The Youth Orchestra holds its pre-season orientation at Indian Trails Middle School at 5:30 p.m., 3 Flagler Schools Move Michelle Obama, Linda Provencher has a town hall, and plenty more to restart the week.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
The Hell With Your Tired,
Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses
Barack Obama’s order to open the U.S. to 10,000 refugees is dismal compared to Germany’s. Racism, not means, block greater numbers from an American welcome.
Everybody Likes Pre-K. Defining It Is Another Matter.
While there’s a growing consensus on the value of preschool, states disagree on where the programs should be based, who should run them, or how the government should support them.
Suspects Wanted for Attempted Murder Following Failed Home Invasion in Flagler Estates Nabbed
Andrew Phillip Cherry, 22, and Lee Ann Renee Mosher, 24, both of 354 Juanita Ave. in St. Augustine were located by U.S. Marshals today in St. Augustine.
Weekend Briefing: Big Band Night, Arts in Education Week, DSC’s Free SAT Workshops, Manly Crying
The Palm Coast Arts Foundation hosts its Big Band Night at Halifax Plantation, Senior Games begin, Biden hedges away from a presidential run, and a look at crying men in history.
Boots on the Ground to Fight ISIS? Sure, But Arab and Turkish Boots, Not American
Republican candidates for president are right about calling for military force against ISIS, wrong about the kind of force that should fight: only Sunni fighters from Arab lands and Turkey can effectively defeat ISIS, argues Joseph Nye.
Facing Lawsuit from Florida Carry, FSU Scraps Gun Ban in Cars on Football Game Day
The changes to the school’s “Game Day Plan 2015” guide for fans won’t holster the legal challenge by Florida Carry Inc. as legislators again consider allowing concealed weapons on campus.
Thursday Briefing: Restaurant Week Begins, Flagler Beach Takes Up Private Pier Parties, Democrats’ Hillary Panic
Time for some Flagler gastronomy as the chamber’s Restaurant Week teases palates, the Flagler Beach City Commission again takes up the renting out of the pier to private parties, Democrats look at Al Gore and others as Hillary replacements, just in case.
Citing “Thousands” Of Untested Rape Kits, Bondi Seeks More Money For Crime Labs
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is expected to request an additional $35 million in funding during the 2016 legislative session, including $7.76 million to raise the base salaries of people working in crime labs.
Wednesday Briefing: Dog v. Boy, Barry v. Publix, Nimby v. Cell Towers, Tax Hearings and Child Protection
The Flagler County Commission will decide whether to allow three colossal cell towers to rise past its usual rules, and rule on whether a dog should be declared dangerous for biting an 8-year-old boy. Palm Coast and Flagler Beach hold tax hearings.
Confederate General Is Out, Henry Flagler May Be In as Florida Lawmaker Seeks Capitol Statue Switch
The bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith has stood in the U.S. Capitol since 1922. It would be replaced by the likes of Henry Flagler or Walt Disney under a bill filed Tuesday by Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, a Republican.
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast Talks Manatees, Parkway 90% Done, Coastal Cloud’s 100th, Leadership Flagler’s New Class
Work returns with a vengeance after Labor Day as budget and tax hearings begin today, starting with the school board, palm Coast discusses manatee protection, Coastal Cloud celebrates its 100th client.
“God’s Authority” Has No Place In Civil Government
Kim Davis is not the problem. She’s a symptom of a dangerous movement that seeks to carve out religious objections all over the law books, making civil government a vassal of religious edicts.
For Every US Soldier Killed in Afghanistan, 13 Children Were Shot and Killed in America
Between 2002 and 2012, at least 28,000 children and teens 19-years-old and younger were killed with guns. Teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 made up over two-thirds of all youth gun deaths in America.
Unemployment Rate Falls to 7-Year Best of 5.1% With Job Creation at 173,000
The 2015 total is at 1.7 million new jobs–400,000 more jobs created in eight months than the entire eight years of the second Bush’s presidency.
Utilities Take Credit, But Lower Power Bills In 2016 Are Due to Cheaper Coal and Gas
An FPL customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours a month currently pays $96.72. That number is projected to drop to $93.24 in January before going to $94.86 in June.
Weekend Briefing: The Flagler Youth Orchestra Recruits, St. Augustine Celebrates, English-Only Bigots Speak
The Flagler Youth Orchestra is taking enrollment for the 11th season of its free program, St. Augustine celebrates its 450th, English-only fooleries wag their tongues again, spurred by Trump.
