Return from hiatus (1/2/16)

As promised, I'm back with a new column now that the holidays are behind us and we've begun a new year. But this first column won't be a review of last week's aerospace activities. In fact, most of the items that appeared on our daily Gulf Coast aerospace news feed over the last couple of weeks were contracts of interest to the I-10 aerospace corridor.

Instead, I'm going to use this first column of 2016 to remind you that the Gulf Coast Reporters’ League Business Quarterly will be published Tuesday. It's compiled by the same journalists who produce our aerospace bimonthly and annual books. The new magazine covers business activities in the I-10 region between Baton Rouge, La., and Tallahassee, Fla.

And believe me, there's a lot of commerce in this region of some 4.4 million people. In fact, we decided to do this magazine after folks who follow our aerospace products said there was a need for a magazine that goes beyond aerospace.

In our first issue, we'll give our readers a better sense of the key business activities that form the foundation of the I-10 corridor’s economy. Yes, it clearly includes aerospace, but there's also shipbuilding, energy, tourism and much more.

We also have a story about the downtown central business districts in the region, and how they are undergoing a renaissance. There's also a piece about the Gulf of Mexico getting a boost in marine science research dollars as a result of the 2010 BP oil spill.

If you’re intrigued, you can take a look at our table of contents for the first issue. While you're there, go to the bottom of that page and sign up to have the 74-page first issue delivered to your email. It's free and your email is used for no other purpose. You can also get more information at www.gulfcoastreportersleague.com.