One of myriad lessons learned in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks was that a financial supercenter such as New York City <A HREF="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2180722,00.asp?kc=EWKNLINF091207STR5">had better have an excellent aggregate backup plan</A> in case of another such disaster. It didn't then, but it will soon.

Wall Street financial decision-makers have come together--with the help of federal, state and local governments--to come up with a project called Wall Street West.

Wall Street West is a $40 million initiative and a partnership of about two dozen northeastern Pennsylvania regional and statewide Pennsylvania economic development agencies, technology investment groups, work force development organizations, educational and research institutions and private-sector experts.