CRIST DUMPS CARTER AND MCMURRIAN FROM PSC

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Oct. 1, 2009……Gov. Charlie Crist remade the Public Service Commission on Thursday, ditching two sitting commissioners in favor of outsiders with no background in regulatory work or the industries the panel oversees, a move hailed by consumer advocates.

Neither PSC Chairman Matthew Carter nor Commissioner Katrina McMurrian will get a second four- year term on the panel with the appointments of Benjamin “Steve” Stevens and David Klement to the commission. They’ll start in January.

The housecleaning comes as the PSC considers proposed rate increases for the state’s two biggest power companies, and with the commission embroiled in a firestorm of allegations about potential conflicts of interest between commissioners and staffers and publicly-regulated utility representatives.

Carter and McMurrian, both appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush in 2006, had applied to be reappointed and were in the running after being approved by the PSC’s nominating council.

But Crist instead went with the two outsiders, neither of whom has a background in electricity, telecomm, or other regulated industries.

Stevens, 44, is the chief financial officer in the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and Klement, 69, is a former journalist who heads the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership at the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus.

Part of their appeal to Crist may be that outsider status – as the PSC has come under fire for reports of staffers socializing with and exchanging cell phone messaging information with employees at the state’s largest power company, Florida Power & Light, allegations which emerged as the company was asking for a record rate increase.

Announcing the picks in Kissimmee in a hastily scheduled press conference far away from a Capitol press corps that may have asked questions about the controversy surrounding the PSC this fall, Crist said both Klement and Stevens brought real world experience to the PSC that would guide their decision making.

“As a journalist, editor and community leader, (Klement) has been involved in seeking solutions to the needs of his community,” Crist said in a statement. Klement worked as editorial page editor, business editor and city editor for the Bradenton Herald newspaper for more than 20 years. “His extensive experience in a wide variety of issues will give him an appropriate perspective when considering business and consumer matters that come before the commission.”

“Steve has a strong track record of integrity in fiscal management and understands the importance of careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” Crist said of Stevens. “His ability to carefully evaluate financial reporting should be a strong asset to the utilities consumers of Florida.”

Both Stevens and Klement said they were honored by the appointment and pledged to look out for consumers.

And the move was quickly applauded by opponents of rate increases and environmentalists who push the PSC to enact tougher renewable energy rules for power companies.

“We believe it’s a strong statement for consumers, both residential and commercial,” said Rick McAllister, head of the Florida Retail Federation, which has opposed the current rate increase proposals by FPL and Progress Energy Florida.

Florida Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Project director Gerald Karnas agreed, saying that he had known Klement since high school and the newest commissioner was “a man of the highest quality, character, ethics and judgment,” all areas the current PSC has been hammered in by critics lately.

“This is the perfect time for a pick like David, who is going to put the public interest first because he’s done that his entire life,” Karnas told the News Service of Florida. “The governor deserves kudos for reshaping the PSC.”

One leading Senate PSC critic, Sen. Mike Fasano, applauded the governor’s decision to turn to “fresh faces” Thursday. Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said in an interview that the appointments were “the beginning of a clean sweep at the Public Service Commission.”

The odd people out of that sweep of the PSC, Carter and McMurrian told reporters during a break in Thursday’s hearing for the Progress rate increase request that they were not surprised by the governor’s decision. Carter said that politics, accentuated by the governor’s ongoing campaign for the U.S. Senate, likely played a role in the decision.

“The governor did what governors do. He exercised his prerogative,” Carter said. “These things happen. This is the political season and political things happen during the political season.”

McMurrian agreed, saying she thought political calculations were likely “some sort of a factor.”

Neither outgoing commissioner had clear post-PSC plans in the immediate aftermath of Crist’s decision to give their seats to Klement and Stevens, and both said they were thankful for the four-years they had as members of the panel.

Not only did Crist shake up the roster of the five-member PSC, but his decision to not re-appointment Carter and McMurrian will elevate Commissioner Nancy Argenziano to chairman of the PSC next year. A former state senator, Argenziano has long cultivated a reputation as a firebrand and has drawn the ire of both members of the industries the PSC regulates and sometimes her fellow commissioners.

Contacted by the News Service earlier this week about that possibility, Argenziano said she was not necessarily eager to assume the PSC gavel, but quickly added that it would be a big change to the commission’s way of doing business because she was “fair.” Argenziano attributed opposition to her becoming PSC chair from members of the utility lobby to her “fairness.”

The news of Crist’s decision to effectively fire two sitting PSC commissioners became public while the panel was in the midst of deliberations of a $500 million rate increase request from Progress, on which a decision is expected before Klement and Stevens will be sworn-in to the PSC.

Hearings will continue later this month and again in January on the proposed FPL rate increase. The new commissioners will have to catch up on testimony that’s already been heard because they will be on the commission when that case comes to a vote.

Klement and Stevens will have be confirmed by two Senate committees.

-END-
10/1/09

CONSUMER ADVOCATES, ENVIROS SPLIT ON PSC APPOINTMENTS

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Sept. 30, 2009………. Two groups that make frequent appearances before the Florida Public Service Commission, consumer advocates and environmentalists, were split Wednesday on whether or not Gov. Charlie Crist should re-appoint PSC chairman Matthew Carter this week when he picks two members of the panel.

A consumer group that lobbies the PSC on electricity rate cases said that fiery Commissioner Nancy Argenziano should assume the chairmanship of the panel next year, but one of the state’s most influential environmental groups thinks Carter is doing a good job.

Tampa-based Florida Consumer Action Network said Gov. Charlie Crist should tap new PSC commissioners this week instead of re-appointing current Carter and Commissioner Katrina McMurrian. If Crist chooses to replace both sitting PSC members, Argenziano will take the panel’s gavel next year.

