Politics
Last Call for 6.24.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
— First Shot —
Florida TaxWatch has named Kelly Folmar of Leon High School as the inaugural recipient of its School Counselor of the Year award.
The award, launched this year by Florida TaxWatch, honors school counselors who demonstrate exceptional effectiveness in helping students succeed and aims to spotlight best practices across Florida schools.
Folmar has served as a guidance counselor at Leon High School since 2012. She holds both a master’s degree and an Education Specialist degree in counselor education from Florida State University.
In nominating Folmar, Leon High School Principal Scotty Crowe praised her commitment to students and families, calling her “an amazing resource” for the school system and noting that she provides academic advising and support services to hundreds of students annually.
Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Jeff Kottkamp added, “School counselors play a critical role in our schools, helping students succeed academically, supporting students as they face the challenges of life, and assisting students in planning for life after graduation.”
As part of the program, the award recipient may designate a student to receive a two-year Florida College Plan scholarship.
Folmar said she was honored to be recognized as the program’s first recipient and credited her students as “the real winners,” adding that helping young people achieve their educational and career goals is among the most rewarding aspects of her work.
The program is supported by the Florida Lottery and the Florida Prepaid College Foundation. Florida Lottery Secretary Reginald Dixon and Florida Prepaid College Foundation Director Cindy O’Connell joined Florida TaxWatch leaders in recognizing Folmar during a reception in Tallahassee.
— Evening Reads —
—“As America’s birthday approaches, its front yard is a construction zone” via Sophia Solano of The Washington Post
—”Government docs show Donald Trump’s Reflecting Pool vandalism claims are total BS” via Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone
—”The Trump White House is over Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei” via Hugo Lowell of WIRED
—”The Democratic Tea Party is here. Here’s where it might go next.” via Andrew Prokop of Vox
—”Even in defeat, a Democrat showed the upside of angering the AI industry” via Theodore Schleifer of The New York Times
—”Pete Hegseth cuts Army commander’s storied career short as part of broader shake-up” via Michael R. Gordon and Lara Seligman of The Wall Street Journal
—”Meet the Florida Democrats running for Governor against David Jolly” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix
—“A hassle or peace of mind? How South Floridians really feel about community guard gates” via Lois K. Solomon of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
—”Largo proclamation honors Pride Month. It almost didn’t happen” via Jeff Rosenfield of the Tampa Bay Times
—”Will anyone buy this cheap EV truck with hand-crank windows and no radio?” via Ryan Felton of The Wall Street Journal
— Quote of the Day —
“The Governor and I are in a great space. I know where he is, and when he decides to jump into this race, you’ll have no doubt that he’s in.”
— Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, claiming a DeSantis endorsement is coming.
— 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.
Order a Head Butt for the Tallahassee mayoral contenders who butted heads on data centers, ICE and other issues at the candidate forum.
Gov. DeSantis says an Insurance Policy from Citizens is on solid footing today after being iffy just a few years ago.
Republican congressional candidate Austin Rogers just posted an Act of Faith across media markets throughout Florida’s 2nd Congressional District.
— Breakthrough Insights —
— Tune In —
Miami hosts Scotland-Brazil tonight
The Tartan Army has invaded South Florida for Scotland’s final group stage match of the FIFA World Cup against Brazil tonight (6 p.m. ET, FOX, Telemundo).
Scotland won the opening match of Group C, 1-0 over Haiti, thanks to a John McGinn goal. The Scots then dropped a 1-0 match to Morocco.
Brazil drew 1-1 with Morocco before running past Haiti, 3-0, behind a brace from Matheus Cunha and a first-half stoppage-time goal by Vinicius Junior.
With four points, Brazil and Morocco lead the group heading into the final match of the group stage. Scotland is third with three points. The top two teams in each of the 12 groups advance to the knockout round. The top eight third-place teams also advance. For Scotland, a win over Brazil would send them through to the knockout stage. A draw would also send Scotland through. There is even a scenario in which Scotland could advance despite a loss.
Brazil is +3 in goal differential, the second tiebreaker after head-to-head. Since Brazil and Morocco tied, Brazil must equal or better Morocco’s result to win the group. Morocco faces Haiti, which has already been eliminated from advancing.
Brazil has won the World Cup five times. Scotland has qualified for nine World Cup tournaments but has never advanced out of the group stage.
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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.