St. Pete Times reports that Jay Odom, a developer closely linked to former House Speaker Ray Sansom, is pushing for a new toll road to slice through a nature preserve that taxpayers spent $16.5 million to save from development.
The eight-member board in charge of building the toll road was created by the Legislature in 2005 through a bill sponsored by Sansom. The toll road board’s vice chairman is Jay Odom. When Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed giving the authority $3 million in 2007, Sansom told the Northwest Florida Daily News that he regarded that as “about the most important $3 million in the state budget.”
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