Florida’s so-called “Religious Freedom” amendment is misleading, the lawsuit argues, as it would reopen the way for religious, private school vouchers at public expense and turn the state into an arbiter of public dollars for religious organizations.
Circuit & County Court
When Casey Anthony Pre-Empts Wimbledon
Anthony’s isn’t murder-trial coverage. It’s voyeurism on a bimbo scale. If Anthony had been middle aged, crinkled, overweight, if she’d not been white, this level of media fixation would have been unthinkable.
3% Pension Contributions by Public Employees Begins as Judge Rejects an Injunction
The state’s teachers union is suing over the 3 percent requirement, and was hoping to delay its implementation until the case is settled. That case is still going forward, but 3 percent contributions begin today.
William Parsons Succeeds David Walsh as Chief Judge for 7th Judicial District
The two-year term, the second for Parsons, entails administrative supervision of all courts in the 7th Judicial District, which includes Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties.
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.
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.
William Gregory Sentenced to Death for 2007 Double-Murder in Flagler Beach
William Gregory murdered ex-girlfriend Skyler Meekins, 17, and Daniel Dyer, 22, by shooting them in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun as they slept together in August 2007. “You have forfeited your right to live at all,” the judge told him.
Circuit Judge Julianne Piggotte, in Daytona Beach, Retiring After 21 Years
Piggotte has been a judge since 1990, and was chief judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which includes Flagler County, from 2003 to 2005.
Top Cops, Public Defender, Commissioners Pick Bulic as the Next Medical Examiner
Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam have been without a medical examiner–one of government’s least visible, most important positions–since Jan. 1. A high-powered committee is making its recommendation for a new examiner today following interviews of five candidates.
Bunnell Police Inquiry: In Videos, Chief Jones Strains to Keep the Focus on John Murray
Three video clips illustrate some of the background of the inquiry that led to the arrest of two Bunnell cops, but also continue raising more questions than have been answered since.