{"id":296595,"date":"2026-06-05T00:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T00:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/296595\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T00:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T00:58:14","slug":"last-call-for-6-4-26-a-prime-time-read-of-whats-going-down-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/296595\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Call for 6.4.26 \u2013 A prime-time read of what\u2019s going down in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Call \u2013 A prime-time read of what\u2019s going down in Florida politics.<\/p>\n

\u2014 First Shot \u2014<\/p>\n

Florida TaxWatch<\/a> has spent the past week reading the fine print and will release its annual Budget Turkey Watch Report on Monday<\/p>\n

The report, scheduled for release at a 10 a.m. press conference in Tallahassee, will highlight appropriations that Florida TaxWatch says circumvented normal review procedures, bypassed public scrutiny or were added late in the budget process.<\/p>\n

The annual report has become a closely watched post-Session ritual, often providing Gov. Ron DeSantis with a roadmap for potential line-item vetoes.<\/p>\n

While this year\u2019s findings remain under wraps until Monday, last year\u2019s report<\/a> flagged 242 appropriations totaling $416.1 million as potential \u201cBudget Turkeys\u201d in the state\u2019s spending plan. Florida TaxWatch also identified nearly $800 million in additional spending that, while not formally designated as turkeys, warranted closer examination from the Governor.<\/p>\n

Among the largest categories of concern in the 2025-26 report were projects related to university construction, local transportation, water quality and dozens of local law enforcement, emergency management and community development appropriations. The report also called attention to several projects added during budget conference negotiations, a practice Florida TaxWatch has long criticized for limiting public oversight.<\/p>\n

Florida TaxWatch defines Budget Turkeys as appropriations that dodged a \u201cthoughtful and thorough budget process.\u201d The organization\u2019s annual review dates back more than four decades and is regarded as an influential outside analysis of state spending.<\/p>\n

The 2026-27 budget approved by lawmakers last week totaled $114.5 billion \u2014 about $600 million less than the current-year budget. It currently awaits DeSantis\u2019 signature and line-item veto pass.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Evening Reads \u2014<\/p>\n

\u2014\u201dNo, Donald Trump\u2019s $1.776 billion slush fund isn\u2019t \u2018dead\u2019<\/a>\u201d via Rebecca Crosby and Noel Sims of Popular Information<\/p>\n

\u2014\u201dThe races that made the Senate majority: A three-cycle story<\/a>\u201d via Kyle Kondik of Sabato\u2019s Crystal Ball<\/p>\n

\u2014\u201dTrump\u2019s name is disappearing from more than just the Kennedy Center<\/a>\u201d via Janay Kingsberry of The Atlantic<\/p>\n

\u2014\u201dHow AI could make wars go nuclear<\/a>\u201d via Joshua Keating of Vox<\/p>\n

\u2014\u201dThe sweeping ways religion is mixing with public education<\/a>\u201d via Laura Meckler and Lauren Lumpkin of The Washington Post<\/p>\n

\u2014\u201cAmerica\u2019s farms depend more than ever on a troubled visa program<\/a>\u201d via Lydia DePillis of The New York Times<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u201cA pro-AI super PAC\u2019s secret meme sockpuppets<\/a>\u201d via Taylor Lorenz of User Mag<\/p>\n

\u2014\u201cRon DeSantis embraces tax-the-rich message on Florida property taxes<\/a>\u201d via Garrett Shanley of the Tampa Bay Times<\/p>\n

\u2014\u201cThese Florida mothers warned family courts about abuse. Now they can\u2019t speak to their children<\/a>\u201d via Shira Moolten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel<\/p>\n

\u2014\u201dShe\u2019s out: Democratic Rep. Lindsay Cross says she will not run for re-election<\/a>\u201d via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Quote of the Day \u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cA $300 million hit is not a small hit \u2026 It\u2019s like an outsider coming into your kitchen table and demanding that you cut 1\/3 of your family budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, on the property tax amendment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Put it on the Tab \u2014<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton are dishing out PTOs<\/a> to staff, along with three extra days off<\/a> around the July 4 holiday.<\/p>\n

Orange County officials are sounding the alarm \u2014 and downing Red Alerts<\/a> \u2014 after initial estimates found the property tax amendment would produce a $430 million hit<\/a> over two years.<\/p>\n

CFO Blaise Ingoglia brought The Midas Touch<\/a> to Marion, Bradford and Dixie counties, delivering checks<\/a> from the State Board of Immigration Enforcement.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Breakthrough Insights \u2014<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tune In \u2014<\/p>\n

Florida well-represented at U.S. Women\u2019s Open<\/p>\n

The 2026 U.S. Women\u2019s Open tees off today at Riviera Country Club and runs through Sunday (coverage on USA, Peacock, NBCSB, and NBC).<\/p>\n

Nine golfers with Florida ties are in the field, including a pair of Florida Gators. Paula Francisco, a junior at Florida originally from Madrid, was the SEC individual champion and earned a spot in the field with a runner-up finish at the qualifier in Naples, Fla.<\/p>\n

Siuue Wu, a sophomore on the Florida golf team, originally from Hong Kong, won a three-way playoff in April.<\/p>\n

The youngest of the Florida qualifiers is Beachside High School junior Sofia Rivera. She won\u2019t turn 17 until later this month. Rivera advanced through regional qualifying, beating 70 other golfers at Sugar Mill Country Club in New Smyrna Beach.<\/p>\n

Former USF golfer Melanie Green won the Women\u2019s Amateur Championship in 2024 and has since turned pro. She is one of six LPGA Tour rookies to make the field.<\/p>\n

Boca Raton native Chloe Kovelesky, 19, is back in the field. She became the youngest golfer to qualify for the U.S. Women\u2019s Open in 2021 when she was just 14.<\/p>\n

Other professionals in the field who call Florida home include 2025 runner-up Nelly Korda (Bradenton), Lydia Ko (Orlando), Marina Alex (Ponte Vedra Beach), and 2019 runner-up Lexi Thompson (Delray Beach).<\/p>\n

The 156-player field will be cut to the top 60 players and ties for the final two rounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last Call \u2013 A prime-time read of what\u2019s going down in Florida politics. \u2014 First Shot \u2014 Florida…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[19740,72317,4832,28,30,29,19741,4833,19742],"class_list":["post-296595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-breakthrough","tag-breakthrough-insights","tag-featured-post","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-florida-political-news","tag-florida-politics","tag-last-call"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}