Four bills have been filed for the 2020 session, two by Republicans and two by Democrats that seek to allow college athletes to be compensated through endorsement deals that use their names, images and likenesses.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Flagler Beach Commission Set to Impose Steep Increase in Water and Sewer Rates for 5th Year in a Row
The city is proposing a 12.5 percent increase for water and sewer rates and a 12.8 percent increase in the stormwater fee. That’s after water and sewer rates went up 25 percent this year, 34 percent the previous year, 20 percent in 2017 and 13 percent in 2016.
Florida Senate Removes Broward Sheriff Scott Israel from Office
Special Master Dudley Goodlette, a former Republican state representative from Naples, recommended last month that Israel be reinstated, finding that DeSantis’ lawyers failed to present evidence to support the suspension.
China Plays the NBA
The obvious prioritization of commercial ties with a government that’s attacking demonstrators in Hong Kong and putting millions of ethnic Uyghurs in concentration camps is a damning statement about what the league — and the economic system it operates in — truly values.
Senate Panel’s Republican Majority Backs Ouster of Democratic Sheriff Scott Israel
Ignoring the conclusions of a Senate special master, a key committee voted along party lines Monday night to uphold Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ouster of Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.
Where Is Line Worker Barbie?
Mattel rolled out an extensive line of “Career Dolls,” including Barbie pilots, firefighters, and robotic engineers, to inspire its young patrons. But there’s one career you won’t find in this line: the typical working woman on the Mattel payroll.
Monday Briefing: Scott Israel Special Session, Victor Williams Trial, Cutting Bus Drivers, Mosquito Board
The Florida Senate convenes a special session to decide the fate of Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, the Victor Williams trial begins, the county commission approves a series of social services grants.
Judge Says Florida May Not Deny Felons Right to Vote if “Genuinely Unable” to Pay Obligations
The federal court ruling was only a partial victory for voting-rights and civil-rights groups that challenged the constitutionality of a new state law designed to carry out a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to felons who have served their sentence.
Stetson University’s Monumental Man John B. Stetson Honored with Campus Sculpture
Installed in Palm Court in August, the larger-than-life statue and bench weighs approximately 1,600 pounds and features a relaxed Stetson sitting on the bench while tipping one of his famous hats and beckoning folks to grab a seat or strike a selfie pose.
Tobacco Use by Flagler and Florida Youth at All-Time Low, But Vaping Spikes to All-Time High
In Flagler, 15.1 percent of students in middle and high school reported using a vaping product in the past 30 days, up from 13.8 percent in 2016 and 7.8 percent in 2014.
Think ‘Medicare For All’ Is The Only Democratic Health Plan? Think Again
If you tuned in for the first five nights of the Democratic presidential debates, you might think “Medicare for All” and providing universal care are the only health care ideas Democrats have. They’re not.
DeSantis Says Soviet-Born Businessman Arrested on Campaign-Finance Charges Was “Just Like Any Other Donor”
DeSantis was among Florida Republican candidates who received contributions during the 2018 election cycle from Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were arrested on campaign-finance charges involving the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.
Case of Student Arrested and Released After Allegedly Planning School Shooting Worries Safety Commission
In early September, law enforcement officers arrested a 15-year-old student who they say scribbled in a notebook six pages of specific and well-researched strategies to carry out a mass shooting at Baker County High School.
Tuesday Briefing: Superintendent Search, No Bullies, Safety Commission, Food Truck Tuesday
The Flagler County School Board discusses its next superintendent, rezoning and a community survey, it’s Food Truck Tuesday in Central Park, the school safety commission meets, Jefferson on differences of opinion.
What Life On the Margin Feels Like
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, is in an uproar over a video to promote the school’s homecoming that features no students of color. Here’s how young people of color feel at being treated like “others.”
New Building Improvement Regulations Eyed to Withstand Hurricanes
The Florida Building Commission gave tentative approval to more-stringent wind resistance requirements for vinyl siding and additional mitigation requirements for rooftop decks, among other recommendations to lawmakers.
Trump’s Trillion-Dollar Hit to Homeowners, and $680 Billion Gift to Corporations
By reducing deductions for real estate taxes, Trump’s 2017 tax plan has harmed millions — and helped give corporations a $680 billion gift. An analysis shows how.
