Florida has absolutely no frame of reference for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or its effect on the state economy. And officials admit it will take years -- not weeks or months -- before they can respond to all the claims likely to come from the disaster.

Look no further than the unprecedented environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to find an example of the need for stronger management of marine and coastal environments -- and resources -- in Florida.

In his first address in the state capital, Republican Rick Scott told a crowd of about 350 on Tuesday that, if elected governor, he will fight for reduced regulation, tighter control on immigration and less taxation.

Finally succumbing to pressure from a legion of Florida public officials, members of Congress and the president of the United States, British Petroleum agreed Wednesday to set aside $20 billion in an independently managed escrow account to compensate for losses caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Though state waters in Escambia County had been closed to saltwater fishing for less than a day, some of the area’s fishing-related businesses Monday afternoon were already fretting the loss of customers.

“Today we’ve done about $20 in business,” said Doug Vance, owner of Gray’s Tackle and Guide Service.

Florida public schools, faced with fierce competition for students from private schools, raised their scores on standardized tests slightly after the creation of the state’s business-supported private-school-voucher program, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research report recently released.

As if Northwest Florida coastal towns don't have enough problems, they were told earlier this week that the world's largest auto club issued a travel advisory urging its 50 million members to stay away from their beaches because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

But a spokeswoman for the association insisted Wednesday there was no such travel advisory.

British Petroleum Senior Vice President Bob Fryar tried to soothe frustrated members of the Florida Cabinet Tuesday with the promise of a new $25 million check for the state.

For years, the fight over whether to expand school choice in Florida has been a bitter struggle waged by lawmakers, teachers unions and parents.

But it’s only part of a larger national struggle to give economically disadvantaged parents opportunities to take their children out of failing schools and into schools they can’t normally afford, according to a New York City-based documentary film due out this week.

A glimpse of the ugliness and of the battle for expanded school choice can be seen in screenings of “The Lottery” in two Florida cities today.

The University of Central Florida is getting nearly $6 million from the state budget for a new business incubator facility that will help it keep jobs in its area and boost the creation of high-tech, specialized small businesses looking for a way to get off the ground.

Gov. Charlie Crist requested in a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce Wednesday that the federal government declare a commercial fishery failure in Florida due to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The designation would pave the way for Florida to receive federal money to compensate for the losses the commercial and charter fishing industry sustains from the spill. Florida would be the fourth Gulf state to receive the designation since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank more than a month ago.

Businesses hoping to escape paying fees for some of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s premiere loan programs are at the mercy of Congress.