Florida this week began accepting immigrant detainees at a repurposed prison in Baker County as part of the state’s support of President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation efforts, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.
Armed Burglar Wrecks Sharps Liquors in Flagler Plaza After Being Denied Drinks, and Faces Life Felonies
A 38-year-old man whose recorded behavior at the time of his arrest suggests questionable mental competence is at the Flagler County jail on 12 felony charges, two of them punishable by life in prison, following an alleged armed burglary and a trashing rampage through Sharps Discount Liquors in Palm Coast. He is being held on $236,000 bond. The trashing left the area behind the counter entirely covered in broken bottles shoved off the shelves, along with a whole other segment of the store where the man had systematically upended, broken or wrecked everything in his way.
Court Backs Florida DCF Ban on Religious Ideologies in Domestic Abuser Intervention Programs
A federal appeals court Thursday backed the Florida Department of Children and Families in a First Amendment dispute about a state regulation barring “faith-based ideology” in a program that people convicted of domestic violence are required to attend.
A Groveling Flagler County Amplifies FEMA Falsehoods as Feds Release $3.72 Million Owed Flagler Beach Pier
Setting aside what a federal judge called a “categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds,” the Federal Emergency Management Administration finally released a reimbursement of $3.72 million for the Flagler Beach pier’s $15 million demolition and reconstruction project, bringing FEMA’s share to $11.2 million. FEMA and Flagler County have issued news releases falsely crediting that and other releases of FEMA dollars to the rump administration, which had ordered the money frozen and been forced to release it by a judge’s injunction.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, September 5, 2025
First Friday Garden Walks at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, First Friday in Flagler Beach, Free Family Art Night, Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens, Flannery O’Connor’s “Geranium” and “Judgement Day.”
AI Slop: As Cheap and Sleazy as It Sounds
AI slop is low- to mid-quality content – video, images, audio, text or a mix – created with AI tools, often with little regard for accuracy. It’s fast, easy and inexpensive to make this content. AI slop producers typically place it on social media to exploit the economics of attention on the internet, displacing higher-quality material that could be more helpful. AI slop has been increasing over the past few years. As the term “slop” indicates, that’s generally not good for people using the internet.
Florida Medical Association Unequivocally Backs Vaccine Mandates in Schools as DeSantis Prepares to End Them
The Florida Medical Association, the state’s largest physicians’ organization, strongly backed childhood vaccinations Thursday, a day after state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo vowed to end vaccine mandates.
Guns and Ammo Will be Tax-Free in Florida Until the End of the Year
Starting Monday and running through the end of the year, Florida will provide a sales-tax exemption on a variety of hunting equipment, the first time a state tax “holiday” includes guns and ammunition. The tax holiday starting Monday also will allow people to avoid paying sales taxes on camping and fishing equipment through the end of the year. It was part of a broad tax package (HB 7031) that lawmakers passed in June.
Lease-Holder Offers Flagler Beach $801,000 to Buy Ocean Palm Golf Club as 2nd Company Shows Interest
The operators of the city-owned Ocean Palm Golf Club at the south end of Flagler Beach are offering the city $801,333 to buy the 37-acre, nine-hole course the city has owned since 2013. Meanwhile, John Patrick Capital, the investment firm, told the city last week that it was interested in making its own offer on the property, implying that it would do a better job running it than the current lease-holder.
Palm Coast Man Arrested Under New “Super Speeder Law” for Going 90 in a 35 Near Varn Park
A 50-year-old Palm Coast resident was arrested and booked at the Flagler County jail on a speeding charge–going over 50 miles per hour above the posted speed limit. The driver was going 90 in a 35 near Varn Park on State Road A1A, north of Beverly Beach. He faces up to 30 days in jail, a $500 fine or both if convicted on the second-degree misdemeanor. He is also required to appear at a hearing under the state’s new “Super Speeder Law,” which went into effect on July 1.
Noah Urban, 20, Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison Over Defrauding at Least 59 Victims of $13 Million in Crypto Scam
Noah Michael Urban, the 20-year-old Palm Coast resident charged last year with 14 federal counts of cryptocurrency, was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by three years on probation. He had faced up to 22 years in prison. In the cases covered by the investigation, Urban had used the name, credentials, and email accounts of at least 59 victims to take money from their cryptocurrency accounts and transfer it to his account. The victims lost at least $13 million between August 2022 and March 2023. All the crimes were committed while he lived in Palm Coast.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, September 4, 2025
Clay Jones on flag-burning, Joao Fernandes, the 50-year-old Palm Coast resident a jury convicted of hit-and-run on Belle Terre Parkway in July, is sentenced, Palm Coast’s Residential Drainage Advisory Committee meets, when writers back censorship.
