Economic Stimulus Information

The good folks at the Maine State Library Reference Department have created a timely & detailed quick list of links to information about the economic stimulus package, more formally known as The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

To access this information, go to http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=LibStaffPicks&id=68480&v=Article.
Or, you can individually view each of the links Maine State Library features in its review. Each is listed below with a brief explanation of each.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

The official American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 page can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/arra_public_review/. From this page, you can click a link to a PDF of the final text of the legislation as reviewed by Congress. You can also leave any comments you may have about the legislation on this page. The U.S. Economic Stimulus Plan

A much more common language version of the plan, created by the Council on Foreign Relations, can be found here -- http://www.cfr.org/publication/18348.

Keep Track of How Economic Stimulus Money is Being Spent

Recovery.gov is, according to its website, a site "that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon you'll be able to see where it's going -- to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors. As soon as we are able to, we'll display that information visually in maps, charts, and graphics." You can view the site at http://www.recovery.gov/.

State of Maine / American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Governor John Baldacci has released a statement about the stimulus plan on the Office of the Governor website at http://www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/policy/Recovery2009.shtml. This page also features links to the latest updates, press releases, and other information about Maine government's involvement with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Want to Balance Maine's Budget?

Also on Governor Baldacci's website, you will find an amusing & informative tool which will "allow you to view the most current budget projections, adjust expenses and revenues to see the results, and send me your own balanced budget proposal." In other words, you'll get to try your hand at balancing the budget. I made a slight increase in the education expenditure, quickly putting the state at a $100 million deficit (shown below). This tool, along with other Maine budgetary concerns, can be found at http://www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/policy/budget/index07-07.html.

I would like to thank the Maine State Library Reference Department for making me aware of all this information.

playne@bpl.lib.me.us

New Search Engine

LeapFish

LeapFish is a new alternative to the Google, Yahoo!, & other search engines that has been getting quite a bit of press coverage & rightfully so. LeapFish has two quickly apparent advantages over current search engine models. One, LeapFish will automatically update the page as you type your search term. In other words, you will not need to press enter or click search for results to be displayed. Sure, pressing enter or clicking search are not terribly time-consuming, but LeapFish has simplified this process in a way that I think most people can appreciate, especially after seeing it for oneself.

The second advantage of LeapFish is that search results are in varied formats. With Google & Yahoo!, a single search can currently only be done for text or images or video, not with all at once. LeapFish will simultaneously find text, video, & images. My search for guitar lessons found, for example, links to websites on the left-hand side of the page, links to videos on the right, links to images on the right, as well as other specialty links.

playne@bpl.lib.me.us