Former judge Scott DuPont, now a private defense attorney, openly and twice suggested that Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols needed a nap during pre-trial proceedings this afternoon at the county courthouse in Bunnell. Nichols deflected the comment with professional agility.
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Daily Cartoon and Briefing
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
Palm Coast Repeat Offender Faces Felony Indecent Exposure Charge for Pulling Self-Brew at Ellianos Coffee
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Cory Alan White Jr., 29, for allegedly exposing himself to employees at an Ellianos Coffee drive-up window in Palm Coast. White faces a third-degree felony charge due to a previous 2023 misdemeanor indecent exposure conviction.
Palm Coast Council Counters Fears Over Town Center Data Center: It Is Not a Water and Power-Guzzling AI Facility
Palm Coast council members are reassuring residents that the 35,000-square-foot DC Blox data center in Town Center is an internet cable landing station rather than a resource-heavy artificial intelligence center. The project advanced through administrative approvals without public oversight. It will nevertheless become the city’s largest electricity consumer.
3-2 Council Vote Falls Short of Adding Affordable Housing Component to Sawmill Branch’s Newest 244 Houses
The Palm Coast City Council finalized a 3-2 approval shifting the Sawmill Branch development from townhouses to 244 small single-family homes. Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri failed to secure a workforce housing set-asides as a council majority argued the smaller lots offer flexible, market-rate options for buyers. Damage to the historic Hewitt Sawmill site also drew additional discussion.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
Art Dycke, Co-Author of Palm Coast Charter and Dedicated City Historian, Dies at 92
Palm Coast is mourning the death of Arthur E. Dycke, a foundational figure who died Monday at age 92. Dycke co-authored the city’s original charter, co-founded the Palm Coast Historical Society, and served as an official city historian. His extensive research, columns, and books preserved the legacy of early residents. Local leaders praised his profound contributions to safeguarding the community’s heritage.
FlaglerLive Editor Calls Libel Lawsuit by Former Commissioner Joe Mullins a SLAPP Suit
Former Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins filed a libel lawsuit against FlaglerLive and its editor, Pierre Tristam, over articles documenting Mullins’s controversial public behavior and financial troubles. The lawsuit was filed by attorney Anthony Sabatini. FlaglerLive stands by its documented reporting, labels the case a prohibited SLAPP suit, and maintains that the evidence speaks for itself.
Circle K Clerk Sentenced To Life For Murder Of Edgewater Police Officer David Jewell
An Ormond Beach Circle K clerk received a life sentence today for the murder of an off-duty Edgewater police officer last September. Eduardo Labrado Machado, 24, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder to avoid the death penalty. Surveillance cameras captured Machado shooting David Jewell 20 times inside the convenience store. Machado admitted to planning the unprovoked attack during his drive to work.
Strict No Development Policy Continues For Flagler Estates As County Rejects Special Taxing District
The Flagler County Commission unanimously rejected proposals to permit development, fund infrastructure improvements or establish a special taxing district in Flagler Estates, the inaccessible subdivision platted on sheer speculation decades ago in the northwest part of the county. Officials denied a private funding offer for basic road maintenance and ordered劇stricter law enforcement to curb rampant trespassing, weekend partying and ATV mudding.
John Cunningham Wants Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin on Probation Until Next Evaluation
Flagler Beach City Commissioner John Cunningham attempted to block the automatic contract renewal of City Manager Dale Martin and place him on probation pending his next evaluation in August. The motion died for lack of a second, but Cunningham plans to file an agenda item to discuss the contract terms at the next commission meeting on May 28, opening a point of vulnerability for Martin despite solid performance evaluations.
Ingoglia Blusters Against ‘Wasteful’ Local Spending But Parses Taxpayer Giveaway for Rays Stadium
Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia’s aggressive targeting of alleged local government waste contrasts with his approval of unappraised state land transfers for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium. Video evidence contradicts his claims of voting against a controversial Destin property acquisition, showing he ultimately acceded to a package vote approved by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Flagler Beach Will Seek Bids for Paid Parking System as It Parallels Past Decades of Idle Talk
After talking about it for three decades, and 11 years after a committee that had met for two years had recommended it, Flagler Beach is about to issue a request for qualified companies to propose a paid parking system for the city. The request will be issued on June 1. Flagler Beach residents would be exempt. Palm Coast residents, who account for the majority of visitors to the island, would not be. City Commissioners stress that this is still the investigative phase and that there are no done deals.
Judge Deals All But Fatal Blow to Chelsea Herbert Suit Challenging Bunnell’s 1,259-Acre Industrial Rezoning
Circuit Judge Sandra Upchurch today denied a motion for an extension to amend a petition filed by Bunnell resident Chelsea Herbert seeking to quash the industrial rezoning of 1,259 acres in Bunnell. The judge ruled the initial filing was a bare-bones document intended to circumvent 30-day jurisdictional deadlines. The decision complicates the legal challenge as settlement negotiations continue.
