Young Irelanders, Xenophobia Over Brussels, and From Ted Cruz

Today: Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 70s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 151.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/269422″>opera seria, n..
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

In Flagler and Palm Coast
Local News Recap
Flagler Jail Bookings and Sheriff’s Crime Reports
In State Government
In Coming Days in Flagler and Palm Coast
In the Press, In the News
Fact-Checking the Knaves
Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports
Local Road and Interstate Construction
Cultural Coda

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.

In Court: The trial of Waldemar Rivera, the Palm Coast resident accused of raping his 13-year-old step-daughter two years ago, is expected to conclude today after closing arguments this morning and jry deliberations. On Tuesday, the judge himself told Waldemar that his case was not going well, shortly after the alleged victim had testified. He faces a first-degree felony charge of raping a child under 18 years old. 9 a.m. Courtroom 401, Flagler County Courthouse.

The Flagler County Economic Opportunity Council meets at 9 a.m. in board chambers at the Government Services Building in Bunnell for its monthly meeting, with Tom LoBasso of Daytona State College as a featured speaker. The meeting will be followed by a workshop where the council will discuss the department’s new website.

More bombing runs Tuesday through Sunday: Navy training schedules indicate live and inert bombing will take place at the Pinecastle Range Complex in the Ocala National Forest every day from March 22 through March 27, from noon to midnight. The telephone number for noise complaints is 1-800-874-5059, Fleet Air Control and Surveillance Facility, Jacksonville. For additional information, call (904) 542-2415/5588.

Flagler Reads Together featured event: Library Book Club discussion of “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk,” the book by Ben Montgomery, at the Flagler County Library at 3:30 p.m., in the library meeting room. Flagler Reads Together’s focus this year is the biography of Emma Gatewood who, in 1955, was the first woman to hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail solo. She was 67.

See Also:

Flagler County’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meets at 10 a.m. in the first-floor conference room of the Government Services Building, but no agenda was posted.

“The Young Irelanders,” at the Flagler Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. Eight sensational performers have Irish traditional music, song and dance running through their veins. They have performed at Radio City Music Hall, the Great Hall of the People in China, Kremlin State Palace in Moscow, the US Capitol Building, and toured as lead performers with Riverdance and Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance. Adultrs $29, youth $18, but mention Promo Code IRISH and get 10 percent off by calling the Flagler Auditorium Box Office, 386-437-7547 or 866-352-4537 or get your tickets here.

Ribbon Cutting: 40-year Anniversary of Palm Coast Real Estate, 5 Utility Drive, 4 p.m.

Palm Coast City Council member Jason DeLorenzo kicks off his campaign for county commission at 5:30 p.m. at Europa Lounge, European Village, Palm Coast.

Upcoming: Motown Madness: A March 26 fund-raiser for the G.W. Carver Community Center in Bunnell. See the flier below for details.

Local News Recap:

Updated jail bookings and day and night shift incident summary reports are available here.

Startling Advice From Judge to Defendant in Rape Case: “I’m Telling You Now, It’s Not Going Well”: Judge Matthew Foxman wasn’t wrong: the alleged victim’s testimony left some of the members of the jury—four women, four men—shaken. At least one of whom appeared to have wept. The girl, now 15, answered every question without a hint of anger at the man she called “Dad.” She answered with poise and clarity except when asked about the details of the alleged attack, when she would uncontrollably break down and sob: lurid details that triggered a visceral response and could not leave others in the courtroom unmoved.

