Bunnell City Hall and Police Department groundbreaking, Commerce Parkway groundbreaking, the Flagler County Commission meets, a judge specifies that Donald Trump is a rapist, Cato’s fawning and flatteries.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Excessively High Rents Are Burdening Immigrants Who MakeAmericans’ Lives Easier
Immigration is the main driver of population growth in the U.S., which is important for filling jobs and boosting tax revenues. After dipping because of pandemic-era restrictions in 2020-22, immigration to the U.S. started growing again, adding 1.1 million new residents in 2023.
The Economy Is Getting Better. Consumers Dont Feel That Way.
Americans are still worried about their financial stability even as their recession fears lessen. High prices at the grocery store and consumers’ memories of their pre-pandemic budgets may be playing a role. Here’s what financial and economic experts have to say about what this week’s economic indicators tell us about people’s perception of the economy.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, March 31, 2024
It’s Easter, ‘Bonnie and Clyde, the Musical,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Richard Hofstadter and Warren Burger on America’s gun culture and the fraudulent interpretations of the Second Amendment as an individual right to bear arms.
Does Israel’s Razing of Homes in Gaza Constitute Genocide?
The intentional destruction of homes is referred to as “domicide” by scholars and the UN, and can constitute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It has been used in armed conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar and now in Gaza, where Israel has destroyed more than 60 per cent of homes. The bombings of Gazan homes have also killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Gaslighting Greed: Uber Overcharges Riders and Underpays Drivers
That higher driver pay would force big fare hikes is one of Uber and Lyft’s favorite scare tactics. As drivers across the country have protested poverty wages and organized for better pay, the rideshare giants have trotted out this line again and again. It’s false. The companies are reaping billions at drivers’ and riders’ expense, especially where no protections are in place.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 30, 2024
Cracker Day at County Fairgrounds, Annual Spoonbills and Sprockets Cycling Tour, Peps Art Walk near JT’s Seafood Shack, ‘Bonnie and Clyde, the Musical,’ at Daytona Playhouse, the paranoid style of American politics strikes again in the Baltimore bridge collapse.
How Canada Responded to One Mass Shooting
March 30 marks the first anniversary of the release of the Mass Casualty Commission’s final report into the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead. It was the most thorough study of a mass shooting in Canadian history. The non-partisan commission’s 130 recommendations included several focused on gun laws and needed gun control, several of which were implemented.
They/Them vs. Him/Her: A Federal Judge Will Decide Legality of Florida’s Ban on Pronoun Freedom
A federal judge on Friday heard arguments in a court battle over a law restricting educators’ use of personal pronouns and titles in schools, in one of a series of challenges to Florida policies targeting LGBTQ people. The challenge alleges the law violates the teachers’ First Amendment rights and runs afoul of a federal civil-rights law.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 29, 2024
“Wait Until Dark,” at Limelight Theater in St. Augustine, “Bonnie and Clyde, the Musical,” at Daytona Playhouse, the recall of two censoring school board members in California, John McEnroe.
Will UN Security Council’s Gaza Cease-Fire Vote Mean Anything?
Attempts to define what a ceasefire is and what it entails will ultimately reveal a “lack of fit” with international law. This is because they are notoriously difficult to negotiate and enforce. This “lack of fit” has perhaps been most obvious in the UN Security Council’s deliberations over a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
DeSantis Signs Off and Drinks Up: You Can Now Buy a 4-Gallon Bottle of Wine in Florida
Under current state law, wine distributors and manufacturers are allowed to sell wine to other distributors and manufacturers in containers of any size, but regular Floridians are prohibited from purchasing wine in containers larger than one gallon. Under the new law (HB 583), wine will be allowed for purchase up to 15 liters, which is 3.963 gallons, according to the legislation.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, the Palm Coast Beautification advisory committee meets, where people are happiest in the world and what Edward Abbey has to say about the morose.
Disney and Oversight District Settle Lawsuit, Not Quite Ending Company’s Dispute With DeSantis
The deal ends an Orange County circuit-court lawsuit that came amid a feud between DeSantis and Disney over the company’s opposition to a 2022 state law that restricted instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. Disney filed a separate federal lawsuit and appealed after a U.S. district judge in January dismissed that case. The appeal remains pending.
Port Of Baltimore Bridge Collapse Will Rattle Supply Chains Again
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, has put a spotlight on the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest harbors in the U.S., which paused shipping and immediately halted all vessel traffic in and out. The overall economic toll will be high as billions of dollars of goods are rerouted amid the prospect of supply chains being snarled for months. It will also mean a loss of tax revenue for the city and state.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
The Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State hosts an open, freewheeling discussion, the weekly chess club for teens at the public library, India takes a page out of Trump’s book on Muslim bans.
Do Anti-Abortion Doctors Have Any Business Challenging Abortion Drug Access?
Who has the legal right to challenge decisions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration? And should the moral umbrage of a group of anti-abortion rights doctors shift policy across the country, limiting women’s ability to get the widely used abortion drug mifepristone? These are a few of the central questions that the Supreme Court fielded on March 26 during the oral arguments in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.
