Some of Trump’s actions could have an immediate effect on the enrollment for 2018 ACA coverage that starts Nov. 1. Here are five things you should know.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
From Mosquito Control to National Guard, Hurricane Costs Taking a Toll on Budgets
Hurricane recovery efforts have already cost the state budget more than $141 million and are likely to increase, with $25 million for the Florida National Guard; $36 million for debris removal and $6 million for mosquito control.
Thursday Briefing: Irma’s Mountain of Loss, Science Matters, A Community Garden in Flagler Beach, Flagpoles
The Flagler Beach City Commission is expected to approve its medical marijuana dispensaries ordinance and a request for a community garden in the city, Ann Coulter speaks at a Lincoln Day dinner.
Stop Playing The National Anthem At Sports Events
The anthem is being used to make statements that reflect anger and divisiveness instead of pride, but primarily so because it’s being performed where it shouldn’t be, argues Nancy Smith.
Florida Cuts Payments To HMOs Caring For Poor, Elderly and Disabled By 3.7 Percent
The hospital cuts accounted for 94 percent of the reduction in rates, which the state says is attributable to lower pharmaceutical costs. Long-term care is seeing an increase.
Florida Lawmakers Hear Grim Picture of Worsening Opioid Crisis and Lack of Treatment
In the first six months of 2016, deaths caused by fentanyl increased by nearly 140 percent, deaths from heroin overdoses jumped by 25 percent, compared to the same period in 2015.
In Boost To Flagler, Committee Approves Bills Including $50 Million a Year For Beach Repair
If the bills survive the coming legislative hurdles, there may be new money for Flagler County to tap into to repair its severely eroded beaches.
Pride In “Our Country”? Count Me Out.
There’s no contending with a president who speaks of his pride in this country in serial tweets even as his every other pronouncement is a cleave, a slur, a boast, a lie or a disgrace.
Florida Opens Its Schools to Puerto Rican Students; Irma Death Toll in State at 69
Florida is waiving rules and regulations to let public schools and higher-education institutions admit students from Puerto Rico on an emergency basis.
What You Should Know About Trump’s Rollback Of Contraception Coverage
The rules will make sweeping changes to the law’s requirement that most employers provide coverage of birth control with no out-of-pocket costs to women.
White Supremacist Scheduled for UF Speech On Oct. 19, Costing University $500,000
University President Kent Fuchs initially balked at a proposal for Spencer, a lightning-rod figure, to speak on campus in September. The threat of a federal lawsuit forced him to reverse course.
Irma Snaps Record 83 Straight Months of Job Gains as Employment Falls By 33,000
Nevertheless the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent, a rate not seen since February 2001–lower than the lowest rate reached before the Great Recession.
Yet Another Tropical Storm With Potential Florida Landfall Brews Up Concern
Eventual Tropical Storm Nate has the potential to become a hurricane and impact the Florida Panhandle this weekend, and families must be ready, the governor said.
Doubling Down on Scott, GOP Senator
Asks for $100 Million For Florida Forever
Florida Forever in the past received as much as $300 million a year but for nearly a decade has fallen out of favor among lawmakers and been almost ignored by Gov. Scott.
Exhaling Excuses, Florida Health Department Will Miss Deadline to Issue Medical Pot Licenses
An official is blaming the delay on Hurricane Irma and a pending challenge to a recently passed law that ordered the Department of Health to expand the number of medical marijuana licenses.
Weekend Briefing: Evita, Family Fun Festival, Ballerina’s Tale, Farm-To-Table Dinner, Disaster Recovery
Evita’s final weekend at the Flagler Playhouse, St. Thomas Episcopal’s annual Family Faith Fun Festival, the story of the first black principal ballerina at the American Ballet, Schiff’s French Suites.
Thursday Briefing: Recovery Center Opens in Flagler Beach, Sisco Deen in Bunnell, Soderberg in Daytona
A recovery-help center opens for Flagler Beach for three days, Sisco Deen signs his new book, Nancy Soderberg speaks in Daytona, school open houses and curriculum night.
