News Releases
Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 15, 1999
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Access Washington wins award as Best Public Service Site

OLYMPIA — Access Washington, the state's Internet home page that Gov. Gary Locke launched last November, won the prestigious Business on the Internet (BOTI) Award for Best Public Service Site. CMP Media's InternetWeek and Network Computing magazines announced the winners last night in Los Angeles at Internet World 1999.

Developed and managed by the Department of Information Services (DIS), Access Washington brings citizens and businesses easy access to government information and services around the clock. Steve Kolodney, DIS director, and Laura Parma, DIS Interactive Technologies acting assistant director, were on hand to receive the award.

"Access Washington is a great example of how our government should work — quickly, responsively, and accessibly," Locke said. "People can find jobs online with the click of a mouse. Businesses can file and pay taxes electronically. We're using tools of the digital age to make Washington government work for our citizens."

Access Washington indexes government information on the web in a manner friendly to users. Special features take it beyond a typical government web site with digital "postcards" of Washington scenes, links Just for Kids, the WA WIZ QUIZ, a link to TVW (the state's public affairs television network), the state Lottery's winning game numbers, and daily state government news stories. Popular online services of the site include Employment Security's WORK Job Search, the Department of Revenue's Unclaimed Property and the Department of Labor and Industries' Contractor Registration Inquiry. The Year 2000 button leads to information that can help with decisions about the Y2K date change issue.

"Internet technologies are transforming enterprise networks and the fundamental ways companies conduct business," said InternetWeek publisher Patricia Schnaidt. "For the third year in a row, these industry awards recognize organizations that have applied Internet technologies to gain a competitive advantage."

Network Computing publisher Jill Thiry Bowers said, "The Internet is the ultimate network of networks, and as businesses deploy their applications across it, we look forward to honoring these companies on the cutting edge of transformation to take advantage of this technology. After all, the network is the business now and into the future."

The BOTI Awards were judged by a panel of InternetWeek and Network Computing editors and industry leaders and were awarded to the eleven organizations deploying the most innovative use of Internet technology.

Washington leads the nation in the use of information technology to deliver services to citizens and improve government operations. The state has been the winner of the Digital State Award two years in a row from the Progress and Freedom Foundation, and is the only state in the nation to receive an "A" grade in technology from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.



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