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.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
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.
Despite Same-Sex Marriage Ruling, Gay Adoption Rights Remain Restricted in Florida
While same-sex couples have long been able to adopt from private, gay-friendly adoption agencies, adopting children from the foster care system has proved more difficult in some states, among them Florida.
Wednesday Briefing: County Seeks $150,000 for Preserve Cottages, a New Joan B. King Park, Women’s Libido Pill
County government is seeking–from itself, in effect, by way of its tourism board–a $150,000 “grant” from bed sales tax revenue to help build cottages at Princes Place Preserve.
FPL Faces Renewed Opposition to Higher Rates For Nukes Plant Construction Years in the Future
The request, if approved by the Florida Public Service Commission in October, would place the cost for new nuclear power at 34 cents on a typical residential customer’s monthly bill in 2016.
Tuesday Briefing: Your Kids’ Vaccines at Health Department, Free Speech’s New Frontier, Big Band
You can still get all your child’s vaccinations through Friday at the Flagler County Health Clinic, a Supreme Court free speech ruling’s havoc on cities, Berlin in 1936, in color.
Before Going Neolithic on Unwed Moms, Bush Could Bone Up on Economic Reality
Here’s what conservatives like Jeb Bush don’t want to acknowledge: Marriage rates are inextricably linked to America’s economy.
Clashing Again, Florida House and Senate Are on Collision Course Over Redistricting
The House and Senate seemed unconcerned about whether they could reconcile their differences before the scheduled conclusion of the special session on Friday. They all but ruled out forming a joint House-Senate conference committee to hammer out a compromise.
Monday Briefing: Welcome Back Teachers, $76,000 To Revamp County’s Economic Development Website, Gore Vidal Echoes
Flagler County is getting set to spend $76,000 on its economic development website, Superintendent Jacob Oliva welcomes faculty and staff back to school, dual enrollment at Bethune-Cookman, and Gore Vidal from the grave.
“Defunding” Planned Parenthood: Beyond GOP Posturing, It Wouldn’t Be Easy To Do
Jeb Bush claims he defunded Planned Parenthood while governor in Florida. Other GOP presidential candidates make similar claims or promises. They’re being dishonest.
Florida’s Tax Revenue Expected to Grow by Modest $462 Million By June 2017
At least some of the extra money is likely to be eaten up by increasing enrollment in the state’s public schools, changes to health-care spending and the like.
The Population Bomb Reloads: How Humans Cause Mass Extinctions
The world’s expanding human population is in competition with the populations of most other animals. Our population bomb has already claimed its first casualties. They will not be the last, argue Paul and Anne Ehrlich.
Weekend Briefing: Tantalizing New Show at Salvo Art Project, Medical Pot Nears Florida Ballot, Guns and Cop-Killings
Salvo Art Project’s new show Saturday features the enigmatic installations of Laura Mongiovi, the medical marijuana amendment is approaching the 2016 ballot.
House Committee Approves District Joining Flagler, Volusia, Drips of Lake and St. Johns
The shift may be reflective of the weakness of the region’s legislative delegation: neither Sen. Travis Hutson nor Paul Renner, rookies both, has pull in his respective house, neither has bargaining chips to deal with.
Thursday Briefing: Holland Park Renovation at 26%, A Vigil for Corey Tanner, GM Foods, ISIS Rape Culture
US Marshals gunned down Corey Tanner a year ago, allegedly mistaking a bottle of cologne for a gun. How ISIS claims raping girls and women is a religious reward.
New Congressional Maps Proposed in Face of Criticism, One Restoring Flagler’s Right Tilt
Changes to a proposed map of Florida’s 27 congressional districts emerged Wednesday, a day before key hearings in the House and Senate about how to comply with a court order finding the current map violates the anti-gerrymandering “Fair Districts” requirements.
Wednesday Briefing: Student Schedules at Indian Trails Middle, David Alfin, Benefactor, Obama on Voting Rights Act
Big day for students at Indian Trails Middle School, Realtor David Alfin becomes a Chamber of Commerce benefactor, Barack Obama responds to revelations of the undoing of the Voting Rights Act.
Florida League of Women Voters Targeting New Campus Concealed Weapons Bills
The goal is to make the opposition stronger than during the 2015 session, by uniting with students, professors, administrators and the national organization Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus.
Raise the Gas Tax Already
The federal gas tax has been stuck at 18.4 cents a gallon since 1993, lowest among advanced countries. Yet Congress just adopted a three-month stopgap measure, kicking the gas can down the road for the 35th time since 2009.
Tuesday Briefing: Flagler Firefighters Head West, Palm Coast Talks Code Enforcement, Ann Beattie Returns
Flagler firefighters are sent to help battle wildfires in California, the Palm Coast council gets a better understanding of how code enforcement enforces.