Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Gov. Ron DeSantis and his “warrior” Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia are taking their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) show on the road.
Appearing in Fort Lauderdale and Gainesville, the Governor and his latest appointment rolled out probes starting July 31 on pay, contracts and socially progressive policies taking taxpayer funds.
DeSantis noted in Broward that this swing to announce “on-site inspections and audits” of local and county governments was part of the “DOGE’ing of local government” and an effort to look at “problems in local governments” amid “complaints” he has heard.
At both stops, DeSantis promised changes.
In Gainesville, he joked that left-leaning Zohran Mamdani, a New York mayoral candidate, “probably could get elected” in the liberal college town. DeSantis then pointed out purportedly profligate spending that will be spotted by “real auditors on the ground” in a “thorough review.”
Gainesville has increased its operating budget by $90 million a year off the strength of an 86% ad valorem increase since 2020, DeSantis said.
He noted in Fort Lauderdale that “taxpayers here in Broward have watched their county government (increase) property tax burdens by the tune of $450 million in addition to ad valorem collections. So that’s an increase of close to 50%, just since 2020.”
Read more on Florida Politics.
Evening Reads
—”From Truth Social to bitcoin empire: Donald Trump’s $2 billion pivot” via Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby and Noel Sims of Popular Information
—“Just when you thought the Jeffrey Epstein story was dying out …” via Chris Cillizza of So What
—”Trump’s student arrests, and the lawsuit fighting them, tread new ground” via Zach Montague of The New York Times
—”The hype man of Trump’s mass deportations” via Nick Miroff of The Atlantic
—”Everything is a ‘false flag’ now” David Gilbert of WIRED
—“Gov. Ron DeSantis says he doesn’t know whether Alligator Alcatraz inmates are being denied access to lawyers” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—“A health care tax credit that powers Florida’s small businesses is going away” via Riya Sharma of the Tampa Bay Times
—“UF breaks own record on spending for research projects in FY 2025” via Drew Dixon of Florida Politics
—“Mary had schizophrenia — then suddenly she didn’t” via Rachel Aviv of The New Yorker
Quote of the Day
“There is a new era of accountability in Florida when it comes to wasteful spending.”
— CFO Blaise Ingoglia, during his and Ron DeSantis’ DOGE roadshow.
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’s another round of Suffering Bastards for Gainesville residents because if this latest stunt is anything like when GRU became “Governor Ron Utilities,” they’re about to be paying more and getting less.
A certain AI has apparently been hitting the Grok Juice pretty hard of late — it can’t even remember that the Gators are the reigning NCAA champs.
Something tells us Attorney General James Uthmeier wouldn’t react well if you ordered him one of the tasty concoctions in Dragtails.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Rays continue hunt for playoff spot
The Tampa Bay Rays continue to chase a wild card spot as they continue a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox tonight (7:05 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Network Sun)
After winning the first two games after the All-Star break, Tampa Bay dropped the final game of a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles and then lost the series opener against Chicago last night.
The Rays stand 1.5 games out of the final wild card spot in the American League, trailing the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox, who would have the final two spots if the season ended today.
Tampa Bay has been a respectable 22-22 on the road but only three games above .500 in their temporary home, Steinbrenner Field. The schedule makers have not been kind to the Rays, who have played the last 10 games and 16 of the last 19 on the road before the All-Star break. After the Rays wrap up the series against the White Sox, the team will play three games on the road in Cincinnati and four in New York against the Yankees.
The Rays are scheduled to send Drew Rasmussen (7-5, 2.86 ERA) to the mound against Chicago’s Davis Martin (2-7, 3.79).
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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.
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