Regional

The Entrepreneur Task Force of the Nashville Area Chamber is likely to produce a stir when it releases the findings of its research, sometime in the next 60 days. Then begins the hard work of allocating resources to tackle priorities. NashvillePost.com's earlier report. Related Chamber release six months ago. CNN's recent Top 100 rankings of best places to live and launch a business put Bellevue, Wash., first, Nashville 79th. Atlanta satellite community Buford was 3rd, just after Austin suburb Georgetown.

Tennessee Technology Development Corporation's board meets April 3 at Oak Ridge. Among likely topics: Progress in its pre-seed grants program, filling open board slots, conflict-of-interest policy, strategic planning, results of initial PR work. Addressing state advantages and deficiencies (including pockets of 'parochialism') outlined in a consultant's assessment will be an ongoing topic of discussion.

Angels Among Us: Nashville Capital Network (Sid Chambless), which recently launched a $5 million-plus venture fund to complement its investor-networking activity, just announced NCN angels' participation in a Knoxville deal, Protein Discovery [Originally mistakenly referred to here as Protherics, a different deal]. Meanwhile, the fledgling Angel Capital Group that's trying to reach into Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis from its base in Sumner County has not announced the rescheduled date of its first Nashville offering, due in part to arrival of CEO Rachel Qualls' second child. The two angel nets are not yet actively collaborating.

Farther afield, the Knoxville News Sentinel says Gov. Bredesen heads to Eastate next week to push rural investment.