Staring with FPC’s courageous thespians, the visual and performing arts had a fabulous Saturday in Flagler, with two gallery openings and two local theater productions. That’s what the county’s unbound cultural scene should be about.
Improved Art League Goes On With the Show, Without Its President: Weldon Ryan Resigns
As president, Weldon Ryan convinced the art league to move to City Market Place, winning the league more visibility and members. He resigns after just four months at the helm.
The National Coalition Against Censorship’s Letter to Janet Valentine
“We urge you to encourage student creativity and civic engagement, and to teach students the skills to discuss opposing views respectfully,” the NCAC writes. “We urge you to allow the students to perform the play.”
National Coalition Against Censorship Urges Valentine To Reverse Mockingbird Decision
The strongly-worded letter from a coalition representing 50 organizations of actors, writers, educators and clerics calls on Superintendent Valentine to enrich the conversation on race and culture, not restrict it.
Bruce Campbell Still Waiting for Official Word That He’s To Be Flagler Beach’s Acting Manager
The Flagler Beach City Commission appointed Bruce Campbell acting manager beginning Jan. 2. He hasn’t officially been told in writing. But being an employee already, he wasn’t necessarily supposed to be told.
County Endorses Federal Recommendation To Kill All 400 Pigs at Yazurlo’s Sanctuary
Federal and state authorities could only recommend that the pigs be killed. The county made the final decision, though the county commission has yet to formally address the issue, and a time and place for the operation have not been set.
Glenn Beck’s Smears, Florida Foreclosure Screws, Racism Goes Postal: Live Wire Weekend, Nov. 12-14
Glenn Beck insults George Soros, Florida’s foreclosure robo courts, Bush on O’Reilly, Jon Stewart on Rachel Maddow, who wants to be buried with Oprah, and much, much more.
Sheriff Calls for 1-Year Pill-Mill Freeze in Flagler Through County and City Ordinances
Citing three pill mills already in Flagler County, Sheriff Fleming is asking the county commission and the cities to adopt ordinances stopping pill mills until the state strengthens its regulations.
The Live Wire, Nov. 11: Obama Caves, Serpico Dies, Black Characters Vanish
Serpico’s Dino DiLaurentiis dies, Obama caves to the GOP on the Bush tax cuts, understanding diversity, rediscovering John Cardinal Newman, losing sight of black characters on TV, and more.
Mockingbird Appeals Committee’s Challenge: Loyalty to “Protocol” vs. Free Expression
Interviews with appeals committee members reveal a divide between instinctive revulsion of censorship and hesitancy over second-guessing a principal’s decision even as the facts of the case continue to be muddled by unspecified generalities.
Court Orders County to Take Over Custody and Fate of 400 Swine in Bunnell Pig Sanctuary
Lory Yazurlo appears to have lost an eight-year battle to keep caring for unwanted pigs on her 20-acre farm, though government officials point to degraded conditions harmful to animals and public health, and Yazurlo’s refusal to comply with age-old care plans.
Shapiro: In the End, It’s the Profanity of Censorship Against the Sacredness of Learning
In a column on the Mockingbird controversy at FPC, Rabbi Merill Shapiro argues that whatever the merits of administrative issues, “the profanity of censorship,” in the end, “has no place in our community.”
The Live Wire, Nov. 10: Holly Hill Fires Oel Wingo, Parker Takes on Palin, Bill O’Reilly’s Beheadings
Fleming’s Town Hall tonight at the library, Kathleen Parker on Sarah Palin, Bill O’Reilly’s stupid beheading tricks, the TSA’s T&A problem, remembering Jill Clayburgh, and more.
Another Violent Domestic Assault in Palm Coast Lands a Fugitive in Jail
In the second violent domestic assault case in three days, a 30-year-old Palm Coast resident of Parkview Drive allegedly threatened to kill his girlfriend rather than let her leave him.
Harping on “Christmas Come True” Charity Ball at Hammock Beach Saturday
Nadine King had the idea of a Christmas charity ball back in the 1980s. She revived it in Palm Coast last year, helping 54 families better realize their Christmas. King hopes to double that number this year.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter, Nov. 2-5, 2010
When a homeless man is robbed and another jailed for hoping for a roof beneath his head, knife-wielding during an argument, boat larcenies, numerous burglaries and car break-ins, and more.
Palm Coast Man With Long History of Arrests is Charged With Kidnapping and Sexual Battery
Major Harris III allegedly threatened to shoot his live-in girlfriend, then raped her, then forced her and two young children to go to DeLand.
The Live Wire, Nov. 9: Your Child Left Behind, Unemployment Deadlines and Conan’s Return
Florida unemployment benefits are about to run out for many, Conan O’Brien is back, in defense of NPR, the dismal state of your children’s education in Florida, and more.
