Politics

Last Call for 10.9.25 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida

Published

2 months ago

October 9, 2025

May Greene

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

First Shot

Could Donald Trump soon add “Nobel Peace Prize winner” to his résumé?

Bookmakers think it’s possible. Odds on the President claiming the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize have been cut in half following reports of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza.

Trump’s odds have moved from 6-to-1 to just 2-to-1 in recent days, making him the betting favorite heading into Friday morning’s announcement. He’s now narrowly ahead of Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, a volunteer network aiding civilians amid that country’s civil conflict, with odds of 5-to-2.

Russian opposition figure Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the late Alexei Navalny, ranks third at 4-to-1, while Doctors Without Borders (14-to-1) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (16-to-1) round out the top five.

The Nobel Committee typically considers more than 250 nominations each year, and the betting lines are far from scientific. Still, with less than 12 hours until the official announcement in Stockholm — it lands at 5 a.m. Eastern time — Trump sits as the sportsbook favorite to take home one of the world’s most prestigious honors.

Evening Reads

—”How Jared Kushner, a self-described ‘deal guy,’ helped broker a Gaza breakthrough” via Katie Rogers and Tyler Pager of The New York Times

—”The bleak lesson Israel — and the world — might learn from the peace deal” via Joshua Keating of Vox

—”The Trumpian fantasy of WhiteHouse.gov” via Kaitlyn Tiffany of The Atlantic

—”He wrote a book about antifa. Death threats are driving him out of the U.S.” via David Gilbert of WIRED

—“Sam Garrison designated Florida House Speaker for 2026-28” via Livia Caputo of the Florida Phoenix

—”Florida’s top election official rejects call to count all mail ballots by hand” via Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

—”Dozens of Florida bear hunt permits snagged by non-hunters” via Stephen Hudak of the Orlando Sentinel

—”Make sure to grab some Starbursts for Halloween — Florida’s favorite candy” via Drew Dixon of Florida Politics

Quote of the Day

“… political successes bring their own set of challenges. And they are summed up in one word: complacency.”

— House Speaker-designate Sam Garrison, during his designation speech.

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.

If Florida’s favorite candy is any indication, Pink Starbursts should be the go-to drink at your Halloween party.

Reggie Gaffney and Audrey Gibson have both set their sights on HD 13, but only one of them will be drinking a Comeback.

It’s not frontrunner-level fundraising, but Paul Renner gets a Pot of Gold for pulling together more than $3 million for his Governor campaign before the end of the third quarter.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Can Napier save the Gators’ season?

Few coaches have saved their jobs as dramatically as Billy Napier did at Florida last season. After a 4-5 start and with his team coming off consecutive losses to top-5 ranked teams, Napier’s Gators turned things around, beating LSU and Ole Miss, both ranked in the Top-25, then proceeded to beat Florida State and earn a bowl bid, where they beat Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl to finish the campaign with an 8-5 record.

Can Napier do it again? Florida lost three straight games, including consecutive losses to top-5 ranked teams, before upsetting ninth-ranked Texas last week.

On Saturday, Florida visits #5 Texas A&M as they attempt to keep hopes of a turnaround alive (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Florida (2-3) still has four games remaining on the schedule after this weekend against ranked teams, but Napier has proven to be remarkably resilient in getting his teams to respond under adverse conditions.

If Florida can pull off another upset, Napier could buy himself more time. With a home game against unranked Mississippi State next week, and then a bye week before the annual Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville, this week’s meeting with the Aggies becomes a significant fork in the road for Florida’s season.

Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0 SEC) has not faced as tough a schedule as Florida. The Aggies won their only game against another ranked team when they beat Notre Dame 41-40 on the road.

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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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Politics

South Florida home sales show upbeat increases for Palm Beach and Broward counties, Miami-Dade still struggling

Published

2 hours ago

December 7, 2025

May Greene

Condominium closings also increased in Palm Beach and Broward counties in October.

South Florida single-family home sales for November saw some notable improvement in the year-over-year comparisons while Miami-Dade County is still lagging in the back of the pack.

The monthly analysis of the three coastal counties from the Elliman Report in South Florida was released in the past week and it shows solid property sales in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Both of those counties showed notable upticks in signed contracts on single-family home closings last month with Broward leading the way.

There were 387 homes sold in Broward in November. That’s a 98.5% jump in closing contracts over November 2024 when there 195 houses sold. While the annual comparison is upbeat, Broward saw a slight downturn in monthly sales. There were 466 homes sold in October, accounting for an 18.52% decrease in the monthly sales.

“All property types showed a combined annual gain in new signed contracts for the third time (this year), with outsized annual increases observed in both property types” of homes and condominiums, Elliman real estate analysts concluded about Broward property sales. “New listings across all property types combined have increased annually at a rising rate for the past three months. The number of new contracts signed above the $1 million threshold has shown annual growth for the sixth time in seven months.”

Palm Beach County also witnessed an increase in annual home sales. But it was more modest than Broward with 321 single-family contracts signed in November. That’s a 27.9% hike over November 2024 when there were 251 closings. But the monthly sales were down in Palm Beach County, too. There were 347 closings in October meaning November’s sales posed a 7.49% drop on the monthly ledger.

Miami-Dade is still struggling in home sales, though, as the county has lagged behind its northern neighbors for most of the year. There were 406 home closings in Miami-Dade in November, a 30.6% decline from November 2024 when there were 585. The monthly comparison was also off for Miami-Dade as there were 487 homes sold in October, representing a 16.63% drop in sales.

