Major political donors on both sides plan to use support for “common-sense” legislation as a litmus test for candidates during the 2018 midterm elections.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Claiming “Nothing Will Be Done” On Guns Lets NRA Off the Hook, Overstating Its Strength
NRA influence has limits, and there’s evidence it’s on the wane, but fatalism spares opponents of gun reform from even having to make their arguments for protecting the gun lobby.
Monday Briefing: Heat Again, Constitution Revision Commission Hearing, Commission Triple-Header
This afternoon may be your only chance to address the Constitutional Revision Commission in person, in a 5-hour Jacksonville hearing, the Flagler County Commission has three meetings, more dune walkovers open up in Flagler Beach.
Thoughts and Prayers, As Pointless as Outrage
The ultimate, most pointless outrage is at lawmakers and gun freaks, one and the same, who stand in pools of blood as they tell us our gun epidemic has nothing to do with it.
Deal Could End Wrangling Over Trauma Centers Around Florida
The Legislature has wrangled with whether to continue with current regulations or to allow a more competitive environment that would increase the number of trauma facilities.
Weekend Briefing: Afro-American Heritage, Race the Runways, Dance Party, Nouvelle Trio, Sweetwater Birds
Flagler Beach Rotary’s runway run at the airport, the Annual Black Heritage Day Festival, birding at Sweetwater, Willie Nelson postpones to Feb 27, and a lot more.
Florida Was Eyeing Fast-Tracking Concealed Weapon Licenses Without Background Checks
A proposal that would allow some concealed-weapons license applications to be approved when background checks have not been completed was put on hold Thursday because of the deadly high-school shooting in Broward County.
Thursday Briefing: Farm Swap at Ag Museum, Stayin’ Alive at Auditorium, FHF Auxiliary, Galileo
It is Galileo’s birthday, disco fever at the Flagler Auditorium, a new weekly gig at the Florida Agriculture Museum, the African Diaspora, an evening of chamber music.
Florida Democrats Speak of Margaret Good’s Victory as a Sign of a Coming “Blue Wave”
Margaret Good’s victory on Tuesday, winning a Florida House seat in Sarasota County, represents the 36th time a Republican seat has flipped Democratic since the 2016 election.
No Love for Working Families This Valentine’s Day
A secretary gets an extra $1.50 a week from the GOP tax bill. The Koch brothers get an extra $27 million (minus a $500,000 thank-you note that went to Paul Ryan’s re-election committee).
Reducing Traffic Fines Part of Renner’s Tax Cut Push, But Local Revenue Would Fall
Renner, a Palm Coast Republican, chairs the committee introducing a bill that would cut some traffic fines by 18 percent and provide a $332 million tax cut, but local government revenue would fall by $38 million.
Bill To Keep Florida On Year-Round Daylight-Saving Time Advances Easily
A proposal to shift the Panhandle to Florida’s eastern time failed, but that of keeping the state on daylight saving keeps clearing committees with unanimity.
For All The Talk Of Obamacare Imploding, ACA Enrollment Is “Remarkably Stable”
ACA plan enrollment ticked downward this year but states running their own marketplaces saw slight gains and did better than those relying on the federal exchange.
Military Inferiority Complex:
Dear Leader Wants A Parade
The military doesn’t need parades. It needs to come home. Worshipping it in time of endlessly losing wars only locks and loads more cannon fodder.
Campus ‘Free Speech’ Bill Is A Litigation Nightmare in the Making
The inappropriately named “Campus Free Expression Act,” approved Tuesday by a 7-4 vote of the Florida Senate Education Committee, would offer students about as much freedom as a prison yard.
Opponents of Drilling Not Convinced Florida Is Off the Table. Nor Proponents.
Participants in competing press conferences after an open house on off-shore drilling agreed on one thing: the federal government’s claimed stance on a Florida exemption isn’t final.
Thursday Briefing: Flagler Beach Library Reopening, George Wood Sentencing, Dr. Carter Wing, Vacation Rentals
Palm Coast’s George Wood faces a stiff sentence following convictions for the 12th time on felonies, Sheriff Staly renames a jail wing in honor of Dr. Morris Carter, who’s been the jail’s doctor for four decades, G.K. Chesterton on public opinion.
