Stung by a last-minute political maneuver that pushed a bill reversing Key Westâs limits on large cruise ships across the state legislative finish line, supporters of ship restrictions were licking their wounds Thursday morning and putting their last hopes on Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto the bill.
The odds of that happening, however, may be slim. Not only has DeSantis filed a lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to force the agency to restore ship sailings in the United States, his political action committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, last month accepted 11 donations totaling $995,000 from Mark Walsh, owner of Pier B, which handles a majority of cruise ship traffic in Key West, according to a story in the Miami Herald this week. Walshâs company, Pier B Development Corp., had filed a lawsuit against Key West last year to stop ship and passenger limits referenda from being placed on the cityâs November ballot.