The Dalai Lama’s nephew’s body was flying back to his home in Indiana as a group of friends and supporters gathered at the accident site in the Hammock before resuming his Walk for Tibet-Florida, ending in West Palm Beach later this month.
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Cops Recoil Over Florida Pension Reforms; Deferred Retirement (DROP) Slated to End
Senate plans introduced Wednesday would replace traditional state pension plans with 401(k)-style systems, and would end the deferred retirement option plan known as DROP.
Dalai Lama’s Nephew’s Last Day: Jigme Norbu Remembered, and His Mission Honored
Jigme Norbu’s Florida walk for Tibet will continue, starting with a prayer ceremony on A1A in the Hammock Thursday morning in honor of Norbu, the Dalai Lama’s nephew killed there Monday evening.
Despite Potential for 14,000 Jobs, Scott Rejects $2.4 Billion in High-Speed Rail Money
SunRail in Volusia and the passenger rail line between Jacksonville and Miami are also in jeopardy as Gov. Rick Scott announces focus on roads and seaports.
$75-an-Hour Fee Wrecks on Council Shoals As Beach Clean-Up Plan Is Rejected Again
In a 4-3 vote, the Flagler County Tourist Development Council turned back a $15,000 request for beach clean-ups by the Friends of A1A Scenic and Historical Byway group. The group’s third try in four months is its last.
Medicaid Changes For 2.9 Million Floridians: Fewer Choices, More HMOs
A Florida Senate proposal would vastly increase the role of managed care in Florida’s $20 billion Medicaid program, and pull out of the federal system if the federal government doesn’t approve it.
Behind the Story: Jigme Norbu’s Death–and Flagler’s Responsibility to His Last Steps
Flagler County is a small world, often too impressed by its own smallness. It would be compounding loss upon loss if Jigme Norbu’s death had a greater effect elsewhere than in what will always be the grounds of his very last steps.
Dalai Lama’s Nephew Killed by a Car While Walking for Tibet on A1A in the Hammock
Jigme Norbu, nephew to the Dalai Lama, had walked or biked 7,800 miles for Tibet on several continents, and had just started his 20th walk, and first in Florida, when he was struck and killed near Palm Coast.
Chamber Survey: 21% of Floridians Would Leave; Business, Government Equally Blamed
The annual Sunshine State Survey finds 65 percent of Floridians saying the state is worse or the same as five years ago, and 69 percent saying business leaders do the right thing only some of the time or never, about as much as government leaders. The full results.
State Attorney Larizza on Bunnell’s Ghetto Spy-Cams: Should Be a Cost-Benefit Thing
State Attorney R.J. Larizza echoed comments by Public Defender Jim Purdy and Bunnell Commissioner Elbert Tucker on the economics of spy cameras, though a majority of the commission appears sold on the idea.
Memories of River City: “The Music Man” Then and Now
Caren Umbarger, artistic director of the Flagler Youth Orchestra, grew up in Mason City, the real setting for “The Music Man”‘s River City, and both her grandfather knew Meredith Willson, the musical’s author, personally. She recalls her youth–and previews the show.
More Charter Schools, Less District Oversight: Where Rick Scott and Jeb Bush Merge
Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Jeb Bush’s education foundation are teaming up for a concerted push to open more charter schools while reducing or eliminating local school district approval and oversight, among other plans under the school “choice” umbrella.
Gumbo Humanitarian: Sauce Boss
Crusade for the Poor Blues Up Flagler
Sauce Boss Bill Wharton: a blues-singing, gumbo-cooking humanitarian for the needy feeds the homeless Friday and performs at the Florida Agricultural Museum Saturday in a fundraiser for the museum and the needy. A profile.
Fearful of Obstructing Pier Restaurant Deal, Flagler Beach Kills Lifeguard Tower
After eight years of trying, winning an $80,000 federal grant, and spending $51,600 on construction, commissioners reversed course on a lifeguard tower to satisfy the Pier Restaurant’s potential new owner, who worried about blocked view.
Two Down. Twenty To Go.
It’s a great day for Egypt, a great day for the Middle East. It’s only a beginning. American-backed dictatorships are still the rule in the region. It’s time for a wholesale reckoning.
FPC’s Delegates Win 2nd Place and Score Hat Trick at Tallahassee Model UN
FPC’s Model United Nations team took on the world and brought home a batch of awards at a conference hosted at the State Capitol Feb. 11. Kyle Russell live-blogged the entire day.
Premature Celebrations: Scott Silent on Park Closures. Legislature May Still Ax Some.
