Dina El-Rifai, a Muslim woman, writes of being terrified, heartbroken, and outraged by Donald Trump’s “Muslim ban.” But, she notes, The Obama administration’s wars were often justified through the demonization and dehumanization of Muslims.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Florida Senate Moves to Replace Tuition Billing By Credit Hour With Controversial Flat-Fee Plan
The dilemma: how to move to a block-tuition system without financially penalizing students while at the same time providing incentives for them to take enough courses per semester to graduate in four years.
After NY Cop Salutes Violence Against Anti-Trump Protester, His Online Post Comes Under Review
An anti-Trump marcher got punched in the face. A Port Authority cop posted “Grow up bitches and get a job.” The department’s inspector general gets a referral.
Weekend Briefing: Kimberle Weeks Wants Out, Men’s Futures Tennis, Medical Pot Summit, Sugar’s Evils
The Men’s Futures tennis tournament heads into its finals weekend at the Palm Coast Tennis Center, Kim Weeks moves to have all charges against her dismissed, a children’s fair at Carver Gym.
Thursday Briefing: Animal Control, Flagler Audubon, All Flagler Democratic Club, Re-Joyce
The emerging All Flagler Democratic Club meets, the Flagler Audubon Society gets ready for the annual Shorebird Survey, James Joyce and Ayn Rand improbably share a birthday.
Cops’ Dash-Cam Video Evidence Gets Big Boost in 5-2 Ruling By Florida Supreme Court
“We cannot expect officers to retain information as if he or she were a computer,” the court ruled, granting power to judges to review video evidence when available.
Wednesday Briefing: Superintendent Search, Tax Collector’s New Branch, Buddy Taylor Agronomy Lab, Gorusch
Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston opens a new branch office in the old Food Lion shopping center in Flagler Beach, the Flagler County School Board this evening begins the process of replacing Superintendent Jacob Oliva.
Scott’s $83.5 Billion Budget Seeks 3% Boost in Per-Student Funding and $618 Million in Tax Cuts
House Speaker Richard Corcoran has been a harsh critic of the governor’s plan to spend $85 million for business incentives and another $76 million to market the state’s tourism industry.
Tuesday Briefing: Jim Landon’s Raise, Meeker’s Late Goal, Vienna Boys’ Choir at Peabody, Hugo Chavez Redux
Palm Coast Manager Jim Landon makes yet another pitch for a raise, the soccer fields at Wadsworth Park were dedicated to the late Frank Meeker, David Altmaier in Daytona.
As Gov. Scott Announces His Budget, His Math Doesn’t Match Lawmakers’
Scott’s $2.8 billion surplus estimate makes some unlikely assumptions about how lawmakers will act when they return to the Capitol for the legislative session that begins March 7.
Federal Judge Dubious of Florida Law Requiring Abortion Counselors To Register
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle repeatedly challenged an attorney fpor Attorney general Pam Bondi over the seemingly prosecutorial intent of the law, which penalizes those who don’t register.
Monday Briefing: Suicide Prevention Training, Juvenile Arraignments, Romeo and Juliet, FDR
A regional suicide prevention specialist hosts a three-hour seminar on the subject at EOC in Bunnell, a non-eventful day in local government, Romeo and Juliet’s and FDR’s anniversaries.
Trump Order Blocks 500,000 Legal U.S. Residents from Returning to America
In banning newcomers from seven countries from entering the United States for the next 90 days, the president has used language that will affect those who are in the U.S. already on visas and green cards.
President Fake
We’ve been worried about fake news from all the wrong places. The most promiscuous peddler of fake news is the president himself, Donald J. Trump. That’s dangerous for media, for America and for democracy.
Weekend Briefing: Next to Normal, Revels Ethics Resolution, Meeker Dedication, Youth Orchestra Concert, Art Blakey
City Rep Theater’s “Next to Normal” has three last performances, the Youth Orchestra romps through the history of music, Gov. Scott is at Washington Oaks Gardens, soccer fields are dedicated to Frank Meeker.
Short-Listed for Top Job in Jackson County, Flagler Beach Manager Newsom Says He’s Not Interested
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom, who’s been in the middle of a different job-hunt swirl this week, had applied for the Panhandle job last summer, just six months into his job locally, as a back-up plan, he said.
Florida House Democrats Walk Out on Immigration Leader Who Associates With White Nationalists
Krikorian’s Center for Immigration Studies has been linked to the white nationalist movement and has been the target of criticism from the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors hate groups.
