Orlando Weekly

April 19-25, 2023

News & Views

11 ICYMI: On the same day they passed the abortion ban, Florida’s ‘prolife’ GOP also passed a law making it easier for judges to impose the death sentence — and other news you may have missed last week.

13 State of the union: Rollins College dining workers formally file for a union election, after keeping their campaign under wraps for months; Deltona lawmaker calls transgender people “mutants” and “demons”

The 4/20 Issue

18 Best buds: You could go broke trying every product from every dispensary. Here’s our list of the best thing to buy at six local dispensaries

19 Puff puff pass? Supporters of legalizing cannabis are close to the threshold for ballot inclusion, but doings in Tallahassee could leave passage of that measure up in smoke

21 A grass-roots affair: Chef Wendy Lopez says April’s En La Mesa Dinner at Reyes will be … a joint effort

23 SEEN: Florida Groves Festival at the Orlando Amphitheater

Food & Drink

27 Wild child: Maya Café Lounge & Gallery’s expressive, indomitable, feelgood spirit finds its way to the kitchen

27 Tip Jar: Local restaurant openings and closings, plus local food news and events

Film & Music

29 On (small) Screens: What’s new on Netflix, Hulu, etc. this week

31 Keep on truckin’: Drive-By Truckers look back and forward ahead of Orlando show

33 This Little Underground: Orlando singer/songwriter Zoya Zafar unveils new song “Wordz,” her most intimate and crystalline work in ages

Back Pages

34 The Week: Our selections of the best things to do and see this week, plus plenty of event listings

39 Free Will Astrology: Your horoscope for the week of April 19-25

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Cover: illustration by Daniel Rodriguez

BY MCKENNA SCHUELER, CHLOE GREENBERG AND NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

» DeSantis signs six-week abortion ban into law — but it’s not in effect yet

Just hours after receiving final approval from the GOP-dominated Florida House, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that’d ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Currently, abortions (except under very limited circumstances) are banned up to 15 weeks. Most people don’t know they’re pregnant at six weeks, so it’s essentially been characterized as a full-out ban on abortions. Important to note, however, is that the six-week ban has not gone into effect yet. It’s contingent upon the outcome of a lawsuit filed by abortion providers and advocates last year against Florida’s 15-week ban. A ruling on that is expected sometime within the next couple of months, but it’s unclear exactly when that will occur. As it is, Florida Democrats fought to prevent the six-week abortion’s passage — they filed 50 amendments to the House bill, all shot down by Republicans, who have a supermajority (and thus, a lot of power). Orlando Rep. Anna Eskamani sought to have it renamed the “Forced Pregnancy Act.” (Republicans shot that down, too.) Antiabortion groups have praised the new abortion restrictions, but Florida Democrats and abortion rights groups are planning to fight the six-week ban from going into effect. We’ll keep you posted with the latest.

» In a win for DeSantis, appeals court rejects challenge to Florida’s ban on sanctuary cities

In a win for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers, a federal appeals court last Thursday tossed out a challenge to a 2019 immigration law that banned “sanctuary cities” in Florida (i.e., cities that pass policies preventing the cops from enforcing federal immigration enforcement efforts). Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature passed that law in 2019 along nearly straight party lines after heavy debate. Several groups, including the Florida Immigrant Coalition and the Farmworker Association of Florida, filed a lawsuit in July 2019 raising constitutional issues and alleging discriminatory intent in the law. But Thursday’s ruling said, in part, the groups could not show the proof of “actual injury” needed to establish standing. The appeals court also said the organizations challenging the law had “not established that their members face present harm or a ‘certainly impending’ threat of racial profiling as a result of SB 168.” The ruling came as lawmakers this year consider proposals (SB 1718 and HB 1617) that would take additional steps to target illegal immigration. Those bills are currently pending in Senate and House committees.

» Watered-down but still highly controversial higher-ed bill continues to advance

Because “Stop WOKE” (a law targeting the teaching of critical race theory in classrooms) wasn’t enough for DeSantis or Republican lawmakers, the latter are now advancing a Florida bill that would even further restrict and scrutinize higher-ed programs and courses on race relations and social justice. Under the bill, for instance, courses would not be able to “distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics,” or be “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.” But the legislation has been watered down since it was first proposed — the latest version, approved by a Senate committee last week strips the bill of any mention of “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” This is a loss for DeSantis, who has sought to weed out so-called “DEI” programs from the higher-education system. Unfortunately, other parts of the bill that’d directly affect faculty are still included, if also altered. If passed, the bill could make it more difficult for faculty to retain tenure. It also gives university presidents final authority in hiring and firing decisions (currently that’s handled by deans, department chairpersons, and faculty committees). Dozens of students, faculty and union reps have spoken out in opposition to the bill.

» ‘Ava’s Law’ bill allowing pregnant people to delay prison time advances in Florida House

In less grim news, a bill that’d allow pregnant people convicted of felonies in Florida to delay going to prison for up to three months after a baby is born moved forward last week in the Florida House. Dubbed “Ava’s Law” by bill sponsor Dianne Hart, D-Tampa, the legislation was drafted in response to the death of a baby born in the Alachua County Jail last year. If passed, it would give judges complete discretion as to whether someone would be allowed to defer their sentence up to 12 weeks to care for a newborn, considering factors such as the severity of the offense, the defendant’s criminal record, and whether delaying incarceration poses a danger to the community. Pregnant people who are granted deferrals would be placed on probation until they were incarcerated, and the bill would also require that every inmate arrested and not released on bond within 72 hours be informed of the right to a pregnancy test as they are booked into detention facilities. “We must think about all the other incarcerated mothers who have faced situations like this one,” Hart said. “And we cannot continue to fail them.” With mostly bipartisan support, the bill passed a House committee, but still has one more committee stop before it would be heard by the full Florida House. (Apparently it’s not as much of a priority as further restricting abortion, rent control, or gender-affirming health care for trans Floridians.) A similar Senate version of Hart’s bill hasn’t been heard by any committee yet. The Florida legislative session formally concludes May 5.

» Some Florida Democrats join Republicans in expanding Florida’s death penalty

On the same day that Florida’s “pro-life” GOP pushed through the six-week abortion ban, 78 Republican lawmakers and 17 Democrats in the Florida House also voted to expand Florida’s death penalty beyond what the U.S. Supreme Court currently allows. The bill would eliminate a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations (requiring just eight out of 12 to approve) before judges can impose death sentences. It would affect only the sentencing process and not what is known as the “guilt phase” of murder cases. The bill (SB 450) emerged after Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life in prison last year for carrying out the 2018 Parkland school shooting in South Florida. In that case, a jury did not unanimously recommend the death penalty, requiring Cruz to be sentenced to life. Opponents of the bill questioned the constitutionality of the proposed change and pointed to a history of Florida death row inmates being exonerated after their convictions.

DELTONA LAWMAKER CALLS TRANSGENDER PEOPLE ‘MUTANTS’ AND ‘DEMONS’

By Jim Saunders, NSF