Added On June 21, 2010
Florida is indeed 'open for business,' but progressive tourists are advised to avoid the northern Panhandle part of the state from Penscola to Tallahasee. Rightardia has seen reports from tourists already about tar balls showing up on Panhandle beaches.
Tourists would be smarter to visit Orlando (Disney World) or St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US that Spaniards founded. Clearwater and Sarasota also have excellent gulf coast beaches in central Florida. Honeymoon Island in Clearwater has one of the best beaches in Florida.
If you like to surf, the Atlantic side of Florida is excellent. Visit Jacksonville, West Palm Beach or Miami.
The Panhandle is one of the most conservative areas in the US. If you live in Okaloosa County, Florida, or Destin on Florida's Emerald Coast and are wondering who's going to clean up if black crude oil comes ashore, it won't be the federal government. In fact, voters in the Panhandle had a lot to do with George W. Bush carrying Florida in the 2001 election. So did Gov. Jeb Bush, GWB's brother
"I think there's a fundamental flaw in the federal response," said Dino Villani, the county's public safety director.
When you're down in the trenches trying to respond like we are, it doesn't work, he said.
The Okaloosa County Commission voted unanimously this week to allow their emergency managers to override and overrule federal emergency managers and take on the responsibility of saving the sand and beaches that provide about 50 percent of their economy. Tourist bookings are down about 30 percent this summer, according to local officials.
"This is our home, and in my home I have responsibility to take care of what is necessary around my home," said Okaloosa County chairman Wayne Harris.
I certainly don't expect someone from across the U.S. to come and save the day for us, he said.
Rightardia has heard similar rhetoric from some of the southern governors who didn't want help with the federal government on unemployment compensation, but quickly reversed themselves when their states ran out of money.
If you are a progressive or a democrat, you can avoid being panhandled in the Panhandle. Central Florida is a great place for a Democratic tourist to visit. You will find plenty of Obama supporters in Central Florida.
Added On June 21, 2010 Most of Florida's beaches are still untouched by the oil but the beaches remain empty as CNN's Tom Foreman reports. The oil spill has already hit Pensacola Beach regardless of what Joe Scarborough has been saying on the Morning Joe. See a picture of Pensacola Beach on June 4, 2010 that follows:
Update: Oiled birds came ashore on Florida beaches on June 18, 2010 as more tar balls and tar patties were littered across the coastal sands. On Saturday, signs of oil in the form of tar balls and patties washed ashore in Destin, Fort Walton and Panama City beach.
Oil is expected to continue to come ashore in the next few weeks. The discovery of oil as far east as Panama City will continue as a shift in winds forces the oil closer to shore.
source: http://www.examiner.com/x-37561-Tampa-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m6d20-Florida-oil-spill-update-Tar-balls-tar-patties-and-oiled-birds-come-ashore-Florida-beaches
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