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It took months to deploy and now its taking just days to tear down. BP crews are removing millions of feet of protective boom from Florida’s coast as two tropical systems threaten the Panhandle. As Whitney Ray tells us, once the boom is gone, there’s no guarantee it’s coming back.

Flip a coin… heads the storms stay clear of Florida… tails and the panhandle is in for a rocky weekend. Those are the odds panhandle residents face with two tropical systems developing in the Gulf.

Oil disaster response crews aren’t taking any chances… they’re scaling back their efforts to protect our coast from the oil juggernaut just miles away… removing skimmers and millions of feet of boom.

“We don’t want the boom to be destructive to any of those natural resources. There’s huge heavy weights that hold those down, if those become loose they’re simply going to become projectiles in the water and do further damage,” said Dave Halstead, the interim director with the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Many coastal communities had to fight for weeks, some months, to get protection for their shorelines and once the boom is removed, there’s no guarantee it will be returned.

That’s just fine with Bill Wargo, who patrols the beaches at alligator point looking for sea turtle nests. When we rolled up to meet Bill, we spotted a dead sea turtle. Bill thinks this turtle was attacked by a shark… but even more turtles at Alligator Point have been killed by BP crews deploying and removing boom.

“They came in with their equipment and they tore up the beach getting them out. Tracks all over, they ran right over one of my nests. It was a Green Sea Turtle nest and they actually got their tires rutted into one of the nests,” said Wargo.

Casualties of an oil disaster still two hundred miles away. Bill Wargo is certified to properly handle dead sea turtles. He reported the findings to state and federal wildlife officials. He says about 12 dead turtles wash-up on the shores of Alligator Point every year.

A hundred high school students from all across the state got to spend the day in Tallahassee learning about their state government.

The Youth Leadership Forum helps students with mental and physical disabilities learn networking and leadership skills. The forum taught Leondra Foster, who graduated from the program and now helps teach, how to be an advocate for herself and others.

“You can’t really progress in live without knowing how to advocate yourself, that you always have to ask for what you need,” said Leondra.

The Able Trust sponsors the Youth Leadership Forum. The Able Trust is a nonprofit organization committed to fair employment opportunities for Floridians with disabilities.

Yesterday’s two hour special session that accomplished nothing, cost you the taxpayer an estimated 55-thousand dollars. That’s 16-thousand dollars more than the average Floridian makes in an entire year. As Whitney Ray tells us, both sides agree that the session was a waste of money, but no one wants to take responsibility.

They loaded onto planes, rented hotel rooms, and ate out on your dime; just to come to Tallahassee for a two hour special session. The state legislature was supposed to stay for four days, discuss a ban on offshore oil drilling and vote on putting the issue in front of voters in November. Instead they griped.

The actual cost of the legislative fiasco won’t be known for weeks, but early estimates suggest lawmakers spent 55-thousand dollars, to gavel in, ignore the issue, and go home. Most lawmakers traveled all that distance and spent all that money and didn’t even speak on the floor… They just kept their seat warm and pushed a button.

So who’s to blame? The legislature blames the governor for calling them back against their wishes.

“I think it’s a waste of money. We let the governor know we had no interest in banning something that’s already banned,” said State Senator Mike Haridopolos.

The governor blames the legislature.

“Well they almost got the chance to vote, but because of the legislature they didn’t,” said Crist.

But whoever’s at fault is irrelevant when the bill comes do, because the guilty party isn’t paying, you are. The 55-thousand dollars figure is only an estimate calculated from past special sessions. House staff thinks the brevity of this session may have lowered the cost below previous averages.

Not only did lawmakers not vote on a constitutional ban on offshore oil drilling, they also ignored two dozen other bills filed this week.

One of those bills would allow unemployed workers who have exhausted their benefits claim more federal money while they’re looking for work. Soon those extended benefits will begin flowing to unemployed people in every state except Florida. Rich Templin, with labor union AFL-CIO, is furious the legislature took no action.

