Last Call for 5.7.24 — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics

Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

Ed. Note — Sunburn will be taking the morning off after one of the Schorsches had a nasty tumble on the courts this afternoon. Don’t worry, everyone is OK, and the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics will return to your inboxes fresh and early Thursday morning. Thanks again for your support, and please, stay safe!

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Breaking this afternoon — “Donald Trump classified documents trial postponed indefinitely” via Kevin Breuninger of CNBC — The trial on charges that Trump willfully retained classified national security records after leaving the White House and then hid them from federal authorities was scheduled to start May 20. But the new ruling from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon vacates that date and sets a new slate of pre-trial proceedings, the latest of which is a hearing set for July 22. The ruling casts more doubt on whether Trump will face trial on federal criminal charges before the Nov. 5 election. Cannon wrote in Tuesday’s court order that it “would be imprudent” to finalize a trial date “at this juncture” when various pre-trial issues have yet to be resolved.

First Shot

Every month, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announces millions of dollars in unclaimed property returns — last week, his office said Floridians were reunited with more than $34 million.

The CFO often leans into seasonal themes, too. In March, his office said the search term “green” turned $12.9 million worth of accounts in the state database; there was another $1.7 million for “Patrick.”

But his latest unclaimed property communiqué is quite specific. Apparently, the state has $54,000 with former President Donald Trump’s name on it and Patronis wrote him a letter encouraging him to stake the claim.

“Upon conducting a search for unclaimed property using the term TRUMP, my Division of Unclaimed Property believes their search results have revealed over $54,000 waiting to be claimed by you, your family, and your businesses or properties throughout the state of Florida,” Patronis said.

An ardent Trump defender, Patronis said the cash could cover part of the legal bills from his various legal imbroglios: “There are some very, very nasty people coming after you, and every dollar matters in your efforts to fight back against these radical state attorneys who have weaponized the courts. We need you and your team to have every resource possible to get through these BS charges so you can get back to work in Making America Great Again!”

Search results on FLTreasureHunt.gov show multiple accounts that potentially belong to the former President. They have $9,108 in “miscellaneous intangible property” from a closed PayPal account and at least nine accounts tied to his now-deceased ex-wife, Ivana Trump.

Since taking office in 2017, Patronis has returned more than $2.4 billion in unclaimed property to its rightful owners, but there’s still plenty left to dole out. Rank and file Floridians can search their or their family members’ names online.

Evening Reads

—“Ron DeSantis says he has ‘no plans’ to call Legislature back for a Special Session” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix

—”A ‘slap in the face:’ Farmworker groups decry law preventing heat rules” via Caroline Catherman of the Orlando Sentinel

—”Donald Trump is planning to send kill teams to Mexico to take out cartel leaders” via Asawin Suebsaeng of Rolling Stone

—”Six years later, 1,400 children remain separated from their families” via Philip Bump of The Washington Post

—“This is helicopter protesting” via Ian Bogost of The Atlantic

—”Your neighbors are retiring in their 30s. Why can’t you?” via Amy X. Wang of The New York Times

—”World’s biggest construction project gets a reality check” via Eliot Brown and Rory Jones of The Wall Street Journal

—“Your phone can tell when you’re depressed” via Celia Ford of Vox

Quote of the Day

“I am for some of the things that people have been talking about, but we don’t have a plan necessarily to do a Special Session.”

— Gov. Ron DeSantis, on the rumored Special Session.

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.

Florida residents and businesses are poised to save millions from the tax cut package Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law. You can say ‘thank you’ by sending a Tax Relief to the lawmakers who hammered it out.

Not that you should be going to shady massage clinics anyway, but you should definitely avoid them now that the state is cracking down. The proprietors may hem and haw, but closing them down is a Happy Ending for the rest of us.

Jax Mayor Donna Deegan reported receiving more than $37,500 worth of tickets and more from the Jaguars last year. We know NFL tix aren’t cheap, but the box-seat bartenders must use the good stuff when they mix up a Gettin’ Jaggy Wit’ It.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Gators baseball needs hot finish to clinch NCAA spot

With seven regular season games remaining, the Florida Gators are hovering around the .500 mark and in danger of missing out on the NCAA Tournament as they host USF in a midweek non-conference matchup tonight (6:30 p.m. SEC Network+).

Florida (24-23) are on the bubble for the NCAA tournament as they host the Bulls (23-24). While the Gators have been less than impressive at home this season (17-11), they have traditionally dominated USF, winning 24 of 29 games under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan.

The Gators’ star has been Jac Caglianone, who is riding a 26-game hitting streak into tonight’s game. Caglianone is second in the nation with 26 home runs while leading all Gators’ pitchers with a 5-1 record. A Gator has only hit more home runs in a season once, Caglianone’s 33 home runs last season.

Last month, Caglianone homered in an NCAA-record nine straight games.

Florida’s situation could be even more dire with regard to the NCAA regionals. Florida has come from behind 13 times this season, including nine of 10 SEC wins.

Following tonight’s game, the Gators have two conference series remaining before the SEC Tournament. Florida will host #3 Kentucky this weekend, then travel to Georgia before the postseason begins.

Also tonight:

6:50 p.m. — Chicago White Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays

10:10 p.m. — Miami Marlins @ Los Angeles Dodgers

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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.