Flagler’s 10.3% Unemployment Is Lowest Since August 2008, Florida’s Matches 7.7% U.S. Rate

FlaglerLive | March 29, 2013

Flagler County’s unemployment rate fell sharply in February, to 10.3 percent–from 11 percent the previous month–and matched its lowest level since August 2008. Florida’s unemployment rate also continued to fall, matching the national rate, at 7.7 percent, in February while adding 7,800 jobs.

Flagler continues to rank among the counties with the highest unemployment rate, more »

Sex, Drugs, Tombs and Magical Thinking in 3 Dazzling Shows at City Repertory Theatre

FlaglerLive | March 29, 2013

Three weekends, three one-person shows, three experiences that will shock, touch and awe as John Sbordone directs “Sex Drugs, Rock & Roll,” “The Year of Magical Thinking” and “Spoon River” in a whirlwind of triple performances through March 31.

Friend of the Court: How Anthony Lewis Influenced the Justices He Covered

FlaglerLive | March 27, 2013

To a remarkable degree, Anthony Lewis, who covered the Supreme Court for the New York Times, set the agenda, and established the arguments for all that was to follow during the constitutional revolution of the Earl Warren court.

Exonerated Death Row Inmates Tell Flagler Beach Group of an Enduring Florida Injustice

FlaglerLive | March 23, 2013

In turns moving, startling and informative, a day-long workshop on the death penalty in Flagler Beach, featuring two exonerated men, urged an assembly of 60 to more actively get involved in a movement to abolish capital punishment in Florida.

In the Trenches: Anger and Questions From Doctors Who Treat Gunshot Victims

FlaglerLive | March 22, 2013

In Colorado, where more people die from gunshots than car crashes, the victims have a profound effect on the physicians who treat them. For some of the doctors on the front lines, the experiences lead to a strong opposition to guns, questions about gun laws and even activism.

One Nation, Without a Clue

FlaglerLive | March 21, 2013

If our generations had been around in the 1930s, we’d still be in the Great Depression with prominent lawmakers telling each other we need a smaller government, argues Donald Kaul.

Bunnell Manager Armando Martinez’s Bid for Satellite Beach Job Falls Short

FlaglerLive | March 21, 2013

Bunnell City Manager Armando Martinez was one of four finalists for the city manager’s job, but Satellite Beach hired Courtney Harris, a local resident, Thursday evening. Martinez said he was happy either way.

St. Johns Sting Operation Leads to 15 Arrests of Men Solicting Underage Sex

FlaglerLive | March 20, 2013

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office arrested 15 men in five days last week in a sting operation targeting individuals soliciting minors for sex. The operation was called “Operation No Soliciting. Arrests included one suspect from Flagler County, Vyacheslav Azarov, 43, from Palm Coast.

Furloughs Hit Florida National Guard and Anti-Drug Programs as Sequester Spreads

FlaglerLive | March 19, 2013

The furloughs of 993 uniformed guardsmen, which will effectively cut their pay 20 percent, will carry through the wildfire season and into the heart of hurricane season and could affect the Guard’s ability to respond to disasters.

Sarah Palin in Lakeland: Locking and Loading Assault Weapons With Jesus

FlaglerLive | March 18, 2013

Sarah Palin urged her faithfuls to “cling to your god, your guns, your Constitution,” a seamless ideology that would have Jesus waving the American flag with one hand and clicking off the safety of his assault rifle with the other, writes Cary McMullen.

Missing Memorials to Two Lost Wars

Pierre Tristam | March 17, 2013

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, but as Iraq and Afghanistan have been lost, the focus of memorials has shifted from wars to the cult of the soldiers, while victims of war are as always passed over in silence.

Argentina’s Jorge Mario Bergoglio is Francis I, Church’s First Non-European Pope, Post-Columbus

FlaglerLive | March 13, 2013

76-year-old Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires is the first-ever South American pope, the first non-European pope in a millennium, and the first-ever pope to name himself Francis (Francis I), after St. Francis, patron saint of the poor.

How Mom’s Death Changed My Thinking About End-of-Life Care

FlaglerLive | March 2, 2013

None of his years of reporting had prepared Charles Ornstein for this moment, this decision–whether, and when, to let his mother die. In fact, he began to question some of his assumptions about the health-care system.

From Bankruptcy to Granny Nannies: Navigating the Shoals of Long-Term Care

FlaglerLive | February 27, 2013

Long-term care insurance is expensive, but the costs of long-term care are far more so. The experiences of local residents and businesses contending ding with reality almost everyone will eventually face illustrate the dilemmas of aging in a society with a meager safety net. A special report.

What Researchers Learned About Gun Violence Before Congress Killed Funding

FlaglerLive | February 26, 2013

President Obama has directed the Centers for Disease Control to research gun violence as part of his legislative package on gun control. The CDC hasn’t pursued this kind of research since 1996 when the National Rifle Association lobbied Congress to cut funding for it.