Lawsuit Challenges Constitutionality of Florida Law Restricting Employment for Chinese and Some Others
Two graduate students and a professor on Monday challenged the constitutionality of a 2023 state law that restricts employment of people from China and six other nations at Florida public universities and colleges. The challenge alleges, in part, that the law is unconstitutional because it is trumped by federal immigration laws.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
The Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop for the first time since firing its city manager, the School Board, alas, holds a pair of meetings, and a few thoughts about libraries loved and lost.
The Problem With Shaming People for Auschwitz Selfies
Based on our analysis, we think it may be better that young people engage with Holocaust sites in their own way, rather than not engaging at all. We also suggest that some commenters may be just as guilty as the selfie-takers, using their comments to show themselves in a positive light. Paradoxically, this is precisely what they are shaming the selfie-takers for doing: centering themselves, using the Holocaust as a prop.
DeSantis Signs Bill Restricting Children’s Social Media Accounts and Inviting Yet Another Lawsuit
With the state preparing for a legal challenge from the tech industry, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a high-profile bill aimed at keeping children off social-media platforms. Paul Renner and other key supporters argue that social-media companies have created addictive platforms that harm children’s mental health and can lead to sexual predators communicating with minors. But critics, including tech-industry groups, argue the bill is unconstitutional and point to courts blocking similar legislation in other states.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, March 25, 2024
The Flagler County Beekeepers Association holds its monthly meeting, the Bunnell City Commission meets, Randy Newman on Louisiana in 1927, and what it’s like to wake up to a minor flood and falling ceilings in one’s own home.
Even Nixon Said Americans Should Know ‘Whether Their President Is a Crook.’ Trump Says the Opposite.
When Nixon told British journalist David Frost in 1977 that “when the president does it … that means that it is not illegal,” Nixon hastened to add a crucial caveat that he was talking about war powers and national security, and specifically emphasized that he did not “mean to suggest the president is above the law.” Trump says he is.
The Austin Example: Is It Time to Drop Minimum Parking Rules to Make Housing More Affordable?
Most cities require homes and businesses to have parking. Critics say they drive up housing costs, foster car dependency and raise carbon emissions. Austin last year became the largest city in the country to do away with its minimum parking requirements, following in the steps of other major cities like Portland, Minneapolis and San Jose. Nixing parking minimums is part of a slate of reforms in Austin to loosen city land-use regulations and allow more housing to be built amid the city’s severe housing affordability crisis.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, March 24, 2024
Warbirds Over Flagler Fly-In at County Airport, the 2024 Flagler Wellness Expo, Caryl Churchill’s ‘Vinegar Tom,’ at City Repertory Theatre, the DeLand Outdoor Art Festival, a few words about Glenn Gould.
Religious Charter School Case Could Demolish Church-State Wall in Public Education
On April 2, 2024, Oklahoma’s Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that could reshape rules even further: whether to allow a Catholic charter school to open its doors, which critics say would all but demolish the line between church and state in education.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 23, 2024
Free Youth NCCAA Sports Clinic at Holland Park, Warbirds Over Flagler Fly-In at Flagler County Airport, Caryl Churchill’s ‘Vinegar Tom,’ at City Repertory Theatre, Akira Kurosawa, “Dersu Uzala” and Siberia.
Kate Middleton’s Photo Was Doctored. So Are a Lot of Images You See Today.
The most charitable interpretation of Kate Middleton’s doctoring of a family image is that she was trying to remove distracting or unflattering elements. But the artefacts could also point to multiple images being blended together. This could either be to try to show the best version of each person (for example, with a smiling face and open eyes), or for another purpose.
Pressure Mounts on DeSantis to Veto Vacation Rental Bill as Flagler County’s Exception Draws Sneers
A growing list of opponents have been inundating Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office with emails and phone calls to veto the vacation-rental bill that, after 10 years’ tries, succeeded in scaling back local regulation of the short-term rental industry–except in Flagler County, which got the favor of an exception thanks to Paul Renner, the house speaker and Palm Coast representative.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate Holds at 4.1%, Florida’s Holds at 3.1%
In Flagler County, the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent, same as in January, with very modest growth in the labor force and the number of people employed–just under 50,000–and no change in the number of those collecting unemployment–2,121.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 22, 2024
Unemployment numbers are released, groundbreakings for the future Bunnell City Hall and Police Department and for the future Commerce Parkway, Anna Magdalena Bach and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Caryl Churchill’s ‘Vinegar Tom,’ at City Repertory Theatre.
Why Millions of Americans Still Believe the 2020 Election Was ‘Stolen’ From Trump
Two thirds of Republican voters (and nearly 3 in 10 Americans) continue to believe that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and that Biden was not lawfully elected. In fact, this “election denialism” is one of the major differences between those who support Trump and those who voted for his rival, Nikki Haley.
DeSantis Signs ‘Live Healthy’ Package Spending $1.5 billion to Bolster Health Care Programs
The plan focuses on retaining and attracting health care workers to the state, creating a loan program for innovative health care projects, establishing behavioral health teaching hospitals, and providing at-home and community-based services to Floridians with disabilities.
