He said something new -- that young folks can appreciate

Last time I wrote something about Cedric Glover I said he didn't say anything I hadn't heard. (This was at young professionals
gathering.) The next time I saw him was a press conference, and he was kind enough to point out he read the blog. He did so by asking if I'd heard anything new when he spoke to the group of reporters.

I don't think I gave him too hard of a time with the last post -- or he to me. But in case you missed it, the mayor of Shreveport undoubtedly said something new to most of us Wednesday during his State of the City speech. And I think it's something that people our age around these parts should be excited to hear.

His office is working with LSU-S to create a cyberspace research center that would work with and feed off of and into the Air Force Cyber Command Center, should it become a permanent fixture here.

That sounds like incredible news to me for the local economy. Anytime you have jobs that require advanced degrees, it moves your city and region onto a different tier when professionals look for a place to move. It's exciting to think Shreveport-Bossier City could one day be an industry center like some of the cities my friends are moving to: Dallas, Austin, Nashville and Charlotte.

And when you've got a booming economy, it seems to be a boon for the kind of culture you can buy -- a win-win situation. To me, that sounds like the kind of place young professionals want to live: where they can’t meet others like them. A place where others can appreciate what they brought back home from a college that may have been far away. A place where new people want to go, not just where you fall back if you can’t find a job right out of school.

I hope these strides spoke from podiums will have teeth – i.e. funding. And I hope it bites convincingly enough to make the Air Force keep Cyber Command here.

Thanks for saying something new, Mr. Mayor. Touché.