The Supreme Court on Aug. 26, 2021, ended the Biden administration’s ban on evictions, putting millions at risk of losing their homes. Legal scholar Katy Ramsey Mason explains what the ruling means, who will be affected and what happens next.
Will More School Districts Impose Mask Mandates Following Leon Court Ruling on Mask Policies?
A court ruling vindicated the mask policies of 10 Florida school districts that have mandated masks in schools without parental opt-outs. Now, the court ruling, in a verbal format, could lead to other districts adopting similar policies because the court determined that these kinds of mask mandates are legal, according to the judge.
Covid’s Casualties: Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Luciano Dies in Flagler, Circuit Judge Steven Henderson Dies in Volusia
Flagler County Sheriff’s Correction Deputy Paul Luciano was 60. Volusia County Circuit Judge Steven Henderson was 49. Both were still in their prime, at work as professionals and at home as family men. Neither fit the profile of Covid casualties, at least not of previous covid waves. Henderson died of the disease on Thursday at a hospital in Volusia County. Luciano died the same day at AdventHealth Palm Coast.
Judge Rules DeSantis Had No Authority to Ban School Mask Mandates or Punish School Boards That Adopt Masking
Judge John Cooper of the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court of Florida ruled today that Gov. Ron DeSantis had no legal authority under the recently-enacted Parental Bill of Rights to prohibit local school boards from adopting mask mandates that did not include opt-out provisions. The judge found DeSantis’s order “capricious” and not based in evidence, but rather based on an incomplete reading of the Bill of Rights.
Flagler Schools Covid Cases in 3 Weeks Exceed All of Last Year’s; County Shatters Weekly Record; Florida Adds 1,727 Deaths
The county recorded 936 confirmed cases of covid in the week ending today, breaking last week’s record by over 200 cases. The health department is unable to conduct systematic contact tracing because it’s overwhelmed by the numbers. As of Thursday, 155 Flagler County residents had died of covid since the beginning of the pandemic, 41 of them in the last four weeks.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 27, 2021
The Sheriff’s in-house attorney resigns after lurid postings surface, Tropical Storm Ida is on its way to becoming Hurricane Ida by Saturday as it heads for the Louisiana coast, Carla Cline on Free for All Fridays, John Updike on selves.
ISIS-K, the Taliban’s Rival Group Behind the Kabul Airport Attack
ISIS-K sees the Afghan Taliban as its strategic rivals. It brands the Afghan Taliban as “filthy nationalists” with ambitions only to form a government confined to the boundaries of Afghanistan. This contradicts the Islamic State movement’s goal of establishing a global caliphate.
A Christopher Columbus Statue Survives
“It is baffling to the Court that the City of Philadelphia wants to remove the Statue without any legal basis,” a judge ruled, rejecting a plan to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus from Marconi Plaza Philadelphia on Aug. 17. “The City’s entire argument is devoid of any legal foundation.”
In Maskless Flagler, We’re All Covid’s Sitting Ducks
Flagler County is in the worst public health crisis it has known in its history, with at least 10 covid deaths a week as many school infections in 3 weeks as all of last year combined, yet the debate remains immobilized by a war on masks that defies science and daily grim realities.
Half of Florida’s Students Now in Districts Defying DeSantis Ban on Mask Mandates as Judge Readies to Rule
Circuit Judge John Cooper said he was “still wrestling” with the “sophisticated legal issues” presented in the case and promised to issue a verbal decision at 10 a.m. Friday. DeSantis on Thursday promised to appeal if Cooper does not side with the state.
Carla Cline’s New Project: Raise 1,000 Local Restaurant Gift Cards of $20 for Hospital’s Overworked Health Care Staff
Carla Cline, the Flagler Beach philanthropist, is raising a thousand $20 restaurant gift-cards to distribute to health care workers at every level at AdventHealth Palm Coast (and beyond) in an effort to counter the indifference and “nonsense” that has overwhelmed the public debate about the pandemic.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 26, 2021
Palm Coast’s beautification and environmental advisory committee talks public sculptures and sea rise, rezoning listening tour continues at Indian Trails Middle this evening, Edith Wharton talks about the ruts of old age.
