CV NEWS FEED // The administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis will light the state’s historic Sunshine Skyway Bridge in red, white, and blue throughout June – instead of the usual rainbow colors representing LGBTQ “Pride” Month.
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Secretary Jared W. Perdue announced on X (formerly Twitter) last week that bridges throughout the state will soon be lit in patriotic colors.
“As Floridians prepare for Freedom Summer, Florida’s bridges will follow suit, illuminating in red, white, and blue from Memorial Day through Labor Day!” Perdue wrote in a May 8 post. “Thanks to the leadership of [DeSantis], Florida continues to be the freest state in the nation.”
County-level officials also reportedly played a role in the decision to scrap a years-long practice of lighting the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the colors of the “pride” flag throughout June.
“Because the Skyway touches Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, the FDOT has made it policy that light displays have to be approved by all three county commissions,” Bay News 9 reported Wednesday:
According to the [Tampa Bay] Times, Manatee Commission Chairman Mike Rahn expressed opposition for lights celebrating Pride month, saying in a February email he “will not be approving lighting of the Skyway for Pride Month or National Gun Violence Awareness Day.”
Instead, the state will have three months of patriotic lights on the bridge.
Bay News 9 indicated that FDOT “regularly receives requests to light up the bridge.” Per the local news source, the Skyway was recently “lit in yellow and blue for Ukraine support, blue and white for Israel support and special colors for breast cancer, autism and mental health awareness.”
An article in the left-wing media outlet The Daily Beast stated that the Skyway’s “Pride light display took place each of the last three years with little outcry” and “tourists and locals alike have flocked to the bridge to photograph shows put on by its LED lights since they were installed in 2019 at a cost of $15 million.”
On a similar note, Tampa-based NBC affiliate WFLA claimed in a widely-panned report Wednesday that the Skyway “is going dark for Pride Month.”
WFLA’s writeup neglected to mention that the bridge will instead be lit in patriotic colors – until the eighth paragraph.
The local news station’s X post of the article even received a fact check from the platform’s popular feature Community Notes.
“It is not true that ‘Tampa Bay’s iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge is going dark,’” stated the Community Notes on the post. “It will be lit up in red, white & blue.”
DeSantis Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern commented: “WFLA called out for their lie with a great community note.”
The Skyway is a four-mile-long series of bridges that crosses the southern part of Tampa Bay, connecting Manatee County with the city of St. Petersburg. Opened in 1987, it is well known for its unique cable-stayed design.
DeSantis announced the 2024 Florida Freedom Summer initiative late last month. He detailed the plan in an April 30 X post.
As a part of the initiative, the state’s “families will be able to visit all Florida state parks for free on Memorial Day weekend,” he wrote.
In addition, the governor specified that he is “lifting the sales tax on recreational items throughout the month of July up to a price cap.”
Many of the items that will be temporarily tax-free in the state are geared toward families and children: pool supplies and equipment, bicycles, grills, fishing supplies, camping supplies, and admissions to a wide variety of events such as concerts, movies, museums, sporting events, and fairs.
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