BELTWAY BIZ

P> Who's the Next VP? Yes, it looks likes Sen. Bob Dole will muffle the loose Buchanan well before the Republican convention in San Diego. And yes, if Colin Powell were going to run as vice president with anyone, it would be Dole -- but he isn't. So who's the next Dan Quayle on the GOP ticket? Biz has learned that waiting in the wings -- or at least within the three-mile limit -- aboard a seagoing yacht (one of the few venues in San Diego that can handle 200 people) will be... (drum rolls), NOT Steve Forbes. It's a different yacht, and it's leased for the convention's duration to the family of former President George Bush and his son, the fair-haired prospective GOP vice presidential candidate, Texas Gov. George W. Bush. No, he's no Dan Quayle. And anyway, Texas has about a jillion more electoral college votes than Indiana and everywhere else except California.

Talk Circuit: The American Electronics Association's President of the Year, Bill Archey, wowed the Fairfax Chamber's technology luncheon last week with a speech on global markets that drew representatives from 18 embassies. Archey shed praise on Fairfax Chamber President Loraine Lavet, a colleague from the U.S. Chamber.

Yuppieville On-line: Someone whispered in Biz's ear that the romantic entanglement of CEO Steve Case and corporate insider Jean Villaneuva will disappear from public view when Villaneuva, as expected, resigns -- fully vested, Biz hopes, in her incentive stock options. Will the attachment have to be formally disclosed? Will her departure? Watch the proxy.

Corporate Moves: Former Digital Equipment Corp. executive George Walker has joined Precision System Technologies in Greenbelt as director of business development.

We Have a Winner: Judging by significant upticks in NASDAQ-listed FastComm, Peter Madsen is going to be a three-time winner. Turnaround tycoon Madsen remains a key director of Newbridge Networks.

Swords to Plowshares: GE and Harris are working together to put defense high-tech in the service of making train travel safer. Harris engineers are coming into town in late March to demonstrate the system to congressional and Department of Transportation officials.

Whisper softly into the ear of Beltway Biz. Tips and tattles are always welcome at technews@technews.com. Please put "Beltway Biz" in the subject line.