Florida

Last Call for 1.31.24 — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics

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2 years ago

January 31, 2024

Press Room

Last Call for 1.31.24 — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics

Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

A bill that would ban alternative cannabinoids and cap the amount of THC in hemp products is headed to the Senate floor.

Sen. Colleen Burton’s bill (SB 1698) targets substances that produce the same “high” as delta-9 THC, the euphoria-inducing compound commodified by the state’s medical marijuana program.

Ahead of a 17-2 vote, more than one lawmaker on the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee shared their experiences with over-the-counter hemp products — Sen. Corey Simon, a Tallahassee Republican, said he took a hemp product with delta-8 to help him sleep but ended up in the emergency room.

In the House, Republican Rep. Ryan Chamberlin pitched a bill (HB 1371) that would examine abolishing property taxes in Florida. He’s not the first lawmaker to float the idea, and similar plans have failed to gain traction over the decades.

The freshman lawmaker from Belleview said now “it’s time” to try again, equating revenue stream to a tax on unrealized gains and even “slavery” since homeowners must fork over cash every year to keep their homes, even if their mortgage is paid free and clear.

“Think about it. If the IRS started charging us a tax not just on your income but what they thought we could have earned, we would have riots in the streets,” he said. “Yet we get a property tax increase every year on most of our properties in Florida not based on any realized gain in our bank account but based on what the gain could be if we decided to sell it.”

Though Democrats expressed concern on how abolishment could impact local governments, Republicans on the panel embraced the idea and intimated it has support from House Speaker Paul Renner and Speaker-designate Daniel Perez.

The House also moved forward with a plan that would boost pay for the Governor and members of the Cabinet.

The plan, which was introduced with unanimous support from the House Appropriations Committee, would increase statewide elected officials’ salaries to match the pay of Florida Supreme Court justices, who make $251,414 a year. That amounts to a $110,014 pay increase, however, it would not go into effect until 2027 — after Gov. Ron DeSantis and current Cabinet officials term out of office.

Bill Day’s Latest

Evening Reads

—“‘Traitor’: After bitter primary, Ron DeSantis may struggle to win over Trump supporters if he runs again” via Jill Colvin of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

—“Recruited to play sports, and win a culture war” via Susan Dominus of The New York Times

—”Donald Trump to lose 53% of swing-state voters if convicted of a crime” via Jordan Fabian and Gregory Korte of Bloomberg

—”Federal judge dismisses Disney lawsuit against DeSantis” via Skyler Swisher of the Orlando Sentinel

—”The broken promises of the NFL concussion settlement” via Will Hobson of The Washington Post

—“Florida child labor bills: Women farmworkers worry about kids working longer hours in fields” via Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix

—“A trove of ‘lost Basquiats’ led to a splashy exhibition. Then the FBI showed up.” via Bianca Bosker of The Atlantic

—”We can still make a good economy much better” via Oshan Jarow of Vox

Quote of the Day

“When I used to smoke marijuana, one joint maybe had about 10 milligrams (of THC). As I’m listening and been researching this hemp thing, it would be like me smoking 100 joints.”

— Sen. Rosalind Osgood, who would go on to describe herself as a “former professional marijuana smoker” currently in “recovery.”

Put It on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

House Budget Chief Tom Leek is warning that the days of state coffers overflowing with pandemic cash are over and that the next budget will be “austere.” Maybe you can shave a few bucks off your bar bill by ordering him something plain, such as a whiskey-water.

Whatever you do, don’t order members of the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee a CBD-infused Hop Water — they’ll stick to regular booze; thank you very much.

Deliver a round of Sidecars to the tiny home down the street; just double-check that it’s under 400 square feet before you hand them off.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

The Florida Gators shoot for a fourth straight win when they travel to Rupp Arena to face 10th-ranked Kentucky tonight (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The Gators (14-6;4-3 in SEC) and Wildcats opened SEC play on Jan. 6 in Gainesville with a two-point Kentucky win. Florida has lost five straight games in the series and has won just one of the last 10 against the Wildcats (15-4; 5-2).

A Florida win could pull the Gators to within a game of the top spot in the SEC standings.

Florida’s leading scorer, Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points against Kentucky in the first meeting between the two teams. He has played well on the road, averaging nearly 18 points per game as a visitor.

Florida has been one of the top-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 85.4 points per game. Only 10 Division I teams are scoring more per contest than the Gators. One of those teams is Kentucky (88.5 points per game). One statistical area the Gators could exploit is rebounding. Kentucky ranks 102nd in the nation in rebounding. Florida is the fifth-best rebounding team.

Getting over the hurdle and beating Kentucky has been a challenge for Florida for most of the last decade. A win in Lexington would be a huge emotional boost in addition to being a substantial win in the standings.

