The proposed constitutional amendment would set up a statewide entity with the power to approve charter schools anywhere in Florida, bypassing local school districts. The Legislature is expected to approve sending the proposal to the ballot.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Thursday Briefing: Arts Foundation Groundbreaking in Town Center, Rymfire’s Poetry Night, Whitney Bats
The Palm Coast Arts Foundation breaks ground for its events venue in Town Center in a celebratory event at 4 p.m., Whitney Lab’s lecture series returns with an esoteric discussion of moths and bats.
Legislature Tells Florida’s Horse Farmers to Find a New Business
Florida horsemen are screwed, argues Nancy Smith: Only a miracle can save the $1.2 billion Florida horse racing industry they represent. Their bane: the Florida Legislature.
Wednesday Briefing: Dangerous Fire Conditions, Elections Supervisors’ Pay, Obama’s Military Fetish
Very low humidity and very high winds combine for dangerous fire conditions today, NOAA warns. The Florida Legislature considers higher pay for supervisors of election.
Bathroom Use By Transgenders Scuttles Bill Designed to End LGBT Discrimination
The anti-discrimination bill is backed by big business such as Disnet and AT&T but opposed by social conservatives such as Florida Family Policy Council.
Tuesday Briefing: Flagler Centennial Designs, Palm Coast’s $25 Million Sewer Plant, Trump’s Twitter Insults
The Flagler centennial committee has a logo, Palm Coast readies to spend $25 million on a new sewer plant, Roland Hanna at the Village Vanguard.
Health Insurers Moving to Undermine Obamacare By Limiting Enrollment
major insurers are seeking to sharply limit how policies are sold to individuals in ways that consumer advocates say seem to discriminate against the sickest and could hold down future enrollment.
Monday Briefing: LGBT Discrimination, Death Sentences, Pot for Terminally Ill, Clinton’s Double-Standard Decibels
The Florida Legislature takes up a death-sentence “fix,” Hillary Clinton blasts the double-standard over women shouting, the Legislature considers pot for the terminally ill.
E Pluribus Un-American:
The Judeo-Christian Smear of Islam
President Obama’s trip to a mosque to reassure American Muslims of their importance should have been unnecessary. It reveals how deep-seated prejudice remains, especially that of conservative Christians who claim to preach acceptance.
Chief Justice Jorge Labarga Will Serve Second Successive Term, a First Since 1865
Chief justices preside over the Supreme Court and, more broadly, head the state’s judicial branch. In the broader role, Labarga has focused on taking steps to try to expand access to legal services for low-income people, creating a commission to work on the issue.
Weekend Briefing: First Friday, Stewart Jones at Ocean Art, Polar Bear Plunge, Birding Palm Coast
It’ll be difficult keeping track of events this weekend with birding, art, First Friday, the Polar Bear plunge and many more activities in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach.
Terrorism Isn’t the Biggest Threat Facing America. It’s Barely a Threat at All.
Ignorance, misplaced fear, irresponsible media and blustering presidential candidates have made more of terrorism than it deserves while sidelining the one weapon at America’s disposal in the fight: smarts.
Measure Forbidding Local Governments From Using Red-Light Cameras Advances
Sen. Jeff Brandes’ measure would repeal a law known as the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act of 2010 and, as a result, prevent local governments from using the cameras for traffic enforcement.
Thursday Briefing: Renee Taylor’s Life On a Diet, FPC’s One-Act Plays at the Bistro, John Irving Talks
Renee Taylor is at the Flagler Auditorium, FPC Thespians are in two one-act comedies: “AP Theatre” by Ed Monk and “The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World” by Jonathan Rand.
Family of Corey Jones, Killed by Cop, Calls For Regulation of Police Body Cameras
A musician, Corey Jones was fatally shot by a plainclothes Palm Beach Gardens officer when his car broke down on Interstate 95 in the early morning after a gig. The officer, who was driving an unmarked van, has since been fired.
Low Gas Prices Are Great For You and Me. For World Security? Not So Much.
Banditry, corruption and tyranny from Saudi Arabia to Iraq to Russia depends on high oil prices. As prices fall, the bandits in charge will quarrel more among themselves – and with their neighbors.
Wednesday Briefing: Tennis Pros, Scott Chats Up Counties, Disruptive Season in Full Swing
The Men’s Futures Tennis Tournament at the Palm Coast Tennis Center enters its second day, Gov. Rick Scott addresses the state association of counties, where most of Flagler’s commissioners are this week.
