The final of Palm Coast’s tennis open, the Farmers’ Market at European Village, Super Bowl versus World Cup, Robert E. Lee’s worry about Yankees’ effects on Southern women.
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Public School Enrollment Dropped by 1.2 Million During the Pandemic
Dramatic evidence of learning loss has mobilized federal, state and local education leaders. The federal government has allocated US$122 billion to support state and local efforts to help students “catch up in the classroom.”
Five Years On, Parkland Shooting ‘Feels Like Five Minutes Ago’
Five years after a mass shooting that shook Florida, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Parkland remain inextricably linked to the ghastly day when a troubled teenager in less than four minutes killed 14 students and three staff members, injured 17 more and traumatized an untold number of children and families.
The DeSantis GOP Plan: Replace Public Education With Ahistorical Propaganda
By unleashing an avalanche of fear and legal absurdity into a struggling, underfunded system of public education, these far-right ideologues are in the process of crippling the learning process for tens of millions of the nation’s children.
Dr. Hiram Powell to Be Honored at Volusia Cultural Alliance’s Annual Celebration
The Volusia County Cultural Alliance (VCCA) will honor Dr. Hiram Powell for his service to Arts and Culture at its Annual Celebration and Awards Ceremony on Feb. 22, 2023 from 6 pm to 8 pm at The Shores Community Center in Daytona Beach Shores.
Bethune-Cookman University Names Raymond Woodie Head Football Coach
Bethune-Cookman University Director of Athletics Reggie Theus announced the appointment of Raymond Woodie as Head Football Coach. Woodie, 49, becomes the 16th head coach of Bethune-Cookman Football.
Sheriff Hopes DNA, New Imaging and Public Can Solve Murder Case from Early 1990s
The unidentified victim’s remains were found in 1993 on Palm Coast’s Sea Ship Place. A 2021 DNA profile was able to trace the victim’s family tree, and in January the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Forensic Imaging Unit produced a new facial approximation.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, February 11, 2023
The Annual Jazz Brunch and fund-raiser at AACS, Unique Boutique Event at Santa Maria del Mar Church, Palm Coast Tennis Open, the first robots, Mohsin Hamid.
The Bible’s Song of Songs Is Full of Sex, Challenging Assumptions
Graphic descriptions of both male and female bodies pervade the work and are certainly titillating, even bordering on pornographic. Sensual metaphors such as “grazing among the lilies” and “drinking … from the juice of my pomegranates” suggest sexual practices that are anything but vanilla.
Florida Health Boards Back Banning Treatment for Trans Youths
The Florida Board of Medicine and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine on Friday refused to scrap new rules prohibiting doctors from using gender-affirming care for trans youths, after dozens of transgender men and women pleaded with them to reverse the treatment bans.
Deborah Phillips, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Deborah Phillips is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Biden Puts GOP’s Juveniles In Their Place
President Biden showed no inclination to take any grief from an openly hostile, Republican-controlled House of Representatives as he delivered his State of the Union address. If Republicans were surprised by the vigor of Biden’s rebuttals, they have only themselves to blame.
Buddy Taylor Middle’s Mitchell Spencer Edelstein Is Spelling Bee Champion Again
Buddy Taylor Middle School 8th-grader Mitchell Spencer Edelstein had the stamina to survive the challenge and emerged as the Flagler Schools Spelling Bee Champion for the second consecutive year.
Scott Spradley, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Scott Spradley is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
DeSantis Will Snag Some Control of Disney’s Reedy Creek District as Lawmakers Approve Scheme
Florida lawmakers Friday gave final approval to changes that would shift control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District from the Walt Disney Co. to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Bob Cunningham, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Bob Cunningham is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Doug Bruno O’Connor, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Doug Bruno O’Connor is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Rick Belhumeur, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Rick Belhumeur is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election will be decided on March 7.
51-Year-Old Man Riding Pick-Up Truck’s Running Board Is Ejected and Killed in Mondex
Andrzej Kokoszka, a 51-year-old resident of Bud Lake, N.J., and Palm Coast, was killed Thursday afternoon in a vehicle incident at Rosewood Street and Clove Avenue in Daytona North, also known as the Mondex, in West Flagler.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, February 10, 2023
The Flagler Woman’s Club’s Annual Rummage Sale, tennis in Palm Coast, LGBTQ+ Night at Flagler Beach’s Coquina Coast Brewing Company, the day Nelson Mendela was released.
