Big, brutal, poetic, a hero among states, Alaska has always been America’s national park of the imagination, a 600,000-square-mile invention colonized by a few tracts of reality. An exploration of Kodiak Island defeats a few stereotypes and reveals to what extent even Alaska is becoming a suburb of the Lower Forty-Eights.
A Driver Is Killed on I-95 as Car Goes Under Semi Near Matanzas Woods Parkway
A woman was killed this morning when she drove her car under a semi truck in the northbound lanes of I-95 just south of Matanzas Woods Parkway.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Kwanzaa Celebration at the African American Cultural Center, What the Black Man Wants, Woodrow Wilson, anti-hero.
Calling Politicians Clowns Is a Disservice to Clowns. Seriously.
Clowns have a long history of contributing positively to politics and society. They have brought disruption, subversion, comfort and joy to healthcare, education and humanitarian efforts. Politicians? Not so much.
American Impressions 3 | The Road
The Colorado National Monument, Yellowstone, Salt Lake City and Wyoming frame reflections on the romance of the road, that essentially American love affair made of myths and wanderlust, and those insufferable RVs.
Jan. 6 Attack: 3 Florida Extremist Groups Allied ‘to Work Together to Shut This Sh** Down’
The final report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol includes chilling sections about the force of extremist groups from Florida that formed an alliance, traveled to Washington, D.C., and stormed the Capitol.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, December 27, 2022
Have you been to the Fantasy of Lights show in Town Center yet? The cold-weather shelter opens yet again, Anne Frank’s Christmas, Stone Mountain’s bland of inoffensive consumables.
Only the Richest Ancient Athenians Paid Taxes – and they Bragged About It
In ancient Athens, only the very wealthiest people paid direct taxes, and these went to fund the city-state’s most important national expenses – the navy and honors for the gods. While today it might sound astonishing, most of these top taxpayers not only paid happily, but boasted about how much they paid.
American Impressions 2 | Heartland
America is more paradox than exception, often more invention than reality, an invention as old as 1619 and as recent as the transformation of the American “heartland” into a utopia. The contradictions of Cedar Bluff State Park in Kansas tell a different story.
The Only Doctors Florida Needs Are Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Dr. Laura, and Dr. Feelgood
Doctors! Those guys are a menace to decent Americans. Thankfully, our right honorable governor is fixing to fix this medical mess. He’s going to get a Grand Jury to investigate what he so rightly calls “crimes and wrongdoing” in the vaccine industrial complex.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, December 26, 2022
More cold weather, if geologic time could somehow be seen in the perspective of human time, Bach’s Magnificat.
Don’t Be So Quick to Call Deion Sanders a Sellout
When Deion Sanders announced he’d leave Jackson State University to become head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder, ardent fans and supporters reacted with dismay and disbelief – particularly supporters from the Black community.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, December 25, 2022
The cold weather shelter is open again tonight, Omar Thomas’s “Of Our New Day Begun,” from the Narrative of James Albert Ukawsaw.
Congress Passes Legislation That Will Close Off Presidential Election Mischief and Help Avoid Another Jan. 6
Legal theories were floated by allies of President Donald Trump after the 2020 election that suggested ways to undermine the results of the election, culminating in a failed insurrection at the Capitol. That’s why a bipartisan group of congressional leaders aimed to pass reforms to the 1887 law governing this process, the Electoral Count Act, before the end of 2022.
Gratitude on Christmas Eve
For long-time Flagler Beach attorney Scott Spradley, an image he took of the moon above the pier’s A frame not long ago provoked a range of feelings and emotions and led him to reflect on the meaning of gratitude even in an age of stresses and sorrows.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, December 24, 2022
The cold weather shelter is open tonight, WKCR’s Bach Festival, speed limits and the holidays, On the pleasure and necessity of digressions.
How Democrats Won the West
Since 1992, Democrats have flipped the West away from Republican control, a shift that began with the end of the Cold War and carried through a Pacific Coast economic recession, anti-racism demonstrations and violence in Los Angeles and the area’s increasing diversity.
Fred the Great Leapfrogs 10-Year-Old Palm Coast Girl Into Young Children’s Book Author
Fifth Palm Coast fifth-grader Bella Soumokil several years ago started writing and drawing what became “Fred the Great,” a 56-page book for children about humility and family, published locally and selling on Amazon.
Is Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin Running for Paul Renner’s Seat? Maybe.
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin is considering a run for Re. Paul Renner’s House seat, which is up in two years. Alfin, who revealed Machiavellian political instincts in a lengthy interview, will make his decision by the end of January, depending on whether other viable candidates are lined up for the seat.
