Tree-lighting ceremony in Palm Coast’s Central Park, Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival, Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn, artificial intelligence in a 1940 tank, Richard Powers, Don DeLillo.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Tesla’s $1 Trillion Bet on Elon Musk
$1 trillion is an absurd amount of money – even for someone who is already the richest person in the world. So how do we make sense of it? Tesla’s chair of the board Robyn Denholm warned shareholders that Musk might walk away from the company if they didn’t approve the unprecedented pay package. Shareholder confidence was no doubt buoyed by the recent rise in Tesla’s stock, with one investor describing Musk as “key” to the entire enterprise.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, November 28, 2025
Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn, at Athens Theatre, finishing up with Henry James’s “Traveling Companions” and its calvary through museums as Traveling Willburys go to the end of the line. ,
Floridians’ Anxiety Linked to Social Media Use
A study finds roughly 1 in 5 Floridians are struggling with moderate to severe anxiety, which is consistent with national statistics. Anxiety was lowest among those who use social media primarily to stay connected with family and friends. But it rose significantly among those who use social media to stay up to date with current trends and pop culture or to learn about health, fitness and beauty trends.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, November 27, 2025
Are you kidding? Nothing’s going on today! Happy Thanksgiving. Packers and Lions at 1 p.m., Cowboys and Chiefs at 4:30, Bengals and Ravens at 8:20, and right now, a little traveling companionship with Henry James.
How the Plymouth Pilgrims Took Over Thanksgiving
Nine in 10 Americans gather around a table to share food on Thanksgiving. Popular interpretations of Thanksgiving also have also pulled us apart. The emphasis on the Pilgrims’ 1620 landing and 1621 feast erased a great deal of religious history and narrowed conceptions of who belongs in America – at times excluding groups such as Native Americans, Catholics and Jews.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Not much happening today as the country shuts down for Thanksgiving. A look at Kingsport, Tennessee, and the old Kingsport Press, which used to bound and print some of the country’s leading authors’ works.
The Limits of the 1st Amendment on Campus
American colleges and universities are increasingly firing or punishing professors and other employees for what they say, whether it’s on social media or in the classroom. For decades, American colleges and universities have traditionally encouraged free speech and open debate as a core part of their academic mission. But the First Amendment only applies to the government – which includes public colleges and universities – and not private institutions or companies, including private colleges and universities.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry, Keep the Holiday Lights On, a fond look back at City Repertory Theatre’s “Around the World in 80 Days,” and a full-length look at the miniseries.
The Trump Administration’s Craven ‘Peace Plan’ for Ukraine
The Trump administration on Nov. 20, 2025, formally presented Ukraine with a 28-point proposal to end the war, and President Donald Trump announced the country had until Thanksgiving to sign it. The Trump administration was accused by policy experts and some lawmakers of fashioning a plan to serve Russia’s interests, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio got enmeshed in an argument with U.S. senators over whether the U.S. or Russia had authored the document.
Bill Cotterell, an ‘Institution’ in Political Coverage and a Long-Time Columnist, Dies
Bill Cotterell, a reporter and columnist who covered Florida government and politics for more than four decades with a blend of doggedness and humor, died Monday as he tried to recover at a rehabilitation center from norovirus and a bleeding ulcer. Cotterell, 82, who for the past two years wrote a once-a-week column for The News Service of Florida that was distributed statewide, was a newshound. He could be curmudgeonly and sometimes wasn’t politically correct. But he also stood behind the First Amendment and tried to tell the truth about what was happening in government.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, November 24, 2025
The Bunnell City Commission meets at its new City Hall on Commerce Parkway, Donors Wanted to ‘Keep the Holiday Lights On’, a man’s message to ICE, Dostoevsky at 59, explaining the Cloudflare outage.
For All the DEI Bluster, White Americans Are Still Privileged
If discrimination against white Americans were widespread, you might expect large numbers to report being treated unfairly. But polling data shows otherwise. A 2025 Pew survey found that 70% of white Americans think Black people face “some” or “a lot” of discrimination in general, and roughly two-thirds say the same of Asian and Hispanic people. Meanwhile, only 45% of white Americans believe that white people in general experience that degree of discrimination.
