EMS Ping-Pong, Vote-Counting Machines, Peace Run, Somme Poems

teacher appreciation week — Keep in mind: it’s Teacher Appreciation Week. (Sherwin Sibala)

Today: Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 80s inland… In the mid 80s coast. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy. Chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening…then slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Lows in the upper 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 325.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: morris dance, n..
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

First Light
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
The Day’s Best Reads
Fact-Checking the Knaves
Summer Camps for Children
Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports
Local Road and Interstate Construction
Cultural Coda

“… and it was a losing game in the end, it seemed, this revolt against the homilies by which the world is run.”

–Willa Cather, from “Paul’s Case,” a story in “The Troll Garden” (1905).

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.

This is teacher appreciation week.

Qualifying begins in county races: Candidate qualifying will begin in this fall’s judicial, state attorney and public defender races. (Noon.)

The Flagler County Commission meets at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. The 9 a.m. meeting, in board chambers at the Government Services Building, will cindlude a presentation by Economic Development Director Helga van Eckert. Commissioners are expected to approve a couple of items related to elections: a resolution allowing candidates for political office to submit their campaign finance reports with electronic signatures, as now allowed by state law; and a $545,000 allocation for a vote-counting system, with vendor Election Systems & Software, LLC. Commissioners are facing some cost overruns in a project: a $230,855 increase in the construction of water and sewer improvements from Belle Terre Boulevard to the Iroquois Canal, at the southernmost boundary of the county airport. The full agenda and background materials are here. The 1 p.m. workshop will be held at the Emergency Operations Center and will focus on the county’s response to Palm Coast’s proposal for some cost savings in how ambulance service is delivered in the city. The discussion may include a county counter-proposal centered on consolidation of services, an approach the city considers a non-starter.

In Court: Circuit Judge Matthew Foxman holds felony arraignments in almost four dozen cases starting at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 401.

The Peace Run makes a stop at Palm Coast City Hall at 10:45 a.m. The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run is a global torch relay that embodies humanity’s universal aspiration for peace. Since its inception in 1987 the Run has traversed over 100 nations and touched the lives of millions of people. The Peace Run does not seek to raise money or highlight any political cause, but simply strives to create goodwill among peoples of all nations. By passing the torch from one person to the next, the relay offers people from many nations the opportunity to express their hopes and dreams for a better, brighter future. See the website.

The Greatest Save Celebrity Youth Benefit: Ocean Course, Hammock Beach Resort, Palm Coast, starting at 8 a.m.

The Flagler County Education Foundation’s Take Stock in Children Senior Recognition is at the Hilton Garden Inn, Palm Coast, 6 p.m.

Pianist Natasha Paremski, internationally lauded as a rising star in the classical music world, will perform works of Brahms, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Mussorgsky at a concert as part of the Spring Series of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. This 7:30 p.m. performance will be held at Amelia Plantation Chapel, 36 Bowman Road on Amelia Island. Tickets for this and other upcoming concerts are available at www.aicmf.com or by calling 904-261-1779.

Local News Recap:

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

Citing Disrespect, Flagler Beach Emphatically Tells A1A Group To Stick Its Signs Elsewhere: he commission, in a 5-0 vote, decided to inform state transportation officials that they are opposed to any of the eight large “directional” signs the A1A committee—a volunteer scenic organization—started planting in Flagler Beach last month, without formal approval or input from the city, and to the opposition of an overwhelming number of residents.

Probationer Arrested After Attempted Burglary in Palm Coast’s B-Section, Fleeing From Cops: Maurice Godwin, whose previous arrest took place in Alachua County–he was found guilty of possessing more than 20 grams of pot, resulting in probation–was arrested by Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies on a dozen charges following the alleged burglary of the house at 1 Bird Haven Place in Palm Coast.

Flagler’s Emergency Operations Center at 10 Years: A Few Fires, 5 Managers, Zero Hurricanes: Flagler County’s Emergency Operations Center celebrated its 10th anniversary Friday. Don’t term it old: it’s equipped to meet the county needs well into the future.

Attorney Representing Linda Bolante in Cases Against Sheriff Manfre Responds: In a radio appearance Manfre made several claims about his former finance chief, including that she “did not even testify at the ethics commission, because her credibility was so damaged in a deposition.” Bolante is represented by Robert L. McLeod II, the St. Augustine attorney, who responded.

A New Way to Keep an Eye on Who Represents You in Congress: The new system will help you track members, votes and bills in the House of Representatives and Senate. We’re also launching a Congress API, or Application Programming Interface, so developers can get data about what Congress is doing, too.

Does Arabic Offend You? 15 years of prejudice big and small against Arab-Americans have taught us nothing. The only war we’re winning is against our own.

