The National Scenic Byway Foundation congratulates the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway as the winner of our 2023 Byway Organization Award for Partnership. This is one of the Foundation’s eight national awards presented annually.
Florida House Approves Lowering Age to Buy Assault Rifles to 18, Reversing Ban Passed After Parkland Massacre
The Florida House passed a measure that would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and other “long” guns, voting to scrap a high-profile change passed after a 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. House bill sponsor Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, said the measure “corrects the wrong we did in 2018.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, April 30, 2023
Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons’ at City Repertory Theatre, Spanky and Our Gang’s “Give a Damn,” when Muhammad Ali lost his heavyweight title, ‘Barnum,’ at Flagler Playhouse.
Kurt Vonnegut’s Advice to College Graduates
A strain of sorrow and pessimism underlies all of Kurt Vonnegut’s fiction, as well as his graduation speeches. He witnessed the worst that human beings could do to one another, and he made no secret about his fears for the future of a planet suffering from environmental degradation and a widening divide between the rich and the poor.
How ‘Decorum’ Masks Discrimination
Republicans from Tennessee to Tallahassee to Tacoma struggle manfully to stop those rule-breakers who would keep disrupting white men’s God-ordained exercise of unchecked power. You know the kind: gays; transgender types; students; immigrants; women; Blacks. They’re getting uppity. They’re breaking the rules.
Trump, Time to Step Aside
Joe Biden can beat Donald Trump but not any of the GOP’s many powerful governors, should they run. The only hope Republicans have to regain the White House comes down to Trump having the decency to step aside and get enthusiastically behind the Republican 2024 nominee.
World Press Freedom Day Events Webcast from the UN on May 2
On May 2 and 3, the international community marks the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day by the United Nations General Assembly. It will serve as an occasion to take stock of the global gains for press freedom secured by UNESCO and its partners in the past decades, as well as underline the new risks faced in the digital age.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, April 29, 2023
Friends of the Library Book sale, Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons’ at City Repertory Theatre, ‘Barnum,’ at Flagler Playhouse, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s thoughts on alleged failure, David Shipler’s thoughts on abrogating liberties in the name of safety.
Food Stamps Work Requirements Don’t Work
SNAP eligibility is often contingent on beneficiaries working. But the policy doesn’t make people more likely to find a job or make more money, but it does make Americans who could use help buying groceries less likely to get it.
Georgia Store Clerk Shoots Suspect 8 Times After Palm Coast Robbery
Qwinntavus Kwame Jordan was shot eight times by a store clerk in Georgia and is in critical condition, hours after he allegedly robbed a gas station on Palm Coast’s State Road 100.
Flagler Beach, With Unusually Limited Transparency, Is on a Schedule to Hire Next City Manager By Mid-July
The Flagler Beach City Commission is on course to hire its next city manager by mid-July, but through an accelerated timeline that involves the least public input or transparency of any recent executive searches for local governments. That’s unusual in Flagler Beach, whose commission over the past decade and a half–regardless of make-up–has prized transparency and deliberation, at times to painful extremes. It’s also about to change, the commission chairman says.
Tired of Getting Bullied, 15-Year-Old FPC Student Threatens 2 With Death, and Gets Arrested
A 15-year-old student at Flagler Palm Coast High School is facing a second-degree felony charge of making written threats to kill following a conflict with two other students that led to allegedly threatening messages posted on social media.
Top of the World: FPC’s Per Berg Takes IB Students to Uruguay and Argentina in Pre-Exam Immersion
The IB is highly prized by college admission panels. It is also the most rigorous, demanding program of study in high school. Going on what looks like a vacation right before the exam might seem counterintuitive. But it is right in line with the IB’s philosophy–and it prepares the students for their exams better than sitting behind a desk, as Spanish teacher and coach Per Berg’s experience through a dozen trips with FPC students has shown.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, April 28, 2023
Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons’ at City Repertory Theatre, ‘Barnum,’ at Flagler Playhouse, National day of Mourning for workers in Canada, a dinosaur at the Flagler Youth Orchestra concert, Harper Lee’s birthday.
National Day of Mourning For Workers Lost on the Job
Each year on April 28, Canadians remember and honor those who have been killed or suffered injuries or illness at work. This day, known as the National Day of Mourning, was established by the Canadian Labour Congress in 1984 and made official in 1991. The United States has no such equivalent, though Workers Memorial Day is now worldwide.
Beach Front Grill Owner Buying High Jackers Restaurant at County Airport Just As He Tees Off at Palm Harbor
Jamie Bourdeau, owner of Beach Front Grille in Flagler Beach and Loopers at Palm Harbor Golf Club in Palm Coast, is buying High Jackers Restaurant at the Flagler County airport from Gail Holt for $700,000 and assuming the lease at the county-owned property for the next eight years, with an option to renew for another 10. He is partnering with Joseph Wright, owner of Quantum Electrical Contractors and Anthony’s Pizza.
