The lawyer representing opponents of the Veranda Bay annexation into Flagler Beach sent a letter today to city officials warning them that annexing would create an illegal enclave, implying that a lawsuit might follow. The City Commission was prepared to annex at its meeting Thursday evening. The letter could pause those plans.
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Daily Cartoon and Briefing
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
Stephen Monroe and Derius Bauer Will Risk Trials and Life in Prison Even as 4 Co-Defendants Folded
Over the past year, Stephen Monroe and Derius Bauer have seen all their co-defendants in murder trials take pleas and agree to long prison sentences, including 55 years and life in prison in two cases. Bauer and Monroe are both up for capital murder charges stemming from unrelated killings. If they’re convicted at trial, they would face mandatory life prison terms without parole. Neither wants to deal. Their trials were scheduled today.
USTA Interested in Managing Southern Rec Center, But Locals Worry About Messing With a Good Thing
After granting Palm Coast $700,000 to build five additional tennis court at the Southern Recreation Center, the USTA is interested in a management partnership with the city there. But tennis and pickleball players at the center are raising cautions about such an arrangement, worrying either that pickleball would get cheated or that other amenities would be run differently, though the potential arrangement also has some notable support.
Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Hit-and-Run Death of Billy Rembert on Palm Coast Parkway
Lyonel Jeune, 66, of Palm Coast’s B-Section, was sentenced to three years in prison and 10 years on probation for the hit-and-run death of William J. Rembert, 56, in December 2021 on Palm Coast Parkway, after Rembert had crossed Jeune’s path with his bicycle.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
Prosecution Seeks Death Penalty For Jermaine Williams, Who Stabbed Wife to Death in Bunnell
Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis told the court today the state filed notice that it will seek the death penalty against Jermaine Williams, the 52-year-old Bunnell resident who stabbed his wife Yolonda Williams to death outside their home on Pine Street the morning of Aug. 2, as one of the couple’s sons, 14 at the time, tried to intervene and implored his father to stop.
Palm Coast’s Vacation-Rental Rules Ready for Prime Time as Council Refines Them, But They Could Be Short-Lived
Palm Coast’s debut short-term rental ordinance is heading for approval over the next few weeks as the City Council today, inheriting a draft in the works for months under a largely different council, signed off on it with minor adjustments. The council will vote on the proposal on Dec. 17 and Jan. 7, when the public may yet address it.
Judge Denies New Trial For Brian Pirraglia, Serving Life for Friend’s Lethal Overdose
The defense attorney for Brian Pirraglia, sentenced to life in prison after a trial two weeks ago for the lethal fentanyl injection of his friend Brian O’Shea, argued that a juror was improperly seated, and that that the verdict was misdirected. A judge today denied the motion.
Palm Coast’s Push for Evening-Only Meetings Relies on Unproven and Problematic Assumptions
The Palm Coast City Council is considering moving all its meetings to evening sessions. The possibility is prompted by some council members’ assumption, disproved by the record and other local governments’ experience, that evening meetings would increase attendance and participation.
Mother Faces 4 Felony Child Neglect Counts As Loaded Gun Is Found on Top of Disney DVDs in Deplorable House
Amanda Gaisford, a 37-year-old resident of Fanwood Court in Palm Coast, was charged with four felony counts of child neglect after authorities found a loaded firearm and numerous drugs within easy reach of the four young children she cares for, and a house in dire conditions. The house had no running water and was infested with insects and roaches.
7 Candidates Qualify for Special Election to Replace Mike Waltz. Mullins Is Not Among Them.
Seven candidates had formally qualified as of Friday evening to run in a special election to replace Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, who has been tapped to become President-elect Donald Trump’s national security adviser. None is from Flagler County.
Charging 1st Degree Murder for an Overdose Death Is Indefensible
A charge of first-degree murder requires premeditation. Florida’s law charging first degree murder for causing a death by overdose does not. It relies on assumptions and entirely negates the user’s responsibility. The law was intended as a deterrent. But in Florida, overdose deaths have increased sixfold in 25 years. The law beings neither deterrence nor justice in a crisis that will not be solved by sending people to prison for life.
