Immigrants’ fear can prevent them from cooperating with police, derail attempts to ensure that all drivers are licensed and endanger growth in areas looking to immigrants to help reverse population losses.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Seek Cover, Teddy: 3,500 Hunters Take Guns and Bows to Bears Across Florida
The hunt, which includes Flagler County, limits each permit holder to killing a single bear weighing at least 100 pounds and won’t exceed the overall 320 bears targeted for what the commission calls a “harvest.”
Latest Kimberle Weeks Pre-Trial Again Continued, to January, But Judge Getting Impatient
Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson put Weeks’s defense on notice that she expects the proceedings to move along come January. Weeks, as in previous hearings, did not attend, but her husband Dwayne did.
Supreme Court Clears Floridians for Solar Choice’s Ballot Initiative, Setting Up Battle With Utilities
The initiative has drawn opposition from a coalition including major electric utilities and has spawned a competing solar ballot proposal. That proposal, spearheaded by the group Consumers for Smart Solar, is awaiting a review by the Supreme Court.
A Third Palestinian Intifada Is Inevitable. Intransigence and Extremism Make It So.
Israel’s occupation policy has undermined the state’s political and ethical foundations, while turning Prime Minister Netanyahu into a hostage of forces even more extreme than he is.
NFL’s Dolphins Want $3 Million a Year in Taxpayer Subsidies, Daytona Speedway May Be Next
The Legislature created a new funding method for professional stadiums in 2014 in an attempt to reduce the lobbying from prior years for state money.
Thursday Briefing: Flagler Home Sales Tepid but Prices Rise, Alcohol v. Pot, Millennials’ Bores
Flagler home sales fall close to year’s lows but median price rises substantially, why pot is safe and alcohol is not, why millennials don’t protest much.
Corey Jones Killing by Cop Triggers Black Lawmakers’ Calls for Independent Review
Corey Jones, 31, a church musician whose car stalled on an Interstate 95 exit ramp early Sunday after a gig, was shot by a plainclothes officer in an unmarked car. Some lawmakers are calling for automatic reviews of all police-related shootings, among other safeguards.
Wednesday Briefing: Golden Lion’s Gift to Second Harvest, Unity Day, Why Hillary Will Win
Golden Lion donation makes 7,000 pounds of food for the needy possible, Unity Day in flagler schools, National Review explains why Hillary Clinton will likely win the white house.
Openly Displaying Handguns and Guns on Campus Bills Win Senate Panel Approval
One of the Florida Senate committees also supported a measure that might make it easier for people to claim they have stood their ground in self-defense when shooting others.
Tuesday Briefing: Belle Terre Swim Club’s Fate, Palm Coast Attorney’s Raise, Flagler Beach Interviews
The Flagler school board this evening decides the fate of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, the Palm Coast City Council votes on a 15 percent raise for its attorneys, Flagler Beach interviews a candidate for city manager.
Regulators Again Approve Billing FPL Customers For Unbuilt, Unlicensed Nuke Plants
FPL will charge customers–including most of Flagler County power customers–$34.2 million for a pair of nuclear reactors that have yet to be licensed and may not be built until the end of the 2020s.
Citing Abuse, Cigna Pulls Out of Florida Health Marketplace, Affecting 30,000 Clients
Individuals can still enroll in a Cigna plan by seeing an insurance agent. But enrollment through the Marketplace, which begins Nov. 1, is the only way to obtain tax credits that subsidize the cost of premiums.
Monday Briefing: A Home for a Wounded Iraq Veteran, Special Session Starts, County’s Tourism
Sergeant Carlos De Leon, wounded in Iraq, gets a donated modified home in the B Section, the Flagler County Commission prepares to take over the tourism office from the chamber of commerce.
NRA’ Misinformation, Mendacity and Victim-Blaming Take a Dive Into Rabbit Holes
More guns do not lead to less crime. More guns lead to more crime, argues Julie Delegal, who sees NRA zealots misrepresented the facts on guns with junk science wrapped in blame-the-victim hysteria.
Risks You Didn’t Know About Tylenol, Because Its Marketing Campaign Didn’t Convey Them
Internal company documents that have emerged in a New Jersey trial that ended Friday make clear that marketing for Tylenol did not convey doctors’ concerns about its risks.
Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Advisory Club Committee: Why We Should Run the Facility
The Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club Advisory Committee makes the case to run the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, ahead of next Tuesday’s decision by the Flagler County School Board on the fate of the facility.
Palm Coast Government’s Arrogance
Proves It: Charter Review Is Overdue
The Palm Coast City Council has responded to calls for a charter review with smugness, contempt and disrespect toward a council member elected by more people than three other council members combined. Enough of the charade.
