The bill would preempt regulation of vacation rentals to the state while allowing local governments to have short-term rental registration programs that meet certain parameters. The bill would “grandfather” in regulations adopted by counties before 2016. During floor debate Thursday, Senate sponsor Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, said the exception applies to Flagler County — home to House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast — and Broward County.
‘Long Road Ahead’ for Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy Benjamin Stamps After Severe Motorcycle Crash on I-95
For Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Benjamin Stamps, it’s going to be “a fairly long road to recovery” after his motorcycle crash Tuesday morning on I-95, as Stamps was riding the emergency lane to investigate a possible incident ahead that had slowed traffic to a crawl, Sheriff Rick Staly said on Wednesday.
After DeSantis Veto, Lawmakers Pass Watered-Down Social Media Ban Awash in Loopholes
The bill, in part, would prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 could not open accounts, but the revamped plan does not include age-verification requirements, making the ban moot but for the state’s vague threat of lawsuits.
Bomb Squad Explodes Suspicious Bundle of 40 Palm Coast Observers After Delivery Misfire at Courthouse
A suspicious package found at a door of the courthouse this morning, before the day’s proceedings began, forced a lockdown of the building and restricted access to law enforcement. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office’s bomb squad has been summoned, leaving the courthouse empty for now. No one had to be evacuated from the building since no one had gone in yet. But three judges were set for hearings at 8:30 and 9.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, March 7, 2024
Read Across Flagler Literacy Night in Town Center’s Central Park, Story Time for Preschoolers at Flagler Beach Public Library, a trip back down Bernie Sanders’ way, and whose side are you on.
Ford’s Hungry Workers Wanted Better Pay. Henry Ford’s Cops and Guards Shot and Killed 5 and Injured 60.
The response of the Ford Motor Company as workers marched for better pay and skull-cracking cops went after them shot holes in the myth that Ford cared about his workers. More than 30,000 people showed up for the dead marchers’ funerals. The violent reactions of Ford security and Dearborn police during the march were widely condemned.
Palm Coast Launches Phase 2 of Imagine 2050, Its Comprehensive Plan Rewrite, on March 13
The Phase 2 community conversation workshop meetings are on March 13, 2024. There are two opportunities to participate: the first workshop is from 1:00 p.m. to 3 p.m. and the second is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Community Wing of City Hall, located at 160 Lake Ave, Palm Coast. The workshop will include a presentation and small group discussion. This event is open to the public, welcoming all residents who wish to contribute their ideas.
Senate Approves Ban on Homeless Sleeping in Public, Sending Bill to Gov. DeSantis for Signature
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 27-12 along party lines to pass the bill (HB 1365), which would bar cities and counties from allowing people to sleep at places such as public buildings and in public rights of way. The House approved the bill last week, and DeSantis has voiced support for it. But Democrats argued the state would provide limited resources to local governments to carry out the measure, potentially exposing the local governments to lawsuits.
Council Votes 4-1 to Keep Current Palm Coast Water and Sewer Rates While Raising Development Fees 30%
As it had signaled two weeks ago, the Palm Coast City Council voted against a water and sewer rate increase, choosing instead to limit increases to development impact fees, the one-time fee builders pay on new construction to defray the cost of new residents and businesses on the city’s infrastructure. Impact fees will increase from a combined $9,435 for water and sewer hook-ups to $12,221 by 2028, a 30 percent increase. The city administration had recommended an 18 percent base and usage rate increase over four years.
Palm Coast Opts for St. Augustine’s Douglas Law Firm as Replacement for City Attorney, at $30,000 a Month
Its 17-year relationship with the same law firm ending, not of its own choice, the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday unanimously opted to negotiate a contract with the Douglas Law Firm of St. Augustine, a 12-attorney firm established 10 years ago, with offices in several northeast Florida counties but just now expanding to Flagler Beach. Douglas is proposing a $30,000-a-month fee, or 120 hours of work at $250 an hour. Extra hours are billed additionally.
Sally Hunt and Christy Chong Suggest Locking School Board Meeting Doors for Security and ‘Buzzing’ In People
Sally Hunt made her evasive comment during a workshop after Board member Cheryl Massaro proposed that the board reevaluate the need for a $48-an-hour school resource deputy at each of its workshops. Hunt and Board member Christy Chong suggested locking the board room door during meetings, until they were told the meetings had to be kept accessible to the public at all times.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 6, 2024
The Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets, the Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State meets, reflections on January 6, and where we went, and are going, from there.