“I would say it is uncontainable, I would say it’s disgusting, I would say it’s shameful and I would say it shows a complete lack of regard and respect for Florida’s working families that are struggling through this oil crisis, through this economic crisis,” said Templin.

An estimated 5-thousands Floridians a day are running out of unemployment pay.

Dozens of clean energy advocates are riding home on buses tonight… with their hopes crushed and their faith in the system fleeting. It took the Florida House just 49 minute to adjourn without voting on a constitutional ban on offshore oil drilling. As Whitney Ray tells us, supporters of a ban are down but not out.

They rallied in the capitol with the governor by their side. They rallied outside surrounded by Democratic lawmakers. Their message clear. Their motivation; protecting the environment

“This is a sign of the times. This is a crossroads, right here. Either we do things right now or we go down hill,” said Gertrude Palmer as joined hands with other clean energy advocates.

200 people representing 14 environmental groups woke up before the sun, loaded onto busses and begged their elected officials to pass a ballot initiative that would let people vote for a constitutional ban on offshore oil drilling.

“It’s war. There’s so much going on here; raising awareness, getting hands together, joining people. Nobody wants oil,” said Karissa Berrera, who traveled from St. Petersburg to lobby for a drilling ban.

Their shouts could be heard across the capitol courtyard. And with their energy and hopes high the group then headed into the capitol to see what their elected official would do.

But the House never voted on the issue. Instead they voted to adjourn. Kim Ross the rally organizer was shocked.

“They just slapped the voters in the face. They said, we just spent your money to come up here and we are not going to do anything here,” said Ross.

Now the 200 environmentalists have a new goal; vote out the lawmakers that voted to go home. The group was also calling on lawmakers to pass clean energy tax credits. The issue was never discussed, but it could become part of a September Special Session, the House Speaker has committed to calling.

State lawmakers are gearing up for a short stay in Tallahassee. Tomorrow’s Special Session is scheduled to last four days, but as Whitney Ray tells us, legislative leaders, feuding with the governor, could use Tuesday to blast Charlie Crist, then go home.

It’s a simple issue immersed in politics. Governor Charlie Crist is asking lawmakers to let voters decide if a constitutional offshore drilling ban is needed.

“I’m here to announce that I’m calling a special session to ban offshore oil drilling in Florida waters,” said Crist when he called the session July 8th. .

But as soon as the special session call came down from the governor’s office, the gloves came off. Republican legislative leaders are accusing Crist of political grandstanding, because the state already has a drilling ban, and the issue doesn’t help people suffering from the BP spill.

They’re threatening to go home early. Democrats hope they don’t.

“If there’s a chance to vote. They should have their voices heard. If they don’t like the amendment, vote no, but they at least should have the opportunity to have their voice heard,” said Representative Ron Saunders.

The Special Session is scheduled to begin noon, Tuesday, and 30 minutes before it does, 400 clean energy advocates will be in the capitol courtyard, lobbying not only for a ban on offshore oil drilling, but also for tax credits for renewable energy. Kim Ross is organizing the rally.

“Then we intend to go watch our legislators in action. Let’s see if they’re going to take this seriously or not,” said Ross.

Missing from the argument is Republican lawmakers, many of whom don’t want a constitutional ban on drilling. We tried to interview the House Speaker as well as several other Republican lawmakers. We were told they were either traveling or too busy to talk about the issue.

Not all Republican lawmakers are going along with leadership’s plan. State Senator Paula Dockery is one of several members asking her party to give the constitutional ban a fair shake.

The hole has been plugged and a more permanent fix is just a month away, but it’s too soon to celebrate. An estimated 165-million gallons of oil are still floating in the gulf. The US Coast guard is armed with skimmers and boom in case the oil makes its way farther east along Florida’s coast. Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection Mike Sole says places that haven seen oil yet, should be in the clear.