New Smyrna Beach Weighs Development Moratorium in Wake of Storms. Shouldn’t All Coastal Florida?
Moratorium: Using this word in Florida is like that scene in “A Christmas Story” where Ralphie says a word that he shouldn’t and gets his mouth washed out with a bar of Lifebuoy soap. But the sense that sprawl is out of control is springing up all over, not just Deltona and New Smyrna Beach.
It’s Groundhog Day for Deficit-Ridden Belle Terre Swim and Racquet as School Board Again Dithers Over Fate
The Flagler County School Board for the latest of innumerable times could not decide what to do with the money-losing Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, now projected to run a $169,000 deficit, other than ask for yet more information. But the district’s administration is making clear that it is getting tired of carrying the club with subsidies better spent elsewhere.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, December 23, 2022
The cold-weather shelter opens in Flagler tonight, State Attorney R.J. Larizza and Sheriff Rick Staly on Free For All, Maurice Sendak, Jane Austen and “women’s fiction.”
LGBTQ Americans Are 9 Times More Likely to be Victimized By a Hate Crime
Almost half of violent hate crimes with LGBTQ victims involved an attacker who was a close friend, family member, partner or former partner, and victims were more likely to have physical and psychological symptoms as a result of the attack.
Acceding to DeSantis, Florida Supreme Court Impanels Grand Jury to Investigate Vaccines
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday approved a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate alleged wrongdoing related to Covid-19 vaccines.
Flagler’s Visual Arts Struggle for Visibility With Seeming Demise of Art League and Gargiulo Foundation
Their apparent demise during the past year — the Flagler County Art League from the pandemic’s economic pressures, the Gargiulo Art Foundation from the death of artist and co-founder Tom Gargiulo in February — coupled with the retreat of JJ Graham’s Salvo Art Project and the disappearance of several exhibit spaces and other smaller galleries is leaving many area artists feeling like the proverbial tree that falls in a forest with no one to hear it.
Based in Palm Coast, Global Support Group for Rare Disease Gets Awareness Boost from Celine Dion Diagnosis
Palm Coast resident Mike West started the Stiff Person Syndrome support group almost 20 years ago. It now has 1,700 members in 34 countries, and on Dec. 7, with Celine Dion announcement that she has SPS, the disease got the broader awareness people like West have been seeking.
Should There Be Armed Civilians in Schools? Flagler District Will Survey Employees and Residents
With numerous questions still unanswered–and some unanswerable questions–the Flagler County School Board is moving forward with gauging interest from school employees and residents in arming civilians in schools as a presumed addition to the security provided by the Sheriff’s Office’s school resource deputies.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, December 22, 2022
Preparing for the coldest spell of the year, a look back at the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, the St. Matthew Passion in full, and Grand Guignol.
DeSantis Stokes Culture Wars at the Expense of Bright Schools and Free Speech
The culture war battles being waged in Florida are not only doing lasting damage to the public education system but to the basic constitutional rights of all Floridians. Freedom of speech protects the right to freedom of conscience, debate ideas and question authority.
Teddy Roosevelt’s Failed Bull Moose Campaign May Portend the Future Of GOP and Donald Trump
Theodore Roosevelt campaigned to regain the office from his successor, William Howard Taft. He divided the Republican Party and ensured the victory of Democrat Woodrow Wilson in the presidential election of 1912.
Student Removed From Buddy Taylor Middle Last Year Is Arrested for Joking About Shooting Up the School
A 14-year-old student who last year was either expelled or withdrawn from in-school attendance at Buddy Taylor Middle School over disciplinary issues was arrested today and charged with a second-degree felony for allegedly threatening to shoot up the school. An investigation found he’d had no means to carry out the act, and that he’d been joking about it in chats.
Palm Coast Trash Pick-Up Schedule and Tree Recycling
Trash pick-up will follow a normal schedule. The 16th Annual Christmas Tree Recycling Event will be held January 7 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Palm Coast Fuel Depot located at 22 Utility Drive.
Marineland Acres Improvement Project Enters Final Year
The Marineland Acres Improvements Project in 2023 enters its final year of construction and includes the final phase of the MalaCompra Basin improvements, designed to address the flooding impacts experienced by residents living in the Hammock.
Florida Ranks Poorly in Social Capital, Personal Freedom and Governance in Milken Center Report
Florida ranks 31st in overall prosperity according to the American Dream Prosperity Index (ADPI), 47th in social capital and 37th in personal freedoms, significantly lower marks than Gov. Ron DeSantis has been giving himself.
School District Will Develop Policy on Stocking Narcan to Counter Overdoses, With Broad Availability
The Flagler County School Board directed its administration to develop a policy and procedures that will make Narcan, the agent that neutralizes drug overdoses, broadly available in schools, enabling more than just school nurses to administer it if and when necessary. The district has not experienced a drug overdose among students or staff on campus in recent memory.
