Describing relentless attacks on education and a state of fear in Tallahassee that cost her her own job recently, Flagler County School Board member Colleen Conklin explains why local school boards must take a stand against the state’s erosion of public education.
Guest Columns
Conklin: Time to End the Legislature’s
Making It Right in New Orleans, 6 Years After Katrina: The Grit of Pitt and Green
From Brad Pitt’s Make It Right program to a broad-based spirit of enterprise, Flagler Beach’s Frank Gromling has been tracking New Orleans’ rebirth every year by attending the city’s annual jazz festival.
Carver Gym’s Journey from Legacy to Ashes And Back–and How To Sustain It
Barbara Revels, the Flagler County commissioner, was chiefly instrumental in reviving Carver Gym’s fortunes, and setting it on course toward a sustainable future as a youth and community center. She sums up what’s been achieved and where to go from here.
Prom Night Recklessness: FPC Rattles Students With Tombstones and Scary Statistics
Carrying pickets and tombstones to symbolize the dangers of recklessness on prom night, students and FPC Activities Director Cheryl Perry sent a cautionary message to fellow students who’ll be partying on prom night Friday.
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.
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?
Gainesville’s Rogue Pastor And the Limits of Free Speech: A Dissent
First Amendment rights have their limits, argues Thomas Brown: Gainesville’s Pastor Jones should have been stopped from burning the Koran, which can be viewed as an act of terrorism expressly and imminently inciting violence.
Merit Pay’s Trap: When Lawmakers Are Clueless About Teachers’ Classroom Realities
Jo Ann C. Nahirny, a teacher at Matanzas High School, describes the gulf between merit pay assumptions about teachers and everyday classroom realities that are beyond teachers’ control. Lawmakers appear clueless.
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.
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.