Despite the Affordable Care Act’s rising prices, decreased insurer participation and a vigorous political threat to its survival, consumer enrollment for 2017 is outpacing last year’s.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Thursday Briefing: Losing Democrats Look Back, Journalism in Age of Trump, Bud Powell
Flagler’s Democrats gather to hear from three of their candidates who lost in November and talk about the future, a man who assaulted police in Flagler Beach goes on trial, how journalists should cover Trump and Trumpism.
Wednesday Briefing: Legislative Delegation Wish List, Beach Restoration Dollars, National Geographic’s Trans Cover
Paul Renner and Travis Hutson hear the county’s wish lists in the annual legislative meeting, seeking tourism dollars to fix beaches, National Geographic breaks ground, belatedly, with a 9-year-old transgender girl on its cover.
Florida Second Only to Texas in Gaining New Residents in 2015
Florida’s gain of 367,525 new residents topped California’s growth of 256,077 new residents; Texas led the nation with a gain of 432,957 people. Florida led the 10 largest states with a 1.82 percent annual growth rate.
Tuesday Briefing: Policing Palm Coast, A Lid on Pot, Historic Bus Tour, Centennial Plans, Trans Homicides
State of law enforcement in Palm Coast, pot-bsiness moratorium in Palm Coast, undercounting transgender homicides, “a fabulous” boat parade, the exquisite Billy Evans and his foolish heart.
Effort to Get Electoral College Away From Trump Fizzles as Florida’s 29 Votes Go All In
In Florida, the votes for Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, were never really in doubt. The slate of electors was made up of GOP stalwarts, from fundraisers to activists to elected officials.
Monday Briefing: Revels Farewell, Holly Norris Plea, Florida Presidential Electors, ITMS Concert
Florida electors meet today to cast their vote for Donald Trump, Holly Norris, accused of aggravated manslaughter in her uncle’s death 3 years ago, may plea, the county commission says goodbye to Barbara Revels, Gary Kasparov writes.
The Unnecessary Controversy Over “Sanctuary Campuses”
Even if colleges were targeted by the Trump administration, numerous privacy and legal obstacles remain before administrators would be enlisted in identifying students for deportation.
Sheriff Manfre: Against Tribalism
In a call against the fracturing of society into self-interested groups, Sheriff Jim Manfre argues for the importance of resisting the worst of the tribal instincts roused by the last election.
In Tilt to Right Gov. Scott Appoints Appeal Court Judge C. Alan Lawson to Supreme Court
Lawson’s appointment to the Supreme Court reduces the influence of the liberal-leaning court majority, which has been made up of Perry, Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince.
Hurricanes Matthew and Hermine Damages Reach $1.59 Billion, A1A a Big Bite
By comparison the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research has placed damages from the 2004 hurricane season, in which four hurricanes hit the state, at $45 billion.
Weekend Briefing: Goodbye Gail Wadsworth, Christmas With a Deputy, Boat Parade, Starlight 5K, Obama’s Nation
Flagler County Clerk of Court Gail Wadsworth’s farewell on the courthouse steps, the Palm Coast Boat Parade, Christmas With a Deputy blares its sirens, The Nation marks the Obama years.
Florida Chamber of Commerce and Business Groups File Suit Against Plan to Raise Minimum Wage
The chamber of commerce joined a retail and a restaurant association to fight a groundbreaking living wage plan adopted in Miami Beach, which could serve as a model for other local governments.
Thursday Briefing: A1A’s Various Futures in Flagler Beach, Rebecca Lawless Docket Sounding, Portman’s Jackie Kennedy
The public gets a first look at options for permanent repairs of State Road A1A in Flagler Beach, Rebecca Lawless, accused of DUI manslaughter in the death of Diane Upton on SR100 last year, has a docket sounding in court.
Unlikely Alliance of Clergy and Pro-Choice Advocates Sue to Block Florida’s Abortion Law
Plaintiffs including rabbis, ministers and non-profits contend they don’t have medical training and aren’t qualified to offer information not spelled out in the abortion law.
Twelve Counties Get Money to Reduce Conflicts With Bears, But Flagler Is Not On the List
Volusia and Putnam counties will receive a combined $98,000. Flagler County will receive no grant. The announcement came six months after the Fish and Wildlife commission voted against holding a bear hunt this year.
