In light of months of bad PR, the oil company was quick to blow their own horn last week when they capped the well.   As their stock price rose people seemed quick to forget there was almost 100 million gallons of crude oil spilt to date.  But this does not signify the end, almost immediately after capping the well BP began laying off clean up workers and downsizing efforts in the gulf coast. The hardest part has just begun and now is when we need to ramp up efforts to get our beaches clean again!  A source close to the clean up in the panhandle of Florida told me tar balls had been washing ashore three miles from their local staging area and as we spoke people were being let go in an effort to "reduce costs."  BP basically wrote a 'blank check' for the clean up when it began, now it seems they are spending almost as much money controlling PR as on the clean up, the oil company has decided to cut the budget.  A unnamed source informed me that BP (or contractors of) recently laid off more that 300 people just in the panhandle.  This disaster has ruined beaches, lost jobs, destroyed businesses and now many people find themselves not even able to work for the clean up effort.

The company is however quick to re-allocate these newly free funds towards relocating existing infrastructure.  As weather reports roll in BP scrambles to pack up and 'moth ball' equipment and personnel. The largest staging area and main base of operations for the central panhandle is being dismantled and relocated to Tallahasee for the weekend.  Yes you read that right, for the weekend.  Sources inside tell me "beach operations will resume Sunday" and they are hoping to have this staging area reassembled and back up Monday.