Where Obama’s Drone War May Have Gone Too Far: Targeting U.S. Citizens

FlaglerLive | February 24, 2013

The Justice Department memo on targeting U.S. citizens references a “broader concept of imminence,” which it holds “does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future.”

From Guernica to Who Gives a Damn: Modern Warfare’s Droning Savagery

FlaglerLive | February 22, 2013

There was a time when people could actually be shocked by the slaughter of civilians during a war. No more. We kid ourselves that our warfare is moral and clean and good and that it’s the other guys who commit the war crimes. Don’t believe it, argues Donald Kaul.

Rubio’s Rebuttal: A GOP Disaster Reminiscent of Romney, With Hispanic Hues

FlaglerLive | February 20, 2013

The performance by Florida’s junior senator following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union was an epic failure, argues Rhonda Swan. If Marco Rubio is the savior of the Republican Party, members of the GOP should start looking for their lifeboats.

Short Skirts, and How Fatherhood Is Changing My Politics

FlaglerLive | February 18, 2013

Since having a baby, Peter Schorsch finds himself agreeing more with Rick Santorum and less with Beyoncé, whose short-skirt performance at the Super Bowl left his tongue hanging, but not out of desire. He has a daughter to think about.

Zero Dark Thirty’s Tortured, Losing Premise

FlaglerLive | February 17, 2013

Zero Dark Thirty is a movie the CIA wants you to see. Torture is illegal under U.S. and international law and it is utterly immoral. It doesn’t “work,” but that’s beside the point to the movie-makers, argues Chris Toensing. The result is disturbing for all the wrong reasons.

This Is London: Of Returning to England After 34 Years of Happy Exile

FlaglerLive | February 16, 2013

Making a return trip to England to celebrate a brother’s 50th birthday, after a 34-year absence, is occasion for reflection about the meaning of time, an unlikely vacation and the most seductive sounds of a train announcer anywhere in the world.

Flagler Fire Flight and Other Strike Teams Helping Volusia Battle Blaze Near County Line

FlaglerLive | February 11, 2013

What started as a controlled burn near Barberville in northwest Volusia County went out of control this afternoon, growing first to 100 acres, then possibly doubling in size by 4:30 p.m., according to Flagler County Fire Chief Don Petito. The fire was sending smoke and the familiar, acrid smell of burning brush wafting over portions of Palm Coast and Bunnell.

Rather Than Allow Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance, Lake Board Plans Ban on All Clubs

FlaglerLive | February 9, 2013

A group of students at Carver Middle School in Lake County, Fla. have tried to establish a GSA, saying the student-led club is needed to address name-calling, bullying and harassment in school. In response to the students request, the Lake County School Board has begun the process of banning every non-curricular club at every school in the district rather than follow their legal obligation to recognize the GSA at Carver Middle School.

School Security’s Buy-A-Cop Delusions

FlaglerLive | February 3, 2013

The Flagler County School board this week will debate adoption of a new security plan that includes adding armed cops in elementary schools. The approach would be costly, ineffective, and more emotional than intelligent. Smarter approaches–and far greater priorities–abound.

Rep. DeSantis, Claiming to “Reject” Federal Pension Benefit, Misleads and Exaggerates

FlaglerLive | January 29, 2013

It is illegal for members of Congress not to participate in the retirement system U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis (who represents Flagler) said he was rejecting. He is, in fact, not rejecting it, but claims will decline cashing the checks if and when he becomes eligible for them. It is only one of several misleading statements in an announcement this week.

To Combat Bullying, Middle School Student Wants Gay-Straight Alliance, But Officials Balk

FlaglerLive | January 23, 2013

As Flagler County schools continues to grapple with bullying through various forums, middle school student Bayli Silberstein in Leesburg sees a Gay-Straight-Alliance club at her school as one measure against bullying–but school officials have so far resisted, in sharp contrast with their admission of other clubs, such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Obama II

FlaglerLive | January 21, 2013

Far from a dud, as these second inaugurals tend to be, Obama’s today was bracing in its realism, and hopeful, ironically, for having finally shed the imagery of hope for hope’s sake, replacing it with an agenda for equality, little heard of since the days of the New Deal and the Great Society.

“We Cannot Walk Alone…
We Cannot Turn Back”

FlaglerLive | January 21, 2013

Full text and video of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” a brief history of the origins and battles of the Martin Luther King federal holiday, and of the Martin Luther King monument at the Washington Mall.

The Thanks and Reverence We Owe Undocumented Immigrants

FlaglerLive | January 20, 2013

We’ve admitted that these immigrants aren’t going away. Let’s admit our co-dependence, let’s restore their dignity, and America’s, and admit that illegal immigration is as American as apple pie, if not as American as empanadas.