Beverly Beach, which brands itself a “small town with a good heart,” donated $10,000, or 5 percent of its American Rescue Plan allocation, to the Flagler Health Department, with Bob Snyder at the commission meeting to accept the donation Monday evening. The money will be spent on diabetes and other public health initiatives.
Military Career Over, Ex-Palm Coast Airman Isaac Becker Is Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison Over Rape of Minor
If he’d gone to trial and been convicted, Isaac Becker faced up to 90 years in prison for raping a girl he had a familial relationship with, starting when she was 13 and ending when she was 15. This afternoon, Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced Becker, 22, to eight years in prison, followed by 10 years’ probation and a lifetime designation as a sexual predator.
Private Universities Switch to Remote Learning as Covid Surges, But Florida’s Public Universities Will Not
Several private colleges and universities such as Harvard, Howard, Stanford, Syracuse and Northwestern plan to resume classes in a virtual setting for at least part of the spring semester. So far, none of Florida’s public universities are making that transition, despite concerns from faculty union leaders that officials aren’t making the right decisions to protect campus communities throughout Florida.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Happy birthday Jules Kwiatkowski. The Flagler County School Board discusses its own protocols, Bunnell Manager Alvin Jackson talks about changes at the city, the Palm Coast City Council meets this evening.
Sore Loser Effect: Rejecting Election Results Drives Terrorism and Hobbles Democracy
Acceptance of electoral defeat, something political scientists call “loser’s consent,” is essential for stability and order in democracies. It’s fragile. When it is broken–when losing politicians in democracies refuse to accept election results–citizens begin to see terrorism as more acceptable and domestic terrorism increases.
Sheriff Confirms Zaire Roberts, 23, Was Killed in Regent Lane Shootout, and Another Man Wounded
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office today confirmed what it had not for several days after the Dec. 29 shooting that left a man dead and another wounded at 8 Regent Lane in Palm Coast: that the man who was killed was 23-year-old Zaire Roberts, who had been released from prison just weeks earlier.
Flagler’s Omicron-Led Covid Infections Surge Toward Record as DeSantis Sees Schools and Business as Usual
Infection numbers are surging across Florida, but in a 50-minute news conference this morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo not only projected a business-as-usual approach, but said testing protocols will be revised toward less testing, with testing and treatment focused on higher-risk patients, while schools are to remain open and operating under previously relaxed guidelines that de-emphasize quarantines, masking and distancing.
Out on Bond Over One Felony, Justin Anthony, 21, Is Arrested on Statutory Rape Charge Involving 13-Year-Old Girl
Justin J. Anthony, a 21-year-old resident of 5791 Cherry Lane in Bunnell, was already facing a felony charge stemming from what a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy described as his “propensity for continued violence” when he was re-arrested on New Year’s Eve on a statutory rape charge.
Florida’s 1st Time Unemployment Claims Now at Pre-Pandemic Levels
If unchanged, the estimate would be the fewest number of claims for a single week since another holiday-shortened week in late December 2019 and would put the average of new claims over the past four weeks at 5,347.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, January 3, 2022
The grind returns. Court is back in session with arraignments, and the sentencing of former Seaman Isaac Julio Becker, the social virus of nationalism, remembering Arsenio’s first.