The Palm Coast City Council holds a special budget workshop, Book Dragons, the kids’ book club at the Flagler Beach Public Library, meets, the NAACP’s general membership meeting, press freedom.
Carousel
New Space Mission May Crack Some Black Hole Mysteries
Physicists consider black holes one of the most mysterious objects that exist. Ironically, they’re also considered one of the simplest. For years, physicists have been looking to prove that black holes are more complex than they seem. And a newly approved European space mission called LISA will help with this hunt.
Bluelining: How Home Insurers Are Spurning Entire Communities
Bluelining is an insidious practice with similarities to redlining — the notorious government-sanctioned practice of financial institutions denying mortgages and credit to Black and brown communities, which were often marked by red lines on map. These days, financial institutions are now drawing “blue lines” around many of these same communities, restricting services like insurance based on environmental risks.
What Should Bing’s Landing Look Like When Captain’s BBQ Expands? Public Invited to Weigh In Tuesday.
Flagler County government hosts a 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday at the Hammock Community Center, 79 Mala Compra Rd, Palm Coast, to get input on how Bings Landing should look with the upcoming relocation and expansion of Captain’s BBQ, following the county’s settlement of a breach-of-contract lawsuit Captains filed.
Is the Armadillo Spreading Leprosy in Central Florida?
Leprosy remains rare in the United States. But Florida, which often reports the most cases of any state, has seen an uptick in patients. The epicenter is east of Orlando. Brevard County reported a staggering 13% of the nation’s 159 leprosy cases in 2020. Leprosy experts believe armadillos play a role in spreading the illness to people.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, May 27, 2024
It’s Memorial Day ceremonies, 8 a.m. in Palm Coast, 10 a.m. in Bunnell (Flagler County), 3 p.m. in Flagler Beach, a few memories from Vietnam, a few thoughts on war remembrance.
Relics of Omaha Beach
Eighty years ago, on a day now known as D-Day, thousands of Allied soldiers crossed the choppy waters of the English Channel by air and sea to land on beaches and coastal areas of Normandy, France, to destroy the Nazi invaders and defeat Hitler’s regime. Within the military collections of the National Museum of American History, several artifacts collected over the decades help tell the story of Omaha Beach and the invasion landings on D-Day.
Voices From the Grave:
Admiral Rickover’s Nukes Warning: ‘We’ll Probably Destroy Ourselves’
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who died in 1986, was among the more outspoken, abrasive, often controversial and at times innovative military leaders in the nation’s history. In his last congressional hearing in 1982 he warned of the danger posed by nuclear weapons and nuclear power, predicted that the human race was on its way to extinction by nuclear conflagration, and deemed “silly” any talk of multiplying the Navy’s fleet, or even its aircraft carriers, which he said would last two days in a nuclear confrontation.
Florida’s Attorney General Calls Starbucks’ Diverse Hiring ‘Illegal’
Florida’s Attorney General took to a national radio show hosted by Gov. Ron DeSantis–he was sitting in for Sean Hannity–to charge that Starbucks’s pledge to hire people of color in 30 to 40 percent of its positions violates the law.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, May 26, 2024
‘Sense and Sensibility,’ at Daytona Playhouse, the creative ravages of artificial intelligence, disappearing jobs from living alarm clocks to customer service representatives, with a few words from Joseph Heller.
Meet Paris’s Black Dandies: Les Sapeurs
You can spot them in the streets of Paris or at fashion events in London, Milan, Brussels or Dubai. Most are black African men with sharp outfits designed and chosen to get them noticed. Known as “Sapeurs” – the name comes from the Society for Ambience and Elegance (Sape) and from French slang “se saper”, “to dress up” – these figures stand out with their offbeat and baroque sartorial style.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, May 25, 2024
Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, Gamble Jam, Peps Art Walk, noon to 5 p.m. next to JT’s Seafood Shack, ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Raymond Carver at 86.
Wars’ Other Collateral Damage: Pollution
Colombia’s is seen as the most comprehensive peace accord that has been signed to date. It considers issues ranging from security to social justice and political participation, in great detail. The accord acknowledges that a peaceful postwar society requires not only respect for human rights but also “protection of the environment, respect for nature and its renewable and nonrenewable resources and biodiversity.”
Governor Ron Wants to Pay High School Athletes. But Not At Your School.
