From Columbine to Tucson, Americans have been watching and waiting for the nation to take bullying seriously. Heather Beaven argues that as victims keep falling, the nation is still waiting.
President Bill Clinton’s Speech on the Columbine High School Massacre
Full text of President Bill Clinton’s speech to the Columbine High School community in Littleton, Colo., on May 20, 1999, following the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, in which senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves.
Commissioner Flynt’s Election-Qualifying Check Bounces, But Not His Candidacy
Flynt made good on the check as soon as the city clerk informed him of the bounce, 20 days after qualifying ended, but did so with cash. State law requires the payment to be made with a cashier’s check, “the end of qualifying notwithstanding.”
Reality Check: Rick Scott vs. Florida
It’s become one of Governor Rick Scott’s favorite clichés: “Government has no resources of its own. Government can only give to us what is previously taken from us.” He’s in the wrong country.
Gallery Whales: Rick Cannizzaro’s Giants Opening at Ocean Publishing
The third in a series of gallery shows that tie art to books (and a cause), Rick Cannizzaro’s “Ocean Giants” features 11 new paintings of whales, along with a few works from previous shows.
Saving Carver Gym: Breakthrough In Sight, Barbara Revels Battles One Last Obstacle
County Commissioner Revels is preparing to submit a plan to the commission that would blend financial responsibility and management of Carver Gym between various groups while diminishing two existing employees’ direct control.
A Morning Memorial on A1A for Jigme Norbu Before His Walk Resumes By Other Steps
The Dalai Lama’s nephew’s body was flying back to his home in Indiana as a group of friends and supporters gathered at the accident site in the Hammock before resuming his Walk for Tibet-Florida, ending in West Palm Beach later this month.
Cops Recoil Over Florida Pension Reforms; Deferred Retirement (DROP) Slated to End
Senate plans introduced Wednesday would replace traditional state pension plans with 401(k)-style systems, and would end the deferred retirement option plan known as DROP.
Dalai Lama’s Nephew’s Last Day: Jigme Norbu Remembered, and His Mission Honored
Jigme Norbu’s Florida walk for Tibet will continue, starting with a prayer ceremony on A1A in the Hammock Thursday morning in honor of Norbu, the Dalai Lama’s nephew killed there Monday evening.
Despite Potential for 14,000 Jobs, Scott Rejects $2.4 Billion in High-Speed Rail Money
SunRail in Volusia and the passenger rail line between Jacksonville and Miami are also in jeopardy as Gov. Rick Scott announces focus on roads and seaports.
$75-an-Hour Fee Wrecks on Council Shoals As Beach Clean-Up Plan Is Rejected Again
In a 4-3 vote, the Flagler County Tourist Development Council turned back a $15,000 request for beach clean-ups by the Friends of A1A Scenic and Historical Byway group. The group’s third try in four months is its last.
Leon Redbone, Anne Frank and Orlando’s Art & Living Expo: Culture Worth the Miles
Winter Park’s Morse Museum is expanding, Orlando’s Downton Art Living Expo, Leon Redbone at the Plaza Theatre, and the “Diary of Anne Frank” at the Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park.
Medicaid Changes For 2.9 Million Floridians: Fewer Choices, More HMOs
A Florida Senate proposal would vastly increase the role of managed care in Florida’s $20 billion Medicaid program, and pull out of the federal system if the federal government doesn’t approve it.
Chamber Survey: 21% of Floridians Would Leave; Business, Government Equally Blamed
The annual Sunshine State Survey finds 65 percent of Floridians saying the state is worse or the same as five years ago, and 69 percent saying business leaders do the right thing only some of the time or never, about as much as government leaders. The full results.
State Attorney Larizza on Bunnell’s Ghetto Spy-Cams: Should Be a Cost-Benefit Thing
State Attorney R.J. Larizza echoed comments by Public Defender Jim Purdy and Bunnell Commissioner Elbert Tucker on the economics of spy cameras, though a majority of the commission appears sold on the idea.
Donald Flynt, Son of Bunnell Commissioner, Jailed on Fraud Charge
Donald Flynt, the 25-year-old son of Bunnell City Commissioner Jimmy Flynt, was jailed on Friday on a charge of obtaining property by fraud.
Florida’s War on the Jobless, Obama’s Budget, Russian Gun Porn: The Live Wire
Journalists, Anderson Cooper and “objectivity, rethinking education, when parents kill their adolescents, the end of sex in movies, Stan Drescher’s latest poem, and more.
