Thursday Briefing: Heat Index to 109, Meet the Teachers, Gopher Tortoises in Flagler Beach

The Flagler Palm Coast High School Band, back at work this week. (Ryan Schulz)

Today: Mostly sunny with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, then partly cloudy with chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 90s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent. Heat index readings 105 to 109 in the afternoon. Tonight: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening, then mostly clear after midnight. Lows in the mid 70s. Southwest winds around 5 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: 123
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: ransack.
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
2019 Hurricane Preparedness Guide
Flagler Beach A1A 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

“They are all insane: the Communists, the Fascists, the preachers of democracy, the writers, the painters, the clergy, the atheists. Soon technology, too, will disintegrate. Buildings will collapse, power plants will stop generating electricity. Generals will drop atomic bombs on their own populations. Mad revolutionaries will run in the streets, crying fantastic slogans. I have often thought that it would begin in New York. This metropolis has all the symptoms of a mind gone berserk.”

–From “The Cafeteria” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, The New Yorker, 1968.

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.

In Schools: Pre-planning days for Flagler County school district teachers.

Flagler Beach Land Development Code Update Planning and Architectural Review Board Workshop #2, 4:30 p.m. at Flagler Beach City Hall’s commission room. This public workshop is hosted by the team representing Kimley-Horn, the consultant firm retained by the City to oversee the much anticipated update of the Land Development Regulations. This closed meeting is solely for the benefit of the Board. Take advantage of this opportunity to voice your concerns, your ideas on matters you would like to see changed, addressed and/or incorporated into this document that regulates all aspects of development, including zoning, rezoning, permitted uses, signs, site development, land use and similar regulations. Mark W. Shelton, AICP Project Manager, will facilitate. For more information, contact Larry Torino at ltorino@cityofflaglerbeach.com or (386) 517-2000 Ext. 230.

Meet the Teachers at Buddy Taylor Middle School, 9 a.m. for VPK through 2nd grade, and 10 a.m. for 3rd through 6th grades.

Meet the Teachers at Old Kings Elementary School, 1 p.m.

Meet the Teachers at Rymfire Elementary, 1 p.m.

New Students Orientation at Indian Trails Middle School, 5:30 p.m.

The Flagler Beach City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 105 South Second Street. Commissioners will consider ordinances relating to nuisance and noise, and to gopher tortoises.

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):

Wednesday: Walmart, 174 Cypress Point Parkway, Palm Coast, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday: Flagler Palm Coast High School, 5500 East Highway 100, Palm Coast, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday: Matanzas High School, 3535 Old Kings Road, Palm Coast, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday: Badcock Furniture, 2501 Old Moody Boulevard (State Road 100), Flagler Beach, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday: Walmart, 174 Cypress Point Parkway, Palm Coast, 11 a.m. to 5 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.

2019 Hurricane Preparedness

Download your 2019 Hurricane Preparedness Guide here, or see below:

Sign-up for our ALERTFlagler emergency notification system at www.FlaglerCounty.org/ALERTFlagler.

Click to access 2019-Hurricane-Preparedness-Guide.pdf

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.

IMPORTANT: Safety in the Work Zone: Drivers are reminded to obey all posted speed limits, and to be alert to vehicles turning onto northbound S.R. A1A from side streets or businesses. Pedestrians and bicyclists are asked to remain aware as construction activities continue and designated pathways are moved. Please use extra caution walking, bicycling or driving through the area. Remember, safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Last Updated: July 29

Protecting Turtles

Now that turtle nesting season has started in the Flagler Beach area, local Turtle Patrol volunteers are checking the beach within the project limits every day to locate any new nests. In Segment 3, north of North 18th Street, work cannot begin until the beach is checked. If a nest is discovered, the nest will be marked, and work will not be allowed within 10 feet of the nest, as specified in the environmental permits issued for this project.

The Turtle Patrol also is monitoring the beach in the project limits of Segment 1, from South 25th Street to South 22nd Street, where plans call for dune revetment involving additional sand and plants.

Segment 1 South 25th Street to South 22nd Street):

Work is completed on Segment 1 from South 25th Street to South 23rd Street.

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

The contractor has brought in a second crew to work on installing the new French drain system and expects to have the drain completed within a month. The contractor has finished installing the new water main and is finishing up the required testing and certification for transferring service to the new line. On the southern end of the segment, the contractor has been constructing the curb that will form the center median, and is building the foundation for the new southbound lanes. Sidewalk installation is nearly complete. Remaining sections will be poured once utility work is complete.

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

Wall construction is expected to finish late this week or early next week as crews pour the final concrete for the cap. The contractor continues to place some additional sand over the wall, form the dune and install plants. According to the local Turtle Patrol volunteers, there are about 80 turtle nests on the north side of Flagler Beach. Some of the nests fall within the project and require the contractor to work around those areas until the nests hatch.

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

Announcements/Press Releases:

Flagler County receives ‘Distinguished Budget Presentation Award’: Flagler County is being praised for the 10th consecutive year for its annual budget presentation by the Government Finance Officers Association–on the very week when it lost its Finance Director, Lorie Bailey-Brown, who’s taken a job elsewhere. Flagler County’s 2018-2019 fiscal year budget was rated in four categories: as a policy document, as a financial plan; as an operations guide; and, as a communications device. “This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting and represents a significant achievement by your organization,” said Michele Mark Levine, in a correspondence with County Administration. Bailey-Brown has worked on award-winning budgets for the county going back to the first budget that received the award – the 2009-2010 budget under Tom Klinker, the former director of the department. She and her staff – Kelly Freshcorn, Brian Eichinger, and Lauren Shank, budget analysts, as well as Lacy Martin, administrative assistant – are in the midst of pulling together the 2019-2020 budget. “There is some very detailed information the GFOA asks for, and they are looking for a document that stands out above the rest,” County Administrator Jerry Cameron said. A news release issued by the GFOA states: “Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.”

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.

LOTTERY LOOKED AT: The Revenue Estimating Conference will analyze issues related to the lottery. (Thursday, 9 a.m., 117 Knott Building, the Capitol.)

CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES ON TABLE: The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida will hold a press briefing in Duval County about civil-rights issues facing communities of color. (Thursday, 11 a.m. Reporters may contact the ACLU of Florida for location information in Jacksonville.)

—-Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

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

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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 Aug. 2, 2019, with a link to the full week in review here.

Click to access week-in-review-aug-2-2019-development.pdf

Cultural Coda

Hélène Grimaud, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Paavo Järvi and the Frankfort Symphony