In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 14: A General Good Time; The Harem; French; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
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Palm Coast Voter to City Council: “Reducing Voting Locations Is Insane”
In a letter to the Palm Coast City Council, Steven Jones, a Palm Coast resident and voter since 1984, opposes reducing polling locations from 21 to six, and offshoring early voting to Bunnell.
Palm Coast City Election: Reducing Polling Locations, Changing to Even Years
Polling locations would be reduced from 21 to six, early voting might be reduced to a week, and voters will be asked to approve a charter amendment that would switch elections to even years, to save money and take advantage of turn-out.
Flagler Beach Police Officer Brett Smith Jailed on DUI Charge (Updated With Arrest Report)
Brett Smith, 30, was found passed out in a vehicle in the Daytona North (Mondex) area of the county Saturday evening. He was not on duty.
Sunshine Sunday: Beyond Transparency, Government Records Must Be Accessible
Government transparency and access to government records are not the same, says First Amendment Foundation President Barbara Peterson, though access to any record not exempt by law is every citizen’s right.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 13
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 13: Escaping from the Wreck; The Watchman; Sinking; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
Humane Safari: Alms for the Paw Opening At the Flagler County Art League
The Flagler County Art League’s “Alms for the Paw” show, featuring 40 artists and 60 works, is part fund-raiser for the Flagler County Humane Society, part showcase for animal art: it’s not as easy as you may think.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 12
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 12: Slow Navigation; Borrowing Things; Boarding the Wreck; The Plotters; Hunting for the Boat; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
Inspired By Chagall: The Art of Whimsy Reinvented, at Hollingsworth Gallery
Every square inch an inspiration, Marc Chagall is the point of departure for a couple of dozen artists at the Hollingsworth Gallery’s latest show, an adventure in rediscovery and reinterpretation of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists.
New Flagler Beach Commission Is Seated–and Pier Restaurant Deal Almost Unravels
Unexpected discussion about breaking the bait and tackle shop at the pier out of the restaurant lease, and inviting others to bid for running it, almost demolished months of negotiations over the restaurant lease.
Peter King’s Muslim McCarthyism
U.S. Rep. Peter King’s homeland security hearings about Muslims and “radicalization” recall, beyond McCarthyism, a long American tradition of xenophobia and prejudice on the lunatic fringe. It’s not more broadly representative.
John Rogers Certified as Bunnell City Commissioner after Provisional Ballot Count
John Rogers will be sworn in with Jenny Crain Brady on March 14. For Bill Baxley, who lost by just three votes, the election is a learning experience. He says he will run again at the next election.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 11
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 11: Huck and the Woman; The Search; Prevarication; Going to Goshen; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
From 5% to 2%: Retreat from Extra Pension Contributions; All Salaries Below $40K Exempt
A Senate committee backed off considerably from a proposal to require state workers to make 5% contributions to their pension fund, exempting most state workers, and cutting back the amount others would have to chip in.
State of Education Forum in Flagler: Anxiety and Advocacy as District Braces for Shock
If the state of education in Flagler County is strong, it won’t stay that way if state policy continues on its budget-slashing course, advocates and school officials told a large crowd at an education forum Thursday evening.
More Questions Than Answers As Palm Coast Desalination Project Scouts Locations
The public got its first chance to weigh in on Palm Coast’s $200 million seawater desalination project. Opinions were not friendly, and concerns over environmental issues specific.
Missing Cleveland Girl, 15, Found at Palm Coast Best Western This Morning; Father Jailed
Ashley Cantrell, of Cleveland, went missing last week and was believed to be traveling with her biological father, Terrance Cantrell, who is now at the Flagler County jail.
Flagler and US Diverge as Unemployment Here Climbs Again to 16%
Flagler County’s January unemployment rate in January rose again to 16% percent, remaining in the same high range it’s been stuck in for a year and a half and bucking the national trend. Florida’s rate is 11.9%.
Despite 4 Million Uninsured, Florida Senate Approves Opt-Out Amendment on Health Law
Senators voted 29-10 to approve the proposed constitutional amendment, which would allow people to opt out of the “individual mandate” requirement that they buy health insurance or face financial penalties.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 10
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 10: The Find; Old Hank Bunker; In Disguise; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
Popping Pops and and Freud’s Last Mad Cow Session: Culture Worth the Miles
A free pops concert by the Orlando Philharmonic at Winter Park’s Central Park, the Boston Pops’s tribute to Cole Porter in Longwood, art in Maitland, Freud’s last session at the Mad Cow Theatre, and more.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 9
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 9: The Cave; The Floating House; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
“Waiting in the Wings” at the Flagler Playhouse: Old Age in Wit and Drink
Set in a retirement home for aging actresses, Noel Coward’s play is an often funny, at times heartbreaking comedy-drama pulled off beautifully by an ensemble cast at the Flagler Playhouse: every weekend through the end of March.
Ex-Neo-Nazi White Supremacist Recruiter Lectures on “Turning Away from Hate” At Stetson March 21
TJ Leyden is the author of Skinhead Confessions and an adviser and trainer to state and federal panels, the military and law enforcement. Jason Alexander, the Seinfeld star, wrote the Foreword to Leyden’s memoir.
How Palm Coast Lost Out on 400 Potential Jobs (Caution: Don’t Jump to Conclusions)
Australian company Rapid Nutrition is looking for a home for its US headquarters. It chose Fort Myers over Palm Coast. Fort Myers was willing to write the company a blank check at taxpayers’ expense. Palm Coast was not.
All Business All the Time as Gov. Scott
Tells Lawmakers: “Don’t Blink”
Scott mentioned the word “job” or “jobs” 31 times in the 27-minute State of the State speech, lauded privatization, vouchers for private and parochial schools and the needs and virtues of business.