Don’t Be Alarmed: Smoke-Testing in Palm Coast’s P-Section Sewers Feb. 21-25
Some residents may see smoke rising from yards, streets or drains, signaling faulty sewer lines or plumbing. Residents may experience caughing, but the city says the smoke is not hazardous to health and dissipates within 15 minutes.
A First for Matanzas High School: Rebecca Wight a National Merit Finalist
Matanzas High School senior Rebecca Wight is one of 15,000 finalists across the United States, a little more than half of whom will be selected for an award in march.
Memories of River City: “The Music Man” Then and Now
Caren Umbarger, artistic director of the Flagler Youth Orchestra, grew up in Mason City, the real setting for “The Music Man”‘s River City, and both her grandfather knew Meredith Willson, the musical’s author, personally. She recalls her youth–and previews the show.
More Charter Schools, Less District Oversight: Where Rick Scott and Jeb Bush Merge
Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Jeb Bush’s education foundation are teaming up for a concerted push to open more charter schools while reducing or eliminating local school district approval and oversight, among other plans under the school “choice” umbrella.
Gumbo Humanitarian: Sauce Boss
Crusade for the Poor Blues Up Flagler
Sauce Boss Bill Wharton: a blues-singing, gumbo-cooking humanitarian for the needy feeds the homeless Friday and performs at the Florida Agricultural Museum Saturday in a fundraiser for the museum and the needy. A profile.
Fearful of Obstructing Pier Restaurant Deal, Flagler Beach Kills Lifeguard Tower
After eight years of trying, winning an $80,000 federal grant, and spending $51,600 on construction, commissioners reversed course on a lifeguard tower to satisfy the Pier Restaurant’s potential new owner, who worried about blocked view.
FPC’s Delegates Win 2nd Place and Score Hat Trick at Tallahassee Model UN
FPC’s Model United Nations team took on the world and brought home a batch of awards at a conference hosted at the State Capitol Feb. 11. Kyle Russell live-blogged the entire day.
Premature Celebrations: Scott Silent on Park Closures. Legislature May Still Ax Some.
State parks such as Washington Oaks Gardens appear to have been spared closure in Gov. Rick Scott’s budget, but they’re far from safe as the Legislature begins to look for ways to close a $4 billion deficit.
John Rogers Election: Johns towing ad:
In Your Face: Palms and Heads Color Hollingsworth Gallery Opening
Opening Feb. 11, the portraits of New Smyrna Beach artist Patricia Zalisko and the landscapes of Ormond Beach artist Karlene McConnell, and both their adventures with color and space, are the subject of their show at Hollingsworth gallery through March 1.
SB6 Redux: Teacher Merit Pay Bill Advances, But With None of Last Year’s Opposition
The replay of last year’s battle over Senate Bill 6 has been more subdued, the means by which teachers would be evaluated more vague, giving local school districts more say.
Facing $3.5 Million Deficit, Flagler Schools Eye Shorter Calendar, Bus Routes, Reserves
School Superintendent Janet Valentine says many options are on the table as Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed budget cuts force additional reductions on top of the $7.5 million the district has cut since 2007.
Ronald Reagan Fetish, Rick Scott Bully, Stoning Valentine Couples: The Live Wire
Setting the Reagan legacy straight, setting the Muslim Brotherhood straight, setting American manufacturing straight, setting overly despicable Valentine’s Day couples straight, and more.
Who’s Afraid of the Muslim Brotherhood?
The biggest bogeyman in Egypt is the Muslim Brotherhood, whose influence extends across the Arab and Islamic world, and whose name sheds fear and misconception in the United States. Analyst Mohammed Khan dispels myths.
Murray Sedich of Palm Coast Killed in Panhandle Accident, in Wewahitchka
Murray Edwin Sedich, 26, of Palm Coast, was walking north along 2nd Street in the small Panhandle town of Wewahitchka Tuesday when a car driven by Lloyd Husbands, 52, veered off the highway and hit Sedich.
Boys Basketball Playoffs: FPC’s Bulldogs Rally to Beat Mainland, 45-39
Down 11 points well into the 3rd quarter, the Bulldogs rallied behind Tyler Hopkins’s three-point shooting and Michael McDonald to defeat rivals Buccaneers at Mainland in the district quarterfinals Wednesday.
You Can’t Stop the Beat: Flagler Playhouse’s “Hairspray” Sells Out Extended Run
Director John Sbordone calls “Hairspray” the Flagler Playhouse’s most popular show in the theater’s history, but he won’t extend the run yet again: actors are preparing for the next show. Actors talk about their time on stage.
