Circuit Judge Chris France on Thursday signed the judgment against Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris, who had filed suit to have the court remove fellow Council member Charles Gambaro and order a special election. France ruled on the matter at the end of a 50-minute hearing last July 3 with Norris in attendance. The written judgment spells out the ruling and closes the case, unless Norris appeals.
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Daily Cartoon and Briefing
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 11, 2025
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
Data Center Planned for 2028 in Palm Coast Cloaked in More Secrecy and Undocumented Boasts than Answers
Following up on an announcement Wednesday by Google that it would be building a transatlantic cable and land it in Flagler Beach, Palm Coast and Flagler County for the first time this week disclosed what has been reported since last August–that a company would build a large data center in Palm Coast’s Town Center. But the two governments’ releases provided more boasts than information.
5 Felony Charges for Palm Coast IT Administrator Accused of Launching Cyber Attack on His Company After He’s Fired
Richard Clayton Wozniak, a 41-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s P Section, was arrested Wednesday on five felony charges following a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation that found him to have allegedly carried out a cyber attack on his company’s computer infrastructure in retaliation for the company firing him. The attack crippled some of the company’s functions.
Don’t Paint Your House Purple Just Yet: Palm Coast May Reconsider Stricter Color Regulations or Referendum
A week after a unanimous Palm Coast City Council vote to move toward revoking all outside paint-color restrictions, Council member Theresa Pontieri said on Tuesday she’ll request a reconsideration, pausing the process. She will seek either a “more reasonable change to the code” or possibly put the matter to voters in a referendum. At least two other council members are willing to think about a referendum.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
At Flagler County Jail, Inmates in Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Now Foster Kittens as Part of Their Therapy
In collaboration with the Flagler Humane Society, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has launched a kitten-fostering program at its nationally recognized mental health and addiction recovery program at the county jail, enabling participating inmates to care for homeless kittens in need, providing a unique therapeutic experience aimed at long-term recovery for both the kitten and the inmates.
Sean Moylan Withdraws from Contending for County Attorney, Citing Divided Commission; 2 Applicants Left
In a letter remarkable for its grace and sense of service, Assistant County Attorney Sean Moylan on Monday night told Flagler County commissioners he was withdrawing from contention to replace Al Hadeed as the county attorney. He said he “did not did not want my candidacy or appointment to foster division on the commission.” That leaves just two candidates in the running: Marsha Segal-George and Michael Rodriguez. The County Commission interviews them July 15. Scott McHenry had also been short-listed. He withdrew.
Dodging and Defiant After Losing Lawsuit, Palm Coast Mayor Norris Says He Doesn’t Care If He ‘Cost the City $1 Million’
A defiant Mike Norris Tuesday evening said he didn’t care if he “cost the city a million dollars.” He was not repaying a dime of the $30,000 the lawsuit he just lost cost taxpayers. He gave no indication that he accepted the court’s ruling. He blamed his colleagues for not taking his advice in December to protect the city against the lawsuit he ended up filing. He warned his colleagues on the Palm Coast City Council that he would be seeking reimbursement of his legal fees over the pending ethics complaint they filed against him. And he renewed conspiratorial claims about city staff and “what’s going on in this city.”
Flagler School Board May Soon Have an Open Seat Again as Derek Barrs Heads for Senate Confirmation Hearing
Derek Barrs’s days as a Flagler County School Board member may be numbered. Barrs’s confirmation hearing to be Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 16 before the Senate Transportation Committee. If he is confirmed, which appears likely, Barrs’s departure will require another gubernatorial appointment to the school board seat, with a year and four months left in that term before the 2026 election.
District Skeptical of Adding “Floater” to School Deputies’ Ranks and Increasing Contract with Sheriff 20%
The Flagler County School Board has few quibbles with a proposed 10 percent increase in its contract with the Sheriff’s Office for the 12 School Resource Deputies it pays for. The coming year’s budget is $1.52 million, compared to $1.377 million. The figures don’t include overtime costs. The board is more skeptical about a proposed addition to the contract: a 13th “floater” deputy who would increase the cost of the contract 20 percent, to $1.65 million, in a year when the district is getting no additional “Safe Schools” dollars from the legislature and is facing its own budget challenges.
Flagler Students Taking Vouchers for Private Education Double to 1,606 in One Year, Accelerating Drain from Public Schools
The number of Flagler County students taking public money for private, parochial or homeschool education doubled from last year to this year, from 884 to 1,606, according to the district’s latest calculations, far more than initially estimated. In spring, the district, based on state-provided figures, estimated that 1,236 students would draw on vouchers. The 1,606 students are draining $14.2 million in public education dollars from the district had they been attending traditional public schools.