How DeSantis Demolished Florida’s New College
New College of Florida is on its intellectual deathbed. Once an authority-challenging, free-thinking institution for students passionate about learning, a place where difference was celebrated and creativity encouraged. Now, it is becoming a third-rate jock school with over-paid administrators and under-achieving freshmen, a casualty of Ron DeSantis’ culture wars.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, November 23, 2025
Clay Jones returns, “Around the World in 80 Days” at City Rep Theatre, Gamble Jam, Patrick Chappatte reports on the American resistance.
The Future of Watchdog Journalism
At the University of Florida’s College of Journalism & Communications, part of my research involves unpacking the importance of decentralized networks of local outlets that cover stories from underrepresented areas of the country. Pablo Torre’s work as a clear example of the growing need for this kind of bottom-up, citizen journalism – particularly given media industry trends.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, November 22, 2025
‘Around the World in 80 Days’ at City Rep Theatre in Palm Coast, City Manager Dale Martin is the special guest at Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, Peps Art Walk, the selected letters of John Updike.
Political Violence: When the 1st and 2nd Amendment Duel
The assassination in September 2025 of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has heightened attention on the relationship between political rhetoric and political violence. But while gun proliferation complicates the problem by making political violence much easier to carry out, suppressing political rhetoric, even through social norms rather than law, undermines the discussion, debate and constructive disagreement essential for a healthy democracy.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, November 21, 2025
Free For All Fridays with Host David Ayres talks Keep the Holidays Lights on with Flagler Cares, ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ at City Rep Theatre, Voltaire’s birthday and night thoughts.
Hormone Replacement Therapy and Menopause: Why the FDA Removed the Warning Label
For more than 20 years, hormone therapy for menopause has carried a warning label from the Food and Drug Administration describing the medication’s risk of serious harms – namely, cancer, cardiovascular disease and possibly dementia. No longer. On Nov. 10, 2025, the FDA announced that drugmakers should remove these “black box” safety warnings. Here’s how the decision will affect health care for people going through menopause or postmenopause.
FPL Customers Face $6.9 Billion Rate Increase in 4 Years as Regulators Approve Controversial ‘Settlement’
The Florida Public Service Commission approved a four-year settlement with Florida Power & Light Thursday for about $6.9 billion, which opponents claim is the largest rate hike in U.S. history. FPL says that in 2026, its “typical” 1,000-kWh residential customer bill in most of Florida will increase by $2.50 a month, or about 2%, from the existing $134.14 to $136.64. There would be additional increases in 2027, 2028 and 2029.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Town of Marineland Commission Meeting, Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond, Scott DuPont at the Flagler County courthouse, Al Pacino at the Criminal Courts Building in Baltimore Bertrand Russell on human impulses.
About That Bill Gates Climate Memo
Shortly before COP30 talks begin in Brazil, tech billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates has launched a “narrative grenade” into the discourse of climate politics by publishing a lengthy memo calling for a rethink of how the climate crisis is framed and addressed. Gates calls for a “strategic pivot” in climate strategy. That appears to have hit a nerve. Both social and traditional media were ablaze with erroneous assertions about Gates’ supposed reversal of opinion on climate change.
DeSantis Signs 19th Death Warrant of the Year, for 1987 Double-Murderer Frank Walls, 58
In what could be Florida’s record 19th execution this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a death warrant for an inmate convicted in the 1987 murders of two people in a home in Okaloosa County. Frank Walls, 58, is scheduled to be executed Dec. 18 in the murders of Edward Alger and Ann Peterson. The warrant came as the state prepares to execute Richard Barry Randolph on Thursday and is slated to execute Mark Allen Geralds on Dec. 9.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Leigha Mumby in court, Jean Stafford’s “The Echo and the Nemesis,” Flagler Tiger Bay’s monthly lunch, The Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board meets, a 1969 Dick Cavett monologue.
