“This is a tough day for all of us. And, we begin this service doing the same thing we have been doing for the last 7 days, wondering why Paul lost his life serving and protecting our community. We may never know that answer,” Sheriff Rick Staly said today in his eulogy of Corrections Deputy Paul Luciano, the jail’s first line-of-duty death in the department’s history.
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The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, September 3, 2021
Daniel S. Da Costa, who has pleaded to arson in setting fires outside Publix and a gas station last year, is sentenced this morning. Opelka is off. Hurricane Larry will be a major hurricane by Saturday, but well out at sea for now.
Behind Hurricane Ida’s Record-Shattering Rainfall in New York and the Northeast: Yes, It’s Global Warming
Evidence is mounting that, as the climate warms, the amount of precipitation from heavy rainstorms is increasing, especially in the central and eastern U.S. As the climate changes, risks of major flooding events will only increase further.
Judge Issues Written Ruling Barring DeSantis from Banning Mask Mandates or Enforcing Order, But Appeal Is Imminent
Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper on Thursday released a written ruling that said Gov. Ron DeSantis overstepped his constitutional authority in a July 30 executive order that sought to prevent school districts from requiring students to wear masks. Cooper issued an injunction barring the enforcement of DeSantis’ order.
Experienced Opelka Powers His Way Into 3rd Round of U.S. Open for First Time
Thursday afternoon, on a picture-perfect afternoon in New York that followed a once-in-a-generation amount of flooding and disarray in this city, Opelka was the wiser, savvier player, schooling 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, 7-6 (1), 7-5, 6-4, to advance to the third round for the first time.
Leaders Gather to Film Groundbreaking at AdventHealth Palm Coast’s New Hospital, Now a Larger, $145 Million Project
AdventHealth executives, Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin and County Administrator Heidi Petito gathered this morning at the construction site of the new hospital, now a $145 million project on Palm Coast Parkway, to film what will be a virtual groundbreaking ceremony airing on Sept. 14. Here’s a sneak preview.
Flagler Sheriff’s Ex-Counsel Says She Was ‘Forced to Resign’ Over Tactless Opinions; Rick Staly Responds
On Aug. 25, the News-Journal’s Frank Fernandez reported on the resignation of Theresa Pontieri, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s recently hired general counsel, after the News-Journal had inquired about inflammatory videos she had posted on a conservative social media platform.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, September 2, 2021
Reilly Opelka goes for a second-round win at the U.S. Open, Arthur Schlesinger Jr. on artificial ethnic chauvinism, the county winds down before Labor Day weekend.
When Human Life Begins Is a Question of Politics, Not Biology
Understanding what it is to be human requires a lot more than biology. And scientists can’t establish when a fertilized cell or embryo or fetus becomes a human being. Flawed surveys and political declarations can’t change the fact.
Flagler Schools Have 3rd Highest Covid Infection Rate Among 38 Florida Districts Reporting Figures; Masked Districts Fare Better
The Flagler County school district has the third-highest rate of Covid infections among students and staff out of 38 Florida school districts that are reporting their Covid numbers since the resumption of the school year less than four weeks ago, a FlaglerLive analysis finds. There is still no “appetite” for changing course and adopting a mask mandate, according to the school board member who tried enacting one two weeks ago, though data points to a direct correlation between masks and lower infection rates in Florida districts.
Limited Public Opposition to New Fire Truck Weighs In as Flagler Beach Commission Reasserts Need and Support
A town hall-like workshop to give the public a chance to weigh in on Flagler Beach’s proposed purchase of a new fire truck did not change dynamics: a commission largely supportive of the purchase, and a small minority strongly opposed.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, September 1, 2021
The ♫ Flagler Youth Orchestra ♫ hosts its Open House ahead of its 17th season for all new students who want to join at 5:30 p.m. at the Flagler Auditorium.
How Warm Gulf Patch Quickly Turned Hurricane Ida Into a Monster Storm
As Hurricane Ida headed into the Gulf of Mexico, a team of scientists was closely watching a giant, slowly swirling pool of warm water directly ahead in its path. That warm pool, an eddy, was a warning sign.
