The Palm Coast City Council in rapid-fire succession Tuesday approved the final step clearing the way for four developments totaling 533 single-family homes, the final-plat approval that essentially means lots will be sold and homes built on infrastructure and according to plans that won regulatory approval several years ago. Some of the developments were more dormant than others.
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Daily Cartoon and Briefing
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, April 18, 2024
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
After Trickle of Interest, All 5 Applicants Are Appointed to Palm Coast’s ‘Drainage Advisory Committee’
Only six people applied to be members of the Palm Coast Citizens Drainage Committee, few of them part of the vocal throngs, and one withdrew before the council had a chance to make its choices. The advisory committee required a minimum of five members and at least one alternate, and could have had as many as nine members and two alternates. Given the dearth, the council had no choice but to appoint all five members when it made that decision on Tuesday.
Bunnell Man Faces 2 Felony Child Abuse Count After Accusations He Recklessly Slung Occupied RV Around
Michael Gambino, a 51-year-old resident of Hibiscus Street in Daytona North, faces two felony child abuse counts and a battery count after his family accused him of intentionally driving recklessly as he towed the RV in which his wife and her two children were huddling. His wife called police from the RV while Gambino was still driving.
School District Still Cagey About $719,000 It Lost to Fraud, But Lawsuit Possible as Details Emerge in Drips
Six months after it was defrauded of $719,000 in a conventional phishing scheme, district officials had little to disclose in an update to the school board, though about $20,000 was recovered and a board member suggested that a lawsuit may be ahead in hopes of recovering more. The money was due the construction company building the Matanzas High School addition.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
No July 4 Fireworks in Flagler Beach Until 2027, But City Intends to Reconquer the Day, and the Skies, That Year
Flagler Beach hasn’t had July 4 fireworks since 2019. It will not have them again until 2027, by which time the pier, the boardwalk and the beach will have been rebuilt, assuming hurricanes, which have a malicious mind of their own, don’t interfere. But the city is intent on staking its place as the home of July 4 fireworks in that future when it is able to host the blasts again, restoring that old tradition.
A 59-Year-Old Woman Dies After Getting Pinned By Her Rolling Car at South End of Flagler County
A 59-year-old woman lost her life when she was pinned by her rolling car on an isolated property on Strickland Road and Boice Lane at the south end of Flagler County late Monday night.
The Marcus Chamblin Trial in Pictures
A pictorial documentation of the six-day trial of Marcus Chamblin on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Deon Jenkins, featuring all the main participants and some of the evidence, traces the trial’s development from jury selection to its conclusion today (April 15), when Jenkins was found guilty and sentenced to prison.
Marcus Chamblin Found Guilty in Murder of Deon Jenkins; He Is Immediately Sentenced to Life in Prison
After deliberating for just 48 minutes, a stunningly short amount that betrayed the inevitability of the case, a jury of 12 today–eight women, four men, three of the jurors black– found Marcus Avery Chamblin guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Deon O’Neal Jenkins the morning of Oct. 12, 2019 at the Circle K off Palm Coast Parkway. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Rest Easy: Florida Law Erases and Bans All References to Climate Change
You probably think Ron DeSantis and the yahoos, grifters, simps, dolts, and dunderheads who populate the Florida Legislature are collectively incapable of solving even one of the bazillion issues facing this state. But the Legislature has figured out how to fix climate change. Your bought-and-paid-for Legislature has delivered a bill that amends Florida statutes to delete all references to climate change. Thanks to them, climate change is gone. Erased. Kaputt. Ya no es. C’est fini.
Evading Usual Bill-Signing Spectacle, DeSantis Kills Local Efforts to Protect Workers from Florida’s Brutal Heat
Gov. Ron DeSantis has quietly signed into law a measure barring local governments from requiring employers to provide workers with basic protections like shade, accessible water, and breaks from the Florida’s scorching heat and humidity.
