Sarah Palin brings her bonkers act to Orlando, Wikileaks honors the truth, massive oil is spotted in the Gulf of Mexico, American religion isn’t that bad, and more.
Education Foundation’s 20th Anniversary: Video and Photo Gallery
Watch a video celebrating 20 years of the Flagler County Education Foundation, and a vanity photo gallery of the evening’s celebrations at the Hammock Duns Club. In color, too.
Singing Its Signal Achievements, Flagler Education Foundation Celebrates 20 Years
The gala dinner at the Hammock Dunes Club drew a sold-out audience of 175, and was highlighted by testimonials about the foundation’s works and rousing performances by Amy Fulmer’s Formality Ensemble.
Builders on Amendment 4: Bad for Jobs, Economic Growth and Democracy
Charles Rinek, president of the Flagler Home Builders Association, outlines the many reasons why Amendment 4 — the so-called “Hometown Democracy” amendment — will undermine the state’s economy and democratic process.
Palm Coast Is Fighting Firefighters’ Union on Forming a Single Bargaining Unit
The hearing Friday will decide whether lieutenants and rank and file firefighters can form a single bargaining unit, which the city–which objects to unionization–is opposing.
September Unemployment Almost Unchanged: 16.3% in Flagler, 11.9% in Florida
With 1.1 million people out of work, unemployment in Florida inched up by a decimal point, and down by a decimal point in Flagler. Some 11,100 jobs were lost in the state in September.
John Mica’s Politbureau: How the Chamber Endorses While Pretending Not to Endorse
Flagler County’s Whigs and wigged coupled and clapped at the Palm Coast Yacht Club as John Mica accepted tributes and dispensed charismatic prepositions on his way to a 10th term in Congress.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” Launches Flagler Playhouse’s 32nd Season
The play and the movie of the “rock opera” were charged up with controversy in 1971 and 1973. These days, “Jesus Christ Superstar” is a nostalgic bath of 70s music and only quaint hints of subversion.
Election Primer: Class-Size Amendment 8 Is a Reasonably Multi-Edged Sword
With the class-size amendment — Amendment 8 — approving it would save money and give schools some flexibility, but it would let the Legislature off the hook on its financial commitment to education.
Health Care Deformed: Florida’s Incoming House Speaker Defies Federal Law
With no apparent authority from the Legislature or the courts, incoming Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon is aiming to scuttle state agencies’ enactment of federal health care reform laws and regulations.
The Live Wire, Oct. 21: Miss Flagler County’s Latest, Sink and Scott’s Loudest, Palin’s Diva Act
Amanda Dack gives us a Miss Flagler County update, St. Augustine wins best place to retire, Sink and Scott fang up, Dizzy Gillespie makes a birthday appearance on the Muppet Show, and more.
In School Board Race, a Clash of Clarity And Fact Between Fischer and Sword
John Fischer makes wild, often incoherent claims and exaggerations, betting, correctly, that his audiences won’t verify what he says. Sword is about clarity and rational analysis.
And Then There Were One and a Half: Flagler Beach Manager Pick Slims to Default
Edward Sealover has taken a job in Georgia, Gary Word is negotiating terms with Green Cove Springs, leaving Bruce Campbell the choice by default. The question is: will the Flagler Beach City Commission take it?
The Live Wire, Oct. 20: Debt Dummies, Lolita, George Carlin and EE Cummings
How not to pay your credit card bills, Confederate fallacies, reading “Lolita” at 12, Calgary’s new Muslim mayor, George Carlin on Religion, and more.
Flagler Sheriff’s Jail Guards Apologize To Lisa Tanner Over 2005 Brutality Case
Lisa Tanner, the daughter of then-State Attorney John Tanner, was arrested on bogus charges in March 2005, and was then violently restrained and abused by guards at the Flagler County jail.
Dim-Witted Larcenist Puts Palm Coast on David Letterman’s Lips and Map
It was a small-town news item pulled out of the Palm Coast Observer’s crime blotter. It got Letterman and Paul Shaffer going for the whole segment as they poked around Palm Coast’s location.
Bold and Bolder: County Commission Bashes Landon and Coffey Over Annexation Proposal
County administrator Craig Coffey and City Manager Jim Landon worked out an annexation deal for the 55 acres to be filled by a National Guard center near the airport. That was news to the county commission.
