We hate to tell you we told you do, but we told you so.
From the get-go we have said that the chances of SpaceX coming to Cameron County were long. And apparently, they getting longer.
There's no more talk from the local daily of millionaire astro-whiz Elon Musk favoring the Boca Chica site over the proposed sites in Puerto Rico and Florida. And the Brownsville Economic Development Council's Gilbert Salinas is not talking about how Musk just favors Boca Chica because it's a "Texas thing," whatever that means.
Now none other than Mr. Spacey at Cameron County, Commissioner for Pct. 4 Dan Sanchez, is the bearer of bad news by saying in open court that the BEDC and Texas have fallen behind Florida in incentives offered to SpaceX.He said that the $6 million that Texas and BEDC are peanuts compared to nthe $10 million Florida is waving in front of the millionaire's face.
What is it about millionaires that makes local yokels crazy and their response is merely to offer him more money?
“We’re behind in the race,” Sanchez said at the meeting, according to the local daily.
Reporter extraordinaire Emma Perez-Treviño, not one to take a common county commissioner's word at face value, checked with the folks at SpaceX themselves and got a rather ambiguous response, not the public affirmation that Texas was ahead of the game hawked in the week-long series in her newspaper.
“SpaceX is continuing to look at all possibilities for a private launch facility, including sites in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico," SpaceX spokeswoman Katherine Nelson told Emma."We are still in the early stages of the review process.”
Oh, yeah. Nelson told her that SpaceX “appreciates the efforts of, and support from, Texas local, county, regional and state elected officials and organizations.”
Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos tried to put on the best spin he could in the bidding war.
“There is more to an incentives package,” he said. “Our package could well exceed the amount in cash that is being talked about. We are prepared to do whatever we need to do to make it happen.”
With the county strapped for cash that it has only been able to give its employees two stipends instead of raises over the last fiver years that Cascos has been in office – one for $1,000 and the one included in this year's budget of $500 – we'd all love to see from what bhat he is going to pull out the greenbacks.
For now, the bid is in at $10 million for Florida.
"Do I hear $15 million? Going once..."
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