By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon chose a monument to the space race manufacturing boon as a backdrop to sign into law a $1.7 billion tax incentive package to lure aerospace giant Boeing to the state.
The governor endorsed the tax breaks for production of the company's 777X jetliner Tuesday morning at a bill signing ceremony at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium in St. Louis' Forest Park.
More than 100 civic and business leaders joined Nixon, hours before Boeing's self-imposed deadline for offers from eager local and state governments across the country. The presumed manufacturing site is on the edge of Lambert St. Louis International Airport.
The tax credits are worth up to $150 million annually over 23 years if Boeing meets its target of 8,000 new jobs.