Oil and Gas Lobby Fumes as Lawmakers Push for Total Fracking Ban in Florida
The proposal to ban fracking follows a heavy debate during the 2016 session about a measure that would have created a regulatory framework for fracking in the state. Flagler County passed a resolution asking for a ban.
Trump On Your Side? Repealing Obamacare Is a Tax Break For Rich at Poors’ Expense
If Obama’s health law is reversed, taxes will go down for the rich and up for the poor, while millions lose coverage. It is redistribution for the wealthy.
Proposal to Shift “Stand Your Ground” Burden of Proof to Prosecutors Advances
The measure would shift the burden of proof from defendants to prosecutors during pre-trial evidentiary hearings in “stand your ground” cases.
Tuesday Briefing: Ethics Training for the Elected, Wildcard Tennis Tournament, Zora Neale Hurston, Firefighters’ Cancer
Palm Coast’s new city council sits for some ethics training, the Men’s Futures tennis tournament fields its wildcard contestants, Zora Neal Hurston is celebrated all week.
Senate Bill Proposes Less Restrictive Approach to Florida’s Medical Marijuana Regulations
Under Sen. Rob Bradley’s bill, the state would add 20 marijuana operators, eliminate the minimum 90-day treatment before doctors can prescribe marijuana, and extend allowances to 90-day supplies for patients.
Monday Briefing: Greg Hansen Swears-In, Project Bags Incentives, Dunes Tensions, Doughnuts With Doughney
Gov. Rick Scott Appointee Greg Hansen fills the County Commission seat left vacant by the late Frank Meeker, Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney holds another Doughnut With Doughney session, the county talks dunes restoration, Edith Wharton talks marriage.
Trump Promised to Resign From His Companies. There’s No Record He’s Done So.
To transfer control of his companies, the president has to submit filings in Florida, Delaware and New York. That has not happened.
Jane Anne Staly, Civil Rights Champion in Central and Northeast Florida, Dies at 95
Jane Anne McNerney Staly, 95, of Maitland, the mother of Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and an influential civil rights and social services activist for over half a century in Central and Northeast Florida, died peacefully on January 19 in Maitland.
You’ll Miss Him
At noon today the world ended as the sound of seven trumpets was replaced by the words “I, Donald John Trump…” Until then it was a fairly good run. An excellent run, in retrospect, considering what we’re losing.
Public Schools Dealt Blows in Pair of Court Decisions Favoring Vouchers and Charters
One court decision upholds corporate tax vouchers for private schools, another diminishes the role of local school boards in deciding what charter schools may operate.
Continuing Year-Long See-Saw, Flagler Unemployment Dips Back Down to 5.4%
For the past 13 months, Flagler County’s unemployment rate has been stuck within in narrow band in the mid-5.5 percent range, bottoming out at 4.9 percent last May and peaking at 5.7 percent three times along the way.
Weekend Briefing: Next to Normal at CRT, Career Day at Rymfire, Home Show, Black on Trump, The Inauguration
Next to Normal, the rock musical, at City Repertory Theatre, Lewis Black on Trump’s inauguration, the annual Home and Lifestyle Show at Flagler Palm Coast High School, and Career Day at Rymfire.
Thursday Briefing: Project Bags, Thank A Mentor Day, Lawless Plea, District Spelling Bee
A special meeting of the county’s jobs council reveals “Project Bags,” Rebecca Lawless pleads in the DUI manslaughter death of Diane Upton, the district spelling bee at Wadsworth Elementary, Theodor Adorno.
2016 Sets Global Heat Record For 3rd Straight Year, Raising Alarms of Irreparable Threats
Central Florida felt the heat: Orlando’s temperature average for 2016 was 1.80 degrees above normal in 2016. From late November through December, it was 5, 6 and 7 degrees above normal day after day.
Stringent Rules By Florida Health Department Would Circumvent Medical Pot Amendment
The proposed rules would maintain current vendors’ stranglehold on the medical marijuana industry and give authority to the Florida Board of Medicine, not individual doctors, to decide which patients qualify for marijuana treatment.
Wednesday Briefing: Rezoning for Homes Off U.S. 1, TDC Grants, Betsy DeVos’s War on Public Schools
The Flagler Tourist Development Council awards a few quality-of-life grants to local groups and businesses, rezoning for 348 homes along US1 in Palm Coast’s K Section, Scott McClanahan on Crapalachia.
