It has been more than a month since FDOT first painted over the Pulse rainbow crosswalk, and what might have seemed like a one-off action has turned into a drawn-out standoff. The state paints, the community responds — first with paint, then with chalk — and the cycle keeps repeating, raising questions about how much this back-and-forth is costing taxpayers.
One of the people who hasn’t let up is James Houchins. His Instagram feed has become a running timeline of the “crosswalk wars,” documenting everything from chalk rainbows to interactions with Florida State Troopers. Houchins has been at the site almost every day since August 21, often joined by a small group that makes sure someone is present both day and night.
He says the visible state police presence has decreased, though troopers still tend to check in about once an hour…