Seizing on Orlando Murder Case, Justice Breyer Asks Court to “Reconsider Constitutionality of Death Penalty”
Justice Stephen Breyer characterized the death penalty as cruel and unusual in light of the case of Henry Sireci, 68, who’s been on Florida’s Death Row for 40 years and has yet again been cleared for execution.
Enrollment in Florida’s 28 State Colleges Plummets 13.5% as Economy Rebounds
The actual head count of state college students is about 780,000 this year, down from a peak of nearly 900,000 in 2010. More than 60 percent attend part-time.
How Trump’s Health Secretary Will Alter Policy from Obamacare to Abortion to Birth Control
Tom Price, a Georgia physician who opposes the Affordable Care Act, abortion and funding for Planned Parenthood, among other things, could have a rapid impact without even a presidential order or an act of Congress.
Child Care Subsidies, Vital for Many Working Poor, Are Dwindling to 20-Year Lows
In 2014, the number of children receiving subsidies fell to its lowest level since 1998. Subsidies may fall further as states implement tougher licensing standards for child care centers.
Thrasher, at FSU, Pledges to Kill “Campus Carry” Gun Bill Again As He Did in 2011
The so-called “campus carry” bill, which in the past has been approved by the House, has already re-emerged as an issue for the 2017 legislative session.
Jacksonville Air National Guard Base a Finalist to Receive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in 2022
The F-35 is the most expensive fighter jet–and weapon system–ever built. The program, now seven years behind schedule, has been mired in cost overruns, delays and performance failures.
How Journalists Should Go Beyond Fact-Checking Trump’s Routine Lies and Conspiracy Theories
The story is that the president-elect is more factually irresponsible than any political leader in the United States in memory. Chasing it will be just one challenge of the next four years.
Revealed: Florida Stockpiling Lethal Injection Protocol Never Used Before, Inviting Litigation
The new triple-drug cocktail would be the only one of its kind among the states that rely on similar procedures to kill prisoners, including a drug never used to that end before.
Tuesday Briefing: Rymfire Winter Concert, Matanzas v. Menendez, Palm Coast Redevelopment Plan
The Palm Coast council this evening is set to approve bringing Wawa to State Road 100 as part of a redevelopment plan, Rymfire Elementary’s winter concert, a word from Reinhold Niebuhr.
Beyond Tweet Storms: What Trump Could Learn from Alexander Hamilton
Hamilton wanted a strong central government. He advocated taxation. He took these positions for practical reasons, not because he was a flaming liberal, argues Jill Richardson.
Monday Briefing: Flagler’s Wild Tourism Spending, Fame, Between Trumpism and Islamism, Kundera
New county commissioners will contend with expensive requests from the county’s tourism division, Fame: the Musical at the Flagler Auditorium, Slovakia-bound art and Milan Kundera words.
Refinancing Pushes State Debt Down to $24.1 Billion, But Rising Interest Rates Loom
State debt has declined since reaching a peak of $28.2 billion in 2010 due to several factors. Since taking office in 2011, Scott has remained largely opposed to borrowing money or issuing bonds.
Why Trump Would Almost Certainly Be Violating the Constitution If He Continues to Own His Businesses
Even if he does sell his business, any retained residual interest, or any sale payout based on the company’s results, would still give him a stake in its fortunes, again fairly clearly violating the Constitution.
Florida’s Death Penalty Law in Disarray, Supreme Court Throws Out Yet More Sentences
Signaling how it is likely to handle scores of Death Row cases, a majority of the Florida Supreme Court threw out death sentences and ordered a new penalty proceeding for a convicted triple-murderer.
Economy Adds 178,000 Jobs in November, 4.6% Unemployment at Lowest Level in 9 Years
It’s the longest job-creation streak in the nation’s history, but wages dropped in October by 0.1 percent and the decline in the unemployment rate was due more to a decline in the labor force than because of job creation.
In Saint Augustine, A Dead Priest Pleads for the Life of His Killer
Father Rene Robert, who was murdered, signed the Declaration of Life in 1995: it is wrong for the state to take the life of a convicted criminal, no matter how vile the crime, and no matter how innocent the victim.
New Florida Senator Files Bill To Scrap 2014 Law Granting In-State Tuition to Undocumented Immigrants
The plan by Sen. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, repealing the in-state tuition exception, could alter the higher-education plans of many students who have spent much of their lives in Florida.