In Florida and in State Government:

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

Prisoners’ re-entry centers: Bridges of America will hold a news conference to discuss a dispute with the Department of Corrections about the closure of re-entry centers in Broward and Manatee counties. (10:30 a.m., Florida Press Center, 336 East College Ave., Tallahassee.)

Qualifying begins in county races: Candidate qualifying will begin in this fall’s judicial, state attorney and public defender races. (Noon.)

The Florida Sheriffs Association will hold an annual ceremony to honor officers who died in the line of duty. Among those honored will by Okaloosa County Deputy William Myers, who was fatally shot in September. (1:30 p.m., Florida Sheriffs Association headquarters, 2617 Mahan Dr., 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:

♦ May 2: Pianist Natasha Paremski, internationally lauded as a rising star in the classical music world, will perform works of Brahms, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Mussorgsky at a concert as part of the Spring Series of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. This 7:30 p.m. performance will be held at Amelia Plantation Chapel, 36 Bowman Road on Amelia Island. Tickets for this and other upcoming concerts are available at www.aicmf.com or by calling 904-261-1779.
♦ May 3 and 4: Open auditions for the 2016 Spotlight on Flagler County Youth Talent Show from 5 to 7 p.m. for students in grades K-12, at the Flagler County Youth Center, on the campus of Flagler Palm Coast High School. If you can sing, dance, play an instrument, or have any special talent, plan to audition. For information, email Cheryl Massaro or contact her by phone at 386/437-7540×5101. The talent show is on June 7 at the Flagler Auditorium.

♦ May 4: The Flagler County Republican Club meets from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Pkwy NE, featuring the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Forum, with the three candidates for office–incumbent Kaiti Lenhart and challengers Kimble Medley and Aubrey Seay–participating in a timed question and answer session. Open to all registered Republicans and their guests of whatever party or no-party affiliation. For more information, email Wes Priest here.
♦ May 5: The Flagler Chamber of Commerce’s Common Ground Breakfast features Dr. Mark Martindale, University of Florida biology professor and director for the Whitney Laboratory of Marine Bioscience. He will talk about “the Benefits of Having a Marine Laboratory and Higher Education in Your Backyard.” Hilton Garden Inn, 7:45 to 9:30 a.m. Cost for Chamber members is $20 with advance registration or $30 the day of the event. Guests may attend for $30 with advance registration or $40 the day of the event. Reservations are due May 2 by 5 p.m. To register, email Jaclyn here.
♦ May 5: Bunnell holds its annual Day of Prayer celebration. members of the local pastoral community will be joining together in this ecumenical event at the Edward Johnson Park, 401 East Court Street (behind the Flagler Playhouse). Following the presentation of colors by a local honor guard, there will be live inspirational music and prayers given by guest pastors from the local community. The Master of Ceremonies will be Bishop Phillip King and the Keynote Speaker will be Pastor Kevin Laurent from First Baptist Church of Palm Coast. Clerics of all faiths have been invited. For more information, contact City Commissioner John Rogers, who chairs the program, at 931-1410 or Dan Davis, city manager, at 437-7500 Ext. 2303.
♦ May 5: The Palm Coast utility and public works union meets with Palm Coast’s management team in another bargaining session over a contract. The meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the community wing at City Hall. It is open to the public.