Thursday Briefing: Women’s Self-Defense, Paramedics in Flagler Beach, Jeb Goes Sour, Colbert Goes Live
Palm Coast is offering self-defense classes for women, budget-adoption hearings begin this evening at the county, Trump is getting under Jeb Bush’s skin, and Colbert goes live in a matter of days.
Bill Gates: The Rich World’s Responsibility to Those Who’ll Suffer Most From Global Warming
Climate change can’t be stopped tomorrow, but its devastating effects on millions of the poorest farmers can be reduced if richer countries invest in cleaner technologies now, and help farmers better adapt, Bill Gates writes.
Split Florida Conservation Commission Approves Letting Hunters Kill 10% of Bear Population in 4 Regions
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission cleared the killing of at least 320 black bears for two to seven days in October, the first bear-hunting season in two decades.
Wednesday Briefing: Kiwanis at 100, Violent-Offender Pre-Trials, Taser-Armed Drones, Pythons and Bears
Numerous violent offenders appear in a series of pre-trials before Judge Walsh this afternoon, the Fish and Wildlife Commission takes on pythons and bears, Fox News falsely ties cop killings to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Florida’s New Drone Law, Restricting “Surveillance,” Is a Gift to Personal Injury Lawyers
Like medical marijuana, there’s an entrepreneurial rush to get in on the drone business, but states like Florida have been stumbling their way to legislation., argues Nancy Smith.
Alone Among 50 States, Florida’s Ban on Prison Newspaper Is Upheld
Florida Corrections officials have censored the publications for six years, objecting to certain ads and calling them a security risk. No other state prison system agrees.
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast’s Life-Saving Firefighters, Weaponized Police Drones, Rising Murder Rates
A Palm Coast couple writes of firefighters’ life-saving intervention, murder rates are rising sharply in many cities, Flagler Beach firefighters raise money for MDA, Shostakovich’s great waltz.
Supreme Court Weighs Solar Power Measure Big Utilities Want Unplugged From 2016 Ballot
The Floridians for Solar Choice constitutional amendment, in part, would allow businesses to generate and sell up to two megawatts of power to customers on the same or neighboring properties.
Why You’re Getting Poorer: iPhones Aren’t The Economic Engine Cars and Electricity Were
Robert Gordon argues rising standards of living brought by cars, indoor plumbing and electricity can;t be replaced by iPhones and the internet. Martin Feldstein disagrees.
Florida Doubles Rates For 36,000 KidCare Full Pay Children, and Blames Obamacare
Thousands of parents were slammed with new rates with less than a month to pay, though they’ll have a chance to leave Florida’s plan for Obamacare in a special enrollment period.
Monday Briefing: Facebook and Twitter After You Die, Flagler Photography Club Annual Show, Denali’s Rebirth
Find out what happens to your Facebook and Twitter pages after you die, Denali takes back its name from McKinley, Oliver Sacks dies, the Flagler Photography Club’s annual show is on.
With Florida Leading U.S. in Child Drownings, States Are Pressed to Improve Prevention
Florida had 50 drownings of children 15 or younger last year, by far the most in the nation. California was second with 36. Better pool-safety regulations help.
Indentured Regression: Marco Rubio Thinks College Students Should Be Sharecroppers
Marco Rubio is proposing human capital contracts as a way for college students to pay tuition: investors would foot the bill and claim a percentage of the graduates’ income for years. It’s a terrible idea.
Weekend Briefing: Dank and Stormy Days, A Night at the Ag Museum, Israel’s Red-State Illusions
A wet, relatively uneventful weekend in anticipation of Tropical Storm Erika, Israel’s illusions as a GOP red state, a sleep-over at the Florida Ag Museum, plus Edward Gibbon and Rubenstein playing Chopin.
SLAPP This: Florida Scores a Big Free Speech Victory Against Intimidation Lawsuits
It was a rare success in the last Florida Legislative session: a new law protecting the public from frivolous corporate or otherwise intimidating lawsuits intended to silence public expression in government issues.
Thursday Briefing: Raising the Floor in Flagler Beach, Live Murder of Journalists, That Old Trump-Bush Feud
Two journalists are murdered on live TV, Flagler Beach aims to raise base-floor elevations of new homes (builders are unhappy), plus Jonathan Franzen, R.L. Lewis, Trump and Bush.