Former Flagler Palm Coast High School Head Football Coach Caesar Campana takes on a proposal by the Florida High School Athletic Association to allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness under what is commonly known as an NIL policy. But while the policy has a place in college sports, it will further divide high school sports between the haves and the have-nots, particularly favoring private schools and leaving public schools behind.
Palm Coast Man Killed in Crash After Girlfriend Reported His Voyeuristic Video of Her 10-Year-Old Daughter
Palm Coast’s Miguel Antonio Moreno, 36, was fleeing cops Thursday evening after his girlfriend had reported finding a voyeuristic video he had taken of her 10-year-old daughter. His vehicle crashed after striking stop sticks on U.S. 1, ejecting Moreno. He died at the scene.
Previously Disgraced Scott DuPont, Running Again for Judge, Offers Orwellian Explanation of His Bar Suspension
Former Circuit Judge Scott DuPont, who served in Flagler County and who is running against Judge Rose Marie Preddy, argues that while he was suspended from the Florida Bar as a result of inappropriate and scandalous conduct on and off the bench, he was still a member of the Bar during that suspension, therefore should still be eligible to run. Preddy’s lawyer argues the Florida Constitution says otherwise.
Florida Preparing for a Hurricane Season with Up to 25 Named Storms
Echoing earlier predictions about the season that will start June 1, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday pointed to warm ocean waters and forecast up to 25 named storms, with up to 13 reaching hurricane strength and four to seven packing Category 3 or stronger winds.
Sheriff Launches New Marine Unit Boat in Time for Memorial Day Weekend Patrols
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received a grant from Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) to fund a new patrol boat which will allow for enhanced patrol along the intracoastal waterway, marine search and rescue efforts, law enforcement operations, crime prevention and boater safety and education along the intercoastal waterway and saltwater canals.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, May 24, 2024
Acoustic Jam Circle at the Hammock Community Center, the Scenic A1A Pride Committee meets, the anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge, Simone de Beauvoir’s memory of the bridge.
How Marijuana and Psilocybin Might Help Millions in Chronic Pain
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency announced in late April 2024 that it plans to ease federal restrictions on cannabis, reclassifying it from a Schedule I drug to the less restricted Schedule III, which includes drugs such as Tylenol with codeine, testosterone and other anabolic steroids. Similarly, the FDA granted a breakthrough therapy designation to psilocybin to expedite drug development. Preliminary studies suggest it may have substantial therapeutic value for treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder.
Palm Coast Residents Can Now Use an Improved City Government Customer Service Portal
The City of Palm Coast announced a new initiative aimed at enhancing the quality of interactions between citizens and city staff. In response to feedback from residents, the City is taking significant steps to ensure that every interaction meets the high standards of our mission: “Delivering exceptional service by making citizens our priority.”
Development Is Devouring the Tree Canopy. Palm Coast and Flagler Officials Say They’re Trying to Catch Up With Protection.
There was a bit of a disconnect today in a panel discussion by Flagler County’s five mayors and County Commission chair about how attractive Flagler County is to its residents and those who keep pouring in, and how quickly developments are razing swaths of tree canopy. They spoke of the importance of preserving the region’s quality of life, but also how the torrid growth rate is inevitably bringing congestion, and numerous developments, some of them–as with a 6,000-home plan in Bunnell–colossal.
Palm Coast Mayor Alfin Hints Against Rolled Back Tax Rate This Year, But Says ‘New Sources of Revenue’ Ahead
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin today hinted that he may not be supportive of going back to the rolled back property tax rate this year as he was last year. He said there may be also be new, alternative revenue sources that don’t rely on the property tax. But he did not say what those would be except in the most cryptic terms: “Eco Dev.,” he wrote in a text, abbreviating the words for “economic development.” “I will share as soon as I can,” he added.
Palm Coast Planning for YMCA on Central Avenue in Town Center, Raising Questions About Arts’ Place
Palm Coast government is getting ready to build a 30,000 square foot YMCA on a 12-acre city-owned parcel on Central Avenue in Town Center, next to what used to be the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s stage and a 5-acre parcel that had been dedicated to arts and culture. Plans at the moment do not include a pool. A director of United We Art, the organization overseeing arts development in Town center, fears picking that location for the Y may crowd out the city’s pledge for an arts center there.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, May 23, 2024
The Flagler County Association of Realtors hosts its 16th annual Meet the Mayors, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets, ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ at Daytona Playhouse, the grammar of texting’s kinship with Medieval scriptoriums.