Do Self-Immolations and Other ‘Spectacular’ Protests Make a Difference?
Self-immolation, the act of setting oneself on fire, can be seen as an extreme form of a modern repertoire of protest that is both common and familiar, not just in the U.S. but in many parts of the globe. While such acts may generate attention, this kind of agency is often costly, requiring the protesters involved to make considerable personal investments of time, money, comfort, privacy, dignity and even life. Yet, despite the costs, the outcomes of spectacular agency are frequently uncertain.
Housekeeper Arrested on Charge of Stealing Deceased Client’s $20,000 Ring
Ruth Ann Robertson, 57, of Bunnell, had cleaned the deceased client’s home a few days after the death, and pawned a ring later appraised at $20,000 for about $1,200. She faces a felony grand theft charge.
Lawmakers Set to Pass $117.46 Billion Budget by Friday, After ‘Cooling Off’ Period
Overall state spending will be higher than the $117.46 billion in the budget because of separate legislation. For example, lawmakers have approved spending $717 million in a major health-care bill (SB 7016) that includes efforts to attract more doctors to the state.
A1A May Lose Its Name, at $1,800 a Sign, as It’ll Become Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway By August
Lawmakers approved legislation (HB 91) to rechristen all 340 miles of State Road A1A as “Jimmy Buffett Highway” from its tip in Ferdinand Beach to Mile Marker 0 in Key West. The change affects signs in 13 counties, including Flagler County. It won’t be chap: a legislative analysis puts the cost to the Department of Transportation at $1,800 for each pair of signs at any given location ($900 for each sign in each direction).
Embry-Riddle Graduate and Frontier Airline Recruit Freud Jeantilus Is Teens in Flight’s Newest Flight Instructor
Originally from Haiti, Freud Jeantilus was 8 when he moved to the United States with his mother to reunite with his father, who was in New Jersey. A recent graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) with a degree in Aeronautical Science and a minor in Business Administration, Freud is currently enrolled in a cadet program with Frontier Airlines.
Seniority Pork: Hutson Filed Staggering $475 Million in Requests for Flagler, Including $309 Million for Palm Coast
Outdoing last year’s requests by far, Hutson filed 34 special funding requests on behalf of Flagler County governments and agencies, totaling a staggering $475.8 million–or 0.4 percent of the size of the current state budget. Seven of the requests are for Flagler County government, totaling $92.5 million. Fourteen requests were for Palm Coast, totaling a third of a billion dollars.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
The Flagler County School Board meets in workshop, the Palm Coast City Council holds its monthly evening meeting, Joe Biden on the talk show circuit, Robert Fisk on the drug of hope.
Mark Carman Recalls the Murder that Resulted in Life Sentence for Ahmed Williams Today
Ahmad Kashard Williams was sentenced to life in prison today for the 2020 murder of his childhood friend Tykey Nixon in Crescent City, where Mark Carman, the former commander at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, had been police chief for about a year. Carman recalled the investigation.
‘Warbirds Over Flagler’ Returns March 23-24 ina 2-day Air Show at County Airport
Mark the calendar in ink. “Warbirds Over Flagler” at the Flagler Executive Airport returns this year as a two-day warbird fly-in event on Saturday, March 23, and Sunday, March 24 to salute all veterans, both past and present.
Federal Appeals Court Stops DeSantis’s ‘Stop Woke’ Restrictions on Workplace Training Against Bigotry
The workplace-training part of the law listed eight race-related concepts and said that a required training program or other activity that “espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels such individual (an employee) to believe any of the following concepts constitutes discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.”
The Supreme Court Rules It’s Unconstitutional for States to Decide on Trump’s Qualifications
Right from the very beginning of the nation, and persisting until today, there have been rules that limit the ability of the people to choose their leaders. All of these rules stand in the way of simply “letting the people decide,” as Brett Kavanaugh suggested. Strictly speaking, those rules are not democratic. But they are intended to protect democracy itself.
Bunnell Brawl Involving Up to 60 People Ends with 6 Arrests as Even Corrections Deputies Are Summoned to Help
A late-night brawl involving 40 to 50 people–and up to 60, according one sheriff’s report–on South Anderson Street in Bunnell Saturday ended with the arrest of four adults and two juveniles, including one, Andrea Armster, 41, on a felony charge of battering a law enforcement officer. The incident involved so many people, and so many law enforcement officers, that detention deputies from the jail had to assist.