So Much for Pill-Mill Policing: Citing Privacy, Florida Verges Away From Abusers’ Database
The matter is of immediate relevance in Flagler County, where local governments passed ordinances imposing moratoriums on new pain clinics while awaiting stronger state regulations. The state’s direction would effectively invalidate the moratoriums’ justification.
John O. Hill, 76, Killed in Wreck With Teen Driver on S.R. 13 in St. Johns
John Oscar Hill, 76, of Orange Park, was killed in an afternoon wreck with a teen-age driver at the intersection of Bishop Estates Road and State Road 13 just south of Jacksonville Tuesday, February 9.
Unemployment Lines: Throngs Turn Up for 220 Jobs at Red Lobster and Olive Garden
More than 1,000 applicants–about a fifth of the county’s total unemployed–were expected on Wednesday alone, the first day of hiring at the two new restaurants, in an sign of enduring economic hardship.
Landon and Council Say Palm Coast City Hall Is Not a Done Deal. Plans Say Otherwise.
City Manager Jim Landon says he’s “not convinced the community is ready for it,” but he’s sticking by a timeline that would have city hall construction beginning in summer and occupancy in late 2012.
Chambers of Commerce Betrayals, the Bible Does Sex, Fox Does Egypt: The Live Wire, Feb. 8
How chambers of commerce have ditched mainstream values, the continuing rape of Appalachia, choice comments of the week, fields of gold, a surge in black-owned businesses, Richard Lewis in pain, and much more.
Small-Town Big Brother: Bunnell Eying Slew of Spy Cameras In City’s South Side
The eight cameras would allegedly deter crime in the drug-prone south side, though the city has no evidence they’d be effective. The commission is debating costs, but is sold on the idea as one way to buttress the short-staffed police department.
Scott Cutting $3 Billion Out of Education as Per-Pupil Spending Would Drop $300
Some 25,000 teachers’ jobs were saved by the federal stimulus in the past two years. Those jobs are now in jeopardy. Public colleges and universities are also hit hard.
Pride, Prejudice, State Fairs and Curious George: Culture Worth the Miles
It’s state fair time in Tampa, harbor nights at Portofino Bay, Richard Rogers’ music at the Orlando Philharmonic, Curious George at the Orlando Science Center, Jane Austen at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, and more.
From Flagler’s Washington Oaks, Fla. Audubon Launches Campaign to Save 53 State Parks
Some 65 people gathered at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park Monday to kick-off the campaign to save endangered parks, including two in Flagler County, as Gov. Rick Scott was pledging to cut $5 billion from the budget.
Skipping Specifics, Scott Calls for $5 billion in Spending Cuts, $4 Billion in Tax Cuts
Gov. Rick Scott today unveiled to a tea party crowd a budget that would cut an unprecedented $5 billion and provide for $4 billion in tax cuts, $1.4 billion of which in property taxes. Scott’s details are few.
Tornado Warning for Flagler Is Over; Pea-Size Hail in Flagler Beach
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for southeastern Putnam County and northeastern Flagler County Monday afternoon, in effect until 3 p.m.
Watch Gov. Rick Scott’s Budget Unveiling at Tea Party Rally in Eustis Now
Gov. Rick Scott’s budget unveiling in Eustis, Fla., live before a tea party rally.
Matanzas High School’s Cheerleaders Take 3rd in State Championship
Matanzas High School’s competitive cheerleading team won third place at the FHSAA’s annual Florida championship. Next up: national competition at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando.
Feed Flagler III: Sauce Boss, Linda Cole, Gumbo and Blues at Ag Museum Saturday
Sauce Boss Bill Wharton has been playing and cooking for fellowship and the poor since 1990. He’ll be playing and feeding masses for Feed Flagler Saturday Feb. 12 at the Florida Agriculture Museum’s Hot N’ Spicy Food and Music Festival.
Florida’s Broke, But It’s Refusing a $1 Million Health Insurance Oversight Grant Anyway
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty forfeit a $1 million federal grant that was supposed to go toward beefing up oversight of health-insurance rates.
Justin McElveen, 22, Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash Near Bronson, Fla.
Justin Price McElveen, 22, was traveling south in a 2005 Ford F-350 pick-up truck just before midnight on Feb. 5 on County Road 343 in Levy County when his truck failed to negotiate a curve.