I’ll be on CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield during the 3 p.m. hour discussing the oil spill’s impact on local governments, and on local school districts in particular. (For the post-show confessional, see here.)
Crisis mode: I’m recording the US-England match, which takes place at the same time. Anyone who spills the results anywhere I can see them before 6 p.m. will be condemned to working PR for BP in the Louisiana Bayous for the next six months.
CNN got interested in the school-spill angle because of FlaglerLive’s May 18 story (Flagler Schools Bracing for Dismal Fiscal (and Oil Spill) Impact). Predictions from that story are creeping closer to the truth with every gallon of oil spilling into the Gulf, especially the nasty hit on state revenue if tourists begin to look elsewhere and avoid Florida beaches. Tourism is the state’s largest industry at the moment. Sales tax revenue accounts for a 74 percent share of Florida’s budget, and is disproportionately driven by tourist activity. Slam that, and you slam the state budget (as happened in September 2001, but for a shorter period than anticipated at the time).
The spill is a slow-motion inferno, with longer-lasting effects than a single, spectacular event. BP is pouring in a few million dollars to help small businesses and Florida’s advertising campaigns to keep luring tourists here. But no advertising in the world can counter the effect of the images of oil-entombed pelicans or turtles on beaches, or the feeling of tar on a heel nowhere near Chapel Hill. And most people don’t know their Flagler from their Pensacola, when it comes to the state’s geography. Florida is Florida in the average tourist’s mind, especially foreigners, who have no idea of the geographical breadth and variety of the state. Perception is all.
More later.
Colleen Conklin says
This is awesome news Pierre!! Congratulations but more importantly THANK YOU for helping get the word out about how this ismost likely going to impact local school budgets throughout Florida. WAY TO GO!
Merrill says
So! CNN has finally discovered what all of us are learning. The place for news and analysis in our area just isn’t the 20th century press any longer, but rather FlaglerLive.Com. In a few weeks the question will change from “Do you read FlaglerLive.Com?” to “Why aren’t you reading FlaglerLive.Com?”
Kathy Tiller says
Quality gets noticed – and FlaglerLive.com is getting its just due! Congrats Pierre! Job well done, as always!
Art Woosley says
Great story Pierre, sadly OUR earth’s environment will once again take the biggest hit here, words can not show the tremendous devastion, as an estimated 500 Thousand Acres will most likely be destroyed, much of which will never to recover. (No amount of oil dollars can replace that)
A biologist recently told me, that the Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster, which happened back in 1989 over twenty years ago off the coast of Alaska, is still giving up oil along the shoreline.
That tanker spill sent 250,000 barrels of oil onto the Alaska coastline, at that time they were able to steam clean portions of the rocky shoreline, which must have helped a little.
This current outrage however, is now about 60 days in, and is estimated (by BP to be giving off 12,000 barrels a day ) probably a very low estimate, anyway you can do the math.
There is no way to pressure clean all the wetlands, marsh etc. involved, and our leaders almost silent, just sitting on their hands with NO END, OR SOLUTION IN SIGHT.
As you know from our recent local problems associated with the “Tomoka Marsh Aquatic Presserve” the DEP has shown itself as being somewhat inept to say the least.
The question then might be, what if any part did that huge agency play in the permitting of this mess, or what if any part will it play in the future of this continuing FIASCO ?
disorderly conduct{flaglr chat commoner} says
jason never got on cnn
flagler live is the new place to be!!
Bench Saw says
oil spills can really mess up the environment, i hope we can find a very good solution to control oil spills :`,