Displeased with the way a community bidder was locked out of the process and concerned about the fate of the historic treasure and its animals, a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware this afternoon refused to approve the $7.1 million sale of the Marineland Dolphin Adventure property to a developer and ordered the debtors’ attorney to have discussions with the lower bidder, Jack Kassewitz, a dolphin specialist proposing to save the facility as an oceanarium.
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Daily Cartoon and Briefing

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local

Florida Cabinet Questions Voucher Dollars Going to Muslim Schools, But Not Christian Schools
All three members of the Florida Cabinet are questioning the legality of the state voucher system that has steered taxpayer-funded scholarships to private Islamic schools that they contend undermine “Western” values. Attorney General Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Ingoglia, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, all Republicans and allies of the governor, spoke against extending vouchers to the Hifz Academy and Bayaan Academy, Islamic schools in Tampa now accepting these scholarships.

Arlene Volpe, Quiet Force Behind Culture and Gargiulo Art Foundation’s Heyday in Palm Coast, Dies at 85
Arlene Volpe, the organizational force behind the Gargiulo Art Foundation as it fostered a rich art scene in Palm Coast and Flagler County for two decades, died on Oct. 4 in North Carolina. Volpe had been for 50 years Tom Gargiulo ‘s partner, and with him a champion of local arts and a key hand, for 21 years, behind the annual naming of the Flagler County Artist of the Year.

Leigha Mumby, 24, Now Faces Vehicular Homicide Charge in Crash Death of Boyfriend Daniel Waterman
Prosecutors this morning filed a vehicular homicide charge against 24-year-old Leigha Catherine Mumby in addition to the two previous felony charges Mumby has faced since July. The new charge is the result of the death of Daniel Waterman, 22, earlier this month, eight months after he was critically injured in a car crash on I-95 in Palm Coast, as Mumby drove. An FHP investigation determined Mumby intentionally caused the crash when she was upset with her boyfriend.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local

Floridians Are Hurtling Towards Economic Disaster
Florida is the second most distressed state in the union in terms of its residents’ debt obligations. The state saw a 23% increase in the share of people with distressed bank accounts between 2024 and 2025, the data show. In addition, Florida holds the sixth-highest overall share of people with accounts in distress, at 7.3%. In human terms, this financial distress looks like a sharp increase in bankruptcy filings; residents with accounts in forbearance or deferred payments; America’s lowest average credit scores; and higher prices for groceries, rent, mortgages, gasoline, and health care.

Trump Endorses Randy Fine, Sharply Steepening Hill Climb for Gambaro and Furry
President Donald Trump is giving his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to U.S. Rep. Randy Fine. Challenger Charles Gambaro, currently a Palm Coast City Council member who had a role in the final months of the first Trump administration, recently expressed confidence that Trump would endorse him over the former state lawmaker, but clearly that’s not coming to pass. Will Furry, the Flagler County school board member, is also among the numerous candidates running against Fine.

Tired of County’s Internal Conflicts and ‘Politics,’ Flagler Beach Is Ready to Raise Its Property Tax for Beach Protection
Flagler Beach Is ready to raise its property tax and dedicate the new revenue to beach protection in the city as a blunt message to the county: We’re doing our part. Now do yours. The move is not in defiance of the county so much as a challenge to it to get its management plan in order and to stop using Flagler Beach as a scapegoat to veil its own internal conflicts.

Only Two Residents Unaffiliated with Charter Review Show Up at Latest Community Workshop
Only two residents unaffiliated with the charter-review process showed up at Thursday evening’s community workshop designed to solicit ideas and input from residents about the ongoing rewrite of the Palm Coast City Charter. It was the second of four such scheduled workshops. Another is scheduled for tonight at 6 at the Palm Coast Community Center. The first, on Sept. 29 at the Southern Recreation Center, drew barely a dozen people, though they were engaged and proposed several changes. Not so on Thursday.