“We are kind of at a fortunate place in Florida right now because most of the oil is heading away from Florida and going to the Northwest, but right now the closest oil to Florida is roughly 85 miles from the coast which is good news and heading away and we expect that to occur all throughout this week,” said Sole.

It will still take months and maybe even years to remove the bulk of the oil out of the Gulf of Mexico, and the toll this disaster has taken on the environment may not be fully understood for decades.

Florida Lawmakers are set to go to Tallahassee next Tuesday. The Governor wants the legislator to let voters decide if the state should ban near shore oil drilling. The call has turned into all out political warfare between the Governor and Republican Legislative leaders who, as Mike Vasilinda tells us, are threatening to come to town, do nothing and immediately go home.

It is being called Gavel and Go. Republican legislative leaders blasting the governor’s call for a drilling ban and threatening to do nothing now, but come back in late August and work on jobs and lowering taxes for those affected by the oil. The Florida Chamber says banning something already prohibited by law is a waste of time and money.

“Even if the legislature were to put this constitutional amendment on the ballot it would do nothing to protect Florida’s beaches,” said Dave Hart, with the Florida Chamber.

A key date in the debate is August 4th…that’s the deadline to put something on Novembers Ballot. The Florida Wildlife Federation says gavel and Go shouldn’t be an option.

“The legislature needs to act this week, or at least prior to August 4th and put this on the ballot and legislature I’m very hopeful will see this as a leadership opportunity,” said Preston Robertson.

Political Strategists say doing nothing could hurt both lawmakers and the governor.

“There’s real issues that the governor should be addressing right now. You’ve got people who are being displaced. You could initiate some jobs initiatives,” said Steve Vancore.

In this game of political one up man ship, the Governor could thwart Gavel and go…buy expanding the session from just a drilling ban to include all the things GOP leaders want to do after the August 4th deadline.

The games begin Tuesday, costing you 50 thousand dollars a day. Part of the motivation behind keeping a drilling ban off the November ballot is the issue’s ability to attract people to the polls… the fear is once they’re there voting on a drilling ban… they may be more likely to vote for Charlie Crist, the man pushing the ban instead of Marco Rubio… the Republican nominee.

For the third straight month, Florida’s unemployment rate has fallen. The newest statistic released today put Florida’s jobless rate at 11.4 percent. As Whitney Ray tells us, while the recent up tick is good news, There are still 200-thousand Floridians who are no longer getting unemployment pay.

Congress is expected to vote on extending unemployment benefits Tuesday. That’s the same day Florida’s special session starts… and depending on the temperament of legislative leaders… could be the same day it ends.

Florida’s unemployment rate is starting to trend downward.

“The unemployment rate is 11.4 percent down from the month ago rate of 11.7 percent,” said Rebecca Rust, AWI’s Chief Economist.

This is the third time in as many months the rate has fallen. Still more than a million Floridians remain unemployed. And there still aren’t enough jobs.

“We have over a million unemployed and at least on the internet, we have just over 200-thousand job opening advertised. So we just don’t have enough jobs,” said Rust.

And while the state waits for the job market to rebound, 35-thousand Floridians a week are losing their unemployment benefits.

Congress seems poised to pass another extension. If they do, state law would then have to be changed to allow our unemployed to receive the federal benefits.

But relief for Florida’s jobseekers may get lost in politics Tuesday when state lawmakers come back to Tallahassee for a special session. They’re expected to bang the gavel… then go home to spite the governor.

But labor union AFL-CIO is hoping legislative leaders won’t be so petty. They say fixing the problem will only take a few minutes, but if lawmakers do gavel and go… they’ll be turning their backs on thousands.

“If that gavel comes down adn nothing is done, I think it sends a clear message to our unemployed workers and struggling families; ‘we’re not as concerned about you as we are getting back and campaigning for our seats,'” said Rich Templin, AFL-CIO Spokesman.

The hope for the more than 200-thousand Floridians that have exhausted their benefits is… that people… will be more important than politics in this highly contentious election season.

