As the Battle For Reedy Creek Continues the CFTOD Launches a New Website
As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company continue their battles in court, and Democratic lawmakers look for ways to undo the state takeover of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District, the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) has unveiled their new website: oversightdistrict.org.
On the new website, visitors can learn about the CFTOD, review press releases, request public records, and download documents.
The URL is also rife with the new CFTOD logo, which was unveiled earlier this year.
Replacing Reedy Creek
While the launch of a website may seem superficial, it is another step in the erasure of Reedy Creek.
Even though the DeSantis-appointed district was created ten months ago, government buildings, the district’s fire department, and district manholes still feature the Reedy Creek name.
Emergency vehicles, for example, still read Reedy Creek Fire Department on them.
While it is likely that the CFTOD will shortly look to rename anything related to Reedy Creek, at least for now, they have not announced when they will do so.
Linda Stewart Tries To Give Control Back to Disney
The launch of the CFTOD website comes as Florida state Sen. Linda Stewart is trying to pass a bill that would revert control of the special district back to Disney.
“I’m very fired up because I’m sick of it,” Stewart said, referring to the DeSantis-appointed board. “There’s no transparency. They don’t live here.”
Stewart’s comments come as Disney and DeSantis are squaring off in federal court, with Disney arguing that the dissolution of Reedy Creek was done in retaliation for the company speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (which critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”).
Meanwhile, in state court, the CFTOD is suing Disney over the last-minute binding agreements the company made with Reedy Creek in the waning days of the special district’s existence. Those agreements essentially gave Disney control over their Central Floria land in perpetuity.
As always, continue to check back with MickeyBlog. We will update you on the ongoing feud between Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company.