Sacrifice for the American Dream: Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre Stages Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons’
“All My Sons,” opening for a two-weekend run at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre Friday, embodies Miller’s critique of the “American dream,” that credo which asserts that every U.S. citizen, regardless of their station or societal factors, can bootstrap him/herself to success and prosperity through initiative, hard work and determination.
Florida Legislature Is About to Repeal All Local Tenant Bill of Rights Ordinances
As rent costs rise dramatically in Florida, dozens of cities and counties have been passing ordinances — often called tenant “bill of rights” — to give some protections to renters. But the Legislature is now looking to eliminate those ordinances.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, April 27, 2023
The Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee considers renaming the Community Center in Jon Netts’s honor, Open Auditions for Spotlight on Flagler Youth Talent Show, the meaning of conservatism is liberalism.
What Socrates’ ‘Know Nothing’ Wisdom Can Teach a Polarized America
Our apparent national impasse points to a lack of “epistemic humility,” or intellectual humility – that is, an inability to acknowledge, empathize with and ultimately compromise with opinions and perspectives different from one’s own. In other words, Americans have stopped listening.
David Alfin Files Formal Request to Re-Name Community Center After Late Mayor Jon Netts
The Palm Coast Beautification Committee Thursday evening is expected to recommend renaming the Palm Coast Community Center after the late Jon Netts, a city founder and its longest-serving council member and mayor. The nomination was filed by Mayor David Alfin.
County Plan to Move Whispering Meadows Equine Therapy Ranch to Fairgrounds Collapses as State Says No
The state has rejected Flagler County government’s plan to move the Whispering Meadows Ranch–the equine therapy non-profit–to the county fairgrounds, saying it would privatize public land. The rejection is the latest setback in the ranch’s two-year effort to leave its John Anderson Highway property, where it has operated for 16 years, until neighbors started objecting to its presence.
Dreaded Franchise Fee and Public Service Tax Back on Table as Palm Coast Faces $52 Million Street Fix
Facing a $52 million backlog to resurface a deteriorating road system, the Palm Coast City Council is discussing adopting utility franchise fees and public service taxes that have previously drawn angry opposition from residents, as well as exploring raising a local sales surtax through the county.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, April 26, 2023
The Flagler Youth Orchestra performs its third and final concert of the 2022-23 season at the Flagler Auditorium, open auditions for Spotlight on Flagler Youth Talent Show, Flagler Tiger Bay After Dark, Vinyl’s comeback, Sullivan’s moment of silence.
With Travis Hutson Cheering, Bill Upending Flagler’s Vacation-Rental Controls Clears Last Hurdle Before Vote
The success of the vacation-rental bill sharply scaling back local regulation this year is a blow to Flagler County government, which was a leader in pushing for the 2014 regulations providing for local control, and has pushed back against attempts to weaken them since. The Flagler County Commission made preserving the 2014 law a legislative priority every year since.
(Redirected) Erica Bergeron Confirmed to Have Died
The medical examiner today confirmed that the body found in a car that had sunk in a pond off Matanzas Woods Parkway is that of Erica Bergeron, a Palm Coast resident who had gone missing on April 20.
Erica Bergeron Confirmed to Have Died in Car Pulled Out of Pond Off Matanzas Woods Parkway
The medical examiner today confirmed that the body found in a car that had sunk in a pond off Matanzas Woods Parkway is that of Erica Bergeron, a Palm Coast resident who had gone missing on April 20.
Willie Nelson at 90: Still On the Road
Assessing Willie Nelson’s legacy is challenging because there are so many Willies to assess. There is historical Willie Nelson, child of the Depression. There is iconic Willie Nelson, near embodiment of Texas myth. There is outlaw Willie Nelson, revolutionizing the country music industry. There is activist Willie Nelson, Farm Aid’s co-founder and biofuel pioneer. There is Willie Nelson the songwriter of rare and poignant gifts, and more Willie Nelsons yet to be named.
Ron DeSantis Is in a War With Disney He Cannot Win
DeSantis is on an utterly pointless crusade, revealing a petty, petulant personality motivated by revenge and a pathological need to prove he is correct. It can’t even be disguised as a matter of principle when it’s so clearly ego run amok.
Brad Turner, 42, Faces Felony Child Neglect Charge After 2 Year Old Found in Abject Conditions
Brad Turner, a 42-year-old father of two young children, faces a felony child neglect charge following a Flagler County Sheriff’s investigation that found the children living in deplorable conditions at the house on County Road 75 in western Flagler County.
Flagler Beach Re-Launching Limited Plastic Recycling Starting May 15
Beginning on May 15, Flagler Beach residents and businesses may recycle plastic bags and plastic film into several receptacles that will be placed around Flagler Beach. It’s not curbside recycling just yet. But it is City Sanitation Director Rob Smith’s latest effort gradually to bring back recycling of most materials the city had suspended in 2021.
Disney Monorail Is Next on DeSantis Hit List
The Republican-controlled Senate Fiscal Policy Committee, chaired by Travis Hutson, who represents Flagler County, on Tuesday amended a transportation bill (SB 1250) to apply Department of Transportation safety standards to monorail lines that connect Walt Disney World resorts and parks.