Five Years After Parkland, School Shootings Have Increased and Kill More People
Since Parkland, there have been over 900 shootings in K-12 school settings. Thirty-two were indiscriminate attacks apparently driven by the intent to kill as many people as possible, including mass casualty events at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022 and at Oxford High School, in Oxford, Michigan, in November 2021.
Flagler Beach Commission Fires City Manager William Whitson After Withering Criticism
The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening fired City Manager William Whitson in a 4-1 vote, capping a rocky year and a withering night for the manager. The commission will choose an interim manager on Monday.
School Board Is Timidly Mum on Superintendent’s Future as She Hints of Looking Elsewhere
With three rookie members, latent ideological tensions, foot-dragging and a ticking clock, the Flagler County School Board is at risk of losing Superintendent Cathy Mittlestadt, just as it lost her predecessor, Jim Tager. Mittlestadt all but explicitly told the board as much on Tuesday.
‘Now Is the Time’: Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin Looks West in State of the City Address
This evening’s State of the City Address by Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin highlights the challenges the city experienced in 2022, such as the hurricanes, celebrates various accomplishments and looks to 2023 with eyes on a westward expansion. as provided by the city. Here’s the full prepared text.
Belt-Buckle Bruise on 5-Year-Old’s Face Leads to Felony Charge Against Step-Father
A 5-year-old child said his step-father, Anthony Aaron Dailey, 25, whipped him with a belt because he was having some candy in his parents’ bedroom. The belt buckle struck the child’s face, leaving a large red welt below his right eye.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, February 9, 2023
A panel discussion on book-banning at AACS, State of the City in Palm Coast this evening, The Flagler Beach City Commission once again takes up the fate of City Manager William Whitson, Ludovico Einaudi and Don DeLillo.
Palm Coast Council Surrenders Key Demands in 3-2 Approval of Controversial Harborside Development
Ending a six-month wrangle over the proposed Harborside redevelopment around the Palm Coast marina, the City Council Tuesday in a 3-2 vote surrendered on key demands, overriding some staff recommendations, and approved the addition of 300 apartments and town houses, a project that will remake the character of one of Palm Coast’s original neighborhoods.
What To Do About That ‘Dark Personality’ at Work
Have you ever suffered through tales of greatness from a self-absorbed “friend” who reminds you of Michael Scott from “The Office” – and not in a good way? Have you been betrayed by a colleague out of the blue, undermined on a project by the office mean girl, or had a work friendship dropped altogether without explanation?
The GOP Culture Wars’ Deadly Impact on Working People’s Lives
Although Republicans claim they’re working in the interests of women’s health, 20 GOP state attorneys general seek to ban the abortion drug mifepristone. These pills are safer than penicillin or Viagra — and going through pregnancy and childbirth is far more dangerous to women’s health than abortion.
Flagler County’s Emergency Management Team Makes Its Mark at State Association
Flagler County’s Emergency Management team made its mark last week at the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association’s (FEPA) Annual Meeting.
Affordable Housing Proposal Bans Local Rent Control Measures
A $711 million affordable housing package designed to address Florida’s affordable housing crisis was met with disapproval and ire by housing activists on Wednesday — they said the measure’s provision to ban local governments from enacting rent controls won’t help alleviate the problem.
Palm Coast’s Frank Fiore, 53, Accused of Fleecing Elderly Woman Who Took Him In
Frank Fiore, 53, of Palm Coast, faces nine felony charges–a maximum of 125 years in prison–for stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry from the elderly women who took him in after he told her at church that he was down on his luck.
Future BJ’s Wholesale Club Raises Traffic Concerns as Palm Coast Mulls Annexation
As it considers annexing the land where a BJ’s Wholesale Club will rise on State Road 100, the Palm Coast City Council is concerned about the amount of additional cars thronging an already busy road, and may condition annexation on the a analysis.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Weekly Chess Club for teens at the Public Library, how Jules Verne saved a childhood, James Spader, Taiwan’s inevitable rendez-vous with China.
Republican Lawmakers Prepared to Spend $10 Million on Migrant Expulsions from Florida
The Florida Senate on Wednesday likely will take up a plan that would bolster Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to send migrants to “sanctuary” cities and states, as Republicans and Democrats battle over the issue.
