Politics
A fight over a Mario keychain
Inside an Epic Universe gift shop just after Christmas, Jacksonville mom Nikki Daou sensed her special needs daughter was on the verge of a meltdown.
The little girl, who is severely autistic, clutched a $16 Mario Brother keychain. Daou jumped into action — she and her daughter went outside, the child still holding the knick-knack, to calm down by the store’s entrance. Her husband ripped off the barcode price tag and stood in line to buy it along the rest of their souvenirs.
What happened next made her feel like a criminal, Daou said.
A plainclothes Universal security officer accused Daou of shoplifting and Daou was later interrogated for about 30 minutes in a private security office. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office was called in. Then Daou and her family were booted from the park and given a one-year trespass ban from Universal theme parks.
Three days later, Daou received a letter from a Universal attorney warning she faces a civil claim against her and threatened possible criminal action for retail theft. The letter demanded Daou send $200 to a law office in New York.
But the situation quickly escalated further because Daou works as a litigation paralegal for Morgan & Morgan, a powerful attorney firm with deep roots in Orlando.
This week, Daou’s boss Rick Block, who is now her lawyer, sent his own demand letter to Universal asking for the trespass to be revoked and Universal make a sizable donation to a charity helping people with autism. Block also wants Universal to pay his growing legal bill representing Daou which Block said he planned to donate to charity as well.
“The Daous aren’t asking for anything for them,” Block said, calling it “just beyond abhorrent” for Universal to threaten the family since there is no intent behind the alleged theft, so Universal has no legal claims against her.
When asked if he was going to sue Universal, Block said, “I don’t know what we’re going to do. The first thing we’re going to do is listen.”
“To their credit” a Universal litigation attorney reached out and responded to Block’s lengthy letter expressing his anger about how Daou family was treated. Universal and Morgan & Morgan are going to talk this coming week, Block said.
Universal did not respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon for this story.
The misunderstanding over a keychain raises deeper questions about how Universal responds to situations with people with disabilities and whether theme park employees are properly trained to work with visitors with autism, Daou and Block said.
Daou and her husband traveled to Orlando to celebrate their daughter’s 7th birthday.
The girl requires full-time support and full-support supervision. She struggles to communicate, often requiring a device to talk. She repeats the same words over and over. She missed Kindergarten this year so she is being homeschooled and continuing to get therapy that began at age 2. When she gets overstimulated, she can suffer a meltdown, hitting her head on the floor, flapping her arms, out of control.
In other ways, she is like any other kid — she likes the thrill of roller coasters and going to water parks.
Throwing a birthday party didn’t make sense since the child doesn’t have friends, Daou said.
The little girl’s autism makes her hyperfixated on things, and she is infatuated with everything Mario.
“She’s got Mario pajamas, she’s got Mario’s slippers,” Daou said. “She’s got all the toys and we bought her all the figurines for Christmas.”
So the family decided to go to Epic Universe to see Super Nintendo World for the special birthday trip and notified Universal Guest Services about the child’s disability. They were informed Universal uses facial recognition so all employees would be informed about her autism to help them and that they could get scheduled times to ride attractions to avoid waiting in lines.
What made the trip also more challenging was Daou’s husband himself was in a wheelchair. He had been hurt in a car crash with a semi-tractor trailer.
But things have never been easy for the Daous, who have four daughters. They were determined to spoil their soon-to-be-7-year-old for her birthday. If they always stay home, they always miss out, the mother said.
“Our life is constantly in chaos and we just learned to roll with it,” Daou said.
Saving Super Nintendo World for nighttime, that’s when the trip fell apart inside the gift shop.
“She started slapping her hands and I could tell that a meltdown was about to come on,” Daou said. “In these situations, I try to get in front of them because once she has the meltdown, you can’t stop it at that point.”
Daou’s husband went to check out and buy the keychain. Within a minute of separating, as Daou stood outside the entrance, a security officer tapped her and said, “Excuse me. We saw you didn’t pay for that,” and tried to grab the keychain from the child, according to Daou’s account.
Daou said she tried to explain the misunderstanding and that husband was in line to buy it and her daughter has disabilities.
“Well, that is not how this works,” the security officer told her, according to Daou who was soon escorted to the security office with the rest of her family.
Adding insult to injury, as they were kicked out of the park, they couldn’t find their parked car.
The next day, instead of going to Universal’s Volcano Bay water park, they drove straight home, her daughter’s birthday celebration ruined.
The appointment, Kevin Mason, is an alumnus of University of West Florida.
The University of West Florida (UWF) Board of Trustees is getting a new member while another is returning to the panel for continued service.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this month that he’s appointed Kevin Mason to the panel that oversees policy for UWF. DeSantis also reappointed Paul Bailey to the Board of Trustees for the campus located in Florida’s Panhandle.
