Thursday Briefing: Murals in Flagler Beach, Common Ground Does Media in Flagler, Happy Hubble Birthday

Hubble Space Telescope is 29 years old: it was deployed by Space Shuttle Discovery on this day in 1990, after its launch from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12. (NASA)

Today: Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.
Today’s document from the National Archives and the Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Drought Index: 170
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: writhe.
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

First Light
In Flagler and Palm Coast
Flagler Jail Bookings and Last 24 Hours of Incident Reports
Flagler Beach A1A Construction Updates
US 1-Old Dixie Highway Roundabout Construction Updates
Announcements
In State Government
In Coming Days in Flagler, Palm Coast and Beyond
Fact-Checking the Knaves
Palm Coast Construction and Development
Cultural Coda

“The junction of the Mississippi and the Ohio was a confluence of thick machine oil and rosewater. The two looked so different that it was hard to believe they could fuse into a single element without curdling. The Mississippi held the foreground and the Missouri shore; the Ohio had Kentucky. The clean pencil stroke between the brown and the pink, running due west to east for more than two miles, must have been the one place in the United States where the cleavage of the Mason-Dixon line had its exact counterpart in nature.”

–From Jonathan Raban’s “Old Glory: A Voyage Down the Mississippi” (1981).

Previously:

In Flagler and Palm Coast:

Note: all government meetings noticed below are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated. Many can be heard or seen live through each agency’s website.

The Sheriff’s daily incident reports and jail bookings are posted here.

Media in Flagler: The Flagler Chamber hosts a Common Ground Breakfast featuring journalism and media, with panelists David Ayres of WNZF/Flagler Broadcasting, Brian McMillan of the Palm Coast Observer, Pierre Tristam of FlaglerLive, and a representative, yet to be named, from the News-Journal. Check in at 7:30 a.m., event at 8 a.m., Hilton Garden Inn Palm Coast, 55 Town Center Dr. Members can preregister for $25, Guests & future members can attend for $35. Walk-ups are no longer accepted. To book a seat, contact Heather Edwards at the Chamber, heather@flaglerchamber.org.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly hosts the 1st quarter awards ceremony for sheriff’s office ranks at 11 a.m. at the Flagler County courthouse, 1769 East Moody Blvd, Bunnell. The sheriff will hand out Employee of the Month Awards, Unit Citations, Certificates of Commendation and Years of Service Awards.

The Flagler Beach city Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. The Tourism Development Council’s Amy Lukasik will update the commission on the latest at the tourism bureau, whose director, Matt Dunn, was recently suspended. Commissioners will also discuss a draft of an amendment to the city’s mural ordinance. They will also consider allowing a waiver to residents of damaged properties to live in their RV while their property is being repaired. Commissioners will consider a special exception to allow the building of the First Baptist Church of Flagler Beach at 414 Beach Village Drive.

The Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall in Town Center.

The Wadsworth Elementary School Advisory Council and PTO meet at 6 p.m. in the school’s media center.

Blood Donations: The Big Red Bus will be at the following locations this week (schedule your donation by going to the website and entering a Palm Coast zip code, then locating one of the venues below):

Thursday: Metro Diner, 250 Palm Coast Parkway, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday: Epic Theaters, 1185 Central Avenue, Palm Coast, 1 to 6 p.m.
Friday: Walmart, 174 Cypress Point Parkway, Palm Coast, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 4600 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Jail Bookings and Last 24 Hours' Incidents in Flagler, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell


Jail Bookings, June 19-22 Sheriff's night shift incident reports, June 21 Sheriff's day shift incident reports, June 21 Flagler Beach's night shift incident reports, June 21 Flagler Beach's day shift incident reports, June 21 Bunnell police's night shift incident reports, June 21 Bunnell police's day shift incident reports, June 21
Previous and archived reports

Sources: Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Flagler Beach Police Department, Bunnell Police Department. This is Flagler County's only comprehensive, one-stop compilation of all local law enforcement's daily day and night shift commanders' reports.

