On Wednesday, August 25, 2010 the Clearwater Code Enforcement Board will meet to discuss the deteriorating building formerly housing the Cabana Club Restaurant on Sand Key. The residents are encouraged to attend to express their views. The meeting will be held at 3 PM, Clearwater City Hall, 3rd floor.

Apparently we can stop holding our breath and feel safe to say the spewing of crude oil into the Gulf has stopped. This isn’t news, but the first time we were prepared to say it out loud for fear of jinxing the capping effort. We saw many failed attempts, but the combination of the pressure cap and “mud” seems to be working.

The people along the northern shores (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama) will see the damages linger for years to come. The environment, economy and individuals along the coastal areas begin the long road to recovery and cleanup. No one can set a time table. Only Mother Nature, clean up crews and the resilience of the residents can improve the damaged areas.

In the area around Sand Key, the damage was economic. People were here, but many stayed away. The media’s relentless poor reporting gave the image of oil stained beaches and predictions of more oil to come from here to Key West. The result was the worst summer tourist season perhaps since the World Trade Center attacks ten years ago. Many small businesses haven’t survived and those that do will struggle to get back to where they can stop the bleeding and build the future.

Now the process to get some financial healing begins with BP and their promise to pay for their actions or lack thereof! The claims process is not easy. Businesses must provide three years of operating history, payroll records, monthly profit and loss statements, tax records and sales tax filings to back up any claims made. Even then, there are some subjective decisions that will lead to unpaid claims.

As the sponsors of this site, Backwaters on Sand Key and Maggie Mae’s (waterfront location) will file for our lost revenues. We were fortunate and our numbers are small compared to many others. Our curiosity to follow the claims process and BP’s actions will be followed and reported here. Will BP back up their statements? Will they look in depth at each small business situation or are they just throwing a few dollars to the wind for publicity? We will let you know.

Help to Make Clearwater #1 Tennis Town the Country

Clearwater is a finalist in the top ten of the United States Tennis Association’s competition. Voting is now going on to choose a winner which will receive $100,000 for the purposes of expanding tennis in the community.

Please take the time to make our city number one by visiting this link http://www.besttennistown.com/ to vote for Clearwater. It only takes a moment to get recognition of our town as the best!

Gulf Seafood Safer Than Ever Before

The fish and other seafood coming out of the Gulf of Mexico is probably more safe now than it has ever been. With testing by multiple federal agencies, state authorities, wholesalers and various universities, we are getting layers of assurances that there are no dangers from the BP oil spill disaster raging in the northern Gulf. In fact, Gulf seafood, in my opinion, is far safer than most of the imported fish served in many restaurants and sold in grocery stores!

Now that the flow of oil has stopped, at least temporarily, the real question about seafood is -

What Long Term Effects Will the Oil Spill Have on Sustainability of Gulf Seafood?

Studies have shown that mature fish have the ability to metabolize small amounts of hydrocarbons. They also tend to migrate away from uncomfortable waters (this may account for the fabulous fishing around the Sand Key area these last few months). While adult seafood populations seem to be surviving to a great degree, the real issue is the eggs and larvae of the various species that have been destroyed.

What has the oil spill done to the next generation of seafood and the delicate balance of the Gulf fisheries already burdened by some over fishing and poor resource management?

When tallying the damages that BP must ante up, we should not forget the potential harm from the oil’s effects on the future of seafood production and recreational fishing. Studies need to begin now on how to replenish the ecosystem and sustain the future of Gulf fisheries.

The oil spill and continuing leakage from the well near Venice, Louisiana has truly become an economic and environmental disaster FOR THAT AREA - not anywhere close to Clearwater Beach or Sand Key. Despite the media’s never ending spewing of mis-information, hypothetical situations and doom and gloom for Florida beaches, the fact is we are clean, the water is clear and the quality of the Gulf was evident when we recently were fishing in forty feet of water where we could see the bottom.

The imapact has been evident in other economic circumstances such as seafood. While the prices for local domestic shrimp has increased slightly, demand has been less, therefore there have been little supply shortages. People are questioning the safety of the local species such as grouper, snapper and mackeral. The fact is seafood may be safer than ever with new sampling and safety measures put in place to make certain there are no oil contaminates.

Tourism in this area down. How much? It is hard to determine. We know that European visitors are cancelling vacations in significant numbers fearing our beaches are in eminent danger as portrayed by the media. Restaurants, hotels and retail operations in tourist areas were encouraged with a great April when the oil spill occurred late in the month. Now after a record cold first quarter of the year and weak June sales, many businesses are fearing the summer will spell financial disaster.

Real estate sales were beginning to see some positive signs. Now, hesitant buyers are staying away from waterfront properties in a wait and see posture. This slow down may lead to further decline in values.

The good news is that are island is still pristine. June is still a great month to watch dolphins, manatee and tarpon as they roam close to shorelines and shallow water. Our summer waterfowl are here and putting on their show. Sand Key is still a great place to be!

It seems everyone must like the negative headlines being broadcast by most national media sources. Sure there is a great possibility that the oil spill COULD get a lot worse than what it is, but that is not the impression potential visitors to Florida are getting. The Gulf is NOT closed to fishing - despite what an ABC reporter stated. No oil has reached a Florida shore, nor are there any possibilities of that happening in the near future.

To reassure people who are watching the beaches we are posting this link to Clearwater Beach and the clean white sands we are enjoying - just click here for the Beach Walk Camera.

To watch the history and daily tracking of the oil slick in Gulf waters near Louisiana, MSNBC has set up a neat link to this animated news site.

While BP has taken responsibility for the damages of the spill itself, the news media should accept responsibility for inaccurate reporting.

The media, rumors and just plain wrong information has been published about the oil spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico as it relates to Florida and specifically this area around Sand Key. The result has been people canceling vacations, rooms and planned activities throughout the state of Florida. That facts as we know them today are:

• Not a single drop of oil has reached any Florida shores. While it could happen if a major storm pushed the oil in our direction, at this point, there are no projections of that happening.
• The Gulf of Mexico is NOT closed to fishing. Only a small portion close to the mouth of the Mississippi River has been closed in the vicinity of the leaking oil rig. By the way, there are about 4000 oil rigs in the northern Gulf.
• Seafood is safe from Gulf waters and continues to be harvested in the majority of the Gulf. Most of the oyster beds in the northern gulf are not affected by the spill as of this date. Those beds are west of the Mississippi River.
• The spill moves daily in one direction or the other depending on the tides, winds and containment efforts.
• Our shores are over 200 miles from the closest point the spill has ever been projected to move in the last week.

The SKCA has scheduled the next meeting on May 5th, 2010 at 8 PM, preceded at 6:30 PM by a debate on Amendment 4. The meeting will be held at the Clearwater Sailing Center.

The debate on Amendment 4, which will be on the November ballot, concerns land use requirements and the procedures that could require referendums approved by the public.

The regular meeting, starting at 8 PM will include committee reports and the final report on the very successful Springfest 2010. The SKCA should be commended for sponsoring this community get together.

The smell of hamburgers, the sound music playing, laughter from people all over the Shoppes of Sand Key - it must be Springfest 2010! The Sand Key Civic Association sponsored the First Annual Springfest for the community of Sand Key. It was the first time in memory that the entire island came together for a big block party. The highlights were the entertainment that included bands, the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, artists scattered throughout the Shoppes and the great sport of people watching!

The Sand Key Civic Association must be commended for sponsoring the Springfest. Gene Gillespie, Vice President of the SKCA and committee Chairman for the event, rallied a small group of people into action that resulted in this unprecedented community gathering. Congratulations to Gene and we look forward to next year.