In Step-Father’s Rape Trial, Defense Hinges on Doubts Over Credibility of 13-Year-Old Girl: Assistant State Attorney Christy Opsahl, who, using repetition to the rhythm of indignation, referred to the alleged victim as Rivera’s “13-year-old stepdaughter” about a dozen times in a 10-minute opening argument, is going to stress the contrast between the girl’s age and what the prosecutor sees as the indisputable violation of her child’s body, as well as the broken trust between the girl and the man she’d called “dad” for most of her life: Waldemar had been her father since she was 3, her own biological father having been in prison throughout her childhood. Public Defender Regina Nunnally’s approach was just as blunt. The case, she said, is about two questions: was a crime committed? If so, did Rivera commit the crime?

ambulance service palm coast — One of the county’s four back-up ambulances, which Palm Coast says could be put in service at one of the city’s fire stations, along with another such back-up, to ‘double’ the number of ambulances serving the city. The county says Palm Coast already benefits from seven ambulances as it is. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast, Flagler County officials to meet about emergency services: “Has anyone specified what the problem is that we’re trying to fix?” Commissioner Frank Meeker said at a County Commission meeting March 21, according to the Observer. “Because I thought the only issue was they don’t like taking large, $800,000 to million-dollar fire trucks out on emergency calls. I thought that was the only issue, really: How do you save money and not use those vehicles. I’m not sure why we’re involved in that discussion.”

Palm Coast Floats New Rescue System in Name Of “Efficiency,” But County Sees Many Flaws

Suspect and Victim Both Arrested Following Shooting and Beating Over Tax Refund: The conflict traced back to a tax refund. One of the women who spoke to police, Sherlyn Lorick, 40, at 72 Espanola Road, told police that she’d done the taxes for her neighbor Tabitha Reeves, an 18-year-old resident at 142 Espanola. Reeves was due a $2,832 refund. But it had not arrived. Lorick had told her to call the IRS to figure out what happened. Reeves’s boyfriend, Steve Boursiquot, a 19-year-old Brooklyn native who lives with Reeves at so-called workers’ housing on Espanola Road, got upset and, according to Lorick, chased after Napoleon Lorick, beat him and shot at him.

With Less Accountability, Flagler’s Tourism Dollars Continue Shift To Big-Ticket Events: The changes again diminish accountability, reduce the paper trail (in Dunn’s own words: “It would drastically reduce the paper trail”), narrow to a single month the window when smaller community events may apply for grants, impose a three-year limit on community groups’ eligibility for such grants, eliminate eligibility for the smallest organizations to qualify for “overnight stay grants” (but still leave them eligible for much smaller “quality of life grants”), and further shift money and attention toward the bigger sports events Dunn likes to recruit and lavish with big subsidies from the less-accountable discretionary fund.

In State Government:

Note: Most proceedings below can be followed live on the Florida Channel.

Aides to Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet are scheduled to discuss issues in preparation for a March 29 Cabinet meeting. (9 a.m., Cabinet meeting room, the Capitol.)

The Florida Commission on Offender Review will consider numerous parole cases involving crimes committed in the 1970s and 1980s. (9 a.m., 4070 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee.)

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

In Coming Days in Palm Coast and Flagler:

Click on the links for more details:

