Today at the Editor’s glance: It’s the last day for early voting in the special election for Palm Coast mayor, culminating with Election Day on July 27. Early voting is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at three locations: the Supervisor of Elections Office at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell, the Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Pkwy NW, Palm Coast, and the Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE. If you are a registered voter in Palm Coast, whether Democratic, Independent, Republican or belonging to any minor party, you are eligible to vote for mayor. More details at the Elections Supervisor’s site. For more background on the election and links to all the FlaglerLive candidate interviews and articles on the candidates, go here. The Flagler Humane Society has a dog adoption event today at Petco from 9 to noon and at Tractor Supply from 9 to noon as well. The 29th Annual Southern Open chess championship is in its second day, running through Sunday at the Wyndham Orlando Resort, with numerous cash prizes and more than 300 participants expected. The shameless, spectatorless Tokyo Olympics begin in earnest. See the schedule here. This Julia Ioffe Atlantic essay, pre-dating the pandemic, is a useful perspective on why it may be time to “Ban the Olympics.” An excerpt: “Nearly every time the Olympics come to a city, they remind us how little human life and dignity are worth compared to the hardware required to pull them off. In the run-up to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, some 1.5 million Beijingers lost their homes, by one count. By then, one study estimated, some two million people had been forcibly moved in 20 years in order to make room for Olympic structures around the world. In Vancouver, the build-up to the Olympics led to a housing squeeze, which, in turn, caused homelessness to spike in the years leading up to the 2010 Winter Games there. On top of the construction deaths in the run-up to the Sochi Olympics, thousands were displaced as the city made room for stadiums and rinks that would be used a handful of times.”
Vaccinations: Appointments for the Pfizer-only clinic at the health department are preferred, but walk-ins will be accepted. Please call 386-437-7350 ext. 0 for scheduling or questions. Eighteen pharmacies in Flagler County offer COVID-19 vaccinations, and 12 of these offer Pfizer, which is approved for individuals ages 12 and over. The department is at 301 Dr. Carter Blvd.in Bunnell. For more information about COVID-19 vaccination and testing efforts, please visit https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/.
The Live Calendar is a compendium of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
Free For All Fridays With Host David Ayres on WNZF
Scenic A1A Pride Meeting
Blue 24 Forum
Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock
Flagler County’s Cold-Weather Shelter Opens
Flagler Beach Farmers Market
Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
It’s Back! Gamble Jam at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area
For the full calendar, go here.
“The Games of the XXI Olympiad end tomorrow, and not a moment too soon. Another day or so of camaraderie and good will on the fields of friendly strife and somebody would wind up with a knife between his ribs. Up to now, this sweaty carnival has run smooth as the course of true love, if you don’t count the angry withdrawal of 30 nations, cheating disqualifications, rumors of attempted bribery, political and ideological clashes, threats, bluffs, defections, charges of kidnapping and the use of forbidden steroids. It won’t be easy to wait four long years to see them do it all over again in Moscow.”
–Red Smith, in “Fields of Friendly Strife,” a New York Times column, Aug. 1, 1976.
The 2021 Special Election for Palm Coast Mayor
Concerned Citizen says
Since our local Comissions aren’t big on diversity I suspect it was more than just conflict.
Sadly this county is full of various age caucasian males who desperatley cling to power here. It’s the good ol boys network and having an educated and skilled young man like Nealon might pose a threat to the higher archy.
If you look around many Commisioners have second careers. Some even worth raising eyebrows at.
No sadly we had a chance for something different. But lost it when someone probably whispered in an ear and said that’s not what we really want right now is it? So now we are stuck with zealots and old men. Who are afraid of change.
Flagler County will never progress.