• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

FlaglerLive

Unlike Government Propaganda, PBS and NPR Are Generally Unbiased

July 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

Congress’ cuts to public broadcasting will diminish the range and volume of the free press and the independent reporting it provides. MicroStockHub-iStock/Getty Images Plus

Accusing the media of liberal bias has been a consistent conservative complaint since the civil rights era, when white Southerners insisted news outlets were slanting their stories against segregation. But those charges of bias rarely survive empirical scrutiny. That independence in the United States – enshrined in the press freedom clause of the First Amendment – gives journalists the ability to hold government accountable, expose abuses of power and thereby support democracy. That’s what GOP lawmakers call a liberal bias.

As Data Centers Hog Power, Regular Customers Foot the Bill

July 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

As power-hungry data centers proliferate, states are searching for ways to protect utility customers from the steep costs of upgrading the electrical grid, trying instead to shift the cost to AI-driven tech companies. (© FlaglerLive)

Regular energy consumers, not corporations, will bear the brunt of the increased costs of a boom in artificial intelligence that has contributed to a growth in data centers and a surge in power usage, recent research suggests. Between 2024 and 2025, data center power usage accounted for $9 billion, or 174%, of increased power costs in 13 states and Washington, D.C., where this spring, customers were told to expect roughly a $25 increase on their monthly electric bill starting June 1.

Any Hope of Stricter Development Regulations in Palm Coast, Bunnell or Flagler County ‘Dead in the Water’ Until 2027

July 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

All clear: Senate Bill 180, now law, is giving developers a far freer hand from regulations until late 2027. (© FlaglerLive)

Forget a building moratorium of any kind. A For the next three years, something closer to a moratorium on regulations is in effect in Flagler County, its cities and across Florida, thanks to a provision in a new state law–what emerged from the Legislature as Senate Bill 180–that local governments are only now beginning to understand. The law ties the hands of local land use regulators, prohibiting any “burdensome” restrictions on developers, while giving anyone the right to sue a local government that appears to violate the law. 

Palm Coast Couple Face Felony Child Neglect Charges After Leaving Infant in Car While Drinking at a Bar

July 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

The parking lot a Smiles and other businesses on Palm Harbor Way.

Norman E. Finnegan Jr., 60, and Clarisse Finnegan, 28, both of Coral Reef Court in Palm Coast, were booked at the Flagler County jail shortly after midnight Saturday, each on a charge of felony child neglect after their infant child was left in the backseat of their car while the couple had drinks at a bar. 

County Commission Chair Andy Dance Elected to 2 State Executive Committees, Amplifying Flagler’s Voice

July 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

County Commission Chair Andy Dance. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Commission Chair Andy Dance was elected to the Executive Committee of the Small County Coalition of Florida (SCCF) to represent Region 3, and elected to the Board of Directors of the Florida Association of Counties (FAC) to represent District 7.

Mary Ethel Matson, September 29, 1943-July 17, 2025

July 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Mary Ethel Matson.

Mary Ethel Matson, 81, who spent many of her final years in Flagler Beach, passed away on the 17th day of July, 2025, at Azalea Gardens Assisted Living and Memory Care in Tallahassee, Fla., after an extended period of illness. Mary was an elementary school teacher for seven years before transitioning to work in the family construction business for over 20 years. Survivors include her husband, Edward Matson of Flagler Beach.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 21, 2025

July 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Superman isn't safe by John Darkow, Columbia Missourian

Mosquito control meeting, a slip-and-fall trial involving Publix, Fintan O’Toole on the show of force in Los Angeles, Israeli atrocities and war crimes continue at food-distribution sites.

Why Russia Is Paying Women To Have Babies

July 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

russia babies

In some parts of Russia, schoolgirls who become pregnant are being paid nearly $1,200 for giving birth and raising their babies. This new measure, introduced in the past few months across ten regions, is part of Russia’s new demographic strategy, widening the policy adopted in March 2025 which only applied to adult women. It is designed to address the dramatic decline in the country’s birthrate.