Weekend Briefing: Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman” at the Library, Haunted House for Flagler Habitat
Friends of the Library will discuss the Harper Lee novels at the county library, Flagler Habitat’s haunted house opens at Atlantis Industrial and Business Park, Bernie Sanders rejects a donation from the most hated man on the internet.
Daytona Beach Democrat Dwayne Taylor Announces Run for DeSantis Congressional Seat
Dwayne Taylor, the four-term member of the Florida House and a Daytona Beach Democrat, announced today his candidacy for the 6th Congressional District that includes all of Flagler County, a surprise announcement that gives the district its most politically seasoned Democrat in a generation.
Thursday Briefing: Hadeed on Long Creek Preserve, FHF’s Organ Donor Registry Award, DeSantis’s Bombs
County Attorney Al Hadeed talks about the history and significance of the Long Creek Nature Preserve in Palm Coast at noon, Ron DeSantis’s House Freedom Caucus throws bombs and thinks nothing of shutting down government, but is it more than that?
Scott Wants Tax Cuts Larger Than Projected Surplus. Lawmakers Are More Prudent.
Scott wants a larger tax-cut package in 2016 than the $673 million he sought this year, even though the state budget surplus is projected at $635.4 million, much of it one-time revenue that won;t recur in subsequent years.
2.8 Million Floridians Still Uninsured Even as Just 20% Fall in Medicaid Gap
It’s 1.1 million fewer than in 2013, but almost a third of the uninsured are eligible for Obamacare but haven’t enrolled, 15% have chosen not to enroll in employee-provided health care, and the rest are uninsured for a variety of other reasons.
Wednesday Briefing: Hammock’s Husband-Murderer Wants No Defense, FPC vs. Matanzas
Anna Pehota, 75, who murdered her husband in September at their Hammock trailer, wants to plead guilty and be done with it, Matanzas and FPC meet for a volleyball showdown.
“Career in a Year”: Gov. Scott Wants $20 Million for Tech Schools’ Fast-Track Programs
Competitive grants, which would be geared toward programs that could be completed in less than 52 weeks such as licensed practical nursing, which takes 45 weeks and has 2,361 openings in Florida, and welding, a 39-week program that could offer a path to one of 583 jobs.
Gail Wadsworth: Florida’s Court Clerks Spotlight Domestic Violence Awareness Month
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, there were more than 106,000 cases of domestic violence reported in Florida last year. While this statistic is alarming enough, the numbers only continue to increase when factoring in the countless incidents of domestic violence that go unreported by victims.
Tuesday Briefing: Florida’s Death Penalty Exception, Palm Coast Talks Arts, Kymora’s Memorial
Timothy Hurst is at the center of a case that may reshape Florida’s death penalty law. He was convicted of murder, and a jury recommended death by a 7-5 vote. Florida is the only state in the nation where a simple majority is enough for a recommendation of death. Hurst contests the process is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court hears the case today.
Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Lies
Exxon’s scientists knew by the early 1980s that human causes of global warming could be catastrophic, but quashed the findings and peddled junk science instead. It’s time to get Big Oil out of the policymaking process altogether, write Bill McKibben and Kelle Louaillier.
Monday Briefing: A Raise for Bunnell Manager, Pink Army Run, Retiring 90 U.S. Flags
Bunnell City Manager Larry Williams is in line for a 2 percent raise, the Pink Army Run in Town Center drew hundreds of runners and raised thousands of dollars, Bunnell retires 90 U.S. flags.
Florida’s Clergy Did Not Need More Protection from Gays. They Don’t Bite.
Florida lawmakers in each chamber are plowing ahead with bills to protect the religious freedoms of lawsuit-fearing clergy in case the U.S. Constitution doesn’t. It’s entirely unnecessary, argues Nancy Smith.
No Privacy: What Your Smart Home Reveals About You, and Possibly To The World
As trends toward networked smart homes and connected cars continue, customers may not be aware of just how much information their devices collect about them and share with the world.
Floridians Say Overwhelming No to Guns On Campus, Big Yes to Medical Marijuana
73 percent of Floridians oppose allowing students with concealed-weapons permits to carry guns on campus according to the latest USF-Nielsen Sunshine State Survey. Support for medical pot climbs.
Jesus as Clown, Disciples as Dirty Stinking Hippies: City Rep Returns With “Godpsell”
City Repertory Theatre, Palm Coast’s only daring troupe, opens its 5th season with the rather surpriring and popular “Godspell,” with laughs and sentiment to boot.
A Hillary Clinton Playground at Old Kings Elementary: What’s the School Board Smoking?
