8A LAKE CITY REPORTER STATE SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2011 Page Editor: C.J. Risak, 754-0427 By MITCH STACY Associated Press DESTIN Gulf Coast tourism officials who gath. ered for a meeting at a Florida Panhandle resort this week weren't exactly jumping for joy over the prospF.cts for growth in 2011, even with the worst of the recession and BP oil spill in their rear-view mirrors. Instead, there was mea- sured optimism that this would be a year of modest recovery that vacation- ers would continue com- ing back to the beaches and seafood restaurants in communities whose imag- es and economies were battered by the oil spill last year. The Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill occurred April 20, ruining the lucrative summer sea son and the year for tour ist enclaves that were still fighting off the malaise of the recession. The gusher was finally capped three months later. Millions of dollars in reparations from BP were. invested into national pro- motions for the beaches and gulf seaf ood. Tourism officials reported good -- but not great March spring break crowds this year, with the more family oriented Easter break and typically busy summer sea-. sons still on the horizon. But many hotels still are offering deep discounts to keep rooms filed. In Pensacol., BP workers walk the beaches regularly to round up stray tar balls, and tourism bureaus con- tinue to fight the perception around the country that the white-sand beaches in the Florida Panhandle and coastal Alabama are awash with oil. . "I think we're cautiously optimistic," said Colette Boehm, special projects director for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism in Alabama, where oil and tar balls stained parts of the 32 miles of coastline last summ- mer.. "Wiith the (survey) numbers we're getting, we can't discount the fact thlat there is still some percep- tion of an (oil) issue out there. But the anecdotal data~ that we're getting is that's getting better as time goes on." she pointed at a pro-union demonstration "and we're going to win again." That sentiment irritates veteran state employees like Kathleen Reese, who spent 33 years as a child welfare and elder services worker. "State workers are very hard working and dedi- cated," said Reese, who recently retired. "~We're not sitting around twid- dling our thumbs." This year's bills, which some labor leaders refer to as "Union Busting 101," are in some ways the legacy of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a conserva- tive who fought teachers' unions as a part of his edu- cation reform efforts. In his second inaugural speech, Bush also talked about wanting to empty state office buildings of all their workers, turning them into "silent monu- ments." Two decades before that, Republican Gov. Bob Martinez vaguely alluded to state workers as "lard bricks," in presenting a budget that contained no raises for them. In one sense, -the backlash against public employee unions can be seen as a chickens-coming- home-to-roost moment. Municipalities for years have felt hamstrung by union rules governing lay- offs, overtime and retire- ment benefits. "LUnions have won a considerable amount of fat for their members, mostly in benefits," said James Sherk, the conservative SHeritage Foundation's labor policy analyst. That drives up costs for public employers and, ultimately, taxpayers, he said. By JAMES L. ROSICA Associated Press TALIAHASSjEE -- While political assaults on public employee unions in Wisconsin and other States have been grab- bing the headlines, the Workers' counterparts in Florida also have been under attack from the Republican-controlled Legislature. Lawmakers are prepar- ing to gut union strength, curbing their ability to collect dues through auto- matic paycheck deduc- tions, forcing them to get written permission from each member before mak- ing political contributions and calling for unions that fall below a certain level of membership to be stripped of collective bar- gaining rights. One of the bills passed the House last week and is awaiting Senate approval. What's different in Florida, however, is a state' constitutional provi- sion that protects public Employees' right to col- lectively bargain. The term describes negotia- tions between unions and employers to agree on pay, benefits and other work conditions. The constitu- tional protection means Florida lawmakers face limits on what they can do to roll back union power. The Florida efforts are part of a national trend, bolstered by Republican victories last year, to turn back union might. As Mabel Ryan, aFlorida tea party activist, recently said in Tallahassee, "Last November was a tremen- dous boost for all of us. We won, and they lost" - 420 SE Alligator Glen, Lake City 32025 (on I-- Q" onr lbRd-. ie otho aaDie *Listen to Experts Talk about Plants, Birds, Habitat, Water and More *Learn about the Florida Wildlife. Care Center and their Birds of Prey rSee the Fish & Wildlife Commission I Law Enforcement Helicopter ASSOCIATED PRESS This Tuesday photo shows businesses along the coast in Destin. Gulf Coast tourisin officials who gathered for a meeting at a Florida Panhandle resort this week weren't exactly jumping for joy over the prospects for growth in 2011, even with the worst of the recession and BP oil spill in their rear-view mirrors. Instead, there was measured optimism that this would be a year of modest recovery that vacationers would continue coming back to the beaches ' and seafood restaurants in communities whose images and economies were battered by the specter of the oil spill last year. Last year was expected to be abanneryear for Panama City, Fla. The Panhandle beach town saw a record number of spring break visitors in March 2010 and had scheduled the open- ing of a new international airport for May amid great hoopla. The airport went online as expected, but its debut was overshadowed by