Covid Hospitalizations in Flagler Crest, But Schools See 173 Infections in 3 Days and County Adds 10 Deaths
Admissions at AdventHealth Palm Coast hospitals in central Florida, which had reached record levels in the fourth Covid wave, crested seven days ago, and have been falling each day since–slightly, but visibly. Covid deaths in Flagler and school district infections are another matter.
Just Call Him David: Palm Coast Mayor Alfin Settles In With Exuberant Focus on Growth, Town Center and the Next Manager
In a wide-ranging interview in his new office at City Hall, Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin talked about getting a budget done, getting a permanent city manager hired, and fostering the reemergence of Town Center as an economic, educational, cultural and health care hub.
Armed with Towering Expectations, Opelka Cruises to First-Round U.S. Open Win
Tuesday on Court 17 of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Opelka did what veteran high seeds are supposed to do: Take out a tricky opponent in straight sets, saving your body and energy for future rounds. Struggling in the opening set, Opelka used his skills and experience to turn back Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4.
LPR ‘Hit’ Leads to Felony Traffic Stop in WNZF’s Parking Lot, But Fugitive Is Not on Board
A minor bit of news unfolded in WNZF Newsradio’s parking lot Tuesday afternoon as Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies, guns drawn, pulled over the occupants of a vehicle registered to a person with a felony warrant. The incident was resolved with one arrest, but not of the person sought.
Lawmaker and Non-Profit Sue Department of Health Over Its Refusal to Release Previously Available Covid Data
The Florida Center for Government Accountability and House Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat, late Monday sued the Florida Department of Health and Surgeon General Scott Rivkees over the department’s refusal to provide Covid-related statistical records it used to make public daily.
Flagler County FireFlight and Paramedics Practice Marine Rescue Techniques in Intracoastal
Flagler County Fire Rescue Marine Rescue Team and FireFlight last week (August 25) practiced marine rescue techniques on the Intracoastal Waterway to hone their skills should they be called out to save a swimmer or boater. Would-be rescuers also used the county’s jet ski as part of the training exercise.
An Emergency Room Nurse Pleads from the Darkness of Covid’s Front Lines: ‘Start Supporting, Stop Fighting’
“Stop fighting over what is real or not. Stop fighting over whether you should get the vaccine or not. Stop fighting over whether to wear a mask or not,” Megan Dunaway, an ER nurse manager, writes, pleading against covid denialism and for more support for hospital staff. “We, as a community, are in crisis.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Flagler County School Board member Colleen Conklin and Dr. Paul Mucciolo co-host “Uncomfortable Conversations: Covid-19 Protocols, Best Practices,” a Facebook Live online forum at 7 p.m. The Flagler Beach City Commission workshops the proposed purchase of a new fire truck.
Is It a Crime to Forge a Vaccine Card?
When people are caught knowingly buying, selling or using false cards, the proof of guilt will often be clear. The real question is about the appropriate punishment. The law gives prosecutors and judges huge discretion on how to charge and sentence offenders.
Federal Judge Tangles with DeSantis Administration Lawyer Over ‘Rabbit Hole’ Protest Law
The Dream Defenders, the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and other organizations allege in a lawsuit that the measure, approved by Republican legislators and signed by DeSantis this spring, is unconstitutionally vague, has a “chilling” effect on First Amendment rights and gives local police too much power.
Palm Coast 2021 Senior Games–Golf, Tennis, Pickleball–Set for Sept. 10-19
The Palm Coast Senior Games September 10-19 offers 3 sports: golf; singles, doubles, and mixed doubles tennis; and single, doubles, and mixed doubles pickleball. The registration fee is $15 per sport. Adults from the age of 50 up to over 100 are invited to participate.
Family Dollar Arsonist Pleads to Probation, New Sentencing Trial for Death-Row Inmate Cornelius Baker in Spring
Tonya Bennett had faced up to 30 years in prison fora first-degree felony arson charge. She will serve 10 years’ probation if the judge agrees to the plea terms. Cornelius Baker, sentenced to die for the murder of Elizabeth Uptagrafft in 2007, will get a new sentencing-phase trial sometime in spring.