Ranse Jones, Flagler Firefighter-Paramedic in a Coma Since May, Died on Monday
Ransford Jones was 34 years old. He had been with the Flagler County Fire Department for two years before an aneurysm felled him in May, while he was playing in a beach volleyball tournament in Panama City.
Seminole Woods “Bomber”: Fascinated With Rockets and “Having Fun in a Stupid Way”
Patrick Cossette, the 20-year-old FPC graduate arrested Sunday for setting off a home-made explosive device in Seminole Woods, speaks to FlaglerLive about indulging his fascination with rockets since he was 13.
Stetson Scores Freedom‘s Jonathan Franzen For Its James Turner Butler Lecture Nov. 22
The author of Freedom and The Corrections, an almost sure winner of this year’s Pulitzer for fiction, will be at Stetson on Nov. 22 for just one hour. The event is free, but tickets are extremely limited.
Uniforms in Flagler Schools? Data Show Dress-Code Violations To Be a Negligible Issue
The dress code in Flagler schools remains a hotter topic of discussion, especially on the school board, than it is a problem, especially in schools. Yet the arrival of a new school board member may prompt more talk of uniforms.
The Live Wire, Nov. 8: Americans Against Themselves, Miami Cult Deaths and Tall Jesus
Why Americans vote against their own interests, academic freedom and Holocaust deniers, Days of Our Lives at 45, a Feed Flagler update, procrastination’s virtues, and more.
Art at Bargain Prices in DeLand and Free Shakespeare: Culture Worth the Miles
Some 87 Florida artists have donated work to be auctioned off in support of the Museum of Florida Art in Deland on Nov. 11; plus the The Red-Nosed Reindeer Romp, a free “Twelfth Night,” “Grease” and plenty more.
Seminole Woods Scare: Canadian Arrested After Setting Off Home-Made Bomb in Lake
Four men from Daytona Beach had seven home-made bombs, one of which they exploded in a lake in the Seminole Woods area Sunday. One is under arrest. The area is secure.
Dueling Seafoods and Surfers: Video and Photo Gallery
The dueling festivals are over and the images are in: a video report from the 2010 Tommy Tant Classic and a photo gallery from Tommy Tant and Palm Coast’s Seafood Festival.
Tommy Tant Legacies: 3 Decades of Surfing Flagler Beach’s Sands, Surf and Streets
Ben Lacy, who grew up surfing with Tommy Tant in Flagler Beach, recalls three decades of the town town’s surfing culture and how it has managed to maintain its charms through the changes, even on the waves.
Festival Filibuster: How Palm Coast Plays Hardball With Flagler Beach
If Palm Coast is serious about playing nice with its neighboring cities and not competing for “special event” visitors, why is it doing exactly that with signs greeting visitors exiting the Interstate?
FlaglerLive Welcomes Its New Reporter, Videographer and Anchor: Charlotte Marten
A native of Sweden, a graduate of the University of Hawaii and a fresh veteran of Savannah’s military (and more varied) reporting scene, Charlotte Marten will anchor FlaglerLive’s video journalism and other productions.
Live Wire Weekend: Landon’s City Hall Arrogance, Obama’s Ego, Nate’s Latest and Gay Sons
Palm Coast City Manager gets an earful on his city hall designs, so does Obama’s ego (on his White House designs), George Carlin on the virtue of not voting, O’Reilly fairer than Olbermann, gay 5-year-old sons in Halloween costumes, and much more.
From Fringe to Voting Booth, a Machinery of Information Churning Push-Button Citizens
Politicians know that the obsessed, the fearful, the paranoid and the insane are easier to manipulate and outnumber by far than the attentive, Darrell Smith argues in a column. They can push their buttons at will. Tuesday proved it.
After 11,000 Days as Flagler’s Judge, Kim C. Hammond Retires to FSU Fight Song
Kim Hammond started his career as a judge in Flagler County four decades, six presidents and 11,0000 days ago. His retirement ceremony Friday was a tribute to an institution.
“An Agreement is an Agreement”: Maps Contradict Palm Coast’s Annexation Claim
Large maps and a 2007 circuit court settlement show clearly where Palm Coast’s annexation authority ends. That authority doesn’t extend over the site of a proposed National Guard reserve center on county land.
Private Sector Leads Surge as Economy Adds 151,000 Jobs; Unemployment Stuck at 9.6%
The unexpectedly large job increase was also accompanied by revised and much smaller job losses in August and September, suggesting a stronger turn-around for the economy as a whole.