In Palm Coast, Another Dud Turnout At School Tax Town Hall
School officials had thought (and feared) that the tea party throngs would turn up at Monday’s town hall on the proposed $0.25 mill school tax referendum. They didn’t. What those tea leaves say is not clear.
The Live Wire, Oct. 19: Florida Apartheid, Rick Scott’s Fuzziness and an Unsavory Duke List
Arizona’s war on undocumented immigrants migrates to Florida, in a whiter worse version, Rick Scott has memory problems under oath, the “Duke Screw List” surfaces, and more.
Holden House and the Old Courthouse: A Grateful Historical Society and an Update
Flagler County Historical Society President Mary Ann Clark thanks the county commission for the $23,400 renovation, and Sisco Deen relates the latest fixings.
County Raises Bed Tax to 4%, a Victory for Milissa Holland’s Tourism Marketing Thrust
The higher tax, Milissa Holland argued, will broaden Flagler County’s marketing power, drawing more visitors and creating more jobs for local, small businesses.
Calvary Christian’s Bus Ministry: Treasuring the Homeless, One Sunday at a Time
Every Sunday, Calvary’s school buses pick up some 120 homeless men, women and children to clean, feed and clothe them while ministering to them without illusions.
In Race to Replace Judge Hammond in Flagler, Craig and Horrox Scrape for Distinctions
In the race for the 7th judicial district’s court seat Judge Hammond is vacating, Dennis Craig and Joe Horrox are two competent, unexciting choices, though Craig’s experience is more varied.
The Live Wire, Oct. 18: Mica’s Night Terrors, the Davidsons’ Park and Tea Party Writ
The ex-News-Journal’s Davidsons get a pasturage, John Mica wants you to be scared of Heather Beaven, tea partiers think the Constitution is a biblical excerpt, and Facebook is betraying your privacy.
Teen White Out: White T-Shirts to Blank Out Traffic Crashes
The Department asks Floridians to show support by wearing a white shirt on Oct. 19 to help white out teen crashes, the leading cause of death for teenagers. This is National Teen Driver Safety Week.
Gorey Stories, Deadly Artists and International Arts Day: Culture Worth the Miles
Slightly frightful stories to go with Halloween and Edward Gorey at the Orlando Museum of Art, Mozart’s time machinery, oral histories come to the celery stage, International Arts Day on Oct. 25, and more.
It’s Drescher’s Tower Now: Year-Long Quest Ends With Town’s Name in Its Place
The job was finished Sunday, but it took Stan Drescher, a newcomer to Flagler Beach, almost a year and perseverance through slamming doors to have the town’s water tower named after it.
Cubism Squared at “Picasso’s Legacy,” Flagler County Art League’s Latest Show
The second show at the Art League’s new home at City Walk/City Market Place features several attempts at translating Picasso’s cubist (and not so cubist) legacy, with varying degrees of success.
Scott DuPont and Don Holmes:
Dogma vs. Nuance in 7th Judicial Circuit Race
Don Holmes and Scott DuPont’s experience in law is the least of their differences in the Group 10 race for Florida’s 7th Judicial Circuit Court seat (Putnam County), in which Flagler voters do have a vote.
FPC’s Boys Raced, Pink-Socked, in Breast Cancer Solidarity at Manhattan Invitational
Inspired by their coach, an idea started by Brad Walbert, to honor his grandfather, developed into team-wide solidarity for breast cancer victims–with unexpected and moving results as the boys raced in in New York City.
Live Wire Weekend: Imam Bill O’Reilly On The View, Palm Coast’s Rut, Rich Tax Cuts
Bill O’Reilly makes an ass of himself on The View, when Florida sued Rick Scott, Justin Bieber uncovered as a pedophile and other disasters.
To Bitter Reactions, Flagler Beach Commission Again Delays Hiring a New Manager
This time, Commissioner Joy McGrew, piped in by phone from North Carolina, asked for the decision to be delayed until her return. The vote was moved to Oct. 28.
The Live Wire, Oct. 14: Foreclosure Crisis 2.0 and the Limits of Tolerance
The foreclosure crisis goes viral, school uniforms get another hearing, boobs against breast cancer, Beirut’s rebirth, tolerance’s limits, and more.
Governing Divide: Nurses Are for Sink, Doctors Are for Scott, Voters Still on Mars
The GOP’s Rick Scott snubbed the Florida Nurses Association, Democrat Sink visited in person. For doctors, Scott would take a hatchet to malpractice lawsuits–doctors’ overriding wish.
