Landry to announce ‘major' economic deal in Abbeville

Gov. Jeff Landry has announced an announcement for Tuesday. Is it the largest Best Stop ever? Or maybe SpaceX? Gov. Jeff Landry has scheduled a major economic development announcement in Abbeville on Aug. 24 at 11 a.m. It's all but certainly about SpaceX, unless the governor is about to troll the entire state. The time, date and location — Magdalene Place — are the only details revealed in the media advisory issued Friday morning. This week, Landry has circulated hundreds of invites to movers and shakers around the state, according to the Time-Picayune. SpaceX talks have been a poorly kept secret, despite the Landry administration's use of NDAs. The Legislature passed a set of laws favorable to aerospace development. A plane owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was in Lafayette last week. A state-owned plane used by the governor turned up in Austin, home to SpaceX HQ. On the road with Lafayette Superintendent Francis Touchet On his three-day tour of the district's 44 schools, Superintendent Francis Touchet showed off construction projects and new facilities. Competition with charter schools was a hot topic, while questions about Comeaux prompted a cold shoulder. While there's little mystery in the subject of the announcement, it will be the first official confirmation of the deal and its specifics. Early speculation suggested SpaceX planned some kind of logistics way-station between its operations in South Texas and Florida, not necessarily a launch zone. More recently, it's been reported that SpaceX does intend to build a spaceport to launch Starship rockets, as part of CEO Elon Musk's plan to shoot data centers into space. Pecan Island offers a useful platform for launching those ships on a north-south axis. Another question to be resolved: the scope and scale of the economic incentive package. The $50 billion Meta data center project, a centerpiece of the company's AI buildout, is exempt from sales and use taxes related to data center equipment for 20 years. Some locals in Vermilion Parish, particular on Pecan Island, have been frustrated with the lack of transparency about the deal and its potential impact. State Sen. Bob Hensgens, who represents the area, has touted its potential benefits as ground zero for a Cajunized space industry.