But Audubon Florida, which was among the groups that successfully persuaded the PSC this year to propose to lawmakers stringent renewable energy standards for power companies, said Carter efficiently ran the commission during those proceedings.

A former state senator, Argenziano is thought to be one of the PSC’s most consumer-friendly members and sometimes appears to irk other commissioners, in addition to the industries the commission regulates. But that would make her the ideal PSC chair, FCAN executive director Bill Newton told the News Service of Florida Wednesday.

“That would put a real consumer advocate in charge and would really change how the PSC does business,” Newton said. He added that he does not know for sure what Crist wants to do with the PSC appointments, which he is expected to make this week, but he “probably wants to do something dramatic and I’m hoping that having backing from a major consumer group will help him feel more comfortable shaking up the PSC.”

Newton said he was not worried about Argenziano’s confrontational past with publicly-regulated utilities, or scrutiny about a North Carolina house she co-owns with a municipal electricity lobbyist. News of that arose as Argenziano forcefully spoke out about conflict-of-interest allegations involving PSC staff recently.

“We need someone who can restore the credibility of the PSC – Argenziano has the reputation to do that,” Newton said. “Yes, it is controversial, but look at the problems. Legislators are rattling swords on PSC reform, so something needs to happen.”

Newton added that dumping Carter and McMurrian could also pay political dividends for Crist, who is running for the U.S. Senate next year.

“He can cement his consumer bona fides with this move and blame (former House speaker Marco) Rubio and the Legislature for the current situation,” Newton said. “It would be a bold move.”

Contacted by the News Service about the possibility of becoming PSC chair Wednesday, Argenziano seemed reluctant, even as she talked about what a shake up it would be.

“It goes in succession,” she said. “I’m not sure I even want to be PSC chair. I’m 55 years old and I’m not impressed by titles. But some people are squirming right now, and trying to smear me as best they can, and they happen to be utility lobbyists.”

Argenziano acknowledged supporters of her possible ascension like Newton, but she said opponents were just as vocal.

“There are some people who’d love for me to be the chair, because I’m just fair,” she said. “There are whole bunch of people who don’t want me to be chair, because they don’t want fair. You have to ask yourself why are so many people frightened about me being chair?”

Not opposed to Argenziano but also not joining the populist fervor to replace Carter and McMurrian, Audubon Florida deputy director Eric Draper said in an interview Wednesday that when the PSC was considering a proposed renewable energy standard for power companies in 2008, Carter showed that he was a good fit at the helm of the commission.

“He’s done a pretty good job as chair of the commission,” Draper said. “The one thing we worked with them on primarily was renewable energy standard and I thought what they did as a committee was commendable. From our point of view, which was trying to get the RPS done, I thought he was open-minded, he ran meetings well and worked with us. He was informed and smart.”

The governor is required by law to pick his PSC appointees by Oct. 3 and the pick will have to be approved by two Senate committees. Carter and McMurrian, both appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush in 2006, were among the nominees sent to Crist by the PSC’s nominating council earlier this month.

The group of names sent to Crist for consideration also includes former PSC inspector general John Grayson, University of South Florida Institute for Public Policy & Leadership director David Klement, Escambia County Sheriff’s Department Chief Financial Officer Benjamin “Steve” Stevens III and former PSC staff attorney Felicia West.

Other than Carter and McMurrian, few of the candidates who applied for PSC posts this summer had extensive direct experience in fields regulated by the PSC, making predicting the impact of the new members on the panel difficult.

-END-
9/30/09

SENATE PSC CRITICS EYE CRIST’S UPCOMING APPOINTMENTS

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Sept. 30, 2009……….Two senators who want lawmakers to change the way Florida Public Service Commissioners are appointed say Gov. Charlie Crist, who this week will pick two members of the panel, should look for someone who will put consumers first.

And one, ardent PSC critic Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said that would rule out sitting PSC Chairman Matthew Carter and Commissioner Katrina McMurrian, who are both serving terms that expire in January and hoping to be reappointed by Crist.

“My comment is anybody but those two,” Fasano told the News Service of Florida Wednesday. “I don’t think the governor needs to call me to ask my opinion on this. Those two commissioners need to go. The PSC needs a fresh new start and a message needs to be sent to consumers that the governor’s office hears them, loud and clear.”

State law calls for the governor to make his choices by Oct. 3. His picks would then have to be approved by two Senate committees. Carter and McMurrian, both appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush in 2006, survived the first step toward returning to the panel early next year when they were among the nominees sent to Crist by the PSC’s nominating council earlier this month.

As the PSC has considered a record $1.3 billion rate increase request from Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest power company, Crist came out against the hike and said that he would watch how Carter and McMurrian voted on it as he considered their fates. But the PSC, which was pummeled by conflict-of-interest questions during the proceedings, put off a final decision until after the commissioners Crist taps would be begin their terms in January. That leaves Crist with the possibility of selecting members who will have to make a decision on the FPL case next year who have not sat in on the panel’s lengthy hearings on the proposal.

Having already appointed Commissioners Nancy Argenziano and Nathan Skop, arguably the most outspoken PSC members about the possibilities for conflicts of interest among PSC staff, the two choices this week will give Crist a chance to put his populist stamp on the panel for several years. However, Crist also earlier this year re-appointed Commissioner Lisa Edgar, who critics assailed during her contentious confirmation hearings as being not consumer-friendly enough.

Despite the potential disadvantages of switching commissioners in the middle of a rate case, Fasano still said he favored any of the other candidates for the $130,036 per year job that the nominating council sent Crist to choose from. The group includes former PSC inspector general John Grayson, University of South Florida Institute for Public Policy & Leadership director David Klement, Escambia County Sheriff’s Department Chief Financial Officer Benjamin “Steve” Stevens III and former PSC staff attorney Felicia West.