Frank Rizzo, Philadelphia’s Toughest Cop Maga Harbinger
In August 2025, the city of Philadelphia agreed to return a statue of Frank Rizzo to the supporters that commissioned the memorial in 1992. The 2,000-pound bronze tribute to the former police commissioner-turned-mayor had stood in front of the city’s Municipal Services Building from 1998 until 2020, when then-mayor Jim Kenney ordered it removed days after protesters attempted to topple it during the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd.
Judge Rejects City’s Challenge to Controversial Home-Rule-Smothering Law Known as SB180
An administrative law judge Tuesday rejected Ocoee’s challenge to a decision by the Florida Department of Commerce that changes to a city comprehensive plan were “null and void” because of a controversial new state law. The law, passed during this spring’s legislative session, has drawn criticism from cities and counties throughout Florida and two constitutional challenges in Leon County circuit court.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
The Palm Coast City Council meets at 9 a.m. at City Hall. It is voting on a new city manager, groundbreaking for SMA Healthcare’s new facility on Justice Lane in Bunnell, Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry, Elsa Morante on Mussolini, and ICE.
Climate Models Got These 5 Ominous Forecasts Right
Critiques of climate science, such as the report written for the Department of Energy by a panel in 2025, often point to this complexity to argue that these models are too uncertain to help us understand present-day warming or tell us anything useful about the future. But the history of climate science tells a different story.
Justice Charles Canady Resigning Florida Supreme Court Seat for UF Civics Post
The longest-serving current member of the Florida Supreme Court, Justice Charles Canady, is leaving the bench to join the University of Florida as director of the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education. Canady — whose wife, state Rep. Jennifer Canady, is in line to become state House speaker in 2028 — announced his departure Monday, calling it a “great privilege to serve the people of Florida as a justice” for the past 17 years.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, November 17, 2025
Palm Coast Charter Review Committee meets, the Mosquito Control Board meets, the Flagler County Commission meets, Voltaire and Casanova meet and talk Trump, Christopher Weyant on a distant return to normal.
Can We All Quit Coal?
Coal is the dirtiest source of fossil fuel energy and a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, making it bad not just for the climate but also for human health. That makes it a good target for cutting global emissions. A swift drop in coal use is the main reason U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell in recent years as natural gas and renewable energy became cheaper.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, November 16, 2025
‘Around the World in 80 Days’ at City Rep Theatre, 3 p.m., Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town,’ at Limelight Theatre in St. Augustine, Grace Community Food Pantry from noon to 3 p.m., John Cheever’s first story in The New Yorker.
Social Media’s Value: A Lifeline for Many Abused and Neglected Young People
social media has become a crucial outlet for young people to disclose abuse, connect with peers who’ve had similar experiences, and learn about safety strategies. In the midst of growing concerns about social media harming young people, its platforms offer important benefits for some vulnerable youth.
Federal Judge Denies Reinstatement of FWC Biologist Fired Over Charlie Kirk Post
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker’s ruling Thursday came in a lawsuit filed by biologist Brittney Brown, who worked for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, alleging that her Sept. 15 firing — five days after Kirk was shot during an appearance at a Utah university — violated her First Amendment rights. Brown sought a preliminary injunction to require the commission to reinstate her. While Walker’s order sided with state officials in denying a preliminary injunction, he also indicated that a decision about reinstating the fired employee could change if more information is provided to bolster Brown’s arguments.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, November 15, 2021
‘Around the World in 80 Days’ at City Rep Theatre, the Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Democratic Women’s Club meeting, a confederacy of crocodile tears, Casanova on what to keep private.
Florida’s 1,100 Natural Springs Are Under Threat
North and central Florida comprise one of the largest concentrations of freshwater springs in the world. Many of these springs provide a home to a variety of wild animals and plants. But they are also canaries in the coal mine for Florida’s groundwater system, because they draw upon the same groundwater that many Floridians depend on for drinking water, farm irrigation and industrial use. Right now, many Florida springs suffer from reduced flow and habitat loss, as well as excessive algae and heavy pressure from human use.