Minimally Invasive TenJet Procedure Ends Woman’s Years of Chronic Hip Pain

July 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Pain over. (AdventHealth)

For years, Laura O’Brien lived with persistent pain in her hip. It made daily tasks like walking, standing, and sleeping difficult. Relief finally came from an unexpected source: a handheld device the size of an electric toothbrush. Dr. Joseph Chen performed the outpatient procedure at AdventHealth Palm Coast – as the only sports medicine physician in Flagler, St. Johns, and Volusia counties offering TenJet for joint and limb treatments.

Everglades Concentration Camp Boosts Depravity for DeSantis & Co.

July 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

alligator alcatraz

Do you think concentration camps are cool? Does your heart fill with mean-spirited joy at the thought of human beings stuffed into tents and FEMA trailers parked on a disused airstrip in the heart of the Everglades in the middle of a Florida summer? Do you get off on the idea of alligators and snakes killing people and admire bully capitalism hawking camo beverage coolers, stickers, and T-shirts with grinning reptiles proclaiming, “Nowhere to Run; Nowhere to Hide”?

DeSantis Signs 10th Death Warrant in 7 Month, for Kayle Bates, 43 Years after Murder of Janet White

July 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Kayle Bates.

More than 43 years after Janet White was abducted from a Bay County insurance office and murdered, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for convicted killer Kayle Barrington Bates. Bates, 67, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 19 at Florida State Prison and could be the 10th inmate put to death by lethal injection this year in the state. DeSantis signed the death warrant after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 declined to take up an appeal by Bates related to a juror in his trial.

Justice Department Demanding to See States’ Voter Lists in Latest Intrusion

July 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Equipment at the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Office. (© FlaglerLive)

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the voter registration lists of several states — representing data on millions of Americans — and other election information ahead of the 2026 midterms, raising fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information. The DOJ is also demanding Colorado turn over all records related to the 2024 election, a massive trove of documents that could include ballots and even voting equipment. The Colorado inquiry, the most sweeping publicly known request, underscores the extent of the administration’s attention on state election activities.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 20, 2025

July 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

clay jones

Clay Jones on the Epstein files, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, getting to know Nicolas Edme Retif de la Bretonne, Edith Piaf in Saving Private Ryan, Isaiah Berlin’s Freedom and Its Betrayals.

What You Can Do To Keep Your Data Privacy from Slipping Away

July 19, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Multifactor authentication is a key step in protecting your data privacy.

In 2024, the Identity Theft Resource Center reported that companies sent out 1.3 billion notifications to the victims of data breaches. That’s more than triple the notices sent out the year before. It’s clear that despite growing efforts, personal data breaches are not only continuing, but accelerating. What can you do about this situation? Here are some options.

NASA May Move Its Headquarters to Florida

July 19, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

It's all about Cape Canaveral anyway. (NASA)

Sen. Ashley Moody believes that NASA may still move its headquarters to the Sunshine State, telling national media that keeping it in the nation’s capital is “not needed” and suggesting the space agency’s Chief of Staff may be an advocate for relocation.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 19, 2025

July 19, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

CBS Cancels Colbert Late Shoe by Bob Englehart, PoliticalCartoons.com

The Flagler Beach Farmers’ Market at its new location on South 2nd Street, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin get into it.

Charitable Giving Grew to $593B in 2024, 2nd Best Year Ever

July 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Paul Newman, the late actor and philanthropist, co-founded Camp Boggy Creek, which children with serious illnesses and their families attend for free.

U.S. charitable giving increased 3.3% to US$593 billion in 2024, lifted by the strength of the economy. The annual report from the Giving USA Foundation, produced in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, found that this was the second-highest level on record after adjusting for inflation.

Federal Funding for PBS and NPR Nears Fadeout

July 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

pbs npr defunding

The U.S. House cleared legislation just after midnight Friday that will cancel $9 billion in previously approved spending for public broadcasting and foreign aid, marking only the second time in more than three decades Congress has approved a presidential rescissions request.

‘Unacceptable’ Judge Stefanie Moon Fined $2,115 and Suspended for Violations

July 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Judge Stephanie Moon. (Facebook)

Calling her conduct “unacceptable,” the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a 10-day suspension, a public reprimand and a $2,115 fine for Broward County circuit judge Stephanie Moon, who is accused of inappropriate campaign activity, prohibited political contributions and other wrongdoing.

