Things To Do In SW Florida

LAKE BUENA VISTA — Gov. Ron DeSantis praised Disney World’s oversight district as a model of good government during a visit Thursday, marking nearly a year since he seized control of its board.

DeSantis and the Legislature transformed the Reedy Creek Improvement District as part of their battle with the Mouse, replacing five Disney loyalists on the board with Republican allies. DeSantis touted their work as a government reform success story.

“You now have a local government here with the district that is functioning in ways that are much more transparent, much more accountable, and ultimately much more beneficial to the people who live and work in Central Florida,” DeSantis said. “That is a win for not just the people in this region, but it is a win for the entire state of Florida.”

In response, critics said the new district has issues with cronyism, transparency and lacks local representation on its board.

Now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, DeSantis lauded his hand-picked board overseeing fire protection, planning and zoning and other government services for Disney World as performing better than their Disney-selected predecessors. read more

By DAVID HAMILTON (AP Technology Reporter)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Reddit has struck a deal with Google that allows the search giant to use posts from the online discussion site for training its artificial intelligence models and to improve services such as Google Search.

The arrangement, announced Thursday and valued at roughly $60 million, will also give Reddit access to Google AI models for improving its internal site search and other features. Reddit declined to comment or answer questions beyond its written statement about the deal.

Separately, the San Francisco-based company announced plans for its initial public offering Wednesday. In documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Reddit said it reported net income of $18.5 million — its first profit in two years — in the October-December quarter on revenue of $249.8 million. The company said it aims to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RDDT.

The Google deal is a big step for Reddit, which relies on volunteer moderators to run its sprawling array of freewheeling topic-based discussions. Those moderators have publicly protested earlier Reddit decisions, most recently blacking out much of the site for days when Reddit announced plans to start charging many third-party apps for access to its content. read more

Boards of directors

Martha McGill, president, Central Florida Region, Nemours Children’s Health, was appointed to the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida.

Health care

Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Andrew Everett has joined AdventHealth Medical Group and will perform procedures at AdventHealth Daytona Beach.

Law

Meagan Martin was elected to partner at BakerHostetler, Orlando.

Attorney T. Matthew Ladyman joined the law firm of Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman P.A. Winter Park, as a partner.

Real estate

Sejla Misic was hired as a marketing assistant at CrossMarc Services LLC, Winter Park.

Hugo Hernandez has joined EXIT Global Realty, Maitland, as sales associate.

Other

Brian Clark was appointed president and chief executive officer of New Hope for Kids, Maitland.

Submit professional appointments, management-level promotions and significant awards for individuals, along with photos as .jpg attachments, to peopleonmove@orlandosentinel.com.

TALLAHASSEE — A Canadian company has been paid $45 million by Florida to transport migrants out of state and provide disaster recovery services while defending itself in court against accusations of insurance fraud involving storm clean-up efforts.

ARS Global signed a contract with the Department of Emergency Management in May to provide migrant relocation services, six months after donating at least $99,980 to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ reelection campaign.

“It definitely strikes me as pay to play and awarding contracts based on campaign donations,” said Michael Barfield, lead investigator for the non-profit Florida Center for Government Accountability.

Political opponents of DeSantis have called migrant relocation flights a taxpayer-financed political stunt to bolster his failed presidential campaign’s anti-immigration platform.

Between making the DeSantis donation and getting the state contract, a storm of lawsuits were filed against ARS Global and Houston law firm McClenny Moseley & Associates, accusing them of generating huge legal fees by filing inflated damage claims for hurricane victims in Florida, Louisiana and Texas. read more