Flagler County Fire Rescue’s Jake Gonzalez, Jon Moscowitz, and Dylan Pontorno Promoted to Lieutenant
Three of Flagler County’s firefighters have been promoted to the rank of lieutenant after distinguishing themselves within their former roles, extensive education and training, and comprehensive testing. Jake Gonzalez, Jon Moscowitz, and Dylan Pontorno were promoted out of the 13 applicants who tested.
$2.3 Billion in Federal School Aid Still Sits Unused Because Florida Hasn’t Sent In Spending Plan
Florida is one of only five states that has not submitted a state plan for Covid relief to the U.S. Department of Education, holding up billions in federal funds to help the Florida education system recover from the impacts of Covid-19 in schools.
Palm Coast Council Has Votes to Increase Deputies By More than 6 and Lower Tax Rate Symbolically
The Palm Coast City Council is in a 3-2 split that would approve lowering the property tax rate symbolically and increase the number of deputies the sheriff is requesting to police the city by more than the six the administration had been prepared to award.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 30, 2021
The Bunnell branch library is closing to prepare for a move to Marvin’s Gardens, smoke testing in Palm Coast’s B Section, Cornelius Baker status hearing, and a few words on the wonders of forests.
This Is What Happens to Child Migrants at the Border
Behind huge numbers of migrants are individual children, many of whom have suffered from repeated trauma. Legally, the U.S. is obligated to care for these children from the moment they arrive until they turn 18, according to carefully defined procedures.
Hey, GOP: There’s a Museum Up in Montgomery Y’All Really Ought to See
Diane Roberts reports from the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala., a silent but devastating testimony to how Americans terrorized and murdered other Americans for wanting to live as full citizens of this country. The Equal Justice Initiative is here to remind us that Jim Crow isn’t gone. Our history still warps our present.
Those Disappearing Covid Stats: It’s Not Just Florida
Florida has been accused of being less than transparent with covid health data. Newspapers have sued or threatened to sue the state several times for medical examiner reports, long-term care data, prison data and weekly covid reports the state received from the White House.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 29, 2021
The Stetson University Music Department’s faculty recitals are back in action this afternoon, Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Louisiana this evening, Garcia-Marquez on the patriarch in his bed of lies.
The Story of the Women Behind the First Domestic Violence Shelters
The women who set up the first women’s refuges in the UK in the 1970s changed the world. They saved the lives of many women. And the projects and political actions they began have grown into an international movement which campaigns for justice and supports all survivors and victims of domestic violence.
Fallen Deputy’s Daughter’s Anguish: ‘This Virus Has Come Home, It’s Everywhere and It’s Killing the People We Love’
Tina Luciano, the 30-year-old daughter of Paul Luciano, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Corrections Deputy who died on Thursday of covid complications, had written of witnessing her father’s struggle three weeks ago, and wrote again after losing him on Thursday, both times voicing her grief–and both times urging people to get vaccinated.
Flagler Lands 25 projects on State Transportation’s 5-Year Project Priority List, Many in Western Flagler
The projects include paving, resurfacing, and reconstruction of roadways, as well as traditional bridge replacement among other projects – many of which are in the western reaches of Flagler County. county.
UNF Launches 2021 MedNexus Innovation Challenge for Palm Coast Area High School Students
The Mednexus Innovation Challenge is a competition that encourages high school students to participate in designing ideas for the future of healthcare through purpose-driven education and to apply innovation, science and technology to solve real state/local healthcare challenges.
Who Wants to Be Ron DeSantis’s Surgeon General? No Easy Answers.
Scott Rivkees announced he will leave his post as surgeon general and secretary of the Florida Department of Health next month. But the move comes amid a surge of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Combine that with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ antagonism to federal health authorities and mask mandates, and it might make it difficult to find a replacement.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 28, 2021
We wish Brian McMillan and his family the best, and wish their tormentors less than that, Hurricane Ida’s mean turn for Louisiana, weekend covid testing schedules, John Cheever on John Updike.
