Yet two hotly-debated bills — HB 7, limiting conversations about racism and sexism in schools and at work, and HB 1557, restricting classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity — were both passed by the House on near-party lines Thursday.
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Found Guilty on All Counts, Palm Coast’s Philip Martin, 56, Faces Life in Prison for ‘Massaging’ Girl, 11
A jury convicted Philip Martin, 56, guilty on three counts of molesting the 11-year-old daughter of his late girlfriend in Palm Coast over a long period, as he took to “massaging” the girl’s legs, back and other body parts while distracting her with his phone. He faces life in prison when sentenced in early May.
15 Year Old Arrested in Shooting Death of Jamey Bennett, 19, Near Matanzas Woods
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly this afternoon announced the arrest of 15-year-old Da’Mari Barnes, a 10th grader currently enrolled at Matanzas High School, on a manslaughter charge in the shooting death of Jamey “JuJu” Bennett, 19, during a bonfire party nearly three weeks ago in north Palm Coast.
Cost and Location Questions Arise Over County’s Push for Visitor Center on A1A and South 9th Street
The chairman of the Flagler Beach City Commission and the chairman of the county’s tourism council, who also sits on the County Commission, both have questions about the location and the cost of building a potential visitor center the county’s tourism division is eying for South 9th Street and State Road A1A in Flagler Beach.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, February 24, 2022
The Flagler Beach City Commission considers permitting a neighboring tattoo business, the Philip Martin trial enters its final day, Wendell Berry on the making of morons, Rodney Dangerfield, and Estonians.
Taxpayers: Expect Serious Delays from IRS This Year
Over 15 million returns and 5 million pieces of taxpayer correspondence from 2021 sit untouched – including 6 million original 1040s. Amended 2021 returns are taking more than 20 weeks to process. It’s not just complicated returns that are getting delayed. Even simple individual returns are caught in the backlog.
Senate Confirms Vaccine-Snubbing Ladapo as Surgeon General in Partisan Divide
A 24-15 party-line vote displayed the fissure between the parties on DeSantis’ approach to the pandemic, which in the past year has mostly concentrated on treating people who have tested positive for Covid-19 rather than boosting vaccinations. Ladapo has often echoed DeSantis’ positions since the September appointment.
17 Attorneys Apply for Appointment to Volusia County Court Seat; Interviews on March 1
Seventeen attorneys have applied for appointment to a county judge seat in Volusia that became vacant after the elevation to circuit court of Christopher Kelly of New Smyrna Beach late last year. Kelly replaced Circuit Judge Steven C. Henderson, who died at age 49 in August from Covid.
Residents of Hidden Lakes and Toscana Appeal Palm Coast Approvals of 2 Self-Storage Lots on Old Kings
A group of Palm Coast residents in the Toscana and Hidden Lakes subdivisions off Old Kings Road have filed an appeal of a decision by the Palm Coast Planning Board clearing the way for a self-storage facility on Old Kings Road. The same group is preparing to file a civil suit in circuit court seeking to quash decisions by the planning board and the Palm Coast City Council clearing the way for both that facility and another like it nearby.
Dozens of Anti-Semitic Fliers Tied to ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Appear in Palm Coast and Ormond Beach
The fliers, which authorities and the Anti Defamation League do not consider criminal, have been appearing at least since December in neighborhoods in Surfside, Miami, San Francisco, Denver, Las Vegas, Kenosha, Wis., Cartersville, Ga., towns in Texas, and California, according to press reports and a tally by the ADL.