3.5-Mile Graham Swamp Trail Link to Lehigh and Bulow Finally In Design Thanks to Federal Money
As Palm Coast continues to broaden its crown-jewel-like trail system, the city has finally secured federal aid money to design the long-planned segment from Graham Swamp to Lehigh Trail–a plan 15 years in the works. But construction money remains elusive, so it may be a while yet before hikers are able to trek the entire distance from the Woodlands to Bulow Park several miles south, where another trail is under design.
22-Unit Apartment Complex Reconfigured as ‘Legacy Pointe Cottages’ Clears Flagler Beach Planning Board
The Flagler Beach planning board on Wednesday unanimously recommended approval of a 22-building apartment complex called Legacy Pointe Cottages on just over 3 acres north of Leslie Street, west of John Anderson Highway. The project is a scaled down version of a plan that first consisted of 39 apartments in two buildings, that the City Commission had approved last year.
After Losing Her Mother and Grandmother, Crash Victim Extends Kindness to Driver as He Is Sentenced to Prison
Shana Sciortino, was 41 when she and her grandmother were severely injured and her mother Debra Ashrafi was killed in a head-on crash with a car John Garrison, 50, was driving just outside Bunnell two years ago. Garrison was sentenced to three years in prison today, a lenient sentence. Sciortino had agreed to the lenience, and today in court she spoke kindly to him even as she described the grief and loss he has caused.
Water and Sewer Projects Top Palm Coast’s List of Asks from Legislature in a Year of Leaner Pork Barrels
This time, the Palm Coast City Council wants to be very clear with the state legislature and the governor: the city’s priorities for state dollars are its oldest of two sewer plants, and for one of its three water plants. But it’ll be difficult for Palm Coast to repeat its record haul of state money of the last two years, now that it has lost Paul Renner and Travis Hutson, who have been replaced by backbenchers.
The Conversation
The Importance of London’s New Slavery Memorial
In 2026, a new memorial to the 12.5 million enslaved people transported to the Americas and Europe – and their descendants – will be unveiled on West India Quay in London’s Docklands. The winning commission, an installation piece by US artist Khaleb Brooks called The Wake, will take the shape of a seven-metre bronze cowrie shell – the currency that was used in the trade of enslaved peoples, and an object symbolic of the entangled history of slavery and capitalism.
Florida and Beyond
Kristallnacht’s Legacy as Hamburg Wrestles with Memory and Reconstruction
Over the past few years, the location of the Bornplatz Synagogue, a former landmark, has become the site of controversy as residents debated whether and how to rebuild the old synagogue, which would demolish the memorial standing there today.
‘Granny Cams’ Could Be Coming to Florida’s Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities
The bill (SB 64) by Republican Sen. Illeana Garcia would allow residents to install cameras so long as they are willing to foot the bill for installation and removal. Nursing home residents who share rooms would have to secure permission from their roommates to use the cameras, as well.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, December 10, 2024
The Palm Coast City Council will discuss its procedures, accused wife-murderer Jermaine Williams is in court, the school board holds a workshop, the end of Hafez and Bashar el Assad and a remembrance of Hama Rules.
More Florida and Beyond
Has Syria Just Traded One Barbarian for Another?
The rebel group that just took over Syria, led by Abu Mohammad al-Golani, originated as an offshoot of the Nusra Front, the official al-Qaida affiliate in Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was initially recognized for its combat effectiveness and its commitment to global jihadist ideology, or the establishment of strict Islamic rule across the Muslim world.
Long-Time Tampa Democrat Susan Valdes Switches to Republican, Adding to GOP’s House Supermajority
Elected four times to the state House as a Democrat, Tampa lawmaker Susan Valdes on Monday added to Republicans’ supermajority. Valdes announced she had become a Republican, saying she expected to be “welcomed and treated with respect” by her new party. The move, which drew a rebuke from House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, came a week after Valdes lost a bid to become chairwoman of the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, December 9, 2024
Lyonel Jeune, is sentenced for a hit-and-run death, the Bunnell City Commission meets, the library board of trustees meets, Fantasy Lights in Town Center, Pablo Neruda and metaphors, an excerpt from Wendell Berry’s “The Rise.”
