Around the state

Outspoken ex-Panhandle official dies at 80

BAGDAD -- Ben Henry Pooley, a former Panhandle public official and radio host known for his outspoken manner and his survival of four attempts on his life, has died. He was 80.

Pooley, who died at his Bagdad home Thursday, served in various public offices for more than three decades in Santa Rosa County.

"Ben Henry sought to clean out the county government and do away with the pork politics of the past long before many others recognized the need to do so," said Ed Gray III, a Santa Rosa County School Board member. "When he recognized graft or corruption, he brought it to a head and exposed people who needed to be. It cost him a lot."

The most publicized attempt on his life was in 1984. Leroy Johnson, father of former Florida House Speaker Bolley "Bo" Johnson, was arrested on charges he offered a hit man $10,000 to kill Pooley, who then was Santa Rosa's public works director.

Leroy Johnson, who died of a heart attack six days after he was arrested, was running for a county commissioner's seat and was at the center of a sawmill scandal that Pooley uncovered.

In his later political life, Pooley was nicknamed "Boss Hogg" after the portly, cigar-chomping county commissioner from the Dukes of Hazzard television show. After retiring from politics, he became a minister.

Baggage screening program tested in Miami

MIAMI -- A project to streamline baggage screening at the Port of Miami is enhancing security while reducing hassles for travelers, federal officials said Sunday.

The Transportation Security Administration's 90-day test program lets passengers getting off cruise ships have their baggage screened for explosives at the port. The bags are then taken by a sealed truck to Miami International Airport and moved directly onto flights.

The pilot project was developed for passengers aboard Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and American Airlines.

"With their boarding pass they can bypass the screening at the airport, head directly to the gate and they don't have those hassles that perhaps many of you have had most recently," said Steve Rybicki, director of passenger security for the TSA's maritime and land division.

TSA officials said the program will likely be expanded.

Governor silent on Brogan's replacement

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush spent part of his weekend going over possible replacements for outgoing Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, but he still hadn't said Sunday when he would make an announcement.

There was no shortage of speculation on who Bush may tap as his new second-in-command -- Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney, state Rep. Gaston Cantens of Miami, former Senate President Toni Jennings of Orlando and new Secretary of State Glenda Hood were mentioned as top contenders.

But no word came from the Governor's Mansion over the weekend on a successor for Brogan, who is leaving to become Florida Atlantic University's president.

Bush not only contemplated his pick but was placing the finishing touches on the State of the State address he'll deliver Tuesday, spokeswoman Jill Bratina said.

"He said he'd spend the weekend considering the candidates and then make an announcement," Bratina said Sunday.

Astronaut learning center opens March 22

TALLAHASSEE -- After nearly seven years in the works, the newest and most elite of four dozen Challenger Learning Centers worldwide is set to open March 22 in the capital city. It will serve students in 68 counties across Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

The 32,000-square-foot, $10-million Tallahassee center features a 300-seat IMAX theater, a separate 50-foot planetarium and space simulator.

It sits downtown, a block from the Capitol, and within a mile of the Florida A&M and Florida State university campuses -- both known more for sports than science. The schools have a combined engineering program that is instrumental in the learning center facility as an outreach to prospective scientists and aerospace engineers.

In addition to programs designed to annually help educate between 10,000 and 15,000 middle school students within a 200-mile radius of the capital, the IMAX theater hopes to attract the 60,000 college students in town.

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