The just-completed A-frame pedestrian bridge over State Road 100 has turned into a recurring joke and a legitimate traffic concern that the county is addressing. But some officials see an opportunity in the bad publicity the bridge is attracting, because with it comes tourist interest and a potential marketing coup.
Culture
Flagler County Library’s Budget, Hours and Staffing Shrunk as Population Increased 25%
Flagler County’s population has increased 25 percent since 2010, but the budget of the county library has shrunk 3 percent when adjusted for inflation, the library’s hours have been cut, it’s lost staffing and its materials budget has declined.
Ms. Cheryl: Why I Am Leaving the Flagler Youth Orchestra
“As of today I am no longer the director of the Flagler Youth Orchestra,” writes Cheryl Tristam, ending an 18-year relationship with the school district program she led since 2005. “It isn’t what I wanted to do. But the conduct of some of our school board members toward me personally and toward the program leaves me no choice.”
Flagler and Palm Coast July 4 Holiday Schedules, Travel and Safety Advisories
Independence Day this year falls on a Tuesday, slicing through the earlier part of the week and creating a checkerboard of work schedules and closed offices. The one constant are safety and travel advisories. Here’s a run-down.
Florida Law Banning Kids at Drag Shows Blocked and Termed Unconstitutionally Vague
Operators of Orlando restaurant Hamburger Mary’s, which has run “family friendly” drag shows for 15 years, filed a legal challenge shortly after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law restricting children from attending “adult live performances.”
Florida Cracker Ranch and Flagler Broadcasting Team Up for Red White and Boom Weekend
Flagler Broadcasting and Florida Cracker Ranch are collaborating in the production of Red White and Boom, a three-day weekend from June 30 to July 1 in the run-up to Independence Day, with camping, off-roading, entertainment and fireworks.
Flagler Beach Achieves One Goal in Meeting With Other Governments: Agreement that the City Needs Help
Flagler Beach convinced other cities and the county in a joint meeting this evening that it cannot contend with the ongoing onslaught of visitors alone, and only in Flagler Beach, when the county has plenty of unused beaches and cities can contribute other strategies.
Exuberant Pride Day Follows Drag Night as Palm Coast Goes United Colors of LGBTQ+ in Town Center
Bookended by an exuberant evening of drag the night before and Sunday evening’s more solemn vigil in memory of the Pulse massacre victims, Flagler Pride today celebrated the local and regional LGBTQ community with song, dance, causes and bounties of divergence in the fourth annual Pride Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center, drawing some 750 people.
Flagler Pride Fest Is On Despite Hostile Climate, Drag Show Included, With a Few Cautionary Tucks
While some other communities have cancelled their celebrations because of state hostility, the fourth annual Flagler Pride Fest will be a three-day celebration this weekend, starting with drag night at Coquina Brewery, a day-long festival at Palm Coast’s Town Center, and the Pulse commemoration at veterans Park in Flagler Beach Sunday.
Why Will Furry Is Demolishing the Flagler Youth Orchestra
Flagler County School Board member Will Furry’s posturing about the Flagler Youth Orchestra has nothing to do with the FYO, of which he knows nothing and has no interest. It has to do with FYO’s director’s last name–Tristam–and Furry’s willingness to sacrifice a star district program over his vindictiveness for FlaglerLive.
Flagler School Board Scrutinizes Flagler Youth Orchestra’s Financials At Tuesday Workshop
The financial structure of the Flagler Youth Orchestra came into question on Tuesday at the Flagler School Board’s workshop meeting: the district had failed to audit the orchestra’s financials, even though it’d been written into district policy that such audits should take place. An audit is ongoing.
Upside of Unrequited Survives Book Ban at FPC, But 57% of Challenged Titles Were Removed From Flagler Schools This Year
A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee of faculty and residents voted 7-0 to keep Becky Albertalli’s The Upside of Unrequited on high school library shelves. It was the last challenge of the year by just three individuals, who had filed 44 challenges to 22 titles, succeeding in having 12 of them removed.
