Gov. Ron DeSantis wants the Legislature to give him $8 million to ship asylum seekers transported by the Biden administration into Florida off to other states in an expanding initiative against what the governor inaccurately calls President Joe Biden’s “open borders policy.” Republicans’ overall complaint vastly distorts Biden’s policy, according to an analysis published by the libertarian Cato Institute.
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Before ‘Retiring,’ Bunnell Police Chief Foster Was Severely Disciplined Over Grave Breakdown of Authority, Respect and Morale
Tom Foster, who said he retired last week, had violated city policies and general orders, according a nine-page disciplinary document signed the same day he retired, including violations of rules of conduct, supervisory rules, disrespect, the spreading of false rumors and criticism of public officials, while the police department had become a fiefdom of fear under Foster and Sgt. Matt Mortimer.
Flagler Beach Commission Signs Off on Revolving Loan of Up to $17.6 Million to Rebuild Sewer Plant
The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday unanimously approved authorization for a loan of up to $17.6 million to rebuild and expand the city’s sewer plant, a more-than $2 million difference from when the commission was first presented figures in June, when it voted to borrow up to $15 million. In 2019, the cost of the project had been pegged at $11 million.
DeSantis Pitches Election-Year Budget Just Shy of $100 Billion, With Big Subsidies from Federal Aid
Saying that Florida is “clicking on all cylinders,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday proposed an election-year $99.7 billion budget that would funnel money to education, the environment and law-enforcement officers while giving motorists a temporary gas-tax break thanks to federal subsidies.
Embry-Riddle Student John Hagins, 19, Arrested on Allegations of Plan to Shoot Up University
An Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student was arrested early Thursday for allegedly plotting a shooting on the campus, the Daytona Beach Police Department said. Police arrested 19-year-old John Hagins after receiving “a concerning tip” from other students.
With $40,000 Award, FPC’s Dylan Long, 18, Is Flagler County’s First Leader For Life Fellow
Dylan Long, a future computer scientist in the International Baccalaureate program, is the Flagler County school district’s first-ever winner of the $40,000 Leader for Life grant award from the Delray Beach-based Asofsky Foundation. The award is administered through the state’s and the county’s Take Stock in Children program by way of the Flagler Education Foundation.
How a Flagler Beach Detective Cracked the Case of a Couple’s Spree of Armed Robberies Across East Coast
Pairing evidence from a burglary on South Central Avenue in Flagler Beach with the recovery of a stolen truck in the city, Flagler Beach detective Rosanna Vinci’s investigation led to the arrests of Jesann L. Willis, 35, and Rickley Joshua Senning, 32, in Washington., D.C., last week. They were wanted for armed burglaries in several states.
SAT Re-Takes Offered at No Cost Following School Board’s Janet McDonald’s Interference At Matanzas High School
The College Board, the organization that offers college-entrance exams such as the SAT and Advanced Placement tests, is offering SAT retakes at no costs to students who took the test at Matanzas High School on Dec. 4. The re-take offer, which is voluntary, is a direct consequence of Flagler County School Board member Janet McDonald interfering with the process last Saturday, when she went to the school and urged students not to wear protective face masks, in direct violation of College Board rules.
Voters Approved Nonpartisan School Boards 23 Years Ago. GOP Lawmakers Want That to Change.
Florida’s local school boards, which oversee public school districts in 67 counties, are currently nonpartisan. That goes back more than 20 years, following a ballot initiative in November 1998. At that time, voters approved allowing school board members to be nonpartisan. GOP lawmakers are pushing to overhaul those boards by requiring elections to be partisan.
Covid Cases Creeping Back Up, Hospitalizations and 1st Death in Weeks Has Flagler Health Officials on Guard
Concerning indicators in Flagler County point to covid case counts creeping back up slowly but steadily, a tripling of covid hospitalizations in the last week, to 10, and the first covid-related death in weeks, to a 76-year-old man, bringing the total number of covid deaths in Flagler to a staggering 277 since the first death was reported in April 2020.