Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hand-picked oversight board delivered more blows to Walt Disney World on Wednesday, voiding the previous board’s development agreements and restrictive covenants.
The move came as local business owners urged the board to work with Disney leadership. Chair Martin Garcia detailed how the board met with Disney vice presidents but were ultimately slighted by the company, which he said created an “absolute legal mess” that’s pushing the board to raise taxes to cover costs.
READ MORE: Disney fires back at DeSantis, files suit claiming ‘retaliation’
“That’s not working together,” Garcia said. “Disney picked the fight with this board.”
During last week’s meeting, the board voted without discussion to invalidate the last-minute arrangement between Disney and the previous board.
The DeSantis versus Disney feud began when the company voiced opposition to the Legislature’s passage in 2022 of the Parental Rights in Education Bill, which prohibited classroom instruction on gender-identity issues in certain grades.
Over the two-year feud, the governor tried and failed to dismantle the Reedy Creek Improvement District with legislation but had to repeal that law because it would have left local residents to shoulder nearly $1 billion in debt. In February, DeSantis sought again to wrest control of the Disney-controlled district but that effort was preempted to a degree when the Disney-backed board approved agreements that freeze existing regulations in place for decades,...
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