Understanding China’s New Military Power
With the conflicts in Ukraine, south Asia, and the Middle East showing the limitations of more established European and Russian hardware, there are growing opportunities for Chinese weapons technology. It’s also likely that Chinese military systems will find customers among countries that are not on Donald Trump’s list of favoured nations, such as Iran. Should Iran be able to equip itself with Chinese systems, it will be better placed to go head-to-head with Israel.
1st Palm Coast Charter Review Town Hall Scheduled for Sept. 29
The City of Palm Coast invites residents to attend the first community workshop for the Charter Review process on Monday, September 29, 2025, at 6 p.m. It will be held at the Southern Recreation Center, at 1290 Belle Terre Parkway.
What the Hell? An Indecorous DeSantis Calls Renner’s Governor Run ‘Ill-Advised’
Ron DeSantis does not want former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner to succeed him as governor, he told a packed crowd Wednesday. His blunt take on the 48-year-old’s candidacy stood in contrast to Renner’s campaign launch earlier Wednesday, when the former House Speaker lauded himself as a top GOP figure who played a key role in advancing DeSantis’s agenda.
Delayed a Month, Work on Flagler Beach Pier Demolition Resumes After Erin’s Waves Wash Out Turtle Nest
It took a bit of a cataclysmic tragedy for what may have been up to a hundred eggs, but demolition work on the Flagler Beach pier resumed today after a turtle nest that had stopped the work cold at the end of July washed out to sea as Hurricane Erin’s waves battered the shore. The storm never got close to the beach. But swells carved out a significant swath of sand, and with it the loggerhead nest.
Palm Coast’s Paul Renner, Aligning Himself as DeSantis Heir, Enters Race for Governor Against Byron Donalds
Former state House Speaker Paul Renner on Wednesday launched a 2026 campaign for governor, becoming the first high-profile candidate to take on Congressman Byron Donalds — who has the backing of President Donald Trump — in the Republican primary. Renner, whose district represented Palm Coast and Flagler County, left the House in November after two years as speaker. He issued a statement that drew links with Gov. Ron DeSantis, who cannot run again because of term limits.
Ex-Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller Endorses Charles Gambaro in Race Against U.S. Rep. Randy Fine
Former Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller has endorsed Palm Coast’s Charles Gambaro in the city councilman’s bid to unseat Randy Fine in next August’s GOP primary for the congressional seat Fine won in a special election. President Trump named Miller acting secretary of defense for the last three months of Trump’s first term after Trump fired his predecessor, Mark Esper.
Nervous About Timeline, Palm Coast Council Agrees to Accelerate Schedule of Charter Review Meetings
When the Palm Coast Charter Review Committee met for the first time on Aug. 25, the five committee members appointed by the Palm Coast City Council were surprised to hear from their moderator that they would not meet again to discuss the charter until over four months later, in January. At the urging of Committee member Michael Martin, the Palm Coast City Council agreed to move up that timeline starting in October, if not sooner, and to move up the public’s town hall meetings regarding the charter to September, if possible.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, September 3, 2025
The Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets, the Flagler County Republican Club, the Weekly Chess Club for Teens at the public library, chatting with James Garner, America’s undistinguished years before the Founders.
Sanctuary Cities Were Result of American-Backed Atrocities in Central America
Today’s sanctuary practices, and the federal targeting of sanctuary cities, are largely the result of the way sanctuary took shape across the U.S. in the 1980s when churches, city officials and activists assisted migrants fleeing the violent conditions created by U.S. proxy wars in Central America. To a large extent, this was the result of the Reagan administration’s refusal to acknowledge the extent of human rights violations perpetrated by U.S.-supported regimes in Central America.
Bail Grift: Instead of Returning Bond Money, Florida Seizes It to Pay Off Fines and Fees
Is Florida running a bail grift? That’s how one Judge described the state’s decades-old policy of keeping bail money from third parties and using it to pay off defendants’ outstanding fines and fees. At least one member of an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel that considered the issue this month appears to agree with that assessment. So do several current and former lawmakers who have tried to end the practice.
Registration Open for Flagler County’s 2026 Citizens’ Academy, But Class Size Is Limited to 24
Registration is open for the 2026 Flagler County Citizens’ Academy that will be held on Wednesday mornings beginning February 18, and officials invite residents to treat themselves to this enriching educational endeavor. The course is designed to introduce participants to the day-to-day operations of Flagler County government, inclusive of its elected Constitutional Officers.
60 Days in Jail and 2 Years on probation for Man Who Battered 3 Sheriff’s Deputies
Adam Ford, a 48-year-old former resident of Beacon Mill Lane in Palm Coast, was sentenced to 60 days in jail followed by two years on probation from an incident last year when, drunk, belligerent and resistant, Ford battered three Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies after his then-wife had told 911 she was hiding in a closet, then hung up.