Florida Man Vandalizes 13-Foot Bunny Sculpture With His Car
A 49 year old man last week intentionally drove his car into Thunderbunny, a 14 ft blue mosaic bunny sculpture, just days after it was erected at Justin Flippen Park in Wilton Manors, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
Florida Will Publish Annual Index of Books Banned or Challenged in Schools
The State Board of Education on Wednesday approved a new rule that will lead to Florida officials publishing an annual list of library books and instructional materials that have drawn public objections, in a move that the board’s chairman said will “provide transparency for our families.”
On Flagler Schools’ Ban List: The Upside of Unrequited, a Review and a Recommendation
Becky Albertalli’s “The Upside of Unrequited,” about a fat girl’s desperate quest for a date after 26 unrequited crushes, is one of 22 titles on Flagler’s ban list, and the last to be considered by a school-based committee at FPC on Thursday.
Hang 8 Dog Surfing Brings Out Throng of a Thousand in Flagler Beach’s Zaniest Contest Yet
The second annual Hang 8 Dog Surfing contest in Flagler Beach this morning drew spectators in the low thousands, double or triple last year’s turnout, as big and small dogs surfed in rough waves then donned costumes for the red-carpet competition. Fifty dogs were registered in total.
International Booker Prize 2023: The 6 Shortlisted Books
From a long list of 12, six novels have been shortlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize. Here are six brief reviews of the finalists ahead of the announcement of the winner on May 23.
State Board of Education Will Consider Book-Ban List
The state Board of Education is slated next week to consider a new rule that would lead to Florida’s education commissioner publishing an annual list of library books and instructional materials that people have objected to, carrying out part of a controversial 2022 law.
A Federal Lawsuit Is Filed Against Florida School District, Calling Book Bans Unconstitutional
The lawsuit is against the Escambia County School District and its local school board. Plaintiffs include PEN America, powerhouse publisher Penguin Random House, several authors, and parents of children. A remedy: Return books to school library shelves, particularly books considered “targeted,” according to the lawsuit.
A Different ‘Battle of the Books’ Cheers Competing Students at Rymfire Elementary
At Rymfire Elementary this morning, it was a very different “Battle of the Books” from the kind that’s been crumpling Flagler County’s school libraries for the last couple of years: this battle was all about the love and joy of reading, as 80 students competed to match blind quotes with any of the 15 books they’d read this year.
An Artist’s Tribute: Diana Gilson’s ‘Intuitive Sensibility for Color, Shape and Line’
“We shared a common interest in art history and many of the same influences,” writes JJ Graham of Diana Gilson, who died in April. “The time that I spent with her and the studio artists at Hollingsworth will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most enriching and rewarding periods of my life as a painter.”
FPC Removes 2 Books Under Challenge Without Review, Abruptly Cancelling 2 Committee Meetings
Flagler County’s three book-banners are getting their way the easier way: the books they’re challenging are now getting removed without committee review, even though such a process is set out in district policy. Twice in the last three weeks, Flagler Palm Coast High School abruptly cancelled scheduled challenge-review committee meetings at the last minute, “weeding” the books instead.
On Flagler’s Ban List: Elana K. Arnold’s What Girls Are Made Of, a Review and a Recommendation
“What Girls Are Made Of,” Elana K. Arnold’s deconstruction of a 16-year-old girl’s being and nothingness, is one of 22 titles three Flagler County residents want banned from high school libraries. A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee takes up the challenge on Thursday.
Hang 8 Dog Surfing Contest Returns to Flagler Beach in All Its Ridiculous and Timely Exuberance
This time the Hang 8 Surfing Contest’s organizers are better prepared than they were last year, when they expected 50 people, maybe 100 at most, and got overrun with about 500. Hang 8 since its first edition last year has caught waves of attention, and gives Flagler Beach a break from seriousness, polarization and mountains of challenges.
Bill Banning Books During Challenges and Banning Preferred Pronouns Ready for DeSantis Signature
The bill restricts the way teachers and students can use their preferred pronouns in schools, expands last year’s “don’t say gay” prohibitions to eighth grade, and makes banning books and instructional materials easier, with simpler forms and a requirement that challenged materials to be removed from schools within five days of the objection, until the challenge is resolved.
Palm Coast Songwriters Festival Set for May 4-7
Local organizers of the Palm Coast Songwriters Festival are pleased to announce the celebration of their 5-year anniversary with nearly 40 HIT Songwriters with over 125 #1 HITS and hundreds of additional charted songs to their credit performing May 4-7, 2023. Single-day tickets are $50.