♦ March 24: Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare and the Stewart-Marchman-Act Foundation at 5 p.m. will dedicate the playground at WARM at the Vince Carter Sanctuary in memory of Joan M. Kelly, a longtime Daytona Beach resident and WARM supporter on March 24. Kelly passed away on July 31, 2015. Refreshments will be provided by the WARM Culinary Arts Program. WARM is a long-term residential treatment program for women exhibiting symptoms of drug and alcohol dependence, with slots designated for those women who are pregnant, post-partum, or parenting young children. The women live on campus in a therapeutic and supportive environment. Those with children are able to have their children (under the age of six) in residence with them. Older children can visit overnight with their mothers on site on weekends.
♦ March 24: Eggs & Issues Breakfast featuring County Administrator Craig Coffey and three county department heads involved in economic development: Airport Director Roy Sieger, Economic Development Director Helga van Eckert, and Tourism Director Matt Dunn. The breakfast is sponsored by the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce. The cost is $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m., Grand Haven Golf Club, 500 Riverfront Dr., Palm Coast. Seating is limited; reservations are requested by March 21. For reservations, email Jaclyn Miklos or call 386/206-0953.
♦ March 26: Motown Madness, a fund-raiser concert for Carver Gym and the George Washington Carver Foundation,, featuring the band Traces of Gold. Tickets are $50, includes dinner and music, 6 to 10 p.m. at the the G.W. Carver Community Center, 201 East Draine Street, Bunnell. Tickets and information: Cheryl Massaro, 386-437-7540, extension 5101. See the flier below.
♦ March 29: Museum curator Christina Katsolis, photographer A.J. Neste and architect Sean Palmer speak to students at Flagler Palm Coast High School starting at 11:50 a.m. at the Flagler Auditorium as part of Art Works, a Flagler County Art League-sponsored program for high school students interested in a career in the arts. The art league worked with the art department faculty to bring this new program to FPC students to learn about a variety of careers from artists, all former FPC students, who have turned their love of the arts into successful careers. Following formal presentations by each artist, students will have the opportunity to meet with the artists in small groups. Parents, city and county government leaders and school board members have been invited to attend the program.
♦ March 28: Campaign kick-off for Tom Bexley, currently the deputy Flagler County clerk of court, running to be the clerk in place of the retiring Gail Wadsworth, though Bexley, a Republican, so far has no opposition, either in the primary or from Democrats. The kick-off and fund-raiser is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Black Cloud Saloon, 2551 North State Street, Bunnell.
♦ March 30: Resumption and conclusion of a hearing in the case of William Merrill, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for manslaughter in the shooting death of his wife with an AK-47 in Palm Coast in February 2012. He is contesting his sentence. 2 p.m. Courtroom 401 before Circuit Judge Matthew Foxman.
♦ March 30-April 2: Florida Future Problem Solvers State Competition, to be attended by four to five Flagler County schools, at Doubletree Orlando Seaworld, 10100 International Drive, Orlando.
♦ April 1: The Friends of the Library of Flagler County celebrate the annual April Poetry Month by acknowledging the 2016 presidential election year. Poems by presidents or about presidents of the United States, from Washington to Obama, will be presented at 1 p.m. in the Doug Cisney Room and appropriate refreshments–that is, alas, no booze, no matter how drunk Nixon could get–will be provided by the Hospitality Staff of the Friends.
♦ April 2: Cheer at the Pier, a fund-raiser for the Flagler Beach Historical Museum, from 3 to 6 p.m. Call Virginia Giaramita for information at 386/299-8892.
♦ April 3: The Chamber Players of Palm Coast, under the direction of Paige Dashner Long, will present a beautiful concert at Palm Coast United Methodist Church, performing works by Haydn, Mozart, and Abel. This concert is free and open to all. will also include a special appearance by the Harmony Chamber Orchestra, the advanced orchestra from the Flagler Youth Orchestra Program, directed by Sue Cryan. At the end of the concert, the two orchestras will join together to perform Haydn’s delightful Toy Symphony, complete with toy drum, ratchet, cuckoos, nightingales, quails, triangles and more. 3:30 p.m. at at Palm Coast United Methodist Church, 5200 Belle Terre Parkway. Details here.
♦ April 6: Moody Boat Launch to close April 6 through May 20 for improvements. Click for details.
♦ April 6: The Flagler County Republican Club hosts three speakers: U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, running for U.S. Senate (to replace Marco Rubio), State Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Representative Paul Renner, who are running for re-election. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Pkwy NE, Palm Coast. Registered Republicans, club members and their guests are invited to attend. A Q&A session will follow providing an opportunity for in-depth discussion. For more information, email Flagler County Republican Club President, Wes Priest, [email protected] or call 386-986-0317.
♦ April 12: Anjali Anabel Tomerlin, a third grader at Imagine School at Town Center in Palm Coast who’s written and illustrated her first book, will hold a book-signing at the Flagler Beach Public library from 4 to 6 p.m.
♦ April 13: Public Safety Coordinating Council meeting at 8:45 a.m., Emergency Operations Center, Bunnell.
♦ April 15: The Florida Ethics Commission will take up an administrative law judge’s recommendation in the ethics case against Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre. 9 a.m.
♦ April 16: Flagler Beach will hold a victims’ rights memorial at sunrise. The memorial ceremony honors victims and their advocates. It will be held at the end of the iconic pier. Please contact Victim Advocate Donna Kearney with any questions about the memorial at 517-2020.