Clues to Misinformation Behind Public’s and Right-Wing Media’s Misuses of Vaccine Database
Unverified reports of vaccine side effects in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, aren’t the smoking guns portrayed by right-wing media outlets, but they can offer insight into vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.
Bob Newsholme of Flagler Tax Service Shoots Himself in the Chest, and Tells His Son 10 Hours Later
Robert “Bob” Newsholme, a Palm Coast resident and the long-time owner of Flagler Tax Service in Bunnell was trauma-evacuated to a hospital in Daytona Beach Tuesday 10 hours after he revealed to his family that he’d shot himself.
Florida House Rep. Sabatini Threatens Flagler School Board of Legal Action in Letter Laced in Fabrications Over Covid Rules
Florida House Rep. Anthony Sabatini wrote a letter to Flagler Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt and the school board today falsely claiming Indian Trails Middle School students are “being deprived of their right to a public school education,” and building on fabrications about the illegal quarantining of a child at Indian Trails Middle School that began pinballing around local social media pages last week.
Florida Ethics Commission Advocate Recommends $1,000 Fine For Milissa Holland’s Email Lapse
The Florida Commission on Ethics’ advocate and former Mayor Milissa Holland have agreed to a $1,000 fine Holland would pay over the commission’s finding that she violated the state’s ethics rules when she sent three private-business solicitation emails from her public, mayoral email account in 2018.
As 8 School Districts Approve Mask Mandates, DeSantis Administration Argues in Court Against Them
As the legal battle plays out, eight school districts as of Tuesday afternoon had voted to require masks for students, with exceptions only for students whose parents submit doctors’ notes. The mask mandates in the eight counties cover an estimated 1.23 million students, based on state enrollment data from the 2020-2021 school year.
Have You Thanked a School Bus Driver Lately?
Pandemic fears and enhanced unemployment benefits have left the nation facing a serious shortage of qualified school bus drivers. The problem is acute, despite districts implementing recruitment campaigns, offering sign-up bonuses, and even fudging on the standards.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 25, 2021
School rezoning listening session at Buddy Taylor Middle School, big-dog adoptions for just $30 at the Humane Society, vaccination clinics at Daytona State College, Ray Warren on truth and the justice system.
Essential and Often Overlooked: America’s Public Library Workers
It’s clear that not all of the library workers furloughed since March 2020, when virtually all U.S. libraries were closed amid lockdowns, have been brought back on staff. At the same time, many library workers have had to directly engage in person with the public throughout the pandemic, exposing them to health risks.
8 Days After Revealing Daughter’s Infection, Commissioner Joe Mullins Says He Has Covid–Again
Mullins revealed that he is a so-called breakthrough infection–getting infected with covid despite having been vaccinated in March and April. He boasted of changing his car’s tire just before getting monoclonal therapy treatment.
Target of an Injunction and Embroiled in Domestic Violence Allegation, Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy Lentino Resigns
Robert Lentino, the 26-year-old Palm Coast resident suspended from his job as a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy in early July over allegations of domestic violence, resigned today. His ex-girlfriend alleges he physically abused her and misused his patrol car to intimidate her.
Palm Coast’s Palm Harbor Golf Club Sets Record in Usage
At 160 acres, Palm Harbor allows for plenty of space to stretch your legs, practice your putting, and play a leisurely 18-holes all while enjoying the palms, ancient oaks, ospreys, and even American bald eagles that call the course home. And since summer 2020, it has been humming with activity.
Gunnar Galambos, 27, Faces Felony Charges After Violent Weekend Incident Involving 3 Victims at Johnny D’s
Gunnar Joseph Galambos, 27, is accused of violently assaulting Johnny D’s manager and pulling a gun on two patrons, and was seen striking his girlfriend, who did not want to pursue charges as the other alleged victims are. The Saturday incident drew a large police response including a helicopter and a K-9 unit as cops searched for Galambos, eventually finding him in Palm Coast.
