The Local Puppy Trainer is carrying a story that originated with the Pensacola News Journal: Panhandle legislators left off state oil spill response committees

TALLAHASSEE — Flatly rejecting Gov. Charlie Crist’s order to put an offshore drilling ban on the November ballot in Tuesday’s aborted special session, House Speaker Larry Cretul is forging ahead with his own response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.

But while tar balls are staining Northwest Florida beaches, none of the six legislative working groups Cretul assigned to the task is led by a Panhandle legislator.

Three of the lead lawmakers on the groups are from Southwest Florida, as is the chief coordinator they will answer to, Rep. Gary Aubuchon, a Republican from oil-free Cape Coral.

Three of the leads, including Aubuchon, serve on a committee that spent months laying the groundwork to lift Florida’s 20-year offshore drilling ban.

The working group membership is sprinkled with Northwest Florida legislators — including Republicans Clay Ford of Pensacola, Jimmy Patronis of Panama City and Marti Coley of Marianna and Democrat Leonard Bembry of Greenville — and the region’s voice will be heard, insists Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Fort Walton Beach.

First off, Greenville is East of Tallahassee in Madison County on the Georgia line which is a long ways from a beach. Marianna is in Jackson County on the Alabama line, and while it is at least in the Central Time Zone, again, a long way from a beach. That leaves two people who are actually concerned with the problem, and neither is in charge of anything.

Aubuchon thinks that listening “to more than 30 hours of testimony” justifies putting the cabal that was trying to open the coast to drilling in charge. Sorry, but the time equivalent of a two-credit-hour course, doesn’t even qualify those people as interested amateurs. The bulk of that testimony was telling the legislators about how wonderful it would be to have drilling rigs in Florida’s coastal waters, which has just been shown to be garbage – poisonous, sticky garbage strewn on our beaches.

Pau – Col du Tourmalet

Distance: 174 kilometers.

Andy Schleck won the race up the Col at the end, but Contador was right on his wheel, so he gained none of the 8 seconds he needs to get back the Yellow.

The last day in the mountains starts with a mild category 4 followed by a sprint. Then things get sweaty with a pair of category 1 climbs. There is a sprint to warm people up to take on the Hors Catégorie Col du Tourmalet again. It is the highest point in the race, and this time the stage ends at the summit.

Alberto Contador ( Esp – AST – 001 ) [Yellow] 83h 32m 39s
Thor Hushovd ( Nor – CTT – 095 ) [Green] 191 points
Anthony Charteau ( Fra – BBO – 153 ) [Polka Dot] 143 points
Andy Schleck ( Lux – SAX – 011 ) 2 [White]
Team: Radio Shack RSH ( 021-029 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Andy Schleck ( Lux – SAX – 011 )
Combative: Alexandr Kolobnev ( Rus – KAT – 074 ) [Red numbers]

They’ve gone 3,289.4 kilometers [2,043.9 miles] at an average speed of 39.4 kph [24.5 mph].

OVERALL STANDINGS:

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Position: 23.4N 76.5W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [305°] near 14 mph [22 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph [65 kph].
Wind Gusts: 50 mph [80 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 45 miles [ 70 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1007 mb.

It is 125 miles [200 km] South-Southeast of Nassau, Bahamas, and 285 miles [460 km] Southeast of Miami, Florida.

The current projected path takes the storm near or over BP’s Gulf Gusher.

A Tropical Storm Warning has been issued for the central and Northwestern Bahamas; the Florida East Coast from Deerfield Beach southward including the entire Florida Keys and Florida Bay and along the West Coast of Florida northward to Englewood.

A tropical storm watch has been issued for the East Coast of Florida from north of Deerfield Beach to Jupiter Inlet including Lake Okeechobee.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]