between speaking to a promotional agency and them telling you they have great business opportunities, and actually experiencing it,” Kaczmarski said. “On this trip, I’ve been kind of like a mystery shopper, and I think the business-to-business approach of Choose New Jersey in trying to engage as many companies as possible is working well. If it’s easy for me to work with them, then it’s got to be easy for foreign investors.”

Kaczmarski said the state’s best bet for attracting foreign direct investment is through the Partnership for Action, which is made up of the state Economic Development Authority, Business Action Center and Choose New Jersey.

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