Jim Tager, a former superintendent of schools in Flagler, describes himself “privileged and inadequate to fully grasp the experiences of people in the Middle East,” but seeing his district through its prism of diversity and tolerance, he urges students and colleagues to form the kind of friendships across boundaries that enrich local and global communities.
Beyond
Ex-Volusia Council’s Heather Post Agrees to Pay $1,000 Fine Over Missed Financial Disclosure Filing
The Florida Commission on Ethics’s advocate, in a joint agreement with former Volusia County Council ember Heather post, is recommending that Post pay a $1,000 fine for failing to file her financial disclosure form for 2021 on time. The agreement also calls for Post to be publicly reprimanded and censured.
Sheriff Chitwood’s Dangerous, Irresponsible Attacks on News-Journal’s Frank Fernandez
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood’s repeated, vilifying and unjustified attacks on News-Journal reporter Frank Fernandez irresponsibly and dangerously inflame his social media base at a time when reporters’ safety is nothing to take lightly–the more so when a law enforcement chief who should know better is stoking the flames. Volusia County media should respond in concert.
St. Augustine Girls’ Team Wins Babe Ruth World Series Again
After winning the Florida State Championship, and taking home the win for the 8U (age 8 and under) division all together, St. Augustine’s the all-girls Creeks Softball team went on to win their biggest title yet — Champions of the Babe Ruth World Series – for the second year in a row.
College Football Reflects America As it Really Is: Indefensible In a Civilized World
It’s college football season in Florida and you know what that means: trash talking, martial metaphors, peculiar rituals involving animals, bizarre clothing in colors not found in nature, bad grammar, mansplaining, and racism. College football reinforces some of our least attractive stereotypes — those Black kids sure are fast! — and extreme gender roles, as well: huge dudes on the field knocking the living hell out of each other, while small (though quite athletic) women with incongruously large bows in their hair cheer them on.
Flagler County Joins St. Johns in Banning ‘Floating Structures’ Used as Unregulated Party Stores on Waterways
A month after St. Johns County did so, the Flagler County Commission last week banned all floating structures used on county rivers, lakes or inlets “like a neighborhood convenience store on the water,” as a county memo describes them, and that the county considers unregulated nuisances that at times damage the surrounding ecology.
Should You be Worried About Monster Hurricane Lee? Models and Emergency Chief Say No, But Erosion a Concern
For the last several days, Hurricane Lee, the most powerful storm of the season yet and a potential record-breaker, has been as if making a beeline for Florida, from the middle Atlantic. But models and Flagler County’s emergency management director say the hurricane in five days will make an abrupt turn north well before it comes near the Florida Peninsula. Still, the dangerous storm is expected to cause more erosion on an already weakened Flagler County shore, with hurricane season just beginning to peak.
Hurricane Idalia Makes Landfall as Cat-3 Hurricane; Local Impacts on Flagler Limited, Evacuations Rescinded
After Hurricane Idalia became an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, it made landfall as a Cat-3 in Florida’s Big Bend this morning. Effects on Flagler and Palm Coast are expected to be limited to rain and wind gusts as the storm’s track has shifted north.
Security First Insurance Accountant Samantha Rae Link Arrested in $1.5 Million Embezzlement Scheme
An investigation by the State Attorney’s Office and Ormond Beach police led to the arrest last week of Samantha Rae Link, a 31-year-old Daytona Beach resident and former accountant at Security First Insurance, on two first-degree felony counts of fraud and grand theft. The investigation revealed that Link allegedly stole $1.5 million from the Ormond Beach insurance company.
FPC Senior and Rymfire Club Staffer Jill Prime Set for Her 1st Solo Flight
Jill, a senior at Flagler Palm Coast High School, has been an inspiration for her peers and community as she actively shares her dreams and enthusiasm at the Rymfire Club. Jill is set to embark on a solo flight for the local community to witness.