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    With lawsuits in rearview mirror, Disney World government gets back to being boring

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1358 Views
    A family visiting from Sarasota watches the solar eclipse at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Monday, April 8, 2024. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

    By Mike Schneider

    ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) --

    For the first time in more than a year, the monthly board meeting of Walt Disney World's governing district on Wednesday was back to being what many municipal government forums often are — boring.

    There were no rants against Disney by the board's chairman nor demands by local opponents for board members appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to resign immediately. Instead, board members approved contracts for the installation of pipelines for chilled water, sediment removal, the replacement of a wastewater lift pump and the removal of compost waste.

    What made this meeting different from most during the past year or so was that it came a month after Disney and DeSantis' board appointees reached a deal to end their state court lawsuits over DeSantis' takeover of the district. The district provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, among other things, for the theme park resort.

    "We're doing the people's business," said Charbel Barakat, the board's vice chair.

    Not even a group of Disney supporters who regularly speak out against DeSantis' board appointees bothered to show up during the public comment period on Wednesday.

    Until last year's takeover of the governing district, it had been controlled for the entirety of its five decades by Disney supporters.

    The takeover by DeSantis and the Republican-led Legislature was sparked by Disney's opposition to Florida's so-called Don't Say Gay law, which bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. DeSantis championed the 2022 law and repeatedly took shots at Disney in speeches until he suspended his presidential campaign.

    Lawsuits in federal and state courts followed. The state lawsuits have been dismissed, and the federal lawsuit is on hold pending further negotiations over agreements between Disney and the DeSantis appointees.

    During Wednesday's board meeting, the only reference to the lawsuits was a housekeeping matter that resulted from the deal. Board members approved an amendment to a labor services agreement, shortening it to 2028 instead of 2032.

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    Tags:DisneyGov. Ron DeSantis



    William Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage join the voice cast for Starburn Industries’ “Lincoln in the Bardo”

    Friday, August 28, 2026
    Peter Dinklage (photo by Whitney Matewe)

    Actors Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage have joined the voice cast of Starburns Industries’ “Lincoln in the Bardo,” based on acclaimed author George Saunders’ New York Times bestseller and 2017 Booker Prize-winner.  Saunders adapted the screenplay, with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Duke Johnson directing.  It was announced earlier that Tom Hanks stars as the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, in the live action portion of the film.  CAA Media Finance and WME Independent are handling sales at the upcoming TIFF: The Market.

    The film employs a unique blend of stop-motion animation and live action to explore one of the most intimate moments of Lincoln’s life, centering on his relationship with his recently deceased eleven-year-old son.  Blending history and imagination, the story unfolds through an unforgettable ensemble of characters – living and dead, historical and invented – to explore themes of love, empathy, and the human capacity for connection in the face of unimaginable grief.

    Reverend Everly Thomas – the ghost of a minister who died believing he would go to heaven, but, to his dismay, found out otherwise – is voiced by Dafoe.  Bailey is voicing Roger Bevins, the ghost of a young gay man who took his own life over a failed love affair and instantly regretted it.  Dinklage is voicing Hans Vollman, a ghost obsessed with his dream of being reunited with his much-younger wife.

    Four-time Academy Award nominee Dafoe’s credits include animated films “Finding Nemo,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “The Boy and the Heron,” as well as “At Eternity’s Gate,” “The Florida Project,” “Shadow of the Vampire” and seminal Vietnam movie... Read More

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