From Sleepy Cart Barn to 13,000 Calls a Year: Palm Coast Fire Department Celebrates 50th Year
The Palm Coast Fire Department was founded on April 3, 1973, with 36 volunteers, from the cart barn at the Palm Harbor Golf Club, responding to two calls for service the first year. The county population was 4,454. Today the department is a combination department that responded to over 13,444 calls for service in 2022 from five fire stations.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, April 25, 2023
The Palm Coast City Council talks goals and firehouse, the NAACP Flagler Branch’s general membership meeting, taking stock of the wreckage Tucker Carlson leaves behind, and that continues at Fox News.
Josef Ghosn Named AdventHealth University’s New President
Josef Ghosn, Ed.D., MBA will become AdventHealth University’s third president and CEO on May 1, 2023. The university’s Board of Trustees selected Ghosn after a months-long, national search.
On Paul Renner’s Request, House Will Subpoena Trans Treatment Information
The decision to issue the subpoenas is among a series of moves by lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration targeting transgender people and the LGBTQ community. A lawmaker criticized the move as reminiscent of the Johns Committee, a Florida legislative investigative panel that sought to expose communists and gay people at state universities in the 1950s and 1960s.
Tucker Carlson, Fox ‘News’ and the Problem of Faking ‘Authenticity’
Carlson’s departure came on the heels of Fox News’ US$787.5 million settlement of the lawsuit lodged by Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s promotion of misinformation about the 2020 election. Dominion had cited claims made on Carlson’s program as well as on other shows as evidence of defamation.
FPC Graduate Christian Romero, 23, Is Killed in Crash By 15-Year-Old Red-Light Runner
Christian Romero, 23, a Flagler Palm Coast High School graduate and the son of Dawn and Miguel Romero, owners of Romero’s Tuscany By the Sea restaurant in Flagler Beach, died in a two-vehicle crash caused by a 15-year-old driver’s inattention in Orlando early Sunday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, April 24, 2023
The Flagler County Beekeepers Association meets, the Bunnell City Commission meets, Remembering the Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks, Steele on DeSantis.
The Supreme Court Takes a Chill Pill: Behind the Mifepristone Stay of Execution
How to make sense of what four federal court decisions mean for the FDA’s authority to approve drugs – and where that leaves access to medication abortion, which is used in more than half of all abortions today.
In Florida, We Are All Child Abusers Now
The Florida Legislature is legalizing a Jim Crow-like system of punishing, demonizing and denying the existence of LGBTQ children. Few sessions of the Florida Legislature provided the legal framework for as much state-sponsored and citizen-empowered terrorism against children as this one.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, April 23, 2023
For the Love of Singing: A Community Chorus of Palm Coast Concert, “Barnum” at the Flagler Playhouse, the heady days of gay marriage adoption may prove to be a Prague Spring.
‘Stand Your Ground”s Fatal Risks
America’s love affair with guns and lethal self-defense is replete with laws that selectively shield citizens from criminal responsibility when they use force and claim self-defense. Since their Florida start in 2005, these “stand your ground” laws have spread to around 30 states, transforming the United States’ legal landscape.
It’s The Guns
They’re the constituents our elected officials value the most. To most of our lawmakers, guns need careful handling. Not because they’re instruments of death, but because they’re holy and blameless chalices of liberty.
Enterprise Florida Elimination Moves Forward as DeSantis Plans Trip with Agency
A House plan to eliminate the business-recruitment agency Enterprise Florida and relocate tourism-marketing efforts also would lead to a change in the name of the state Department of Economic Opportunity.
4-Vehicle Crash and Fire Shuts Down I-95 in Both Directions Near Flagler-St. Johns Line
A four-vehicle crash triggered by the recklessness of a driver shut down I-95 in both directions early this morning and sent two people to area hospitals, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, April 22, 2023
Autism Awareness Festival and Resource Fair, Earth Day Celebration, Is Your Systemic Education Relevant? an AACS discussion, 3rd Annual Spring Fling, coining religion against the First Amendment.
Clarence Thomas Is Undoing Thurgood Marshall’s Legacy
Throughout Thomas’ tenure he has pushed the Supreme Court to revisit prior decisions that embraced robust rights for society’s most vulnerable, and to replace Marshall’s vision with one more amenable to the powerful than the powerless.
180 Palm Coast-Area Muslims and Mayor Alfin Celebrate End of Ramadan on 2nd Anniversary of Bunnell Islamic Center
Palm Coast and Flagler County’s fast-growing Muslim community marked Eid-el-Fitr, the celebratory end of Ramadan, with Mayor David Alfin today at the Palm Coast Community Center and the anniversary of the emergence of an Islamic Center from a founding meeting at Holland Park.
Vote to End Diversity Programs in Florida Colleges and Universities Set Before Senate
A measure that seeks to prevent colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is ready to go before the full Senate amid strong objections from Democrats, with one Black senator calling the proposal “racist at its core.”