State parks such as Washington Oaks Gardens appear to have been spared closure in Gov. Rick Scott’s budget, but they’re far from safe as the Legislature begins to look for ways to close a $4 billion deficit.
In Your Face: Palms and Heads Color Hollingsworth Gallery Opening
Opening Feb. 11, the portraits of New Smyrna Beach artist Patricia Zalisko and the landscapes of Ormond Beach artist Karlene McConnell, and both their adventures with color and space, are the subject of their show at Hollingsworth gallery through March 1.
SB6 Redux: Teacher Merit Pay Bill Advances, But With None of Last Year’s Opposition
The replay of last year’s battle over Senate Bill 6 has been more subdued, the means by which teachers would be evaluated more vague, giving local school districts more say.
Facing $3.5 Million Deficit, Flagler Schools Eye Shorter Calendar, Bus Routes, Reserves
School Superintendent Janet Valentine says many options are on the table as Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed budget cuts force additional reductions on top of the $7.5 million the district has cut since 2007.
Who’s Afraid of the Muslim Brotherhood?
The biggest bogeyman in Egypt is the Muslim Brotherhood, whose influence extends across the Arab and Islamic world, and whose name sheds fear and misconception in the United States. Analyst Mohammed Khan dispels myths.
You Can’t Stop the Beat: Flagler Playhouse’s “Hairspray” Sells Out Extended Run
Director John Sbordone calls “Hairspray” the Flagler Playhouse’s most popular show in the theater’s history, but he won’t extend the run yet again: actors are preparing for the next show. Actors talk about their time on stage.
So Much for Pill-Mill Policing: Citing Privacy, Florida Verges Away From Abusers’ Database
The matter is of immediate relevance in Flagler County, where local governments passed ordinances imposing moratoriums on new pain clinics while awaiting stronger state regulations. The state’s direction would effectively invalidate the moratoriums’ justification.
Unemployment Lines: Throngs Turn Up for 220 Jobs at Red Lobster and Olive Garden
More than 1,000 applicants–about a fifth of the county’s total unemployed–were expected on Wednesday alone, the first day of hiring at the two new restaurants, in an sign of enduring economic hardship.
Landon and Council Say Palm Coast City Hall Is Not a Done Deal. Plans Say Otherwise.
City Manager Jim Landon says he’s “not convinced the community is ready for it,” but he’s sticking by a timeline that would have city hall construction beginning in summer and occupancy in late 2012.
Small-Town Big Brother: Bunnell Eying Slew of Spy Cameras In City’s South Side
The eight cameras would allegedly deter crime in the drug-prone south side, though the city has no evidence they’d be effective. The commission is debating costs, but is sold on the idea as one way to buttress the short-staffed police department.
Scott Cutting $3 Billion Out of Education as Per-Pupil Spending Would Drop $300
Some 25,000 teachers’ jobs were saved by the federal stimulus in the past two years. Those jobs are now in jeopardy. Public colleges and universities are also hit hard.
From Flagler’s Washington Oaks, Fla. Audubon Launches Campaign to Save 53 State Parks
Some 65 people gathered at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park Monday to kick-off the campaign to save endangered parks, including two in Flagler County, as Gov. Rick Scott was pledging to cut $5 billion from the budget.
Skipping Specifics, Scott Calls for $5 billion in Spending Cuts, $4 Billion in Tax Cuts
Gov. Rick Scott today unveiled to a tea party crowd a budget that would cut an unprecedented $5 billion and provide for $4 billion in tax cuts, $1.4 billion of which in property taxes. Scott’s details are few.
Tornado Warning for Flagler Is Over; Pea-Size Hail in Flagler Beach
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for southeastern Putnam County and northeastern Flagler County Monday afternoon, in effect until 3 p.m.
Feed Flagler III: Sauce Boss, Linda Cole, Gumbo and Blues at Ag Museum Saturday
Sauce Boss Bill Wharton has been playing and cooking for fellowship and the poor since 1990. He’ll be playing and feeding masses for Feed Flagler Saturday Feb. 12 at the Florida Agriculture Museum’s Hot N’ Spicy Food and Music Festival.
God’s Plagues, Man’s Fates, Roth’s Nemeses
With Nemesis, Philip Roth puts an end to to a quartet of novels about death, dying and disease. Roth’s books are as much elegy as honest preparation. There’s no faulting him for not deluding us.
Florida’s Broke, But It’s Refusing a $1 Million Health Insurance Oversight Grant Anyway
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty forfeit a $1 million federal grant that was supposed to go toward beefing up oversight of health-insurance rates.
