Between Barack Obama’s birth certificate and William Windsor’s wedding to his girlfriend Kate, lust for make-believe idiocies at the expense of reality explains why problem-solving isn’t much of a priority these days.
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Proposal to Split Florida Supreme Court Faces Long Odds in the Senate
The proposed constitutional amendment would create a criminal and civil supreme court, change the way justices are picked and the way the judicial system is funded, but the idea may be dying.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter
A car stolen from the Florida Hospital Flagler parking lot during a workout at the YMCA, a bloody encounter in the library parking lot, a shoplifting spree at Kohl’s.
Jacksonville Symphony Pops “Americana Under the Stars” at Palm Coast Concert
Featuring a slew of favorites from Gershwin to Berlin (Irving, that is) to Strauss, the Jacksonville Symphony’s annual pilgrimage to Flagler is the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s signature event and fund-raiser.
Road Rage Incident on Palm Coast Parkway Lands an Oklahoman at the Flagler County Jail
Edward Smith, who had two 16-year-old girls in his car, allegedly waved a 9mm Hi-Point rifle at occupants of another car during a verbal smackdown on Palm Coast Parkway Wednesday afternoon.
Jonathan May Remembered, Sounds of Music and Texting Mommies: Culture Worth the Miles
The Metropolitan Area Youth Symphony celebrates Jonathan May Day, “The Sound of Music” at the Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, a new musical for texting moms at the Plaza Theater, the Orlando Philharmonic’s La Boheme, the senior pageant comes to Orlando, and more.
Florida Legislature Redrawing Abortion Rules, Targeting Women, Physicians and US Law
The House approved a slew of bills that would force women to submit to ultrasounds before an abortion, broaden parental notification when minors are seeking an abortion, and require physicians to own abortion clinics, among other bills.
School Buses Blowing Through a Stop Sign at FPC: Scrutiny Follows Parent’s Alert
An 11th grader on a motorcycle had a close encounter with a bus that pulled out of an FPC driveway where, a video shows, buses frequently don’t respect a stop sign. The transportation department is responding with monitoring and warnings drivers.
Obama Releases Long-Form Birth Certificate; Trump Takes Credit
President Obama this morning released his long-form birth certificate, hoping to end conspiracy theories about his place of birth. The release is unlikely to put an end to birthers midwifing new theories.
School Districts Will Have to Vastly Expand Virtual Education; Charters to Click In
At least one virtual class would be mandatory for graduation, kindergarten students could take online courses, and charter schools could offer full or part-time classes in what’s almost certain to become law.
Flagler Palm Coast High School’s Formality Singers Soar
Flagler Palm Coast High School’s Formality Singers, led by Amy Fulmer, received Straight Superiors ratings in state assessments this week. Watch the videos.
Gun-Toting Bills, Supplanting Doctors and Local Governments, Poised to Become Law
One bill would penalize local governments with stricter gun restrictions than the state. Another would muzzle doctors’ abilities to ask their patients about gun ownership.
Violent Crime Falls Steeply in Flagler; Florida’s Crime Rate at 40-Year Low, Following US Trend
The overall 2010 crime rate is down 4.2 percent in Flagler County and 6.7 percent in Florida as the slower economy and a static population add to a national trend of declining crime. Several reasons are contributing to the decline.
Palm Coast’s Latest Invitation to Landowners: Come Build a Business Park With Us
Palm Coast’s business park partnership program would entail spending significant taxpayer resources to develop construction-ready sites in partnership with private property owners, as bait for future commercial activity.
State of the Ax: from Flagler to Tallahassee To D.C., Arts Funding Is Under Siege
The NEA’s federal arts dollars are on the defensive. Florida cut back its arts funding to almost nothing. Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach are just as stingy. The county and school district alone still support art and culture.
Dull and Duller GOP Candidates, Pink Toenails, Bright Futures Dim, The Beatles at Shea: The Live Wire
Why homebuilders have the blues, why real estate agents also do, a Palm Coast molestation case reopens, The Legislature’s latest cleavers, vegetarian oral sex, Sheriff Fleming’s videos, and more.
New Home Sales Rebound From Record Low, But Sales Still 22% Lower Than Last Year
March new home sales post an 11 percent increase over February, but February had posted a record low, and March’s 300,000 sales volume is still 22 percent below sales in March 2010.