Crist has been interviewing applicants, chosen this summer from a group that originally included a retired detective, a longtime disc jockey, a Border Patrol agent, and a former newspaper editorial page editor. He met Tuesday evening with Klement in Sarasota and Monday with Stevens near Destin.

During the FPL hearings, Fasano said that he would file a bill that would end PSC appointments to the panel in favor of statewide elections, which was how members were picked until the late 1970s. He told the News Service Wednesday that while he is only vaguely familiar with the slate of candidates, any of them would be better than the status quo.

“I don’t know any of the candidates personally – I’ve only read about them – but it can’t get any worse at the PSC than it is up there now,” he said.

It’s a message Fasano says he has heard repeatedly from his constituents, some of whom are customers of the second largest power company in the state, Progress Energy, which has requested a separate $500 million rate increase that the PSC is also considering this fall.

“My constituents, who are ratepayers, are making clear that they want a complete overhaul of the PSC, including the commissioners,” Fasano said. “They’re tired of reading articles about how unethical the commissioners and some of the staffers have been.”

Another state senator who has said that he would file a bill to change the way members of the PSC are selected, Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, would not go as far as Fasano in suggesting that Crist ditch Carter and McMurrian later this week. But Gelber, who said he will introduce legislation that would allow the members of the Cabinet to appoint one PSC member each and the governor to pick two commissioners, a change from the current all-gubernatorial appointment set-up, also said Crist should pick the most consumer-friendly applicants.

“It’s really the governor’s call in the current system, but I think he should appoint whoever he thinks will best look out for consumers,” said Gelber, who is running for attorney general. “(The new commissioners) should be thoughtful and look out for ratepayers.”

Other than Carter and McMurrian, few of the candidates who applied for PSC posts this summer had extensive direct experience in a field regulated by the PSC, making predicting the impact of the new members on the panel difficult.

However, if Crist chooses to replace both sitting PSC members, Commissioner Argenziano will assume the role of chairman of the panel next year. A former state senator herself, Argenziano is thought to be one of the PSC’s most consumer-friendly members and sometimes appears to rankle other commissioners, in addition to the industries the commission regulates.

-END-
9/30/09

SOBEL SLIDES INTO SNAKE PIT, PROPOSES BAN ON SOME PETS

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Sept. 23, 2009……….Sen. Eleanor Sobel said Wednesday that she will file a bill that would take the fangs out of the Burmese python pet market by making it illegal to own the type of snake blamed this summer for suffocating a 2-year-old girl in her bedroom.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has already introduced a similar federal measure and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commissioner held a hunt for the slippery suspects, but Sobel, D-Hollywood, told the News Service of Florida that the hunting effort was off the mark.

“I think it’s a baby step in what needs to be done,” Sobel said. “These species can multiply quickly and they are out there in our neighborhoods. Expanding the number of bounty hunters and season is a good step, but I don’t think it’s enough.”

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has reported that the 13 python experts permitted by the state to capture and kill the snakes on state land in South Florida captured 17 as of the beginning of this month. The program is slated to continue until at least Oct. 31, at which time officials will consider expanding it.

But while state officials consider extending their bounty, Sobel is proposing to outlaw altogether importing for personal use or sale the Burmese or Indian Python (python molurus), Reticulated Python (python reticulatus), African Rock Python (python sebae), Amethystine or Scrub python (Morelia amethystinus), Anaconda (Eunectes) and Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus).

“These non-native, invasive species are coming into Florida,” Sobel said. “This bill’s intent is to be proactive and forward-looking to save our fragile environment as well as the people of Florida. Our legislation will turn off the spigot, stopping the flow of dangerous reptiles into the state by prohibiting their import for personal use.”

However, Sobel said she did not expect the grass to be clear for her plan, acknowledging the presence in the weeds of both a strong pet lobby and a Republican majority in the Legislature who are usually reticent to reduce personal freedoms.

“The other side will probably oppose it and so will the people who have a vested interest in selling and trading these snakes,” she said. “The industry is sure not going to be real happy and they are probably going to do everything they can to stop it. There seems to be a fascination with reptiles in Florida,” adding that the same can be said of the nation and the world.

Wildlife Foundation of Florida Executive Director Brett Boston agreed that something needed to be done about exotic pets and plants in the state, though he said he did not endorse or oppose Sobel’s legislation.

“We have a climate where everything that’s brought in, whether it’s a plant or animal, survives pretty well because it’s pretty forgiving,” Boston said. “If we were in Alaska, they’d be dead. You get a hard freeze and they die.”

Boston said that non-native species like the Burmese python impact the Florida environment far beyond the headlines generated by the summer’s tragedy.

“You run the risk of the critter getting out and choking out native species,” he said. “So many of our native species are in trouble anyway, and then you put the non-native species in there to compete for food and space. I understand people have the freedom to have pets, but we have to stop and say ‘that’s not really worked.’”

Any ban on pythons or other exotic species will only go so far toward fixing the problem though, Boston added, because they are too prevalent now.

“From the 50,000 foot view, we need to look closely at exotic pet imports,” he said. “We have so many that we’re never going to get rid of them, but can we at least learn our lesson?”

One of the opponents Sobel said was likely to want to strike at her plan told the News Service Wednesday that a pet ban was unnecessary because there are already strict rules for owning them.

“Florida has the comprehensive regulation of what are called the ‘big 5′ constrictors, requiring permits, record keeping and microchips, so I question why we need to fully ban them,” said Marshall Meyers, CEO of Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, which opposed a similar proposal by U.S. Sen. Nelson and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek.