Flagler Commission Hires Michael Rodriguez Its Next County Attorney as Al Hadeed Era Closes

July 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Thursday night trinity at the Flagler County Commission. From left, County Attorney Al Hadeed, who is retiring in a few days, Commissioner Greg Hansen, and newly chosen County Attorney Michael Rodriguez, moments after the commission's 5-0 vote in his favor. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission Thursday evening voted unanimously to hire Michael Rodriguez, a lawyer with 28 years’ experience, much of it in local government, as its next county attorney, replacing Al Hadeed, who retires in two weeks. The unanimous vote masked reluctance among some commissioners to immediately make the choice, which was made more by default than by acclamation. 

Motorcyclist, 62, Is Killed in Crash After Striking Median on A1A Near Surf Club

July 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

The crash scene on State Road A1A on Thursday afternoon. The victim--blocked out--remained at the scene until the medical examiner claimed the body in mid-afternoon. (© Bob Ziolkowski for FlaglerLive)

A 62-year-old motorcyclist died at midday Thursday when he ran his motorcycle into a median, crashing on State Road A1A near the intersection with Old A1A, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. 

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 18, 2025

July 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

Trump wants to move on from Epstein by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com

Superintendent LaShakia Moore discusses the costly loopholes of the state’s school voucher system on Free For All Fridays with Host David Ayres, when Churchill smoked cigars in the Saudi King’s face, Salman Rushdie’s Knife.

Is the End of Carbon Capture an Unexpected Benefit?

July 17, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

carbon capture technology breakthroughs

The appeal of carbon capture and storage, in theory, was that it could be bolted on to an existing factory with minimal changes to the core process and the carbon pollution would go away. Without the expectation that carbon capture will help them meet regulations, this may create space to focus on materials breakthroughs that could revolutionize manufacturing while solving industries’ emissions problems.

Bull Creek Fish Camp Rising Again 2 Years After Demolition as County Secures Leaseholder for New Restaurant

July 17, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The RV park at Bull Creek Fish Camp. Soon all these people will have a restaurant again there. (© FlaglerLive)

Two years after Flagler County’s Bull Creek Fish Camp was torn down following severe damage from Hurricane Nicole, a nearly 5,000-square-foot building is rising in its place and will be leased to a west Flagler family that will run a restaurant there again. The Flagler County Commission tentatively agreed to leasing the property–which has yet to be built up–to Jessica Norton-Henry and the mother-son team of Pamela White and Joshua White. 

School Board’s Derek Barrs Glides Through Senate Committee Hearing’s Grandstanding Members Unscathed

July 17, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Flagler County School Board member Derek Barrs at his confirmation hearing before the

Navigating a few ideologically choppy waters as senators dueled over deregulation and political interference, Flagler County School Board member Derek Barrs on Wednesday cleared the main hurdle to his presidential nomination to lead the Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as he appeared for a nomination hearing before the U.S. Senate Transportation Committee.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 17, 2025

July 17, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

A third political party? by Jeff Koterba, patreon.com/jeffreykoterba

Flagler County attorney candidate interviews this afternoon, Marineland Town Commission meeting, the ironies of a slow trek back to the 1900, Paul Krugman on the radical changes ahead, Steinbeck’s bad day.

Flagler County ‘Awards of Excellence’ for Podcast Series and Writing

July 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Flagler County is the recipient of three National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO) “Awards of Excellence,” in the category Audiovisual Podcast Series for the county’s new podcast called Flagler in Focus and two writing features. NACIO, which is an active affiliate of the National Association of Counties (NACo), made the presentations July 14 during its annual conference in Philadelphia that the county attended virtually.

Palm Coast Council Again Reverts on Allowing All Exterior House Colors, to Now Keep 5 on Ban List

July 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

palm coast paint colors

The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday agreed to rescind its two-week-old decision to end all restrictions on houses’ exterior paint colors. It will instead allow almost all colors while preserving a ban on five: neon, fuchsia, magenta, orange and purple. The proposed change would still result in the least restrictive color rules since ITT founded Palm Coast in the late 1960s as a deed-restricted community. The upshot for now is that the famously, handsomely dark blue house in the F Section that’s been at the center of the controversy for months can keep its royal color. 