5th Annual 9/11 Memorial Tribute Climb at Hammock Beach
The community and media are invited to the 5th Annual 9/11 Memorial Tribute Climb on Thursday, September 11, at Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa. This year’s event is a two-part tribute—a ceremony at 8:15 a.m., followed by the climb at 8:46 a.m.—ensuring everyone can participate in remembrance, whether or not they choose to climb.
The Only Certainty for Palm Coast’s Next City Manager: Council Majority Hiring Him or Her Will Soon Be Gone
As the Palm Coast City Council seeks to hire its next city manager–its sixth in seven years–it is again repeating a pattern that has undermined confidence in the process, either for the council or the eventual candidate, thus giving the better candidates pause even though the last opening for the job drew 112 applicants. The council may yet succeed in hiring one of them by fall. If it does so, the candidate will be sure of only one thing: that the majority hiring him will vanish in less than a year.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, September 2, 2025
The Palm Coast City Council and both Bunnell’s and Flagler Beach’s planning boards meet, a warning about silly season in the Florida House, visiting with the Ministry of Silly Walks, a few incomprehensible lines from Richard Powers.
Is a Palestinian State Even Possible Anymore?
Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly meeting in September, joining the United Kingdom, Canada and France in taking the historic step. The Israeli government has ruled out a two-state solution and reacted with fury to the moves by the four G20 members to recognise Palestine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the decision “shameful”. Practically speaking, the formation of a future Palestinian state consisting of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem will be difficult to achieve.
Judge Woody Clermont Faces Reprimand for Helping Friend During Proceedings
Documents filed Friday at the Supreme Court by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission said Judge Woody Clermont on April 11 went to a Broward County courtroom where the friend was making a first appearance on the charge. Clermont provided what was described as “mitigating information” about the friend to a prosecutor and the judge handling the proceeding, according to the documents.
Every Week Is Banned Book Week in Florida
Every day seems to bring another hissy fit from a state goon or “concerned” parent hell-bent on returning us to the glory days of censorship. We live in a state where librarians are called child abusers for offering books such as “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “What Girls Are Made Of,” “The Bluest Eye,” “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “Slaughterhouse Five,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale”–written by a Booker Prize winner, a National Book Award winner, winner of a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a Nobel Prize laureate.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, September 1, 2025
It’s Labor Day. All government offices, courts, schools and some shops are closed. Workers Over Billionaires Demonstration at Palm Coast Parkway Overpass. When sanctuary cities had nothing to do with migrants and everything to do with oracles and games.
‘It’s A Complicated Time to Be a White Southerner’
There is not much research on how white people think about what it means to be white. Meanwhile, popular and scholarly treatments of white Southerners as overwhelmingly conservative and racially regressive abound. Some white Southerners fit those tropes. Many others do not. Overall, white Southerners across the political spectrum actively grappling with their white racial status.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 31, 2025
Overdose Awareness Day Walk Over Flagler Beach Bridge starting at Wadsworth Park, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, Chandler Fritz on the demolition of public education.
Republicans Split Over Flag-Burning
Those who hold constitutional principles in high regard are increasingly concerned about a president demonstrating his desire for expansive power. And, the US Supreme Court has clearly ruled on more than one occasion that the act, however distasteful, is constitutionally permitted. Antonin Scalia, the late Supreme Court justice and noted constitutional textualist, famously stated that “if it were up to me, I would put in jail every sandal-wearing, scruffy-bearded weirdo who burns the American flag”. But, he added: “I am not king.”
Rifle Bullet From Flagler County Sheriff’s Deputies’ Target-Shooting in Mondex Strikes 11-Year-Old Boy
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what appears to be the accidental shooting of an 11-year-old boy in Daytona North by Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Bryan Jackson or another deputy–his daughter–both of whom had been target-shooting on Jackson’s property nearby. The boy suffered a burn, but was not seriously hurt.
Cindi Lane to Receive Great Communicator Award from Volusia/Flagler Chapter of Florida PR Association
Cindi Lane, Public Information Director for the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) District Five, will be the 2025 Roger Pynn Great Communicator. This top honor by the Volusia/Flagler Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA-VF) is the only local award to recognize community service plus a lifetime of achievement for communicators or public relations practitioners.
Constance Lillian (MacIntyre) March, 1933-2025
Born in Adams, Massachusetts, August 25, 1933, Constance Lillian (MacIntyre) March passed away on her 92nd Birthday, August 25, 2025, in Palm Coast, Florida, after a long battle with several health challenges.
