Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
The State University System of Florida is kicking off the 2025-26 academic year by welcoming more than 430,000 new and returning students back to its 12 public universities.
System leaders say the nation’s “No. 1 higher education system” continues to set benchmarks in affordability and outcomes. Over the past year, Florida hit a record-high post-graduation employment rate, raised the median bachelor’s degree salary to $51,000, and maintained the lowest in-state tuition in the country.
Ray Rodrigues, Chancellor of the State University System, said the numbers reflect a continued commitment to affordability and student success.
“As the No. 1 System in the nation, our focus is on providing accessible, high-quality education that prepares students for meaningful careers and drives Florida’s workforce forward,” he said.
Classes are starting this week and next at institutions across the state, with most opening doors Aug. 18 or Aug. 25. The University of Florida begins its fall term Aug. 21, while Florida Atlantic University starts earlier on Aug. 9.
The System, overseen by the 17-member Board of Governors, is the second-largest in the country and has held the top spot in U.S. News & World Report’s higher ed rankings since they were first published in 2017.
Classes are already underway at FAU, FGCU, Florida Poly, New College, UCF and UNF. Florida A&M, FIU, FSU, USF and UWF open Aug. 25, while UF begins Aug. 21.
Evening Reads
—“Pam Bondi’s power play” via Ruth Marcus of The New Yorker
—”Republican bid to help Donald Trump move past Jeffrey Epstein falls flat” via Michael Gold of The New York Times
—”Volodymyr Zelenskyy dresses up for Trump, five months after disastrous February encounter” via Cleve R. Wootson Jr. of The Washington Post
—”The only plausible path to end the war in Ukraine” via Thomas Wright of The Atlantic
—“The smartest tax cut Florida can make” via Matt Caldwell for Florida Politics
—“UCF opens new nursing building to help fix Florida’s nursing shortage” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics
—”A conversation with Frank Cerabino: How he welcomed criticism, produced in-depth stories and never backed down” via Joel Engelhardt and Carolyn DiPaolo of Stet News
—”No new names for University of Florida President yet” via Jay Waagmeester of the Florida Phoenix
—”The end of handwriting” via Angela Watercutter of WIRED
—“What it’s really like to support a big family on a modest income in America” via Te-Ping Chen of The Wall Street Journal
Quote of the Day
“It’s a tragedy, but when it comes from California, nothing surprises me these days.”
— Attorney General James Uthmeier, criticizing California for giving a commercial driver’s license to someone who illegally entered the U.S. before his alleged involvement in a traffic accident that killed three people in Florida.
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.
It may not sound appealing, but the top brass at UCF get Skyypositories in honor of the new state-of-the-art nursing building’s grand opening.
The cash can’t be used on cocktails as far as we know, but first responders will be able to afford a few Hometown Heroes with the money they save on their first-time home purchases.
Gov. Ron DeSantis took his sweet time, but he still gets a Better Late Than Never for ordering flags at half-staff in honor of Rep. Joe Casello, who died last month.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Marlins still chasing wild card spot
The Miami Marlins continue to hang on the periphery of the National League wild card chase as they open a home series against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight (6:40 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Net Florida).
The Marlins sit six and a half games out of the final wild card spot entering play this evening. The Cardinals are in a similar position, five games out. Neither team is close enough to mount a serious charge at the division, so the wild card is the goal. With 34 games left in the regular season, the Marlins are 12 games behind the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies.
Miami needs to turn around the team’s recent play, having lost 11 of the last 14 games since sweeping the New York Yankees in a three-game series to begin August. The Marlins have not played a home game since Aug. 5. Since then, they have played five games in Atlanta, three in Cleveland, and three more in Boston, winning only three of those road games.
Tonight’s game is the first of nine straight games scheduled to be played at loanDepot Park.
Miami will want to see continued contributions from center fielder Jakob Marsee, who has hit .383 with three home runs and 13 runs batted in over the past 15 games. His home run helped power the Marlins to a 5-3 victory over the Red Sox in Boston on Sunday.
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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.