The Supreme Court Ended the Eviction Ban. Now What? 4 Questions Answered.
The Supreme Court on Aug. 26, 2021, ended the Biden administration’s ban on evictions, putting millions at risk of losing their homes. Legal scholar Katy Ramsey Mason explains what the ruling means, who will be affected and what happens next.
Will More School Districts Impose Mask Mandates Following Leon Court Ruling on Mask Policies?
A court ruling vindicated the mask policies of 10 Florida school districts that have mandated masks in schools without parental opt-outs. Now, the court ruling, in a verbal format, could lead to other districts adopting similar policies because the court determined that these kinds of mask mandates are legal, according to the judge.
Covid’s Casualties: Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Luciano Dies in Flagler, Circuit Judge Steven Henderson Dies in Volusia
Flagler County Sheriff’s Correction Deputy Paul Luciano was 60. Volusia County Circuit Judge Steven Henderson was 49. Both were still in their prime, at work as professionals and at home as family men. Neither fit the profile of Covid casualties, at least not of previous covid waves. Henderson died of the disease on Thursday at a hospital in Volusia County. Luciano died the same day at AdventHealth Palm Coast.
Judge Rules DeSantis Had No Authority to Ban School Mask Mandates or Punish School Boards That Adopt Masking
Judge John Cooper of the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court of Florida ruled today that Gov. Ron DeSantis had no legal authority under the recently-enacted Parental Bill of Rights to prohibit local school boards from adopting mask mandates that did not include opt-out provisions. The judge found DeSantis’s order “capricious” and not based in evidence, but rather based on an incomplete reading of the Bill of Rights.
Flagler Schools Covid Cases in 3 Weeks Exceed All of Last Year’s; County Shatters Weekly Record; Florida Adds 1,727 Deaths
The county recorded 936 confirmed cases of covid in the week ending today, breaking last week’s record by over 200 cases. The health department is unable to conduct systematic contact tracing because it’s overwhelmed by the numbers. As of Thursday, 155 Flagler County residents had died of covid since the beginning of the pandemic, 41 of them in the last four weeks.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 27, 2021
The Sheriff’s in-house attorney resigns after lurid postings surface, Tropical Storm Ida is on its way to becoming Hurricane Ida by Saturday as it heads for the Louisiana coast, Carla Cline on Free for All Fridays, John Updike on selves.
ISIS-K, the Taliban’s Rival Group Behind the Kabul Airport Attack
ISIS-K sees the Afghan Taliban as its strategic rivals. It brands the Afghan Taliban as “filthy nationalists” with ambitions only to form a government confined to the boundaries of Afghanistan. This contradicts the Islamic State movement’s goal of establishing a global caliphate.
A Christopher Columbus Statue Survives
“It is baffling to the Court that the City of Philadelphia wants to remove the Statue without any legal basis,” a judge ruled, rejecting a plan to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus from Marconi Plaza Philadelphia on Aug. 17. “The City’s entire argument is devoid of any legal foundation.”
In Maskless Flagler, We’re All Covid’s Sitting Ducks
Flagler County is in the worst public health crisis it has known in its history, with at least 10 covid deaths a week as many school infections in 3 weeks as all of last year combined, yet the debate remains immobilized by a war on masks that defies science and daily grim realities.
Half of Florida’s Students Now in Districts Defying DeSantis Ban on Mask Mandates as Judge Readies to Rule
Circuit Judge John Cooper said he was “still wrestling” with the “sophisticated legal issues” presented in the case and promised to issue a verbal decision at 10 a.m. Friday. DeSantis on Thursday promised to appeal if Cooper does not side with the state.
Carla Cline’s New Project: Raise 1,000 Local Restaurant Gift Cards of $20 for Hospital’s Overworked Health Care Staff
Carla Cline, the Flagler Beach philanthropist, is raising a thousand $20 restaurant gift-cards to distribute to health care workers at every level at AdventHealth Palm Coast (and beyond) in an effort to counter the indifference and “nonsense” that has overwhelmed the public debate about the pandemic.