Three days before his jury trial on a first-degree murder charge that could have resulted in a prison term for life if he were found guilty, Tyrese Patterson, 23, pleaded to second degree murder in the January 2022 shooting death of Noah Smith, then a 16-year-old student at Flagler Palm Coast High School. Patterson faces between 25 and 50 years in prison when he is sentenced in September.
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Daily Cartoon and Briefing
![](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/netanyahu-putin.jpg?resize=474%2C324&ssl=1)
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 15, 2024
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
![The Flagler County Sheriff and other law enforcement agencies conducted a sting operation this weekend targeting men seeking sex with underage girls, and made several arrests, including outside the Madison Green apartment complex in Palm Coast. (Google)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/sting-operatin.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
4 Arrested in Sheriff’s Sting Operation Involving Seekers of Under-Age Girls, Including 2 on Trafficking Charges
The Flagler County Sheriff in cooperation with other agencies in the region arrested four men Saturday and Sunday following a sting operation targeting individuals who sought out what the men allegedly thought were underage girls for sex.
![The area of the fatal crash just north of the I-95-State Road 100 interchange. (Google)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/i-95-fatality.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
49-Year-Old Motorcyclist Killed in Rear-End Collision Against Pick-Up on I-95 in Palm Coast
A 40-year-old man from Ballwin, a suburb of St. Louis, Mo., rear-ended a pick-up truck on I-95 late Saturday night, was thrown off the motorcycle and landed on the pavement, near the center guard rail. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
![clay jones trump assassination merch](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/clay-jones-8.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Assassination Merch
Medieval pilgrims traded gold for relics such as the alleged thumb of John the Baptist or vials of the alleged blood of Christ from his crucifixion. This will be the first presidential race in history when blood will feature front and center in the Trump campaign’s most iconic image, the candidate bloodied but fist-pumping as an Iwo Jima-flag-like clutch of brawn props him up. Trump is the flag. Trump is America. Welcome to assassination merch.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
![Bill Angrick, who is financing the Promenade at Town center project, preparing to address this morning's crowd at the groundbreaking on the 17 acres of what will be six four-story buildings mixing apartments and commercial space, opposite Central Park. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/groundbreaking-angrick.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Promenade Breaks Ground at Town Center’s 1st Mix of 200 Apartments and Array of Shops After 20-Year Wait
When it opens in 22 months, Promenade will be Town Center’s largest–well, its only–mixed use development to date, and what so much of Town Center was imagined to be when it was conceived out of 2,000 acres of scrub 22 years ago. The developer, the architect, city and county officials gathered on the project’s 17 acres this morning for a groundbreaking and a few insights into what’s coming.
![The houses at 2708 and 2706 South Daytona Avenue in a block where newer houses have been built at significantly higher fill elevations than older onces, resulting in drainage problems that are now leaking into the city commissioners' in-boxes and meetings. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/south-daytoba.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Flagler Beach Gush of Drainage Complaints Mirror Palm Coast’s as Commission Rebuffs Moratorium
The Flagler Beach City Commission tabled a proposal to stop construction in flood zones for six months. The administration was proposing the moratorium on using fill at work sites to give it time to rewrite the city’s building regulations, which the city engineer blamed for drainage issues on residential lot. Commissioners disagree, saying the problem is the city’s own non-enforcement of its existing regulations.
![Time after time, Circuit Judge Chris France has not hidden his skepticism about arguments by the attorney representing the old Dixie Motel. The judge's skepticism is reflected in a pair of recent orders. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/judge-chris-france.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Judge France Rejects Latest Attempt by Old Dixie Motel Owners to Renege on $250,000 They Owe, Now Past Due
Circuit Judge Chris France this morning denied the latest attempt by the owners of the derelict Old Dixie Motel not to post a $250,000 bond with the county, as they have been contractually obliged to do for three years. They may face contempt proceedings next. The judge reminded the owners’ attorney that the money owed is past due, and the clock continues to tick.