Flagler Beach Is Open For Business: A1A Construction Update:

FlaglerLive is providing weekly updates to year-long construction on and near State Road A1A in Flagler Beach as the Florida Department of Transportation rebuilds a 1.5-mile segment from South 9th Street to South 22nd Street, and builds a sea wall at the north end of town. These updates are provided through DOT or local officials. If you have any relevant information or images, you’re welcome to email them to the editor here.

Last Updated: April 22

Segment 2 (South 22nd Street to South 9th Street):

Installation of a new water main, as well as a new sewer line, is in progress between South 19th Street and South 18th Street. This work is expected to continue over the next few weeks. South of South 19th Street, installation of the French drain system is continuing.

This type of drainage system will collect stormwater into large gravel-filled, underground vaults set into what will be a new raised median. The vaults will be able to store water during heavy rains, which will improve the flooding that occurs to prevent erosion and undermining of the roadway. The water collected will percolate through the vaults into the aquifer. The roadway will be reconstructed at the appropriate slope to collect water at the median.

Pedestrian walkways are open. Pedestrians and bicyclists are asked to be alert to construction equipment and use caution. On South Central Avenue, the project team has applied reflective tape to stop signs to help increase visibility of the signs, and additional enforcement will be conducted by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Segment 3 (North 18th Street to Osprey Drive) Project Update:

Residents can now see all phases of the secant wall process on this segment. At the very north end, the contractor is almost finished bringing in sand and preparing the dune for the drilling process. On the very south end, the concrete cap of the wall has been poured. In the middle of the project, workers are drilling the concrete piles and setting the fiberglass cages.

Once the wall is constructed and the cap has been poured throughout the length of the project, the contractor will shape the dune to the specified slope, place sand on top of the wall, and plant new vegetation.

A short presentation on how the wall is constructed has been added to our project webpage and can be seen below:

Recently, DOT received a few questions from residents that DOT wants to answer:

1. Why do some properties have the black silt fencing and others do not?

The silt fencing is an erosion control requirement to prevent dirt and debris from leaving our work area and being deposited into waterways or onto private property. In some areas, the property to the west of our work area slopes up away from the work area, so erosion control is not required.

2. Will the contractor repair areas on my side of the sidewalk that have been disturbed?

Residents and property owners can get a general idea of where the department’s right of way ends by looking at the placement of the power poles, as well as stakes that have been placed along the project. In some areas, the back edge of the new sidewalk will be slightly farther to the west. For the most part, the back of the new sidewalk will be very close to, or right at, the right of way line.

This project calls for all of the work to be performed within the Florida Department of Transportation right of way. If, however, the work disturbs or damages private property outside of the right of way, the contractor is responsible to make repairs once the work is finished.

Please note that all restoration of conditions within the department’s right of way, including landscaping, hardscaping and driveways, is dictated by the construction plans and existing permits.

3. When will the sidewalk be replaced?

The contractor has begun installing the new sidewalk to the south of 19th Street. As the new water main is installed, there are several types of testing that need to be performed on the new line, and the work needs to be accepted by the City of Flagler Beach before the new sidewalk can be placed. The water main installation is expected to continue for the next several months.

Pedestrians are asked to stay within the temporary pedestrian walkways for safety. Residents and visitors also are reminded that all of the dune walkovers are closed, and removing any signage or barricades to access a walkover is unsafe and unlawful.

Caution! Flagler Beach police and and Sherriff’s deputies are actively monitoring speed and writing tickets. “I got a warning on north section of A1A before construction actually began so I keep to the 25 limit, but still getting tailgated by cars wanting to go faster,” a reader tells us.

