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Gov. Scott Offers $10 Billion For Transportation, Ports In Proposed Budget

Port workers and local officials surrounded Florida Gov. Rick Scott as he touted job creation and transportation spending at PortMiami on Wednesday.
Kate Stein
/
WLRN
Port workers and local officials surrounded Florida Gov. Rick Scott as he touted job creation and transportation spending at PortMiami on Wednesday.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott was in Miami on Wednesday to tout the $10 billion  in transportation spending he’s included in his proposed budget for 2017-2018.

 

The governor spoke at PortMiami surrounded by dozens of orange-vested workers -- some of the more than 200-thousand employees he said the port supports.

 

"It’s a big job generator, finishing the dredge, finishing the tunnel," Scott said. "All the investments we continue to make... it all pays off for more jobs for everybody standing up here and all their families."

 

Scott said he’d like to allocate about $19 million  to PortMiami for crane and cargo improvements. And he wants about $178 million for ports statewide, which he said support about 900,000 jobs.

 

Florida lawmakers will start work on the state budget when the legislative session opens next month.

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Kate Stein can't quite explain what attracts her to South Florida. It's more than just the warm weather (although this Wisconsin native and Northwestern University graduate definitely appreciates the South Florida sunshine). It has a lot to do with being able to travel from the Everglades to Little Havana to Brickell without turning off 8th Street. It's also related to Stein's fantastic coworkers, whom she first got to know during a winter 2016 internship.Officially, Stein is WLRN's environment, data and transportation journalist. Privately, she uses her job as an excuse to rove around South Florida searching for stories à la Carl Hiaasen and Edna Buchanan. Regardless, Stein speaks Spanish and is always thrilled to run, explore and read.