Lynch’s films and TV series reflected the dark, ominous, often bizarre underbelly of American culture – one increasingly out of the shadows today. American cinema holds up a mirror to society. Lynch was a master at this. His images of corruption, violence and toxic masculinity ring all too familiar in America today.
Main Content
Daily Cartoon and Briefing
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, January 20, 2025
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
Childhood Vaccination Rates Are Slipping in ‘Health Freedom’ Florida and Other States with Exemptions
Pediatricians in states with high exemption rates, such as Florida and Georgia, say they’re concerned by what they see — declining immunization levels for kindergartners, which could lead to a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles. The Florida Department of Health reported nonmedical exemption rates as high as 50% for children in some areas.
‘I’ll Handle This the Florida Way’: Man Arrested in Road Rage Incident in Seminole Woods
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Jordan Frazier Rivers, 28, at his home at 4 Sleepy Hollow Trail on two felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following a road-rage incident in Seminole Woods where two people say Rivers pulled a gun on them at a street intersection, and told them “I’ll handle this the Florida way.”
Marineland Suspends All Event Permits Until Town and Flagler County Comply with State’s River to Sea Park Rules
The Marineland Town Commission Thursday evening agreed to suspend all permitting of special events, including vendor markets, 5K runs and weddings anywhere on the grounds of the River to Sea preserve–a public park–until the town and Flagler County government are in full compliance with the management terms of the preserve both had violated. The suspension is not a small matter for Marineland, whose character as a town with only a handful of residents and just one private business is defined at least in part by the events that take place in town, especially in connection with its natural amenities.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
Senator Files Bill to Scrap Later Start Times for High School Students, Putting Transportation Ahead of Student Needs
With Florida school districts facing a 2026 deadline, a Senate Republican on Friday filed a proposal that would repeal requirements aimed at later start times for many high schools. The proposal would benefit Flagler County schools, where officials in 2023 devised a new start times, but in the opposite direction. Supporters of later start times have argued that the changes would help high-school students get more sleep. But the requirements have faced concerns from school districts about issues such as bus schedules.
Freytag Cancer Center at AdventHealth Palm Coast Opens
The Freytag Cancer Center at AdventHealth Palm Coast officially opened on Jan. 16, revolutionizing cancer care in Flagler County. This facility, made possible by many donors, including Peter and Sue Freytag of Palm Coast, offers advanced medical treatments and compassionate care closer to home.
Palm Coast’s Planning Board Approves $12 Million Construction Plan for New Public Works and Utility Facility Off U.S. 1
The Palm Coast Planning Board on Wednesday unanimously approved the construction plan for phase one of the city’s own Maintenance Operations Center on U.S. 1, a project a decade in the works that will consolidate public works, stormwater and the Utility Department’s administrative offices on the same grounds i what, over the next half century, will prove to be the new center of the city as it expands west. It’s not as if the board was in a position to object.
Despite Extension, City Manager Opening Draws Just 38 Applicants; Only 1 Managed a City of Palm Coast’s Size
Only 38 candidates have applied to be Palm Coast’s next city manager. The general quality of applicants is not stellar: top-flight candidates are not beating down the city’s door. Less than half the applicants (17) have previous city manager experience. Only a handful of those have managed a city with more than 50,000 people. Among the three, only one has managed a city with a population close to Palm Coast’s 107,000 (the current city manager of Edison, N.J.)
In ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ City Rep Produces the ‘Most Hilarious Show About Depression You’ve Ever Seen’
“Every Brilliant Thing” a one-man play, is the story of a man who as a child sought to cope with his mother’s depression and suicidal tendencies, and to find a way to cheer her up. At first glance, “Every Brilliant Thing” may seem to be a play that labors and strains under the profound, harsh realities of depression and suicide. But a critic called it “the most hilarious show about depression you’ve ever seen.”
It’s Not Your Imagination: Palm Coast Homes Used as Vacation Rentals Increase by 70% in 2 Years, to Over 500
It’s not your imagination. The number of single-family homes used as short-term vacation rentals has increased by 60 percent in two years across Flagler County, while the number of vacation rentals in Palm Coast alone, where most of the growth is concentrated, has surged by 70 percent, with the overwhelming share of those in single-family homes, condos or town houses.
