Thursday Briefing: Countywide Spelling Bee, Romeo and Juliet, Snelgrove Trial,

Today: Warmer. Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 70s. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Tonight: CWarmer. Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s. East winds 10 to 15 mph. See the latest National Weather Service-Jacksonville Briefing here.
Today’s document from the National Archives and the Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Today’s National Commemorations.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Drought Index: 77
Global Warming: The daily carbon count.
A.Word.A.Day from Wordsmith.org. Today’s word: splanchnic.
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
• In State Government
• Statista’s Chart of the Day
• Announcements
• In Coming Days in Flagler, Palm Coast and Beyond
• Fact-Checking the Knaves
• Palm Coast Construction and Development

“Often now, she wants to scream. Sometimes she does, and then the guards come to restrain her. They hold her arms behind her back. They drag her down the hall and put her in a room, a colorless box with spiders in the corners, until she calms down. But that’s going in the wrong direction. The scream is for help, not for hindrance. Why don’t they understand? The woman in the box next to hers is there because she threw up. To throw up is to disobey orders. You disobey, you get the box. The guards think: The smaller the box, the more we can control them. But everyone else knows: The smaller the box, the more out of control people become.”

–From Cristina Henriquez’s story, “Everything Is Far From Here,” The New Yorker and “The Best American Short Stories 2018” (2019).

Previously:

Facts | Hashish | Patriotism as chauvinism | Smell of Christmas | The novel | Defeating Trump | Jefferson’s ideals | Another world | Mark Twain | What we care about | Free speech | The United States of Amnesia | Might is wrong | Quacks | The unwealthy | Time | Memory | If there is a Hell | Life unchanging | Mad presidents | Cancellation of Colin Kaepernick | Lincoln | Speak like Socrates | Equal rights | Sumner’s sex | Sojourner Truth’s truth | Invisible woman | Norilsk

 

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.

Take the 2019 Palm Coast Community Survey.

In Court: The prosecution continues to put on its case starting at 9 a.m. in the ongoing case of convicted murderer David Snelgrove. The Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing phase for Snelgrove, who was on death row. He was sentenced to death for the murders of Glyn Fowler, 84, and his wife, Vivian, 79, on Bannbury Lane in Palm Coast in late June 2000. The sentencing phase began with jury selection Monday and Tuesday. A jury of six men and six women was seated Tuesday afternoon. The trial takes place before Circuit Judge Kathryn Weston, in Courtroom 301 at the Flagler County Courthouse. The background:

• Video and Pictures Revive Vivid Reactions to Double-Murder in Snelgrove’s Death-Penalty Trial
• For Jury in Double-Murderer Case, Snelgrove’s Mental Disability Is a Gray Matter of Life and Death
• 20 Years After Double Murder in Palm Coast, David Snelgrove Faces Death Penalty Trial for 3rd Time
• On and Off Death Row for 17 Years, Palm Coast Double-Murderer David Snelgrove Loses One More Motion
• For David Snelgrove, Sentenced in Palm Coast Double-Murder in 2000, Execution Again In Question
• In Latest Complication, Judge Craig Recuses Himself From David Snelgrove Death Row Case
• Supreme Court Orders New Sentencing of Palm Coast Double-Murderer on Death Row
• 15 Years After Palm Coast Double Murder, David Snelgrove Is Back in Court, Contesting Death Sentence

The Flagler Beach City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 105 South 2nd Street. Suzie Johnston of Grand Living Realty, Salty Church and the Flagler County Education Foundation will get certificates of appreciation for organizing the 2019 Holiday at the Beach Parade, while the Flagler Women’s Club and the Beachfront grille will get certificates for their volunteer efforts in the Feed Flagler Beach Program. First Baptist Church of Flagler Beach’s request for a special exception to build a church will be heard. Full agendas and minutes are accessible here.