At His Memorial, Sheriff’s K9 Kyro ‘Nubs’ Is Remembered for His Fierce Loyalty and Love of Challenges
First Baptist Church of Bunnell was the site of two funerals for law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2021. Today, the church was against the site of a memorial for a fallen officer. For the first time in Flagler County’s history, it was for a K9, a police dog, the first to lose his life in the line of duty: K9 Kyro, nicknamed “nubs” for the tail that had to be amputated from his tendency to be overexcited, died from an undetected heart ailment on Oct. 14.

Critical After February Crash, Daniel Waterman, 22, Died on Oct. 8. His Pregnant Girlfriend Is Accused of Causing the Crash.
Last Super Bowl Sunday, the day Leigha Mumby, 24, discovered she was pregnant by her boyfriend, Daniel M. Waterman, 22, Mumby drove her Honda into a tree on I-95 in Palm Coast, seriously injuring herself and critically injuring Waterman, who was hospitalized since and who died on Oct. 8. Mumby was charged with a second-degree felony when an FHP investigation determined she had intentionally caused the crash. The charge may be aggravated, now that Waterman has died. His family is seeking custody of the child.

County Completes $1.88 Million Buy of Marlow Property on Intracoastal for Linear Park Extension
County Attorney Michael Rodriguez on Monday said the county just closed on the purchase of a 5.2-acre parcel on the Intracoastal Waterway for perpetual preservation under the county’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands program, and as an extension of Palm Coast’s popular linear Park.

Flagler Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Percy Sayles Named as County Administrator Petito’s Deputy in Place of Salinas
Flagler County Administrator Heidi Peito has named Deputy Fire Chief Percy Sayles deputy county administrator, replacing Jorge Salinas, who died in a car crash on Oct. 4. Petito informed county commissioners of her decision in individual meetings on Monday, and announced the decision publicly this morning in a release. Flagler County Fire Rescue Chief Michael Tucker appointed Sayles his deputy in December 2021.

Flagler Commission Was Ready to No-Bid Sell Parkland for a Parking Lot. Then the County Attorney Intervened.
A church in Espanola wants to buy a sliver of county parkland, rezone it, and convert it to a parking lot. The Flagler County Commission was prepared to do that without a bid, without hearings, and no public notices beyond cursive ones embedded in commission meeting agendas. The County Commission shrugged off the proposal’s implications as it almost certainly would not had a similar proposal involved , say, the popular Wadsworth Park in Flagler Beach or Princess Place Preserve. But Espanola is a poor, neglected area of the county with a significant Black population and a typically invisible political constituency.

With Grave Concerns About Traffic, Palm Coast Approves Shopping Rezoning That’ll Add 1,000s of Cars to SR100
With grave concerns about its traffic impacts on already-congested State Road 100, the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved on first reading the rezoning to commercial uses of a 39-acre parcel just west of the BJ’s Wholesale shopping center. The rezoning is ahead of the development of that tract into a companion shopping center called Flagler Landing, with a “170,000 square foot big-box discount superstore,” in the description of the developer’s attorney–that is, very likely Walmart–and a half dozen satellite businesses.

Ending Property Taxes Is Tempting. It’s Also Practically Foolish.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans have been promoting the idea of doing away with property taxes for homeowners, or at least severely lowering them. That poses problems. The sales tax — would have to be raised to replace the revenue. That’s regressive: the sales tax bears no relation to your ability to pay. There’s also a logical flaw in the professed GOP belief that you never truly own your home if you have to pay taxes on it. It’s not a penalty. You’re paying to maintain cops on the beat, libraries for everybody, to fix potholes.
The Live Calendar: Today in Flagler
October 2025
Palm Coast City Council Workshop
Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry
Flagler County School Board Information Workshop
Flagler County Affordable Housing Committee Meeting
Book Dragons, the Kids’ Book Club, at Flagler Beach Public Library
Budgeting by Values: A Virtual Class to Learn Budgeting Skills
NAACP Flagler Branch General Membership Meeting
Flagler County School Board Meeting
Random Acts of Insanity Standup Comedy
Separation Chat: Open Discussion
The Circle of Light A Course in Miracles Study Group
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library
The Conversation

