NASA Picks Florida Agency to Take Over Shuttle Landing Strip
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — NASA has selected Space Florida, a state-backed economic development agency, to take over operations, maintenance and development of the space shuttle’s idled landing site at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, officials said on Friday. Terms of the agreement, which have not yet been finalized, were not disclosed, but Space Florida has made no secret about its desire to take over facilities no longer needed by NASA to develop a multi-user commercial
Local Elected Officials Decry House Cuts to Community Development Block Grants
WASHINGTON–Elected officials from the National League of Cities (NLC) expressed alarm to members of Congress for cutting Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding today at a press conference in Washington. A delegation of mayors and city council members from across the country voiced their support for the 40 year-old CDBG program, citing it as one of the most effective federal programs, and urged Members of Congress to restore funding to previous levels. CDBG funds sup
Take a Page from Goldwater’s Playbook
For the past two years, the Armed Services committees of both the House and Senate have refused the Pentagon’s request to create another Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). If the Pentagon’s leaders are serious about getting Congress to create another BRAC to eliminate its excess overhead, they can take a page of the playbook that Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) and I used in 1985. As President Reagan began his second term in 1985, the nation, as it does now,
Some Appropriators Long for Earmarks
Two senior Democratic appropriators called for a return to Congressional earmarking at Thursday morning’s Appropriations markup, a cry that’s all-but-certain to fall on deaf ears. “I think one of the … serious mistakes we have made is to eliminate Congressionally-directed spending. Period,” Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., said. “What was done to us in this process was troubling, because whether we’re talking about a federal transportation bill, which used to be the m
Earmarks Banned? House Members Find a New Way to Court their Districts
It was Christmas in June on the House floor last week as members of both parties decorated the fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill with gifts and trinkets of all shapes and sizes. The country faces serious economic problems at home and grim, if not dangerous, events abroad, yet some House members spent last Thursday and Friday adding amendments that have little or no prospect of becoming law — but did provide an opportunity to get some publicity back home. Take the amendme
Scott Touts 2 New Jobs Deals During Paris Air Show
John Johnson, president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, speaks Tuesday as Linda Weatherman of Space Coast Florida and Gov. Rick Scott look on at the Florida pavilion at the Paris Air Show. Photo from the Executive Office of the Governor. Gov. Rick Scott, in France this week to attend the Paris Air Show to promote economic development in Florida, announced two new deals with aerospace industry businesses Tuesday to generate capital investment and add jobs to the state
Panel Approves Cruz Plan to Protect Domestic Military Bases from Future Cuts
The massive Pentagon spending measure has passed the House and now is winding its way through the Senate, but not without Texas Sen. Ted Cruz getting involved in the mix. The freshman Republican from Houston succeeded in amending the bill — formally called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — to ensure that domestic military installations are prioritized over foreign ones during any future Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). Cruz’s amendment, which would require t
Florida: The Perfect Climate
Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Lynda Weatherman, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, this morning announced that a Lyon, France, aerospace supplier is opening its first U.S. subsidiary in Melbourne. The company, called Vision Systems, was made at the Paris Air Show. Vision Systems is considered a “tier-one supplier” for the aeronautics, marine and, automotive industries. The company will create 40 new jobs and ne
White House Veto Threat over Authorization Bill Cites BRAC
Language in the House version of the fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill precluding the Pentagon from planning for a new BRAC round was one of a multitude of provisions that prompted a veto threat from the White House on Tuesday. The statement said the administration “strongly objects” to the provision, which would prohibit DOD from spending any funds to “propose, plan for, or execute” an additional BRAC round. The president’s latest budget proposal calls for holding a bas
Interim CEO Walsh Outlines Ambitious Port Canaveral Plans
COCOA — Port Canaveral’s interim chief executive officer, John Walsh, laid out a bold and expansive vision for the future, one that ultimately involves making the Space Coast the key center for shipping in Florida. Already a $2 billion-plus-a-year economic engine, Walsh presented a plan that calls for further improvements to the port’s shipping canal that would boost the already vibrant cruise industry and also make Brevard County a major player in shipping cargo. If it ever
