Gov. Ron DeSantis let delegates to Florida’s Boys State convention in on what he sees as the secret of his success in office: He determined from the first to fully understand the extent and limits of his powers to enact his agenda, he said, and to take no notice of public opinion polls.
Predator Arrested at Sheriff’s Construction Site; 20 Year Old on Probation for Attempted Murder Also Arrested
59-year-old Terry Lee Jackson, an unregistered sexual predator, was working for a subcontractor at the construction site of the new Sheriff’s Operations Center. 20-year-old Korarise Daishon Hill was on probation for an attempted murder conviction when he was 15.
A Green Lion Deal Dims as Positions Harden in Acrimony, Accusations and a Deadline
Green Lion owner Tony Marlow called Palm Coast City officials “crooks” as a council segment on a proposed lease resulted in a take-it-or-leave it offer from the city, and a 10-day deadline, or else the city will terminate the lease and seek a new vendor for the space.
2 New Cell Towers, Including on Club House Drive, Clear Palm Coast Council Hurdle, But It’s Not Over
The Palm Coast City Council today in a pair of unanimous if somewhat guarded votes approved two lease agreements with Diamond Communications to build 150-foot cell towers at the eastern edge of Royal Palms Parkway and in the heart of Club House Drive in Palm Coast.
School District’s Half-Penny Sales Surtax Renewal, for Tech and Safety, Will Be on the November Ballot
The Flagler County Commission Monday evening approved on a 4-0 vote placing a referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot to renew for the third time the school district’s half-penny sales surtax. The vote was not a surprise, though it reflects a shift from Commissioner Joe Mullins, who earlier this month was signaling opposition to the tax.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 21, 2022
The Palm Coast City Council considers cell towers, the School Board discusses communications and the half-penny sales tax renewal, Mary McCarthy, Mike Wallace Interviews Reinhold Niebuhr.
Wiccan Celebrations and the Permanence of Change
Summer solstice, a time when the northern hemisphere will experience the maximum hours of sunlight, takes place on June 21 – and will be celebrated by followers of Wicca, a form of contemporary Paganism, with a holiday known as Litha.
Lease Negotiations Between Green Lion Café and Palm Coast Crumble Again on Eve of Council Decision
A year into the negotiations, relations between the Palm Coast city administration and the Green Lion Cafe at the city-owned Palm Harbor Golf Club have again broken down over several additional changes on the even of a scheduled City Council vote on a proposed five-year agreement with the popular restaurant.
Pay Attention, Class: CRT’s ‘Schoolhouse Rock!’ Is In Session at Flagler Auditorium
“Schoolhouse Rock Live!” will be presented by City Repertory Theatre at 7 p.m. Wednesday June 22 and Thursday June 23 at Flagler Auditorium in Palm Coast. Proceeds will benefit both City Rep and the nonprofit auditorium. The play tells the story of the teacher Jan, who is nervous as her first day of school teaching is approaching. But her nerves are calmed when she turns on “Schoolhouse Rock!” and the characters come to life to help her prepare her lessons.
Gas Prices Fall Back Below $4.80 in Palm Coast as Oil Prices Continue to Drop
Prices remain high: $4.79 a gallon along guzzlers’ alley in Palm Coast–State Road 100’s Wawa, Shell, 7-11, Circle K and two RaceTracs, with Mobil the usual exception at 6 cents higher–and $4.85-a-gallon gas or higher at stations along Palm Coast Parkway. It still costs around $72 to $75 to fill up the average gas tank.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 20, 2022
The Flagler County Commission meets at 5 p.m. and will discuss the school board’s plan to renew its half-penny sales surtax, Miami under water, Vincent Canby on “Jaws.”
100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt
In the past five years, more than half of U.S. adults report they’ve gone into debt because of medical or dental bills. A quarter of adults with health care debt owe more than $5,000. And about 1 in 5 with any amount of debt said they don’t expect to ever pay it off.
Privacy Isn’t In the Constitution. But It’s Everywhere in Constitutional Law.
For half a century, the Supreme Court has recognized privacy as an outgrowth of protections for individual liberty. This implied right is the source of many of the nation’s most cherished, contentious and commonly used rights – including the right to have an abortion.
Ron DeSantis Weaponizes School Board Races with Ideological Survey
Among the questions for survey respondents: Whether they support “workforce education,” the Governor’s “increases in teacher compensation,” or the concept of students being “locked out of school or subject to forced masking.”
Flagler County Hosts Weeklong Florida Emergency Preparedness Association Academy
Twenty-five emergency management professionals from 13 counties, the Salvation Army, and the Florida Division of Emergency Management made Flagler County their temporary home as they immersed themselves in the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA) Intermediate Academy – hosted by the county.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 19, 2022
A kids’ jamboree at Holland Park in Palm Coast, today is Juneteenth. Jonathan Schell reflects on the fate of the earth. Grace Community Food Pantry.
Anti-Trans Legislation and Lawsuits Are Pushing back Against Chosen Pronouns
It’s a disquieting trend: The right of trans students to be free from discrimination is tenuous at best and under constant legal attack. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, is behind much of the anti-trans legislation in the U.S.