Rally Draws Out Teachers, Supporters and Honks. Lawmakers May Not Be Listening.
Some 150 teachers and other school employees and supporters lined Belle Terre Parkway in Palm Coast, one of dozens such rallies across the state, hours before Gov. Rick Scott rebuffed them by telling lawmakers: “Don’t blink.”
Election Winners: Carney and Shupe in Flagler Beach, Crain-Brady and Rogers in Bunnell
Kim Carney and Marshall Shupe replace Ron Vath and Joy McGrew in Flagler Beach, beating out Phil Busch. Incumbent Jenny Crain-Brady is re-elected, and John Rogers replaces fellow-wrecker and nine-year incumbent Jimmy Flynt.
State of the State Tonight: Scott and Legislature’s GOP Keep Their War Civil–So Far
Don’t expect Gov. Rick Scott to deviate much from his frequent message as he delivers his first State of the State speech Tuesday night before a joint session of the Legislature: Budget cuts, tax cuts, potshots at Washington rather than his own dissenting GOP.
Oxycodone Central, James Bond in Drag, Placenta-Eating and Georgia O’Keeffe at 92: The Live Wire
The 100th International Women’s Day, islamophobe Brigitte Gabriel, Mike Huckabee’s bigotries, Duke Ellington’s wonders, a Palm Coast company on TLC, pretend abortions in Oklahoma, and more.
In Your Backyard: Public Discussion on Where to Plunk Desalination Plant Wednesday
The $200 million, Palm Coast-led desalination project is holding an open house and public comment period on the project’s location beginning at 6 p.m. at the Whitney Laboratory in Marineland on March 9.
Room for Debate: Do You Let Your Teen Drink At Home?
A new study shows that 5.9 percent of adolescents 12 to 14 drank at home in the past month, almost half of them getting their drink from family. Do you let your teen drink in hopes of teaching responsibility?
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 8
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 8: Sleeping in the Woods, Raising the Dead, Exploring the Island, Finding Jim; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 7
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 7: Laying for Him; Locked in the Cabin; Sinking the Body; Resting; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
Flagler Schools Prepare to ‘Awake the State’ As Night of Long Budget Knives Falls on Florida
As school employees prepared to demonstrate against massive state budget cuts on Tuesday, the Flagler School Board got closer to proposing cuts of its own that would eliminate classes and up to four dozen teachers.
FPC’s Mockingbird Director Quits Abruptly, Walking Out on 6 Classes and 2 More Shows
Ed Koczergo, a drama teacher at FPC for the past three years, said he wasn’t going to let the administration “suck a couple more months out of me and then not hire me back.” He leaves 150 students in six classes and two scheduled plays in a lurch.
Flagler Reinstates Burn Ban Indefinitely as Rain Proves Too Scarce to Dampen Kindling
The restoration of the ban, lifted just a few weeks ago, is prompted by last week’s wildfires, a return of drought conditions, and no rain in the forecast for almost two weeks.
St. Johns Raises Impact Fees on Residential Construction, Decreases Them on Commercial
St. John’s decision to raise impact fees on residential construction contrasts sharply with discussions in Flagler, where developers and some elected officials want a moratorium on fees. Flagler’s fees are considerably lower than St. John’s.
Enough Nickel and Diming: How to Cut $1.5 Trillion From the Budget Without Really Trying
Voodoo economics is back, this time with Obama sprinkling the wrong salts. His plan to reduce the deficit is irresponsible. Here’s one way to do it now, with everyone contributing. The alternative is French status in 10 years.
Led Zeppelin Revival, Minus Groupies and Sharks: Zoso Plays Flagler Auditorium
Part tribute part imitation part improvisation, Zoso is Led Zeppelin all over again, the 1970s heavy rock band. In performance at the Flagler Auditorium at 7:30.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 6
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 6: He Went for Judge Thatcher; Huck Decided to Leave; Political Economy; Thrashing Around; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
Familiar Slogans and More Familiar Questions as 2-Day Economic Development Summit Ends
It was left up to Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon to remind the assembled that slogans don’t make economic development policy, and unity of message is still far from a given in a county with diverse interests and constituencies.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 5
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 5: Pap starts on a new life; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
Marriage Encounters: Can This Man Bring Flagler Together for $1,100 an Hour?
The consultant Flagler County hired to shepherd local governments through their political and financial obstacles related to economic development has a long record of bracing cheerleading. Dividends are less clear.
Economic Development Summit: Diagnostic Kumbayas Drown Out Harder Questions
Day one of the summit produced generous and optimistic self-evaluations from some 60 elected and had-picked representatives of local governments, but no breakthrough on fundamental differences on economic development financing or leadership.
High-Speed Chase Ends in Serial Wreckage Near Town Center Publix (Updated)
The suspect crashed into three police cruisers. He is believed to have robbed three pharmacies, two in Volusia one in Flagler. He was taken to Florida Hospital Flagler with injuries.
End of the Line for Rail Brawl As Supreme Court Ruling Sends $2.4 Billion Elsewhere
The Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Gov. Scott could not be bound to spend $2.4 billion in federal high-speed rail money. That money will now go to New York or California.
Obama’s Facebook Feed, Glenn Beck’s Decline, Teens Down on Sex, Subversive Seuss: The Live Wire
Murder of a repo man in St. Augustine, the Walk for Tibet-Florida ends, matutiry and military deployments, condom fumblings, the United States of Gore Vidal, Dr. Seuss as subversive, and more.
Economy Adds 192,000 Jobs, Unemployment Dips to 8.9%, Best in 2 Years
The U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs in February, the strongest private-sector job gain in two years, and the unemployment rate fell below 9 percent for the first time since April 2009, when it was at 8.9 percent and rising.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 4
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 4: the Hair-Ball Oracle; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.