![On the air all day Friday. (WNZF for FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/food-a-thon-3.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Friday Food-A-Thon Aims for $200,000 for Flagler Food Bank, Underscoring Need Approaching 6,000 Families
Close to 6,000 families have registered with Flagler County’s Grace Community Food Pantry, 2,000 more than last year, as WNZF and Flagler Broadcasting launch the third annual Food-a-Thon in hopes of raising $200,000, money that can be leveraged into $1 million worth of food. The drive is aiming for a bounty of small donations this year.
![Fernando Melendez. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/fernando-melendez-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Fernando Melendez, Flagler County Commission Candidate District 1: The Live Interview
Fernando Melendez is a Republican candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 1. He is challenging incumbent Andy Dance in the Aug. 20 primary. Since no non-Republicans filed to run, it will be an open primary: all registered Flagler County voters from all parties or no-party affiliation may cast a ballot in this race, which will be decided on Aug. 20.
![Anne Watts's message was clear. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/message.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
2 Parents Suing Over Book Bans in St. Johns Schools Tell Flagler Freedom to Read Activists: ‘Be Loud and Proud’
Nancy Tray and Anne Watts, parents suing in federal court over book bans in St. Johns County, were guests today of the weekly meeting in Palm Coast of the Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a non-profit Chaired by Rabbi Merrill Shapiro. The group took stock of the state of book bans in the two counties and the state, how to counter them, and what to expect next.
![The old county courthouse may soon get its third tenant in its century history. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/old-courthouse-2.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Flagler School District Will Negotiate Lease of Old Courthouse With the County, Eying Room for Historical Society
The Flagler County school district’s plan to lease the old courthouse in Bunnell to shift half a dozen programs there would cost $632,000 in up-front renovations and $202,000 a year in rent and utilities. The Flagler County Historical Society had plans of its own for the old courthouse. The district will negotiate with both the county and the historical society in hopes of reaching mutually agreeable accommodations.
![County Commissioner Andy Dance. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/andy-dance-15.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Andy Dance, Flagler County Commission Candidate, District 1: The Live Interview
Andy Dance is the incumbent candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 1. Fernando Melendez is challenging him in the Aug. 20 primary. Both candidates are Republicans. Since no non-Republicans filed to run, it will be an open primary: all registered Flagler County voters from all parties or no-party affiliation may cast a ballot in this race, which will be decided on Aug. 20. There is no run-off.
![The Palm Coast City Council's majority gavel was elusive today. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/city-council-4.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
4 Palm Coast Council Members Uninterested in Rolling Back Taxes Yet Still Inexplicably Defer to Danko’s ‘Starting Point’
Four of the five Palm Coast City Council members voiced opposition today to adopting the rolled-back property tax rate as they did last year, with one week to go before they have to vote on a tentative rate. Nevertheless, the fifth and lone dissenter, Ed Danko, inexplicably carried the day staving off a decision and keeping the rollback proposal alive.
![Alan Lowe. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/alan-lowe-6.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Alan Lowe, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Alan Lowe is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor in the Aug. 20 primary. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
![The city administration and some members of the council don't see eye to eye on the budget. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/city-hall-5.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Palm Coast Administration Proposing Flat Tax Rate to Pay for Increases in Sheriff and Fire Services
The $61 million general fund budget would include an increase of $5.6 million over the current budget but no increases in city staffing paid through the general fund. That staffing stands at 271. By far the single-largest line item increase in the budget would be for public safety, starting with policing through the city’s contract with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, and the addition of nine deputies to the city’s contract, for a total of 57.
The Conversation
![Roads divide what once was a larger wetland into four smaller pools in east-central North Dakota.](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/wetlands-loss.jpg?resize=474%2C324&ssl=1)
We’re Losing Wetlands at an Accelerating Pace. Can Private Sector Help?