Sorry, I Can’t Give Trump a Chance
Our democracy is too important to play nice with a man who campaigned on undermining it, argues Jill Richardson: “We already have evidence that Trump does absolutely everything he can get away with.”
Nominating Commission Sends 3 Names to Scott for Next Supreme Court Appointment
Fifth District Court of Appeal Chief Judge C. Alan Lawson, appellate Judge Wendy Berger and Orlando lawyer Dan Gerber made the final cut of the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.
Florida Court Backs Notifying Minor’s Parent Before Abortion, But Waivers Are Easy Out
Judges rarely turn down requests for waivers. The decision cites evidence that 89.5 percent of petitions were granted in 2013, 90.5 percent in 2014 and 94.7 percent in 2015.
In An Ugly Election Result, Hate Surges Online as Trump Emboldens Extremists
Throughout Donald J. Trump’s ultimately successful run for the presidency, many worried that he had, willfully or recklessly, emboldened racists across the country. Evidence suggests Trump’s effect on rising extremism has been unmistakable.
Surprised? Trump’s Advisor on Wall Street Regulations is a Longtime Swamp-Dweller
Donald Trump’s transition advisor for financial regulations works for a firm that is emblematic of the Washington revolving door: deregulation could serve Paul Atkins’ wallet as well as his political agenda.
How The Electoral College Mistrusts Voters
That flaw is the Electoral College. For the fourth time in our history, and the second in 16 years, it has given the presidency to the candidate who polled fewer votes — 2 million fewer in this case — than his principal rival.
Black and White: 11 Florida Supreme Court Applicants Contrast Starkly With Retiring James Perry
The exit of the liberal Perry — one of five jurists who make up a liberal-leaning majority — gives Gov. Rick Scott his first opportunity to shape a bench that has repeatedly vexed the Republican chief executive and the GOP-dominated Legislature.
Despite Orlando Massacre and Zika Virus, Florida Tourism Draws Record 27 Million Visitors in 3 Summer Months
The 5.1 percent increase from the same time last year came as Canadians, Florida’s top source of foreign tourism, have cut back on travel due to their nation’s weakened dollar.
It’ll Be Alt-Right
Donald Trump’s appointments and short-lists are pointing the way to an administration not much different than his campaign, suggesting there’s more wishful thinking than reality behind the hope that he’d surround himself with people saner than he is.
Opting Out of Obamacare: When Penalties Are Preferable to Unaffordable Premiums
Amid the uncertain future of Obamacare in a Trump administration, some resisters are feeling vindicated and other consumers simply don’t see the need to sign up.
Weekend Briefing: Richard Schreiner at Salvo, The Rainmaker at City Rep, This and That at Calypso
The late and very great Richard Schreiner’s works are revived at Salvo art gallery, Nash’s “Rainmaker” is staged all weekend at CRT, “This and That,” a new show at Calypso art gallery, and more.
Bias Backlash: How The Media Propelled Donald Trump to the White House
Over the last full year of nothing else on news channels but round-the-clock Trumpbusters, the true independents viewing at home were quietly making up their minds, working up from annoyance to a slow seethe, writes Nancy Smith.
Michael Dunn’s Conviction Upheld In Racial Murder of Jordan Davis in Jacksonville in 2012
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal said prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to rebut Michael Dunn’s claims of self-defense in the 2012 shooting of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
Races Lost Across the State Again, Florida Democrats Look for Answers, and a Leader
After losing the state’s presidential and U.S. Senate races and failing to make major gains in the Legislature, Florida Democrats are groping for a way forward as the 2018 elections loom with battles for governor and all three state Cabinet seats.
Gov. Scott’s Pick from Judges Applying to Replace Perry Will Shift Supreme Court Right
The Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission plans to provide Scott a short list of six names, from 11 applicants, by Nov. 29, giving the governor plenty of time to make a decision before Justice James E.C. Perry’s resignation goes into effect Dec. 30.
Revenge of the Forgotten Class
Hillary Clinton and the Democrats were playing with fire when they effectively wrote off white workers in the small towns and cities of the Rust Belt.
A School Superintendent’s Message Home In Light of Trump’s Victory: Diversity Is Strength
“First and foremost, we must reassure our staff and students that our school buildings are safe places where we truly value and respect every single individual and do not tolerate bullying or hate speech,” wrote Jack R. Smith in a letter to parents of children in Montgomery County public schools.