Earth Day? In Sunshine State it's Culture War Day — every day

Disney cast member Nicholas Maldonado protests his company's stance on LGBTQ issues, while participating in an employee walkout at Walt Disney World, Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
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It's Earth Day, but in Florida, it's been culture war week.

The week began with what was supposed to be a special session to simply approve a congressional redistricting map.

Congressional maps, by the way, are supposed to be drawn by the Florida Legislature. And they were until Gov. Ron DeSantis elbowed lawmakers' maps to the dust bin in favor of his own.

Black leaders blasted the DeSantis boundaries aimed at breaking up districts represented by Black Democrats. And one group said it would ask 2.5 million Floridians to call on their lawmakers to reject DeSantis’ redistricting plan.

DeSantis ultimately got his way on the boundaries — which will boost Republican representation in Congress — so it's a win-win for the governor and the Florida GOP.

And even though the DeSantis map would pit these two Southwest Florida GOP congressional incumbents as rivals, they will still be able to avoid facing off against each other.

So it was a win-win-win.

But the special session and the debate over districts and race were quickly overshadowed by DeSantis' pursuit of two culture war battlefronts in his war against all things "woke" — or being aware of racial injustice.

As a history prof from Flagler College explained in a Titusville talk, critical race theory is a way of making sense of the history of law and the courts in light of the nation's ugly and ingrained racial past.

But, this week it wasn't about racial teaching in history courses but, rather, in Florida mathematics classes.

The DeSantis theorem: Math books + CRT = wokeness in schools

In Pensacola, DeSantis served notice to "woke" school board members up for re-election this year, but the real woke hunt in schools focused on the removal of school math textbooks from classrooms.

The action followed a decision by the Florida Department of Education to reject nearly half of math textbooks over concerns publishers’ sought to “indoctrinate” students.

In many, many cases the textbooks were pulled from use because they referred to critical race theory or social-emotional learning. That began a scramble across the state as school districts yanked books and sought to find alternatives.

In Escambia County, first, second, third, fourth and fifth choices of math textbooks were included on a list of over 50 textbooks rejected by the state.

Alachua County Public Schools removed at least seven math textbooks from use after they landed on the state's do-not-use list.

In Southwest Florida, school officials in Lee and Collier counties withdrew more than 50 math textbooks rejected by state officials.

Besides the immediate crisis of teaching math without the assistance of the books, Florida school districts must find replacements for the next academic year. DeSantis' choice for the education commissioner post, a Miami senator, will play a major role in that effort.

Intriguingly, textbooks from this publisher appear to be the only ones approved by DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education for K-5 mathematics.

GOP decries cancel culture, but it raced to cancel Disney tax district

The special session on congressional districts hadn't been gaveled in when the agenda went through mission creep to add a measure of revenge against one business in particular: The governor announced lawmakers would also punish Walt Disney World for criticism of the so-called "Don't say gay" law.

Specifically, Florida lawmakers would strip Disney of its self-government legal privileges because the company spoke out against the so-named parental rights in education law.

State Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican from Brevard County, encapsulated the Florida GOP's view in saying the Legislature would remind Disney it is a "guest" in the state.

It wasn't an idle threat as the Florida Senate joined in to cancel the Disney company's Reedy Creek special tax district.

It's not clear what consumer impact the fight will have on Disney, as the Central Florida theme parks continue to be packed and the company's brand is immensely popular.

But the message was clear to the rest of Florida's business community: Don't cross DeSantis or face immediate retribution.

And while DeSantis berated Disney, Florida officials continued their press on transgender policy. State health department guidelines now oppose puberty-blocking medication for transgender youths.

But in the grassroots, Floridians are finding ways to accommodate culture-war clashes in more fruitful ways.

An Olympic gold-medalist working in Jacksonville is calling for a different approach to how transgender competitors fit into American sports. And this high school has come up with a gender-neutral prom court title.

Another special session? DeSantis eyes insurance as housing costs soar, too

Culture war battles fought, DeSantis is turning his attention to a broader crisis in Florida — home and property insurance — with yet another special session in May.

The loss of insurance coverage isn't the only vexing housing problem in the state, where home prices and rental lease rates are skyrocketing.

Still, affordable housing-related legislation was among the bills on the unfinished business list from the regular session.

Housing costs aren't on the governor's policy agenda, but local governments are seeking ways to address the mushrooming conundrum.

Manatee County, for instance, is taking steps to address the need for affordable housing to prevent homelessness.

Sarasota officials are reviewing zoning rules to see if they can create space, literally, for affordable housing units.

And this homebuilder is offering lotteries for available, and affordable, lots for homes.

The housing mess has given fodder to Democratic gubernatorial candidates, including Nikki Fried, who talked up the need for affordable roofs over families during campaign stops in North Florida. Charlie Crist made the case for his housing proposals in Fort Pierce.

Judge tossed mask rules as COVID variant cases rise

State COVID hospitalizations hit another low but new cases rose at the highest 7-day average since March, driven by the BA.2 subvariant.

This week the big coronavirus news out of Florida, and the country, was the voiding of the federal mask mandate on public transportation by a Tampa federal judge, who ruled the edict exceeded the authority of U.S. health officials.

The judge, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, was appointed by former President Trump and has a colorful political and judicial background.

Nonetheless, signs of an ebbing pandemic were visible elsewhere in Florida. In Venice, officials closed a drive-thru, COVID-testing site.

What do Matt Gaetz, Ilhan Omar and Gainesville's mayor have in common?

It was a week where threats of political violence were dealt with across the state.

A California man pleaded guilty in federal court to making threats against U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and members of his family.

Another individual was arrested for threatening Gainesville mayor Lauren Poe.

And a Sarasota County man pleaded guilty to emailing death threats against "Squad" member U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota.

Earth Day: An assessment of Florida environment

We mentioned it was Earth Day, so here is a review of environmental news for the week.

Mangroves in a Southwest Florida beach town suffered a loss when a legal petition filed by neighbors concerned about mangrove removal was dismissed.

Watchdogs at a Brevard lagoon are raising suspicions about a missing 2020 audit amid "bizarre" pushback.

Good news came from these "rays of light" about manatees, who have been starving to death in large number. And veterinarians were able to treat this ill spotted eagle ray that was pulled from the Indian River Lagoon.

Want to hear more? Listen to the Inside Florida Politics podcast now.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida politics review: DeSantis cancels Disney, math books pulled