Gender Traitors: Fired While Gay
The Supreme Court will decide three cases that ask a question you should be offended to hear still asked today: may an employer fire a worker for being gay? The answer in most states, including Florida, is yes.
Florida Will Use $116 Million in Pollution-Settlement Money from VW to Buy Alternative-Fuel Buses
New public-transit and school buses that run on electricity and alternative fuels would get much of Florida’s share of a federal payout from a Volkswagen emissions scandal.
Dry September Creating Drought Conditions in North Florida
Typically one of Florida’s wettest months of the year, this September was drier on average, according to data collected by the St. Johns River Water Management District, and drought conditions are developing in north Florida, with Baker County experiencing severe drought.
Thursday Briefing: Literature Nobel, Turtle Quilty, Waltz at Tiger Bay, Diabetes, “Lion in Winter”
Two Nobels for literature are announced this morning (for 2018 and 2019), Mike Waltz at Daytona’s Tiger Bay, Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s sixth addition to its turtle trail, a free diabetes management class.
Calling It an “Administrative Nightmare,” Federal Judge Urges Lawmakers to Revamp Felon Voting Law
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle made the comments as he finished a two-day hearing in a challenge to the law, which was passed along partisan lines by the Republican-dominated Legislature this spring and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Bear Management Strategies in Florida Forests Include Shooting and Trapping
The 209-page draft from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission offers ways to keep the state’s bear population of about 4,000 above the 3,000 mark.
Talk of Reparations for Slavery and Jim Crow Moves to State Capitols, Including Florida
Four centuries after the first African slaves landed on Virginia shores, state lawmakers across the country are taking up the debate over how to atone for what’s been called “America’s Original Sin.”
Bernie’s Heart. And Ours.
Bernie has a huge and eternally healthy heart, filled with the lifeblood of empathy and dedication. In essence, that’s what the 2020 Sanders campaign is all about. Not him. Us.
DeSantis Seeks to Raise Minimum Salary for Florida Teachers to $47,500, or $7,000 Higher Than in Flagler
The Florida Education Association statewide teachers union issued a news release saying it was “encouraged to hear Gov. Ron DeSantis make clear that teacher pay matters to his administration.” But it also raised questions about how the plan would be funded and what it would do to help retain longstanding teachers.
Monday Briefing: Snelgrove in Court, AdventHealth Adding 7th Operating Room, Dunes Rebuilding
The Flagler County Commission approves a formal agreement with Flagler Beach on dunes reconstruction, double-murderer David Snelgrove is in court for a status hearing, Advent Health adds an operation room.
U.S. House Approves Bill Allowing Banks to Help Marijuana Businesses, But Senate Uncertain
The bill would prevent marijuana businesses from operating on a cash basis. Cash-only businesses can attract thieves and make it harder for law enforcement to monitor financial transactions.
Economy Adds 136,000 Jobs, Streak at 108 Months of Growth, Unemployment Down to 3.5%
The national economy added 136,000 jobs in September, and figures for July and August were revised upward by 45,000 jobs, sending the unemployment rate to 3.5 percent, matching a level last seen in December 1969.
Wall Street Is Killing Newspapers
This is a crisis. This country lost more than a fifth of its local newspapers between 2004 and 2018, while newspapers lost almost half of their newsroom employees between 2008 and 2018.
Underground Power Lines Plan Moves Forward, But Residents and Businesses Will Pay More
The Florida Public Service Commission approved proposed rules to carry out the law, which is expected to lead to residents and businesses paying more in their electric bills for storm-protection projects.
Thursday Briefing: Shapiro on Church-State Separation, UNF in Palm Coast, Diabetes Management, Elias Canetti
Rabbi Merrill Shapiro discusses the Flagler school board’s consideration of starting its meetings with prayers, committees of the university system’s board of governors meet to discuss, among other things, UNF’s proposed plans for Palm Coast.
Federal Lawsuit Challenging Florida’s Felon-Voting Rules Appears Moot as Amendment 4 Battle Continues
Legal battles are intensifying over a state law carrying out a constitutional amendment that restored felons’ voting rights, but the new process appears to be ending an older lawsuit that challenged what one federal judge branded Florida’s “fatally flawed” clemency system.