Top of the World: FPC’s Per Berg Takes IB Students to Uruguay and Argentina in Pre-Exam Immersion
The IB is highly prized by college admission panels. It is also the most rigorous, demanding program of study in high school. Going on what looks like a vacation right before the exam might seem counterintuitive. But it is right in line with the IB’s philosophy–and it prepares the students for their exams better than sitting behind a desk, as Spanish teacher and coach Per Berg’s experience through a dozen trips with FPC students has shown.
Sacrifice for the American Dream: Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre Stages Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons’
“All My Sons,” opening for a two-weekend run at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre Friday, embodies Miller’s critique of the “American dream,” that credo which asserts that every U.S. citizen, regardless of their station or societal factors, can bootstrap him/herself to success and prosperity through initiative, hard work and determination.
180 Palm Coast-Area Muslims and Mayor Alfin Celebrate End of Ramadan on 2nd Anniversary of Bunnell Islamic Center
Palm Coast and Flagler County’s fast-growing Muslim community marked Eid-el-Fitr, the celebratory end of Ramadan, with Mayor David Alfin today at the Palm Coast Community Center and the anniversary of the emergence of an Islamic Center from a founding meeting at Holland Park.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: Elana K. Arnold’s Damsel, a Review and a Recommendation
Elana K. Arnold’s “Damsel” is among the 22 books that a trio of individuals have sought to ban from high school library shelves in Flagler County. Here’s an unexpected recommendation by FlaglerLive’s reviewers to ban the book.
Before Fox News, There Was Barnum’s ‘Sucker Born Every Minute’: Flagler Playhouse Stages Timely Musical
The Flagler Playhouse’s production of the musical “Barnum” is a kind retelling of the circus huckster who turned profiting from deception into a cynical art, coincidentally, much like an entertainment network posing as news that found itself caught in its lies.
Crank, Novel of Addiction, Survives Ban at FPC and Matanzas for Now in Unanimous Vote
Two committees meeting jointly to review a challenge to Ellen Hopkins’s “Crank,” a novel tracing the spiral of a 17-year-old high school girl into drug addiction, voted unanimously Monday afternoon to keep the book on high school library shelves. But the superintendent’s recent decision to ban a book despite three unanimous votes to keep it left a chill in the committees’ decisions on Monday.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: Ellen Hopkins’s Crank, a Review and a Recommendation
Crank is the first book by Ellen Hopkins, a very popular young adult novelist, and the first in an autobiographical trilogy centered on her daughter’s crystal meth addiction. It is among the 22 books a trio of Flagler County residents want banned. A joint committee of Matanzas and FPC faculty take on the challenge this afternoon.
Flagler Youth Orchestra’s Final Concert of Season at Auditorium on April 26
The Flagler Youth Orchestra performs its third concert of the 2022-23 season on Wednesday, April 26th, at 7 p.m. at the Flagler Auditorium in Palm Coast. Conductor Joe Corporon and fellow associate conductors of the FYO will lead five orchestras with more than 300 string musicians — a cross-section of public, private and homeschooled students.
I Served on Flagler’s School District Book Review Committee, Only to Be Silenced
One of 14 members appointed by the Flagler school administration to a district-level committee to review the challenge to Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls” describes the experience of being part of a 14-0 decision to retain the book, only to be overruled by the superintendent, who banned the book.
In a First at Flagler School Board, a Parent Pushing Book Bans Justifies Hitler’s Book-Burning
A parent falsely claimed Hitler’s book burnings only targeted sexually deviant books, as if to suggest the same should be done in Flagler. She was not corrected, though school board members on occasion have devoted parts of their comments to correct the record, especially when the board’s chamber is abused to peddle egregious, insulting or outright false statements.
School Committee Votes 6-0 to Keep Looking For Alaska as Superintendent Bans Nowhere Girls
John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” skated this afternoon to a Matanzas High School review committee’s 6-0 vote for retention, rebuffing a challenge to the book. It was the second book decision in a day in the Flagler district, the third in a week, counting Tuesday’s vote by the school board to retain Patricia McCormick’s “Sold.”