State Education Board’s “Historic” Funding Proposal Is Still $1,000 Per Student Below 2006 Level
In inflation adjusted dollars, current spending on public education is $1,100-per-student less than it was in 2007, and would still be $1,000 less if the Legislature goes along with a state board of education proposal.
Wednesday Briefing: Heat Index Up to 105, Bicyclist Killed in Wreck With Palm Coast Woman on U.S. 1 in St. Johns, Scott Less Hated
Kalette Manka, 18, of Palm Coast, was not injured, but Charles Frederick Barret, 50, of St. Augustine, was killed in a crash at U.S. 1 and Datil Pepper Road in St. Johns County.
Lawmakers and Judge Turn to Supreme Court to Break Congressional Map Stalemate
A Leon County judge will ask the Florida Supreme Court how to move forward with a redistricting lawsuit after the Legislature failed to draw new congressional lines in a special session that collapsed last week. Circuit Judge Terry Lewis told lawyers for the House and Senate at a conference Tuesday that he wants to hear […]
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast Annexing Near Sea Ray and Borrowing $30 Million, Lush Paradise at Ocean Art
Palm Coast plans annexation of nearly a dozen properties along Roberts Road near Sea Ray, and will borrow $30 million to pay for the city’s second sewer plant.
Permitted Hunters Outnumber Florida Black Bears 6-to-1 as Killing Season Nears
Florida’s October hunt has drawn almost 1,800 hunters against a black bear quota of 320, in parts of the state where the killing will be allowed.
Capitalism Doesn’t Cause Poverty. Its Absence Does.
The world’s poorest countries are not characterized by naive trust in capitalism, but by utter distrust, which leads to heavy government intervention and regulation of business. Under such conditions, capitalism does not thrive and economies remain poor.
Cashing In on Pot: How Business Is Getting High on Marijuana’s Potential
The industry totaled $2.66 billion in U.S. sales in 2014, up 74 percent from $1.53 billion the year before, with expectations that the market will expand exponentially as more states legalize marijuana for both medical and recreational use.
Monday Briefing: Be Careful Out There, It’s Back to School Day, Bush and Manatees, DSC Fights Cyber Crimes
Public and private students are back in school across Flagler County today, Daytona State College is designated a Center of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence (CDFAE) by the Defense Cyber Crime Center.
How County Government Is Pimping Princess Place While Spinning Fairy Tales
Flagler County’s justifications for holding a Spartan extreme-sport race at Princess Place Preserve fails the smell test on all counts and raise questions about how tourism chief Matt Dunn and County Administrator Craig Coffey got the deal so far to start with.
Lawmakers Can’t Get It Done: Redistricting Session Collapses, Leaving It Up to Courts
The end of the session without agreement on the shape of Florida’s 27 congressional districts likely means the final decision will be made by the courts, though some lawmakers held out slim hopes for a resolution in the coming days that could avoid such an outcome.
Weekend Briefing: A New Day at Old County Courthouse, School Orientations, Adopt a Precinct, Donuts With Doughney
The old county courthouse reopens as a Christian school today, non-profits can make money adopting a voting precinct, the friendly side of Flagler Beach Capt. Matthew Doughney, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in full.
Gene Spaulding Is Named Florida Highway Patrol Director
Spaulding replaces Col. David Brierton, who retired in May. He’d overseen Troop G. the northeast Florida FHP district that includes Flagler County.
House and Senate at Odds Over Congressional Map, But No Disagreement Over Flagler District
The 6th Congressional District would be redrawn southward, losing most of St. Johns County and all of Putnam, and taking on all of Volusia and a segment of Lake, thus pushing the district more to the center than it’s been.
Trump Leads Rubio and Bush in Florida, Would Beat Clinton But Not Biden
If Trump were to run on a third-party platform, he would make it easier for Hillary Clinton to win–or for Joe Biden to win, should the vice president decide to run, as he would bleed votes away from either Rubio or Bush.
Thursday Briefing: 8 Year Old Tells of Dog Bite, School Orientations, Policing Panties
The week of student orientations and open houses continues with Matanzas High and Imagine on today’s slate, arguing against a pantie law, Marco Rubio’s slow-going.
Scott Administration Intensifies Battle Over Planned Parenthood Clinics in Florida
State health officials say three clinics can continue to operate but remain under investigation for allegedly performing illegal second-trimester abortions.
Entrapments of Color Blindness: Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman,” Chapter 10
There’s a bit of vomit to start off Chapter 10 of Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman,” much of it from our contributing writers, who have a hard time understanding how it takes Scout 25 years to discover what her father is about.