Thursday Briefing: Heat Index to 102, Tiger Bay Wine Tasting, Transgender Inmate Case, FYO Recruits

wine tasting flagler tiger bay — Time for a little wine tasting at Flagler Tiger Club this evening. See details below. (Angie Garrett)

Today: Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 90s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Heat index readings 98 to 102. Tonight: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly clear. Lows in the mid 70s. Southeast 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: 223
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: misnomer.
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

““But there was more than that: a sense of irrelevance, of littleness, of childish bravado, in sitting there puffing my cigarette-smoke into the face of such a past.”

–From Edith Wharton’s “Kerfol.”

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.

The Flagler County Value Adjustment Board meets at 10 a.m. at the Government Services Building, 1769 E Moody Blvd., Bunnell.

Flagler Youth Orchestra Recruiting: Staffers and musicians from the The Flagler Youth Orchestra are on their annual recruiting tour through the schools, with appearances at Old Kings Elementary at 10 a.m., Rymfire Elementary at 11:30 a.m., and Bunnell Elementary at 2 p.m. The orchestra is currently enrolling for the 2019-20 school year, which begins with auditions for experienced members this week and next and has an open house at Indian Trails Middle School on Sept. 4. Enrollment is offered free of charge by the Flagler County School District.

The Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 160 Lake Avenue.

The execution of Gary Ray Bowles is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Starke. Bowles murdered six people in 1994. He is serving life sentences in the murders of John Roberts in Daytona Beach and Albert Morris in Nassau County, and is being killed for the murder of Walter Hinton in Jacksonville. See the background story here.

The Flagler Tiger Bay Club invites the community to a wine tasting event from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway. The annual event, open to the public, is an opportunity for club members and guests to mingle while sampling private label Flagler Tiger Bay Club wines, enjoying heavy hors d’oeuvres catered by Hammock Wine & Cheese and entertainment provided by the Flagler Youth Orchestra. The evening will include a meet and greet with the newly elected board of directors for current and prospective club members, while unveiling the club’s future speakers, and the launch of the Flagler Tiger Bay Club Young Tiger Program in conjunction with Flagler Schools, according to Greg Davis, president of the Flagler Tiger Bay Club. “Flagler Tiger Bay Club has earned a reputation for bringing in top speakers, the likes seldom seen in Flagler County, while presenting and discussing engaging subjects that impact our lives nationally, statewide and locally,” Davis said. “People come together of different political persuasions and engage in civil, thoughtful discussions during our meetings.” Tickets: General Admission, $20. Register here. Registration closes August 19. Flagler Tiger Bay Club Private Label Wine Pre-Orders and Tickets here.

An F/A-18C Super Hornet like the ones used in bombing runs on a range in the Ocala National Forest. (Shawn J. Stewart/US Navy) — An F/A-18C Super Hornet like the ones used in bombing runs on a range in the Ocala National Forest. Click on the image for larger view. (Shawn J. Stewart/US Navy)

Navy Bombing in the Ocala National Forest: Navy training schedules indicate that inert and live bombing will take place at the Pinecastle Range Complex located in the Ocala National Forest this week. Bombings at times can be heard in Flagler-Palm Coast. The bombings are scheduled as follows:

Thursday: 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Inert

During bombing periods wildlife may be temporarily displaced. Use extra caution when driving through the Ocala National forest and surrounding areas. Secure any items around your residence that could attract wildlife. Always be mindful of larger animals including black bears and practice bearwise <http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/managed/bear/wise/neighborhood/> measures. The telephone number for noise complaints is 1-800-874-5059, Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility, Jacksonville, Fla. For additional information, call (904) 542-5588.

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):

Monday: Planet Fitness, 7 Old Kings Road, Palm Coast, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday: AdventHealth Palm Coast, 60 Memorial Medical Parkway, Palm Coast, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday: Publix at Palm Harbor-Island Walk, 250 Palm Coast Parkway, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday: Metro Diner, Island Walk, 250 Palm Coast Parkway, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday: Palm Coast Ford, 1150 Palm Coast Parkway, 9:30 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.

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: Aug. 12

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

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

The contractor expects to finish installation of the French drain within the next three weeks. The contractor is forming and pouring the concrete curbing for the median, and building the new southbound roadway.

Residents can expect to see increased truck traffic as the contractor brings in base materials for the roadway and concrete trucks for the curbing. The curbing is constructed in two phases. The foundation is poured first, followed by the vertical face of the curb. This type of curb will add extra stability for the roadway.

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

Wall construction is complete. Remaining work includes placing sand over the wall and planting new vegetation. The contractor also is excavating a small swale along the east side of the roadway.

Announcements/Press Releases:

None.

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.

TRANSGENDER INMATE CASE HEARD: The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in a legal battle about the Florida Department of Corrections’ handling of a transgender inmate. The Department of Corrections appealed after Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker last year ruled in favor of inmate Reiyn Keohane, who was born a male but began identifying as a female as a child. Keohane, who was sentenced in 2014 to 15 years in prison for attempted second-degree murder, is an inmate at the Wakulla Correctional Institution Annex, an all-male facility. The lawsuit alleged, in part, that Keohane was not allowed to wear women’s undergarments and have access to grooming items available to female inmates. Keohane was allowed to resume hormone treatments after filing the lawsuit in 2016. In his ruling last year, Walker blasted the Department of Corrections for its treatment of Keohane, who was diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” as a teen. “Defendant’s deliberate denial of care — that is, the denial of access to female clothing and grooming standards despite its knowledge of her diagnosis and her history of self-harm — has caused Ms. Keohane to continue to suffer unnecessarily and poses a substantial risk of harm to her health,” he wrote. But in a brief filed at the Atlanta-based appeals court, the Department of Corrections said it has made proper accommodations, such as providing mental-health counseling, issuing Keohane a bra and allowing her to shower separately from male inmates. “The record in this case establishes that FDC (the department), far from being indifferent to Keohane’s medical need, has affirmatively treated her medical need with appropriate and well-recognized treatments,” the brief said. (Thursday, 9 a.m., Frank M. Johnson Jr. United States Courthouse, 1 Church St., Montgomery, Ala.)

ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN AT ISSUE: The Financial Impact Estimating Conference will hold a workshop on potential financial impacts of a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban possession of assault-style weapons in Florida. The political committee Ban Assault Weapons Now is trying to get the issue on the November 2020 ballot. The assault-weapons issue has long been controversial, but Florida lawmakers have repeatedly rejected calls from gun-control activists to impose a ban. The ballot proposal would define assault weapons as “semiautomatic rifles and shotguns capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition at once, either in fixed or detachable magazine, or any other ammunition-feeding device.” (Thursday, 10 a.m., 117 Knott Building, the Capitol.)

—-Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

Coming Days:
[ai1ec view=”agenda”]

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. 16, 2019, with a link to the full week in review here.

Click to access 190816-week-review-development.pdf

Cultural Coda

André Isoir in concert at Nimes, 2001