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Owning a similar business with a name similar to one whose owner is facing drug-related charges has brought embarrassment and possibly loss of business to Janie and Bruce Blunk’s Head to Toe Salon & Spa.

The couple say people have gotten their Head to Toe business in Jennings Station at Newburgh confused with Head Over Heelz, an Evansville salon and spa whose owner Shelly Thompson faces two counts of obtaining, or attempting to obtain, legend drugs by forgery, a class D felony, and by theft, also a class D felony.

The Blunks — owners of the Newburgh business the past 12 years — first got an inkling of the misidentification in March, after the initial story about Thompson’s arrest appeared in the paper.

Janie Blunk said she got a phone call from a man, who was upset with her, saying ” ‘I was just in there the other day and bought a gift card for my wife. Now

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Sporting dark sunglasses, some sandals and mostly short sleeves, the assemblage at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota’s posh Lido Key beach club was both happy testimonial and unapologetic promotional stunt.

In all, some two dozen elected officials and others filmed spots that will be cobbled into a YouTube video aimed at bolstering the area’s image.

“Our beaches are as beautiful as they’ve ever been,” said Richard Bradshaw, owner of the Comfort Inn and Days Inn hotels, on Clark Road, and chairman of Sarasota County’s Tourist Development Council.

“The water here is clear, clean and refreshing,” said Jim McManemon, the Ritz-Carlton’s general manager, to a background of beach strollers and pelicans fishing for a late breakfast.

But amid the pep rally atmosphere and the images of pure, green waters and foamy whitecaps, dark clouds formed and sounds of thunder rumbled off in the distance.

More symbolically, clouds may coalesce in the weeks ahead, as the gushing oil — estimated now to be as much as 3.8 million gallons daily by some scientists — meets summer hurricane season, beginning June 1.

Oil from the downed BP America rig Deepwater Horizon appears poised to move, flowing into the so-called “loop current” in the Gulf, according to satellite images.

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“What we need from you,” the TV news producer said, “is a quick look at the unemployment numbers. It should seem you’ve done lots of research on this and are digging deep to give us the low-down. Of course, we don’t have time for real depth, but a scowl and a slight twitch will cover that.”

I practiced scowling and twitching. Unemployment numbers come out monthly and the news media cover them as diligently as violations of selected commandments.

Not only do we get the national numbers, but we get state and county numbers as well. It’s a feast without nutrition attended by the entire country.

After all, these local numbers can send federal dollars to your hometown or, if they are bad enough, get you a visit by the President and the national press corps.

“What’s the big headline in the latest numbers?” the producer asked.

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