W.E.B. Du Bois and the Importance of African American Studies
Du Bois’ words in a 1951 article are especially prescient today, offering a reminder about the importance of Black History Month and what is at stake in current conversations about African American studies.
Over 80% of Staffers Surveyed at 9 Flagler County Schools Don’t Want To Be Armed on Campus
The survey was conducted at the request of the Flagler County School Board as the board studies the feasibility of arming some staffers in addition to the sheriff’s school resource deputies. The survey did not ask employees whether they supported or opposed an armed-employee program in general, but only their willingness to participate.
This Time, the School Board’s ‘Retreat’ Is a Snooze Fest. Yay!
When the Flagler County School Board board last went into “retreat,” in 2021, it devolved into open warfare and fabrications. Today’s retreat, with three new board members, was comparatively straight-forward and drama-free.
70 People Turn Up, Hoping for Appointment to District’s Book-Banning Committees
Some 70 people turned up Monday evening for a session designed to train people interested in serving on the Flagler County school district’s nascent committees that will review attempts by residents to ban books from school library shelves.
Disney Would Lose Control of Tax District to Board Appointed by DeSantis
A legislative proposal introduced Monday in the Florida Legislature would rename the Reedy Creek Improvement District that has been controlled by Disney World in Central Florida for more than 55 years and replace it with a new board selected exclusively by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, February 7, 2023
The school board holds a “retreat” so its new and old members can get to know each other better, Palm Coast Council takes up Harborside again, Vermeer and Hopper, Bill Maher on cancel culture, Don DeLillo on Fox News before Fox News.
How Atmospheric Rivers Are Accelerating Polar Melt
Atmospheric rivers, those long, powerful streams of moisture in the sky, are becoming more frequent in the Arctic, and they’re helping to drive dramatic shrinking of the Arctic’s sea ice cover. Sea ice loss contributes to global warming and to extreme storms that cause economic damage well beyond the Arctic.
Palm Coast’s Water Treatment Plant #1 Will Be Down for a Week
The electrical upgrade will require the plant, one of the City’s three water treatment plants, to be shut down on February 7, 2023, to approximately February 14, 2023.
Judge Criticizes Low Bond and Denies Lowering it Further on 18-Year-Old in Flagler Beach Assaults
In a case that’s drawn outsized attention from the Flagler Beach community, Circuit Judge Terence Perkins denied lowering Gabriella Alo’s $18,500 bond on charges of running over a 29-year-old woman who’d come to the aid of a 15-year-old boy Alo and her brother are accused of beating up on jan. 11 at Wickline Park in Flagler Beach.
‘Absolutely No Excuse’: County Blasts Old Dixie Motel Owners and Will Again Seek Demolition
After trying for six years to have the derelict motel on Old Dixie Highway rehabilitated, Flagler County officials today again said they will seek to demolish the property as the latest owners have failed to live up to an agreement with the local government.
After Demise of Bull Creek Camp’s Restaurant, Commission’s Pennington Calls for Replacement Amenity
Saying Flagler County’s west side is losing its amenities, Flagler County Commissioner Leann Pennington implored her colleagues and the administration to focus on getting some form of replacement, even if not a restaurant, at Bull Creek Fishcamp, where the county will demolish the existing restaurant.
Lawyers to the Rescue: County Ratifies Agreement Clearing Historic Dunes Project in Flagler Beach
The Flagler County Commission this morning ratified the final agreement clearing the way for a historic dune-rebuilding project on 2.6 miles of shoreline in Flagler Beach, starting in April 2024–almost a quarter century after the federal government started considering the stretch for long-term safeguarding from erosion and rising seas.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, February 6, 2023
The county commission ratifies the agreement that opens the way to beach renourishment, a school district information session on book-banning committees, Philip Roth on Ronald Reagan’s senescence, George Carlin Reagan’s corruption.
Democrats’ South Carolina Primary Move: Diversity and Moderation Over Tradition
Biden said early nominating states should reflect the diversity of the party and nation and that time-consuming caucuses, like those held in Iowa, should no longer be a part of the process because they disadvantage hourly workers and others who can’t take the required time away from work.
Flagler County Maintains Favorable ISO, or Fire Protection, Rating
The rating takes into account the 9-1-1 emergency reporting system, local fire departments, water supply, and community risk reduction.