A federal appeals court hears arguments in a class-action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law that has led to Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy Florida collecting money from customers for nuclear-power projects.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
McCain’s Brain Cancer Draws Renewed Attention to Possible Agent Orange Connection
For years, Vietnam vets and their widows have been pushing the VA to extend benefits to those exposed to the toxic herbicide and later stricken with glioblastoma. The VA has said no.
Monday Briefing: Islamophobia Watch, Trolls, Tribal Workplaces, Jennifer Heidle Trial, Court Funding
The state Revenue Estimating Conference analyzes court system funding, a Flagler woman goes on trial for allegedly assaulting a law enforcement officer, Trump’s mental health in question.
Renewed Push For Tougher Texting While Driving Penalties May Face Resistance in Flagler
A Florida state legislator, Emily Slosberg, who survived a violent car crash caused by distracted driving, is campaigning across the state to make texting and driving a primary offense.
Weekend Briefing: Heat Index Up to 109, Disney’s Aladdin at Playhouse, Back To School Jam, Future of Fake News
Paul Dykes and Erin Vickers, accused of child rape and child porn possession, appear in court, the Back to School Jam at FPC Saturday, the Playhouse features its junior thespians.
Thursday Briefing: Renner and Hutson Postgame Show, Flagler Beach Pot Dispensaries, Stamp and Coin
Rep. Paul Renner and Sen. Travis Hutson talk about the last legislative session and the one to come, the Flagler Beach Commission takes up a proposed ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.
Next Stations of the Cross In Obamacare’s Near-Death Experiences: Debate and Amendments
Senators are limited to 20 hours of debate, following which numberless amendments may be introduced–but not debated. It may get messy and difficult to follow.
Wednesday Briefing: Grade Schedule Pick-up, Compassionate Friends, Economic Opportunity, Carlin
School already: grade-schedule pick-ups begin at Indian Trails Middle School, Compassionate Friends meet, George Carlin reminds us he’s still dead.
Tuesday Briefing: School Taxes, Texting While Driving, Palm Harbor Golf Fare, Blivets
The Palm Coast council discusses capital improvements, the school board sets its tax rate, comparing pre-existing conditions to cars that have been in crashes.
Florida Must Pay $1.1 Million In Legal Fees After Losing Battle in Glocks v. Docs Fight
A federal court struck down a controversial state law, backed by the NRA, that sought to prevent doctors from asking patients about guns.
Prescription-Drug Overdoses Swamp Medical Examiners, Putting Accuracy In Question
The concern is that performing more than the recommended limit of 325 autopsies in a year, in addition to other duties such as testifying in court, could result in errors.
Monday Briefing: Bunnell Budget, Sabotaging Obamacare, Sonny Clark and Robert Frost
The Bunnell City Commission figures out its 2017-18 budget, Enterprise Florida picks a new president, Robert Frost trash-talks the novel.
Patriotic Millionaire: There’s No ‘Free Market’ Solution to Health Care
Republican leaders claim they want affordable access to quality health care for all. It can’t be done by lowering taxes on businesses and the rich and letting the market run it all.
Gov. Scott Defends Plan to Appoint Three Supreme Court Justices in Last Days In Office
Those three members — justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince — are part of the court’s more-liberal majority, and some advocates are worried that Scott, a Republican, could tip the balance of power on the bench on his final day in office.
Weekend Briefing: Tour de Palm Coast, “Depth” at Blue Gallery, Play 60 at FPC, Price of Revenge, Calder
The annual cycling Tour de Palm Coast, dive-in movie at Frieda Zamba and by the surf in Flagler Beach, Alexander Calder’s birthday, a new show at Blue Gallery, Balzac on double-standards.
Thursday Briefing: Peers on the Pier, God Gab, Inspired Mic at Europa, JJ Graham’s Phoenix, Balzac’s Speculators
The Inspired Mic, Palm Coast’s unpredictable improv, is on at Europa, the Chamber hosts its annual Peers on the Pier party, how Trump does in fact own Obamacare now, and double-standards.
Appeals Court Skeptical Of Sitting In Judgment Over Florida’s Education Standards
The issue is whether courts can evaluate the state’s obligation under a 1998 constitutional amendment that declares it a “paramount duty of the state” to education all children.
