Oil Spill Puts Off Pensacola's Recovery Summer

Six years ago Pensacola Beach was blasted by Hurricane Ivan. Twenty thousand homes were wiped out. Then came the recession. Last year, housing prices fell by 7 percent. Now the oil spill and the tourists have vanished, CBS' "Early Show" Co-Anchor Harry Smith reports.

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf

No matter how you slice it, business at Papa's Pizza here is just a fraction of what it used to be.

"I've done $20,000 weekends in a 900 square feet pizzeria," said owner Mike Pinzone. "The impact is going to be horrendous, not just for me but for everybody."

After a couple of tough years, this was going to be the summer when Pensacola came back.

"In the 30 days from March 20 to April 20, our business showed an increase of over 40 percent," said Outcast Bait & Tackle owner Tommy Holmes. "We were really looking forward to a great season."

Great expectations have been replaced by the sad truth at Outcast Bait and Tackle. The summer is shot. In 23 years, Holmes has never laid off one employee. But he says he lost $73,000 in May alone and so far has gotten $26,000 back from BP.

"They're spending a lot of money trying to tell us how great they are," said Holmes. "Fifty million dollars in advertising telling us how great they pay claims? Let's see it."

It's a familiar concern throughout the Gulf. Two weeks ago, Matt and Regina Shipp, owners of The Harbour Grill in Orange Beach, Ala., were waiting for much needed relief from BP.

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"They are killing our business day after day after day," Matt Shipp said.

This weekend he had some good news. They have been compensated for $46,000, almost all of the $49,000 they lost in May, but they expect bigger losses in June and July and as of Tuesday don't know how much additional aid they'll receive from BP.

"If we don't receive compensation within the next two weeks, we won't be able to make it through July," Matt Shipp said.

Now facing another challenge, a weary community found strength in one another. A fishing pier became a place of worship.

The fight is now more than 70 days old, and it's only just begun.

"I have no intention of going out of business," said Holmes. "I have no intention of letting them beat us. We are going to come back, and we're going to fight them and get what they have taken from us. It belongs to us, and then we're going to move on."

[formrusmcsgt]

I'd be curious to see AZ's tourism numbers.....