Donald Andrew Sharp was 20 and 21 when he lived with his cousins in Palm Coast, as their babysitter. He is on trial on charges of raping his cousin when she was 8 and 9, and of forcing her brother to molest her, allegedly as a scapegoat for Sharp: if he were to be blamed, he would turn the accusation toward his young cousin. The two children testified today, after opening arguments by the prosecution. The defense reserved its opening argument for later in the week.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, February 13, 2024
The Community Traffic Safety Team meets, it’s Palm Coast City Council workshop day, the Palm Coast Open is ongoing, Cameron Driggers’s Youth Action Fund leads an anti-book-banning rally in Brevard County, only for a Sarah J. Maas book to be banned.
Why Florida Is Wrong to Have Downgraded Sociology in College
The American Sociological Association’s current president and a professor of sociology and public policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst explains why Florida’s decision to reduce the number of students enrolled in sociology courses is both disturbing and an opportunity to help the public better understand the academic discipline.
Flagler and St. Johns Award Paul Renner Emergency Preparedness Legislative Achievement Award
Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord and St. Johns County Emergency Management Deputy Director Kelly Wilson spent part of “Emergency Management Day at the Capitol” (February 7) presenting House Speaker Paul Renner with the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA) Legislative Achievement Award.
Florida House Moves Toward Banning Local Governments from Regulating EV Charging Stations, and Banning ‘Cultivated Meat’
The Florida House on Monday continued moving forward with a wide-ranging bill that includes banning sales of lab-grown meat in the state and preventing local governments from regulating electric-vehicle charging stations. Florida has 3,230 public charging stations in 44 of the 67 counties, and a staff analysis of the bill said electric vehicles made up nearly 3 percent of cars sold in Florida from July 2020 to July 2021.
Sally Hunt’s ‘Causes’ to Fire Attorney, Withheld Despite Numerous Requests, Repeat Fabrications and Unfounded Claims
Sally Hunt, who now openly says she will not complete her term on the board, claims she did not think her “notes” on firing former School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin qualified as public records. The list of 10 grievances echoes the six fellow-Board member Christy Chong filed, repeating some of the same inaccuracies or fabrications and making several unsupported statements.
High-Profile Attorney Jose Baez Takes Over Defense of Migrant Virgilio Mendez Accused in Death of Sheriff’s Deputy After Arrest
Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, the 18-year-old migrant facing a manslaughter charge in the heart-attack death of a St. Johns County sheriff’s deputy following Mendez’s arrest on a minor charge, is now represented by Jose Baez, the Miami attorney and one of the most successful and high-profile trial lawyers in the country. Baez’s involvement and a petition that has gathered 600,000 signatures for Mendez’s release reflect the reach of the case far beyond St. Johns County, and shock over a charge that, according to the medical examiner’s conclusion, is disconnected from deputy Michael Kunovich’s heart attack.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, February 12, 2024
Trial week in felony court, with some right or nine potential trials, the Palm Coast Open, the Garden Club meets at the Palm Coast Social Club, the Bunnell City Commission meets, CNN’s Israel bias.
The Two-State Solution Is Dead
The simple fact is the number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem) – now about 700,000, who live alongside three million Palestinians – means there is not much space left for a Palestinian state. The only way space could be made for another state would be if the government were to dismantle the settlements. That’s not going to happen.
Federal Judge Ends Challenges to Florida’s Election Law Targeting Black Voters
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a 17-page order after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year overturned a ruling in which he found the law improperly discriminated against Black voters. Walker appeared to criticize the appeals court for “reweighing” facts in the case.