Complying with Judge’s Order to Dismantle It, ICE Stops Sending Human Beings to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Federal officials are complying with a judge’s order and have stopped sending immigrants to a detention center in the Everglades, less than two months after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration launched the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” in support of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 30, 2025
Clay Jones on Cracker Barrel’s new logo, the Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Flannery O’Connor’s uncomfortable fixations, a few words on bad taste, Grace Community Food Pantry.
Netflix’s ‘Mo’: To be Palestinian and Mexican in Today’s America
Mohammed Amer’s “Mo” provokes laughter and stirs deep emotions, including despair, loneliness and helplessness, as the episodes explore life in America for people on the margins. Mo is a semi-autobiographical depiction of Amer’s life. He’s a Palestinian who grew up in Houston, Texas, immigrating to that city when he was nine years old by way of Kuwait. The comedy-drama format allows Mo to address difficult and divisive issues, such as immigration in America and the Israel-Gaza war, in non-threatening ways.
DeSantis Signs 13th Death Warrant of the Year, for Victor Jones, Murderer of 2 in 1990
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for a man convicted in the 1990 murders of a couple in Miami-Dade County, as the state continues a record-setting year for executions. Victor Tony Jones, 64, is scheduled to be executed Sept. 30 and could become the 13th inmate put to death by lethal injection this year in Florida. The Jones death warrant came after Curtis Windom was executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison in the 1992 murders of three people in Orange County.
Palm Coast’s Epic Theatres Marks Reopening After $1 Million Renovation as Industry Battles Slump
As movie theaters and the movie industry struggle to regain pre-pandemic audiences (and revenue), Palm Coast marked the grand reopening of Epic Theatres of Palm Coast Wednesday following a major renovation at the 15-year-old theater. The ribbon-cutting event was held on Wednesday evening. The more than $1 million renovation upgraded all 14 auditoriums with luxury electric recliners, enhanced lighting, new flooring, and advanced acoustical improvements. Movie theaters have been struggling to regain audiences lost during the Covid pandemic.
Randy Fine Wants to Federalize Princess Place, Pellicer Creek and 4.2% of Florida for ‘Massive Increase’ in Tourism
U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, whose district includes Flagler County, wants to federalize Pellicer Creek, Princess Place, Crescent Lake, Lake Disston and Haw Creek Preserve, all of which are in Flagler County in whole or in part. In all, he wants to federalize 1.8 million acres or 2,800 square miles of Florida land–4.2 percent of the state’s land mass–between Jacksonville, Gainesville Orlando and Daytona Beach into what he would call Florida Springs National Park.
Council Kills Talk of Selling Palm Harbor Golf Course But Sets Ultimatum to City Management If It Doesn’t Break Even
A decisive 4-1 majority of the Palm Coast City Council is opposed to selling the Palm Harbor Golf Club, but not to seeking to outsource its management next year if it doesn’t break even under city management. In essence, city staff at Palm Harbor faces an ultimatum. The council’s history was not as clear-eyed. The course was under the private management of Kemper Sports from its opening in 2009 until 2017. It was an unhappy history.
Teens-In-Flight President Ricky Carson ‘Ric’ Lehman Dies at 69
Teens-In-Flight, the Palm Coast non-profit, announced today the unexpected death of its president, Ricky Carson “Ric” Lehman, on Aug. 22 at his home in Palm Coast. He had been recovering from an appendectomy. He was 69.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 29, 2025
The Friday Blue Forum, when coroner made a hero of a dead burglar, Harold Brodkey on the power of reading, and a few lines from Brodkey’s sorrows.
National Parks Are Overrun and Under-Funded. Here’s How You Can Adapt or a Better Experience.
National park visitation is growing, with record-high visitor numbers in 2024 across the entire 398-property system, as well as at the 63 formally designated national parks. And there has been a general trend of people gravitating to Instagram-popular parks, and even specific spots within popular parks. Reductions in federal funding and staffing at national parks means visitors may see longer lines to enter parks or popular locations within them, fewer visitor services and educational programs, and fewer rangers to ask for advice or assistance.
Federal Judge Refuses to Pause Order to Close ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams has refused to pause her order requiring state and federal officials to wind down operations at an immigrant-detention center in the Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
Representatives of Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell and the county agreed at a joint meeting of local governments to consider the possibility of adding a referendum to the November 2026 ballot to raise the sales tax by half a cent and use some of the revenue to pay for beach protection.
Deputy Development Director Ray Tyner Leaving Palm Coast After 23 Years to Lead Volusia’s Growth Department
Palm Coast government’s Ray Tyner, the deputy development director and one of the city’s most knowledgeable and experienced planners, is resigning in September to become Volusia County’s growth management director in place of Clay Ervin. The Volusia County Council confirmed his appointment at its Aug. 19 meeting.