I'm not necessarily saying the two things are related. But with Florida Power & Light, you never know. The utility has ingratiated itself with its state regulators at the Public Service Commission, prompting a corruption investigation at a time when it is also asking for a rate hike and permission to build two new nukes at Turkey Point. What's more, it's been embroiled in a tense debate in Fort Lauderdale where commissioners want a good deal before they'll sign a 30-year contract to give FPL a franchise. And it just so happens that on the day FPL looks to have locked up that lucrative deal, a former Fort Lauderdale commissioner reports being offered crack cocaine by an FPL employee.
I'm speaking of Tim Smith, who was tending to his plant nursery (don't ask) when a man rolls up in a Honda. The former commissioner recounted their exchange in his most recent blog post:
" Yo, how do I find 1842 N.Dixie Highway"? It was an FPL employee, replete in their recognizable blue shirt with FPL emblazoned on the front.Check out Smith's blog to find out what happens next.
I know that drug-dealers are a loathsome bunch, but I can't help
feeling bad for the (presumably) underpaid FPL employee who drives a
Honda and is so lacking in his skills of perception that he mistakes a
former commissioner like Smith for a crackhead. Or maybe it's just the
"thrill of the hunt" tone of the narration that doesn't sit right.
Whatever.
Obviously, FPL isn't so desperate enough for money that it's turned its
employees into crack dealers (Right? Or is that the next threat if it
loses its bid for the rate hike?). Rather, Smith's anecdote, combined
with other current FPL events suggest that a current of sleaze runs
from the very bottom of the state utility to the very top.
