Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist this afternoon with some pointed questions about the $25 million BP promised the state to spend on a national advertising campaign to promote the state’s clean beaches.

From the letter:

…our reaction to the burgeoning economic crisis already unfolding has not been as sensitive to the immediate needs of the citizens of our Gulf coast.

A great deal of mystery continues to shroud the very process by which funds are to be made
available by British Petroleum (BP) to assist in market-driven initiatives aimed at reassuring the
traveling public that Florida continues to be a viable and attractive choice for visiting and
vacationing.

I am told that a Memorandum of Understanding between BP and the State exists but has yet to be executed. I would respectfully urge your office to share with the citizens of this State exactly how these funds are to be transmitted to and received by the State, how they will be spent, who will drive the process of distribution, how decisions on deployment will be made, and who will be asked to participate in that decision making.

David Halstead, director of the Division of Emergency Management, said yesterday that he had a memorandum of understanding signed by BP officials. Halstead he would sign it as soon as lawyers looked it over. Atwater urged him to get the document finalized ASAP.

We checked in with Halstead’s folks for a copy of that MOU about an hour before Atwater sent his letter to Crist and were told it was “still being vetted.”

Here’s Atwater’s letter.

Also, a recap of the Atwater-Halstead meeting yesterday and a link to our continuing coverage of the oil spill.

UPDATE: Here’s the print version of the story.

Some scribbles in my notebook after an interesting afternoon in the State Emergency Operations Center, where Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, was briefed on the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf.

1.) Let’s start by pointing out that politically this is a major I-told-you-so-moment for Atwater, who was the only Republican with a nice big state Capitol office who didn’t want to lift the state ban on oil drilling.

If it wasn’t for Atwater fighting considerable pressure, even from Gov. Charlie Crist, it’s very reasonable to think a bill to allow drilling within 10 miles of the coast would have been approved by the Republican-controlled legislature this year or even signed into law by Crist at this time last year.

2.) So, sure, his skepticism over the oil industry safety claims were pretty much exactly on target. And yeah, this is the same guy who justified a budget line item for public libraries with a story about how, as a boy, he rode his bike to check out a Johnny Unitas biography over and over again.

But make no mistake: He’s no angel. Actually, he’s got a bit of a potty mouth.

(more…)

Sen. Dave Aronberg is questioning the state’s emergency readiness given the recent ouster of emergency management chief Ruben Almaguer.

Senate Military Affairs and Domestic Security Committee Chairman Aronberg, D-Greenacres, sent Almaguer’s replacement David Halstead a bevy of questions this morning about Florida’s ability to respond to a terrorist threat like the recently thwarted Christmas Day bomber airplane attack in Michigan.

Gov. Charlie Crist forced Almaguer to resign from his position as interim director of the Division of Emergency Management last week amid accusations of nepotism, misspending and sexism.

Almaguer, brought in as deputy chief to former DEM head Craig Fugate by Gov. Jeb Bush, last Monday refused to step down then resigned after meeting with Crist’s chief of staff Shane Strum and deputy chief Kathy Mears.

Almaguer says he was forced out by his replacement, Halstead, and that he has a “clean conscience.”

Crist refused to look into Almaguer’s alleged wrongdoing despite a plea from the ousted department official for an investigation.

Among the questions Aronberg wants answered:

Who’s responsible for audits of the division, which is located under the Department of Community Affairs?