The event will be held beginning at noon at Crabs Restaurant on Pensacola Beach.

Mr. Greene faces Congressman Kendrick Meek in the August 24 Democratic primary election.

Frustration builds over oil spill cleanup. Good piece from the News Journal on the complete farce that is cleanup efforts on Pensacola Beach. Guys using cut-in-half plastic water bottles to scoop up oil. It’s a joke:

Late in the afternoon, with storm clouds overhead, a BP cleanup crew descended on a short stretch of the tar ball-tainted shore. Wearing protective gloves, the workers used empty plastic water bottles, cut in half, to scoop some of the blobs into black plastic bags. In less than an hour, they were back on the bus.

Watching was Pensacola City Council member Larry B. Johnson. He was not impressed. “My anger is off the charts,” he said, glaring at the departing crew. “This was nothing but a PR stunt. What did they accomplish with 20 people in 45 minutes? This is beyond ridiculous.”

Commissioner says don’t believe BP. Rick Outzen ventured back into the Escambia Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to get the latest from Escambia County Commissioners. Commissioner Gene Valentino says that the public shouldn’t believe what BP says and the BP is lying when they say they’ve spared no expense on the cleanup. Commissioner Grover Robinson says “the job just isn’t getting taken care of.”

Is BP punishing Charter Boat leaders? “They told me today they (BP) are not hiring any more boats, they have enough, isn’t that great, so I the fisherman will be left out but private pleasure boats will make extra money and their lives don’t depend on the sea. Bob Zales, again a millionaire in Panama City, has his yacht in the program getting paid $3000 a day to sit at the dock.”

BP hires unemployed to work beaches.

Dead pelican found on Pensacola Beach Saturday.

Experts warn about heath risks from oil.

Escambia Disaster Response Update #37.

Finally, some just heartbreaking video from Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures of oil slicks and plumes off Louisiana. Disgusting.

The poll, commissioned by Pensacola-based Marketing Metrics & Media, surveyed voters with 100% voting records since 2000 living in seven Panhandle counties.

Of the 779 voters who responded regarding Florida’s gubernatorial race, 30.6% preferred Mr. Scott, with 23.4% backing Mr. McCollum and 16.2% favouring Democrat Alex Sink. 29.8% of voters were undecided. The sample was 64% Republican, 32% Democratic, and 4% Independent.

Mr. Scott, a millionaire/crazy person, is a conservative challenger to Mr. McCollum, the candidate of the Republican establishment. He’s spent $4.7 million in the last month on TV and radio ads to establish himself among voters. A former health care executive, Mr. Scott founded “Conservatives for Patients’ Rights,” opposing health care reform. Mr. Scott ran the hospital corporation Columbia/HCA before being ousted by its board of directors in 1999, shortly before the company plead guilty to Medicare fraud and paid a record $1.7 billion fine.

The poll also surveyed Florida’s U.S. Senate race, and found presumptive Republican nominee Marco Rubio leading in the Panhandle, with 44.8% of respondents backing the Tea Party favourite. Newly independent Governor Charlie Crist took second with 26.3, and Democrats Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene trailed with 5.4 and 4.5 percent respectively. Nineteen percent of voters were undecided.

The St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 poll has Governor Crist drawing support from 30% of registered voters, with the likely Republican nominee Marco Rubio close behind with 27%, and likely Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek trailing with 15%. Crist’s three-point lead is within the poll’s margin of error of ±4%, and 23% of those surveyed were undecided.

Polls have generally showed Governor Crist leading a three-way race since his controversial decision to leave the Republican Party and run without party affiliation. The decision cost Mr. Crist considerable Republican support but appears to have won over independents and moderates.

Links

• St. Petersburg Times: “Crist narrowly leads U.S. Senate race”

The painting, which was commissioned by former RPOF chair Jim Greer, was put up for auction at a starting price of $1.00, and has since shot up to $6,000, with more than five days remaining until the auction closes.

The tongue-in-cheek item description says the “canvas is naturally sensitive to changes of temperature and humidity, just as the Charlie Crist’s political convictions are subject to fluctuations in poll numbers.”

The eBay auction is just one piece of a new RPOF campaign of bitter, negative attacks on its former leader, who pulled out of the Republican U.S. Senate primary and qualified with no party affiliation after his polls numbers continually sagged under those of former State House Speaker Marco Rubio, the now-likely Republican nominee. The RPOF has also launched CantTrustCharlie.com, a new attack website which sharply criticises the Governor for his support of former RPOF chair Jim Greer, now the subject of FDLE and FBI probes into fundraising and spending practices.

Links

• eBay: Original Charlie Crist Oil Painting

The telephone survey of 500 likely Florida voters was conducted on May 3 and has a margin of error of ±4.5 percent.

Prior to Governor Crist’s withdrawal from the Republican primary, he had fallen dramatically in polls and Mr. Rubio had been polling consistently ahead of the Governor.

Links

• Details at RasmussenReports.com

Twenty-four candidates qualified to run for U.S. Senate, including five Democrats, four Republicans, one Libertarian, and one member of the Constitution Party of Florida. Six candidates, including Governor Charlie Crist, qualified with no party affiliation. The remainder, write-in candidates, will not appear on the ballot. All ballot candidates but Democrat Kendrick Meek qualified by paying a $10,440 filing fee. Congressman Meek qualified by collecting over 112,000 petitions, becoming the first statewide candidate in Florida to do so. Primary elections will be held August 24.

Four candidates qualified to run for Congress from Florida’s first Congressional district, which stretches from Escambia to Washington counties. As incumbent Jeff Miller (R-Chumuckla) was the only partisan candidate to qualify, there will be no primary elections for this race. Jim Bryan, the 2006 Democratic nominee, qualified as a write-in candidate, and John Krause and Joe Cantrell qualified with no party affiliation.