My Journey Out Of Egypt: An FPC Graduate and Cairo Transplant Describes Her Exit
Catherine M., who asked that her last name not be used for security reasons, is the daughter of two prominent Flagler residents–a former sheriff and a commercial real estate broker. She wrote from Dubai.
Decaffeinate This: Imagine’s Ivana Moore Repeats as District Spelling Bee Champion
Eighteen champion spellers from eight Flagler County Schools battled over 48 words at the annual spelling been competition, with Ivana Moore, Sandra Defalco and Olivia Taylor taking first, second and third place.
Reality Check: Censoring Al-Jazeera
It’s no surprise when the thuggish Hosni Mubarak censors al-Jazeera. But American satellite and cable providers have been censoring al-Jazeera English since it went live in 2006, to the detriment of broader perspectives.
Unemployment Drops Again, to 9%, But Job Creation Far Short of Expectations
The U.S. economy added just 36,000 jobs in January as governments continued to shrink, though the 9% rate is the lowest since April 2009. Bad weather contributed to the poorer job creation.
Flagler Beach and Willing Investor Still Not Moored to New Pier Restaurant Lease
Raymond Barshay and Flagler Beach Commissioners are at odds over the fate of the bait and tackle shop, which has been attached to the Pier Restaurant. They’re at odds over several other issues. But they’re still talking.
Done Deal: City Picks Architecture Firm, Advertises Construction For New City Hall
City council members, including Mayor Netts, insist that until they have a signed contract, nothing is a go. Netts is still waiting for hard data from City Manager Jim Landon justifying the new building.
Flanked by Tea Party, Rick Scott Will Unveil State Budget in Central Florida Monday
As tea party activists gather from Central Florida to Eustis, Gov. Rick Scott’s budget unveiling Monday will have the feel of political rally as he attempts to close a nearly $4 billion hole while still proposing tax cuts.
Bill Delbrugge Live From Egypt:
“This Is Just a Different Type of Hurricane”
In a 40-minute interview from the outskirts of Cairo today, the former school superintendent explained why he’s staying in Egypt, what Egyptians are after and deserve, and what conditions are like.
More Power to Principals, Less Transparency as Board Kills Policy Inspired by Mockingbird
The rejected policy had called for supporting plays “that challenge, nurture and extend student skills” while respecting community sensibilities. Instead, the board retreated to more general “tweaks” of two existing policies.
Washington Oaks Gardens and Bulow Ruins Among 53 State Parks That Would Close
Similar proposals have been made before, but the state must close a $3.6 billion budget gap, and Gov. Rick Scott is not as friendly to the environment as Charlie Crist was.
Unconstitutional Mandate: Florida Judge Calls for Repeal of Entire Health Care Law
Though Florida Federal District Judge Roger Vinson termed his ruling “reluctant,” he also ruled that the private insurance mandate is so intricately tied to the the law that the entire law must be repealed.
Challenging Jon Netts, Charlie Ericksen Runs for Palm Coast Mayor on a Pro-Business Agenda
Charlie Ericksen is critical of a city council that rubber-stamps too many decisions without debating or explaining them, and a city that he says hasn’t given local business a fair shake. Netts has been on the council since 2001.
Economic Development Summit: Can Flagler’s 33 Elected Get It Up?
Many plans, little agreement, no concerted action: Monday evening’s economic development summit between Flagler County’s seven local governments is unlikely to yield substantive results beyond a meet-and-greet of powerpoints.
The Rise of Egyptian Aspirations, The Fall of the American Brand
It’s been exhilarating to watch Egyptians demand an end to the dictatorial regimes controlling their lives for decades. But it’s exhilaration mixed with dread, doubt, disappointment and embarrassment, particularly over American postures and prejudices.
Carla Traister: Myths and Realities of Bunnell’s Cold-Weather Shelter, and Flagler’s Homeless
Carla Traister, director of Flagler County’s cold-weather shelter in Bunnell, dispels misconceptions and stereotypes that have cropped up about the shelter, located in Bunnell behind the Bank of America.
Incentive This: Corporate Tax-Breaking Our Way to Job Creation
Barack Obama’s second State of the Union Address fell flat, argues St. Augustine novelist Jack Cowardin, who makes an original proposal for job creation and a break in the corporate tax rate.
Flagler Beach Commission vs. Hurricane Patty’s: A Lot of Noise Over a Few Complaints
Hurricane Patty’s opened as a popular restaurant and bar on Flagler Beach’s side of the Intracoastal in December. A few noise complaints are causing the city to rethink its noise ordinance. Patrons are unhappy.