By Mike Schneider
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) --The shakeup of Walt Disney World's governing district more than a year after it was taken over by Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees continued Wednesday with the departure of its board chairman who had been highly critical of Disney.
Martin Garcia's departure as chairman of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is coming a week after the district's administrator, Glen Gilzean, left to accept an appointment by DeSantis as interim elections supervisor in Orange County, the home of Orlando, at half his district's $400,000 salary.
Martin didn't respond to an email seeking comment on Wednesday.
In an email, DeSantis' communications director, Bryan Griffin, thanked Garcia for "successfully navigating" the transition of the district from a governing body controlled by Disney supporters to the current iteration controlled by DeSantis appointees.
Garcia "developed a new district focused on transparency and the elimination of corporate welfare," Griffin said.
The Republican governor also recommended that a former senior advisor, Stephanie Kopelousos, be named the district's new administrator. Kopelousos was a director of legislative affairs for DeSantis and previously served in other administrations of Florida governors.
"We are glad to see her step into this leadership role as the District embarks upon the next chapter in its efforts to ensure an even and transparent playing field for the businesses that operate in Central Florida," Griffin said.
Since the takeover last year, the district has faced an exodus of experienced staffers and lots of litigation. The district provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, among other things, and was controlled by Disney supporters for most of its five decades.
A fight between DeSantis and Disney began in 2022 after the company, facing significant internal and external pressure, publicly opposed a state law that critics have called "Don't Say Gay." The 2022 law banned classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades and was championed by DeSantis, who used Disney as a punching bag in speeches until he suspended his presidential campaign this year.
As punishment for opposition to the law, DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and appointed a new board of supervisors.
Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees, claiming the company's free speech rights were violated for speaking out against the legislation. A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit in January. Disney has appealed.
A separate lawsuit over who controls the district is still pending in state court in Orlando.
A settlement agreement over the "Don't Say Gay" legislation was reached this week between Florida education officials and civil rights groups that had challenged the constitutionality of the law on behalf of parents, students and others. The law remains intact, but the deal spells out that the Florida law doesn't prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ people, prevent anti-bullying rules based on sexual orientation and gender identity, or disallow Gay-Straight Alliance groups.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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