Syrian Refugees Get Battered From All Sides in Lebanon
For the 1.5 million Syrian refugees already in Lebanon, having fled civil war in Syria, the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah introduces new uncertainties. Syrians who temporarily fled Lebanon or were displaced within its borders now face growing hostility and restrictive policies regarding their return, namely from the Lebanese themselves, who have a history of brutality toward and ill treatment of refugees.
Florida Leads an Authoritarian Assault on Higher Education
Authoritarians always love the poorly educated and the mis-educated. The well-educated, the readers, the questioners, those who demand evidence, gather facts, and trust verifiable information (as opposed to propaganda) are a threat. Aspirants to dictatorhood know the first play is destroy education. Nip that critical thinking in the bud. DeSantis is showing the way in Florida.
The Firefighters of Notre Dame
The firefighters who saved the majority of the cathedral, which could very well have collapsed without their heroism, now stand as tall and as anonymous as the architects and masons of Notre Dame. They deserve their own Victor Hugo.
RFK Factor: An Unwelcome, Possible Return of Measles, Whooping Cough, and Worse
After backlash against public health interventions culminated in President-elect Donald Trump’s nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the country’s best-known anti-vaccine activist, as its top health official, infectious disease and public health experts and vaccine advocates say a confluence of factors could cause renewed, deadly epidemics of measles, whooping cough, and meningitis, or even polio.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, December 8, 2024
‘The Country Girl’ at City Repertory Theatre, Handel’s Messiah at United Methodist Church, a Christmas Carol at Athens Theatre, a response to December 7, Michael Sandel on Trump’s America, an excerpt from Orbital.
Notre Dame Rises from the Ashes, But at What Price?
On April 15, 2019, viewers around the world watched live footage of one of the most famous cathedrals on the planet, Notre-Dame de Paris, being devastated by fire. More than five years later, Notre Dame was due to reopen to the public on December 8th. Behind the headlines, a fierce debate has been raging about who is responsible for funding France’s cultural heritage and whether visitors to the landmark should be charged an entry fee.
If Republicans Can Take My Rights Away Today, They’ll Take Yours Tomorrow
Most days in my depraved, transsexual lifestyle start the same: I wake up at 5:15 a.m. to pet my cat, have some coffee, and journal a little before I get out the door. Meanwhile, Republicans are warming up for their bigger goals. If they can wipe away two decades of progress for trans people in a few short months, they’ll have playbook for overturning gay marriage by the end of the year.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, December 7, 2024
The Flagler Beach Holiday Parade, “The Country Girl’ at City Repertory Theatre, the Flagler Beach All Stars hold their monthly beach clean-up, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, Trump’s 49 percent and Pearl Harbor.
The Best Exercises to Boost Brain Health After 60
Contrary to popular belief, the brain does not deteriorate continuously with age. Instead, it only sees the number of its brain cells drop and connections deteriorate from the age of 45 onwards as part of a normal ageing process. But cerebral plasticity, although reduced, is present until the end of life. Each individual will build up a cognitive reserve throughout their lives. The more positive, rich and stimulating the lifestyle, the more powerful and effective the reserve. In other words, it’s possible to moderate the effects of age on cognition.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, December 6, 2024
First Friday in Flagler Beach, Free Clinic Open House in Bunnell, Free Family Art Night at OMAM, First Friday Garden Walks at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, the death penalty conveyor belt and John Oliver’s take.
Commentary
How Growing Opposition Threatens 70-Year-Old Fluoridation of Water
Since 1951, fluoride has been added to community water supplies in many countries to prevent tooth decay. Fluoridation started as an observation, then an idea that ended as a scientific revolution 50 years later. The practice has been hailed as one of the “10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.” But with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal opponent of fluoridation of water supplies, being tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, this progress is under threat.
Banning Birthright Citizenship Makes Newborns Criminals in Their Crib
Those who don’t like the idea that birth on American territory automatically grants you the gift of American citizenship have started to parse the words of the 14th Amendment. Conservative attempts to dismantle well over a century of constitutional precedent is dishonest, and untenable.
How to Maintain Healthy Smartphone Habits
While some researchers and media outlets portray phone use as detrimental, the reality is that the effects of technology use, including phones, vary depending on multiple factors. Here are a few tips.