After Ragga Surf Cafe Exit, Flagler County and Marineland Seek to Win Back State’s Trust in Preserve Management
Flagler County government and the Town of Marineland administration have drafted a joint plan to reassure the state agency with oversight of the River to Sea Preserve that the two local governments are still capable of managing the Preserve, which had fallen out of compliance with state requirements and put both governments at risk of losing ownership. Meanwhile, Ragga Surf cafe has left Marineland and will reopen at a location in St. Augustine on Friday.
Jury in Minutes Finds Daniel Rodriguez, 27, Guilty on All Charges of Raping and Molesting Boy; Life In Prison Next
A jury of three men and three women found Daniel Rodriguez, 27, guilty on all charges of sexually assaulting and molesting a young boy he had groomed and befriended since he was 10, and started abusing when he was 11, until he was 13. The abuse took place in Palm Coast between 2020 and 2022. Rodriguez faces mandatory life in prison without parole when he is sentenced at a later date. The judge will have no discretion to lessen the sentence.
The Paints They Are A-Changin’: Palm Coast May Lift Most Restrictions on House Colors
The Palm Coast City Council appears on the verge of repealing most restrictions on house colors. As a consequence, homeowners would be allowed to paint houses in darker, less light-reflecting colors than allowed in the city’s 25-year history. But the move occurs in opposition to environmental trends that are encouraging lighter, whiter urban colors as a tool of fighting climate change, as darker colors absorb heat rather than reflect light and require homes to spend more energy on cooling.
On the Stand, Alleged Victim Describes Sex Assaults Since He Was 11 by ‘Father Figure’ and ‘Best Friend’
Daniel Revay Rodriguez, now 27, is accused of sexually assaulting a young boy over several years after grooming him and his family by making himself an essential father figure and by showering the boy with expensive gifts, food and at times pot. His trial began Monday. He faces mandatory life in prison if he is convicted.
Sheriff Staly Appoints Joseph Barile His Chief Deputy, Filling Post That Stood Empty for 6 Years
Sheriff Rick Staly announced today that he has appointed Commander Joseph Barile as the Chief Deputy of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. The Chief Deputy will be responsible for law enforcement and court and detention operations.
The Conversation
RFK’s Vaccine Disinformation is Distorting Science and Threatening Public Health
Doctors, scientists and public health researchers have expressed concerns that Kennedy would turn his views into policies that could undermine public health. As a case in point, news reports have highlighted how Kennedy’s lawyer, Aaron Siri, has in recent years petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw or suspend approval of numerous vaccines over alleged safety concerns.
Florida and Beyond
Trump’s Coming Tax Plan: Shift Handouts from Poor to Rich
Republicans plan to give the richest Americans a fresh round of individual tax breaks, slash the corporate tax rate yet again, and cut taxes on capital gains and dividends, which would let their Wall Street friends keep even more of their winnings when they sell a stock or are showered with dividends. Then they’ll move to step two: draconian budget cuts for the programs Americans rely on.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, January 19, 2025
‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, ‘Crimes of the Heart’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, the tautology of “Christian fiction,” Mencken’s two cents.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 18, 2025
The Martin Luther King Day celebration and parade in Bunnell, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley returns, ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, ‘Exit Laughing,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Woodrow Wilson’s racism.
More Florida and Beyond
Rule of Law Lost in Hush Money Sentencing of Trump
Trump won’t be able to buy a gun in some states, travel to 38 countries including Canada and Japan without a waiver, or do jury duty. Yet Trump was sentenced only to an “unconditional discharge”, meaning he will face no further penalties. Nearly half of people convicted of the same crime in the state of New York would go to prison, and Trump could have faced a fine of up to US$170,000.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, January 17, 2025
The great Crystal Gayle at the Fitz, ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, ‘Crimes of the Heart’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, Chekhov.
2024 Was Deadliest Year on Record for Reporters
Since 7 October 2023, at least 146 journalists have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon, though the actual numbers are likely much higher, as the CPJ is investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing or detained. Meanwhile, foreign journalists are denied access to Gaza by Israeli authorities.