Florida Supreme Court Halts Executions Indefinitely; 389 Death Row Inmates In Limbo
The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Florida’s death-penalty sentencing scheme on Jan. 12, forcing the state to rewrite its law but also putting in question whether the new law must apply to all 489 death row inmates.
My Sobering, Rewarding Job at an Abortion Clinic
Catherine Durkin Robinson’s duties involved helping patients through their abortion procedures. They’d already met with the doctor and nurse. Her job was to assist them emotionally.
Tuesday Briefing: Belle Terre Swim Club’s Fate, Palm Coast Council’s Pay, Men’s Futures Tennis,
The Flagler County School Board finally decides the future of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, Palm Coast Council members choose how to pay themselves more.
In “Fair Sentencing” Push, an Attempt to Reconsider Florida’s Get-Tough-On-Crime Laws
Fair Sentencing seeks to change laws of the 1990s, such as 10-20-Life, mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and habitual-offender laws, as other states have done.
Monday Briefing: An EMT Academy for FPC, A Malpractice Suit Heads for Trial, Out-of-State Health Insurance
Flagler Palm Coast High School may soon get to ready for a career as Emergency Medical Technicians: it’s one of several items on the Flagler County Commission’s long workshop agenda Monday morning. Florida lawmakers consider out-of-state insurers.
Florida’s “Pastor Protection Act” Seen as Defense of Clergy or Latest Bias Against LGBT
The proposal, which was approved this week by a Senate committee, would prevent clergy members from being forced to perform marriage ceremonies contrary to their beliefs.
The Future Is Here: Florida Wants Welfare For the Rich While Punishing the Poor
Four years ago Chris Timmons, now a columnist and fellow at a Florida think tank, lost his job and needed food stamps. “It did not make me feel like a moocher,” he writes. Yet Florida makes welfare recipients feel just that.
Open-Carry Allowance and Ban on Backyard Shooting Among Gun Bills Heading for a Vote
Openly carried guns would have to be in a holster, case or bag, recreational shooting in certain residential areas would be banned, and the burden of proof in stand your ground cases would shift to defendants.
Weekend Briefing: Color Vibe 5K, Lady Dawgs District Champions, Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
Two shows at the Flagler Auditorium, the Color Vibe 5K race in Palm Coast’s Town Center, FPC’s Lady Bulldogs win the District 1-8A championship again.
Diplomatic Bores in the Age of Blowhards
Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have strange and dangerous plans to stand tall against enemies, especially when they reach for their Ronald Reagan. Their version of history is mostly fiction.
Florida Lawmakers Urged to Require Unanimous Verdicts in Death Penalty Cases
Florida is the only state in the nation where a simple jury majority is enough for a death penalty recommendation, one of several problems at odds with a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Florida’s capital punishment system.
Did Goebbels Win? Nazis Are Gone (Mostly), But Deadly Propaganda Is Thriving
It’s not just ISIS: the increasingly sophisticated use of hate speech directed against minorities and migrants has been a worrisome trend in Europe and the United States. Bombs and bullets alone cannot defeat political poison.
Thursday Briefing: Pier Parties, No to Seismic Testing, A Stand Your Ground Shift, Birding Palm Coast
The Flagler Beach Commission speaks up against oil prospecting’s seismic testing, Nate McLaughlin at Hidden Trails, more birding in Palm Coast, the Legislature talks Stand Your Ground.
Senate Looks to Boost Education Funding Beyond Scott Request, But Tax Burden Looms
The Senate is proposing spending $7,249 a student, against Scott’s $7,220, but the increase relies on rising local property taxes, which are part of the state funding formula.
Wednesday Briefing: Tennis Tourney Qualifiers, Holocaust Memorial for Capitol, a “Martyr” in Oregon
Qualifiers for Palm Coast’s one professional tennis tournament of the year begin today, but without Reilly Opelka, the Wimbledon juniors champion and Palm Coast resident.
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast Council Talks Salaries, Entrepreneur Night at Sevyn, Hammock Resort Delays
The Palm Coast City Council will get a presentation on potentially bumping up its salary and benefits package, this month’s Office Divvy-sponsored Entrepreneur Night is at the new Sevyn club in Bunnell.
Failed Condo Project in Ft. Lauderdale Lands Donald Trump in Florida Appeals Court
Investors have battled in court for years to get back hundreds of thousands of dollars in deposits from Donald Trump and associates. The 4th District Court of Appeal will hear arguments Tuesday in two lawsuits related to what was pitched as a swanky, Trump-branded hotel/condominium.