3 Years in Prison for Tesla-Driving Realtor Who Refused to Take the Court Seriously After Violating an Injunction
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols’s patience had been tested. Repeatedly. Today, she was out of it, and Zachary Tuohey, a 35-year-old father of three, a once well-off, Tesla-driving Realtor who until nine months ago had never had a run-in with the law, let alone seen the inside of a jail cell, was out of luck. Nichols sentenced him to three years in prison followed by 18 months on probation with severe conditions. It had all started with an injunction his ex-girlfriend had filed, and which he kept violating. Then he repeatedly violated his probation, questioning the court and law enforcement along the way.
Flagler Schools Again Fall Short of an A as Poor Gains Among Lowest Performers and 2 Schools’ Retreats Result in B
For the fourth straight year and the 11th of the last 12 years that the state has issued school grades, the Flagler County School District was rated B, despite a year of gains in almost every one of the district’s nine traditional school and in many categories. It just wasn’t enough. The district fell just two percentage points short of the needed 64 to rank an A, as it did last year, even though the threshold for an A was significantly lower than two years ago.
Flagler District’s New Hire Will Reflect Dual Allegiance to School Choice–and to District as ‘the Best Choice’
As the Flagler County school district is forced by a new state law to advocate for school choice–including vouchers, homeschooling and virtual schooling–against its own interests, the district is also learning to make the salesmanship work for itself: if there is to be true choice, the district must be included in the mix, and the message the district is disseminating is that it is “the best choice.”
Flagler Beach Exploring Allowance for Backyard Chickens, With Caution Against Turning Island Into Kauai
Flagler Beach City Commissioner Rick Belhumeur is interested in allowing residents to raise chickens in their backyards, similarly to Palm Coast, where the city just adopted a pilot program to that effect. Flagler Beach Commission Chair James Sherman is “open to it.” The allowance would mirror regulations in other cities.
The Manchurian Candidate Is Alive and Well and Living in the White House
Until last week I did not believe in the transmigration of souls from celluloid to reality. That changed when Congress passed the so-called “big beautiful bill.” Raymond Shaw, the brainwashed assassin of “The Manchurian Candidate,” is alive and well and living in the White House. There may be other explanations. But outside of the theater of the loony it’s difficult to understand why a president of the United States would gift China the greatest act of strategic self-destruction next to China’s own suicide in the 15th century.
The Conversation
The Justice Department Is Planning to Strip Citizenship from Naturalized Americans
Denaturalization is different from deportation, which removes noncitizens from the country. With civil denaturalization, the government files a lawsuit to strip people’s U.S. citizenship after they have become citizens, turning them back into noncitizens who can then be deported. The current administration wants to do this on a massive scale.
Florida and Beyond
Cancer’s Leading Cause? Aging.
If you were to ask most people what causes cancer, the answer would probably be smoking, alcohol, the sun, hair dye or some other avoidable element. But the most important risk factor for cancer is something else: aging. That’s right, the factor most associated with cancer is unavoidable — and a condition that we will all experience.
‘Big Beautiful Bill: Dirtier Energy, Higher Prices
The nearly 900-page bill that the president signed slashes incentives for wind and solar energy, batteries, electric cars and home efficiency while expanding subsidies for fossil fuels and biofuels. That will leave Americans burning more fossil fuels despite strong public and scientific support for shifting to renewable energy.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 10, 2025
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, Model Yacht Club races in Central park in Town Center, a text exchange on the next Nobel Peace Prize, remembrances of Kissinger and Le Duc Tho.
More Florida and Beyond
Hezbollah Weakened, Iran Crippled, Syria Defeated: Lebanon has a Chance to Cut Its Own Path. Will It Seize It?
Iran is weakened and vulnerable after a 12-day war with Israel. Hezbollah, Tehran’s main ally in Lebanon, had already lost a lot of its fighters, arsenal and popular support during its own war with Israel in October 2024. Changing regional dynamics give the Lebanese state an opening to chart a more neutral orientation and extricate itself from neighboring conflicts that have long exacerbated the divided and fragile country’s chronic problems.
U.S. Supreme Court Deals Blow to Florida’s Enforcement of Anti-Immigration Law in Rebuff to Uthmeier
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier that would have at least temporarily allowed enforcement of a new state law targeting undocumented immigrants who enter the state. Uthmeier last month asked the Supreme Court for a stay of a temporary injunction that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued in April to block the law. Such a stay, if granted, would have allowed enforcement of the law while an underlying legal battle about the injunction played out. The Supreme Court denied the stay request.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Heat index values up to 105, Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Separation Chat, reflections on Mike’s Watch Repair at the Volusia Mall and Matthew Desmond on American inequalities.
