ICYMI

Conspiracy-theorizing channel OAN now broadcasts free in Orlando, Disney’s best offer for union employees falls short, a brand-new swimming pool welcomes incoming UF prez Ben Sasse and other news you may have missed

» Universal Orlando wants to create a special taxing district to pay for proposed Convention Center Sunrail station

Seemingly undaunted by the possibly impending dissolution of sister theme park Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, Universal and the Orlando Right Rail business coalition submitted a petition to the Orange County Commission last week for their own taxing/development district. This new entity, the Shingle Creek Transit Utility Community Development District, will oversee the funding, construction and eventual operation of a proposed commuter station at the Orange County Convention Center. The planned light-rail station at the Convention Center will be a hub for a rail line connecting the Universal and International Drive area to Orlando International Airport. While the rough timeline has this new corridor up and running by 2030, Universal City Development Partners Ltd. are ready to go full steam ahead now with the district if the county approves, as reported by Orlando Business Journal. The station would be part of a shared corridor between rail companies SunRail and Brightline, connecting the Convention Center, Universal and MCO via these new rail routes. SunRail would add stops at MCO, the I-Drive area and the Convention Center, while Brightline would use this stop as part of their planned connection from Orlando to Tampa. The taxing district, with Universal as the only property owner within, promises to initially raise $125 million in funding through private bonds to defray the projected $1 billion price tag. — MM

» Florida lawmakers file legislation that would legalize fentanyl test strips

Two Democratic lawmakers, not from the Orlando area, filed legislation last week that would effectively decriminalize drug testing equipment that can detect fentanyl in drugs. The powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl is currently driving the U.S. overdose crisis, and is often laced into other drugs bought on the illicit drug market, including counterfeit pills, meth, heroin and cocaine. Bizarrely enough, fentanyl drug testing equipment (e.g. rapid test strips) are technically illegal to have or sell in Florida and other states across the U.S. because they’re classified as illegal “drug paraphernalia” under federal and state laws. But Florida could join a growing list of states to decriminalize fentanyl test strips, which experts say can be a helpful tool to reduce the risk of overdose, as a harm reduction strategy. They’re also cheap and easy to use, if only useful for detecting fentanyl. Similar legislation to legalize the test strips was filed in the state legislature last year, but Republicans blocked it at the last minute. — MS

» Far-right conspiracy network OAN will now broadcast for free in

Orlando

This misinformation campaign is gearing up for the 2024 elections. After DirecTV dropped former president Donald Trump’s favorite news network, One America News, last spring, the far-right outlet will now broadcast for free into local television antennas after signing a deal with a company apparently willing to host conspiracy theories. They’re launching a new variant, OAN Plus, on the over-the-air channel WSWF in Orlando, WTBT in Tampa, and 18 other low-power channels owned by Major Market Broadcast. ICMYI, OAN and its on-air hosts Chanel Rion and Christina Bobb were sued by voting machine companies Dominion and Smartmatic last spring in a series of defamation lawsuits. Besides verifiably false election-based conspiracy theories, OAN has also dabbled in climate change denial, Christian Nationalist propaganda, Russian propaganda and transphobia, to name a few. — CW

» Disney’s best offer for union employees falls short

About 42,000 Disney workers represented by the Service Trades Council Union, a coalition of unions, are still fighting for a $3 raise in 2023 — and an $18 minimum hourly wage — in their next contract with Disney theme parks. But Disney’s come back to them with their “best offer” and the unions say the offer falls short: a $1 pay raise in 2023, same as they offered last year during their last bargaining session. As we know, housing costs and inflation in Orlando have been on the rise, straining lowincome households, including Disney employees and their families. To account for this, Disney workers’ unions are demanding pay raises that keep up with the cost of living. Disney generated $28.7 billion in their theme park division alone last year, and CEO Bob Iger is paid a base salary of $1 million. The unions say it’s time for the company to share the wealth with its essential labor, some of whom have reported skipping meals and missing rental or mortgage payments due to financial constraints. But it’s up to the workers. They’ll be voting on whether to accept Disney’s best offer in the coming weeks. — MS

» UF will spend $300,000 on new swimming pool for incoming university president Ben Sasse

The University of Florida is doing its due diligence in making sure its newly hired president, former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, can dive into the job. UF confirmed they’re spending $300,000 to build a new swimming pool behind the stately mansion where Sasse will live with his family. Construction on the 7,400-square-foot, four-bedroom mansion — where Sasse gets to live at no cost — began in November, according to Fresh Take Florida. A spokesperson for the university said the funds for the expensive addition came from the mansion’s donors, John and Mary Lou Dasburg of Key Biscayne, and other private sources they did not identify. Sasse didn’t personally request the pool, and it’s unclear why the new pool was so expensive, or how much it will cost the university to maintain. The average cost for an in-ground residential pool in Florida is just under $60,000 — granted, that’s without features like hot tubs or lighting. But Sasse isn’t the only university president who’s getting or been granted a free private pool. The University of Central Florida, Louisiana State University and Ohio State are among some other public universities that provide pools at the homes of their presidents or chancellors. The more you know! — EB