Obamacare Exchanges In Limbo as GOP Repeal Fails and Trump Ramps Up Sabotage Talk
Even as premiums increase about 18 percent, Florida Blue, the state’s largest health insurer, said those rates would go even higher if government subsidies disappeared.
Wednesday Briefing: Soderberg Kicks Off, Buckets of Tourism Grants, Blood Drive, Malcolm Gladwell
Blood drive in Bunnell, Nancy Soderberg launches her congressional campaign against Ron DeSantis, the tourism council considers dozens of grants, Malcolm Gladwell.
Tuesday Briefing: Mock Election All Day, Palm Coast’s Future, Food Truck Tuesday, Blood-and-Soil Nationalism
The Palm Coast City Council decides whether to add five cops to city streets and may talk about its manager’s future, a countywide mock election takes place at Supervisor’s office to show off new equipment.
With Sanford and Other Non-Mega Airport Posting Big Gains, Florida Passes Texas in Passengers
Florida recorded a nearly 4 percent growth in its overall outbound passenger count, from 78.07 million in 2015 to 81.17 million last year, according to annual FAA data.
Latest Republican Health Bill Cuts Costs At Expense of People With Pre-Existing Conditions
The proposal would let insurers sell health coverage outside the ACA exchanges with no provisions for prescription drugs, mental illness, hospitalization or almost any other benefit.
Monday Briefing: Al Hadeed’s Ethics Award, Rotary’s Dave Dalecki Award, Heat Index to 102, Porn at Work
County Attorney Al Hadeed receives a state ethics award, a volunteer of the year award is named for Dave Dalecki, too many people watch porn at work, Ben Carson is in Orlando.
Trump Lawyer Marc Kasowitz Threatens Stranger in Emails: “Watch Your Back, Bitch”
Marc Kasowitz, President Trump’s personal attorney on the Russia case, threatened a stranger in a string of profanity-laden emails Wednesday night.
Hypocrites on Crack
Thursday evening, Flagler Beach Commissioners Jane Mealy, Marshall Shupe and Joy McGrew flipped off voters and voted for a prohibition on medical pot dispensaries.
End of Citrus as We Squeezed It: Florida Harvest Is Lowest in Decades
Florida’s struggling citrus industry shows the orange crop falling 16 percent from the previous season — which, itself, had been at a five-decades low.
There’s No Good Reason for Your Boss to Make 347 Times What You Do
It’s business executives through outsized CEO pay — not movie stars, professional athletes, or heiresses — who grabbed the dollars that once flowed to the American worker.
Lawyer For Inmate Scheduled To Be Executed Accuses Pam Bondi of Hoodwinking Him
A lawyer for a Death Row inmate scheduled to be executed next month is accusing Attorney General Pam Bondi of hoodwinking him into agreeing to a delay in a U.S. Supreme Court review.
Faint Glimmer On Bleak Landscape: Amounts of Opioids Prescribed Falling Since 2010
Still, the amount in 2015 is three times higher than at the turn of the century, and there are wide disparities in prescription trends across the country.
Elections Supervisor’s Plea to Flagler Voters: Stay Registered Despite Commission’s Data Grab
In an open letter to Flagler County’s registered voters, Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart says the federal commission’s data grab through the state should not diminish their trust in the system.
Why The Obsession Against Smokable Medical Pot? John Morgan Wants To Know.
Morgan bankrolled the medical-marijuana ballot initiative and repeatedly threatened to sue over smoking, which he says was permitted in the amendment supported by more than 71 percent of Florida voters last fall.
A School Board Will Sue the State Over Charter-Tilted Education Bill Most Districts Opposed
The new law overhauls swaths of state education, dealing with everything from mandatory recess for elementary school students and standardized testing to charter school funding and teacher bonuses.
Thursday Briefing: Flashing European Village, Lincolnville Brass Band, North Korean Nightmare Scenario
European Village flashes its name, the Lincolnville Brass Band at St. Augustine’s weekly summer outdoors concerts, North Korea’s missiles, Why instruments don’t all sound alike.
Florida’s “Execution Machine” Back On As Gov. Scott Schedules First State Killing In 18 Months
Gov. Rick Scott rescheduled the execution date of convicted killer Mark James Asay for Aug. 27. The killing was put on hold after the U.S. and Florida supreme courts declared the state’s execution methods unconstitutional.