Meyers said a better course would be to strengthen enforcement of existing rules and increase sanctions. He added that there could be unexpected consequences of banning snakes like the Burmese python altogether.

“A ban would drive these animals underground,” Meyers said. “People will abandon them and turn them loose because they don’t want to turn them over to the authorities and have them killed.”

-END-
9/23/09

PROGRESS ENERGY TAKES TURN BEFORE THE PSC

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Sept. 21, 2009……….Under a glaring spotlight sparked by a myriad of conflict-of-interest charges which marred its last set of hearings, the Florida Public Service Commission on Monday powered into deliberations on higher rates from the state’s second largest power company.

The PSC’s recent consideration of a $1.3 billion rate increase proposal from Florida Power & Light was obscured by accusations of improper communication between staffers and company employees and questions about the travel habits of FPL executives. But the panel nonetheless moved forward with the next item on its lengthy fall agenda: a separate $500 million increase requested by Progress Energy.

Progress, which has more than 1.6 million customers in 35 Florida counties, began Monday trying to convince the PSC to approve the remainder of a $13.83 per 1,000 kilowatt hours rate hike beginning in January that the panel temporarily approved in July. Then, the PSC authorized the company to charge customers an extra $4.52 immediately, with the caveat that it would have to be reimbursed if the plan were not ultimately approved in this proceeding (Docket No. 090079-EI).

Progress, which last had a base rate increase in 1993, argued during opening statements Monday that it needed the new revenue to maintain service and continue to build and operate infrastructure like an existing power plant in Polk County and a proposed new nuclear plant in Levy County.

“We are here today because Progress Energy Florida has real and substantial capital investments and real and significant decreases in sales,” attorney Alexander Glenn told the PSC. “We also have real … needs to run our business the way you and our customers expect it will be run. Progress Energy is also embarking on one of the largest capital expenditure programs in the company’s history, which includes the licensing and construction of its Levy nuclear project.

“These investments are key to secure the state’s energy future and to implementing the energy polices set forth by the governor, the Legislature, the Cabinet and this commission,” Glenn continued.

Glenn also argued that Progress Energy has made smart financial decisions with the money it already has.

“We’re a good company, we’re a well-run company,” he said. “I don’t think you’re going to hear any interveners say that we’re not. As you’ll hear from our witnesses…we run our power plants efficiently, our nuclear power plant is one of the best-performing … over the last decade and our storm response is really second-to-none.”

The usual cadre of consumer groups ceded Glenn’s point that Progress Energy is well-operated, but they still stood opposed to the rate increase request Monday, as they did earlier this month against FPL’s proposal. Charles Rehwinkel, of the Office of Public Counsel, which represents customers’ interests before the PSC, said Floridians could not bear to give Progress Energy $500 million more.

“This is a case about bad timing,” Rehwinkel said in his opening statement. “It’d be easy for me to sit here and say the standard things about the company: that the company is greedy. I’m not going to say that. Progress Energy has come in here and asked you for $500 million at a time when the state is suffering immensely. You’ve heard that a million times…. But it is what it is. The problem with this filing is there is not enough sharing of the pain that’s going on in the state right now.”

OPC was joined in opposition to the rate increase by organizations such as the Florida Retail Federation, the Attorney General’s office and the Florida Industrial Power Users’ Group and White Springs Agricultural Chemicals, one Progress’ largest individual users. The groups tried unsuccessfully Monday to persuade the PSC not to begin deliberations on the plan until February 2010 because they argued an updated sales forecast filed last month by Progress Energy increased the request by more than $93 million.

Progress disputed the contention, arguing the update was a response to a question from PSC staff, not a revised rate request.

With the PSC proceeding with the case anyway, the Retail Federation, represented by lawyer Robert Scheffel Wright, argued that Progress should not only be denied a rate increase, but said the company should be lowering its current rates because its proposal was largely based on a nuclear plant that has not yet been fully approved.

“Commissioners, there are many issues in this case, but at bottom the decision you are called to make is whether Progress Energy Florida needs any rate increases at all in order to provide adequate and reliable service at the lowest possible cost,” Wright said. “The evidence will show they do not.”

Jon Moyle, a lawyer for the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, also echoed the concerns raised by the OPC and the Retail Federation in his organization’s opening statement. Moyle said the PSC should err on the side of returning money to the customers in the tough economic climate in the state and argued that the nuclear plants should not be a determining factor in the rate hearings.

“Don’t let (the Levy nuclear plant) capture you in terms of making decisions,” Moyle said. “You will hear Progress say ‘Levy,’ but we haven’t decided whether to move forward with it. We’re taking steps in that direction, but it’s not a done deal. Surely, you should not make rate case decision about something that is uncertain as to whether its going to take place at all.”

Aware of such criticism from opponents, particularly the knock about the current economy, Progress sought to pre-empt the insensitivity charges in their statement, arguing that the economy was hurting the company too. Attorney Glenn said the company laid off 150 employees last year and eliminated another 150 open positions to tighten its own belt before coming to the PSC to ask for more money.

“We would not be here today if did not absolutely have to be,” Glenn told the PSC. “We reduced our workforce by 7-and-a-half percent. We have been and are a fiscally sound company. We’re mindful of the impact of any rate increase on customers, so why are we here? It’s pretty simple and I think not in dispute: we have identifiable costs and less sales.”

Glenn also framed the competing arguments presented Monday at the PSC as a choice between expertise and opinions.

“You’ll hear from our witnesses, who actually run power plants, who actually build things, who actually maintain our electric grid, who actually develop budgets and are held accountable to them,” he said. “In contrast, what are you going to hear from the interveners? An accountant. You be the judge of who’s more credible about what our companies need to run its business.”

