The Walt Disney Company is suing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other state officials, alleging that DeSantis is harming Disney’s business operations with a targeted campaign of government retaliation. A DeSantis hand-picked board voted to dissolve the 1967 state law that was established where Disney has control over design and construction decisions of the 27,000-acre theme park near Orlando. The irony is that Disney’s private inspections are far stricter than any state safety parameters, and Disney is one of Florida’s largest employers. On any given day, there are as many as 350,000 people on the property as visitors, overnight hotel guests, and employees, plus the 55-year-old district manages the traffic, disposal of waste and mosquito control of what is actually a midsize city. DeSantis has even discussed building a state prison near Disneyland, just to show them… Hmmm. Did you know that a male dog lifts his leg to urinate in order to mark his territory? Sometimes it is called a scent-mark. The higher they lift their leg; the stronger message they think they are leaving for the next dog. I have no idea why this came to mind.

What is it you plan to do with your ONE wild and precious life? Mary Oliver

Several people have questioned me over the past few weeks about recycling. I will remind you that the Lion’s Club at LJ City Hall has a container for all soft plastic and when they get 500 pounds, they’re going to receive benches made out of the common packaging material. Now soft plastic can be many things, so if it’s plastic and you can scrunch it in your hand, it’s likely to be soft plastic and can be recycled. Dry cleaner bags, bubble wrap inside envelopes, the little plastic pull-off lid on tomato packages, grocery bags, potato bags, Ziploc bags, newspaper bags – it is endless. Once you start collecting it, you can’t stand to throw away something because you know it is NOT compostable. It will be around for a long, long, time. Is it more work than throwing it in the trash? Of course, it is more work. Anything worth doing is probably more work. Throwing something in the trash is the lazy way to be and I feel confident that at this point in time and with the information you have about the damage we are doing to the Earth; you know it’s the right thing to do. Just saying. I feel like we have to do this for the children that we are leaving with this huge mess.

A woman’s perfume tells more about her than her handwriting. – Christian Dior

Singer Willie Nelson is 90 years-old. He had one heck of a two-day birthday party last week with … Snoop Dogg, The Chicks, Keith Richards, George Strait, Leon Bridges, Gary Clark Jr., Kris Kristofferson, Tom Jones, Ziggy Marley, Warren Haynes, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Norah Jones, Rosanne Cash, Lyle Lovett, Edie Brickell, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, and so many more.  Micah Nelson, son of Willie and at age 32, one of the youngest artists on the bill, provided great insight for all ages on this milestone Willie birthday. “Honestly, I don’t think my dad would have made it to ninety without all of you,” he told the crowd. “The music is what keeps him alive, and y’all keep the music alive.” Nice.

The Little Mermaid, visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall’s live-action reimaging of the studio’s Oscar-winning animated musical classic, opens in theaters nationwide May 26, 2023. Aerosmith just announced their Farewell Tour.

Chappell Hill Lavender Farm has so many fun things to do… quilt your own tote bag, lavender growing class, painting class on the deck, and more depending on the time of year and the weather.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Saturday May 13^th. Place a bag of nonperishable food next to your mailbox and your letter carrier will handle the rest. #StampOutHunger

RECENT BIRTHDAYS:  Country singer Randy Travis is 64. Actor Talia Shire of The Godfather and Rocky is 78. Guitarist-songwriter Duane Eddy is 85. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 69. Guitarist Ace Frehley of Kiss is 72. Singer Sheena Easton is 64. Actor-singer Ann-Margret is 82. Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno is 73. TV personalities Drew and Jonathan Scott of The Property Brothers are 45. Singer Tommy James of Tommy James and the Shondells is 76. Singer Kate Pierson of the B-52′s is 75. Singer Herbie Murrell of The Stylistics is 74. Singer Gary Wright is 80. Dream Weaver.

Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 66. Actor Michelle Pfeiffer is 65. Singer Englebert Humperdinck is 87. Country singer Larry Gatlin is 75. Actor Burt Young is 83. Rocky Balboa’s brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino. Singer Merrill Osmond of The Osmonds is 70. Actor Sam Heughan of Outlander is 43.  Singer Judy Collins is 84. Someday Soon, Chelsea Morning, Turn! Turn! Turn! And her biggest success, Send in the Clowns. Singer Rita Coolidge is 78. Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 69. Singer Maurice Williams of Maurice and the Zodiacs is 85.

Folk-rock legend Gordon Lightfoot, called a lyrical storyteller, died at 84. He was a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music and is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. Lightfoot’s biographer Nicholas Jennings said, “His name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness.” Early Morning Rain, Beautiful, If You Could Read My Mind (my favorite), or the very beautiful Pussywillows, Cat Tails.

Beloved Betty White, first lady of television, and her husband Allen Ludden, bought their Brentwood home in the 60’s. It was a five-bedroom, six-bath, 3,029 sq-ft. home built in 1952, with a pool. Betty White lived there until her death December 31, 2021, at age 99. Pictures of the house showed a beautiful home, obviously not beautiful enough by today’s standards… I guess. Did I mention that it sold recently for $10.7 million dollars, then someone bulldozed it to the ground so a new house could be built. ☹ Aww.

