Page 7 - Johnf Floyd News Today

The improvement of society’s standard of living has been a product of exceptional and highly educated scientists and engineers.

The Northeast Alabama Regional Airport is dying from “benign neglect.” The Pilgrim’s Pride animal parts rendering plant issue has only highlighted this neglect.   The Gadsden airport could be one of the cornerstones of economic development if only someone in city government could see the benefit of this potential jewel. The whole local economic development team has been asleep at the switch.  One of the first conversations I ever had with the mayor was at the Gadsden Country Club...

You can always tell when someone is on the wrong side of an issue when he or she resorts to name calling and defensive statements. Such is the recent case of David Hooks, director of the Gadsden-Etowah Industrial Development Authority in response to Gadsden City Council member Thomas Worthy’s comments during last week’s council meeting.  Worthy spoke of Rep. Robert Aderholt’s letter to the Federal Aviation Administration, asking the agency to consider the opposition to a proposed ...

It sounds like Back is ready to go to war with his own constituency. Not a wise move if one has future political aspirations.

Transportation, workforce and quality of life make Gadsden the perfect industrial location for any advanced manufacturing company.

To many Americans, the day will be just another freedom from work respite, while others will remember what Memorial Day truly embraces.

It is said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” That is why the photograph is associated with this commentary. The depiction is quite disturbing when talking airport and aircraft safety.   This visual was taken early this year over an animal parts rendering plant in Gastonia, North Carolina. The picture shows hundreds of turkey vultures hovering over the rendering plant in a virtual “fish ball”. The “fish ball” towered as far as I could see. My granddaughter, Breanna, also was ...

With much sadness, I read The Gadsden Times’ headline, “Old Coca-Cola building set for demolition.” The owners of the iconic building, Alabama Teachers Credit Union, have explored every avenue in order to find a useful purpose to save the building from obliteration. Developing an entrepreneurial incubator program was a promising idea, but was never brought to fruition. Credit union officials said they were unable to establish any partnerships to help cover the costs. There are successful ...

Why can’t Congress address the COVID-19 pandemic legislation and its impact on American families, exclusive of any other encumbrances?

It has been three weeks since my appearance at the January meeting of the Gadsden Airport Authority. I requested several financial documents such as the profit and loss statements for years 2019 and 2020. In addition, I asked the GAA board to provide the authority’s 10-year, 5-year and 3-year economic development plans for the Northeast Alabama Regional Airport. Those were simple requests for off-the-shelf information. I also asked for the airport’s marketing plan, the Gadsden Airport Autho...