Sheriff Staly Leads Memorial Ceremony to Fallen Officers in Service and Shadow of Thin Blue Line
Numerous Flagler County officials and members of the public gathered Thursday evening for the annual law enforcement memorial honoring fallen deputies and K-9 Kyro at the Sheriff’s Operations Center in Bunnell, where Sheriff Rick Staly spoke of the heavy burden carried by families of the deceased. A thin blue line flag donated by Bunnell City Commissioner John Rogers flew over the ceremony.
Pontieri: Unleashing the Private Sector Is the Conservative Solution to the Palm Coast Housing Squeeze
Flagler County and Palm Coast face a housing squeeze making it difficult for lower-income, elderly and other groups to overcome rental or mortgage burdens. But government interventions are not the way, argues Palm Coast City Council member Theresa Pontieri, as they distort market incentives and unfairly shift infrastructure costs onto existing taxpayers. True affordability requires cutting regulatory red tape and fostering economic growth to raise local wages.
Palm Coast Mayor Norris Turns Loop Road Groundbreaking Into Lashing of Western Expansion and Developer
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris surprised attendees at a groundbreaking ceremony this morning by lashing into the $125 million loop road project connecting Matanzas Woods Parkway with Palm Coast Parkway, and into Raydient, the developer, attacking it for not shouldering its share of infrastructure funding. Norris discarded his prepared remarks to criticize the environmental impact on wetlands and the financial burden on local taxpayers. Council members Charles Gambaro and Ty Miller rebuked the mayor for his timing.
The Live Calendar: Today in Flagler
May 2026
May 20 2026
Bingo Night at Palm Coast Elks Lodge 2709
Palm Coast Elks Lodge #2709
May 20 2026
Free Flagler Student Sports Physicals & ECG Screenings at FPC
Flagler Palm Coast High School
May 21 2026
Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry
Flagler Beach United Methodist Church
May 21 2026
Flagler County Drug Court Convenes
Flagler County courthouse
May 21 2026
Story Time with Miss Kim at Flagler Beach Public Library
315 South 7th Street, Flagler Beach
May 21 2026
Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Central Park in Town Center
May 21 2026
Palm Coast Democratic Club Recap Meeting
Flagler County Democratic Party HQ
May 21 2026
Town of Marineland Commission Meeting
GTM Research RESERVE Marineland Field Office
May 21 2026
Third Thursday Together in Flagler Beach
Senior Center at Wickline Park
May 21 2026
“Once on This Island,” At Limelight Theatre
Limelight Theatre
May 22 2026
Free For All Fridays With Host David Ayres on WNZF
WNZF
May 22 2026
Scenic A1A Pride Meeting
Hammock Community Center
No event found!
The Conversation
Why You Need Good Friends to Truly Understand Yourself and Achieve a Good Life
Aristotle argued that living well requires both self-knowledge and virtuous friendships. Friends serve as mirrors, offering perspectives that personal reflection misses. Deep connections foster character development and moral virtue, so the quest for happiness is a social endeavor rather than a solitary pursuit within a vacuum.
Florida and Beyond
Surviving Ebola
Compared to the widespread media coverage of the 2016 Ebola epidemic when it started, news reports on its aftermath were limited. As a result, very few people know that Ebola survivors have struggled to continue with their lives since the end of the epidemic. These survivors include widows, orphans who are now homeless, and thousands of people who are now blind or have permanent vision problems.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, May 19, 2026
The Palm Coast City Council meets at 9 a.m. at City Hall, “Once on This Island,” a musical, at Limelight Theatre, an illustration of thinking always in crisis, the trouble with scholasticism.
International Booker Prize 2026: Heartbreak, Brutality, Shapeshifting
This year’s International Booker Prize shortlist presents a diverse and intriguing array of books that all demonstrate the highly creative imagination and inventiveness of their authors. Across these novels, we meet the unreliable narrator of a meta-fiction, a failed modern witch, a family of Iranian émigrés, a filmmaker compromised by the Nazis, a brutal prison warden, and a gender-traversing figure who seeks to save their own skin by shapeshifting. Six literary experts guide you through the nominations.
More Florida and Beyond
Governor Ron DeSantis Renews Push To Slash Florida Property Taxes Despite Republican Opposition
Governor Ron DeSantis renewed his push to slash Florida property taxes during a Monday roundtable in Brevard County. He plans to call a summer special session to put constitutional amendments on the November ballot. Former Governor Rick Scott criticized the plan due to missing revenue replacement strategies.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, May 18, 2026
The Flagler County Commission holds a pair of meetings, discussing the lost colony of Flagler Estates in one and the future creation of the enormous Bulow Headwaters county park, a few words about personhood and Wendell Berry.
Maga’s Great Un-Greatening
Some groups of Trump voters are having second thoughts. The most regretful are those with whom Trump made significant gains in 2024. They include political independents, African Americans, younger people and those with more education.