The U.S. is losing wetlands, mainly to development and agriculture, at an accelerating rate. With Congress polarized and gridlocked, new federal wetland protection laws are unlikely to be enacted in the next several years.Some states have stepped up to fill the gap, but others have instead chosen to roll back their existing protections despite the fact that people across the U.S. strongly favored more protection for wetlands.
Florida and Beyond
![clay jones](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/oui.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 14, 2024
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, nostalgic memories of Paris in August 1982, Emmanuelle, Francis Lai and Pierre Bachelet, and a few words from Voltaire on Bastille Day.
![Christy Chong, Will Furry and Sally Hunt are the Flagler School Board's firing squad. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/other-peoples-money.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Once Non-Partisan School Boards Are Getting Mired in Culture Wars
In more than 90% of U.S. public school districts, school board elections are nonpartisan and have been for centuries. But that long tradition may well be changing – and putting at risk the quality of the country’s education system by introducing divisive national political issues into the process by which a local community governs itself.
![public libraries treasures](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/flagler-library-3.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Libraries Are Cornerstones of Our Communities. They Need Our Help.
In the ongoing culture war, conservative politicians have been taking drastic measures to stop the distribution of “age-inappropriate books,” which primarily target children’s books by and about LGBTQ+ individuals and people of color. These measures ignore the crucial role that libraries serve in their communities in combating the effects of economic inequality by providing essential resources to those in need.
Briefs and Releases
Bunnell Breaks Ground on Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion
Flagler Cares Partners With Re-Nu Mental Wellness Center, Formerly Known as Palm Coast Counseling
Stetson Gets $500,000 State Grant to Rebuild Historic Hulley Tower
Majority of Floridians Want Fireworks Restrictions or Ban
Lt. John Peacock Marks 25 Years with Palm Coast Fire Department
More Florida and Beyond
![River of Denial by Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/denial.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 13, 2024
Second Saturday Plant Sale at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, Gamble Jam, American Association of University Women (AAUW) Monthly Meeting.
![Juana Landeros and her husband and 9-year-old son survived a deadly tornado in Valley View, Texas, on May 26, 2024.](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/tornado-season.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Behind One of the Most Active Tornado Seasons on Record
More than 1,100 tornadoes were reported through May − a preliminary number but nearly twice the 30-year average at that point and behind only 2011, when deadly tornado outbreaks tore across the southeastern U.S. The U.S. experienced several multistate outbreaks in 2024.
![Biden Future by Dick Wright, PoliticalCartoons.com](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/got-this.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 12, 2024
Comedy Dinner Show With Johnny Mac and local comedian Doug Canney, LGBTQ+ Night at Flagler Beach’s Coquina Coast Brewing Company, when Jimmy Carter got Salman Rushdie wrong.
![raised fist gesture](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/raised-fist.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Raised Fist from Fascists to Black Athletes to Socialists to Trump
The raised fist is is full of meaning and has a long and varied history: It’s been used by fascists, socialists, communists, Black Power advocates and even golfer Tiger Woods. Will the world see that same gesture as Trump formally clinches the GOP nomination at the party’s Milwaukee convention? And if Trump does indeed raise a clenched fist at the convention, what will it mean?
![The American Experiment by Christopher Weyant, The Boston Globe.](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/american-experiment.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 11, 2024
A hearing is scheduled before Circuit Judge Chris France in the Holland Park splash pad case, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets, when bestsellers become the talk of the country.
![At its peak in the mid-2010s, the Romance Writers of America had around 10,000 members.](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/romance-writers.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Collapse of the Romance Writers of America
The Romance Writers of America, once the world’s largest and most powerful authors’ association, filed for bankruptcy on May 30, 2024. In its filing, the nonprofit blamed “disputes concerning diversity, equity and inclusion” for its membership declining by a jaw-dropping 80%. It shows how quickly organizations can collapse if they don’t serve the needs of all their members. This debacle could serve as a warning to universities, companies and other groups now abolishing and scaling back inclusion efforts.