Cities and Counties Step In With Vaping Bans, Where the State Doesn’t
In the absence of a statewide ban — and as the number of people getting sick or dying from vaping mounts — California cities and counties are stepping in, including major population centers such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Monday Briefing: Bova Trial’s Final Day, Rosh Hashanah, Cleaning Up the Beach, Moderation to the Winds
Three dozen AdventHealth volunteers clean up the beach, Joseph Bova’s trial is expected to conclude with a verdict, Rosh Hashanah closures here and there, Julliard students do Couperin.
New Laws Take Effect Tuesday Targeting Texting While Driving, Hazing, Sex Dolls and Vet Courts
The state’s ban on texting while driving will expand to prohibit motorists from using handheld wireless devices while driving in designated school crossings, school zones and work zones.
Let Medicare For All End Cruelty of Using Health Care Coverage as a Bargaining Chip
If we already had Medicare for All, the United Auto Workers could be using their collective power to fight for higher wages and better benefits. Instead, GM gets to use the health of its employees as a bargaining chip.
Questions Remain as Florida Reports First Vaping Death
Florida has reported its first vaping-related death, but Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking a wait-and-see approach about the possibility of banning vaping.
In a Blow to DeSantis, Special Master Recommends Reinstatement of Broward Sheriff Scott Israel
“Sheriff Israel and the BSO are not blameless for the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas,” the special master wrote, agreeing with a state commission “that mistakes were made and areas should be improved.”
Appeals Court Upholds Florida’s ‘Red Flag’ Law Allowing Gun Seizure From Mentally Ill
Florida’s red flag law passed after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and allows guns to be removed from people found to pose a threat to themselves or others.
President Trump: I’m One of the Workers You Lied To
Trump’s broken promises have become a broken record destroying our communities, even in Midwestern counties that gave him the vast majority of votes in 2016.
Plan to Expand Underground Power Lines Advances, But Customers Would See Higher Bills
Utilities already have underground power lines in some areas, including Palm Coast. A key part of the law changes how underground power-line projects are financed, a change that could lead to more projects — but also higher bills for utility customers.
Tuesday Briefing: Old Kings Road Widening, NAACP Meeting, FPC Drama Talent, Stetson Value Days
The Palm Coast council discusses an $8.2 million plan to widen a section of Old Kings Road, the Flagler Palm Coast High School drama club’s talent show is at the Auditorium, Flagler County’s NAACP meets.
Florida Officials Line Up Arguments Against Certain Felons’ Voting Rights in Court Case
In a bundle of competing briefs filed with the state Supreme Court, Florida officials squared off this week against supporters of a constitutional amendment that restores voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences.
Monday Briefing: Bova On Trial, Carney Town Hall, Mullins on Hammock Development, Bunnell Budget, Bombing
Joseph Bova’s long-anticipated murder trial begins, the Hammock wants to hear from Commissioner Joe Mullins on development, Flagler Beach’s Kim Carney talks tax rates, the Bunnell commission meets, as does the Stamp and Coin Club.
Millions of Americans’ Medical Images and Data Are Available on the Internet. Anyone Can Take a Peek.
Medical images and health data belonging to millions of Americans, including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, are sitting unprotected on the internet and available to anyone with basic computer expertise. The records cover more than 5 million patients in the U.S. and millions more around the world.
Weekend Briefing: Global Climate Strike, Neil Simon’s ‘Laughter’ at CRT, Rockin’ Our Rights, Meshuggah Nuns
The Global Climate Strike is Friday, with half a dozen locations in Central Florida, City Repertory Theatre opens its new season with Neil Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor,” Great Guitarists at Stetson.
Global Climate Strike on Friday: Kids Are Demanding Action, But Will Adults Act?
Led by 16-year-old Swedish student and climate activist Greta Thunberg, the Global Climate Strike, calls on world leaders to take decisive climate change action ahead of the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York on September 23.
11 Florida School Districts Back Arming Teachers, But Education Department Remains Secretive
Senators asked, but a Florida Department of Education official did not provide information about the exact number of teachers who have chosen to be trained and armed in schools.
The Rich Should Be Taxed Differently Than You and Me
A 10 percent surtax on incomes over $2 million should be levied on wages and salaries and investment income gained from wealth, including capital gains and dividends.