news of the April oil spill ' and uncertainty over if and when crude would hit the shore. Beaches in Panama City saw only some scat- tered tar balls, but the crowds ~still mostly stayed away despite a visit from President Barack Obama and his family designed to show that the beach was clean and the seafood was safe. "Ecologically, we've fully recovered. Now we have an economic recovery," said Dan Rowe,~ president and CEO of the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau. "But we can't get back the momen- tum, we lost with the open- ing of the airport 2010 was going to be a spring- board for the future. We'll do OK in 2011, but it's really about trying to sustain and get that momentum back. If we continue to tell our story, we may over time get back to that trajectory we were on before the oil spill." vacation haunts, to the plac- es they've enjoyed." John Russell is president of Sandestin Investments, owner of the lovely 2,400- acre Sandestin Gulf and Beach Resort that hosted this week's tourism con- ference. Russell said the challenges last year taught him and his promotions staff that theyL have to work harder for their business, offering discounts when necessary, fostering rela- tionships with online travel companies and using email blasts and social media often to promote events and specials. "There is no longer a'you build it and they will come' in this business anymore," Russell said. "You have to be the best marketer in the business." ' Rowe and other tour- ism officials said the oil spill pushed them to uti- lize Facebook and other social media more to get out their message, con- vince people the beaches were clean, promote events and generally connect wiith visitors on a more personal level. That online follow- ing is considered a vital part of the public-relations strategy for most tourism bureaus now. '"They have done, an incredible job getting that message out there," said ~Duane Vinson, whose Smith Travel Research analyzes lodging trends for the industry. He said the company's research proj- ects a slight increase in average daily rates paid by hotel guests this year, and that rising gas prices won't be a huge factor when it comes to people' deciding whether or not to travel this summer. Hoteliers in the southeast expect a "strong summer ~season," he said. '"There's a lot of pent-up demand out there, people who have held off on those vacations over the last couple of years," Vinson said. "They're going, 'We haven't been' to the coast for a couple of years, let's go to the coast.' We're going to see those people heading back to their old By BILL KACZOR Associated Press TALIAHASSEE Pay cuts for teach- ers and other employees that are part of appropriations bills in both Florida legisla- tive chambers could help offset deep pub- lic school spending reductions, a budget leader said as the Senate's version cleared committee Thursday. Sen. David Simmons, who chairs a subcom itee oosesoeIn d sochtoe senb Republican Gov. Rick Scott's budget direc- tor before the Senate Budget Committee approved its $69.8 billion appropriations bill and related legislation. Pension bills in both GOP-controlled chambers would require about 655,000 teachers, state workers and local govern- ment employees to contribute 3 percent of their salaries to the Florida Retirement System, now completely supported by.tax- payers- The Senate panel approved its proposed pension bill (SB 7094) on a largely party-line vote with all but one Republican in favor and all Democrats against after public employees and union officials argued that lawmakers are balancing the budget on the backs of state workers. Teachers, police officers, firefighters and Other public employees said they're already underpaid compared to other states and ~have gone w~ayrithutpy ie from three to eight year - "Enough already," said Andy Ford, presi- dent of the Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers union. "This is a tax on our income. W~e do not get rich while we work and the changes to our retirement sys- tem will guarantee that we will be poor until the day that we die." The Senate budget bill won commtee approval on a largely party-line roll call with only two Democrats joining all Republicans in voting for the measure. Simmons, R-Maitland, said Florida school districts could use money saved from state- ordered pay cuts for teachers and other employees, as well as left-over federal stimu- lus dollars, to offset almost all of the sharp spending cuts they're facing, Budget bills mn both chambers would make deep cuts in education, health care and other services besides the pension changes to close a projected $3.75 billion gap between recession-depressed revenues and high-pri- ority to critical state needs in the fiscal year beginning July 1. The House's budget, which cleared a com- mittee Wednesday, would cut school spend- ing by $463.13, or 6.8 percent. The Senate plan would cut about $40 million less, or 6.2 percent. Scott has proposed a 10 percent cut in per student spending and a 5 percent pen- sion contribution from public employees. Simmons said the 3 percent employee pension contribution would save school dis- tricts $678 million. Izwmakers last year also urged the districts to save $554 million in unexpected stimulus money they received from a federal jobs bill for next year, and Simmons said most of them did. Tapping those two funding sources would reduce the spending cut mn the Senate bill to about 0.5 percent, Simmons said. "It's essentially level funding," he said. The state, meanwhile, would save about $710 million from having employee make pension contributions. Contributing 3* percent would cost the averagC public employee making $39,000 a year nearly $1,200. Gulf Coast tourism officialS are 'cRuioulOU optimistic Political pressure RISO bearing on state s umions State Senate panel will consider $69.8B budget \i ponsorea cy GatewNay Wildlife Habitat Org.