Is Universal Rent Assistance a Solution to Housing Crisis?
Research shows little connection between a shortfall of housing and rental affordability problems. Even a massive infusion of new housing would not shrink housing costs enough to solve the crisis, as rents would likely remain out of reach for many households. However, there are already subsidies in place that ensure that some renters in the U.S. pay no more than 30% of their income on housing costs. The most effective solution is to make these subsidies much more widely available.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 8, 2025
The Palm Coast City Council, meeting under Mike Norris for the first time since he lost his court case to get Charles Gabaro off the council, meets to discuss its budget, the Flagler School Board holds a pair of meetings, Clay Jones on funding Florida’s concentration camp with FEMA money, the Library of America publishes a two-set anthology of the Jim Crow era.
Why Texas Hill Country Is Such a Deadly Place for Flooding
Texas Hill Country is known for its landscapes, where shallow rivers wind among hills and through rugged valleys. That geography also makes it one of the deadliest places in the U.S. for flash flooding.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 7, 2025
The Beverly Beach Town Commission meets, the bill the Senate just passed adds 3.25 trillion to the national debt, John Oliver on the bill, Amin Maalouf on not getting do-overs in history.
One Green Sea Turtle Can Contain the Equivalent Of 10 Ping Pong Balls In Plastic
Sea turtles ingest plastic debris of a variety of shapes and sizes, which can include pre-production pellets, foam, plastic bags, sheets, fishing gear and food wrappers. Their ingestion of plastic can come with a slew of negative impacts, some of which include starvation, emaciation and damage to the gut lining. Sea turtles can also become entangled in plastic nets and rope.
As Texas Flood Death Toll Passes 50, Questions Arise Over Adequate Warnings and NWS Staffing
Catastrophic flooding that has claimed more than 50 lives in Texas came amid concerns about staffing levels at the NWS, after the Trump administration fired hundreds of meteorologists this year as part of Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts. The NWS Austin/San Antonio office’s warning coordination meteorologist announced in April that he was retiring early due to the funding cuts, leading to speculation that vacancies could have impacted forecasters’ response.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 6, 2025
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, when personal libraries risk becoming a liability, Peter Arnett remembers interviewing Osama bin Laden, Dred Scott is making a comeback.
Trump Is Shutting Down 3 Key Weather Satellites Ahead of Peak Storm Season
On June 25, 2025, the Trump administration issued a service change notice announcing that the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, DMSP, and the Navy’s Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center would terminate data collection, processing and distribution of all DMSP data by July 31. The satellite data helps meteorologists create weather forecasts that keep planes and ships safe and prepare countries for a potential hurricane landfall.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 5, 2025
Clay Jones on the degenerate merchandizing of Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz, the Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Georges Simenon’s Lock 14, or what’s behind the name of a book title.
Welcoming Immigrants, Detroit Ends Decades of Population Declines
Detroit’s population grew in 2024 for the second year in a row. This is a remarkable comeback after decades of population decline in the Motor City. What explains the turnaround? One factor may be Detroit’s efforts to attract and settle immigrants.
Commentary
Who’s the Most American? Too Often, Biases Say It’s White English Speakers.
Many people who explicitly endorse egalitarian ideals, such as the notion that all Americans are deserving of the rights of citizenship regardless of race, still implicitly harbor prejudices over who’s “really” American. White and Asian participants in a study responded most quickly in matching the white faces with “American,” even when they initially expressed egalitarian values. Black Americans implicitly saw Black and white faces as equally American – though they too implicitly viewed Asian faces as being less American.
Christian Nationalism Raises Its Flag at the Pentagon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s affiliation with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches – commonly called the CREC – drew attention even before his confirmation hearings in January 2025. More recently, media reports highlighted a Pentagon prayer led by Hegseth and his pastor, Brooks Potteiger, in which they praised President Donald Trump, who they said was divinely appointed.
Bill Moyers’ Brilliant, Humane Journalism Strengthened Democracy
Bill Moyers, who died at 91 on June 26, 2025, was among the most acclaimed broadcast journalists of the 20th century. He’s known for TV news shows that exposed the role of big money in politics and drew attention to unsung defenders of democracy, such as community organizer Ernesto Cortés Jr. Earlier in his life, Moyers served in significant roles in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, but his fame comes from his journalism.