Last Call for 8.26.25 – 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

The Florida Municipal Electric Association and Florida Municipal Power Agency are marking Florida Lineworker Appreciation Day by declaring their appreciation for the power pros who keep the lights on.

Throughout August, the two organizations ran a social media campaign celebrating “Heroes Beyond the Bucket Truck,” spotlighting lineworkers who go above and beyond their core duties. Posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X featured images of lineworkers serving their communities by visiting local schools, rescuing stranded animals, participating in charity drives, and supporting local sports clubs. 

“Following hurricanes and severe weather events, we see lineworkers out on the roads clearing debris and working to restore power, but we don’t always see the work they do to strengthen and support our communities outside their traditional roles,” FMEA Executive Director Amy Zubaly said. “The ‘Heroes Beyond the Bucket Truck’ campaign gave us the opportunity to showcase Florida public power lineworkers whose commitment to service extends beyond outage response and into everyday moments that build connection, trust and pride in our communities.”

Florida Lineworker Appreciation Day was established by the Florida House of Representatives in 2012 in memory of Marc Moore, a Lakeland Electric lineworker who died on the job in 2002. Today, more than 6,700 lineworkers work across the state, including nearly 1,000 who work for public utilities.

“Today we honor the Florida lineworkers who not only power our lives through their jobs, but also power our communities by going the extra mile,” said Jacob Williams, FMPA general manager and CEO. “This commitment outside of the job – whether they’re helping wildlife or participating in annual community events – is part of what makes public power communities great places to live. Thank you to all the lineworkers for their dedication to providing reliable public power in Florida.”

Evening Reads

—”President melds a fractious coalition: The six factions of Trumpworld” via Natalie Allison of The Washington Post

—”Donald Trump loses a lawyer — and much more” via Quinta Jurecic of The Atlantic

—“The death of competition” via Chris Cillizza of So What

—”Trump just did the one thing the Supreme Court said he can’t do” via Ian Millhiser of Vox

—“Dems’ messaging nerds urged party not to talk about Trump’s military takeover” via Andrew Perez, Asawin Suebsaeng and Ryan Bort of Rolling Stone

—“Snap’s ad slowdown overshadows video gains” via Kaya Yurieff of The Information

—”The costly ingredient that big food companies are processing: MAHA” via Jesse Newman and Owen Tucker-Smith of The Wall Street Journal

—“Driver in fatal big rig crash had immigration status checked two days later” via Lawrence Mower and Ashley Borja of the Tampa Bay Times

—”Ron DeSantis says troopers were right to ‘clear the road’ rather than arrest Harjinder Singh” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

—”DeSantis dismisses critics in fight over Pulse rainbow crosswalk” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics

Quote of the Day

“The census, they count everybody. They count the illegals. And then states like California, sanctuary states, end up having a disproportionately high electoral power. This is wrong. The founders never would have tolerated this.”

— Attorney General James Uthmeier, referring to the people who didn’t extend suffrage to anyone but white, male property owners in most cases.

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.

Brian Ehrlich gets a Henny Hustle for scrounging up 1,284 petition signatures to get him on the Miami Beach Commission’s Group 1 ballot by petition.

Order another Sunny Disposition, because the latest “Florida By The Numbers” forecasts continued stability in the state economy.

Honestly, this Deep State concoction sounds vile … no wonder Attorney General James Uthmeier is blaming it for a Census undercount.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Rays still chasing postseason spot

The Tampa Bay Rays continue to claw their way into the American League wild card race as they continue a series with the Cleveland Guardians tonight (6:40 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Net Sun).

The Rays have 31 games remaining in the 2025 regular season. In that time, they must make up six games and vault over four teams to earn a wild-card spot. The Rays took the first game of a three-game series from Cleveland, one of the teams they are chasing in the wild-card standings. Coming into tonight’s game, the Rays trail Cleveland by half a game, with the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals chasing the Seattle Mariners for the final wild card spot.

Rookie third baseman Junior Caminero continues to shine. On Monday, Caminero collected four hits in five at-bats, including a pair of home runs. He has hit four home runs in his last three games and has driven in at least one run in the last four.

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon with a 1:10 first pitch. Then, the Rays move on to the nation’s capital for a series with the Washington Nationals.

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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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