♦ May 6-8: “Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll,” the Eric Bogosian play, is staged at City Repertory Theatre in Palm Coast, 160 Cypress Point Parkway in Palm Coast. Praised as both a writer and a performer, Bogosian originally wrote SDR&R as one of his half-dozen acclaimed one-man shows, and performed the show successfully off-Broadway in 1990. The New York Times called it his “funniest and scariest” work yet. As you might expect from City’s Producer-Director John Sbordone, who rarely does what you expect, the City production splits the show among 5 performers: Jonathan Haglund, Ron Long, Jim Fellows, Evelyn Lynn, and Sbordone himself. This company of artists become an angry lawyer, an in-recovery rock star, a high-powered businessman, and more, each character in some way related to one or more of the title vices. Performed at City Repertory on Friday and Saturday, May 6 and 7 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Sunday May 8. This is the last show of the season for CRT. Tickets are $20. Book easily here.
♦ May 6: Pastor Charles Silano of Open Door Ministries and Grace Tabernacle Ministries, and a former convict, is the keynote speaker at the 25th graduation ceremony of Flagler County Drug Court at 3 p.m. in Courtroom 101 at the county courthouse.
♦ May 7: Arbor Day in Palm Coast’s Central Park. The Arbor Day 5K Root Run/Walk, begins at 8 a.m. Register here. At the main event, themed “Feed a Mouth, Get a Tree, Grow a Community,” attendees can exchange canned food or pet food items for a free three-gallon native hardwood tree (one tree per household, while quantities last). The Native Butterfly Release will be at 11 a.m. at center stage. Other fun activities are planned for all ages. A free paper-shredding service, so bring your old documents for professional shredding! Plan to take advantage of this hands-free, uncomplicated process as totes will be wheeled to your car to help unload your paper and bring it to a chute that dumps all of it into a shredder. Free admission and parking. Contact Palm Coast Urban Forester Carol Mini at 386/986-3722 for more information.
♦ May 10: Pegine Echevarria, a motivational speaker, headlines the Flagler Chamber of Commerce’s “Fearless and Focused Women in Business” lunch at the Hilton Garden Inn, 55 Town Center Parkway in Palm Coast. Echevarria, according to a chamber release, “is CEO of Team Pegine, a think tank, training and consulting, event management firm that specializes in leadership, team building, inclusion engagement and situational training.” The chamber took over the lunch series that was previously hosted by Palm Coast’s Business Assistance Center. Registration 11:30 to 11:45 a.m., $35 for chamber members with advance registration and payment, $40 the day of the event. Guests: $40 with advance registration and payment, $45 the day of the event. Reservations are due by May 5 by 5 p.m. Please call to reserve your seat or with questions, 386/437.0106.
♦ May 11: The Public Safety Coordinating Council meets at 8:45 a.m. at the Emergency Operations Center in Bunnell. The meeting will feature a discussion on the decriminalization of pot, with potential guests including the mayors, police chiefs and city managers from around the county.
♦ May 11: Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon is the guest speaker at the free Lunch N’ Lecture at the Palm Coast Community Center, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The presentation, “Preparing for the Future, Improving our Past,” will include plenty of time for questions, so take the time to pre-register by calling the Parks and Recreation Department at 386-986-2323. Attendance includes a free lunch, if you reserve in advance. (space is limited).
♦ June 4: Flagler County’s Democratic Executive Committee holds a potluck picnic at Hershel King Park at 1000 Grady Prather Jr. Cove in Palm Coast starting at noon, with honorary guest James Canfield, first mayor of Palm Coast. Plenty of children’s activities, a dunk tank, ice cream truck, and a chance to meet Democratic candidates. Free admission includes hot dogs, baked beans and coleslaw.
♦ June 7: A 1:30 p.m. hearing is scheduled in the case of Anna Pehota, accused of second-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband on Sept. 23, 2015, in the Hammock. Her trial was scheduled for April 18, but her attorney, Ray Warren, was granted a delay so he could explore Pehota’s memory issues, which could play a deciding role in the handling of her case. The results of that inquiry are to be the subject of this hearing.

Survey Request: The River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), which includes Palm Coast, is seeking input from residents of Palm Coast as it plans transportation improvements for the Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) that includes Volusia County and portions of Flagler County. The TPO has launched a “Tell the TPO” campaign to survey people who live or work in Volusia and/or Flagler counties, as well as visitors. The 11-question survey can be accessed here. All responses received by May 31, 2016, will be placed in a drawing for a chance to win a free iPad Mini.

The Day’s Best Reads:

Michael Bloomberg tells college graduates to go defeat demagogues like Trump and Sanders: https://t.co/FUQkkz9VGO pic.twitter.com/LyReK4Sk93

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) May 1, 2016

Australia's controversial migration policy https://t.co/jmcmSWPZmJ pic.twitter.com/4cI8LVnsGN

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) May 1, 2016

Americans feel passionate about abortion but don't know much about it. https://t.co/etzZCpU1yT

— Vox (@voxdotcom) May 1, 2016

Will Ferrell drops out of film on Reagan’s Alzheimer’s after backlash: https://t.co/GC4pEmIjH1 pic.twitter.com/DCQ7OTmxqd

— The Hill (@thehill) May 1, 2016

How safe is nuclear power? A statistical study suggests less than expected https://t.co/jop8yx7VDS
Free from March/April subs. journal:

— Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (@BulletinAtomic) May 1, 2016

Poems inspired by aerial photos of the Somme, WWI battle that saw the slaughter of more than 20,000 men in one day. https://t.co/G4vcs6lp4L

— Michiko Kakutani (@michikokakutani) May 1, 2016

What happens when a music-deprived home is suddenly flooded with tunes? More sex, for starters: https://t.co/WPknEbzthQ

— Fast Company (@FastCompany) May 1, 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 April 27:

Click to access progress-report-april21-27-2016.pdf

Summer Camps:

Florida Agricultural Museum Summer Camps: Become a junior farmer at the Florida Agricultural Museum this summer! Junior farmers will learn about farm life, forestry, and Florida history. Participate in arts & crafts, farm animal care, Florida fauna/flora education, fun and games. Sessions are all 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., $175 per session and are as follows:
1st) June 7-9
2nd) June 14-16
3rd) June 21-23
4th) June 28-30
5th) July 5-7
6th) July 12-14

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.