Florida and other states, in an attempt to cut costs, are increasingly outsourcing health care for inmates to for-profit companies, but the trend is raising concerns among unions and prisoners’ rights groups.
Cops/Courts
3 Liberal Florida Justices Battle Conservative Foundation’s Plan to Depose Them
Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince filed a court motion to block the conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation from moving forward with 22 depositions in a merit-retention case. The foundation is targeting the justices for their liberalism.
Storm Burst: Two Wrecks, 10 Victims, Most Children or Teens, Few Injuries
Five teen-agers were in a truck that overturned after hitting an electric pole (which burst into periodic flames) at Old Kings Road and Frontier Drive in Palm Coast; an older woman was at the wheel of an SUV, with four young children, that ended up upright against the trees on I-95 within an hour of the other wreck.
County Concedes What Palm Coast Has Been Saying for Months: Sales Tax Plan a No-Go
The Flagler County Commission agreed to drop its current plan for a half-cent sales tax renewal and again seek out a compromise with the cities that may win their backing should the measure appear before voters on the November ballot.
Ray Stevens Assault on John Pollinger Mutates, This Time Invoking 9/11 Decisions
Fresh from losing a suit attempting to boot John Pollinger from the Republican ballot for sheriff on Aug. 14 (the decision is on appeal), the Ray Stevens camp is criticizing a Pollinger decision to keep officers from going to Ground Zero after 9/11, though the record overwhelmingly supports Pollinger’s decision.
Flagler Beach Fire Chief Martin Roberts Faces Firing on Insubordination Charge
Flagler Beach City Manager Bruce Campbell told Martin Roberts he’d be fired pending a pre-disciplinary hearing on July 17. Roberts had served as chief since November 2005. He was at the center of a controversy over unauthorized trips.
John Pollinger Responds to His Critics
John Pollinger, a candidate for Flagler County Sheriff, has been criticized over his last months as Middletown, N.J., police chief and his tenure as post commander of the American Legion in Palm Coast. He tells his side.
Drug War Collusion: Top Cops, Lapdog Press, And the Art of Tax-Funded Campaigning
With State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Flagler Sheriff Don Fleming and Putnam Sheriff Jeff Hardy in starring roles (all three are running for re-election next month), Wednesday was the latest shameless example of local and state police using a minor drug sweep for maximum political effect, at taxpayers’ expense.
Cops Spying on Your Cell Phone: Warrantless, Routine, and With Providers’ Complicity
Privacy activists hold that cops’ tracking of cell phones require a search warrant to be constitutional. But the Supreme Court hasn’t ruled on the issue, and Congress has yet to pass a law addressing it.
Big Sweep of Small-Time Pill Pushers Nets 78 Arrests in Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office was ground zero for a three-county sweep today–and for a choreographed media event to maximize publicity for the sweep, and three top cops running for re-election–State Attorney R.J. Lariza, Flagler Sheriff Don Fleming and Putnam Sheriff Jeff Hardy.