Similar to the FPL hearings that proceeded it, the PSC’s Progress Energy case is taking place against a backdrop of conflict-of-interest questions that sprung from allegations that the commission was too close to the companies it regulates. Progress was not linked to the questions, which mounted as three PSC commissioners fired or placed on administrative leave aides after newspaper reports that they had given their BlackBerry messaging information to an FPL attorney, which could allow the company official to text message the staffer during meetings without creating a public record.

In addition to the Progress Energy and FPL base rate cases, the PSC is scheduled to determine this fall whether or not the costs of new nuclear power plants planned by the companies at Turkey Point and in Levy County respectively should be passed on to their customers. FPL wants to add 67 cents a month per 1,000 kilowatt hours to generate $62.7 million and Progress Energy proposes adding $2.38 per 1,000 kilowatt hours to bring in $236.4 million. The commission will also consider a $1.6 billion proposed FPL underground natural gas pipeline.

The PSC has four more days of evidentiary hearings for Progress Energy’s request scheduled this week and the panel added three more days of FPL hearings, Oct. 21-23.

-END-
9/21/09

NEW CAPITAL FLIGHT SERVICE CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Aug. 12, 2009……….Tallahassee veterans may wish that it was as easy to fly into the state capital as it is to catch a flight to the U.S. Capital, but it will soon be less of a hassle for Capital frequent flyers to travel between the two.

The Tallahassee Regional Airport and U.S. Airways announced Wednesday a deal that will start non-stop flight service from Tallahassee to Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA). The service, which assistant director Philip Inglese said would likely begin in the first or second quarter of next year, will join American Airlines’ service to the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport in breathing new air into the sleepy airport on the southwest side of the capital city.

American, which began flying from Tallahassee to Dallas in June in addition to their flights from the capital to Miami, began a second non-stop daily flight last week. Inglese said the second flight was overdue.

“We have always believed that Dallas/Ft. Worth would be a good market for us,” Inglese told the News Service of Florida. “We didn’t go a month before they felt the demand warranted a second flight.”

Inglese added that the airport has been trying to land non-stop service to D.C. for at least three years, but was grounded by the economy and the fact that Reagan National has limited gate space.

Inglese said service into Reagan- the closest airport to the city of Washington, D.C. of the three metro facilities – would be more marketable to Tallahassee’s government passengers, who often deal with both the federal and the state legislative branches.

“This is something we’ve been working on for a long time, but it looks like the moon and stars have finally lined up,” he said. “We’ve been telling (U.S. Air) that considering the size of our airport, with at least one flight, they could get a good load.”

The Tallahassee airport averages between 720,000-750,000 passengers per year, but he said it would be at least six months before the impact of the Dallas service could be felt. But if the airport continues to avoid turbulence, Inglese said the new flights would not be the end of the service expansion.

“We’re always working on it,” he said. “We talk to all (the airlines). We don’t limit ourselves to one, so that if there are changes to their situation or ours, we’re already in front of them. We try to keep a lot of pokers in the fire.”

U.S. Air and American are two of five major commercial air carriers currently servicing Tallahassee, joining Continental, Delta and Northwest, though Inglese said the airport was also seeking others.

The U.S. Air service to Washington is part of a larger deal announced Wednesday with Delta airlines to swap some of Delta’s Reagan National gate rights with U.S. Air’s allotments at LaGuardia.

The news of the new capital flights was heralded Wednesday by Floridians for Better Transportation president Doug Callaway, who said he used to have to commute between Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. for a previous job and vividly remembers the difficulty.

“It’s a classic chicken and egg situation,” he said. “In the past, we have said if (the airlines) add more flights, they’ll have more customers and they have said ‘we’ll lower fares if you have more customers.’ That was hard to do, especially when people know they can drive a couple of hours to Jacksonville and Atlanta and get a decent fare.”

But Callaway said it was important that people be able to fly into Tallahassee so they could directly petition their government, a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, the Constitution was written before planes were in the sky, many of which fly over Tallahassee instead of landing.

“E-mail and phones make it easier, but more often than we would like to admit, it’s easy to get results from the government when you are face-to-face,” Callaway said.

Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, also welcomed the news of the new flights Wednesday. During her campaign last fall, Vasilinda proposed eliminating the tax on commercial airline fuel for carriers that fly into the capital on flights that receive passengers at the Tallahassee airport.

“I had a bill to get better service within Florida, but any service we can get into Tallahassee helps,” Vasilinda said during an interview with the News Service of Florida. “We really need to grown the capital city and the service will come, but right now we’re kind of stuck.”

Vasilinda said she may introduce her plan again next year. The proposal would eliminate the 6.9 cents per gallon tax the state charges for fuel purchased in Florida on Tallahassee flights and save airlines about $64,000 per year. To qualify for the proposed tax exemption, airlines would have to have a ticket counter at the Tallahassee airport, regularly schedule flights to and from the capital city and embark and disembark passengers here.

Vasilinda added that new flight service to Tallahassee would not just benefit local passengers. Her fellow legislators and their constituents would be flying high too, she said.

“The people complaining (about the lack of flight service) are not only my constituents, but my colleagues and people trying to do business in the capital,” Vasilinda said. “It’s hell trying to get in here sometimes. It’s expensive and there are not as many flights. It’s the capital city of the fourth-largest state in the union. We need to have more access.”

But Inglese said the flight service skies would be even cloudier into an airport the size of Tallahassee’s if the Capitol were somewhere else.

“Because we’re a business community, we have key connections,” Inglese said. “Small airports around the country are losing service because they are not as fortunate. We may be at reduced levels, but we’re not going to completely lose service.”

