The proposal by Tampa Bay area Republican Rep. Linda Chaney (HB 49) would allow 16 and 17-year olds to work more than 30 hours a week during the school year and allow for fewer mandatory work breaks. The proposal was approved on a party-line vote in a House committee and is one committee stop away from making it to the House floor for final approval.
Carousel
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 11, 2024
The Flagler Beach City Commission takes up a significant annexation proposal, all about bats at the Whitney Lecture Series, the baguette through the ages.
How Pundits Help, Hurt and Reflect Democracy
Pundits can play a productive role by focusing on issues rather than identities. They contribute to democratic backsliding when they cultivate dystopian views of politics. The best example is the relentless negativity that characterized commentary on presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016.
The Brendan Depa I Have Come To Know
Brendan Depa, the former Matanzas High School special education student who pleaded guilty to the beating of Joan Naydich, his paraprofessional, last February, will be sentenced on Jan. 31. Gene Lopes is a retired special education teacher who has spent the last several months tutoring Depa at the Flagler County jail. Here’s his experience.
In a Major Shift, Flagler Beach Government Would Subsidize First Friday Events With Up to $30,000 a Year
Flagler Beach government is going all out to subsidize the showcasing of city businesses at the monthly First Friday event while also ensuring that the event’s manager, Vern Shank, who has complained of running a shoestring operation, makes more money and stays viable. The City Commission Thursday will consider a subsidy package that amounts to up to $30,000 a year for the operation Shank has run since 2021.
Diverting from Iowa for a Moment, DeSantis Orders to ‘Stay the Course’ in State of the State Address
With his presidential campaign in the background, Gov. Ron DeSantis used his annual State of the State address Tuesday to tout Florida’s accomplishments — while offering few new details of priorities for the 2024 legislative session.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, January 10, 2024
The Public Safety Coordinating Council meets, qualifying for the municipal elections in Flagler Beach and Bunnell continues, Separation Chat, Happy Birthday, Brian McMillan, in praise of Jimmy Carter, but not Woodrow Wilson.
An American Invention, the Shopping Mall’s Evolution Is Now Owned By China
Many Chinese malls are being re-imagined by owners and users as palaces of experience – civic areas for communities to meet and interact, with new configurations of public and private space. These experiments could become models for new, creative uses of retail space in the U.S., where the mall was invented.
Palm Coast Fire Department’s Battalion Chief Randy Holmes Celebrates 30 Years of Service.
Holmes embarked on his professional journey with Palm Coast Fire Department on September 12, 1993, taking on the role of Firefighter-EMT. Prior to joining, Randy was a volunteer firefighter for the Bunnell Volunteer Fire Department as well as being employed by the water utility department.
Palm Coast Will Spend $94,000 To Study Lower Speed Limits on City Streets, and Again Study Florida Park Drive
Palm Coast will spend close to $100,000 on a pair of traffic studies–one to investigate whether speed limits may be lowered on many residential streets from the current 30 miles power hour, the other to investigate speeds and how traffic-calming medians could help improve traffic flow on Florida Park Drive, the most studied roadway this side of the Appian Way.