The school board approved a $15,000 Hillary Clinton Playground for Old Kings Elementary, dismissing Clinton’s political candidacy as a non-issue and ignoring her hatred for women.
Senate Panel Votes 11-0 to Remove
Confederate Flag From Official Seal
In the latest sign of a backlash against the symbols of the Confederate South, the official insignia would still include other non-American flags that flew over Florida.
Weekend Briefing: A Fitting Festival for Princess Place, Soccer Fall Classic, A Nobel for Tunisia, Godspell
A weekend filled with events in Flagler and Palm Coast, including “Godspell”‘s last three shows, the Flagler County Art League’s signature new show, Creekside Festival at Princess Place, and a lot more.
Florida Lawmakers Consider Dumping Property Tax and More Than Doubling Sales Tax
If the state eliminated all property taxes, committee records indicate the state’s sales tax would have to go from 6 percent to 12.72 percent to cover existing state, local, school and special district expenses.
Thursday Briefing: FPC Chorus Solos, A Nobel for Belarus, Florida Senate’s Seal, Trump’s Diminishing Money
Flagler Palm Coast High School’s chorus in solos tonight, the Florida Senate takes up its Confederate-tainted seal, Belarusian author Svetlana Alexievich wins literature’s Nobel.
Proposed Florida Law Would Tell Employers to Butt Out of Employees’ Social Media Accounts
The measure, which is filed for the 2016 legislative session, would prohibit employers from requesting access to private social media accounts, but pressure from business caused it to fail in two previous years.
Jeb Bush Blows It On Race
With just two words — “free stuff” — Bush managed to insult millions of black Americans, completely misread what motivates black people to vote, and falsely imply that African Americans are the predominant consumers of vital social services.
Tuesday Briefing: State of Education, Nobile’s Last Charter Stab, Guns and the “Mental Health” Cop-Out
The Flagler School Board holds its 2015 State of Education tonight, Palm Coast Council member Steven Nobile tries one more time for a charter review, John Oliver rips the mental health cop-out on guns.
Yet Another Sales Tax “Holiday” Proposal, For Two Months, This Time for Military Veterans
The military veteran sales tax break would last from Nov. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016, just in time for the holidays, but competes with other breaks.
Monday Briefing: Pink Army Flag-Raising, Legislative Priorities, Slavery Myths, Enrique Granados
The flag-raising for the pink army in the fight against breast cancer is at 8:15 a.m. at the GSB, too many myths about slavery, tax holidays, Enrique Granados’s poetry at the piano.
Psychiatry as Industry of Death: Scientology Blitzes Shrinks in New Clearwater Museum
The museum, “Psychiatry: Industry of Death,” occupies most of the 1st floor of new headquarters for the Citizens Commission on Human Rights in Clearwater. The Church of Scientology has long been at odds with the field of psychiatry.
Quadruple Murderer Jerry Correll Will be Executed as Florida Supreme Court Lifts Stay
The unanimous decision issued today clears the execution by lethal injection. Correll murdered his wife, 5-year-old daughter, mother in law and her sister in Orlando in 1985.
Weekend Briefing: Guns’ 36-Kills-a-Day U.S. Habit, Hurricane Joaquin’s Waves, Godspell at CRT, Matt Beyrer at Ocean Art
Beyond the routine of the latest mass-shooting, Joaquin is moving away, Godspell should not be missed at City Repertory Theatre, Paul Krugman picks up on the resilience of vodoo economics.
At Least 10 Killed at Oregon College Where Students Are Allowed to Carry Guns
A gunman murdered at least 10 people and wounded at least 20 Thursday morning at Umpqua Community College in Southwest Oregon, in one of seven states where guns on campus are allowed.
Florida Senate Will Consider Removing Confederate Flag From Its Seal
It is the latest reflection of the persisting backlash against the presence of the Confederate flag in public spaces. Senate President Andy Gardiner and Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner pushed for the reconsideration. A committee will do so next week.
Repeat Child Molestor Sentenced to Life, Drunkard Faces 15 Years in Killing of Laura Hrobsky
Meshac Abentego, 43, was sentenced to life for molesting a 9-year-old girl, and Sandra Dee Heilman, 44, faces 15 years in the DUI killing of Laura Hrobsky, in November 2012 on Beville Road in Volusia County.
Thursday Briefing: Microplastics in Our Seas, Grand Reserve Sale, Disney at 44, Humidor at 10, Joaquin Churns
A seminar on polluting microplastics in our seas, held at the Flagler fairgrounds, Grand Reserve golf course sells, Hurricane Joaquin continues its churn north, Disney and the Humidor share a birthday.