Opponents Seeking to Redefine Constitutional Language on ‘Persons’ to Keep Abortion Rights Proposal Off Ballot
With the Florida Supreme Court deciding whether an abortion-rights constitutional amendment should go on the November ballot, Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office and abortion opponents are urging justices to consider another part of the state Constitution that they say could apply to “unborn children.” Moody’s office Monday raised the possibility of filing an additional brief about what is described as the “natural persons” provision of the state Constitution.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, March 21, 2024
Blessedly, one of the shortest Briefings in memory, with happy birthday wishes to Alvin Jackson, Story Time for Preschoolers at the Flagler Beach library, and a little advice from Gloria Gaynor and John McEnroe.
How Christians Misused the Bible to Justify Slavery
How had religions supposedly dedicated to propagating the word of a compassionate and loving God become so intricately involved in slavery’s “appalling evil”? The answer is rooted in a grotesque misuse of the very words of the Bible. Of the many ways that Christians have invoked the Bible to justify their actions, none has exceeded in cruelty and willful ignorance their appropriation of the “Curse of Ham” to justify slavery.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Joint Workshop on 5-Year Public Safety Plan, the Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board meets, an evidentiary hearing in the case of George Proulx, who argues his four-year prison sentence for molesting girls was too harsh, “Drug Thugs and Rambo Guns.”
Does Hosting Major Sports Events Like Olympics or World Cup Pay Off?
Host countries appear to suffer from increased tax burdens, low returns on public investments, high construction costs, and onerous running cost of facilities after the event. Communities can also be blighted by noise, pollution, and damage to the environment, while increased criminal activity and potential conflicts between locals and visitors can take a toll on their quality of life.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Food Truck Tuesday returns in Central Park, the Flagler County canvassing board meets three times to go over ballots in the least consequential election of the year, inflation progress stalls, the Flagler Beach Library Writers’ Club meets.
Why Are Chinese Migrants At the Southern Border?
In many cases those attempting to make the crossing are small-business owners who saw irreparable damage to their primary or sole source of income due to China’s “zero COVID” policies. The migrants are women, men and, in some cases, children accompanying parents from all over China. The dramatic uptick is the result of a confluence of factors that range from a slowing Chinese economy and tightening political control by President Xi Jinping.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, March 18, 2024
The Flagler County Commission meets, Charles-Valentin Alkan moves us with his vision esquisse, Rabbit resents being made to realize that the songs of his life were not what he thought.
Yes, GOP Sexism Helped Defeat Haley
Research confirms that individuals who supported Trump display much higher levels of sexism than those who favored Haley. In her challenge to Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, Haley, like female candidates across the partisan divide, contended with the familiar foe of sexism in the electorate.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, March 17, 2024
Caryl Churchill’s ‘Vinegar Tom,’ at City Repertory Theatre, the farmer’s market at European Village, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and not just “The Yellow Wall-Paper.”
The National Guard Is Not a Solution to School Violence
School violence and disruptions are serious problems that can harm students. Unfortunately, schools and educators have increasingly viewed student misbehavior as a problem to be dealt with through suspensions and policing. While a National Guard presence may address misbehavior temporarily, their presence could similarly result in students experiencing punitive or exclusionary responses to behavior.
The Truth About St. Patrick’s Day
The Festival of St. Patrick began in the 17th century as a religious and cultural commemoration of the bishop who brought Christianity to Ireland. In Ireland, there’s still an important religious and cultural component to the holiday, even as it has simply become an excuse to wear green and heavily drink in the rest of the world.
Cash Bail: Unfair, and a Violation of Due Process
When arrested on suspicion of committing a crime, everyone in the United States has the right to due process and to defend themselves in court. But in a cash bail system, when judges set bail amounts, those who cannot pay the full amount remain jailed indefinitely — a clear violation of their due process rights — while the rich can pay their way out of jail.
DeSantis Says Undocumented Immigrants Will ‘Regret’ Coming to Florida as He Signs Harsher Penalties Into Law
One bill doesn’t mention migrants specifically but imposes a mandatory 10-day jail sentence for a third or subsequent conviction for driving without a license or with a license that has been suspended, cancelled, or revoked. Another bumps criminal penalties for people who commit felonies after having been deported and returning to the United States.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 16, 2024
Food Truck Palooza, Kick-off for the annual Food-A-Thon at FPC, Caryl Churchill’s ‘Vinegar Tom,’ at City Repertory Theatre, Live From the Waterworks, and You’ve Got Mail: how long it took letters to travel 500 years ago.
The Anthropocene: How the Human Era of Planet-Desecration Got Its Controversial Name
When people talk about the “Anthropocene,” they typically picture the vast impact human societies are having on the planet, from rapid declines in biodiversity to increases in Earth’s temperature by burning fossil fuels. Such massive planetary changes did not begin all at once at any single place or time.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 15, 2024
“Vinegar Tom,” at City Repertory Theatre, The Blue 24 Forum, still-going early voting for the non-election, how Disney priced out Floridians, and how Saddam Hussein rebuilt Babylon.