Also tonight:

6:30 p.m. — NCAAW: Florida Gulf Coast Eagles @ Bellarmine Knights

7 p.m. — NCAAW: Florida Atlantic Owls @ UAB Blazers

7 p.m. — NCAAW: Stetson Hatters @ Eastern Kentucky Colonels

7 p.m. — NCAAM: South Florida Bulls @ East Carolina Pirates

7 p.m. — NCAAM: Lipscomb Bisons @ North Florida Ospreys

7 p.m. — NCAAM: Austin Peay Governors @ JU Dolphins

7 p.m. — NCAAM: Baylor Bears @ UCF Knights

7:30 p.m. — Sacramento Kings @ Miami Heat

8 p.m. — Orlando Magic @ San Antonio Spurs

___

Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.

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Florida

Florida Airport Officially Renamed After Trump. Here’s What to Know

Published

8 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Florida Airport Officially Renamed After Trump. Here’s What to Know

The Palm Beach International Airport was officially renamed to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport on Thursday, becoming the latest place to take on the President’s name since he took office for a second term.

The Florida airport announced the change on social media early Thursday morning, changing its handle on X to bear the new name and saying that staffers were “working behind the scenes to update our physical signage, terminal spaces, and digital channels to our new name.”

The President’s son, Eric Trump, said that his father’s plane, which he was on, was the first flight to land at the newly-branded airport.

“There is no person who has done more for Florida and our country, and no one more deserving of this incredible honor,” Eric Trump said in a post on X. “As a son, and someone who flies out of this airport nearly every day, I will forever be proud to see the initials ‘DJT’ on my boarding pass.”

Here’s what to know about the change.

Why was the airport renamed?

In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill to rename the Palm Beach airport after Trump, after state lawmakers passed the legislation. The Trump Organization had previously submitted trademark applications for possible airport names.

The President frequently travels through the Palm Beach hub, as it’s close to his Mar-a-Lago estate.

There are a number of airports across the country named after U.S. Presidents, such as New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. But the Palm Beach rebranding makes Trump the first President to have an airport named after him while in the White House.

When does the name change go into effect?

The airport was officially renamed on Thursday, but it said on its website that “transition activities, including updates to signage, branding and public-facing materials, will occur in phases.”

Will the name change affect airport operations?

The airport said on its website that “airport operations and services will continue without interruption” and that flight routes and schedules will not be impacted by the change. It added that “this is a branding change only,” and that the airport’s ownership and governance will not undergo any changes.

The three-letter identifier that airlines and travelers reference for services related to their flights, such as ticketing and baggage handling, will change from “PBI” to “DJT,” but the airport said on its website that that change will go into effect on Aug. 18. Until that date, travelers should stick to using the original code, “PBI.”

As of Thursday afternoon, some airline booking sites, such as Delta’s portal, recognized both codes, while others, such as American Airlines, only recognized the original PBI identifier.

How much is the rebranding going to cost?

According to the airport’s website, the Palm Beach County Department of Airports predicted that the total cost of rolling out the new name for the travel hub would be roughly $5.5 million. That amount will cover the price of changing airport signage, branding, and printed materials, among other items.

The state has allocated $2.75 million in funding for the rebranding, according to the airport’s website. The rest of the funding for the project will come from the Department of Airports’ operating budget and capital improvement program. The airport said that the rebranding “does not result in a separate fee charged to passengers.”

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Florida

Summer Scheming ‘26: Florida State Seminoles

Published

18 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Summer Scheming ‘26: Florida State Seminoles

After a stellar run at Memphis Mike Norvell has had a rollercoaster run in Tallahassee as the Florida State Seminoles head football coach. Norvell finished his four year stint at Memphis with a 38-15 record.

At FSU Norvell started off slow winning only eight games in two years. Then the ‘Noles had an awakening and won 23 games from 2022-2023. And now that reality has come crashing back down with seven wins the past two seasons.

FSU will have 17 transfers in the 2-deep once again in 2026. It’s become a double-edged sword where he only way Norvell can keep his job (buyout be damned) after this year is to inject talent into the roster but he’s got a bad culture in the field house up at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Now let’s put the ‘Noles through The Goal, our 2026 Summer Scheming analysis system.

Acquisition: The ’Noles high school recruiting hasn’t been as ‘bad’ s advertised. FSU is 16th over the past three years in prep signings and 14th when it comes to the transfer portal for an average of 15th overall.

Development: Now this is the crazy part. Over the past couple of years the ‘Noles have only produced eight NFL players. Only eight have stuck it out from the 2025 and 2026 NFL Draft classes. Remember all of those drafts loaded with FSU talent like Jameis Winston and Jared Verse? Right now it’s Deuce Robinson and who else?

Deployment: This preseason Bill Connelly’s SP+ has FSU 35th in overall SP+. The Seminole offense is 45th, the defense 30th and the kicking game is 94th. So where as Mike Norvell has the 15th best players he’s producing the 35th best team. He’s revamped his coordinators once again sending Gus Malzahn off to the glue factory and promoting Tim Harris Jr to OC.

The bottleneck to success at FSU is the culture within the program. The Seminoles went hellbent on the transfer portal to improve from 5-7 to 10-3 and dipped their toe in again to move to 13-1. They were Jordan Travis’ leg away from competing for a national championship. But injuries do happen and losing your starting QB is a devastating one.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 05: A fan cosplays as Scorpion from Mortal Kombat during the 2018 New York Comic Con at Javits Center on October 5, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

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Mike Norvell has taken the Manny Diaz approach to the transfer portal and it’s killed any semblance of a culture that could possibly have been built in the FSU locker room AND he’s losing games.

