MoDot has released a smartphone application that reports the road conditions via a map.  It has both an iPhone and Android version available at the respective apps store.

Now drivers can hit a MoDot employee while reviewing the road conditions on their smartphone. Makes sense. So much for the computer.

Shouldn't MoDot get back to working on the highway? This must have been funded by the great American trillion dollar recovery fund.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports St. Louis is to receive 20 charging stations for electric vehicles.  Walgreens published a press release announcing a nationwide deployment to 800 stores.

The times to charge a vehicle are from 10-minutes to one hour.  The company reports “Walgreens has a long-standing commitment to reducing energy usage and expanding its renewable energy initiatives” in the press release.  This is pretty ingenious.

There is a good effort for the environment and service for customers who are green motivated.  It illustrates a trait found in entrepreneurs and leaders.  Where there is a opportunity, seize it.  This story makes for a good case study for marketing class.

The bottom line is a revenue.  Create a service that generates revenue and a need for the customer to purchase goods while waiting for the charge to complete on their vehicle.

Missouri Department of Transportation has implemented a new policy. Employees are banned from texting while driving.

This policy extends to personal vehicles if the vehicle is used for official business. The irony is of all the departments. The transportation department shows common sense. So you won’t see an employee driving the street sweeper while texting. That’s a relief and one item off my list of things to worry about.

I just wish I could text my kid while he is on the road. Well there is only five more months until he is 21. I cannot wait.

The Town and Country, MO (St. Louis County, MO) board of alderman shot down a bill introducing a ban on cell phone usage while driving  before it was even allowed for a vote.  Alderman John Hoffmann attempted to introduce the well publicized proposal.

This issue is not based on socialism.  It is for saving lives.  The irony is seat belts are mandatory.  Per this logic one would think that cell phone usage while driving should be limited to hands-free usage only.

Alderman Hoffman stated he had the issue floating in his computer while it was under development.  This issue and Town & Country’s position needs repairing.  This is the business of the people and not the security of the politician’s future.

Check out ILane for reading e-mail while you drive your car. This is a safe manner to keep in touch and keep yourself alive. ILane uses speech recognition and is claimed to be very accurate.

You can view and manage your e-mail, calendar, appointments, and phone calls. The service works with BlackBerry, mobile devices using Windows, Blue-Tooth Palm devices, and Symbian.

Further information is available in the Tech section of the Februrary 2007 issue of Entrepreneur.