The post from last Saturday is hilarious. A man wearing a hat with a headband poses in front of a few cars with their hoods up. The caption says "Patriot Convoy just did a blockade at the entrance of Disney." There is car trouble. No one can go to Disney. The man was reprimanded by a few people for ruining family vacations. The blockade was on a back-property access road near the Disney Springs shopping complex. People were getting in and out of Disney theme parks just fine a few miles away. The man and the group of people he convinced to follow him looked silly. The corporation they were trying to harass was not paying attention. The exhibition Gov. Ron DeSantis led a few days later might have been a preview of that. Disney was demanded to be punished by the Legislature for itslukewarm criticism of a bill that would ban discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in Florida classrooms. The Mouse yawned when the governor roared. The company with nearly 40 registered lobbyists didn't send a soul to the committee meetings to dole out punishment. As the dust settles, many believe that Disney could pocket tens of millions of dollars each year and shift a billion-dollar debt onto the shoulders of local taxpayers. That would make the lawmakers look like the ones responsible for one of the biggest financial blunders in Florida's history. The carve-out that exempts Disney from a law meant to annoy social-media companies was only notable for the way that DeSantis and lawmakers scampered to protect Disney in the 2021. The other was a big deal. Lawmakers passed a bill that eliminates a key component of Disney's successful 50-year run in Florida. Disney has its own government. The Reedy Creek Improvement District and Bay Lake are two cities with a combined population of more than 50. The Legislature created Reedy Creek in 1967. The Reedy Creek district, where Disney has most of its power, has been questioned whether it was a good idea to give Disney so much power. We would like a review of the district's powers and operations. That isn't what this is. Lawmakers sponsoring the legislation could not say how it would work. There is a lot to consider. Reedy Creek issues Disney's permits, operates its utilities including water, sewer and electric, and levies a hefty property tax that pays for the services Disney needs. That last one might be out of place. The Reedy Creek district collected $164 million in property taxes. That is a lot of money for a private corporation to seize. Who is taking that money from Disney? It turns out Disney. Disney and its affiliates give 87 percent of the district's tax revenue. That makes sense according to Professor Rick Foglesong, who wrote a political history of Disney's creation. When the Reedy Creek district was created, Disney executives wanted a government that was tailored to their needs. The Reedy Creek district has been operating as intended for 55 years. More than half of the people it employs are firefighters. It also has a large permitting operation, including the kind of building inspectors who are comfortable signing off on the structural integrity of a 5.7 million gallon fish tank or a restaurant with a giant singing tree in the middle. The built-for-Disney government was ordered to be destroyed by the pet legislators. The Reedy Creek Improvement District will change its name to bibbity-bobbity-boom in June of 2023. The bill was designed to cause chaos. It was intended to distract attention from the other task, which was to pass a racist plan to draw congressional districts. It did that as well. After a few days of poking around, this bill doesn't look as bad for Disney as they thought. Most of the district's $178 million operating budget is funded by $164 million in property taxes. The taxing authority of the district goes away if it goes away. Who picks up the tab? That is not clear. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay and House sponsor of the spank-Disney legislation, thought that most of the district's responsibilities and assets might trickle down to the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista. Disney still has taxing authority over them. There are thousands of acres outside the limits of those two cities. Most of the burden will land on Orange County in that case. The costs could be disastrous, according to the County Mayor. The Reedy Creek district's debt is almost a billion dollars, with more than 100 million dollars in unfunded pension program and other promised benefits. That's a lot. Who is responsible for paying the bill? The state could be held responsible for triggering default according to bond documents. Disney's tax payments were supposed to cover the debt, the annual budget, the building inspectors and firefighters' pensions. Nobody will have the authority to collect taxes after June 2023. The district could be re-authorized in 2023. Disney probably won't wait 10 months for the chance to beg lawmakers to relent. The company can either expand the boundaries of the cities it controls or negotiate a local deal. Both options would be more resistant to hot-headed lawmakers. The entire sorry saga puts us in mind of a film that was removed from Disney's back catalog because of racist elements. If Disney and local leaders decide to build a solution to the mess they created, they can leave the Reedy Creek name behind. Is there an improvement district for the Briar Patch? We can see that. _____ The editorial board of the sentinel includes an opinion editor, an editor-in-chief, a Viewpoints editor, and an editor. Contact us at insight@orlandosentinel.com _____ There are a number of stage shows that guests can take in at Disney Parks. John Boozman has always stood up for what he believed in, and he is known as a quiet figure who talks almost in a whisper. Donald Trump promised to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Many equally delicious berries are abundant in the wild and are commonly available in grocery stores. The governor of Florida is pushing for Disney to be stripped of its special status in the state. How will the entertainment giant respond? Afghanistan's acting defence minister said on Sunday that the Taliban administration would not tolerate incursions from its neighbours after protesting against airstrikes. The Taliban administration blamed Pakistan for the deaths of dozens of people in Kunar and Khost provinces. Pakistan, which has not confirmed any involvement in airstrikes inside Afghanistan, said the two countries are brothers. Christopher Rufo has appeared on Fox News so many times that he has converted a room in his house in the Pacific Northwest into a television studio. The c is Rufo. 45 times teenagers got a taste of their own medicine. When lines mattered in the nation's capital, the consequences were swift and severe. Jim Wright lost his job as House Speaker in 1989 due to charges of corruption and profiteering. Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican, lost his job after disappointing elections. Robert Livingston, Gingrich's expected successor, admitted he had violated the law. Readers give their opinions on a variety of topics. After polling agencies projected him as the winner on Sunday, French PresidentEmmanuelMacron declared victory. Marine Le Pen conceded the race. Do you think you can get a cheaper internet package? Maybe you should rethink. The feud with Disney World is testing the limits of his combative leadership style while sending an unmistakable message to his rivals that virtually nothing is off limits as he plots his political future. The challenge to candidacy was related to the testimony of Marjorie Taylor Greene. McCaul and Warren were asked about a recent recording of McCarthy saying he would advise Trump to resign. The greatest sporting event there is just a few months away. David Zaslav had been CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery for a few hours when he found out he had a problem. Zaslav greeted New York employees with pasta and ice cream bars on the day his company began trading on the stock exchange. He was on his way to Washington when a call came in. His team just got its first look at CNN+ data. St. Mary Catholic Central freshman Callie Cousino was outstanding in centerfield. A forensic report states that a boy from St Louis, Missouri, fell to his death at the ICON Park in Florida after his seat was manually adjusted. His interview with Dr. Fauci is not well received on social media. The ex-prosecutor's analysis comes after congressional testimony from a Trump former aide revealing that the former president plotted with GOP lawmakers to overturn Biden's victory. On the day of the Capitol riot, when he tried to remove him from the premises, Pence told his security agent that he was not going to get in the car. As it happens, a real story. Register for free now. Readers give their opinions on the governing style of the president, inflation and gas prices, and Agent White and mangroves. The day before, the Republican was asked if she knew the meaning of the term violent. I didn't wake up on Monday thinking that, by Friday, I'd gotten a call from President Biden.Orlando Sentinel
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