September 22, 2023

The Texas-Florida Connection

Hold Your Horses, Gov. Rick Scott

Can Florida emulate Texas in creating jobs? Here's a comparison.

Cynthia Barnett | 9/28/2011

Government Investment

Texas Capitol
The Texas Capitol in Austin
Hillwood's Michael K. Berry attributes much of the AllianceTexas success to vigorous federal, state and local involvement, including public-private partnerships and plenty of political muscle. The fact that U.S. Congressman Jim Wright of Fort Worth was the U.S. House Speaker in 1987 and bought into Perot's vision for an air-rail transportation hub cannot be overstated, says Berry. A 10-year House Majority Leader who became Speaker in January that year, Wright helped convince the FAA to spend more than $30 million — 90% of the cost — to build the Fort Worth Alliance airport on land donated by the Perot family. The airport is owned by the city of Fort Worth and managed by Alliance Air/Aviation Services, another Hillwood company.

Go to Links What do you think about the whole Florida -vs- Texas debate? Let us know, click to comment at the end of this article.
Given the federal budget squeeze, the lack of a comparable Floridian in such a powerful position, and Scott's well-established bias against federal spending and involvement, it's hard to image conditions favoring that sort of push here.

Tags: Politics & Law, Around Florida, Government/Politics & Law

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Gator with missing jaw finds home in Florida park
Gator with missing jaw finds home in Florida park

A Florida reptile park has taken in an alligator that lost its nose and upper jaw to a fight or boat propeller. Gatorland Orlando said over the weekend that the injured alligator came from a lake in nearby Sanford, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Orlando. “She had basically no chance of surviving in the wild with such a severe injury,” the park said in a social media post.

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