Prosecution Stumbles to an End in Chamblin Trial for Murder as Star Witness Confounds Both Sides
The prosecution in the trial of Marcus Chamblin for the murder of Deon O’Neil Jenkins outside a Palm Coast Circle K in 2019 drew circles of circumstantial evidence around Chamblin, some of it damning, as the evidence portion of the case stumbled to an end on the fifth day of trial today. But the defense was also effective at showing the state’s flawed star witness to have lied often. The jury went home for the weekend. Closing arguments, deliberations and a verdict are expected on Monday.
Arrogance and Contempt in Palm Coast Council’s Election-Year Dash for New City Manager
The Palm Coast City Council’s rush to hire a new city manager mere months from an election that will turn over two, possibly three seats, shows mistrust of the acting manager, contempt for voters and the new council they’ll choose, and pathological arrogance on the part of current council members. The mayor knows better.
Not All Tornado Warnings Are Treated Equal, But Parents and Faculty at Indian Trails Middle Weren’t Told
A tornado warning localized to a particular area of Flagler County on Thursday but broadcast countywide on cell phones left faculty members and volunteers at Indian Trails Middle School anxious and in the dark about the school’s lack of response as the storm raged outside, or any effort to voice explanations or reassurances over the PA system: what parents and other did learn from the district was not issued until two hours after the fact.
Excavation Underway in L Section as Part of $9.2 Million London Waterway Project
The City of Palm Coast Stormwater and Engineering department began major excavation efforts as part of the $9.2 million London Waterway Expansion project, which will increase stormwater storage capacity and provide water quality benefits in the city’s London, Jefferson and Belleaire waterways, located in the city’s L and B sections.
Local Governments Ask Court to Dismiss Suit by ‘Disgruntled Citizen’ Challenging Carver Center Agreement
The three local governments and one agency that each have a role in funding or running the Carver Center in South Bunnell have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against them filed by what they call a “disgruntled citizen” who doesn’t like the Flagler County Sheriff’s Police Athletic League’s involvement at the center, and who they say has no standing to sue.
The Conversation
Israel Damaged or Destroyed 70% of Gaza’s Homes
Over a decade ago, a United Nations report described the Gaza Strip as virtually unlivable, adding that it would require “Herculean efforts” to change that. Today, after six months of bombardment, mass displacement and siege by Israel, the task of rebuilding Gaza seems practically unimaginable.
Florida and Beyond
Former Governor and Senator Bob Graham, Among Most Popular Floridians of Last 50 Years, Dies at 87
Bob Graham, a two-term Florida governor who went on to serve in the U.S. Senate and was known for his work days across the state, died Tuesday at age 87, his family announced. Graham was one of the most-popular figures in Florida politics over the past half-century. After representing part of Miami-Dade County in the state Senate, Graham was elected governor in 1978, winning a Democratic runoff and then easily defeating Republican Jack Eckerd in the general election.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Trial notes: a few thoughts about jury selection, Separation Chat, the open discussion, the Technical Review Committee and the county’s Tourist Council meet, Weekly Chess Club for Teens at the public library.
‘I’m Not black, I’m O.J.’: O.J. Simpson and the Race Trap
Simpson was charged in two murders and during the trial became the epitome of Black, male toxicity. Though acquitted – in large part because of the Los Angeles Police Department’s racist history of police brutality – his trial exposed the racial divisions within America and the deep-seated resentment that many Black people had for the U.S. criminal justice system.
Briefs and Releases
Palm Coast Honors Curtis Gray’s Memory and Proclaims Rise Above the Violence Day
County Government Cedes 13,000 Square Feet of Land to Hamock Dunes CDD for Road Improvements
Buddy Taylor Middle School Robotics Champs Earn Berth at International Competition
Democrat Ashley Brundage Launches Campaign, Would Be 1st Transgender Member of Florida Legislature If Elected
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Honored for Commitment to Hiring Military Veterans
More Florida and Beyond
DeSantis Signs Education Bill Controlling Book Challenges and Broadening Charter School Takeovers
After more than 1,200 objections were filed to school-library books and other materials last school year, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill that will limit challenges by some people. The wide-ranging bill (HB 1285) also includes making changes designed to ease the process of charter schools taking over operations at traditional public schools that lag in performance.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
The Palm Coast City Council holds a morning meeting, the Flagler Beach Library Writers’ Club meets, Erwin Rommel’s end, the unfortunate immortalizing of assassins’ names.
