Last Call for 12.29.25 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida

A digest of the day's politics and policy while the bartender refreshes your drink. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

First Shot   From: Extensive Media Enterprises... There's always a Florida angle. In 2025, it was a close-up with the klieg lights shining brightly. As 2025 comes to a close, Florida Politics is rolling out our Top 10 lists that bottle the year's biggest storylines, from federal shocks that ricocheted through the Sunshine State to the local sagas that kept county commissions, city halls and courthouse steps busy. Whether the phrase "Make America Florida" makes you smile or cringe, the best place to start is our rundown of the Top 10 federal stories impacting Florida, a D.C. feed that reads like Florida politics got a national syndication deal. Expect everything from high-octane foreign policy drama with a Caribbean undertow, to the slow-burn (then sudden) explosion of the Epstein files, to the reshuffling that put Ashley Moody in the U.S. Senate mix — yes, that happened this year! Then go regional, where the plotlines get weirder, sharper, and more personal. South Florida's list runs the gamut from a censorship blowback in Miami Beach to the Trump library land fight, with a surprise federal indictment and a historic mayoral election for good measure. In Tampa Bay, there's civic soap opera energy — leadership turnovers, culture-war collateral damage, a downtown naming fight that went sideways. So, the usual fare, but no less entertaining. Southwest Florida's set tracks the tug-of-war between local control and Tallahassee gravity — airports, higher ed, School Boards, immigration flashpoints, and even a rare recall. Meanwhile, Jacksonville's list offers a snapshot of strong-Mayor friction, long shadows from old power centers, and the early chess moves toward 2027.  We won't spoil the endings, but we strongly advise you to complete your recap before the next season of "only in Florida" premieres, when lawmakers kick off the 2026 Session on Jan. 13.   Evening Reads   —"11 voters on Donald Trump's first year" via The New York Times —"Trump's year of media capture" via John Avlon of Rolling Stone —"The most volatile group of voters is turning on Trump" via Christian Paz of Vox —"The Santa Presidency" via Toluse Olorunnipa of The Atlantic —"Duty? Insanity? These former members of Congress want to come back." via Anna Liss-Roy of The Washington Post —"GOP redistricting could backfire as urban, immigrant areas turn back to Democrats" via Tim Henderson of Stateline —"The biggest mistake I made in 2025" via Chris Cillizza of So What? —"The new surveillance state is you" via Andrew Couts of WIRED —"Michael Owen proposal draws lines between treatment providers and recovery housing" via Jesse Mendoza of Florida Politics —"Florida's bear hunt ended Sunday. State won't say how many were killed" via Stephen Hudak of the Orlando Sentinel   Quote of the Day   "This is a massive effort to change the unfortunate reality that has occurred to rural health care in America, which is that your ZIP Code has started to predict your life expectancy." — CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, presumably having finally flipped through Kitagawa & Hauser's 1970s differential mortality research.   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. Shoot the bartender this link so they can keep the Top 10s flowing while you flip through Florida Politics' year-end recaps. Send a Coin Toss to former acting Attorney General John Guard, who says he's willing to withdraw from consideration as a federal Judge to serve on the Florida Supreme Court With their Space Florida Board appointments on lock, Matthew Bocchino, Belinda Keiser, Alex King and Tim Thomas are ready for a dose of Rocket Fuel.   Breakthrough Insights     Tune In   Gators close out 2025  The Florida Gators play one final non-conference game to close out 2025 as they host Dartmouth tonight (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network). Florida, ranked 22nd in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, has won three consecutive games after losses to Duke and Connecticut.  The Gators (8-4) lead the nation in rebounding and offensive rebounding. Center Ruben Chinyelu leads the team with 10.8 rebounds per game, while forward Thomas Haugh leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game.  Haugh is considered one of the top prospects for the NBA draft.  Dartmouth (5-6) has not played a team from one of the Power 4 conferences this season, so the Gators figure to be the toughest test of the season for the Big Green. Dartmouth's best chance to pull the upset is to get hot from the three-point line. The average 11 made three-pointers per game this season, ranking 19th nationally.  Guard Kareem Thomas leads Dartmouth in scoring at 19.2 points per game. He has scored in double figures in each game this season and has topped the 20-point mark six times.  After tonight's game, Florida will next be in action on Jan. 3 when it opens conference play at Missouri.  ___ 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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