As early as Monday, the US Senate could vote to extend unemployment benefits to people who are out of cash and can’t find work. There are an estimated 200-thousand Floridians who would qualify. But As Whitney Ray tells us, without a change in state law, the extension wouldn’t help struggling Floridians.

Five thousand Floridians a day are losing their unemployment benefits, while Congress delays voting on an extension. This week the number of Floridians who have exhausted their benefits is expected reach 200-thousand. But there is still hope for jobseekers.

The US Senate could vote as early as Monday to extend benefits once again, giving desperate jobseekers more support while they look for work. But even if federal unemployment benefits are extended it won’t help Florida jobseekers unless the state legislature takes action soon.

That’s because lawmakers wrote a June 5th cut off date into law for jobseekers trying to receive extended benefits. The AFL-CIO, one of the state’s biggest labor unions, wants lawmakers to change or remove the date from the statutes when they come back to Tallahassee next week for a special session on oil drilling.

“Everyone who was on the roles will be put back on those roles. If they’re working they’ll come off those roles, and it’s completely funded by the feds,” said Mike Williams, AFL-CIO President.

John Hall, with the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, says if benefits are extended and the state doesn’t fall in line, Florida could lose out on as much as 290 million dollars in economic growth.

“What we are mostly afraid of is it will keep Florida in a recession longer without those benefits,” said Hall.

State Legislative leaders are waiting to see if Congress approves the extension before they make up their minds about including the issue in next weeks special session. Florida’s Unemployment rate is at 11.7 percent. New labor statistics come out tomorrow.

Spain has now outpaced the United States to become the world top producer of solar energy.

This week the country opened the largest solar power plant in the world. They named it… get this… “La Florida”… just a coincidence… but alternative energy advocates, like Karen Woodall, hope the Sunshine State takes the name as a sign that it needs to ramp up its production of renewable energy resources.

“At least someone recognizes that we are the sunshine state and ought to be harnessing solar energy power. Maybe we will follow the lead,” said Woodall.

For two years running Florida’s solar rebate program has failed to deliver on promised rebates for people who installed panels in their homes. Right now 10-thousand people are waiting on rebate checks. Legislation filed for next week’s special session would set aside 150 million dollars for solar and other alternative forms of energy.

BP is refusing to give the state more money for advertising, and the 25 million dollar advertising grant the company gave Florida in early June runs out this weekend. As Whitney Ray tells us, promoting Florida’s clean beaches may soon fall into the hands of coastal businesses and area chambers of commerce.

Sunday, several ads promoting Florida’s clean beaches will be pulled. Money from BP to let travelers know their oil hasn’t spoiled Florida yet is running dry, and the oil giant isn’t willing to cough up any more cash to spread the message.

Governor Charlie Crist sent a letter to BP asking for 50 million dollars to run ads trough the summer. BP responded with this letter saying “no way.”

In it BP questions the effectiveness of spending money promoting the entire state and encourages area advertising. Crist isn’t giving up.

“We are responding to their letter, trying to force them to do the right thing. Like they say in their commercials, ‘do the right thing.’ Well the right thing would be to give us the opportunity to market our state,” said Crist.

Visit Florida, the state’s tourism agency, is digging into its own pockets to get the ‘Open For Business’ message to travelers. But Visit Florida says it’s a 10 million dollar a month job, and the agency doesn’t have that kind of cash.

“Without support from BP or otherwise we are going to have to get real creative to do that,” Thompson.

While BP is cutting off the cash flow to help promote Florida, the oil giant is cutting no corners in its own efforts to improve its tarnished image; full page newspaper ads, TV commercials, and internet marketing… are costing the company millions.

BP is catching heat for spending money and resources to improve its image, while the environment and coastal businesses are suffering because of its oil leak. Still the company continues to run ads and isn’t disclosing how many millions it’s pumping into its marketing campaign.

Gubernatorial Candidate Rick Scott is sueing to keep his opponent from receiving matching funds for every dollar he spends over 24.9 million. Scott is almost there. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, without the state matching dollars, Bill McCollum will have a hard time keeping up with his multi-millionaire opponent who is burning through his own money trying to get elected.