California Will Add 11% Tax Guns and Ammo. That Could Diminish Violence.
Starting in July, California will be the first state to charge an excise tax on guns and ammunition–11% on each sale on top of federal excise taxes of 10% or 11% for firearms and California’s 6% sales tax. The National Rifle Association has characterized California’s Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act as an affront to the Constitution. But the reaction from the gun lobby and firearms manufactures may hint at something else: the impact that the measure, which is aimed at reducing gun violence, may have on sales.
Flagler School Board Supportive of Leasing Old Courthouse in Bunnell as Christian School Exits
The Flagler County school district is likely to take over the lease of the old Flagler County courthouse in Bunnell, which since August 2015 has been the home of First Baptist Academy, a Christian school. The school is leaving in August. The county has been looking for a new tenant. The school district has been looking to consolidate a half dozen programs under one roof. It would do so at the courthouse t a cost of at least $212,000 a year, not including the cost of reconstructing the building according to district needs.
St. Augustine/St. Johns County Win Nod for Museum of Black History; Getting It Built Is Next Challenge
A state task force assessing possible sites for a proposed Florida Museum of Black History voted 5-4 Tuesday in favor of St. Johns County, where Martin Luther King once rallied protests against segregation in the city of St. Augustine but where the site would require extensive development, including roadbuilding. The close vote followed intense lobbying by St. Augustine/St. Johns, which branched out to support from surrounding counties, including Flagler County, where Palm Coast and the School Board lent support.
School Board Appears Clueless as Unexpected Conflict Over Fair Use Emerges at Belle Terre Swim Club
Flagler Fluid, the private swim-team organization that’s been renting the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club for years, is suddenly facing scheduling conflict provoked by the school district division controlling access to the club that the school board earlier this year voted to close to all but specific uses. Board members were unaware of the conflict.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Both Flagler County high schools hold their graduation ceremonies at the Ocean Center, stormwater community workshop for Flagler Beach residents, high-profile court cases, nuclear weapons’ neolithic shadow.
Implications of the Death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
Concern in Tehran over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi may extend beyond the potential human tragedy of the crash. The change forced by it will have important implications for an Iranian state that is consumed by domestic chaos, and regional and international confrontation.
Former Recruit Sues UF Over $14 Million Endorsement Deal Gone Sour
Saying his experience is “emblematic of the abuses running rampant in the world of big-time college football,” Jaden Rashada , a former high-school star quarterback on Tuesday filed a lawsuit accusing University of Florida football coach Billy Napier, a top Gators booster and others of wrongdoing related to a $13.85 million endorsement deal gone sour.
Flagler Sheriff’s Deputies Rescue 1-Year-Old Child Locked in Car for 8 to 10 Minutes
On the afternoon of Monday, May 20, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) deputies rescued a 1-year-old child that was locked inside a vehicle with the engine off and all windows closed.
‘No Credible Threat to Flagler Schools’ as String of Menaces Take Toll on Students, Parents and Faculty
Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore said today that while the series of phoned-in threats to district schools has taken a toll on students, faculty and parents, none were credible, and she would not give the caller the satisfaction of cancelling events. The district’s crisis-intervention teams have been spending time in schools.
264 Apartments Approved Across Imagine at Town Center, Near 300-Unit Complex, Raising Traffic Concerns
The Palm Coast City Council this morning approved plans for a 264-unit apartment complex on Town Center Boulevard, across from Imagine School at Town Center, and from a 300-unit high-end apartment complex the Planning Board greenlighted last August called The Legacy. The new units are expected to help reduce the shortage of apartments and possibly slow the rise in rental costs, which have been hurting working families and retirees who choose to move away from the burdens of home ownership.
Daytona North/Mondex Residents Have Been Paying a Special Tax Since the 1980s. Is It Fair, ‘Wise’ and Worth It?
Flagler County Commissioner Leann Pennington is hoping county government will rethink the special tax Daytona North–also known as the Mondex–residents have been paying since the 1980s for road maintenance, either to scrap it altogether or to better define its purpose, and lay out specifically what benefits residents get out of it.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, May 21, 2024
The Palm Coast City Council meets, Food Truck Tuesday in Palm Coast’s Central Park, the day Shirley Chisholm shook Congress with a speech on women’s equality.