Mason is an alumnus of UWF where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from the school. Mason is also steeped in business.
Mason is the CEO and Co-Founder of Acentria Insurance which is based in Destin. The company now has offices and services throughout the Southeast United States and has grown to about 50 locations. Mason was also a Producer and Managing Partner of the North Florida Operations for the Insurance Office of America.
Bailey will return to the board following the reappointment. Bailey is a lawyer for Welton Law Firm. Welton is based in Crestview and provides multiple legal services.
Bailey is also a registered firearms instructor with the National Rifle Association. He’s also an Adjunct Professor at Pensacola Christian College. Bailey earned his pre-law bachelor’s degree from that school and went on to get his law degree from Regent University.
The UWF Board of Trustees has 13 members that sit on the panel.The board is the governing body for the institution. Florida’s Governor appoints six of those members while the board itself votes on appointments for the other five members.
The President of the Faculty Senate occupies one of those seats while another is held by the President of the Student Government Association.
The UWF campus had a student enrollment of nearly 16,000 as of Fall Semester.
The appointment and reappointment named by DeSantis still have to get final approval by the Florida Senate.
When people think about the economic engines of Sarasota and Bradenton, they often point to tourism, health care, construction, or the arts. Each sector is essential to the region’s identity and prosperity. But another driver of economic vitality exists — one that is stable, scalable, and compounding year after year — sitting on Sarasota Bay.
That driver is New College of Florida.
As Chief of Staff and Vice President of Finance and Administration, my role requires evaluating how public investment translates into real outcomes for students, families, employers, and communities. From that vantage point, New College’s economic trajectory in recent years is notable not only for its growth but for the clarity of its return.
According to a recent independent economic impact analysis, New College’s direct economic impact grew from $61.2 million in fiscal year 2023 to $104.5 million in 2025, a 71% increase in just two years. With responsible enrollment growth and continued strategic investment, direct impact is projected to reach $159.6 million by 2027–2028 and $270.9 million by 2033–2034 — more than 400% growth over a decade.
Those numbers are significant, but they tell only part of the story.
When indirect and induced effects are included — local spending by students, employees, visitors, and vendors — the regional impact becomes even more compelling. In 2024–2025, New College generated a total economic impact of $209.1 million. That figure is projected to rise to $319.2 million by 2027–2028 and to approximately $542 million annually by 2033–2034.
This growth reflects deliberate choices: strengthening academic programs, investing in campus infrastructure, and aligning the college’s mission with Florida’s workforce and civic priorities. Today, New College educates more students, attracts more talent, and draws more families, visitors, and investment into the Sarasota–Bradenton region than at any point in its history.
Universities also provide something increasingly rare in a volatile economy: permanence. They do not relocate when markets fluctuate. They create long-term jobs, attract research funding, and generate consistent demand for housing, services, and cultural amenities. Every student who chooses New College represents years of local economic participation, often followed by long-term residency and workforce contribution. More than 1,100 New College alumni live in Sarasota today, reinforcing the institution’s lasting imprint on the region.
Higher education remains one of the most reliable vehicles for public return on investment. Independent analysis shows New College delivers substantial returns on a relatively modest public investment. That is not theoretical. It is measurable, repeatable, and already underway.
Geography amplifies that impact. Situated between Sarasota and Bradenton, New College functions as a connective institution and a key driver of cross-county collaboration, supporting a truly regional economy. Students live, work, intern, and volunteer throughout both communities. Faculty and staff serve on nonprofit boards, contribute to civic leadership, and support local businesses across Sarasota and Manatee counties.
This is where investment matters most.
Institutions either capitalize on momentum or allow it to stall. Every additional dollar invested in New College does not simply preserve what exists; it multiplies regional return. Enrollment growth drives housing demand. Academic programs strengthen workforce pipelines. Campus development supports local contractors and suppliers. A thriving public liberal arts college enhances the region’s ability to attract employers who value talent, innovation, and quality of life.
Communities that transformed their economic futures — Austin, Pittsburgh, Raleigh — did not do so by accident. They made sustained, disciplined commitments to higher education as a cornerstone of growth. Sarasota and Bradenton face that same choice today.
From my seat overseeing budgets, strategy, and long-term planning, one conclusion is clear: New College of Florida is not a cost center. It is a growth engine. The returns are visible in the data, evident in neighborhoods, and reflected in the people who choose to live, work, and build their futures here.
When Florida invests in New College and regional leaders align on its continued growth, the result is not incremental benefit but compounding value. The impact is durable. The returns are shared. The opportunity is substantial.
That is not optimism.
That is strategy.
___
Christie Fitz-Patrick is Chief of Staff and Vice President of Finance and Administration at New College of Florida.
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