Skirting Ban, FPC Committee Votes to ‘Weed’ Tilt, With Same Result: the Book Is Removed
A seven-member committee reviewing a challenge of Ellen Hopkins’s “Tilt” unanimously voted this morning to remove the book from circulation at the Flagler Palm Coast High School library, but not on challenged grounds. The committee found the book did not meet criteria to be banned, but met criteria to be “weeded,” as outdated.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: John Green’s Looking For Alaska, a Review and a Recommendation
John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” a novel of adolescence, friendship, loyalty and misjudgments, is among the 22 books so far this school year that a trio of individuals have sought to ban from high school library shelves. A committee meets on March 30 at 3 p.m. at Matanzas High School to decide whether to retain it or ban it.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: Ellen Hopkins’s Tilt, a Review and a Recommendation
In “Tilt,” Ellen Hopkins gives us the powerful coming of age story of three very engaging, very different American teenagers. The novel is on the list of books three Flagler County residents are seeking to ban. A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee discusses the challenge on Thursday.
How a Palm Coast Organization Is Keeping Jazz Alive in Northeast Florida
Established in Palm Coast in 1986 by Eugene (Jeep) and Muriel McCoy, the North East Florida Jazz Association (NEFJA) has been celebrating and promoting Jazz for more than 35 years. It’s marking Jazz Appreciation Month with an April 1 concert featuring trumpetist Longineu Parsons II.
Staffing Pressures Reduce Flagler Public Library Hours from 57 to 52 a Week
The Flagler County Public Library on Palm Coast Parkway will be open for five fewer hours starting April 3, as weekly total hours will fall from 57 to 52, with a more simplified schedule.
Scapino Walks This Way Into City Repertory Theatre’s Farce, Ameliorating Molière
In “Scapino!,” the servant Scapino schemes to manipulate his authoritarian master Geronte and a rival patriarch away from disrupting the romances of their offspring. It’s a “a free-for-all farce,” in the words of City Repertory Theatre Director John Sbordone.
Ky Ekinci, Champion of Small Businesses and Office Divvy Co-Owner, Dies at 53
Kayhan Ekinci, the co-owner of Office Divvy and former co-owner of the Humidor, who was known to most as Ky, died on Sunday afternoon after he collapsed while jogging near Water Tower Road in the Cypress Edge area of Palm Coast. He was 53.
Would-Be Book-Banner Appeals Nowhere Girls Decision Even Before 14-0 Vote to Keep It
A 14-member district committee voted unanimously this evening to recommend keeping Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls,” a book deconstructing high school rape culture, on the shelves at Flagler Palm Coast High School and Matanzas High School. The woman challenging the book filed an appeal to the school board even before the superintendent has weighed on.
Citing ‘Reason Above Prejudice,’ Superintendent Upholds Recommendation to Keep Sold on School Shelves
Citing “principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice,” Flagler School Superintendent Cathy Mittlestadt upheld the recommendation of a district appeals committee to keep Patricia McCormick’s “Sold,” on human trafficking, on library shelves at high and middle schools.
Michael Rickman Performs Beethoven’s 2nd Piano Concerto in Daytona Solisti’s Final Concert
The Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra’s annual Beethovenfest concert on March 26 will celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven with the first full-length orchestral piece the composer ever wrote: Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring pianist Dr. Michael Rickman, an internationally acclaimed pianist.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: Amy Reed’s The Nowhere Girls, a Review and Recommendation
Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls,” a 2017 novel on high school rape culture and three girls’ attempt to counter it, is a #MeToo manifesto for young adults. It’s up for banning from Flagler schools. This review is a guide.
Yet Another Book Survives Ban as 2 Flagler High School Panels Vote to Keep Novel of McCarthy Era
A joint high school committee’s decision today to retain Malida Lo’s “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” was the sixth book in a row in about as many weeks that survived a challenge either on MHS or joint MHS-FPC school-level committees, or at the district-level appeals committee.
Drag Show Curbs Likely Violate First Amendment
Republican lawmakers in numerous states, including Florida, seek to restrict or eliminate events like drag shows and drag story hours. These efforts have been accompanied by inflammatory rhetoric not grounded in fact about the need to protect children from “grooming” and sexually explicit performances.