Workplace Exhaustion’s Connection to Extremism
A new study of 600 employees suggests burnout may quietly fuel worrying attitudes – specifically, the potential justification of violent extremism – towards the perceived source of their distress. In the study, employees made daily notes of their burnout symptoms, emotional states, and violent extremist attitudes. On days when employees felt more burnt out, they reported significantly more sympathy toward extremist ideas, such as justifying violence against perceived injustices.
Florida and Beyond

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, October 27, 2025
The Bunnell City Commission meets and will discuss the possibility of having voting districts in the city, Pasco County library director Sean McGharvey reminds us of library’s jazziness, a few words from Bertrand Russell.

Speaking Spoofs to Power: Those Inflatable Costumes at Trump Protests
activists taking part in protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across the United States have donned inflatable animal costumes. The aim is to disrupt the Trump administration’s claim that the protests are violent “hate America” rallies. The result is a sight to behold, with many encounters between police and protestors going viral. Whether they know it or not, these costumed activists are contributing to a rich history of using humour and dress to mobilise against and challenge power.

When Florida Sends Goons to Intimidate Government Critics
Retired Florida resident James O’Gara sent a postcard to Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, saying simply, “You lack values.” Soon after the postcard, two guys in armored vests emblazoned “POLICE” showed up at the O’Gara home and asked if James O’Gara had mailed that little missive to Tallahassee. They didn’t identify themselves, but the O’Garas checked with Largo police and found out the men were from the Department of Financial Services’ investigations unit.
Briefs and Releases
Trump and Congress Continue to Be Paid
Bill Would Require Florida Landlords to Keep Rentals Well Air Conditioned
Palm Coast Council’s Ty Miller Appointed to Transportation Planning Board’s Executive Committee
Homeward Bound Program Helps Promote Commercial Truck Driving Training at FTC
Bear Warriors United File Injunction to Halt Bear Hunt
More Florida and Beyond

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, October 26, 2025
‘The 39 Steps,’ at the Daytona Playhouse, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, Gamble Jam, Hendrik Willem van Loon’s prejudices, Sam Cook’s Wonderful World, bubl-shaped church spires’ history.

From Albert Speer to Donald Trump
the Trump administration is mobilizing heritage and architecture as tools of ideology and control. He is seeking to roll back inclusive historical narratives at U.S. parks and monuments. And he is reviving sanitized myths about America’s history of slavery, misogyny and Manifest Destiny, for use in museums, textbooks and public schools. Dictators, tyrants and kings build monumental architecture to buttress their own egos, which is called authoritarian monumentalism. They also seek to build the national ego – another word for nationalism.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, October 25, 2025
Palm Coast Founders’ Day, the Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Peps Art Walk, Rick Belhumeur’s birthday, Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town,’ at Limelight Theatre, ‘The 39 Steps,’ at the Daytona Playhouse.

What would Mark Twain Think of Donald Trump?
Mark Twain would have found Trump the showman – the pre-2016 version – a fascinating figure. He would have been appalled, however, by much about Trump the president. Imagining how Twain would view Trump is timely because when some have tried to look to history for an equivalent political moment, they’ll sometimes point to two decades – the 1880s and the 1900s – that happened to also be important in Twain’s life and career.

Florida Judge Rules Concealed Weapons Ban for Under-21 Unconstitutional
Siding with a 19-year-old man who was spotted with a gun in his waistband, a Broward County circuit judge Friday ruled that a state law barring people under age 21 from carrying concealed weapons violates Second Amendment rights.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, October 24, 2025
The Florida Ethics Commission meets, Sheriff Staly discusses open carry on Free For All Fridays, Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock, Wikipedia’s unsung heroes.