Palm Coast Council Appoints 5-Member Redistricting Commission, With 120-Day Deadline
Palm Coast’s process, guided by charter, requires the appointment of a citizens’ redistricting commission, which then crunches the new population numbers, draws the new boundaries and submits its results to the council. The council then approves the end result. The commission has 120 days to do its work.
Two Healthcare Heroes Appreciation Drive-bys Friday at AdventHealth Palm Coast
The thank you procession parade will be held at two separate times on Friday, August 27, 2021: Noon and 8:00 p.m. The community is encouraged to attend and bring and wave signs of support from their vehicles.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 24, 2021
The Palm Coast City Council begins the redistricting process of its voting districts and looks at its budget one final time. Women’s rights in Afghanistan and truth according to Marmontel’s Belisaire.
Behind the Feds’ Tesla Investigation, and the Future of Self-Driving Cars
The probe covers 765,000 Tesla cars – that’s virtually every car the company has made in the last seven years. The investigation will put pressure on Tesla to reevaluate the technologies the company uses in Autopilot and could influence the future of driver-assistance systems and autonomous vehicles.
Full Appeals Court Will Hear St. Johns School District Transgender Bathroom Fight
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday vacated a July 14 ruling by a three-judge panel that said a St. Johns County School Board policy preventing Drew Adams from using boys’ bathrooms was “arbitrary” and violated equal protection rights.
14 Covid Deaths in Flagler in 4 Days Bring County’s Total to 154; Florida Reports 1,486 Deaths Last Week, a Record
There have been many a worst week since the coronavirus pandemic began in the winter of 2020. In Flagler County, last week was the worst yet as the tally of residents who died from the disease set another record, with nine deaths this weekend alone, the tally of new infections also set a weekly record, at 731 confirmed, and ICU admissions were still rising, though admissions had slowed.
An FPC Student’s Perspective: Time to Rethink Inequitable and Irrational Dress Code in Flagler Schools
The district’s dress code is irrational, outdated, unfair and sexist. It limits individual expression, and it’s an utter waste of time, argues Jack Petocz, a junior at Flagler Palm Coast High School who calls on the school board to listen to students’ concerns and revise the code.
Flagler Beach Appoints Committee to Rethink July 4 Fireworks While Aiming for a Show on New Year’s Eve Too
Five residents and the mayor make up the committee that will study the continued feasibility of July 4 fireworks, while the city will ask the county’s tourism bureau for twin allocations of $25,000 next year, to pay for both July 4 and New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Flagler’s Legislative Delegation Meeting Set for Oct. 1
The purpose of the meeting is to elect a Chair and Vice Chair of the Flagler County Delegation and take public testimony on legislative issues, appropriations and local bills.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 23, 2021
Sacco and Vanzetti Memorial Day, the Bunnell City Commission approves an agreement to move its meetings out of leaky City Hall, trial week in felony court, what Roman men were like during the Roman Republic.
The Meaning of Happiness from the Ashes of Pompeii
“Here dwells happiness,” confidently proclaims an inscription found in a Pompeiian bakery nearly 2,000 years after its owner lived and possibly died in the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed the city in A.D. 79. What did happiness mean to this Pompeiian baker? And how does considering the Roman view of felicitas help our search for happiness today?
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 22, 2021
Hurricane Henri gun for Long Island, more heat guns for Palm Coast, Paul Krugman on anti-maskers’ dishonesty, Salman Rushdie on being disliked.
Ashura Explained: the Shiite Muslim Holiday that Inspires Millions
Ashura is marked by Shiite Muslims around the world. The modern-day impact of the Islamic pilgrimage has changed over the centuries. What was once a commemoration of martyrdom today inspires much more, including social justice work around the globe.
Citing Unprecedented Hospital Crisis, Sarasota Is 6th Florida School District to Defy DeSantis Ban on Mask Mandates
The Sarasota County School Board voted, 3-2, late Friday to impose a 90-day mask mandate for students, employees, and visitors, citing a soaring positivity rate in locals tested for COVID-19, ovewhelmed local hospitals, and the district’s struggle to conduct sufficient school-based testing and contact tracing.