Crist to announce independent Senate run. The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that Governor Charlie Crist will announce tomorrow that he is leaving the Republican Party to pursue an independent run for the U.S. Senate. Governor Crist has been running in the Republican primary, but the meteoric rise of former State House Speaker Marco Rubio, who is now polling ahead of Governor Crist, has fueled speculation that he would opt to run as an independent.

Stevens’ PSC nomination rejected. The Florida Senate yesterday rejected two of Governor Crist’s nominees, including former Escambia County Sheriff’s Office financial officer/bar owner Steve Stevens. The St. Petersburg Times has more.

Edwards’ replacements. Jamie Page of the News Journal reports that Escambia County Fire Chief Frank Edwards, who recently submitted his resignation, will serve through July 15, after which Jim Sanders will serve as interim chief. Mike Weaver will take over as chief of the County’s Public Safety Bureau.

Palafox Market starts Saturday. Mark O’Brien reminds us that the Palafox Market, the weekly local produce and crafts market in MLK Plaza, starts this Saturday. The market will be open every Saturday morning from 8 AM-2 PM through October 30.

Blues name new commander. The Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration squad based in Pensacola, has named Commander David Koss as commanding officer for the 2011 and 2012 season.

Wilson Robertson wants to delay consolidation vote. Escambia County Commissioner Wilson Robertson (R-District 1) wants to delay a referendum on consolidating Escambia County, the City of Pensacola, and the Town of Century. Currently that issue is scheduled to be on the ballot in November of this year if approved by the Legislature this spring. According to the PNJ‘s Jamie Page, Commissioner Robertson feels that the process was rushed. Mr. Page reports that Commissioner Robertson plans to move to withdraw the County Commission’s support for a 2010 referendum.

Father Monk to sleep outside. Father Nathan Monk, who has been trying to secure extra shelter for the homeless during the present cold snap, plans to sleep outdoors tonight, January 7, to protest the lack of shelter: “I have done everything I know how to do and have failed and it is for this reason that I have chosen to sleep outside on Thursday January 7th in protest of lack of shelter. I do this in hopes that this unreal situation becomes reality and that people become willing to go above and beyond their means for their fellow man.”

Officer Gordon gets Gold Medal of Valor. Our congratulations to Pensacola Police Officer Greg Gordon, who this morning was awarded with the Department’s highest award, the Gold Medal of Valor. The award stems from a July 2009 incident in which Officer Gordon responded to a 911 hangup at 410 East Hatton Street. The house was on fire, and upon finding out there was a resident inside, Officer Gordon kicked in the front door and dragged the man to safety. Can’t ask for more than that.

New York Times Magazine on Crist-Rubio race. The Sunday New York Times Magazine devoted its front page to a lengthy article about the battle for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate between Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio. Good read. Some of the story takes place in Pensacola.

Dogs in restaurants emails. Jamie Page also published an email exchange on his PNJ blog concerning a proposed City ordinance that would allow dogs to accompany patrons in restaurants’ outdoor seating areas. In response to an email from Leo Cyr (president of Marina Management Corporation, which manages the Oar House restaurant) lobbying for support of the proposed ordinance, City Councilwoman Diane Mack made it clear that she’s no fan of dogs in restaurants but would likely support the ordinance unless she hears public opposition.

Ronnie Mac comeback? Rick’s Blog is reporting that former Escambia County Sheriff Ron McNesby is considering challenging Sheriff David Morgan in 2012. Hahahahahaha.

Mr. Rubio has gained rapidly in polls as he’s positioned himself to the right of Governor Crist. We reported last month that a Research 200/DailyKos poll put Mr. Rubio within ten points.

The Rasmussen poll, which surveyed 431 likely Republican primary voters, found that 43% of respondents favoured Governor Crist and 43% favoured Mr. Rubio; 9% were undecided and 5% preferred another candidate.

Perhaps most troubling for Governor Crist is Mr. Rubio’s favourability numbers. Those numbers have increased steadily as Mr. Rubio has boosted his name recognition. 34% of respondents viewed Mr. Rubio as “very favourable,” compared to just 19% for Governor Crist. 64% viewed Mr. Rubio as either “very favourable” or “somewhat favourable,” compared to 61% for Governor Crist.

Only 56% of respondents either “strongly approved” or “somewhat approved” of Governor Crist’s job performance, a number that is down sharply from his highs last year, which topped about above 70%.

The event is from 1-2 PM this Sunday, November 29, at the IBEW Union Hall, located at 7830 North Palafox Street (at Olive Road).

For more information or to RSVP, check out the event on the Meek campaign site, email conor@kendrickmeek.com, or call 877-FL-4-MEEK (877-354-6335).

Today’s poll represents a 43-point swing for Mr. Rubio over the past ten months in Research 2000 polling. Of the Republicans surveyed, 47 preferred Governor Crist, 37 percent preferred Mr. Rubio, and the remaining 16 percent were undecided.

The poll also measured the Governor’s race from several angles. If the Governor’s race is Bill McCollum (R) vs. Alex Sink (D), Mr. McCollum edges Ms. Sink slightly, 35-33. If the race is Paula Dockery (R) vs. Sink (D), Ms. Sink leads Ms. Dockery 35-13. Mr. McCollum leads Ms. Dockery among Republicans for the nomination 45-9.

53% of Floridians polled support a government-administered public healthcare option.

See the entire poll at Daily Kos.

Links

• Daily Kos: “FL-Sen: Bombshell results” (full results)