New Schools Commissioner Threatens Superintendents About Violating ‘Parental Rights’

July 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas (Photo via DOE)

Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas delivered his first speech to the State Board of Education Wednesday, quoting the Book of Psalms, promising to work closely with Florida’s top law enforcement officer to ensure students aren’t being “indoctrinated,” and threatening superintendents about violating parental rights.

As Sheriff Announces Sweep Netting 17 Arrests, 18th Is Seized While Watching Staly on Facebook

July 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Sheriff Rick Staly and State Attorney R.J. Larizza addressed reporters today about a six-month undercover investigation of suspected drug dealers. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and State Attorney R.J. Larizza this afternoon announced the results of a six-month undercover investigation of suspected drug pushers, many of them habitual offenders. The sweep netted cash, guns, drugs and 18 arrests, eight of them this morning and a ninth taking place even as the sheriff’s press conference was rolling–and as the suspect was watching it. 

Man Shot 8 Times in 2nd Heist Is Guilty of Armed Robbery at Palm Coast Circle K and Sentenced to Life in Prison

July 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Qwinntavus Kwame Jordan in court today, before the verdict. (© FlaglerLive)

A jury of six convicted Qwinntavus Jordan, 34, of armed robbery of a Palm Coast Circle K in 2023 at the end of a three-day trial at the Flagler County courthouse today. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 16, 2025

July 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Live Free And Die by Ratt, PoliticalCartoons.com

Trial week continues, the Tourist Development Council meets, so does the Palm Coast Planning Board, recalling the Trinity Test nuclear explosion in New Mexico and the meaning of the word.

Florida Fronts $450 Million for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Amid Scarce Information on Prisoners

July 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

alligator alcatraz

While touring Alligator Alcatraz, the president said, “This facility will house some of the menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.” But new reporting from the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times reveals that of more than 700 detainees, only a third have criminal convictions.

Palm Coast’s London Waterway Project Wins 2025 Outstanding Achievement Award

July 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

water excavation

The City of Palm Coast’s London Waterway project was recently recognized with the 2025 Outstanding Achievement Award for Stormwater Projects, presented by the Florida Stormwater Association.

Jury Convicts Man Who Turned Down 1-Year Plea Deal for Hit-and-Run; He Faces Up to 15 Years in Prison

July 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Flagler County Sheriff's Bailiff Carl Parker handcuffs Joao Fernandes after the verdict. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols had warned Joao Paulo Fernandes just five weeks ago: don’t go to trial. You’ll lose. Fernandes, a 50-year-old Palm Coast contractor, thought he knew better than the seasoned judge. He turned down a plea deal for hit-and-run with injury that would have had him serve less than a year in prison. Today, a jury convicted him, and that offer is off the table. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

Miccosukee Tribe Seeking to Join Lawsuit Against Everglades Migrant Prison, Citing ‘Environmental Degradation’

July 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

An image of the Everglades posted by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida on their Facebook page.

Citing “significant concerns about environmental degradation” and threats to “traditional and religious ceremonies,” members of the Miccosukee Tribe are trying to join a lawsuit challenging an immigrant-detention center in the Everglades.

Palm Coast Council, with 2nd Censure Vote, Will Ask Governor to Remove ‘Toxic’ Mayor Norris

July 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 33 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris, now twice censured. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council in a 4-1 vote today censured Mayor Mike Norris for the second time in three months and agreed to send a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him to unseat the mayor. Both acts were extraordinary for this or any city but for controversies Norris has been provoking since his election last November, making a routine of the extraordinary. 

Palm Coast Council’s Five Charter Review Picks Reflect Politics and Experience, Not Diversity

July 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The five Charter Review Committee members the Palm Coast City Council appointed today. (© FlaglerLive and Palm Coast video)

The Palm Coast City Council today appointed five residents–five men, four white, one Hispanic–to the Charter Review Committee, along with five alternate members, out of 27 applicants. The council’s choices reflect some appointments with an eye to politics and some to experience. The appointments include former two-term County Commissioner Donald O’Brien and current East Mosquito Control District board member Michael Martin. O’Brien especially has deep familiarity both with governance and parliamentary procedures, as well as the difference between charters and ordinances.