-END-
8/12/09

AT BIOFUEL SUMMIT, BRONSON SAYS OIL DRILLING NEEDED

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

ORLANDO, Fla., July 30, 2009……….Drilling for old-fashioned oil in near shore Florida waters should be part of the nation’s energy diet, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson said Thursday at a conference about increasing the use of newer fuel types.

After speaking at the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ fourth annual “Farm to Fuel” summit in Orlando, Bronson told the News Service of Florida that the state and the nation need to be energy self-sufficient and there would not be enough biofuels to sustain the state fully. Bronson said biofuel, which most experts agree is the most available clean energy type in Florida, could probably only could cover about 30 percent of the need.

With that in mind, Bronson, a champion of biofuel, said that he was also in favor of underwater offshore drilling, which he said was safer than above-ground oil rigs.

“We need to be 100 percent energy sufficient in this country and the only way to do that is to do both,” Bronson said in an interview after his speech. “There is technology that says we can do it safely.”

The pitch at the “Farm to Fuel” summit this week is mostly that biofuel will wean the country’s dependence on foreign oil. But Bronson said drilling off the Gulf Coast, which surfaced during the most recent Florida legislative session and is also being debated in Congress, would help Florida do that. And including drilling in an “all of the above” energy policy would also help the state control gas prices, he added.

“Facts are facts,” Bronson said. “The high cost of fuel is what’s got agriculture and all types of industries in trouble now. Every single phase of agriculture is fuel-based, whether it’s planting the seed, picking the product or taking it to the marketplace. All of those costs have gone up tremendously. They’re almost three or four times as expensive as they were 10 years ago.”

Though a biofuel summit may seem like an odd backdrop for discussing looking for oil off the Florida coastline, Bronson said that his support for drilling was in completely in line with the reason his department starting hosting the conference four years ago: to secure the state’s energy future.

“At every single one of these, business deals have been cut,” he said. “It’s happening. Florida is going to be a leader in the nation (in renewable energy from farms) when it’s all said and done. It’s either do it now or pay a heck of a lot for it later.”

But a Democratic candidate to replace Bronson next year when he’s term-limited said Bronson’s position was a betrayal of those who are seeking more use of biofuels as an environmentally friendlier alternative to oil. Eric Draper, who is also deputy director of Audubon Florida, said safe drilling was an oxymoron.

“There’s no such thing as safe underwater oil drilling,” Draper told the News Service of Florida in a separate interview at the “Farm to Fuel” summit. “The so-called ’safe-technologies’ have not been tested in Florida waters and they certainly have not been tested in Florida hurricanes.”

Draper’s indignation at Bronson’s decision to come out in favor of drilling appeared to be partly fueled by his decision to use the “Farm to Fuel” summit to make it public.

“I think Charlie Bronson is betraying the people who came here this week and paid $350 (to register for the convention) to promote biofuel,” Draper said. “Biofuels compete for market share with cheap oil. As long as we keep dependent on cheap oil, we’re not going to develop the biofuel market.”

This spring, the environmental community appeared ready to accept concessions such as including nuclear technology the proposed renewable energy standard for power companies, which it had fought for months, in the hopes of getting a bill passed last session. But the drilling proposal, which emerged late in the legislative session, was a non-starter when the House proposed it. And it is still is despite Bronson’s new backing, Draper said.

“I’m stunned he would even consider it,” Draper said, adding that the environmental community had always thought it had an ally in Bronson. “How can be an advocate for renewable energy and at the same time be an advocate for fossil fuels? That’s a contradictory position.”

Bronson’s support for more oil drilling in addition to greater investment in biofuel technology found a more receptive audience in Gov. Charlie Crist, who is nationally regarded as one of most sensitive Republican leaders to climate and energy issues.

“My feeling has always been that if it is far enough, clean enough and safe enough, we have to be open-minded about it,” Crist told reporters after his own speech to the “Farm to Fuel” summit. “We’re so dependent on foreign oil that it is compromising our security. If we can do it safely where Florida can benefit, I think it’s something we need to look at.”

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7/30/09

VASILINDA ON DRILLING VOTE: ‘I CUT A DEAL’ FOR HOUSE ACTION ON RPS

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 28, 2009………. Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda said Tuesday that her vote in favor of a controversial bill that could have allowed offshore oil drilling as close as three miles from Florida’s Gulf Coast was part of a deal that would have resulted in more renewable energy in the state.

Speaking during a roundtable discussion about clean tech businesses hosted by the Florida Renewable Energy Producers Association, Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, said she voted for the bill last session because House Speaker Designate Dean Cannon and sponsor Charles Van Zant said they would have allowed her to attach amendments to it that would have result in $160 million in investment in renewable energy. If it had been approved, the governor and Cabinet would have been allowed to consider approving Gulf drilling fields.

The deal fell apart when the Senate showed little appetite for the late-emerging drilling plan, but Vasilinda said the vote was “courageous” and stood by it on Tuesday despite taking heat from former Leon County Democratic Party Chairman Rick Minor, who resigned his post to challenge her for the House District 9 seat partially because of the vote.

“I cut a deal,” she said. “The deal was …. if I vote for that, then I could get my renewables on. The bill looked like it was going, and it looked like it was going to be accepted in the Senate at that time and by the governor. The only opportunity for anybody to put renewables on this bill at the time was me, so I did that. We got $160 million for true renewables – no nuclear – on the bill and that was the only energy bill that was coming out of the House.”

An April Mason-Dixon Polling and Research survey showed why the drilling vote could prose problems for Vasilinda in the primary against Minor. Fifty-nine percent of the poll’s 625 respondents said they supported drilling off Florida’s coast, but among Democrats, the margin was just 46 percent to 35 percent.

Vasilinda told the group of renewable energy producers that the drilling vote was not easy, but she also said that she “proud” of it because getting investment in renewables was one of her chief campaign promises.