Supreme Court Hears Latest Red Light Camera Case, But Justices Skeptical of Illegality
Several justices appeared skeptical as that the way a Florida city handles citations issued to motorists caught on camera is unlawful.
Pianist George Winston, a Stetson Alumni, Returns For a Benefit Concert Feb. 25
The intimate evening of music with George Winston supports Stetson’s School of Music Scholarship Fund. Stetson dropped out of studying sociology at Stetson in the 1960s, but got an honorary doctorate in 2004.
Wednesday Briefing: Meet School Board Candidates, Record Skywarn Class, Opioids and Hazing
The year’s first election forum features school board candidates at a Republican committee meeting, the Supreme Court hears a hazing case, legislators talk opioids.
Lawmakers Seek to Ban Campus “Free Speech Zones” and Make Universities Liable
Florida universities and colleges could be sued for up to $100,000 in damages if students or others “willfully” interfere with campus speakers or protestors.
What Trump Wants on Immigration Is Ethnic Cleansing
Trump’s offering a fig leaf of legal status for a relatively small slice of the undocumented population in return for a drastic cut of all immigration to the U.S.
Tuesday Briefing: Blood Moon Odyssey, Palm Coast Cell Tower, Hammock History, Knausgaard’s Autumn
The Palm Coast Council may approve the first lease for a new cell tower under new, looser wireless rules, Al Hadeed talks Hammock history at the Hammock Community Center, the story of a Blood Moon shot.
Lawmakers Level Withering Criticism Against State Agency Responsible For Medical Pot Rules
A legislative oversight committee delivered a public shaming to Florida pot czar Christian Bax on Monday, repeatedly chiding him others over poor rules and delays.
Monday Briefing: Repaving Colbert Lane and Bunnell, Strategic Planning, Operation Pedro Pan, CareerSource Grant
Road paving in Bunnell this week, Flagler gets ready to repave Colbert, the county settles a long-running dangerous-dog case, CareerSource Flagler Volusia receives training grant for hurricane evacuees.
Betting On That Super Bowl: States Moving To Legalize Sports Gambling Ahead of Court
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case that may open the way for states to authorize sports betting. Bills have been filed in 20 states in anticipation of the ruling.
Bills Opening Way For Guns in Churches Near Schools Chambered For Floor Votes
Under current law, people with concealed-weapons licenses can carry guns at churches but not if schools are on the property.
Economy Adds 200,000 Jobs in 88th Straight Month of Expansion
Wages increased solidly for the second month, improving by 9 cents an hour after an 11-cent increase in December, but still barely ahead of inflation.
Weekend Briefing: Polar Plunge, A1A Clean-Up, DSC Financial Aid, Youth Orchestra, IKEA
An incredibly busy weekend in the area with First Friday in Flagler Beach, the Youth Orchestra in concert, shows at the Flagler Auditorium and Flagler Playhouse, Polar Plunge, and too much more.
Federal Judge Declares Florida’s Arbitrary and Governor-Controlled Method of Restoring Felons’ Voting Rights Unconstitutional
In a stinging blow to Gov. Rick Scott, a federal judge ruled that the governor’s near-exclusive authority to restore, and more often deny, voting rights to ex-felon is unconstitutional.
Unnecessary Medical Care Is More Common Than You Think
A study finds that in a single year more than 600,000 patients underwent treatment they didn’t need, at an estimated cost of $282 million. “Do no harm” should include the cost of care, too, the report author says.
Thursday Briefing: Black History, Conklin at Democratic Forum, Caribbean Day, “Road Not Taken”
Black History Month launches today, Malcolm speaks of being a human being first, Colleen Conklin speaks to Palm Coast Democrats, Max Boot speaks of the Road Not Taken.
Mary McLeod Bethune’s Statue Halfway To Replacing Confederate Smith at Capitol
The Florida Senate voted 37-0 on Wednesday to pass a measure (SB 472) to have Bethune’s statue replace Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith at the National Statuary Hall in Washington.
Bill Targeting Florida “Sanctuary Cities,” An Election-Year Wedge, Stalls In Senate
Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, tabled his proposed sanctuary-city ban after facing bipartisan opposition to the measure aimed at requiring local governments to comply with federal immigration laws.
