The 5.4 percent unemployment rate is another new low since the Great Recession: the rate was last this low exactly seven years ago, in May 2008, when it was beginning to rise rapidly.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Don’t Tell Rick Scott: Pope Francis Wants Action on Global Warming, Steaming Conservatives
Pope Francis’s call for action against global warming has many conservatives in the US up in arms, but his message is a matter of morality, argues Jeffrey Sachs.
Gov. Scott Seeks Court-Ordered Injunction Against Federal Government in Health Fight
Lawyers for the state asked Thursday for a federal judge to immediately bar the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from considering whether the state has expanded Medicaid as the agency weighs a decision on $2.2 billion in funding for hospitals and other health-care providers in Florida.
Thursday Briefing: Fallen Officer Memorial at Courthouse, Day of Prayer in Bunnell, Salamander Pays
The Sheriff’s Office hosts the annual fallen officer memorial at the Justice Center, Bunnell holds its fifth annual Day of Prayer, Ron DeSantis is at Wadsworth Elementary, Hammock Beach Resort makes a $250,000 payment to the county.
Legislators Set Special Session For June 1 But $2.2 Billion in Health Aid for Poor at Risk
Florida House and Senate leaders did not put out a list of topics that would be discussed during the special session, leaving room for disagreement over the final “call” that will be issued to lawmakers.
Wednesday Briefing: Flagler Commissioners Talk Budget, Gov. Scott Pleads in D.C., Surveillance in Baltimore
The Flagler County Commission launches budget season with the first of several workshops. Gov. Scott is in D.C. to plead for money in hopes of resolving a state budget crisis.
Guard Brutality in Florida Prisons: 2 More Corrections Officers Arrested
Correctional Officer Sgt. Christopher Michael Jernigan, 37, and Correctional Officer Donald Dwight Sims, Jr., 21, were arrested for brutalizing an inmate at Columbia Correctional Institution, the latest in a series of guard arrests in the troubled Florida Department of Corrections.
Employers Not Required to Have Defibrillators or CPR-Ready Personnel to Prevent Death, Florida Court Rules
In a case stemming from the fatal heart attack of a CSX railroad employee in Clay County, the 1st District Court of Appeal found CSX not to have been negligent by either lacking defibrillators, not providing CPR training to employees or not responding in time to the incident.
Federal Judge to Florida: Your Children Medicaid Program Is Still in the Poorhouse
Florida Medicaid’s system delays care and outreach to Medicaid-eligible children is inadequate, the federal lawsuit claims. A judge ruled the lawsuit can continue despite a Supreme Court decision Florida cited to dismiss the case.
Tuesday Briefing: A Flagler Court Docket from Dante’s Inferno, Grand Landings Rezoning, Mencken on Shaw
Some of Flagler County’s most notorious suspects appear in pre-trial motions before Judge Walsh this afternoon. The school board and the Palm Coast City council meet this evening. Mencken doesn’t like George Bernard Shaw.
Obamacare Mandate Be Damned: Health Plans Still Stint On Birth Control Coverage
Health insurance plans around the country are failing to provide many legally-mandated services including birth control and cancer screenings, five years after the Affordable Care Act made it a requirement.
Monday Briefing: Muhammad Cartoons Draw Bullets, Flagler Talks Construction, FYO in Concert
An alleged exhibit of Muhammad cartoons in Texas ended in a shooting and the killing of two assailants. The Flagler County Commission tries to figure out what to do with the old patient wings at the old Memorial hospital. The Flagler Youth Orchestra is in concert at the Auditorium tonight.
This Latina Liberal Is Not Kidding: Ronald Reagan’s Big Gift to Immigrant Families
As a progressive young Latina from a working-class background, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico without papers, Cecilia Velasco is actually thankful for something Ronald Reagan did.
The Florida Legislature MessedUp. Ten Big Issues At Impasse and Beyond.
Lawmakers will come back sometime in May or June for a special session to negotiate and pass a budget. But with the 60-day regular session formally ending Friday, here is where 10 major issues stand.
Florida Prisons Must Provide Halal or Kosher Meals to Muslim and Jewish Inmates, Court Rules
The federal lawsuit challenged corrections officials’ claim that they were not required to provide kosher meals, as well as the rules the agency used to determine who was eligible to receive the meals.
It’s the Living Standards, Stupid: Britain’s Silent Election and Its Lesson For Democracies
As in the US, too many voters do not feel better off despite high growth and lower unemployment because average incomes have barely begun to rise, following seven painful years.
Supreme Court Declares House Ploy Unconstitutional as Rep. Gaetz’s Racist Tweet Draws Apologies
The Florida Supreme Court ruling concluded it was too late to reconvene the session, essentially ending it, and the lawsuit that prompted the ruling. Rep. Matt Gaetz described in racist terms the lawsuit filed by Democratic senators that led to the court’s action, though the suit itself was dismissed.