“I was really quite nervous about doing this; I was getting pressure from all kinds of folks.” she said during a wrap-up of the 2009 legislative session at the FREPA roundtable. “My eyes were bugging out of my head. But I went up to take my amendments off and…basically started to get sick to my stomach because I felt like I was lacking courage. I felt like if I removed the amendments that I would not be being true by what I went there for and what I represented myself for.”

Vasilinda added that she recognized the vote could be problematic for her politically in one of the few left-leaning outposts in the Panhandle, saying that “people are couching me as being pro-drilling,” but she quickly added that she was not.

Chief among those doing the couching is Minor, Vasilinda’s new opponent for the 2010 Democratic nomination. Launching his candidacy last month, Minor cited the drilling vote as a major reason Vasilinda deserved to be replaced after just one session in office.

“The fact that someone could support off-shore drilling as little as three miles off Florida’s beaches, I think is a travesty,” Minor said during a June 30 news conference, painting Vasilinda as unprincipled. “The voters in District 9 want a strong Democrat that knows where he or she stands on the core Democratic issues. We have had some really great representatives in that district…and people are used to and expect strong leadership in that seat and right now they aren’t getting that.”

Minor stuck to that position Tuesday, telling the News Service of Florida Tuesday that Vasilinda’s explanation of her drilling vote was not good enough to excuse it.

“The way I look at it is despite what the oil companies will tell you, there’s no way to have oil drilling as little as 3 miles off our shores be safe,” he said in a telephone interview. “Other members have said that one spill would decimate the industries along our coast. When you consider that — when you consider the $56 billion in tourism that we get every year because of our beaches, that’s too much to risk. Our beaches and tourism industry define who we are as Floridians.”

Natural Resources Defense Council consultant Susan Glickman, who lobbied for the renewable energy standard on behalf of the Climate Group, agreed with Minor that Vasilinda’s deal was a bad one for Florida.

“There was unanimous opposition from the conservation community,” Glickman told the News Service. “There was no way to strike a palatable deal to tie the renewable portfolio standard to the drilling bill. Investing in drilling is like buying an 8-track cassette when the whole world is buying iPods. There’s no trade-off. To drill is to move 180 degrees in the opposite direction.”

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7/28/09

AN OUTSIDER-INSIDER RACE WITH A TWIST TO REPLACE VICTOR CRIST

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 21, 2009……In the race to replace term-limited Tampa Sen. Victor Crist next year, state Rep. Kevin Ambler thinks he is in a league of his own.

Going from being a county commissioner to the Legislature “is like a being a baseball player and thinking you’re going to switch sports and be first string on the football team,” Ambler, of Tampa, told the News Service of Florida in an interview. “I already know the game and I already know the players. I think Jim Norman would make a good House member and I would be privileged to be his mentor and help him get up to speed on the issues.”

Not surprisingly, his opponent for the Republican nomination and current Hillsborough County Commissioner Norman disagrees. And so does future Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, who will assume the chamber’s gavel when Crist’s successor takes office.

“For 15 years as a county commissioner, and even more as a community leader, Jim Norman has earned the trust and respect of his neighbors,” Haridopolos said in a statement announcing his unusual endorsement in a contested primary. “His record of civic achievement is built on solid conservative values, and with the support of the people of Pasco and Hillsborough Counties, he will be a great senator.”

Norman was also endorsed by the Senate’s top budget man JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, and the chairman of the Senate’s select committee on the economy, Don Gaetz of Niceville. But that isn’t enough to stop Ambler from believing that the eight year edge in legislative service he will have on Norman when voters in Hillsborough and Pasco counties have to choose between them next year will come in handy.

“If I have been a good member (of the House) and if I’ve fulfilled my promises, I think having the amount of experience you acquire doing that is very important,” Ambler said. “If I am able to communicate to the voters effectively that real experience matters, I think it will be an advantage.”

But the outsider candidate with the insider support thinks endorsements like Haridopolos’ will make for an effective counter to that line of attack.

“When the leaders of the particular House endorse me to say they want me to work side-by-side with them, that says a lot,” Norman said in a separate interview with the News Service. “I’m a little guy and I’m humbled by their support. It’s pretty daunting to have the leadership reach down and support me.”

In a district Crist won 70 percent of the vote in 2006 despite the area having a slight Democratic voter registration advantage as of last year’s presidential election, the experience argument may worth winning. No Democrats have filed to run for the seat next year, and the party did not field a candidate against Crist in 2006.

Ambler may think the county commission is insufficient preparation for the Legislature’s upper chamber, but Norman attributes his work there with winning him support of the veteran senators.

“I’ve worked closely with the legislative delegation, which is why I believe they’ve given me such a strong endorsement,” Norman said. “I’m not an unknown. I’m somebody who has established that I’m a conservative. People know where I come down on the issues, whether they’re fiscal or social.”

Norman also thinks his local ties will give him an edge over Ambler in the primary next year. He pointed out that before he won his countywide District 5 commission seat in 2000 he represented the panel’s second district, which covers the northern, most populous part of the county.

“There’s big guys out there with a lot of lobbyist support, but this is Hillsborough County,” Norman said. “I have very strong support from the people who live here. That’s who elected me. I have been on the ballot 17 years. Those people think I have enough experience.”

But for all the talk of experience between the two candidates to replace Crist, who has been in the Legislature since 1992, neither man is familiar with running a race in two large, heavily populated counties at the same time. The difference explains why the race has already begun in earnest a full year before the primary, Ambler said.

“I’ve run a lot of tough races, but it’s three times the geographic area (of my House district), so it presents a challenge,” Ambler said. “When I ran my first House race, I didn’t announce until October of the year before (the election). Now I’ve filed 2 years early. You need a longer period of time to communicate with the voters in such a large area.”