Disgraced sex offender Harvey Weinstein (’s) former 5.7-ac. 9,000-sq-ft. Connecticut house with 550 feet of frontage on the Long Island Sound, has been demolished. He liquidated assets and the property sold for $16 million. It is now back on the market as two separate parcels of land with an asking price totaling $21-million. That’s a little more understandable.

A mom influencer is someone who gives parenting advice to other people online. It’s social media and it’s a business. They make money by how many people pay attention to them. A California “mom influencer” who claimed on Instagram in 2020 that a Latino couple tried to kidnap her two children has been convicted and could end up in jail for six months. The influencer posted a video on Instagram, adding details about the alleged “near” abduction that she had not reported to police. She said she was raising awareness. The post went viral. She even accused a couple of lingering by her car saying she was paralyzed by fear. Police released video images of the couple from surveillance, but the couple recognized themselves, came forward and denied the allegations. The mom influencer said she had misinterpreted the events. I wonder if she received enough attention.

A new bride was killed just hours after her wedding when an intoxicated 25-year-old woman driving 65-mph in a 25-mile per hour zone, crashed into a golf cart heading home after her wedding. Her husband had multiple broken bones and a brain injury requiring surgery. The driver of the car was arrested on three counts of felony DUI and one count of reckless homicide.

Former NFL player and Texas Democratic Rep. Colin Allred announced his 2024 Senate campaign against Ted Cruz. A dad caught a foul ball at a Dodgers game all while juggling a baby and his beer. It was amazing. San Francisco-based First Republic Bank became the third midsize bank to fail in two months, but FDIC approved a deal where the bank was purchased by JPMorgan Chase, and no one missed a beat.  The Disneyland 45-ft. Fantasmic Dragon caught fire during mid-show just as Micky Mouse was so close to defeating the fire-breathing dragon named Maleficent. Six workers were treated for smoke inhalation. Question: How can an undocumented person even obtain an AR-15 rifle? Texas and the US need safer gun laws.

The 2023 Met Gala… annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The event is organized by Anna Wintour, the first Monday of May (unless a pandemic hits), and celebrities and designers show off their best and sometimes craziest fashion on the red carpet. It is sometimes called the Super Bowl of Fashion. It started in 1948. Since the 70’s, the theme of the gala has centered around an accompanying exhibit or designer. This year it was a tribute to superstar designer Karl Lagerfeld who died in 2019.  Lagerfeld, known for making controversial and hurtful remarks about various topics, such as calling Adele “too fat“, expressing annoyance with #MeToo movement, saying models who complained about sexual harassment should “go to a nunnery“, even blaming Kim Kardashian for being robbed at gunpoint. His controversial beliefs sparked anger among many people after it was announced the Gala would be dedicated to him. Instead of skipping the event, some that were offended just wore pink outfits, because he hated pink. However, the Met Gala raised a record $17.4 million this year.  Obviously, many were NOT offended. Tickets to attend cost at least $30,000 to $50,000 – each. If you wanted to reserve a table, those were $275,000 to $500,000. It’s estimated the Gala costs about $3.5 million to throw. Supposedly, Yahoo paid $3 million for two tables.

James Comisar has been a collector of TV memorabilia since 1989. A massive temperature-controlled collection. Set to be auctioned is The Johnny Carson set from The Tonight Show. The bar where Sam Malone greeted customers on Cheers (he found it in studio storage with a dead skunk in it), the pink outfit that Barbara Eden wore in I Dream of Jeannie. The timeworn living room from Archie and Edith Bunker’s All in the Family. Barware from Mad Men. Tools used to cook meth on Breaking Bad. Costumes from Star Trek.  Costumes and props from the 1960s TV series Batman. Gilligan’s Island. Eventually, there is big money in the entertainment memorabilia market. Heritage Auctions.

Andy Warhol worked on an Athletes Series of portraits of sports personalities in 1977. One of them was star running back of the Buffalo Bills: O.J. Simpson, age 30, who showed up without a football or a jersey. The series included Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chris Evert, Rod Gilbert, O.J. Simpson, Pelé, Tom Seaver, Willie Shoemaker, Dorothy Hamill, and Jack Nicklaus. The Simpson work will be on display May 6-15 in NY before auction. It is estimated it will sell in the $300,000 to $500,000 range. Simpson will not have rights to any proceeds. An iconic image of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol is coming to auction in May, with Christie’s auction house estimating the sell at $200 million. The silkscreen image known as “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” a close-up of Monroe with her hair in yellow, her eyeshadow blue and her lips red. If it meets estimates, the 1964 painting would be the most expensive 20th-century artwork to be auctioned.

Freda Filipp retired from LJ post office last week. We will miss her happy, smiling face so much. Sweet Dawn retired last year, and all these years later, I still miss Joe Marshall. Thanks for reading us. Don’t forget the Kentucky Derby and the Coronation of King Charles.

Lisa

Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com