Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Shannon NickinsonJuly 21, 2015

It’s time to look at the BP glass as half full. The federal judge who was to mete out financial punishment to the British oil giant for its part in the Deepwater Horizon disaster in April 2010 has made his ruling. Now it’s up to us to make what we will of it. Generally, the […]

Mitch PerryJuly 6, 2015

Although lawmakers are never pleased when their projects are vetoed out of the state budget, Don Gaetz says the way Gov. Rick Scott handled those vetoes last month still rankles him. “I’ve always had vetoes of projects that I was interested in,” the Niceville senator said of bills axed by Govs. Jeb Bush and Charlie […]

Associated PressJuly 2, 2015

Trying to close the books on the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, BP agreed Thursday to provide billions of dollars in new money to five Gulf Coast states in a deal the company said would bring its full obligations to an estimated $53.8 billion. Federal and state government officials touted the record-breaking $18.7 […]

Phil AmmannJuly 2, 2015

BP has agreed to pay a record $18.732 billion to resolve claims by five Gulf states of violating the Clean Water Act, harming natural resources, and other economic damages from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As a part of the agreement announced Thursday, Florida will receive at least $3.25 billion. The overall deal has […]

Diane RobertsJune 7, 2015

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE – The not-remotely-special special session limps along, costing taxpayers about $75,000 a day. The bars in Tallahassee are making out pretty well. The rest of us, not so much. The Senate wants to expand Medicaid, but can’t call it “Medicaid,” because, you know, Obama. The House won’t call it anything other than “Medicaid!” […]

Bruce RitchieApril 20, 2015

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The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 likely shut the door politically on oil drilling in Florida waters, a Florida State University oceanography professor said Monday on the five-year anniversary of the spill. In April 2010, a Florida House committee led by future House Speaker Dean Cannon was considering draft legislation to allow drilling in state […]

Associated PressApril 20, 2015

Five years after the nation’s worst offshore oil spill, the industry is working on drilling even farther into the risky depths beneath the Gulf of Mexico to tap massive deposits once thought unreachable. Opening the new frontier, miles below the bottom of the Gulf, requires engineering feats far beyond those used at BP’s much shallower […]

Guest AuthorOctober 13, 2014

Without much fanfare, the United States now meets its own domestic natural gas needs, while also becoming the world’s No. 1 exporter of natural gas. At the same time, Americans still consume far more oil than our domestic resources can supply. The gap in domestic oil requirements versus production is shrinking due to new techniques, […]

Guest AuthorApril 2, 2014

The Environmental Protection Agency lifted in March its ban imposed on BP. For me, the decision felt like hearing a serial killer had been granted a pardon and released into our community. BP’s history shows how it has repeatedly put American lives and our environment at risk. Lifting the ban allows them back in our […]

Tag: Deepwater Horizon
Image via AP

Shannon Nickinson: Find that silver lining in BP settlement

Don Gaetz still vexed by some Rick Scott vetoes

$18.7B deal clears path for BP to close books on Gulf spill

DEP, FWC respond to record BP settlement, applauds Gulf Coast recovery progress

Diane Roberts: Florida's presidential hopefuls have forgotten about Deepwater Horizon

Offshore oil drilling has been off Florida’s table since Deepwater Horizon

5 years after BP spill, drillers push into riskier depths

Tom Garcia: We need to drill for more oil to stay on road to energy independence

Rick Outzen: Lifting ban on BP is like granting a pardon to a serial killer