Growth-Management 2.0: Local Government Whims Sprawl Over State Oversight
Republicans have complained for years that growth management rules slow growth in the state. A glut of empty homes suggests otherwise. Local governments will be empowered to take advantage of far more lax growth rules.
Bail Bondsmen Would Cash In at Taxpayers’ Expense As Pre-Trial Release Is Scaled Back
A bill written to boost bail bondsmen’s business would force inmates to post bond to get out of jail rather than rely on county-run pre-trial release programs. Taxpayers are likely to pay the price as fewer inmates can afford bond and jail populations soar.
Wounded Warrior Project Music Jam Saturday at Whiskey Still Campground
Beginning at 1 p.m., the Flagler County Professional Firefighters Association is hosting an all-day, all-night Flagler County music jam and benefit, featuring three bands at the Whiskey Still Campground.
Superintendent in Flight: Janet Valentine Gets Bird’s Eye View of Her Domain
School Superintendent Janet Valentine took a one-hour flight around the county with Jack Howell, director of Flagler’s Teens-in-Flight program. Howell wanted to thank Valentine for her support.
33-Year-Old Man, Lying on Pavement, Killed on Old Kings Road This Morning
Manual Estrada, a 33-year-old Palm Coast resident, was killed early this morning when a car ran over him on Old Kings Road in front of the Fairfield Inn and Suites.
Criminal Backgrounds of Health Providers: Florida’s Licensing System Is All Cavities
Dentists, doctors and pharmacists can still practice in Florida even after committing crimes, while the Department of Health passes over criminal backgrounds in a lax and self-reported licensing procedure.
Armed Robbery at Flagler Beach’s CVS on SR100; Oxycontin-Filching Suspects Caught
At least two suspects entered the CVS just after 5 p.m., one of them brandishing a gun. They were caught at Old Dixie Highway and I-95. No one was injured. Oxycontin appears again to be the motive.
Preliminary Report Suggests Walker May Have Lost Consciousness Before Air Show Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report of the March 26 crash at Wings Over Flagler reveals that to Bill Walker was unresponsive when a fellow-pilot radioed him immediately before the crash.
NTSB Preliminary Investigation Report: Flagler County Airport Crash on March 26, 2011
Full text of the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary investigation report, released on April 19, 2011, of the fatal plane crash at the Flagler County Airport on March 26, 2011, involving an Aerostar S A YAK-52, piloted by Bill Walker.
News-Journal Inexplicably Spikes Follow-Up Story on Drowning of 3-Year-Old Girl
The story, spiked Wednesday evening after being approved for the next day’s paper, cited police saying that the girl’s 5-year-old brother had told his mother he’d drowned his sister–information that other media reported Wednesday evening.
Phantom of the Opera, Art for $100 or Less, Snake Farming: Culture Worth the Miles
The Morse Museum’s new wing opens, the Works Progress Administration’s arts come to life at the Mennello Museum of American Art, Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera at University High School, art for $100, snake farming and more.
Varieties of Religious Experience: Watching an Eagles’ Nest, Live
The Raptor Resource Project’s live, 24-hour streaming video of a family of eagles, from their nest in Idaho. With hatchlings and river sounds nearby. Warning: watching can be addictive.
TDC Approves $30,000 for Dual July 4th Fireworks Under Unifying Americana Theme
With Palm Coast fireworks on July 3rd and Flagler Beach fireworks on the 4th, the tourist council is hoping Flagler County will be a destination for racing fans worn out by July 1 and 2 races in Daytona Beach.
Wadsworth’s Eco Swag Fair Thursday: Saving the Planet 900 Students at a Time
Wadsworth Elementary school is inviting the community to its students’ first environmental community outreach Thursday, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., with music, food, games and presentations mixing awareness and kindness.
Bunnell Police Miscues Helping To Lessen Case Against Ex-Cops John and Lisa Murray
Lisa Murray faces one less count of official misconduct, but while a grand theft charge against John Murray was dropped, a charge of official misconduct was added. The cases, for now, are proceeding to trial.
Property Tax Reform: 50% Exemptions, Breaks for Investors, Losses for Local Governments
Supporters of the overhaul say it’ll fill up empty homes. Critics say it’ll also slash local government revenue and further shift the tax burden to current residents, exacerbating inequities.
Putt-Putt Golf at Belle Terre Elementary: 9-Hole Course Meets School Board Bogeys
Playground equipment at Belle Terre Elementary has been deteriorating, and causing a few injuries. But replacing some of it with putt-putt golf raised financial and “buy-in” issues from school board members.