Wednesday Briefing: Heat Index 99 to 103, Secretly Recording an Assailant, Trudeau for President, McCarthy’s Road
A Lawyer for Aaron A. Whitley, the 42-year-old Palm Coast man accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl, will argue that her secret recording of his alleged actions was illegal, Cormac McCarthy’s Road.
Your Papers Please: Trump Commission Demands Massive Amounts of Voter Data
A Trump commission has asked all 50 states for copies of their voter records which often include names, addresses and ages. The commission has said it intends to make the information widely available.
Flagler Beach Again Offers Free Parking And Shuttles On and Off Island All Day July 4
Flagler Beach made arrangements to provide free parking at the Food Lion on SR100 and free shuttle service in and out of the city from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4, with additional free parking at Santa Maria del Mar Church.
Education, Tax Cuts, Secrecy, Medical Pot, Therapy Dogs: 125 New Laws Go In Effect
Seventy-eight bills became law upon Scott’s signature, including rules for medical marijuana, 27 additional laws will go into effect on Oct. 1, including tougher penalties for fentanyl possession and distribution.
Independence Weekend Briefing: Flagler County Rotary’s Leadership, Fireworks, Pier Ribbon Cutting, Renner Up
Tracy Loftus is the Flagler County Rotary’s new president, it’s all about July 4, Rep. Paul Renner may have a very big day, and everyone else a very long weekend.
When a President’s Tweets Ape the Squeals of a Swine
Trump’s tweets, like his latest about Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, are now like our so-beloved mass shootings. They happen. They’re decried. They’re forgotten. Until the next hurl.
Justices Appear Skeptical of Prosecutor’s Claim of Absolute Discretion in Death Penalty Cases
Even the Supreme Court’s more liberal justices grilled the lawyer for Aramis Ayala, the state attorney stripped of two dozen cases by Scott after she said she’d not seek capital punishment for defendants.
Thursday Briefing: F-Section FPL Path, Professional Women’s Council, Summer Concert Series
F-Section residents hold a public meeting on alternatives to a foot path Palm Coast is building under FPL powerlines, toward Matanzas High, the chamber launches a new women’s group.
Florida Tourism Officials Worry About Donald Trump’s Impact on Travel
Visit Florida President and CEO Ken Lawson said he and others have heard anecdotal reports, both positive and negative, about international travel due to Donald Trump.
Wednesday Briefing: Domestic Violence Summit, Ayala v. Scott, Education Foundation, Beethoven in Havana
A much-anticipated domestic violence summit convened by Sheriff Rick Staly is at the Hilton Garden Inn at 2 p.m., the Flagler Education Foundation installs its officers, Beethoven as you’ve never heard him.
Making Democrats Great Again: It’s Going To Take A While
No wonder Republican leaders think they can get away with almost anything. They do because they can, argues Nancy Smith, and because Democrats’ absent strategy lets them.
Non-Partisan Analysis of 22 Million More Uninsured Deals Blow to Senate Health Bill
By 2026, an estimated 49 million people would be uninsured, compared with about 28 million who would lack coverage under current law.
Tuesday Briefing: Heat Index Up to 102, Habitat for Humanity, Health Care Rally, Entrepreneur Night, Martin Eden, Malarkey
Local supporters of the Affordable Care Act hold a rally near Florida Hospital Flagler, Habitat for Humanity hands off a house for a family of eight in Palm Coast’s R-Section. lots of heat, the OED Word of the Day is “malarkey.”
America First and Trump’s Word Wars
While other countries try to work together to solve problems and continue to lead on global progress, we’ll get left behind chanting “America First,” argues Olivia Alperstein.
Monday Briefing: Bunnell’s Old Brick Road, Palm Harbor Bids, Command and Control, Trump Snubs Ramadan, Teen Suicide
Palm Coast studies bids for management and concessions operations at Palm Harbor Golf Club, the Bunnell commission considers protecting a historic road, Trump refuses to uphold a Ramadan tradition.
The GOP Senate Bill’s Hollow Promise To Protect Coverage For Preexisting Conditions
Built into the bill are loopholes for states to bypass protections and erode coverage for preexisting conditions, so insurers could cover chronically ill people but not the diseases they suffer from.