Weekend Briefing: Jeans For Strings, Xanax Theater, Arbor Day, May Day
Tax Collector Johnston raises $360 for Flagler Youth Orchestra, “Committed” is at City Repertory Theatre all weekend, Arbor Day in Town Center Saturday, and the denigration of the First Amendment at the Supreme Court.
Effective Altruism: The Meaning of Giving to Combine Head and Heart
The Effective Altruism movement consists of people who give to feel good and to do good, combining the head and the heart. Their aim is to do the most good they can with the resources that they are willing to set aside for that purpose.
In a Surprise, U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Florida Ban on Judicial Candidates’ Fundraising
The 5-4 decision, written by Chief Justice Roberts, upholds a ban in a case started by Lanell Williams-Yulee, who in 2009 sent out a mass mailing asking for campaign contributions during her bid for a Hillsborough County judgeship.
Thursday Briefing: Scalia’s Shameful Joke, Flagler Beach Talks Parking, The End in Vietnam, 40 Years Ago
Justice Scalia joked approvingly of a bigoted outburst during arguments in the same-sex marriage case Wednesday. The Flagler Beach City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. to hear the latest of 20 years of attempts at settling the city’s parking issues.
Florida Senate May Seek to Force House Back in Session in Clash’s Latest Escalation
Florida Senate leaders are considering legal action to force the House to return to the Capitol to finish out the work week as the slow-motion collapse of the regular legislative session appeared to near its end Wednesday.
The FBI’s Hairy Evidence Sends Floridians to Prison on Unscientific Testimony
At least 42 Floridians have gone to prison on tainted FBI evidence, including one who was executed and as many as nine who remain on death row, after trials in which FBI “experts” gave testimony that the agency concedes to have been unscientific.
Wednesday Briefing: Scott Sues Obama, Linda Holmes at Ocean Art, David Letterman Reflects
Gov. Scott makes good on his promise to sue the Obama administration over federal health funding, but experts say he’s on shaky legal ground. St. Augustine artist Linda Holmes is featured at Ocean Art Gallery in Flagler Beach starting Friday.
How George W. Bush and Benjamin Netanyahu Helped Iran Win the Middle East
Bush’s wars in the Middle East left Iran as the most influential actor in Iraq, while Netanyahu’s vulgarity and stupidity have fundamentally misunderstood the Iran challenge of regional mastery.
“Instantaneous Death”: House Adjourns 3 Days Early in Huff Over Standoff With Senate
The House’s premature departure wasn’t completely unpredictable given the intensifying acrimony between House and Senate Republican leaders during the past few weeks over a $4 billion budget impasse rooted in a philosophical rupture over health care for poor and uninsured Floridians.
Tuesday Briefing: Baltimore Burns, Supreme Court Hears Same-Sex Vows, Ralph Carter Park Bothers Palm Coast
Supreme Court justices hear arguments in the same-sex case that could legalize gay marriage uniformly. The National Guard is called upon to calm Baltimore rioting. Palm Coast’s Ralph Carter Park is on the council’s agenda this morning.
Responsible Gun Owner? Then Break-Up With the NRA and Its Irresponsible Distortions.
By spreading ignorance to block common-sense gun control measures, the NRA scares generally well-meaning folks into throwing money at gun makers for “protection” that never comes.
Florida House Approves Some Fracking Regulations, But Critics Find Them Shallow
Merely asking oil and gas companies what chemicals they’re injecting during fracking creates the appearance of government scrutiny, critics say, at the expense of the state’s groundwater at a time when lawmakers are looking to implement new water policies.
Monday Briefing: Last Day For Carver Center Auction, Your YouTube Arrest, More Brian Williams Trouble
The Carver Center auction closes at 7 p.m. tonight, make your last bids. The Florida House talks surveillance drones. The downside of police body cameras.
As Pro-Choice Republicans See It: Abortion Decisions Don’t Belong on a Legislative Agenda
Doctors and patients, not politicians, should determine the course of medical treatment, even when the treatment is abortion, writes Nancy Smith, a card-carrying member of the Republican Majority for Choice.
House and Senate Far Apart on Budget as Health Care For Poor Becomes Bargaining Chip
The Florida House had made a significant concession to the Senate on hospital funding — but said it would only follow through if the upper chamber dropped insistence on using Medicaid expansion dollars to help lower-income Floridians purchase private insurance.
Three Encounters with Hillary
In three encounters with Hillary Clinton between 2004 and 2012, Bernard-Henri Lévy sees emotion and composure, the reflexes of an impeccable stateswoman and someone, he predicts, he will be addressing as Madam President next time they meet.
Florida Senate Votes 26-13 For Abortion Waiting period, Sending Bill to Gov. Scott
Lawmakers earlier this week approved adding exceptions for victims of rape, incest, domestic violence or human trafficking to the bill. However, those victims could only get waivers of the 24-hour waiting period if they can produce police reports, restraining orders, medical records or other documentation.