State Kills Bryan Jennings, 66, For Kidnapping, Rape and Murder of Rebecca Kunash, 6, in 1979
More than 46 years after he kidnapped, raped and murdered a 6-year-old girl in Brevard County, Bryan Frederick Jennings was put to death by lethal injection Thursday evening at Florida State Prison. Jennings was convicted of murdering Rebecca Kunash on May 11, 1979, in Merritt Island. A 1986 sentencing order said Jennings in the early morning hours went to the window of the child’s bedroom and saw her asleep.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, November 14, 2021
‘Around the World in 80 Days’ at City Rep Theatre, Flagler Schools College and Career Fair, Flagler Outreach Brings Social Service Providers to Cattleman’s Hall, Long Island City then and now.
Age-Verification Laws Are Threatening Free Speech
In Florida and around the world, large swathes of the open web are being replaced by walled gardens. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Texas’s age restriction law. Twenty-one other states have similar laws in place, and more have been proposed. Australia restricts young people’s access not just to specific websites, but to all social media, and it will soon extend this to search engines.
Florida Board Approves Hard-Right Heritage Foundation’s Sweepingly Ideological Education Manifesto
Florida education leaders on Thursday approved a set of principles that would teach a conservative-backed vision of the United States. The State Board of Education, which also approved social-studies changes intended to highlight ideological evils of communism, signed off on Florida becoming the first state to adopt the Heritage Foundation’s “Phoenix Declaration: An American Vision for Education.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, November 13, 2025
The Flagler Beach City Commission considers the annexation of Veranda Bay and Summertown, Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series, rich and miserable, a snapshot of SNAP.
Millions Are Losing Food Aid Even with Shutdown Ending
The roughly 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps did not receive their November 1 SNAP benefits as the government shutdown dragged on. Lawmakers have now negotiated an end to the shutdown. But the threat to the nation’s primary nutrition assistance program is far from over. As the government reopens, millions will still lose access to food assistance starting almost immediately.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, November 12, 2025
A hearing in the bankruptcy sale of Marineland Dolphin Adventure is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Delaware federal bankruptcy court, TPO committee meeting, on matters of Augustine and the soul, a Schubert Impromptu.
How Ron DeSantis Made Florida #1 in State-Sponsored Killing
Florida has executed 15 prisoners in 2025 – the most ever in a single year since 1976, when a brief national moratorium on the death penalty was lifted. Two of the five remaining executions scheduled for 2025 are set to happen in Florida. Texas and Alabama are tied for a distant second, with five executions each.
What Is Peer Review?
Versions of peer review have been around for centuries. But the modern form – anonymous, structured and managed by journal editors – took hold after World War II. Today, it is central to how scientific publishing works, and nowhere more so than health, nursing and medicine. Research that survives review is more likely to be trusted and acted upon by health care practitioners and their patients.
Federal Judge Skeptical of Florida Agency’s Case for Firing Biologist Over Charlie Kirk Sarcasm
Attorneys for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the agency fired biologist Brittney Brown to “prevent foreseeable disruption” after Brown reposted a sarcastic social media post about Charlie Kirk’s endorsement of occasional mass shootings if it’s the price of protecting the Second Amendment. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker was skeptical of the state’s defense: “Just because something’s inappropriate or controversial, how is it not covered by the First Amendment?” Walker asked.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Joint Veterans Day Ceremony and Parade, 10 a.m. in Bunnell, Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry, Democrats cave, Nina Simone’s Mississippi Goddamn, Balzac on cowardice.
Arctic Wildlife Is At Risk Again
The largest tract of public land in the United States is a wild expanse of tundra and wetlands stretching across nearly 23 million acres of northern Alaska. It’s called the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, but despite its industrial-sounding name, the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, or NPR-A, is much more than a fuel depot. Tens of thousands of caribou feed and breed in this area, which is the size of Maine. Migratory birds flock to its lakes in summer, and fish rely on the many rivers that crisscross the region. It is about to get opened up to industrial exploitation.
In Surrender, 7 Democratic Senators Join Most Republicans to End Shutdown
Seven U.S. Senate Democrats and one independent joined Republicans on Sunday night in advancing legislation to reopen the government and temporarily keep it afloat until the end of January, after a record-breaking shutdown that began Oct. 1.






















































