Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
When most Americans think of St. Patrick’s Day, they think of Boston, New York, and maybe even Philadelphia, which ranked as the best city to celebrate the holiday according to WalletHub.
But Florida’s relationship with the holiday is longer than any of those cities. In fact, the first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in what is now the United States was held in St. Augustine.
If anyone needs convincing, there are receipts — literally.
A few years ago, USF history professor J. Michael Francis uncovered Spanish colonial records of gunpowder shipments to the colony, which used the munitions to fire off cannons in honor of St. Augustin … as well as St. Patrick.
That was in 1600, a full three decades before Boston became a city and more than a century before they held their first St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
Of course, the northeastern cities can skate by on a technicality — since the St. Augustine event was in honor of San Patricio. And St. Patrick’s himself is most closely associated in Ireland, where he employed the shamrock to teach the Irish about the holy trinity and purportedly banished snakes from the island.
In modern times, the holiday is marked by parades, pints of beer and Irish pride.
Floridians can still get a top-20 experience without leaving the state — Tampa ranks No. 8 and St. Petersburg ranks No. 19 on the list of best cities to celebrate.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Evening Reads
“Marco Rubio, Rick Scott continue to split on U.S. response to Ukraine crisis” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Gov. Ron DeSantis, Richard Corcoran join educators to tout advantages of progress monitoring” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics
“Florida budget includes $20.5M for projects Gov. DeSantis vetoed last year” via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics
“Ileana Garcia apologizes after suggesting ‘gay is not a permanent thing’” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics
“Rene Plasencia resigns early from Legislature to take new job” via Steven Lemongello and Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel
“Secret Service links Hot Yoga shooter to ‘misogynistic extremism,’ decades of warning signs” via Christopher Cann of the Tallahassee Democrat
“Oil market’s big winners: ‘Little guys’ who are eager to drill” via Gregory Zuckerman of The Wall Street Journal
“Only NATO can save Vladimir Putin” via Tom Nichols of The Atlantic
“A COVID-19 surge in Western Europe has U.S. bracing for another wave” via Lenny Bernstein and Joel Achenbach of The Washington Post
“From ashes to activism: Liberty City’s 7th Ave transformation to hub for social change” via C. Isaiah Smalls II of the Miami Herald
“20 years ago, Sunshine Sunday launched. Here’s why we must continue to celebrate Sunshine Week” via CD Davidson-Hiers of the Florida Phoenix
Quote of the Day
“If there was a silver lining of COVID, I think this bill is one of the silver linings.”
— Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, on legislation replacing standardized tests with progress monitoring.
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