Wednesday Briefing: Charter Workshop, Cmdr. Ferris Retires, Dads Take Your Child To School Day, FEC Rail
Commander Sam Ferris retired after 21 years at the Sheriff’s Office, Palm Coast holds first of four charter review workshops, a Florida East Coast Railway executive speaks to the economic development board.
Corporations Rejecting Racism Is a Low Bar When Many Still Profit Off It
White supremacy can also wear a business suit on Wall Street. Of the top five Wall Street firms, the highest level decision makers are 86 percent white. That’s no coincidence.
To Fight Opioids, Gov. Scott Will Include $50 Million In Next Year’s Budget For Drug Treatment
The proposal won;t be considered before January. The $50 million would include money for such programs as substance-abuse treatment, counseling and recovery services.
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast Fibernet, Lobbying and Mosquito Control, Devore Sentence, Freedom From Prayer
Carl Devore, 20, is sentenced for the murder of Victor James Betty in a 2016 home invasion in Palm Coast’s F Section, the Palm Coast council takes on a series of issues, a talk on freedom of thought.
Monday Briefing: Banned Book Week, Bunnell Budget, Stamp and Coin, a 14-Year-Old Violinist Phenom, Immigrant’s Necessity
Sophie’s Choice is shown twice at the public library to mark Banned Book Week, the Bunnell commission holds its budget workshop, setting next year’s tax rate, a 14-year-old stuns you with her violin skills.
How Florida’s Failing Charter Schools Exploit Voucher Program To Stay Alive on Public Dime
Charter schools that fail two years in a row should close by law. Instead, they reopen as private schools and use publicly funded vouchers to keep operating, with the state’s blessing.
Trying To Make Up For Mistakes, Florida Health Officials Seek To Speed Up Medical Pot Licensing
The Florida Health Department had until Oct. 3 to issue 10 medical pot licenses to producers, a deadline it will almost certainly miss even as it scrambles to ease the application process.
Weekend Briefing: Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Weimar Berlin at CRT, Evita at Playhouse, Paul Renner, Free Museum, J.S. Bach
Great plays at City Repertory Theatre and the Flagler Playhouse, free museum entry at Agriculture Museum Saturday, Paul Renner visits, Alzheimer’s Walk in Flagler Beach, Andras Schiff plays Bach.
That Last-Ditch Effort By Republicans To Replace ACA: What You Need To Know
While the chances for this last-ditch measure appear iffy, many GOP senators are rallying around a proposal that would repeal most of the ACA.
Irma Insurance Claims Nearing $2 Billion, Exceed Matthew and Hermine Combined
Calculated through Sunday afternoon, Irma’s losses easily exceeded the 119,000 claims and $1.2 billion in losses for Matthew and the 19,700 claims and $139 million in losses from Hermine.
Thursday Briefing: Evita at the Playhouse, Fernando Sor, Office Hours With Nelson Aide, Flagler Budget
Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Evita” is at the Flagler Playhouse, the County Commission holds its final budget hearing to set next year’s tax rates, Fernando Sor’s guitar.
Wednesday Briefing: New Student School Board Members, Palm Coast Budget, Senior Games
The Palm Coast City Council holds its second and final budget hearing, setting next year’s tax rates, meet the two new student school board members, undercover in the alt-right.
Irma’s Death Toll in Florida at 34 and Rising
Irma is credited with five deaths by drowning and four deaths involving carbon monoxide, including the carbon-monoxide deaths of a mother and two teenage children in Orange County.
Nursing Home Where Eight Died Wasn’t On FPL’s Priority List For Power Restoration
FPL placed nursing homes in a second tier of infrastructure — behind “critical” but ahead of residential homes. Local officials gave the Hollywood Hills home that designation using FPL guidance.
How Health Insurers Fuel Opioid Crisis By Denying Claims For Less Addictive But More Expensive Drugs
Insurers limiting access to drugs with a lower risk of addiction or dependence. Why? Opioid drugs are generally cheap while safer alternatives are often more expensive.
Monday Briefing: Welcome Back To Normal, Bunnell’s Fire Future, Alcohol Hours, Erin Vickers Trial
It’s a return to normal after a week of hell, the Bunnell City Commission votes on whether to hand over fire services to the county and extend alcohol sale hours, Erin Vickers goes on trial.
