By Anne Geggis
From now on, State Road A1A will be dedicated to the man who drove home how changes in latitudes can change one’s attitude.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 27 signed a bill that passed unanimously in both chambers of the state Legislature designating the oceanside road that extends from Key West to the Georgia line as “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway.”
The legislation also calls for the Florida Department of Transportation to erect suitable markers for the designation by Aug. 30.
Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, who sponsored the Senate bill identical to the one DeSantis signed, toasted the beloved balladeer synonymous with beach bumming.
“With this road naming, we are paying tribute to Jimmy not only as a musical icon, but also as a fierce protector of Florida’s natural treasures and our precious manatees,” Book said in a prepared statement.
Buffett died at age 76 in September from skin cancer.
“It truly is ‘a sweet life, living by the salty sea,’ and we could not think of a better way to honor one of our most legendary Floridians than by memorializing him along Florida’s coastal highway,” Book said. Buffett’s fifth studio album, released in 1974, was A1A.
DeSantis also signed a bill calling for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to develop a “Margaritaville” specialty plate.
The plate that recalls Buffett’s most famous song will raise money for the Singing for Change charitable foundation that Buffett founded.
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