Florida is hoping BP will cut it a check large enough to deal with the consequences of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico every day for close to a month. But it hasnt been exactly generous with its own funds used to keep Florida lands and waters free of oil.
Run for election and you're a lot more courageous than you know.
Ask Denis Neuhut. The former candidate for Bay Harbor Islands Town Council is about to find out whether he'll recover any of the money he used to fight the charge he violated the states campaign laws. And, by the way, it's a charge that was dismissed for "no probable cause" last year -- and all the accusations with it.
Barbara Petersen wants the public to know everything it can about the government, and she spends much of her time in the Florida Press Center at the First Amendment Foundation headquarters researching public records and helping others learn.
Under her management the Foundation has evolved into an important asset that ensures residents are well-informed and government is held accountable.
Petersen took a few minutes to talk to Sunshine State News about her job and herlife in the capital.
Whats your title? President of the First Amendment Foundation
Be glad were not California.
Florida has been knocked out of the top five rankings of the best states in which to do business by Chief Executive Magazine, but it still holds a spot in the list of the top 10 business-friendly states. And its high above California, which has held the bottom spot on the list for the last several years.
Visitors to Florida will soon be able to find tourism hotspots on their iPhones and Blackberries.
Visit Florida, the states public-private tourism marketing corporation, is developing a mobile Web site so that visitors can research the best beaches as they stroll through historic St. Augustine or compare hotel rates while waiting to board Space Mountain at Walt Disney World.
Business and tourism advocates see the new Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando that lets children sleep in the company of little mermaid Ariel and lion king Simba as a sign the region is making an economic recovery.
The 1,984-unit Art of Animation Resort, which Disney announced it was moving forward with Wednesday, is Disneys first new resort in roughly seven years, and it could boost area businesses and push others to consider investing in the hospitality industry.
The tourism industry says it needsmore than$34.7 million from the state right now to prove Florida beaches are unsullied by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Businesses worried that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could cause them to lose customers and revenue have a new shoulder to lean on.
The Gulf Oil Spill Recovery Task Force was created Tuesday to assist and advise industries that could be impacted by the spill, which has been threatening Florida since late April. And Florida's tourism and hospitality industry sees it an asset that will help it market itself.
A coalition of higher education institutions in Florida is leading the pursuit of $103 million in federal money to expand broadband services to 55 state and independent colleges and 26 Florida public broadcasting stations.
Florida's executive branch hasn't made up its mind on whether to sue BP for threatening state shores with the largest crude oil spill in recent memory, but officials appear to be moving toward litigation.