County Issues Demolition Order for Old Dixie Motel as Attorney Describes ‘Dilatory Tactics in Bad Faith’
The Flagler County chief building official has issued a demolition order for the long disused Old Dixie Highway motel that, through a succession of opaque owners who promised the moon but delivered only low-orbit cosmetics, has gone from an eyesore to a hazard to a haze of hope and back to an infuriating thorn in the side of Flagler County government.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, March 4, 2024
The Flagler County Commission meets, the Beverly Beach Town Commission meets, why Nietzsche hated Socrates, and why it’s probably better for your health not to like Socrates too much.
Ben Shapiro’s Hip-Hop Hypocrisy and White Male Grievance
Teaming up with Canadian rapper Tom MacDonald, Shapiro released “Facts” in January 2024. Given today’s bitter partisan divide and extremist culture wars, it comes as no surprise that Shapiro’s track quickly found a devoted following. But his racist, anti-rap rap lyrics ultimately repeat the same tired charges right-wing politicians have used against hip-hop since its birth over 50 years ago.
DeSantis Thinks He’s Abolishing the Homeless by Banning Them from Sight. He’s Wrong.
DeSantis and lawmakers are likely reacting to a shift in the way communities across the U.S. view homelessness from compassion to penalties and restrictions. Unfortunately, but true to form, DeSantis didn’t offer a palette of humane solutions to the homelessness problem. Instead, he spoke of the issue in stark, unsympathetic, self-absorbed terms characterizing homelessness in purely negative terms, blaming them for contributing to the erosion of the quality of life of others lucky to not be sleeping on the street.
InvisaCook, the Bunnell Manufacturer, Is Highlighted at JaxUSA State of the Region
As part of its continued strategic focus on increasing exposure for Flagler County businesses, the Flagler County Economic Development Office spotlighted local appliance company, InvisaCook, LLC during a panel presentation at the annual JAXUSA Partnership’s State of the Region in February.
Palm Coast’s Celia Rosa, 39, Is Killed in Motorcycle Crash in DeLand, Husband Kenneth Rosa Seriously Injured
Celia Rosa, a 39-year-old Palm Coast resident, was killed and her husband Kenneth Rosa, 39, was gravely injured Saturday evening when their motorcycle collided with an SUV on State Road 11 in north DeLand, in the opening weekend of Bike Week in Daytona Beach.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, March 3, 2024
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, “Tuck Everlasting” is still going strong at Limelight Theatre, a trip through Jean Stafford’s “The Children’s Game” and Knokke le Zoute.
Citing Efforts Against ‘Indoctrination,’ House Approves Bill Broadening Censorship in Teacher Prep Courses
The Florida House on Friday passed a measure that supporters say is designed to keep “identity politics” out of teacher preparation programs that lead to educators getting professional certificates — as Democratic members likened the bill to academic censorship.
Seriously? Research Shows Significant IQ Drop After Covid
Those who had mild and resolved Covid showed cognitive decline equivalent to a three-point loss of IQ. In comparison, those with unresolved persistent symptoms, such as people with persistent shortness of breath or fatigue, had a six-point loss in IQ. Those who had been admitted to the intensive care unit for Covid had a nine-point loss in IQ. Reinfection with the virus contributed an additional two-point loss in IQ, as compared with no reinfection.
Tom Joad, the Voice of a Better America, Has Been Silenced
From the Book of Ruth to Eugene Debs to Tom Joad in Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath,” the voice of solidarity spoke a communion with needs and pains greater than one’s own, a willingness not only to walk in the other’s shoes, but to be the shoes–to be the soles–when the other has none. It was once the voice of America. We have lost that voice as blame and judgment have replaced solidarity and grievances about what we think we’re losing snuff out protest on behalf of those not lucky enough to have something to lose.
Texas Prosecutor Disciplined for Allowing Murder Charge Against Woman who Self-Managed an Abortion
The State Bar of Texas has fined and suspended Starr County’s district attorney for pursuing a murder indictment against 26-year-old woman after she self-managed an abortion.
AdventHealth Daytona Beach Contributes $15,000 to African American Entrepreneurs Association
Continuing to build partnerships across the nation, the African American Entrepreneurs Association added hometown support for their efforts in February with the addition of AdventHealth Daytona Beach.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 2, 2024
The Flagler Beach All Stars hold their monthly beach clean-up, Sunshine and Sandals Social at Cornerstone, Will Durant, national character, and when stereotype slips into bigotry.
Hey, Ladapo! Measles Is One of Deadliest and Most Contagious Diseases. And Most Easily Preventable.
