Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t holding back when it comes to initiatives that would legalize adult-use cannabis and would enshrine reproductive rights, repealing an abortion law that will ban the procedure after six weeks of gestation that takes effect next month.
“Once voters figure out how radical both of those are, they’re going to fail. They are very, very extreme,” DeSantis said in Davie.
Regarding the Adult Personal Use of Marijuana citizen initiative, which could expand the current retail model beyond medical necessity and allow visitors to the state and residents without qualifying conditions access to the product, the Governor offered blunt criticisms, suggesting voters would smoke out the allegedly misleading language on November’s ballot.
“Look at the weed one. For example, the weed one is not just decriminalized; it’s basically a license to have it anywhere you want. So no time, place, and manner restrictions,” DeSantis contended, again misrepresenting the language in the citizens’ initiative. According to the proposal, the Legislature would be permitted to enact laws consistent with the amendment.
Regarding the Floridians Protecting Freedom push to enshrine adult reproductive rights in the Constitution by prohibiting any law limiting the ability to obtain an abortion before fetal viability or in the case of maternal health necessity (Amendment 4 on the ballot), the Governor likewise cast aspersions on the “California abortion” measure and said he doesn’t think Florida voters will in the end move to strike statist control of reproductive rights or cannabis consumption.
Evening Reads
—“Florida Democrats think abortion issue could turn the tide in November” via Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel
—“How will Amendment 3 (recreational marijuana) affect turnout?” via Jamie Miller of Reasonable Arguments
—“Kathleen Passidomo shares final photo with late husband, John Passidomo” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
—”What’s wrong with the economy? It’s you, not the data.” via Greg Ip of The Wall Street Journal
—”Centrist group No Labels won’t field a ticket in the presidential election” via Michael Scherer of The Washington Post
—“’Equivalent to having 50 Super Bowls’: The staggering — and lucrative — scale of eclipse tourism” via Li Zhou of Vox
—”Crying myself to sleep on the biggest cruise ship ever” via Gary Shteyngart of The Atlantic
—”‘They were all ramped up’: Braced for partyers from Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale sees ‘very calm’ Spring Break” via Shira Moolten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Quote of the Day
“I know it’s a very difficult time for her family as they grieve the loss, but she made a big difference with this bill, and I think it’s important we give her the proper credit as we prepare to sign it.”
— Gov. Ron DeSantis, on Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s work to put millions from Gaming Compact revenues into environmental projects.
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.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida is prepared for what may be the most active hurricane season in history. Still, we’d rather experience a Record-Breaker at the bar than suffer through one in a windowless room.
It would be very unwise to expose first responders to fentanyl if DeSantis signs a bill that just hit his desk. But there’s no rule against buying your favorite firefighter a Liquid Heroin, or Liquid Crack for that matter.
The maintenance crew at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital deserves a round of Liquid Plumbers after dealing with power and plumbing outages in the emergency department.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Panthers faceoff with Bruins in division showdown
On Saturday, the two top teams in the Atlantic Division will face off in what could be a preview of the conference finals. The Florida Panthers will travel to Boston to face the Bruins (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC).
Florida (47-24-5; 99 points) is fourth in the conference and has already clinched a playoff spot. Tonight at Ottawa, the Panthers will try to become the fourth team in the East to reach the 100-point plateau before heading to Boston.
If the earlier matchups are any indication, Saturday’s game should be a thriller. The Bruins won a 3-2 overtime decision in October and a 3-1 victory in regulation in November. On March 26, the Bruins won another one-goal game, beating Florida 4-3 in Miami.
Florida has been one of the best defensive teams in the league this season, allowing just 2.51 goals per game, second-best in the league.
Boston (44-17-15; 103 points) is second in the Eastern Conference behind the New York Rangers. Right-winger David Pastrnak has led the Bruins, who are fifth in the league in goals (46) and points (104) this season. The Bruins have won eight of their last 12 games.
After playing in Boston, the Panthers finish the season with four straight home games.
Also tonight:
7 p.m. — Tampa Bay Lightning @ Montreal Canadiens
7:30 p.m. — Philadelphia 76ers @ Miami Heat
___
Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
