Flagler County government is disseminating false information about the proportion of the local sales tax paid by visitors as it seeks letters of support from Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach to increase the county’s sales tax by half a percent.
School Board Approves Funding for Flagler Youth Orchestra, Legal Opinion ‘Comfortable’ with Arrangement
The Flagler County School Board approved its annual funding of the Flagler Youth Orchestra Strings Program. Now it needs to find a new program director as well as a new artistic director and two more music instructors/conductors.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Separation Chat, Day three of Monserrate Teron’s trial, The Flagler County Public Library Book Club takes on Kim Michele’s “Woman of Troublesome Creek,” Paul Robeson.
DeSantis ‘War on Woke’ Mirrors Whitewashing of History in Other Countries
Florida’s new law forbidding the teaching of systemic racism is the most extreme example in a series of recent U.S. state bills that critics call “educational gag orders.” The tactics that Gov. Ron DeSantis is using to censor the teaching of American history in Florida look a lot like those seen in the illiberal democracies of Israel, Turkey, Russia and Poland.
AdventHealth Prepares to Open Palm Coast Parkway Hospital, Doubling ER and Patient Capacity
The 158,000-sqaure-foot facility, which cost $167 million, includes 100 inpatient beds, which will double the inpatient capacity for Flagler County when added to AdventHealth Palm Coast, the hospital that recently marked its 20th anniversary at its campus on S.R. 100 just west of I-95.
Palm Coast Franchise Fee Killed Again as FPL Balks at Referendum; City Must Cut Budget $2.8 Million
The Palm Coast City Council is set to abandon the unpopular franchise fee it proposed adding to electric bills only last week. City Council member Theresa Pontieri said today she will withdraw the motion that she’d made on July 18. The reason, according to the city manager: Florida Power and Light won’t accept the city’s terms.
Waste Pro and Palm Coast Drop All Claims Against Each Other in Bingate Settlement
Waste Pro and Palm Coast signed an agreement that will have Palm Coast release $153,150 owed Waste Pro. The city will also void the $66,350 fines the company had accrued. Neither side admits wrong-doing. Neither side will sue.
Texas University Suspends Professor Accused of Criticizing Lt. Governor in Lecture on Opioids
The professor, Joy Alonzo, an expert on the opioids crisis, was placed on paid administrative leave and investigated, raising questions about the extent of political interference in higher education, particularly in health-related matters.
Sheriff’s Employees Donate $25,645 to Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) employees donated $25,645 to the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches (FSYR) making FCSO employee’s total donations to the FSYR over $158,000 since 2017.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Monserrate Teron’s trial Day Two, the school board holds a pair of meetings, the Volusia-Flagler Sierra Club hosts a group social, taking on the multiverse.