Weekend Briefing: Sunrise Victims’ Rights Ceremony at the Pier, Torch Run Saturday, Armenian Genocide Commemoration
Flagler Beach hosts the Third Annual Sunrise Victims’ Rights Ceremony on the Flagler Beach Pier Saturday morning, Friday marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in which 1.5 million Armenians perished,
The Inappropriate Commissioner Kim Carney
Flagler Beach Commission Chairman Marshall Shupe apologized to residents tonight on behalf of the commission for vile remarks Commissioner Kim Carney had made in the context of a rape case involving a friend of hers. FlaglerLive editor Pierre Tristam explains the background, which involves this site.
Thursday Briefing: Flagler Beach Academy Graduates Its First Citizens, Manfre, Eggs and Issues, Sex and Dementia
The Iowa lawmaker accused of sexually abusing his wife, who had dementia, was found not guilty, the Flagler Beach Citizens’ Academy graduates its first 40 participants this evening, Sheriff Manfre appears at a Chamber Eggs and Issues breakfast.
In Tallahassee, Lawmakers’ Power-Tripped Rudeness Toward the Public Is a Daily Cringe
Committee chairmen having to assert their authority ad nauseum, forbidding members of the public from overstaying their welcome at the podium: it’s offensive to people who drive sometimes hundreds of miles to be heard for two or three minutes, writes Nancy Smith.
Florida House Passes 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period, Adding to Increasing Curbs
The 24-year-old sponsor of the measure claims it “empowers” women, while opponents charged that it does the opposite, banning abortions for 24 hours.
Wednesday Briefing: Abortion Waiting Period, Special Session Ahead, Skywarn Storm Spotters
House members hold a secret session on medicaid as the governor finds a way to blame the federal government by way of ditching a promised tax cut.
Obama Comes to Everglades to Talk Climate Change. Gov. Scott Snubs Visit’s Theme.
Obama is set to appear at Everglades National Park Wednesday to address the economic impact of climate change, a topic and phrase that was not mentioned in a release from the governor’s office Tuesday.
Cage-Free Parenting: I Let My Boys Walk Home Alone. Go Ahead, Cuff Me.
Until she heard about parents getting arrested for letting their children roam free, Catherine Robinson had never let her children walk home alone. That just changed.
Tennessee and Kansas Also Get Fed Warning to Florida: Expand Medicaid Or Risk Hospital Funds
The federal government confirmed that it gave officials in those states the same message delivered to Texas and Florida about the risk to funding for so-called “uncompensated care pools” — Medicaid money that helps pay the cost of care for the uninsured.
Tuesday Briefing: School Administrators’ Pay, Google’s Mobile Switch, and Abortion Waiting Periods
The Flagler County School Board is in day-long meetings and will be part of this evening’s senior scholarship awards banquet at FPC and the Auditorium. Stetson offers Handel’s Messiah. Another black man dies in police custody.
Gov. Scott Ends Worker Drug-Testing Crusade, Restricting Tests to Limited Job Classes
Monday’s agreement, which still requires court approval, identified more than 100 job classes that Scott can test for drug or alcohol use. Workers in most of the positions deal with vulnerable children or adults, handle heavy equipment or are already required to undergo medical tests for other reasons.
Google Glass In The ER: Health Care Moves A Step Closer To Cheaper Telemedicine
For a fraction of the cost of current telemedicine technology, Google Glass may give patients and doctors quicker, more accurate referrals to specialists, improving efficiency and care.
Monday Briefing: Renaming Flagler County Airport, William Gregory Back in Court, Rubio’s Tricks
The county administration wants to rename Flagler County Airport to Flagler Executive Airport, Flagler Beach double-murderer William Gregory is back in court in Flagler Monday, lawmakers take up the adoption-discrimination bill, Marco Rubio’s math doesn’t add up.
Enough Abuse: Close Seaworld
Nothing justifies Seaworld’s confinement of killer whales and Seaworld’s abusive treatment of the animals by way of exploitative shows and inhumane conditions. To treat orcas that way for human entertainment should elicit repugnance, not the buying of $75 tickets.
Gov. Bizarre: Scott Suing Federal Government Over One Pot of Money Even As He Rejects Another
The lawsuit plays into a heated battle over a Senate plan to use $2.8 billion in Medicaid expansion funding to help lower-income Floridians purchase private health insurance. But the House and Scott — who once favored straight-up Medicaid expansion — oppose that idea.
Online Voter Registration May Get Lawmakers’ Approval, But Scott Administration Is Opposed
Secretary State Ken Detzner, who told the committee he knows what a “train wreck is and they’re not pretty,” expressed unease about having a deadline to implement the program before a plan is in place.