Election Primer: Amendment 2 Loop-Holes a Tax Exemption for Soldiers in War Zones
Amendment 2 would give soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan (or future war zones) a property tax exemption but only if they own homesteaded property. The amendment is more controversial than you’d expect.
Superintendent Janet Valentine: Why You Should Vote For the .25 Mill School Tax Levy
School Superintendent Janet Valentine makes the case for the 25-cent-per-$1,000 property tax levy on November’s ballot, the continuation of a tax homeowners have been paying all along.
The Live Crime Blotter, Oct. 1-5, 2010
A woman’s house is burglarized–for meat and chicken packs in the freezer; a fight at Smiles Night Club; a 29-year-old man is tasered; an injured deer is put out of its misery; and more.
Palm Coast Fire Department Takes Delivery of Versatile $1 Million Ladder Truck
The 59,000-lb., pump-equipped Sutphen truck can extend its ladder 100 feet high and fire water guns at 2,000 gallons per minute in winds of up to 50 mph. The $1 million truck was ordered two years ago from Sutphen’s Ohio plant.
Shetland Ponies Give Flagler Sheriff’s Deputies the Old Kings Run-Around
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies spent part of Wednesday morning rounding up 11 ponies that ran away from the Italian-American Club’s property on Old Kings, where they’ll be part of the weekend’s fall festival.
Election Primer: Amendments 5 and 6 Pit Power Against Voters in Redistricting
Florida’s proposed Amendments 5 and 6 would diminish the power of incumbents and legislative majorities to pick their own voters when they draw up voting districts every 10 years.
The Live Wire, Oct. 13: Ask, Tell, Repeal, and More Foreclosure Follies
The last days of “don’t ask don’t tell,” Florida gives up on banning gay adoptions, how cable TV “news” is demolishing US politics, a sit-down with art critic Robert Hughes, and more.
Burglaries Spike 44% In Flagler in 1st Half of 2010; Violent Crime Falls Locally and Statewide
Aggravated assaults and robberies are down, but Bunnell continues to record a disproportionate number of arrests for a town its size in the semi-annual crime report, which points to the year’s overall crime trends.
Why Republicans Are Listed First All Over Flagler’s Nov. 2 Ballot (It’s Not a Conspiracy)
Being listed first does matter in local races, especially in non-partisan ones, as lazy or uninformed voters tend to go for the first choice they’re presented.
School Board Members Talking to Empty Benches at Town Halls on Tax Levy
School officials think most people have already made up their minds about Flagler’s .25 mills school tax levy. They just can’t tell which way they’ll vote.
The Live Wire, Tuesday, Oct. 12: Pink Boots Lenny Keeps His Job, Hiaasen on Amendment 4
Palm Coast’s Breast Cancer Awareness man of the week, Lenny Grocki, was not fired; Carl Hiaasen speaks truth to Amendment 4 detractors; Wall Street continues to rake it in, and much more.
Beethoven, a “Bachelorette” Named Giselle, and Old Blue Eyes: Culture Worth the Miles
Beethoven’s 5th, Beethoven’s 9th, “Noises Off,” the recreation of the Orlando Ballet Company, a little Batman thrown in and more Museum of Florida Art auctions.
Abu Ghraib Brutality in Florida’s Youth Prisons: Suit Charges Rape and Other Abuses
A class-action law suit against a private Florida juvenile prion contractor claims children were physically abused, forced to have sex with counselors, and kept from seeing lawyers.
Potential Juror’s Misconduct Leads to Mistrial in William Gregory Double-Murder Case
A potential juror who had been excused spoke improperly inf front of the larger jury pool on Friday, prejudicing the group. One of the seated jurors reported the incident.
Bunnell Police’s Latest Slipshod Accusations Clear Ex-Cop of Counterfeiting
Former Sgt. Frank Gamarra had cooperated with a State Attorney’s investigation of shoddy policing at the Bunnell PD only to be fired and charged with carrying a fake $20 bill.
The Live Wire, Monday, Oct. 11: A Nate Update, St. Pete Goes for Crist, Plus Yukon Gold
The latest on 7-year-old Nate in ICU; St. Pete Times Goes for Crist, Everglades’ sugardaddy deal goes through, Amendment 4 and sex offender hysteria, plus the Yukon, SNL at 35 and Art Blakey at 91 and more.