Trump on Trial: What the Images Might Show
Three things will be worth looking for in the visual coverage of Trump’s appearance: surprises, body language and symbolic juxtapositions. But even in the most camera-friendly jurisdictions, such as New York and Florida, photojournalists are subject to strict rules about placement and procedure.
Civilian Oversight Boards Are Now Prohibited from Investigating Police Misconduct in Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills last week that would prohibit civilian oversight boards from investigating police misconduct and stop people from getting too close to first responders doing their jobs.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, April 15, 2024
Closing arguments in Marcus Chamblin trial, tax-filing deadline, the Flagler County Commission meets, America’s disturbing taste for bad beer, a history of the drink of the gods, and John Updike’s bar.
Dunes
The Dune films remind us of just how beautiful, mysterious, expansive and changeable sand dunes can be. For centuries these wonderful landforms have filled humans with awe – and in some cases fear and foreboding – because of the apparent remoteness and risks associated with the deserts they are synonymous with.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, April 14, 2024
Whitney Lab 5K in Marineland, Daytona State College Orchestra in concert, ‘Bonnie and Clyde, the Musical,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain” and a trip to his Key West home and cats.
Yes, Efforts to Eliminate DEI Programs Are Rooted in Racism
In the past year, a number of states have begun to dismantle their DEI programs. Alabama, Utah, Texas and Florida have all passed and signed into law anti-DEI legislation ranging from prohibiting diversity training to terminating all positions associated with DEI efforts. Florida lawmakers have restricted the teaching of what they call racially “divisive” subject matter in public schools, colleges and universities. Legislatures in more than two dozen additional states are considering similar measures.
For the Homeless, Housing Works, Not Handcuffs
Too many communities are responding to rising homelessness by criminalizing the unhoused. It’s more humane and effective to house people. According to the National Homelessness Law Center, almost every state restricts the conduct of people experiencing homelessness. In Missouri, sleeping on state land is a crime. A new law in Florida bans people from sleeping on public property — and requires local governments without bed space for unhoused people to set up camps far away from public services.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, April 13, 2024
Town Hall Meeting with Palm Coast Council Member Theresa Pontieri, Palm Coast United Methodist Church Ribbon-Cutting, Easterseals Autism Awareness Event, Lebanon 49 years after.
Linda Martell: The Most Important Voice on Beyoncé’s New Album
The most important guest voice on Beyoncé’s’s album is the one least likely to be familiar to Beyoncé’s listeners: Linda Martell, the first commercially successful Black female country music artist. Two tracks on “Cowboy Carter,” “Spaghettii” and “The Linda Martell Show,” include spoken word commentary from Martell. By giving Martell a platform, Beyoncé simultaneously gives credit to her predecessor while staking her own place in the country music tradition.
Commentary
The Flood of anti-LGBTQ+ Laws Shadowing Nex Benedict’s Suicide
Nex Benedict’s death is shadowed by the sentiment and ideology behind a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws sweeping the country. In 2024 alone, various state legislatures have introduced almost 500 such bills, many of which target LGBTQ+ youth in schools. Some of these bills restrict which restrooms transgender students can use and which sports teams they can join. Others censor the information that all students receive at school about sexual orientation and gender identity.
Jon Stewart Returns to Remind America What’s at Stake
Trump lashes out when politicians and journalists bring us closer to truth. Stewart criticizes them for keeping us in the dark. To Stewart, the solutions to America’s political spectacle are political accountability and increased transparency. To Trump, the solution is far simpler: He alone can fix it.
Expressing Support for Black Lives Matter On the Job Is Now Protected Speech
A Home Depot store violated labor law when it disciplined Antonio Morales, the National Labor Relations Board ruled. Morales, a Home Depot employee in the Minneapolis area, had drawn the letters BLM on a work apron and refused to remove them. The Home Depot decision establishes an important precedent for workers who express broad concerns about systemic racism.