GOP Gerrymandering Is Burying the South’s Black Voters
Republican state legislatures across the South, Florida included, are passing new congressional redistricting maps that systematically divide concentrated Black populations into multiple white-majority districts to neutralize minority voting power and limits political representation. It is a regression to Jim Crow-era electoral suppression.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, May 17, 2026
‘The Curious Savage” at Daytona Playhouse, “Once on This Island,” a musical, at Limelight Theatre in St. Augustine, when Steinbeck’s Lonesome Harry met Albert Camus’ Harry in Prague and Simone de Beauvoir wondered what the hell she was doing in Rochester.
How A Rightwing Director Reopened The Venice Biennale to State Violence And War Politics
The 61st Venice Biennale has shifted from a spiritual artistic showcase into an ideological battlefield under new rightwing leadership. The reinstatement of controversial nations prompted the collective resignation of the official jury, widespread artist boycotts, and intense public demonstrations. Clashes between peaceful activists and riot police highlighted the tension. Art serves as a vehicle for state agendas and a tool for resistance.
Saturday in Byblos:
Maupassant’s Colonial Delusion
Guy de Maupassant’s 1884 short story “Châli” explores, against Maupassant’s intentions, the deep moral rot of European colonialism through a French admiral’s disturbing exploitation of a young Indian slave as the narrative highlights how imperial powers disguised systemic violence as benevolent paternalism. The literary self-deception directly mirrors the historical degradation of colonialism defined by Aimé Césaire.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, May 16, 2026
Unity in the Community, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Edward Johnson City Park in Bunnell, Chess Meet-Up for at all ages at the Flagler Beach Public Library, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ an FPC Production, two shows at the Fitz, Trump’s diminishing fortunes.
The US-China Reset That May Not Be So Great for the World
US–China cooperation no longer automatically implies positive spillover effects for the rest of the world. It is at best a private bargain between two great powers, imposing hidden costs on those outside, looking in. The Trump administration has ushered in a noticeable shift in how the US views its economic interests: no longer premised on shared liberal values, but on spheres of influence among great powers. The question is not whether the US and China can cooperate. It is what kind of order their cooperation will produce.
Advocates of Huge Taxpayer Subsidies for Private Education Call Voucher Lawsuit ‘Frivolous’
The state education commissioner and “school choice” advocates have clapped back at the Florida Education Association’s lawsuit alleging the state’s school voucher program is unconstitutional. Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas during a Florida Board of Education meeting in Miami Thursday said the union “continues to waste members’ dues and taxpayer dollars on litigation that does nothing to advance student achievement or strengthen our schools.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, May 15, 2026
A Disaster Preparedness Expo at the Palm Coast Community Center, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ an FPC Production, at the Fitz, Superintendent LaSjakia Moore on Free For All Friday, foreign language learning.
How the Supreme Court Created The Era Of Dark Money
While many blame Citizens United for the massive influx of money in American elections, the true turning point was the 1976 Supreme Court case Buckley v. Valeo. By equating political spending with free speech, the ruling dismantled crucial campaign finance regulations. It paved the way for super PACs, dark money groups, and billionaire self-funders, permanently transforming the landscape of modern United States politics.
Florida House Committee Issues 1st Reprimand in 20 Years, to Rep. Angie Nixon Over Bullhorn Use
In an exceedingly rare move, a Florida House committee on Thursday reprimanded Rep. Angie Nixon for repeatedly blaring a bullhorn during a contentious fight over congressional redistricting. But the Jacksonville Democrat told reporters she’s unfazed — despite receiving the Florida Legislature’s first official reprimand in more than 20 years.
Commentary
The Nightmare Holocaust Survivors Came Home To
Holocaust survivors returning to Paris after the Nazi occupation discovered their homes were looted and occupied by strangers. Restitution laws meant to help victims often created bureaucratic hurdles that favored non-Jewish tenants instead. Many families spent decades fighting for financial compensation for stolen furniture and personal belongings. The exclusion of foreign-born Jews highlights the lasting economic and emotional scars left by the Holocaust.
AI Integrated License Plate Readers Are Quietly Transforming American Cities Into Massive Surveillance Networks
Automatic license plate readers occupy thousands of American intersections, integrating with advanced artificial intelligence and creating searchable databases facilitating mass surveillance of marginalized communities. Private companies provide the equipment frequently bypassing local oversight laws. Significant costs exist. Little evidence supports claims regarding violent crime reduction. Activists are now organizing to resist this rapidly expanding government data dragnet nationwide across the United States today.
Netanyahu’s Baseless Pledge to ‘Finish” Hezbollah
When it comes to Hezbollah, Israel’s military simply cannot completely defeat a resistance movement that is so embedded in the social, political and cultural fabric of Lebanon. This would require not just a military victory, but the subjugation of its supporters and the delegitimisation of its ideology.