This is a story about the haves and the have nots. Attorney General Bill McCollum has burned through much of his campaign cash, as millionaire Rick Scott spends millions each week on TV. Scott is asking a federal judge to rule the state’s campaign finance law, which could begin pumping millions into McCollum’s Campaign unconstitutional.

Neither Scott’s attorney nor McCollum’s would talk about the case. But election expert Ron Meyer says the judge has a tough decision to make.

“Whether the burden on speech Rick Scott claims occurs if other candidates get public money when he breaks cap are justified by a compelling state interest,” said Meyer.

Florida’s campaign finance law is already so full of loopholes that a decision here may not matter much. Candidates are already free to raise and then spend as much as they want through committees called 527s.

Getting matching money may be the only way McCollum can continue to compete on TV, but it could also upset his base of less government enthusiasts. Still Public relations expert Ron Sachs says McCollum is doing the right thing.

“He’s doing exactly right thing and he’s using the system exactly as it was properly intended,” said Sachs.

The Federal case is just the beginning of a long legal battle over public financing. Voters may also get a chance to make their voices heard when they are asked to abolish the system on the November ballot.

McCollum only has 800-thousand dollar left in his war-chest; that’s not enough money to fund a full week of statewide TV ads in a state as big as Florida.

Florida taxpayers are forking over 250-million dollars to a test grading company, that’s dropping the ball. Pearson Education is already in hot water for delaying FCAT results for more than a month, and now that those scores have been released… schools are questioning their accuracy. As Whitney Ray tells us, the Department of Education is standing by the results, but they are ordering a third party review.

After a month of delays, Florida’s 67 school districts finally got their students’ FCAT scores. But not only were they late, at least five superintendents say the scores are also wrong.

“All five districts came together and they all had the same results in every district… that the learning gains seemed to be flawed,” said Jackie Pons, Leon County Schools Superintendent.

The superintendents are asking the Florida Department of Education to delay using the scores to grade their schools until an independent review can be conducted. If the scores turn out to be flawed, this will be the second time in as many months Pearson Education, the company hired to grade the tests, has been in hot water.

And they’re profiting from the mistake, the state is paying Pearson 250-million taxpayer dollars to grade the test.

We made repeated requests for an on-camera interview with Education Commissioner Eric Smith to talk about Pearson’s performance and contract; but the Department refused to make Smith available by our deadline.

The department even missed a later deadline to response to questions through email. But former state representative Curtis Richardson, who was in office when the FCAT was created, had plenty to say about the state’s contract with Pearson.

“Schools have so much riding on the outcome of this FCAT and we want to keep the company on board at taxpayers’ expense that’s caused all this. I think it’s a very wrong decision on the part of the commissioner,” said Richardson.

Staring in the 2011 – 2012 school year portions of the test will begin being phased out and the state’s contract with Pearson will expire soon after.

A statewide campaign to get African and Caribbean American voters to the polls in Florida this election season is underway.

The Florida African American Caribbean Empowerment Alliance, also known as FACE, is launching a statewide campaign to get the 1.6 million black voters to cast ballots in the August primaries and General Election in November. Former State Representative Curtis Richardson, who is now running for state senate, says everyone needs to vote.

“We are trying to encourage people to be involved in that process, at least by voting and determine who will represent them in all levels of government,” said Richardson.

Representative Alan Williams says it’s harder to get people to the polls when there’s not a presidential race.

“Every election cycle, especial in an off-cycle when you don’t have a presidential ticket on the ballot, you see some folks not as engaged, but the stakes are too high, this election cycle for folks to say, you know I’m going to stay home and not go out and vote. We need each voter to turnout,” said Williams.

In the 2008 Presidential Election 450-thousand African and Caribbean American voters cast ballots. The FACE alliance hopes to match that number in November and will be touring the state and reaching out to voters online.