Sunburn — The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics — 6.10.22

By Peter Schorsch   

Good Friday morning.

I feel OK. Just OK. The COVID-19 is lingering.

Still testing positive. Still in London.

It’s starting to feel like Groundhog Day.

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Following up yesterday’s topper about which Florida restaurants received Michelin stars:

—”11 Miami restaurants earned Michelin stars — and one spot earned two.” via the Miami Herald

—”4 Orlando restaurants earn coveted Michelin stars” via Click Orlando

—”No Tampa Bay restaurants get stars as Michelin Guide comes to Florida” via WFTS

It’s particularly noteworthy that Bern’s Steak House did not receive even one star, given that it boasts one of the most expansive wine lists in the world. But the food and service there are so subpar, it’s really not surprising. Rob Bradley predicted that Bern’s would fall short. And I think Bern’s may be the most overrated restaurant in the country. Of course, Mike Griffin disagrees with me.

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Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book estimates there have been three dozen gun control bills she and her Democratic colleagues have proposed over the last few years — only to see them die without a single hearing.

But Book says she’s not giving up — no matter how many Saturdays she must spend marching for changes to gun laws as she plans to be doing this Saturday.

Book will be part of a new round of youth-led marches for gun control springing up nationwide this Saturday.

“Every time somebody dies from a firearm, it continues to make me want to push harder,” Book said, recounting when she watched the footage after the 2018 shooting rampage through Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. When that shooting happened, Book said, “it shook my whole world.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky of Boca Raton will join Book at a Parkland March for Our Lives.

The 10:30 a.m. event at Pine Trails Amphitheater, 10555 Trails End, is one of more than 450 marches planned throughout the country, 26 of them slated for locations in Florida.

Book says she’s willing to give up every other day of the week fighting against gun violence, so she never has to go to another funeral like Alyssa Alhadeff’s. The 14-year victim of the 2018 Parkland shooting was buried on the same day as her twins’ first birthday.

“When you’re sitting in a funeral for another mom’s little child who died on the floor of her classroom, bleeding to death, your life is different,” Book said, her voice shaking with emotion.

March for Our Lives is the youth-led movement that was galvanized in the wake of the Parkland trauma and has spread nationally. Florida changed its laws so that assault rifles could not be bought by anyone younger than 21 — a huge change.

The movement’s mammoth Washington march in 2018 faded without any significant changes to federal gun laws.

A new set of bullets flying in a Buffalo supermarket, a Uvalde, Texas school, and numerous other places has awakened a new round of activism.

Book said it’s a critical moment that could produce a tipping point — or go the other way. Gov. Ron DeSantis reaffirmed last month that he would sign legislation allowing carrying a gun without a permit.

“I will continue to fight until I have no breath left in my body so that moms don’t have to be afraid to let their kids go outside and play or go to school, or go to temple, a mosque or a church,” Book said. “We can do better.”

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@KPolantz: DOJ’s update on 1/6 cases today, via @HolmesLybrand: -840 arrested, 255 of whom are charged w assaulting/impeding police — 16 charged w sedition. 50+ in total face conspiracy charge — 305 pleaded guilty (<1/3 of those charged) — DOJ is still looking for 350+ people who were violent

—@YouGovAmerica: Republicans are more than twice as likely as Democrats to think that armed security guards, police officers, and armed teachers are very effective at preventing school shootings.

—@KKFla737: Rick Scott doubling down on his massive tax increase and entitlement cut plan means he’s going to get shunned even more by his own party. Do you think Gov. DeSantis wants to be associated with that sort of madness when he’s running for re-election as a populist?

—@JoeMobleyJax: I’m seeing more coverage of a gubernatorial candidate getting arrested for a misdemeanor than I am of a near assassination of Supreme Court Justice.

—@AGGancarski: If your fundraising is weak this month, just put out a news release saying so, rather than relying on the Friday night deadline as a comb-over for your inability to connect with donors down the stretch. The bad news will still be there Monday.

Tweet, tweet:

—@KevinCate: My step-grandfather ate a @JimmyDean sausage, egg, and cheese for breakfast and a hot dog for lunch every day for as long as I knew him. He lived to be 91.