Sunday's updates on oil spill coverage

Here's an update on the Herald's and McClatchy's oil spill coverage, as outlined in my column:

Herald reporter Robert Napper explores how officials throughout our region are using the St. Petersburg Area Contingency Plan as a template to prepare for the worst should the Deep Horizon oil spill come to Florida’s west coast.

Reporters Rich Mauer in Anchorage and Anna Tinsley in Fort Worth dig into BP’s past, exposing a years-long history of legal and ethical violations.

Biloxi reporters Donna Melton and Patricia Mazzei wrote from the frontlines in Mississippi, covering how efforts to cap the well suffered a major setback Saturday after ice-like crystals clogged the inside of the containment dome.

And Miami's Curtis Morgan and Scott Hiaasen report on how "industry safeguards to prevent or minimize spills have failed to keep pace with the increased dangers of exploration, despite a series of warnings, malfunctions and near-misses over the years, federal studies and interviews show."

Throughout the day, reporters will be following developments on the installation of the cofferdam atop the biggest of the two oil leaks. Officials still hope the device will become functional by Monday.
-- Joan