Juneteenth Is Not a Legal Holiday in Florida or in Most States
Long celebrated in the Black community as Freedom Day, Independence Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is a time for get-togethers, picnics, concerts and reflection. Establishing federal and state legal Juneteenth holidays guarantees attention to painful United States history that is still unknown to many Americans, an annual assessment of racism in society, and celebrations of Black culture, history and achievement.
Flagler Clerk of Court’s Office Is Recognized for Best Practices
he Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller Tom Bexley accepted the award at last week’s Florida Clerk’s summer conference. Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers (FCCC) recognized 55 members for participating in its second annual Best Practices Excellence Program.
Influential NRA Lobbyist Marion Hammer, 83, Retires Into ‘Gunshine State’ Sunset
Hammer, 83, successfully shepherded a host of measures that helped to earn Florida the “Gunshine State” moniker and made it a launching pad for gun-related laws that later took hold throughout the country.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 18, 2022
Juneteenth Celebration at the African American Cultural Society, bombing in the Ocala National Forest, big heat, Dick Cavett on Norman Mailer, Joan Didion on writers selling people out.
How Mike Pence’s Unremarkable Actions on Jan. 6 Saved the Nation
New revelations from the congressional committee investigating the events on and leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol show the crucial role then-Vice President Mike Pence played in thwarting the insurrection – and reveal the principles behind his actions.
DeSantis Signs Law Lowering Specialty License Plates from 150 to 135
The license-plate bill (SB 364) will cut the maximum number of specialty plates at any one time from 150 to 135, while also making some changes related to the pre-sales of plates.
Flagler Unemployment Remains Below 3% as 530 More Residents Find Jobs
Flagler County added more than 600 people to its labor force, yet again breaking a record and grazing the 50,000 mark, out of a population of more than 115,000. The figures don’t distinguish between full time and part-time work.
Covid Outbreaks Hit 4 Flagler Nursing Homes as Infections Rise and DeSantis Derides ‘Jabs’ for Children
As covid infections from the Omicron-21 variant continue to rise in Flagler County, with significant outbreaks at four nursing homes, Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration were issuing conflicting statements about ordering vaccines for children under 5. DeSantis and his administration aggressively derided the option on Thursday, then backtracked somewhat on Friday.
South Bunnell Is Focus of Big Volunteer Clean-Up Saturday as Part of City’s Outreach Efforts
The Bunnell Police Department is leading a volunteer drive to help residents of South Bunnell clean up yards and properties in a show of support and pride. The initiative was conceived by Bunnell Public Safety Officer Rommel Scalf and is led by Police Chief Dave Brannon.
DeSantis Administration Issues Proposed Ban on Medicaid Coverage for Transgender Treatments
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration moved forward Friday with a proposal that would deny Medicaid coverage for treatments such as puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy for transgender people.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, June 17, 2022
The North East Florida Jazz Association hosts Jazz, Blues and BBQ at the Community Center, the Charleston church massacre anniversary, Joan Baez and Alexander Herzen.
Blaspheming Human Rights: The Hypocrisy at the Core of Authoritarian Muslim Nations
While Many Muslim nations howl at perceived blasphemy about Prophet Muhammad, authoritarianism in the Muslim world has tragic consequences for Muslim minorities in India and elsewhere. Muslim governments’ short-term, emotional reactions to some defamation cases do not help improve the conditions of Muslim minorities, who actually need a more consistent and principled support.
Terrell Sampson Is 4th Arrested as Details of Rash Impulse Emerge in Smith and Hall Murders
Terrell Sampson is the last of the four men charged in the murders of 16-year-olds Noah Smith and Keymarion Hall earlier this year. The sum total of the investigations as detailed in arrest reports paints a picture of young men involved less in anything like organized gang behavior so much as idiotic, impulsive, juvenile acts of tit-for-tat belligerence and thoughtless retaliation, damning the consequences.
Flagler School Board Will Consider Arming Teachers and Staffers in Addition to Sheriff’s Deputies
After declining to arm teachers in the wake of the Parkland massacre in 2018, the Flagler school district’s position may be shifting. The School Board last week agreed to hold a workshop to discuss whether the district should join the “guardian” program–not as a replacement of the sheriff’s deputies, but in addition to it.
More States and Districts are Arming Teachers, But Research Is Lacking on Strategy’s Effectiveness
There is data on where and how armed personnel are used in school districts across the nation. There is less data on how effective that armed presence has been. That’s not a result of partisanship but simply a matter of fact: little systematic and peer-reviewed research has been carried out on the subject, and what little there is tends to lack the sort of rigor that can be the basis for sound conclusions one way or the other.
FDLE Is Launching Florida Purple Alert Program for Missing Adults With Mental Disabilities
The Purple Alert will be used to assist in the location of missing adults suffering from mental, cognitive, intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, June 16, 2022
Judge Perkins’s Drug Court, Joan Didion’s Notebook, Boy George’s karma, the Ocala forests’s bombings.