The FSU strength of schedule is 45th of 138 in FBS per CFB News. Florida State faces SMU before an off week. Then they head to Tuscaloosa to play the Alabama Crimson Tide. After a cupcake, FSU hosts UVA before consecutive road trips to Louisville and Miami. The ‘Noles also face Clemson, Pitt and Florida over the back half of the schedule.

The inventory space includes returning production per Bill Connelly, the On3 top-100 list and the Athlon preseason All-Conference Team honorees. The ’Noles returning production is 48th in FBS at 57% production. FSU has two players on the On3 top-100 list in WR Deuce Robinson (74th) and DL Mandrell Desir (97th). The ‘Noles have one player on the Athlon All-ACC Team and that’s Robinson.

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 08: Mandrell Desir #93 of the Florida State Seminoles sacks Cade Klubnik #2 of the Clemson Tigers during the first half of a football game at Memorial Stadium on November 08, 2025 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

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FSU hit the transfer portal for four of their five potential starting OL in ‘26. They also brought in QB Ashton Daniels (Auburn) and RB Quintrevion Wisner (Texas). Daniels is another FSU QB with a penchant for throwing interceptions.

Robinson averaged 19.3 yards per catch with six scores in 2025. Wisner adds over four yards per carry and three TD’s from his run at Texas. On defense M. Desir returns with 7.5 TFL’s and 6.5 sacks from a year ago.

Southern Miss transfer LB Chris Jones logged 9.5 TFL’s and 3.5 sacks a year ago. Another transfer, this one DB Nehemiah Chandler, picked up 13 PBU’s last season with two INT’s.

Mike Norvell is committing highway robbery with the past two seasons performances. After the 13-1 season and the Alabama opening with Nick Saban’s retirement, Norvell landed himself a nice raise up to $10.3M a season. The issue is they’ve only won six games per season under Norvell which adds up to $1.7M per win. That’s second to only Bill Belichick in the grand theft coaching category.

There is no chance the goal at FSU is anything short of eight wins. What a sad cry from only three seasons ago when the ‘Noles were potentially a national championship program. That’s the crux of the transfer portal, live by the transfer / die by the transfer.

TALLAHASSEE, FL – MARCH 13: Head Coach Mike Norvell of the Florida State Seminoles during Spring Football Practice at the Albert J. Dunlap Athletic Training Facility on the campus of Florida State University on March 13, 2026 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

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Highly successful clubs have started to be extremely careful with who comes in and out of their program, think: Ohio State, Notre Dame, Indiana and even lately- Miami. The vetting process is pivotal for not bottlenecking your success by bringing in locker room cancers.

Season Prediction: I can see this winding up anywhere from 5-7 to 7-5. They’ve got the 2nd most players on the On3 top-11 than anyone else on Miami’s schedule (ND has five). They also have the 15th best grouping of talent in the country. And yet I just can’t see Daniels, four new OL, a new RB, and another dozen guys on defense gelling together under Mike Norvell and into some phoenix that rises from the ashes of the ACC cellar.

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Florida

Iranian drones in Cuba could threaten South Florida, officials warn

Published

1 day ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Iranian drones in Cuba could threaten South Florida, officials warn

An Iranian-made drone displayed at the Biltmore Hotel served as a stark warning from national security advocates and South Florida officials who say Cuba’s growing military ties with Iran could pose a threat to the United States.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, chairman of the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, joined U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Florida, to highlight concerns about what they say are roughly 300 Iranian drones that have been delivered to Cuba.

Standing alongside one of the drones, Bush described the weapon as among the deadliest battlefield threats faced by American forces in recent years.

“Most loss of life of the U.S. military than any single weapon that exists over the last 15 years,” Bush said.

Gimenez warned that the drones’ capabilities make them particularly concerning because of their ability to carry significant explosive payloads over long distances.

“This particular model, there is about over 100 pounds of explosives,” Gimenez said. “That’s a pretty big bang. That’s why they call them kamikaze drones — they crash into their target and they explode.”

According to Gimenez, the drones can reach speeds of about 115 miles per hour and travel more than 1,000 miles, placing South Florida well within range. He said the aircraft could also reach the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay and other cities throughout the southeastern United States, including Tallahassee and Atlanta.

The congressman said one of the primary concerns is the potential for Iran-style drone warfare tactics, in which large numbers of drones are launched simultaneously to overwhelm air defense systems.

While the United States has sophisticated defense systems capable of intercepting incoming drones, Gimenez noted that a successful strike may require only one, or a handful of aircraft to penetrate those defenses.

The event was organized by United Against Nuclear Iran, which has sought to draw attention to expanding military and strategic cooperation between Iran and countries aligned with its interests, including Cuba.

Supporters of the group’s effort say the growing presence of Iranian military technology in the Western Hemisphere warrants increased attention from policymakers and defense officials.

For South Florida residents, the warning underscores the region’s proximity to Cuba and the continuing role the island nation plays in broader geopolitical tensions involving the United States and its adversaries.

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