In the Press, In the News:

https://twitter.com/TheFix/status/712346296003203073

"Multiculturalism is death": Xenophobes and bigots flood Twitter in wake of Brussels attack https://t.co/DXF8vxLFSw pic.twitter.com/GAbpyjLxqK

— Salon (@Salon) March 22, 2016

Cruz: Empower police to “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods” after Brussels attack https://t.co/G4lxM8B6gs pic.twitter.com/BCFXYaP4Dq

— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) March 22, 2016

The two remaining members of the “Angola 3” talk about their decades in solitary: https://t.co/4r8NYFAiKg pic.twitter.com/gefg68IDbb

— The Marshall Project (@MarshallProj) March 22, 2016

The problem with publishing eye-popping facts? Without context, they're misleading:https://t.co/8j5uBNwPBH pic.twitter.com/hUYo8rPSxy

— Poynter (@Poynter) March 22, 2016

Report: Sarah Palin hopes to become TV's next Judge Judy (ha ha, yeah right, she wishes) https://t.co/HZgeAjZFKP pic.twitter.com/Pi0S8kQlkz

— Gawker (@Gawker) March 22, 2016

Fact-Checking the Knaves:

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports

The following is an update of ongoing permitting, construction and development projects in Palm Coast, through March 9:

Click to access permits-construction-march-11-2016.pdf

Road and Interstate Construction:

Moody Boat Launch to close April 6 through May 20 for improvements: Flagler County’s Moody Boat Launch will be closed April 6 through May 20 for improvements. “The scheduled upgrade will enhance the launch’s usability in a number of ways,” said Heidi Petito, Director of General Services. “The new system provides for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance, minimizes docking difficulties caused by fluctuating tides, and new lighting will promote boater safety and security.” The closure includes the Moody Boat Launch– located at 825 Moody Lane in Flagler Beach– the parking area, restroom, and dockage on the Matanzas River. It does not affect Betty Steflik Preserve and boardwalk. The scope of work includes dredging 1,650 yards of silt from the launch basin, thus improving navigability. The adjacent wooden docks will be replaced with an aluminum floating dock and gangway system. Additionally, the existing restroom will be replaced with an ADA compliant facility. Moody Boat Launch provides public access to the Intracoastal on the east shore, just south of SR100. The closest alternative boat launches are located at Herschel King Park on the west side of the river at 1000 Grady Prather Jr. Cove, Palm Coast, and Bing’s Landing on the east shore at 5862 N. Oceanshore Blvd. in Palm Coast.

Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway to be closed starting Dec. 18: Effective Friday, Dec. 18, the City of Palm Coast will be closing the Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway. This road closure is required as part of construction operations for the Palm Harbor Parkway extension, which is currently under construction. Palm Harbor is being realigned and extended to connect directly with Matanzas Woods Parkway where it intersects with Old Kings Road. Message boards will be placed to advise motorists and other travelers of the upcoming change, and a public meeting has already been held for residents living in that area. Both the Palm Harbor extension and a separate extension of Old Kings Road are being built in preparation for the new Interstate 95 interchange to open next June at Matanzas Woods Parkway. As part of the projects, traffic patterns around Matanzas High School will be changing. One goal is to turn Forest Grove Drive back into a residential street as it was originally intended to be. The upcoming road closure of the Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway is part of that project. Forest Grove will be turned into a cul de sac on that end. Once the separate Old Kings Road extension is completed, in June 2016, the Forest Grove Drive access to the high school will be closed because it will no longer be needed. Instead, motorists and other travelers will get to Matanzas High School via the new signalized intersection at Matanzas Woods, Palm Harbor and Old Kings. For more information, please contact Palm Coast Communications Manager Cindi Lane at 386-986-3708 or [email protected].