Countywide Spelling Bee at Wadsworth Elementary: The top spellers among schools in Flagler County will go head-to-head at 6 p.m. at Wadsworth Elementary School. The Spelling Bee is open to the public. The winner will go on to represent Flagler Schools at the First Coast Regional Spelling Bee scheduled for Thursday, February 27, 2020, at Jacksonville University. The winner of the regional spelling bee advances to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee scheduled in May in the Washington, DC area. The following is a list of the winners from the individual schools who will be competing:

Bunnell Elementary:
5th Grade: Xander Lascano
6th Grade: Holly Kittrell

Belle Terre Elementary:
5th Grade: Geovany Ramirez
6th Grade: Aiyana Cayetano

Old Kings Elementary:
5th Grade: Samuel Bowes
6th Grade: Robert Yost

Rymfire Elementary:
5th Grade: Stephanie Vargas
6th Grade: Eva Sites

Wadsworth Elementary:
5th Grade: Ryleigh Wooters
6th Grade: Caleb Hart

Buddy Taylor Middle:
7th Grade: I’Yonna Robinson
8th Grade: Gabriel Ciolino

Indian Trails Middle:
7th Grade: Jeffrey Powell, Jr.
8th Grade: Glynnis Gong

Christ the King Lutheran School:
6th Grade: Faith-Ann Dailey
8th Grade: Caleb Rimpel

Through April 4, Palm Coast Mayor’s 90/90 Challenge: Get outdoors and get active – join us for the Mayor’s 90/90 Challenge! The challenge is to move at least a mile a day for the 90 days from Jan. 6 to April 4. You can choose your own form of exercise. Log in to Palm Coast Connect and record your progress throughout the month. Everyone who completes the Challenge will receive a prize. Share your progress along the way on social media using #Mayors9090 and #ConnectToFitness. More info: www.palmcoastconnect.com and 386-986-2323.

National Ballet of Odessa Presents: Romeo and Juliet, 7:30 p.m. Flagler Auditorium, 5500 East Hwy 100, Palm Coast, call 386-437-7547. The internationally acclaimed National Ballet Theatre of Odessa returns to the Flagler Auditorium with a timeless tale of tragic love. This full–scale production, set to the music of Sergey Prokofiev and based on the William Shakespeare classic, features 55 of Europe’s brightest ballet stars. Tickets $29-39.

Legislative priorities: The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold a breakfast meeting to discuss legislative priorities for the Daytona Beach area. 7:30 a.m., Halifax River Yacht Club, 331 South Beach St., Daytona Beach.

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):

• Saturday: Chick Fil A, 1000 Palm Coast Parkway, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunday: Bealls, 1210 Palm Coast Parkway, 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.

 

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.

PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT ON AGENDA: The Education Estimating Conference will look at enrollment in the pre-kindergarten through 12th grade system. (Thursday, 9 a.m., 117 Knott Building, the Capitol.)

MASSAGE THERAPY BOARD MEETS: The Florida Board of Massage Therapy is scheduled to meet in Orange County. (Thursday, 9 a.m., Rosen Plaza, 9700 International Dr., Orlando.)

CHAMBER ECONOMIST PROVIDES OUTLOOK: Jerry Parrish, chief economist for the Florida Chamber Foundation, will provide a 2020 state economic outlook during a livestream event. (Thursday, 10 a.m. Information can be found at www.FloridaChamber.com/2020Outlook.)

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

VOLUNTARY PRE-K PROGRAM AT ISSUE: The Early Learning Programs Estimating Conference will analyze the voluntary pre-kindergarten program. (Thursday, 1:30 p.m., 117 Knott Building, the Capitol.)

TRAIL PROJECT DISCUSSED: The Florida Department of Transportation will hold an open house about designs for a multi-use trail connecting the Clarcona-Ocoee Connector Trail to the Seminole Wekiva Trail, a 3.9-mile section of the Coast to Coast Trail in northwest Orange County. (Thursday, 5 p.m., ICP of Orlando, 5850 Clarcona-Ocoee Road, Orlando.)