The Disgraceful History of Erasing Black Cemeteries
Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, the largest burial ground for enslaved and free people of color in the United States, has witnessed deliberate acts of violence. As the historian Ryan K. Smith writes, Shockoe “was not, as some would say, abandoned – it was actively destroyed.” In recent years, similar threats to Black cemeteries and questions about preservation have been reported at the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana, the Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 in Maryland and a rediscovered graveyard in Florida, among many others.

DeSantis Ridicules Spate of House Proposals to Cut Property Taxes as ‘Political Game’
Florida House members have proposed seven constitutional amendments for the 2026 ballot that would slash the state’s property tax. Gov. DeSantis dismissed them all, saying that “placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes,” and describing it as “a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people.”

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, October 23, 2025
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets this evening, Model Yacht Club Races in Central Park, Trump protests are three times as voluminous as in his first term, Peter Paul and Mary blow in the wind.

The Great Louvre Heist and Security Challenges to Museums Everywhere
On Sunday October 19, criminals managed to steal eight pieces of extremely valuable jewelry from the Louvre Museum’s Gallery of Apollo, in Paris. The robbery highlights long-standing issues for criminology in the field of cultural heritage, as museum security has to address traditional and emerging threats as well as a range of symbolic visions and criminal dynamics. From a security point of view, there are five key ideas that can help us understand what the flaws were in the Louvre, as well as how, and why, criminals target museums.

DeSantis Signs 17th Death Warrant of the Year, More than 6 States Combined, Including Texas
In what could be Florida’s 17th execution this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a death warrant for Richard Barry Randolph, convicted of raping and murdering Putnam County convenience-store manager Minnie Ruth McCollum in 1988. The 17 death warrants are more than the number of executions in six states combined, including Texas, which has the second-most executions so far this year, with five, and Alabama, third-most with four.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Kermit Booth, the former Palm Coast resident and Volusia schools employee, is in court (he faces two capital charges of sexually abusing a girl), Weekly Chess Club for Teens at the public library, Aristophane’s Acharnians.

The Real Reason Conservatives Are Furious About Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Gig
The spectacle of a Spanish-speaking rapper performing during the most-watched sporting event on American TV is a direct rebuke of the Trump administration’s efforts to paper over the country’s diversity. Beyond that, there’s his gender-bending wardrobe. He has slammed the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies. He has declined to tour on the U.S. mainland, fearing that some of his fans could be targeted and deported by ICE. And his explicit lyrics – most of which are in Spanish – would make even the most ardent free speech warrior cringe.
Commentary

The Pentagon’s Unprecedented War on Press Freedom
Throughout modern American history, reporters who cover the Pentagon have played an invaluable role shining a light on military actions when the government has not been forthright with the public. Free press advocates warn that recent changes in a Pentagon policy threaten journalists’ ability to cover the Department of Defense. That’s because it could curb their rights to report information not authorized by the government for release. That’s a big step toward outright censorship.

Beyond Protest: 10 Effective Ways to Make Change
What happens now? That may well be the question being asked by “No Kings” protesters, who marched, rallied and danced all over the nation on Saturday, Oct. 18. practices used globally to fight democratic backsliding or topple autocracies can be instructive. In a nutshell: Nonviolent resistance is based on noncooperation with autocratic actions. It has proven more effective in toppling autocracies than violent, armed struggle. But it requires more than street demonstrations.

Why do Teens No Longer Answer the Phone?
Teenagers can seem to have their phones glued to their hands – yet they won’t answer them when they ring. This scenario, which is all too familiar to many parents, can seem absurd and frustrating, or even alarming to some. Yet it also speaks volumes about the way 13-to-18-year-olds now connect (or fail to connect) with others. If smartphones are ever-present in the daily lives of adolescents, this does not mean they are using their devices in the same way adults do.















