Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
If you are a die-hard pumpkin fan, it’s time to book a flight to Portland, which Lawn Starter named as this year’s Best City for Pumpkin Lovers.
But if you intend to stay in the Sunshine State, you can still enjoy a Top-10 experience.
The Lawn Starter list ranked Orlando as the No. 9 Best City for Pumpkin Lovers based on a composite score that considers the metrics most important to gourd snobs.
The “access” component encompassed the number of pumpkin patches, farmers’ markets, bakeries, and coffee shops in the area. Those categories were weighted by population, as a distinct hatred of sharing is a common side effect of pumpkin mania.
Also considered were the number of Google searches for “pumpkins” or “pumpkin spice” over the past month, as well as the number of pumpkin festivals or pumpkin-themed events on the calendar. They were averaged into a “popularity score.” Orlando shined in pumpkin access, earning the No. 6 slot. It ranked No. 57 in popularity.
South Florida provides a couple of solid opportunities for the pumpkin-curious — Ft. Lauderdale ranked No. 27, followed by Miami at No. 38 and Hollywood at No. 39. Further down the list are a couple of locales for casual fans, such as No. 67 Tampa and No. 107 St. Petersburg.
Evening Reads
“Gov. Ron DeSantis sues Joe Biden administration seeking to stop vaccine mandate for federal contract workers” via Gray Rohrer of the Orlando Sentinel
“Gov. DeSantis sets special elections for South Florida legislative seats after months of delays — and lawsuit” via Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“What is Florida’s plan for coronavirus vaccine boosters?” via Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times
“Florida education chairman’s dirty dredging case represents a failure to communicate” via Craig Pittman of the Florida Phoenix
“Paul Renner: No one will leave upcoming Legislative Special Session happy” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“Biden announces ‘historic’ deal, asks Democrats for votes” via Lisa Mascaro, Aamer Madhani and Alan Fram of The Associated Press
“Jim Boyd promises to revisit homeowners insurance reform this Session” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“Biden’s Plan B for the climate crisis, explained” via Rebecca Leber of Vox
“Jimmy Patronis challenges Biden to save Christmas” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Facebook told the White House to focus on the ‘facts’ about vaccine misinformation. Internal documents show it wasn’t sharing key data.” via Gerrit De Vynck, Cat Zakrzewski and Cristiano Lima of The Washington Post
“First COVID-19 raised the murder rate. Now it’s changing the politics of crime.” via Maya Yang of POLITICO
“Meeting between Pope Francis and Biden will highlight their rift with American bishops” via Jason Horowitz of The New York Times
“Is Moderna really better than Pfizer — or is it just a higher dose?” via Rachel Gutman of The Atlantic
“Real guns aren’t needed on film and TV sets, experts say, amid calls for a permanent ban” via Adam B. Vary and Matt Donnelly of Variety
Quote of the Day
“They’re transforming normal contracting into basically public health policy.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, announcing the state would sue the Biden administration over the employer vaccine mandate.
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