Wednesday Briefing: Whiteview Parkway Narrowing, Skywarn Class, False Fat Facts
The Palm Coast city administration holds a public information session on the proposed re-engineering of Whiteview Parkway, Skywarn classes at the county, why so much of what you’ve been told about far is wrong.
Tuesday Briefing: Special Commission Meeting, Vacation Rentals, Paul Dykes Sentencing
The Palm Coast City Council discusses the first lease approval for a new cell tower under a fast-track arrangement, first Entrepreneur Night of 2018 at Moonrise Brewery, the county commission fast-tracks a project for an emergency berm on Painters’ Hill.
Treating Domestic Violence As A Medical Problem
Victims of domestic violence don’t typically volunteer the reason for their injuries, and doctors don’t always ask about abuse in the home. That failure of communication means the patients may miss out on the help they need.
Monday Briefing: Family Life Center Fundraiser, Cool Week Ahead, DeSantis Launches Campaign
The Family Life Center, Flagler County’s shelter for abused women, holds its annual golf fund-raiser, a week of bombing at the Ocala range, a rainy Monday yielding to a cooler, pleasanter week.
To Keep America Great, Legalize All Undocumented Immigrants
We have a choice: Keep our economy vibrant and enviable or demolish it by expelling and demonizing undocumented immigrants, as short-sighted nations have done in the false name of “purity” over the years.
Judge Lets Smokable Pot Case Go Forward, Rejecting State’s Motion to Dismiss
The suit challenges a state law, passed during a special legislative session last year, that bans medical-pot patients from smoking marijuana.
Kathleen Davis Is Flagler County Association of Realtors 2017 Affiliate of the Year
Kathleen Davis, of Grand Living’s affiliate Southern Title, has been named Flagler County Association of Realtors (FCAR) 2017 Business Affiliate of the Year.
Proposal To Create Open Primaries in Florida Moves Forward, But With Issues
All candidates seeking the same office would run in a single primary regardless of party affiliation. The top two vote-getters would run in the general election.
Weekend Briefing: Coastal Cloud at 5, Ethan Bortnick, Glover Leadership Workshop, Female Rage
The Men’s Futures Tennis Tournament all weekend at the Palm Coast Tennis Center, pianist Ethan Bortnick, Coastal Cloud marks its fifth year, “Songs For a New World”‘s last weekend.
In the Name of the Father, the Son and Ammunition: Lawmakers Favor Guns in Churches
The Florida House and Senate have started moving forward with measures that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns on the grounds of churches and other religious institutions that include schools.
Thursday Briefing: Flagler Beach Golf Course’s Future, Men’s Futures Tennis, “Smokey Joe’s Cafe”
The Flagler Beach City Commission may decide to end its lease with the management of the troubled Ocean Palms golf course, “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” starts a long weekend at the Flagler Playhouse.
Hazing Death at Florida State Fraternity Prompts “Culture Change”
Andrew Coffey, 20, died from alcohol poisoning during an off-campus fraternity initiation on Nov. 3. Fraternity members were arrested.
Wednesday Briefing: Compassionate Friends, Economic and Tourism Councils, Wild Birds, Sheriff’s Awards
Tom Hellman of SCORE and Ky Ekinci of Office Divvy speak to the economic council, Wild Birds Unlimited, a nature retail shops, holds its grand opening, the Sheriff’s Office holds its quarterly awards.
Measure to Restore Voting Rights to 1.5 Million Florida Felons Goes on November Ballot
Voting rights of felons who have served their sentences, completed parole or probation and paid restitution would be automatically restored. Murderers and sex offenders would be excluded.
Address Florida’s Deadly Rail Crossings Now, During 2018 Session
Between 2011 and 2017, there were a total of 105 deaths on more than 350 miles of Florida East Coast Railway tracks, which also run through Bunnell. A rail safety bill needs legislative support.
Doctors Join Chorus Against Limits on Painkiller Prescriptions, But Lawmakers Push On
The proposal to set legal limits on prescribing for pain medication continued moving forward when it was unanimously approved by the House Appropriations Committee.