See Also:

The proposed roundabout at the intersection of Old Dixie Highway and U.S. 1 is intended to drastically reduce the number of severe crashes at one of the county's most dangerous intersections. Two other such roundabouts are proposed for other dangerous intersections in Flagler. Click on the image for larger view. (DOT) — The proposed roundabout at the intersection of Old Dixie Highway and U.S. 1 is intended to drastically reduce the number of severe crashes at one of the county’s most dangerous intersections. Two other such roundabouts are proposed for other dangerous intersections in Flagler. Click on the image for larger view.
(DOT)

U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway Roundabout Construction Updates:

FlaglerLive is providing weekly updates to the planned 15-month, $4.1 million construction of a roundabout at U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway. The project started in late January and is scheduled for completion by spring 2020.

The Florida Department of Transportation will be closing Old Dixie Highway and C.R. 325 at U.S. 1 on Monday night, March 4, from about 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The closure is needed to allow the contractor to make improvements to the crossover at the temporary intersection. U.S. 1 will remain open in both directions.

More details here.

See Also:

I-95 Construction, Repaving: Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., single lane closures on NB I-95 from north of Palm Coast Parkway to the St. Johns County line. Monday – Friday, 9 p.m. – 7 a.m., double lane closures on NB I-95 from north of Palm Coast Parkway to the St. Johns County line.

See this week’s full Interstate Construction Report for Flagler, Volusia and St. Johns here.

Announcements/Press Releases:

AdventHealth Selects New Executive Director of Regional Marketing: Russell Mariott has been selected to serve as the executive director of regional marketing for the five AdventHealth hospitals in Flagler and Volusia counties. In his new role, Mariott is responsible for developing and implementing strategic marketing plans for AdventHealth Daytona Beach, AdventHealth DeLand, AdventHealth Fish Memorial, AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach, and AdventHealth Palm Coast. He will also have oversight of the marketing plans for AdventHealth Medical Group locally, the hospital’s employed group of physicians. Mariott has nearly 15 years of experience in strategic marketing, communications and business development within the healthcare industry. He previously served as the vice president of marketing and communications at Tennova Healthcare, a seven-hospital system located in eastern Tennessee. In this position, he was responsible for driving brand strategy across the region, as well as developing integrated marketing and communication plans for key service lines. An Ormond Beach resident, Mariott earned his Master of Business Administration from Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, Texas.

In Florida and in State Government:

Note: Some proceedings below can be followed live on the Florida Channel. Most legislative proceedings can be followed through the Senate or House websites.

SENATE HOLDS FLOOR SESSION: The Senate is scheduled to hold a floor session. (Thursday, 10 a.m., Senate chamber, the Capitol.)

HOUSE HOLDS FLOOR SESSION: The House is scheduled to hold a floor session. (Thursday, 10:30 a.m., House chamber, the Capitol.)

SUPREME COURT RELEASES OPINIONS: The Florida Supreme Court is scheduled to release its weekly opinions. (Thursday, 11 a.m.)

STEUBE SPEAKS AT GOP DINNER: U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., will speak at the Republican Club of South Sarasota County’s Reagan Patriot Day Dinner. (Thursday, 6 p.m., Plantation Golf and Country Club, 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice.)

—-Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

In Coming Days in Palm Coast, Flagler and the Occasional Beyond:

To include your event in this section, please fill out this form.

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To include your event in this section, please email the details, including date, time, a brief description of the event, contact information, and, if you wish, an image, please use this form.

A Twitter List by PierreTristam

Keep Up with Donald Trump’s attacks on the press through the ACLU’s running tab here.

Keep Up with mass shootings in a running database here.

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports

Here’s a summary of the latest city developments as of April 12, 2019, with a link to the full week in review here.

Click to access week-in-review-april-12-2019-developments.pdf

Cultural Coda

Glenn Gould Plays Mozart, Piano Sonata No. 13 in B-flat major K. 333

Glenn Gould isn’t as awful as he can be when playing Mozart in this interpretation of the B-flat major sonata, mechanical though it can seem: he manages to make a piano sound like a pianoforte.