Supreme Court Redefines Education Opt-Outs Along Religious Lines

July 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The parents who brought the case had requested that their children be excused when books with LGBTQ+ characters were used in class

An interfaith coalition of Muslim, Orthodox Christian and Catholic parents in Montgomery County, Maryland – including Tamer Mahmoud, for whom the case is named – questioned the school board’s refusal to allow them to opt their young children out of lessons using picture books with LGBTQ+ characters. Ruling in favor of the parents, the court found that the board violated their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion by requiring their children to sit through lessons with materials inconsistent with their faiths.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 15, 2025

July 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

Trump calls Rosie O’Donnell Threat to humanity by Jonathan Brown, PoliticalCartoons.com

trial of Quinntavus Kwame Jordan and Joao Paulo Fernandes, the Palm Coast City Council meets, Food on pickleball’s rise and war with tennis, cheating in chess and in Steinbeck’s “Sweet Thursday.”

The Meaning of ABC’s and CBS’s Surrender

July 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

network executives surrender

It’s not certain what the ABC and CBS settlements portend, but many are predicting they will produce a “chilling effect” within the network news divisions. Such an outcome would arise from fear of new litigation, and it would install a form of internal self-censorship that would influence network journalists when deciding whether the pursuit of investigative stories involving the Trump administration would be worth the risk.

Florida Supreme Court Sends Everglades Prison Case to Lower Court

July 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

florida everglades prison

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday sent to a lower court a case filed by Democratic state lawmakers after they were denied entry to a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Making Ignorance Great Again

July 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

The Plaza of the Americas on University of Florida’s Gainesville campus. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)

Most Americans once celebrated our heterogeneity, our pluralism, and our tendency to expand freedoms. We valued knowledge and tried to foster understanding; we welcomed the new. Not so much these days, not here in Florida. This state now has statutes forbidding teaching the truth about slavery and Jim Crow, threatening educators who discuss gender, sexuality, systemic racism, and other disfavored topics. Universities are scrubbing their websites of words like “women,” “Black,” “colonialism,” and “diversity” — even if it’s “biodiversity” — anything seen as threatening to white, male Christian hegemony.

County Money for Flagler Beach’s Lifeguards Survives for One More Year After Outcry

July 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The good old days when the pier was walkable and lifeguards' future was not in question. (© FlaglerLive)

To Flagler Beach’s relief, the Flagler County Commission today agreed to reverse course from a plan to eliminate paying for half the salaries of Flagler Beach’s lifeguards, as the county has been doing for years. The commission agreed to the one-year extension of what will be a $106,000 payment even as it directed County Administrator Heidi Petito to continue talking with the city to prepare it for an end to the county subsidy. The decision today was part of a budget overview as Petito presented the tentative budget for next year.

Flagler Beach Commission Votes 4-1 to Start Negotiating Sale of Ocean Palm Golf Club, But Residents Skeptical

July 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Rustic and beloved: the 5th hole sign at Ocean Palm Golf Club in Flagler Beach. (Flagler Beach)

To more skepticism than support from residents, the Flagler Beach City Commission on Thursday voted 4-1 to enter into negotiations to sell its chronically ramshackle 37-acre Ocean Palm Golf Club to Jeff Ryan, who has held the property’s lease for over a year and a half. If the course is sold, there’s no guarantee against a future commission approving the land for development. It would only take a unanimous vote of the commission to do so.

Flagler School Board’s Lauren Ramirez Challenges Ethics Commission’s Pending Restrictions on Her Private Business

July 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

School Board member Lauren Ramirez volunteered a request to the Florida Ethics Commission for an opinion on potential conflicts of interests between her private business and the district. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board member Lauren Ramirez is contesting a proposed finding by the Florida Ethics Commission that would severely restrict local public school students and employees from her business. Prohibiting local students from using her company’s services, she argued, would “have broad, unintended implications for public officials who own businesses unrelated to their elected duties and who operate in good faith under the assumption that members of the public, including students or parents, can choose where to spend their time and money.”

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 14, 2025

July 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Lady Liberty Sent Back to France by Jeff Koterba, patreon.com/jeffreykoterba

The Flagler County Commission holds a 1 p.m. workshop to discuss the potential leasing of Bull Creek, and to discuss next year’s budget. It meets again at 5 p.m. The Bunnell City Commission meets. The menhirs of Carnac in Brittany, and the magnificence of a scene from Casablanca on Bastille Day.