Covid Wars: A Ripped-Off Mask and Verbal Assault Over Rules Unravels Tensions in a School District
Incidents in a Texas school district reflect tensions over masks radiating across the country: In one instance, a parent physically grabbed the mask off of a teacher’s face. In a separate incident, a teacher was repeatedly yelled at by a parent who requested the teacher take off their mask, claiming they couldn’t hear what the teacher was saying.
Palm Coast’s 14th Annual Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup Set for Sept. 4
Registration is currently open to participate in the 14th Annual Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup on Saturday, September 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event attracts volunteers with a passion for protecting and enjoying nature by removing the trash within their developments or along city paths, walkways, and waterways.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 21, 2021
The Garden Club of Palm Coast seeks new members, new covid restrictions in Flagler schools, the greatest speaker at last Tuesday’s school board meeting you did not get to see, and a few words on Democrats and Republicans from Uncle Willy.
You’re Free to Refuse the Covid Vaccine. But It’s Un-American.
Throughout history, America’s leaders have recognized that without concern for others, without the highest tradition of cooperative national action, democracy is in peril. People who decide not to get vaccinated must understand that their actions are not just selfish, they are un-American.
State Will Cut Funding for School Boards in Alachua and Broward Over Mask Defiance
The Florida Board of Education will withhold money equal to the salaries of local school board members from districts in Alachua and Broward counties over their tough mask mandates for students, which state officials say violate Florida law.
In a Victory for Public Beach Access, Federal Court Rules in Favor of ‘Customary Use’ of Sands on Private Portions
Flagler County in 2018 passed an ordinance similar to the town ordinance the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld today. The court’s decision backed the county over property owners who argued a 2018 Florida law gave them the right to exclude beach-goers from the dry portions of privately owned beach.
Flagler Beach Again Delays First Friday Resumption, Possibly to December Unless Covid Pall Lifts Sooner
The Flagler Beach City Commission signed a new agreement with Laverne McNeil Shank, Jr. of Surf 97.3 FM to run First Friday events but a September re-start will be delayed, possibly to December, pending a better covid climate.
School Board Members Term Janet McDonald on ‘Witch Hunt’ and ‘Dangerous’ as She Guns for Board Attorney in Wake of Tuesday Tumult
School Board member Janet McDonald called for what would have been an unlawful, closed-door meeting to review the school board attorney’s contract, then called for any special meeting to review last Tuesday’s meeting, when the chamber had to be cleared because of the crowd’s rule-breaking. Two board members–Colleen Conklin and Cheryl Massaro–responded with withering criticism of their colleague.
School or ‘Russian Roulette’? Amid Delta Variant and Lax Mask Rules, Some Parents See No Difference
Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends “universal indoor masking” in schools regardless of vaccination status, schools across the country are not embracing mask requirements, including for students under 12 who aren’t yet eligible for protective vaccines.
Family Life Center’s Trish Giaccone Sternly Rejects Flagler Beach Mayor’s ‘Rogue’ Attack, But Fences Aren’t Mended
Family Life Center Executive Director Trish Giaccone responded bluntly Thursday to criticism from Flagler Beach mayor Suzie Johnston that Giaccone had gone “rogue” by appearing on a radio commercial hosted by an incendiary county commissioner. But it does not appear as if relations between the city and the Life Center will improve.
Palm Coast Increases Fees at Parks, Community Center, Pool, Palm Harbor Golf Course and Tennis Center
The City of Palm Coast is raising its fees for Parks and Recreation services and rentals across the city following City Council approval on Aug. 17, after the proposal was presented to the council at a workshop. The new fees are now in effect.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 20, 2021
Flagler County Planning Director Adam Mengel and GoTobin Publisher and Realtor Toby Tobin talk growth on WNZF’s Free for All, Palm Coast reviews cultural arts grants, a scorcher of a day with the heat index reaching toward 108.