![Brought to you by the ministry of doublethink. (Florida Department of Transportation)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/free-florida.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Lt. Gov. Nunez Links Anti-Abortion Message to ‘Free Florida’ Signs
Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez said the state’s new “Free Florida” welcome signs reflect “freedom to right to life, of course for those babies.” The Florida Department of Transportation has not yet reported how much the signs have cost taxpayers.
![SCOTUS Yellow Tape Crime Scene by Ed Wexler, CagleCartoons.com](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/crime-scene.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 10, 2024
The Public Safety Coordinating Council meets, the Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State hosts its weekly discussion group, Joan Didion’s abortion in Play It As It Lays.
![President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participate in a presidential debate on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. Biden’s been faced with growing calls to exit the race ever since.](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/biden-death-spiral.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Joe Biden and the Dangers of Death Denial
When Biden ran against Trump successfully in 2020, the selling point he made to those already concerned about his age was that he would be a bridge to the future, perhaps only serving one term. So why is Biden still clinging to power, even after broadcasting his frailty to the 50 million people who tuned in to the first debate?
![A palm tree at the south end of Flagler County teeters on the edge of a vanished dune, three-quarters of its roots exposed, ready to tumble. The tree symbolizes the consequences of Tropical Storm Nicole on Flagler County's coast, where A1A, homes and the county's tourism economy are similarly teetering. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/palm-tree-2.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Hurricane Forecast Ramps Up, Adding 2 Named Storms for Total of 25 as Beryl Is Termed ‘Harbinger’
A day after deadly Hurricane Beryl pounded Texas, experts at Colorado State University on Tuesday increased their storm forecast for what was already expected to be an above-average hurricane season. Including Beryl and short-lived tropical storms Alberto and Chris, the department’s forecast now calls for 25 named storms this season, up from 23 when the first forecast was released in April.
![Single Use Plastic by Peter Kuper, PoliticalCartoons.com](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/earth-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 9, 2024
The Flagler County School Board holds its agenda meeting, the Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop, Michel Houellebecq on two-car garages and The Elementary Particles.
The Live Calendar
The Live Calendar is Flagler County’s most complete list of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
Commentary
![douglass](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/douglass-1.jpg?fit=168%2C200&ssl=1)
What Frederick Douglass Learned: Agitate, Agitate, Agitate
Even before Douglass arrived in Ireland in 1845, he was aware of the rich tradition of Irish men and women involved in the transatlantic movement to bring an end to the U.S. system of enslavement. In particular, he was an admirer of the Irish nationalist leader Daniel O’Connell. A vocal critic of enslavement, O’Connell had played an important role in bringing it to an end in the British Empire in 1833.
![Peter Johnson in a screen capture from a Sheriff's Office body cam video during a June 2023 incident over a feral cat feeding station.](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/peter-johnson-2.jpg?fit=300%2C186&ssl=1)
Behind the Smear of Palm Coast Mayoral Candidate Peter Johnson
Peter Johnson, a candidate for Palm Coast mayor, has been the target of the most vicious slander in Flagler County in this year’s election. The claim has been spread through an alleged screenshot of an alleged slur he used, but all the evidence gathered so far points to a fabrication intended to defame Johnson and peddled by discreditable operatives, among them one of Johnson’s opponents in the mayoral race.
![This anonymised image of FGC-9 creator ‘JStark1809’ was posted online with the gun’s designs in 2020.](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/file-20240618-19-jilqam.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1)
Unmasking the Lonely Incel Who Designed the World’s Most Popular 3D-Printed Firearm
The first 3D-printed firearm emerged in May 2013 with the release of the Liberator, a handgun created by Cody Wilson, a University of Texas law student and libertarian pro-firearms activist. Essentially a proof of concept, Wilson let the BBC film him firing the gun before releasing the open-source design for anyone to download.