More Losers Than Winners as HMOs Skim Off Florida’s $20 Billion Medicaid Overhaul
Managed-car plans will take over almost all of Florida’s 2.8 million Medicaid patients. The overhaul does nothing to change the status of 3.8 million uninsured Floridians.
District and Teachers’ Union Seal Crucial Agreement on Vast Cuts and Shorter Days
More than tree and a half hours into their latest bargaining session, the union and the Flagler County school district were almost ready to agree to cuts that would eliminate 40 teachers, shorten school days and save $3.5 million next year.
Stetson University Takes 3rd Place in National RecycleMania
Stetson’s third-place overall showing was out of a field of 288 colleges and universities. The university won first in the paper-recycling division, earning it a trophy made of recycled glass.
Suicide Off Hammock Dunes Bridge, Near European Village
Jane Allen, a 50-year-old resident of Oakmont Ct. in Palm Coast, fell to her death from the Hammock Dunes Bridge in early evening Saturday, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
It’s Not Enough to Say No to a Seawall in Flagler Beach: An Action Plan Past Opposition
Sherry Epley, a resident of Flagler Beach, lays out a six-point action plan on how to build and sustain opposition to a seawall while developing a viable alternative that saves the beach and State Road A1A.
“Education Savings Accounts” Would Shift Public Money to Private and Home Schools
A vast expansion of school vouchers, Education Savings Account would shift 40 percent of per-student funding to children attending private school, to college savings accounts or to home-school spending, among other diversions from public-education budgets.
How Slashing Water Management Districts’ Budget 25% Endangers Our Way of Life
Allan Milledge, a former water management district chairman, asks: Do you want to jeopardize protection of our rivers, lakes, springs, and wetlands and the protection of our water supply to save an average less than $20 dollars per household per year?
Textual Titillations, Chamber Scott, Perot Trump, Buying Legislators and Poetry in Jazz: The Live Wire
Buy one legislator, get one free, what’s far worse than sexting, a free speech leap in Vancouver, the Rude Pundit on Obama, when Donald Trump insults “the blacks,” and more.
Flagler Power: From Bunnell By-Pass to Weigh Station to A1A Seawall, FDOT Retreats
Three times in the past 12 months, Florida Department of Transportation projects in Flagler County have foundered on the well-organized shoals of local opposition across government boundaries and fiefdoms.
Charter Schools To Be Allowed To Go Virtual As Florida Expands Online Public Education
A proposed law would let charter schools open full-time K-12 “virtual” charter schools, all students would be required to take at least one online class, and school districts would have to offer full or part-time virtual programs.
Stereotype This: “Lazy Mexicans” And Other Insolvent Myths of American Superiority
As it turns out Mexicans are not only harder workers than Americans. They are the hardest workers in the industrialized world, while smugness, selfishness and the pursuit of inequality are becoming American brands.
Cops and Robbers Chase Through A1A in Flagler at 90 mph Before Crash in St. Johns
The high-speed chase, triggered by a former Palm Coast resident, wound through Old Kings Road, Palm Coast Parkway, the Hammock Dunes toll bridge, the Hammock along A1A and Marineland before the eluding truck overturned in St. Johns County.
At 14.5%, Flagler Unemployment Drops to Lowest Level in 2 Years, Florida’s at 11.1%
The unemployment rate locally and statewide appears to be trending downward consistently and finally following the national trend, which has been improving for most of the past year.
Upset That His Girlfriend Is Cheating, He Pistol-Whips Her and Fires 7 Shots
Salvitore Kilday, 28, went to a home on Wendlin Lane looking for his girlfriend, found her with another man, and turned violent. Three young children were in the house. He was arrested and jailed.
Water Wars, Side B: Why a Subdivision With 10% of Bunnell’s Residents Is Suing the City
Bunnell has been reading Palm Terrace Mobile Home park’s water meters and servicing its sewer station for 27 years. The city wants to stop doing so to save money, billing the park in one lump sum. The park owner says the city is breaching a 27-year-old annexation agreement.
BP Oil Spill Aftermath: “Spillionaire” Profiteers of Mismanagement’s Gulf Spoils
How the BP oil spill has made profiteers rich from BP’s $16 billion in clean-up spending while hiding the results of the cleanup, because BP, not the federal government, is in charge.