Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Days after becoming Senate Democratic Leader, Lori Berman made her first remarks following an abrupt leadership change in the caucus.
She sounded a call for continued bipartisanship and a focus on government fundamentals in the waning days of the Legislative Session.
“Floridians are watching,” the Delray Beach Democrat said. “They are watching this chamber, and not for theatrics or sound bites, but for leadership — leadership that puts people first, leadership that rises above the noise and moves us forward to a shared vision for Florida’s future.”
Berman won election as Senate Democratic Leader on Thursday, within an hour of former Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo’s abrupt resignation from his caucus post on the floor as he announced he would change his voter registration to “no party affiliation.” Pizzo, in a headline-making soundbite, declared the Democratic Party in Florida “dead,” but Berman countered the assertion.
“I take issue with what was said last week,” Berman said. “We are alive and kicking, passing good bills, fighting bad policy and getting appropriations for projects that impact our districts. We may not hold the majority, but we have something just as powerful: a vision rooted in fairness, in justice, in equality and in care.”
Berman made no other allusion to Pizzo, but spoke positively of Republican Senate President Ben Albritton’s leadership in the chamber.
“This Session has shown us what’s possible when we choose progress over partisanship,” Berman said.
“For the first time in a long time, thanks to President Albritton, we have witnessed a Session largely free from the divisive, headline-grabbing legislation that too often derailed genuine progress. Instead, we focused on the issues that mattered most to Floridians, protecting the environment, investing in education, prioritizing working families and improving access to health care.”
Read more on Florida Politics.
Evening Reads
—”‘I run the country and the world’” via Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer of The Atlantic
—”Why Donald Trump’s economic disruption will be hard to reverse” via Patricia Cohen of The New York Times
—”Even a sizable chunk of Republicans say Trump is going too far” via Aaron Blake of The Washington Post
—“Trump’s tariffs hurt the working class. Why are some unions on board?” via Abdallah Fayyad of Vox
—”The MAGA lobbyists upending Washington with McDonald’s and bear hunting” via Maggie Severns and Kristina Peterson of The Wall Street Journal
—“Conclave to elect next Pope will start May 7” via Elena Giordano of POLITICO
—”Lawyers for deported U.S. citizen kids say moms were ‘coerced’ into taking them” via Lorena O’Neil of Rolling Stone
—“‘There is no party’: Senate Leader Jason Pizzo explains his surprise exit from the Democratic Party” via Carlton Gillespie of WLRN
—”‘Alive and kicking’: Lori Berman, in new role as Democratic Leader, counters talk that caucus is ‘dead’” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
—”No one seems to understand why American men are falling behind. A somewhat harrowing weekend revealed all to me.” via Nathaniel Moore of SLATE
Quote of the Day
“Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean the government has to solve your problem.”
— Republican Sen. Jay Collins, defending his bill to teach K-12 students about disabilities.
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.
A record-long red snapper recreational fishing season on Florida’s Gulf Coast is just around the corner, so start stocking up on Sancerre, Grillo, Vignoles and other top-tier pairings for your catch.
We’re not sure what “medications” Gov. Ron DeSantis’ latest heckler is prescribed, but a couple of Painkillers might help the Governor forget about the whole ordeal.
Now-NPA Sen. Jason Pizzo served FDP Chair Nikki Fried a Counter Punch in a scathing exit interview following his resignation as Senate Democratic Leader.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Heat trying to stay alive in playoffs
The Miami Heat try to keep their season alive when they play game four of the first round Eastern Conference playoffs against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
Miami suffered the franchise’s worst playoff loss in history on Saturday, falling 124-87 to fall behind three games to none in the best-of-seven series. Before Saturday’s loss, the Heat’s worst playoff defeat had been a 36-point loss to San Antonio in the 2013 NBA Finals. The Heat went on to win the NBA title that year. This year’s version has much more work to do.
History is against Miami. No team in NBA history has won a series after losing the first three games.
In the series, Tyler Herro has led Miami, averaging 22.3 points per game, with Bam Adebayo (19.0 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game) and Davion Mitchell (17.3 points per game) contributing on the offensive end. Only one other player has averaged double figures. Andrew Wiggins, acquired from Golden State in the Jimmy Butler trade, averages 11.3 points per contest in the series.
Cleveland has played as it did during the regular season, when it was the surprise top team in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers’ backcourt has led the way with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland both averaging 24 points per game, leading seven Cleveland players to average more than 10 points per contest.
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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.