The United States is on track to have one of the worst measles years since 2019, when Americans experienced the largest measles outbreak in 30 years. As of mid-February 2024, at least 15 states have reported measles cases and multiple ongoing, uncontained outbreaks. While this measles crisis unfolds, U.S. measles vaccination rates are at the lowest levels in 10 years. Prominent figures like the Florida surgeon general are responding to local outbreaks in ways that run counter to science and public health recommendations.
State Attorney Dismisses Charges Against Virgilio Mendez, 18, Migrant Accused of Manslaughter in Deputy’s Death
The State Attorney’s Office today dropped the charges against Virgilio Mendez, the 18-year-old migrant arrested last May in St. Augustine over a dubious encounter with sheriff’s deputies prompted by nothing apparent, then charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of one of the deputies, who had died of a heart attack the medical examiner ruled was of natural causes from heart disease. The charges drew widespread public outrage.
Florida House Passes Ban on Homeless Sleeping In Public Despite Added Burdens to Local Governments
The Florida House on Friday approved a controversial proposal that would prevent homeless people from sleeping in public, despite concerns about increased costs for local governments. The Republican-controlled House voted 82-26 along almost-straight party lines to pass the bill (HB 1365), which is backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. It also would make it easier for residents and business owners to challenge local officials over how homelessness is addressed.
Palm Coast Invites Residents to Engage With Council Members at Series of Town Hall Meetings
The City of Palm Coast invites residents to participate in upcoming individual town hall meetings with their City Council members. Through the Strategic Action Plan process, each City Council Member has prioritized engaging with Palm Coast residents to foster a stronger community connection and ensure that all voices are heard in shaping the future of the city.
Six Arrests After 70 Thefts at Big Box Stores in Flagler and 7 Other Counties
The suspects, all from Georgia, traveled to Florida weekly to steal merchandise using self-checkout lanes. Using self-checkout, the suspects made only partial payments before leaving stores with additional items. More than 70 thefts occurred at stores in Flagler, Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Columbia, Volusia and Alachua counties.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 1, 2024
First Friday in Flagler Beach, the Blue 24 Forum, George Carlin on wanting to engage in an involuntary protein spill, and on getting old in a world of illusions.
Pinpointing 36.8 Million Annual Lightning Strikes in Unprecedented Detail
Each giant spark of electricity travels through the atmosphere at 200,000 miles per hour. It is hotter than the surface of the sun and delivers thousands of times more electricity than the power outlet that charges your smartphone. In the United States, an average of 28 people were killed by lightning every year between 2006 and 2023.
Palm Coast’s Wishful 20-Field, $93 Million Sports Complex Rests on a Far Future of Dubiously Rosy Speculation
The Palm Coast City Council is embarking on an ambitious plan to explore and perhaps develop and finance, in a private-public partnership, an enormous sports complex on the west side of the yet-undeveloped city. A consultant encouraging the project is projecting rosy figures that would not mortgage tax dollars yet yield ample profits while drawing up to 250,000 athletes and spectators a year. The figures are speculative and do not easily stand up to scrutiny.
Fight at Matanzas High School Leads to Charges Against Two Students
A fight between two Matanzas High School students, 15 and 18, on Tuesday resulted in charges against both students, but no arrests, according to police reports.
More Sound and Fury Than Broad Problems as 3 Residents Complain to City of Ralph Carter Park’s Popularity
When the Palm Coast City Council gets its administration’s latest report on the state of Ralph Carter Park in the R-Section, it’ll have to decide how much of the sound and fury again hemming the popular park is the grousing of a few people signifying nothing or a reflection of a broader problem. Judging from a community meeting the administration hosted at City Hall Wednesday evening, there is no broad problem.
Renner and DeSantis Trying to Ward Off Veto Over Social Media Ban for Children Under-16
With a Friday deadline looming, House Speaker Paul Renner said Wednesday that he and Gov. Ron DeSantis are trying to work out differences on a bill aimed at keeping children under age 16 off social-media platforms. Renner is keeping silent on alternatives.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday February 29, 2024
Drug court, Clay Jones draws about and writes on Trump’s racism, “Tuck Everlasting” at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, a history of leap years and what it looked like from the vantage point of 1960.
Anti-Immigration Pastors Get the Attention, But Real Priests Still Protect Migrants
Historically, Latinx Christian leaders have been at the forefront of immigrant rights in the U.S.. For example, Mexican-American Catholic leaders of the Jim Crow era such as Alonso Perales and Cleofas Calleros applied Catholic social teaching, such as the inherent equality of all human beings, to civil rights struggles.