FPC’s Jack Petocz, Suspended in March, Is President Biden’s Guest at White House Signing of LGBTQ Order
Flagler Palm Coast High School senior Jack Petocz was among President Biden’s guests today at a White House Pride event and signing of an executive order extending protections to LGBTQ+ people. Petocz caught the White House’s attention after leading a walkout at FPOC to protest a new law discriminating against LGBTQ people. He was suspended for three days after the walkout.
There Is No One ‘Religious View’ on Abortion
One in four Americans who have had abortions are Catholic, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which advocates for reproductive health. It’s a clear reminder of the complex relationship between any religious tradition’s teachings and how people actually live out their beliefs.
Inspiration of Hope Hosts Gospel Extravaganza at Palm Coast Community Center June 25
Inspiration of Hope Community Resources, Inc. is hosting a Gospel Extravaganza at 3 p.m., on Saturday, June 25, 2022, at the Palm Coast Community Center.
Florida Court Rejects Attempt to Suppress Grand-Jury Report on School Safety
An appeals court Wednesday rejected attempts to block the release of information in a final report by a statewide grand jury formed to investigate school safety and other issues after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Flagler Palm Coast High School Student Michael Baskin’s Design Wins Scenic A1A Logo Contest
Flagler Palm Coast High School student Michael Baskin’s digital art design was selected from more than 20 submissions for the contest. The design will be sent to the Florida Department of Transportation for review and installation at strategic locations along the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway.
Another Cell Tower Plan Near Palm Harbor Golf Has Palm Coast Council Fearful of Public Reaction
The Palm Coast City Council is set to approve leases for two new cell towers–one off Royal Palms Parkway in Town center, one off Club House Drive, near the Palm Harbor Golf Course. But the Club House Drive tower is controversial, as was a similar proposal for a tower within the golf club in late 2020. Public opposition defeated that proposal. The council is worried about a replay.
3 Months in Jail for Travis Smith, Who’d Drunkenly Assaulted and Spat on Lyft Driver
Travis Schriever Smith, the 38-year-old Palm Coast resident a jury in May found guilty of assaulting a Lyft driver in his car and by the side of a road in 2020, was sentenced to three months in jail and six months on probation today by Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. The jury had acquitted him of a felony burglary charge that could have exposed Smith to prison time.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Travis Smith, Robert Batie and Brennan Hill are in court, the Palm Coast Planning Board takes on Grand Reserve East, Brad Swanson at Tiger Bay, Edvard Grieg’s birthday, Mayor Lindsay’s luck.
Inflation Is Spiking. Can the Fed Raise Interest Rates Without Spiking Unemployment, Too?
Economists fear that raising rates too fast and too steeply would likely put the brakes on economic growth, resulting in an economic recession and soaring unemployment. An economist who studies inflation believes there are several reasons the Fed can more fiercely fight inflation without worrying so much about unemployment.
3 Arrested, 4th Sought in Murders of Noah Smith and Keymarion Hall by ‘Wannabe Badasses’
In a major break in two related murder cases, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly today announced the arrests of three of four individuals in the shooting deaths earlier this year of Noah Smith and Keymarion Hall, both 16, both in South Bunnell, both in drivebys resulting from a simmering feud between wannabe gangs in Bunnell and Palm Coast.
As Sheriff Staly Asks for 10 More Deputies from City and County, Alfin Floats Impact Fee Budget Model
Sheriff Rick Staly is asking for 10 more deputies from Palm Coast and the county and renewed focus on better salaries. Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin is proposing to shift law enforcement budgeting to an impact fee model, thus having new development shoulder a substantial part of the cost.
Arrested for Driving School Bus Severely Drunk, He’s Back in Jail for Showing Up to Court Drunk
Mark McNeill, 60, was arrested in February for driving severely drunk with 40 Buddy Taylor Middle School students aboard. He appeared before a judge on Monday for a plea deal. He was drunk. The judge sent him back to jail. The plea deal is in doubt.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 14, 2022
The Community Traffic Safety Team meets as do the Palm Coast City Council and the Flagler County Planning Board, it’s Donald Trump’s birthday, bombing in the Ocala forest, and Munich’s beer.
Blaming ‘Evil’ Is Not Enough
Evil is one of the most complex and paradoxical words in the English language. It can galvanize collective action but also lead to collective paralysis, as if the presence of evil can’t be helped. As a philosopher studying moral concepts and their role in communication, I find it essential to scrutinize this word.
Pro Wrestler Jeff Hardy, in ‘Stupor,’ Arrested on Felony DUI and Driving on Suspended License
Jeff Hardy, the 44-year-old professional wrestler and musician with a storied career and a few previous arrests was arrested again today on a felony charge of drunk driving and driving on a revoked license. He was on I-95 in Volusia County when Florida Highway Patrol trooper Zach Steiner pulled him over.
Larry Cavallaro, 75, Says He’s Guilty of Raping Flagler Woman, But Evades Prison Time in Plea
Larry Cavallaro, 75, a former gallery owner in Flagler Beach, pleaded guilty today to raping a woman at his home in Beverly Beach in December 2017, but was sentenced only to two years’ house arrest and eight years of sex offender probation.