Palm Coast’s Opelka Loses 1st-Round Five-Set Thriller at Australian Open
But the 6-foot-11 (and growing) giant nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the first round on the men’s side, battling for five sets with 11th seed David Goffin before finally falling.
Palm Coast’s New Founders:
Steven Nobile’s Multi-Generational Vision
Inspired by the muti-generational households he knew in Brooklyn, N.Y., Councilman Steven Nobile sees a Palm Coast where young families raise children, have plenty of work opportunities, and retire all in place.
Tuesday Briefing: The John Seth Difference, Flagler Schools’ Rezoning, Flagler Playhouse Expansion, Pink Army
FPC Band Leader John Seth gets national recognition, the Flagler School Board considers various rezoning proposals, the Flagler Playhouse wants to expand, The Palm Coast City Council refinances again, and Narciso Yepes plays on.
Going Gray: Can Our Car-Centric Towns Adjust to Aging Baby Boomers?
The millions of boomers who will grow old in Palm Coast-like exurbs will put pressure on local governments to spend more on everything from transportation to senior services.
Weekend Briefing: Drug Court Graduation, Next to Normal Musical, Adam Trent Magic, RPOF Annual Meeting, Democrats’ New Leader
Retired Judge J. David Walsh presides over the 27th Drug Court Graduation ceremony, the fabulous Next to Normal musical at City Repertory Theatre, a magic show and Dave Mason at the Auditorium, MLK Day on Monday.
From Women’s Ob-Gyn Rights to ER Cost Controls, 6 Items That Could Disappear With Obamacare Repeal
Some of these Obamacare measures enjoy broad support and are taken for granted even though people often don’t realize they spring from the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans are working to repeal.
Thursday Briefing: Flagler Teacher and Employee of the Year, Pirates in Flagler Beach, Trump’s Conflicts
The 2017 Flagler County Teacher of the Year and Service Employee of the Year are crowned at the Flagler Auditorium, a Palm Coast promotion company explores holding a pirates festival in Flagler Beach, Trumpology of the day.
Attention Florida Patients: You May Start Buying Your Pot Treatment in 90 Days
Florida’s top pot cop said today it’s up to doctors to decide to order marijuana for patients with eligible conditions, months before new rules are expected to go into effect.
Wednesday Briefing: Humane Society Expansion, Public Safety Council talks Jail Inspection, Bad Journalism
The Public Safety Coordinating Council meets for the first time under its new chairman, Commissioner Nate McLaughlin, and with a new Sheriff, Rick Staly, the Humane Society expands, focusing more on bad journalism than fake news.
Lawmakers File Bill to Ban AR-15-Like
Weapon Used in Orlando Massacre
Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale, and Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, announced they are sponsoring a proposal (SB 254) that would ban so-called assault rifles and “large capacity” ammunition magazines.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide Ranked 1st For Online Education By U.S. News
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide has been ranked No. 1 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 list for best online bachelor’s degrees in the nation.
Tuesday Briefing: Rebuilding Palm Coast Community Center, Flagler Auditorium Update, What Is Woman
The Palm Coast City Council is about to undergo a makeover, the Flagler County School Board holds another workshop with the Flagler Auditorium board, John Paul Stevens on Citizens United.
Teacher May Be Disciplined But Not Fired Over Disparaging Transgender Student
An administrative law judge reversed the decision of the Lee County School Board, which had moved to terminate Angel Villanueva, a Junior ROTC instructor at East Lee County High School.
Alleged Chicago Assault Reignites
Issue of Hate Crimes Against Whites
As Chicago authorities waited before filing hate-crime charges against four young adult blacks for an alleged attack on a white disabled man, the Internet raged.
Conservatives Plot Their Course on the Rising ‘Sea of Red’ in State Capitals
The American Legislative Exchange Council sees bright future for its agenda now that Republicans control 68 of the nation’s 99 state legislative bodies and 33 governor’s mansions.
Israel’s Suicide Mission
Israel’s right-wing government never seriously considered the two-state solution, which it has now abandoned as it imposes a de-facto annexation of the Palestinian West Bank, enshrining apartheid.
Only 20 Percent Of Americans Support Health Law Repeal Without Replacement Plan
More than a third of those said they would not want the law repealed after being told that some people with preexisting health problems would no longer be able to get insurance.