Arrest Warrants for Israel’s Netanyahu and Hamas’s Sinwar Reflect ‘Crimes Against Humanity’
Karim A.A. Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, often known as the ICC, said in a statement that both the Israeli and Hamas leaders “bear criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”–Hamas’s extermination, murder, taking hostages, and committing rape and other acts of sexual violence, and Israel starving Palestinians in Gaza, “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population,” as well as persecution and “willful killing.”
Federal Appeals Court Will Decide Whether Florida Ban on Strippers Younger Than 21 Is Constitutional
A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments June 6 in Jacksonville about whether a city ordinance barring dancers under 21 in adult establishments violates First Amendment rights.
Flagler Sheriff’s SWAT Snipers in Top 10 at National Competition
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) SWAT sniper team placed ninth out of 45 teams at the annual Snipercraft Challenge. This is the third year in a row that FCSO’s SWAT snipers have placed in the top 10.
‘It’s Not a Big Deal,’ Cop’s Son Said After Hit-and-Run That Left a Woman Dead. Court Denies Permission to Drive.
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins denied a motion to allow Jayden Jackson, 21, to drive while on bond after hearing the prosecution describe the alleged callousness with which Jackson reacted when the car he drove collided with and killed Shaunta Cain on U.S. 1 in late 2022. Jackson allegedly told his passenger that he would not get in trouble.
Rymfire Elementary Students Celebrate School Year’s End With Another Battle of the Books
Last week students from every grade at Rymfire Elementary organized in teams and competed to show their reading prowess after spending the school year reading at least six titles out of a list of 15, for students in grades 3-5, or 12 books out of 15 for students in grades K-2. Team captains had to read all the books on the lists, though many students end up doing so as well–and more.
Sustained ‘Grit and Determination’ Essential to Saving Flagler’s Beaches, Al Hadeed Tells Decision-Makers at Tiger Bay
In a talk at Flagler Tiger Bay, County Attorney Al Hadeed, who for almost a decade has led the administrative charge to rebuild and protect the county’s beaches, told a sold-out audience at Flagler Tiger Bay that feelings of futility in the face of constant erosion must be countered with “grit and determination” to protect the county’s seaside heritage.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, May 20, 2024
Jayden Jackson asks permission to drive, the Flagler County Commission talks roads and bridges in the Mondex, Robert Reich asks if we need billionaires, Louis Brandeis on how the rich encourage socialism.
Why America’s Offshore Wind Power Industry Is Struggling
America’s first large-scale offshore wind farms began sending power to the Northeast in early 2024, but a wave of wind farm project cancellations and rising costs have left many people with doubts about the industry’s future in the U.S. Altogether, projects that had been canceled by the end of 2023 were expected to total more than 12 gigawatts of power, representing more than half of the capacity in the project pipeline. So, what happened, and can the U.S. offshore wind industry recover?
How Dare These College Kids Protest for Humanity Toward Palestinians Instead of Getting Wasted?
Standing around on college lawns, protesting against genocide, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to arms shipments — what are they thinking? These students should be shopping, getting wasted at end-of-semester parties, and engaging in meaningless sex. Instead, they’re going around acting like citizens, engaging in civil disobedience, exercising their right to free speech, telling university administrations to get rid of all investments in Israel, and demanding humanitarian aid for Palestinians.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, May 19, 2024
Meet the artists at an art show presented by Expressions Art Gallery on Colbert, ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ at Daytona Playhouse, when the Olympics included an arts and literature competition.
Lebanon’s Far-Right ‘Soldiers of God’ Are Stirring Sectarian Tensions
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel, Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon have exchanged almost 5,000 attacks across the border. Lebanon is being pulled into a war it cannot afford. But the country’s weak state has little power against the militias that operate within its territory, among them a private militia named Jnoud al-Rab (Soldiers of God). It is a far-right, Christian group made up primarily of young working-class men who see themselves as “guardian angels.”
Florida City Calls for Protection of Civilians in Gaza and Israel. DeSantis Calls It “Fraud.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday blasted a resolution passed by a local government last week in Miami-Dade County — the most populous county in Florida — that calls for supporting peace and security for “all innocent civilians in Israel, Gaza and Occupied Palestinian Territories.” Gov. DeSantis called it a “fraud.”
Ballot Proposal to Adjust Homestead Exempting to Inflation Would Hurt Renters, Businesses and Local Governments
Florida voters will get to decide in the November election whether to shield more of the value of their homes from property taxes under a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution, but the measure might mean higher taxes for renters, landlords, and other commercial property owners.