On this Monday, April 25, edition of Sundial:
DeSantis vs. Disney
In a last-minute effort, Florida lawmakers voted to pass a bill last week that would abolish a special taxing district for the Walt Disney Company.
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That might not sound like it will affect you, but it could. The details are murky, but the fight between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney could cost taxpayers.
“This moved at lightning speed ... nobody expected that the legislature was going to abolish the Reedy Creek Improvement District," said Skyler Swisher, who has been covering the special session and the fallout from breaking the state's deal with Disney for the Orlando Sentinel.
He added that the bill was passed largely without public input and no economic impact study on the ramifications of this bill. Find more of Swisher’s reporting here.
The murder of FSU law professor
Broward County authorities have arrested a man linked to a gruesome killing that happened eight years ago.
Florida State University professor Dan Markel’s murder made national headlines back then. His death happened in the midst of a bitter divorce battle with his ex-wife.
After years of suspicion, his brother-in-law is now being charged. Miami Herald courts and crime reporter David Ovalle joined Sundial to discuss the new developments of this case. Find more of his reporting here.
Luisa Madrigal in ‘Encanto’
Jessica Darrow singing is the voice behind the character Luisa Madrigal in Disney's movie ‘Encanto’, which recently won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
Darrow is Cuban American and was born and raised in Miami.
She joined Sundial for a conversation and she started by telling us about the moment she realized acting would be her passion. It was actually here in South Florida when she played a different Disney character.
"It was when I played Captain Hook in Peter Pan in the seventh grade," said Darrow. "I should have known that I was gay then because I made him a closeted gay man and I sang somebody to love. And I made it my own."
She’s become most famous for bringing life to the relatable 'tough cry-baby’ of the Madrigal family, Luisa. But she is also working on some of her own music, releasing a new song recently titled ‘Make it Clean.’
