Calling BP: Expect note on tax shortfall

Some people missed the memo that there's no oil on the beaches from Tampa to Naples.

Tamara Pigott, the executive director of the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau, told a group of real estate executives in Fort Myers that 7% of consumers surveyed in key markets such as Chicago and Boston think there's oil on the beaches from the BP spill. For areas further north on the Gulf Coast toward St. Petersburg, Pigott says that number rises to 9%.

What's more, Pigott says she expects to announce a drop in bed-tax collections when the Tourist Development Council meets on Aug. 13. “So we'll have some conversations with BP,” Pigott says.