Analysis Warns Deportations Could Cost 6 Million Jobs, With Florida Among Four Top Losers

July 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Federal immigration agents converge on Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha, Neb., on June 10 for an immigration raid. A new analysis released Thursday estimates mass deportations could cost more than 6 million jobs, a figure that includes both immigrants and U.S.-born workers. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Nebraska Examiner)

If successful, the administration’s goal of deporting 4 million people over four years will cost jobs held by both immigrants and U.S.-born workers, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. EPI’s analysis found California, Florida, New York and Texas will have the highest number of job losses, because of larger immigrant populations in those states.

Grover Norquist Gets His Wish: Drowning Government in a Bathtub

July 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, speaks on Capitol Hill on Nov. 7, 2017.

As he has done since the 1980s, Grover Norquist continues to exert outsized influence over the GOP. For more than four decades, Norquist has been a relentless advocate for fiscal conservatism. He is the living embodiment of an ideological thread that stretches from Goldwater to Reagan to Gingrich to current GOP leadership.

Lawmakers Describe ‘Disturbing, Vile Conditions’ at Everglades Migrant Prison

July 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 48 Comments

An actual sign paid for by the state of Florida, pictured here by Florida GOP Sen. Blaise Ingoglia in a selfie. he posted on X.

U.S. Democratic representatives characterized the state-run migrant prison in the Everglades as a cruel and wasteful political stunt following a guided tour Saturday. “There are really disturbing, vile conditions, and this place needs to be shut the hell down,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The South Florida Democrat said 32 men slept in each of the cages with bed bunks and three sinks attached to the toilets. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced hundreds of people started arriving on July 2.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 477
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
Flagler County Sheriff's Expo 2025

Recent Comments

  • Pierre Tristam on At Mike Norris ‘Mayoral Town Hall,’ an Impressive Crowd Starring Cast of Familiar Faces, Fictions and Grievances
  • Concerned Citizen of Flagler Ciunty on Janie Ruddy Rips Vouchers, Will Furry Defends Them as School Board Sees Erosion of Nearly 2,000 Students to Hand-Out
  • Kenneth Nasif on At Mike Norris ‘Mayoral Town Hall,’ an Impressive Crowd Starring Cast of Familiar Faces, Fictions and Grievances
  • Foresee on As Israel Starves Gaza
  • Robin on Janie Ruddy Rips Vouchers, Will Furry Defends Them as School Board Sees Erosion of Nearly 2,000 Students to Hand-Out
  • Mark Webb on At Mike Norris ‘Mayoral Town Hall,’ an Impressive Crowd Starring Cast of Familiar Faces, Fictions and Grievances
  • Merrill Shapiro on Janie Ruddy Rips Vouchers, Will Furry Defends Them as School Board Sees Erosion of Nearly 2,000 Students to Hand-Out
  • Laurel on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 27, 2025
  • Kennan on As Israel Starves Gaza
  • Laurel on A Perplexed Flagler Beach Hears Vague County ‘Options’ to Pay for Beach Protection After Sales Tax Plan Collapse
  • Give Norris The ….. on At Mike Norris ‘Mayoral Town Hall,’ an Impressive Crowd Starring Cast of Familiar Faces, Fictions and Grievances
  • Mike on Citing Costs, Flagler Beach Commissioners Reject Design of New ‘Beachwalk’ on and Around Pier for 2nd Time in 4 Weeks
  • Tim on Citing Costs, Flagler Beach Commissioners Reject Design of New ‘Beachwalk’ on and Around Pier for 2nd Time in 4 Weeks
  • Shark on Citing Costs, Flagler Beach Commissioners Reject Design of New ‘Beachwalk’ on and Around Pier for 2nd Time in 4 Weeks
  • Check Your Facts on At Mike Norris ‘Mayoral Town Hall,’ an Impressive Crowd Starring Cast of Familiar Faces, Fictions and Grievances
  • Doug on Citing Costs, Flagler Beach Commissioners Reject Design of New ‘Beachwalk’ on and Around Pier for 2nd Time in 4 Weeks

Log in