A successful District 12 candidate would also need money, Ambler added, touting the $93,778 he raised between April and June to bring his total fundraising this year to $151,674. “The initial name of the game is getting out there and raising money in an expensive media district,” he said.

Norman, who raised $15,205 for the second fundraising quarter to bring his total to $268,881, said he would focus more on meeting voters face-to-face than hand-to-wallet – though he’s had success there too. His campaign has been one of the most successful at raising money among all Senate candidates.

“I have a different style of campaigning than most people who are in elected office,” Norman said. “Back when I first got elected, I only won by going door-to-door and asking people if there was something I could do for them.”

And despite his fundraising prowess, he said that’s what he plans to do this time around.

“I’m not going to win races by sitting in an office and running flyers and making TV ads,” he said. “My constituents will know me. Money is nice, but I’m more or less depending on sitting in people’s living rooms.

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7/21/09

THREE LEON COUNTY DEMS VYING TO REPLACE TERM-LIMITED LAWSON

By KEITH LAING
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

www.newsserviceflorida.com

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 9, 2009……….Filling the shoes of a 6-foot-8 man is no easy task, especially one who has been at the job for nearly 30 years. But that is task of three Leon County Democrats who call themselves friends but will be opponents in next year’s Senate District 6 primary.

With Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson preparing to leave the Legislature that he has been a member of since 1982, the race to replace him has drawn two former Tallahassee representatives who want to follow his path from the House to the Senate and an educator who wants to jump straight to the upper chamber.

Lawson, who was elected to represent one of the Panhandle’s few Democratic-leaning districts in the Senate in 2000 after 18 years in the House, will face term-limits next year and is running for the U.S. Congress. The institutional memory that will go with Lawson to Washington, D.C. should he be successful is why the race to succeed him is so important, former state Rep. Curtis Richardson told the News Service of Florida in an interview in which he sized up the field that has quickly become crowded.

“Sen. Lawson is leaving after 28 years, which will create a leadership void for our area,” said Richardson, who served in the House from 2000 to 2008. “That’s why I’m running, to make sure that we still have the same level of representation, especially because we have two sophomore legislators in the House and Rep. (Michelle) Rehwinkel Vasilinda has gotten a challenge so we may have another freshman.”

Richardson and the other two candidates to replace Lawson – former Rep. Loranne Ausley and Florida Association of District School Superintendents chief executive officer Bill Montford – have about a year to introduce themselves to the parts of the nine county district that are not within shouting distance of the Capitol.

That could be the key to determining which one of them will be sworn-in after next November’s elections, Richardson said, and it explains why they are all already on the campaign trail.

“Politics in this area is retail,” Richardson said. “People want to know you and feel like you’re a part of the community, not just showing up at the times when you’re looking for votes. They want to know you understand their values.”

Ausley agreed, adding that the state worker-packed district is an informed electorate, making it one that will not easily be satisfied with platitudes. That’s why she has been pressing the flesh too, she said.

“Folks in these counties know about government and they want to know their politicians,” she said.

Ausley, Richardson and Montford are all Tallahassee-based – and will have to get out into the other areas of the district too. Despite attending both Florida A&M and Florida State universities, Lawson grew up in rural Midway before making his life in Tallahassee, giving him a natural connection to the non-Tallahassee parts of the Senate district.

While the Republican Party of Florida has drawn attention for a perception that its leadership chooses candidates for some races, and tries to push other candidates out of the primary, Ausley said that isn’t happening on the Democrat side.

“The party’s not ever gotten involved (in primaries),” Ausley said. “It’s up to us to prove our case to the voters and go from there.”

The candidates all agreed that it will take money to reach those deciders, making fundraising another possible determinant in the three-way race Montford compared to “a tennis match among friends.”

“It’s a large district,” he said. “It’s going to take a good deal of money to cover it.”

And with the primary 13 months away, they will have to watch how they spend it, Montford said. That’s why he has not made any staffing moves yet, despite the fact that he raised $110,000 from the beginning of April to the end of June.

“Once you hire staff, you’ve got to start paying them,” Montford said. “I’m just doing fundraising and renewing old acquaintances.”

On both counts, Montford said his background in education may be helpful. It’s produced a lot of grateful friends who might see fit to donate and volunteer for his campaign, he said.

“I’ve been in the school system so long, I hope my reputation as an educator among my former students and parents is solid and I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted with them,” he said.

Ausley, who has already launched a campaign Website, said she thought it would take between $250,000 and $500,000 to win the race. She has raised $170,000 in the first two quarters of 2009, she said. The deadline for state candidates to report fundraising for the second quarter is Friday.

“We’re getting ready to find out where everybody is,” Ausley said. “It’s really disgusting if you think about it, but if you look at back 2000, $750,000 was spent on the airwaves back and forth among interest groups. I hope it doesn’t get to that, but money is important.”

Richardson, who has not yet released his fundraising figures, said he took a different lesson from the campaign that produced Sen. Lawson, saying he would spend around the same amount that Lawson did in his race.

“Sen. Lawson won the district with about $200,000,” Richardson said. “That was some time ago, but I think you can do it for about that. I don’t think money will be what determines who win this race. You have to be able to get your message out, but money doesn’t vote. People vote.”

Richardson said the invisible money primary that is part of modern politics was never one that he was aiming to win.

“Knowing that I wouldn’t raise the most money, I got started early touching the people so they could know me and not make a decision based on a 30 second television commercial, radio spot or direct mail piece,” Richardson said. “That’s always been my strategy in the campaigns that I’ve run. I’ve never been a prolific fundraiser but what people will tell you about me is that there is nobody who will work harder or represent their district better.”

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7/9/09