Mom Who Drew National Headlines Over Boy’s Beating Is Arrested for Selling Cocaine Near Day Care
Ashley Ruffin, the 32-year-old Palm Coast mother of four, drew headlines after her arrest and pleas of innocence in the alleged beating of a boy. She claimed she was defending her son. On Monday, she was arrested on a first-degree felony charge of selling cocaine near a child care center in Bunnell, where she is living in subsidized housing.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, December 21, 2022
The Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State’s open discussion, chess club at the library, Heinrich Boll, Lewis Mumford’s Roaring Traffic’s Boom.
2022’s US Climate Disasters
The year 2022 will be remembered across the U.S. for its devastating flooding, storms and hurricanes – and also for its extreme heat waves and droughts, including one so severe it briefly shut down traffic on the Mississippi River.
Bunnell’s Sizemore Welding Will Buy Former Sheriff’s Operations Building Ahead of Expansion
Duane Sizemore of Sizemore Welding–Bunnell’s largest manufacturer–confirmed that his company will be buying the former Sheriff’s Operation Center off State Road 100, for just over $3 million. The 36,000 square foot facility will be expanded by 15,000 square feet, and will receive a $96,000 incentive from the city.
Planned Hospital on US 1 All But Dead, Mayor Says, as Advent, Baptist and Halifax Vie to Buy Flagler Health
Flagler Health+’s plans to build a hospital on a 70-acre parcel west of U.S. 1 and Palm Coast Parkway appear to have died. And the St. Augustine-based company is on the market, with AdventHealth, Halifax Health and Jacksonville-based Baptist Health competing to buy it, according to Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, December 20, 2022
The school board talks about the potential availability of Narcan in schools, the future of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club and the possibility of arming civilian staffers, and how the American really loves nothing but his automobile.
What the Criminal Referral of Trump Means
The House committee recommended that the Justice Department pursue four main charges against Trump – obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to make a false statement and inciting or assisting an insurrection. Here’s what it all means.
Yes, There May Be Hope in Breakthrough Over Dune Hold-Out, Attorney Seeks to Reassure County
Scott Spradley, the attorney Flagler County retained in a bankruptcy case against Cynthia d’Angiolini, the lone hold-out against a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to rebuild dunes in the city, sought to reassure county officials that she now has “incentive” to sign the necessary easements.
Flagler’s Cold-Weather Homeless Shelter Facing Staffing Challenge as 4-Night Freeze Coincides With Christmas
Flagler County’s all-volunteer organization that runs the county’s only cold-weather shelter is facing a steep staffing challenge this week as the National Weather Service is warning of an unusually long, bitter cold spell starting Friday night and coinciding with the Christmas weekend, when many shelter volunteers are away, visiting family. The shelter is planning to open four nights in a row.
Sheriff’s Office’s Ultra-Modern Operations Center Is Dedicated, Ending 4 1/2 Years of Nomadic Existence
Sheriff Rick Staly dedicated the $20 million, 51,600 square foot Sheriff’s Operations Center off Commerce Boulevard before hundreds today, ending four and a half years of borrowing space from the courthouse, among other locations, and closing an unhappy chapter in the county’s history.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, December 19, 2022
The dedication of the new Sheriff’s Operations Center, the Legislative Delegation meeting, the County Commission meets, Larry David may or may not have a fetish, Donald Trump’s trading cards, Leonid Brezhnev’s birthday.
Henry Kissinger’s Deadly Legacy
Kissinger espoused a narrow perspective of the national interest, known as “realpolitik,” centered on maximizing the economic and military power of the United States. This power- and transactionalist-oriented approach to foreign policy produced a series of destructive outcomes. They ranged from fomenting coups that put in place murderous dictatorships, killing unarmed civilians, and alienating potential allies.
To Combat Gun Violence, Artist Mykael Ash Turns Ammunition Into Art
Mykael Ash is turning ammunition into art. Ash, who lives in East St. Louis, Illinois, frequently walks through parts of the city where bullet shells aren’t hard to find. The shell casings represent a cycle of inequality, Ash says, and the art he makes with it serves as a call to action.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, December 18, 2022
Today it’s all about France and Argentina, plus Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb, and how U.S. House members in 1983 tried to bring the World Cup to the United States.
A Primer on the World Cup Final
Penalties, if it comes to that, are unbearably tense. If you’d rather avert your eyes from the on-pitch drama at that point, then here are three of the best World Cup articles from The Conversation to take your mind off those tense moments–or to prepare for the show.