Oil Spill Nears Florida Panhandle Beaches.. .

PENSACOLA, Fla.—As oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill neared Florida's Panhandle beaches Wednesday, its effects were already rippling through the politics and troubled economy of the nation's largest swing state.A six-foot-long oil sheen was spotted "close to the beach if not right on the beach" near Pensacola in the northwest part of the state, according to a spokeswoman for officials monitoring the spill in Mobile, Ala. A larger sheen was also sighted 35 miles off the coast of Pensacola. Officials said they expect oil to wash up on the state's western shores as soon as Thursday as winds push the slick northeast.Oil could also wash up in other parts of Florida. Recent satellite imagery showed a narrow band of oil sheen within the Loop Current, an underwater movement in the Gulf that could carry oil around the lower part of the state, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said...
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Picture Left:Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and staffers inspect a boom near Pensacola Pass on Wednesday. Oil threatened to arrive as peak tourist season was getting into full swing along the Panhandle.(AP)