Greater Cincinnati should get a huge chunk of Ohio's Third Frontier high-tech funds today when Gov. Bob Taft announces a $25 million award at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

State officials wouldn't confirm the award.

But business officials around the region expect it to allow Children's and the University of Cincinnati to develop a Center for Computational Medicine, helping it link research with clinical trial data and patient data.

It's part of a blitz around Ohio to award Third Frontier grants, now less than a week before Election Day.

Voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve the final $500 million bond issue for the program.

Monday in Dayton, Taft handed over $11 million to Wright State University for a Wright Center of Innovation for Advanced Data Management and Analysis.

One of the early projects there will research smart tags to track consumer products.

Venture adventures

Expect activity early in 2004 to provide venture-capital funds to help grow early-stage medical companies.

Donald Harrison, former top executive of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, is working to raise up to $100 million for a fund.

Harrison wouldn't provide many details, saying he was early in the fund-raising effort.

Second, the operators of the new Triathlon Medical Ventures venture-capital fund in Kenwood hope to raise $60 million by early 2004 to invest in early-stage medical companies, managing partner John Rice said.

Managing partners Rice, Suzette Dutch and Dennis Costello started the fund in April after moving from Senmed, the investment unit of Sencorp.

Sencorp also owns Senco Products, which makes industrial fasteners.

When Sencorp decided to focus its resources on Senco Products, the group moved to start an independent fund, Rice said.

They got a big boost last week with a $968,000 grant from Ohio's Third Frontier Action Funds.

People raising money

People Working Cooperatively raised nearly enough money in its recent capital campaign to pay for the new headquarters building in Bond Hill.

Now it'll try to raise $3 million for an endowment.

The agency, which helps provide home repairs to about 3,400 households in 14 counties, will use the endowment to fill out services that might be restricted by municipal or corporate gift, development director Chris Owens said.

"I can't tell you how many times we've had to turn a client down for a particular service," she said.

PWC already has raised about $570,000 toward the endowment.

After raising about $1 million to buy and remodel the former Messer Construction headquarters, it's about $90,000 away from completing that capital campaign.

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com