Condominium sales, which have been struggling in much of South Florida this year, showed some improvement. There were 354 condos sold in Broward in November, a 41.6% jump from a year ago. Palm Beach posted 309 condo sales last month, a 33.2% increase from November 2024. Miami-Dade was the only South Florida county with a dip in condo sales with 406 closings in November, a 30.6% decline from a year ago.

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Politics

University of Florida breaks ground on College of Dentistry building facelift and overhaul

Published

6 hours ago

December 7, 2025

May Greene

The original College of Dentistry building was errected half a century ago at UF.

The University of Florida (UF) College of Dentistry building is undergoing major renovations and a multi-phase overhaul that will add more than 100,000 square feet to the facility.

UF officials announced this month that the 11-story college “dental tower” is undergoing waterproofing and insulation upgrades. There is also a modernization of key spaces in the existing building and a new building addition that will tack on a new area that will cover the 100,0000 of additional space. The original building was erected 50 years ago and the new additions and upgrades are expected to be completed in five years.

“This project represents the largest investment made by the state of Florida in a medical science building at any state university,” said Mori Hosseini, UF Board of Trustees Chair in a news release. “We fought for this because we understand what it will deliver for our community – for our students, our faculty and families across Florida.”

Some of the brick exterior of the original building is being removed. Crews are “sealing” the structure with work that is designed to prevent water intrusion. When that’s complete they’ll modernize the front of the building with a panel system that blend with the new addition. Work on that element is set to begin in August.

“The transformation helps ensure that the College of Dentistry remains at the forefront of academic distinction education, research and clinical innovation for decades to come,” said c, Dean of the college in Gainesville.

When completed, the College of Dentistry will see every room modernized within the building. Technological upgrades will accompany the physical overhaul as well.

“The College of Dentistry faculty and students deserve a space that allows them to focus on the patient, and the patients deserve a building that puts them at ease,” said UF Interim President Donald Landry. “The research done here will be transformative and add to the glory of this institution.”

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Politics

Monica Matteo-Salinas, Monique Pardo Pope square off in Miami Beach Commission runoff

Published

7 hours ago

December 7, 2025

May Greene

Early voting is underway in Miami Beach ahead of a Dec. 9 runoff that will decide the city’s only open Commission seat — a head-to-head contest between Monica Matteo-Salinas and Monique Pardo Pope for the Group 1 seat.

Matteo-Salinas, a Democrat and longtime City Hall aide, finished first last month with 23.2% of the vote. Pardo Pope, a Republican lawyer, advanced with 20.1%.

They outpaced four other candidates competing to succeed outgoing Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez last month, but neither captured a large enough share of the vote — more than 50% — to win outright.

The runoff has sharpened into a choice between two contrasting résumés, platforms and campaign narratives along with a late-cycle revelation about Pardo Pope that has drawn national headlines.

Voters are heading to the polls for the second time in just over a month as Miami Beach faces turbulence on multiple fronts, from state scrutiny over finances and charges that a local ordinance conflicts with Florida’s homelessness law to the removal of cultural landmarks due to their so-called “woke” significance and accusations of pay-for-play policymaking.

Matteo-Salinas, 46, has consolidated establishment support for her campaign, which centers on a promise to work on expanding trolley service, increasing the city’s affordable housing index and establishing a new “water czar” position in the city, paid by resort taxes.

She’s earned endorsements from several local pols, including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami Beach Commissioners Alex Fernandez, Laura Dominguez and Tanya Bhatt; and former Miami Beach Dan Gelber.

Groups backing her bid include the Miami Beach Fraternal Order of Police, LGBTQ groups SAVE Action PAC and Equality Florida Action PAC, and the public-safety-focused neighborhood group SOBESafe.

Pardo Pope, 45, has centered her messaging on public safety, investing in mental health, backing school choice initiatives, supporting homelessness services, encouraging “smart, thoughtful development” that preserves Miami Beach’s character while addressing flooding and roadway congestion, and alleviating cost-of-living issues for longtime residents and first-time homebuyers through “fair taxation.”

Though she has touted her guardian ad litem work as evidence of her temperament and commitment to service, that part of her record has drawn renewed scrutiny in recent weeks. A review of Pardo Pope’s case records with the Miami-Dade Clerk’s Office shows her listed as a guardian ad litem on just three cases — one of which she was discharged from after trying to get the mother in the case jailed.

She’s also been the subject of negative attention for omitting that her father was the convicted, Nazi-adoring serial killer Manuel Pardo, to whom she wrote several loving social media posts.

Pardo Pope has said that she forgave him in order to move forward with her life and asked voters to judge her on her own life and work.

Her backing includes the Miami-Dade Republican Party, Miami-Dade Commissioner René García, state Rep. Alex Rizo, former Miami Beach City Attorney Jose Smith, Miami Realtors PAC, the Venezuelan American Republican Club and Teach Florida PAC, a Jewish education group.

Two of her former Group 1 opponents, Daniel Ciraldo and Omar Gimenez, are also backing her.

Matteo-Salinas raised about $133,000 and spent $82,000 by Dec. 4. Pardo Pope raised about $190,000 — of which 29% was self-given — and spent close to $170,000.

Early voting runs through Sunday at four locations citywide. Election Day is Monday, Dec. 9.

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