Swelled by Supermajority, Florida GOP Signals First Assault Victim: Medicaid
A quick special session in Tallahassee would provide $9.7 million for Gainesville’s Shands teaching hospital and lay down markers on overhauling medicaid, the health care program for the poor. One idea: forcing all beneficiaries to enroll in managed care.
Time to Get Involved: Feed Flagler Challenges County’s Thanksgiving Compassion and Beyond
Led by Commissioner Milissa Holland and the county administration, Feed Flagler aims to provide meals for 2,000 people at Thanksgiving, raise thousands of dollars and stock up food pantries and family pantries for many weeks’ worth.
Dog-and-Pony Powerpoints: Landon’s Stage-Managed Shows for a New Palm Coast City Hall
City Manager Jim Landon says the $10 million city hall project is different than the plan 82 percent of voters rejected in 2005. He’s right: residents won’t be allowed to vote this time, even though economic conditions are far worse.
The Live Wire, Nov. 4: Florida’s One-Party Rule, Bush on Bush and Chris Wallace
The business of Florida is business, Rick Scott declares in Coolidge fashion; the big lie about Social Security’s bankruptcy, the big magic of Disney marketing, the origins of the federal debt, and more.
Guns and Fight at Indian Trails Sports Complex Land Two Palm Coast Men in Jail
Robert Norwood, 18, and David Harris, 21, are both accused of pointing a handgun at a 17-year-old during a fight before deputies blocked the vehicle in which the pair was attempting to leave the sports complex.
Tommy Tant Classic Surfing the Weekend As Palm Coast Crashes In With Its Own Festival
Now in its 11th year, the Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic will be a three-day event, including a food festival by the sea, a concert and two days of amateur and professional surfing competition.
Lazier Voters: Flagler’s 52% Turnout Was Worst In At Least 16 Years of Mid-Terms
Just 52 percent of Flagler County’s registered voters went to the polls, the lowest voter turnout in at least 16 years of mid-term elections, and likely the lowest turnout since at least the 1974 election, when voter apathy was acute.
Pubescent Spellers on a Musical Stage, Art’s Aquatic Depths and Sunset Symphonies: Culture Worth the Miles
A staged, musical and interactive spelling bee as you’ve never seen it before, Doug Rhodehamel’s aquatic explorations at the Lake Eustis Museum of Art, Bok Tower Gardens’ 9th Annual Sunset Symphony Concert, and more.
Fischer, Proctor, Mica, Craig, DuPont and Thrasher Win; School Tax Approved; Democrats & Amendments 4 and 8 Sink
In Flagler County, all precincts are in, including absentee ballots and early voting. John Fischer, has won the school board seat being vacated by Evie Shellenberger, defeating Raven Sword with a 58-42 margin. The continuation of the 25-mill school tax is approved, with 61 percent approval, which should boost the school board’s confidence. Amendment 4, […]
Two Bus Stop Robbery Suspects, Riding With Schoolgirls, Arrested Following a Wreck
Sebastian Dominguez, 18 and Brandon Smith, 19, were riding in a truck with a 14 year old girl from Indian Trails Middle School and a 15-year-old girl from Matanzas High School when they allegedly decided to hold up a Matanzas High School student.
Skyping in From Cairo, Delbrugge Joins School Board’s Farewell to Shellenberger
Evie Shellenberger ended her eight years as a school board member Monday evening with a parable and sponsorships of Afghan girls’ education in her fellow board members’ names.
Delinquent on Taxes and Other Dues, Hunter’s Ridge Development Wants More Favors
Three years in arrears on taxes and delinquent on $4.5 million it owes the county for a golf course it never built, Hunter’s Ridge now wants to almost double its density to 2,657 homes. Commissioners are puzzled.
The Live Wire, Nov. 2: Election Guideposts, Florida Dreaming and William Faulkner
What to watch on election night, a look at non-voters, Southwest Florida’s big no to black coaches, fear and loathing in Manhattan, Florida’s collapse seen from Germany, and more.
Conklin Triggers Mockingbird Appeals Committee, Likely Enabling Play’s Revival
Unearthing a district policy on “the appropriateness of books or materials,” School Board member Colleen Conklin appealed the decision to cancel the play. A committee will be appointed to handle the appeal.
Before School Censors: When Mockingbird‘s Harper Lee Spoke Proudly of Flagler County
In 2002, Harper Lee addressed Flagler County proudly when her book was the centerpiece of county-wide events. The school district’s censoring of the play this month contrasts sharply with that progressive history.
In Florida, Endangered Democrats Will Approach Extinction Status on Election Day
The map is set to go redder in Florida Tuesday evening as one-term Democrats like Kosmas and Grayson lose and the Legislature edges further right. Sink-Scott is the only drama.