Monday Briefing: Flagler Beach Floods, Trump’s Fascist Backers, FPC v. Matanzas, Bravo Amici
FPC and Matanzas meet in a hoops showdown at FPC, the fascism of Donald Trump supporters, Flagler Beach talks flood plains, a warming trend after a frosty weekend, plenty of singing at the Flagler Auditorium.
Term Limits for Supreme Court and Appellate Judges? Measure Moving Closer to Ballot
Under the proposal, members of the Supreme Court and district courts of appeal would be limited to two full six-year terms. Judges currently have to retire in the election cycle after they turn 70 years old.
Sanders Revives Talk of Single-Payer System, Contrasting Differences With Clinton
Sanders’ main rival for the nomination, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has criticized the plan for raising taxes on the middle class and said it is politically unattainable.
Authorities Looking for Escaped Convict Gary Bullock and Palm Coast Girlfriend
Aiding in Bullock’s escape, Natasha Quigley stole money, blank checks and a gun from her parents’ home in Palm Coast before the pair absconded with a 3-year-old boy.
4 Suspects Sought in Break-Ins and Theft of 19 Vehicles at Holiday Inn and Hampton Inn
Five vehicles parked at the Holiday Inn Express in Palm Coast’s Flagler Plaza Drive and 13 vehicles parked at the nearby Hampton Inn, just off I-95, were burglarized overnight Wednesday, and one stolen from the Holiday Inn parking lot was later recovered in Orlando.
Lawyers for Condemned Florida Man Call for Halt To Execution in Light of “Tectonic Shift”
Lawyers for Cary Michael Lambrix, who has been on Death Row for more than three decades, have asked the Florida Supreme Court to halt his execution in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring Florida’s court process unconstitutional in such cases.
Weekend Briefing: Home Show at FPC, Right Whales With Gromling, Bottle Club Ban Proposed
The annual home and lifestyle show takes over the campus of Flagler Palm Coast High School this weekend, Frank Gromling, the right whale guy, talks at Gamble Rogers, the Palm Coast Planning Board favors banning bottle clubs.
City School Districts? Lawmaker Mulling Proposed Constitutional Amendment
The measure (HJR 539) would mark a dramatic change in how school districts are organized in Florida. The Constitution requires all districts to be made up of whole counties, though a handful of public schools are stand-alone.
Thursday Briefing: District Spelling Bee, Warmest Year on Record, Healthcare for Military Families
2015 was by far the warmest year on record, following on 2014, which also set a record, with human-caused warming to blame. The district spelling bee is at Wadsworth Elementary this evening.
Trump Surges to “Crushing” Lead in Florida While Clinton Begins to Strengthen Again
The latest FAU poll has Trump surging to a 47.6 percent lead, with Ted Cruz, more than 30 points behind and Rubio and Bush hobbling in at 11.1 and 9.1 percent. Ben Carson has all but vanished at just over 3 percent.
Wednesday Briefing: Holland’s Rear-View Mirror Campaign, Ballroom With a Twist, Matanzas Wrestles FPC
Milissa Holland flanks herself in history as she launches her campaign for Palm Coast mayor, it’s all about ballroom dancing at the Flagler Auditorium, FPC and Matanzas wrestle, and ISIS is in recession.
Florida Lawmakers Drilling the Way for Fracking Even as Need Is Questioned
The assault on Florida’s environment continues as a Senate committee last week approved a bill that would make it easier for companies to use fracking technology to drill for oil and gas in the state.
High Schools May Get Greater Autonomy From Florida Athletic Association Requirements
The proposals would allow schools to join the FHSAA on a per-sport basis and limit how much can be charged for some association-sponsored competitions. Currently, a school that joins the FHSAA in any sport has to be a member in every sport.
Tuesday Briefing: Pink Army Tally, More Sunshine Exemptions Considered, Gas Below $1.70
Gas prices continue to crash, but in Palm Coast not nearly as fast as elsewhere, the Legislature prepares to shut down public access to surveillance videos of public buildings.
Starting With $8.50 Increase Next Year, FPL Seeks Monthly Rate Increase of $14 By 2020
The proposal would help cover the nearly $16 billion that the power company has been investing since 2014 to improve its electricity service.
Florida House May Back Scott’s $1 Billion Tax Cut, With Minor Differences
The House intends to offer a $1 billion tax-cut package that includes Gov. Rick Scott’s call to reduce a tax on commercial leases and holding a back-to-school sales tax “holiday.”