You Cannot Be Serious: Hurricane Maria Sniffs Around Irma’s Wake
Hurricane Maria is expected to become a major hurricane, with a global forecast seeing it veer away from Florida, but the more accurate European forecast seeing it come closer to the coast.
Uninsured Rate Falls To Record Low Of 8.8%, But Florida’s Rate Still 5th Highest in U.S.
Florida’s rate of uninsured would have been lower had Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature not prevented the federally-funded expansion of Medicaid.
Flagler Beach Museum Providing 100 Free Meals Thursday Evening
Beyond the meals, the museum will be a one-stop resource center for residents needing volunteer help or assistance with FEMA.
Post-Irma Daily Digest: Flagler Beach Crossovers and Pier Update, FEMA Registrations, Senior Games
Local governments’ drizzle of information releases related to post-Hurricane Irma recovery are distilled for their essentials and published in a running tally.
Florida Shellshock: Blanket Outages, Floodwaters, and This: Irma Could Cost “Billions Upon Billions”
Millions of people continued to lack electricity as cleanup work expected to reach into the billions of dollars began in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma.
Hurricane Irma Closures and Re-Openings in Palm Coast and Across Flagler
Hurricane Irma-related notices of closures, business reopenings and other related notices from government, hospitals, schools and colleges and businesses.
FPL Projects 4.1 Million Could Lose Power in Coming Days; Time Runs Out To Flee Irma
FPL has pre-positioned more than 13,500 recovery workers from its staff and other states at 20 staging areas, including a new bunker-like facility in Palm Coast.
Trump’s Decision To End Dreamers’ Amnesty Creates Dilemma For Florida GOP
Florida is home to at least 30,000 people who could be affected and is the base for exponentially more Hispanic voters who could be critical to next year’s elections.
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Second Bill of Rights: For Workers
At the end of his last State of the Union message to Congress in 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt outlined an ambition plan for a “Second Bill of Rights” to ensure “”economic security and independence.”
Unemployment Ticks Up to 4.4% as Job Creation Slows to 156,000 and Wages Lag
Where it matters most, in wages, workers are not seeing improvements even as the economy recorded its 83rd straight month of job growth. Corporate profits remain healthy.
Labor Day Weekend Briefing: Last Days Of Summer, Espanola Road Work, Judy Taylor’s Labor History, Antifa
A blessedly quiet, uneventful Labor Day weekend in Flagler, Judy Taylor’s great mural, a few words for woeking people, Dreamers on the edge, media’s antifa trap.
Supreme Court Backs Scott, 5-2, In Death Penalty Battle With State Attorney Ayala
Scott removed Ayala from handling capital cases earlier this year, shortly after she announced her office would not pursue the death penalty for defendants.
Development and Disasters: A Deadly Combination Well Beyond Houston
Scientists warn of more and expanding “bull’s-eyes” as Americans build in parts of the country at ever greater risk because of climate change and severe weather.
Thursday Briefing: Rymfire Open House, Overdose Awareness at Veterans Park, Rescue Training at Old Food Lion, Orhan Pamuk
An Overdose Awareness event at Flagler Beach’s Veterans Park includes a memorial service, firefighters are training in the old Food Lion shopping center, Orhan Pamuk talks about his latest novel.
The Brutality Behind Trump’s Arpaio Pardon
The president called Joe Arpaio, a man who chronically violated people’s constitutional rights, a “patriot.” What does that make his victims?
Michael Thomas, 2nd in Command at FHP, Resigns Over Ticket-Quota Inquiry
It is the latest fallout from an ongoing investigation into whether troopers were told to meet a traffic-ticket quota, Lt. Col. Michael Thomas was a 30-year veteran and deputy director for the FHP.
Wednesday Briefing: Heat Index to 105, Senior Focus Group, Friends of A1A, FWC in Houston, Millicent Fenwick
ElderSource facilitates a senior focus group to figure out what senior needs there are in Palm Coast and Flagler, Florida’s Fish and Wildlife officers are providing big rescue help in Houston.