Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
One lucky angler will win a brand-new bass boat in a couple of weeks, courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission TrophyCatch program and its partners.
The 10th TrophyCatch boat giveaway will be held at the Bobby Lane High School Cup Bass Fishing Tournament in Lake Wales on Dec. 3. The grand prize winner will be decided through a random drawing.
FWC said the giveaway is possible due to industry partnerships. The boat itself — a Pro 819 — is being donated by Phoenix Bass Boats. The vessel is equipped with a 200-horsepower Mercury Marine motor, supported by MotorMate, guided by Lowrance HDLive electronics and Ghost Trolling Motor, and anchored by Power-Pole Shallow Water Anchor System.
“This $65,000 boat package is a truly sweet ride,” said Thomas Graef, director of FWC’s Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management. “And It’s made a reality only by the generous contributions of partners such as Phoenix Bass Boats, Mercury and others who share our passion for bass fishing and bass conservation. It is incredible to be able to reward our participants with such a great prize for contributing to TrophyCatch.”
Earlier this year, TrophyCatch partner WrapThis let anglers vote on four different boat wrap colors to pick the one they liked best. A wrap design was applied to the Phoenix boat and was displayed throughout the season at events around the state and the winning color will be revealed, adding an exciting new twist for this year’s winner.
A live reverse drawing will determine the winner from among five randomly selected TrophyCatch registrants and club winners. The finalists will be revealed on the TrophyCatch Facebook page.
Evening Reads
—“Republicans lay out Joe Biden investigations, but Democrat-aligned groups promise counteroffensive” via Kenneth P. Vogel, Katie Rogers and Glenn Thrush of The New York Times
—“What GOP control of the House means for inflation, taxes, health care” via The Wall Street Journal
—“Nancy Pelosi stepping down as top House Democrat after 2 decades in leadership” via Marianna Sotomayor and Paul Kane of The Washington Post
—”The two biggest challenges facing Pelosi’s successor” via Li Zhou of Vox
—“Ron DeSantis claims ‘freedom first’ policies drive Florida’s tourism boom” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”House Speaker-designate Paul Renner names two to leadership team” via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics
—“Casey DeSantis: ‘I am a testament that god is great and god is good, and hope is alive’” via Josh Miller of The Florida Standard
—“A veteran JSO chief was demoted on Election Day. Was it retaliation for supporting the wrong sheriff’s candidate?” via Nate Monroe of The Florida Times-Union
—”Disney busy after earning miss: Raises prices, cuts positions and buys new cruise ship” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics
—”Why everything in tech seems to be collapsing at once” via Derek Thompson of The Atlantic
—“Where will the thousands of laid-off tech workers go?” via Nitish Pahwa of Slate
Quote of the Day
“When I travel around the country and the state, people call him the Nation’s Governor. He’s going to continue to do great things for Florida and be an example to the nation.”
— Secretary of State Cord Byrd, saying DeSantis 2024 stans can wait a while.
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