DeSantis Names Ashley Moody to Rubio’s Senate Seat, and James Uthmeier as Attorney General
Ahley Moody, a Republican who was first elected attorney general in 2018, has been a close ally of DeSantis in fights against the Biden administration on issues such as immigration enforcement. DeSantis also said he will appoint his chief of staff, James Uthmeier, to succeed Moody as attorney general.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 16, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens again as temperatures dip into the 30s, Marineland and Flagler County workshop a new agreement over park land, ‘Exit Laughing,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Elvis’s Aloha from Hawaii.
Panama to U.S. and China: Buzz Off
Panama is aware of the importance of its key geopolitical asset and keen to balance U.S. and Chinese interests with its own desire to run the canal without undue influence from either Washington or Beijing.
Revamped Proposal to Legalize Recreational Pot in Florida Emerges, With Tweaks to Blunt Opposition
Two months after a similar measure failed to garner enough voter support to pass, a political committee bankrolled by the state’s largest medical-marijuana company has launched a new effort to allow recreational pot in Florida. The revamped proposal, filed Tuesday at the state Division of Elections by the Smart & Safe Florida committee, would go on the 2026 ballot. It seeks to address a number of issues raised by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who led a drive to defeat last year’s proposed constitutional amendment.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, January 15, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens tonight, the Tourist Development Council meets, the Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board hears the site plan application for Palm Coast’s future maintenance operations center, the hottest year on record.
Beware Snowbirds: The Far Right Is Growing in Canada, Too
A book on the far right in Canada, “The Great Right North,” shows that events like the Freedom Convoy are representative of where the far right is going, how it is recruiting, how it is communicating internally and with Canadians at large, and how it is progressing in the national political discourse, with similarities with the United State’s maga movement.
Rebuffing Conservationists, Fed Officials Will Keep Manatee ‘Threatened,’ Not Endangered
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected today to publish a proposed rule that details its reasons for keeping the threatened classification. Meanwhile, the proposed rule would change the classification from threatened to endangered for what are known as Antillean manatees, which are found in Puerto Rico.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, January 14, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens, the Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop, the Community Traffic Safety Team meets, Matt Gaetz’s name is floating around the 2026 gubernatorial race.
Global Temperatures Passed Critical 1.5°C Milestone for First Time in 2024
2024 was the first year on record with a global average temperature exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. All continents except Australasia and Antarctica experienced their hottest year on record, with 11 months of the year exceeding the 1.5°C level. Global temperatures have been at record levels – and still rising – for several years now. The previous hottest year on record was 2023.
DeSantis Calls Special Session on Immigration, Condo Safety, Hurricane Relief and Petition-Gathering
Saying he expects a “sea change” in federal immigration policies from the incoming Trump administration, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday called the Florida Legislature into special session to deal with illegal immigration and three other issues. The session will begin on Jan. 27 and will include deliberations on condominium safety regulations, hurricane relief, and fraudulent signature-gathering petitions for constitutional amendments.
Commentary
Police More Likely to Make Domestic Violence Arrests When Pets Are Also Abused
Animal cruelty is weaponized when an intimate partner threatens to harm, or actually harms, a pet to control their partner. This tactic is powerful. Victims of intimate partner violence regularly cite fear for the safety of their pet as a primary reason they do not leave an abusive situation.
When Democracy Dies in Broad Daylight
While Trump openly bellows whatever imperial fever dreams about Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico visit him in the dark of night, once proud institutional bulwarks rush to prostrate themselves before him in advance of any demand that they do so. Alas, the mainstream media is not immune to this siren-call of cowardice.
How the U.S. Could Make Canada an American Territory
Every Canadian needs to pay attention to American history: In one treaty, the U.S. annexed the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming. It subsequently illegally invaded Indigenous territory in the west. Canada could be next — perhaps not immediately as the 51st state, but quite possibly as a U.S. territory that would deny Canadians any voting rights for Congress or the presidency. The constitutional architecture exists in the U.S. to make it happen.