Republicans aren’t buying into Rick Scott’s tax-cut deceptions anymore, the Swiss may be rethinking their lust for guns, relationships in the age of the cougar, horoscope nonsense, a Tylenol forum, and more.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
St. Johns County Extends Burn Ban Through Mid-April
The St. Johns County Commission extended the burn ban through April 18 as little persistent rain is expected in the region. Flagler County’s burn ban is in effect, but doesn’t yet stretch that long.
Oh Hell! To Choose Love By Another’s Eyes: Culture Worth the Miles
Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, “Five Course Love,” a manatee festival in Orange City, the Best of Broadway, and more.
A Night at the Homeless Shelter: From the Eyes of a Volunteer
Charlie Ericksen Jr., a volunteer at Flagler County’s homeless shelter–The Sheltering Tree–describes the refuge on a recent cold night.
These Dorks’ Fun Begins After They Get Hit By a Bus: “Forever Plaid” At Flagler Auditorium
“Forever Plaid” is a musical tribute to the 1950s, to innocence, to lovable dorkiness and to four-part harmonies. The show has been pleasing audiences for more than 20 years across most continents.
Legislators Bash Pill Mill Crackdown Delays They — and Gov. Rick Scott — Provoked
Florida senators are complaining about the state department of health’s slow implementation of pill mill crackdowns. But the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott are to blame for the delays.
Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy With Past Blemish Is Jailed on Cash Evidence Theft and Misconduct
Matthew Koenig, with the Sheriff’s Office since 1998, was accused of burglary in 2008. That charge was dropped. He was jailed Wednesday on a charge of stealing almost $5,000 from evidence envelopes.
Animal Kingdom Hippos, the Parthenon, and a Candlelight Vigil: Culture Worth the Miles
Wild Africa Trek, a unique 3-hour new African-wildlife inspired experience at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Josh Garrick’s photographic Parthenon retrospective, honoring MLK and swimming in watercolors at Maitland’s Watercolor Society.
FPL’s Bogus $1.25 Billion Rate Increase: Ex-PSC Commissioner Nathan Skop Tells All
The Florida Public Service Commission was right to turn down all but million of FPL’s rate-increase request last year, former commissioner Nathan Skop says
23 Panthers Killed in Florida in 2010, 16 of Them by Vehicles
The endangered Florida panther numbers less than 200 animals in South Florida. Every year, in rising numbers, 12 to 17 panthers are killed on Florida roads. Yet the panther population may be increasing.
My 10 Predictions for 2011
A recap of how I did last year and a look ahead: Obama creeps up, Jon Netts loses, the Supremes overturn health care reform, the fake recovery goes on, Arabs and Israelis go at it again, David Grossman wins big, and a few more.
U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls to 9.4%, But Underlying Improvement Is Limited
The economy added 103,000 jobs in December, but the falling unemployment rate masks persistently bad numbers for the long-term unemployed, including 2.6 million workers no longer counted in the unemployment rate.
9.5-Inch Rain Deficit at Year’s End, Falling Aquifer: Hydrologic Summary for July-December
The latest bi-annual report on water conditions in the region: a severe drought netting a 9.52-inch deficit at year’s end, lower flows on the St. Johns, and a still-declining aquifer.
Nine Ways Health Care Reform
May Affect You in 2011 BB (Before Boehner)
Lower prescription costs for seniors, calorie counters in restaurant menus, higher Medicare premiums, more restrictions on health savings accounts: some of the changes you can expect this year, and more.
A Cabaret in Winter Park, Bryce Hammond Returns to New Smyrna: Culture Worth the Miles
Artist Bryce Hammond returns to his native New Smyrna’s Arts on Douglas Gallery, Heather Alexander is Born to Entertain at the Winter Park Playhouse, brash talent at the he Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park and the Toronto Symphony.
Prediction Rollovers, I: How 2011 Looked to Henry Ford and Other Psychics in 1931
The New York Times in 1931 asked several luminaries of the period to predict what life would be like in 2011. The results were predictably dismal, but not for obvious reasons. A look back at how little things change.
Happy 2011! A Year-End Report from FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam
A summary of FlaglerLive’s first seven months: some explanation about how we grew to 3,200 visits a day and some speculation as to why, and a look back at the site’s highlights, accomplishments and limitations.
Bleeding Dangers: Has Your Dialysis Clinic Been Inspected Lately? Not Likely
The United States spends $20 billion a year to care for some 400,000 Americans who rely on chronic dialysis to live. Inspection rates vary from higher than 40 percent per year in some states to lower than 10 percent in others.
Floridians, Start Your Orwells: Rick Scott’s Buzzword-Assault on State Health Care
Judging from a 68-page transition team report, Rick Scott will seek to accelerate privatization of state health services. He has a willing audience among business-friendly Republican legislative leaders.
Culture for the Visiting In-Laws
Arts columnist Josh Garrick saves the day with a list of suggestions, should you find yourself stuck with in-laws (or any extended family) and the perennial question: “What else is there to see?”
How Sheriff Fleming and FDLE Are Manipulating Press and Public Over Pill Mills
Sheriff Don Fleming on Tuesday led one of of three simultaneous news conferences on prescription-drug related arrests in 10 northeast Florida counties. It was more hype than news, much of it recycled.
Julian Assange’s Greatest Leak: Americans Prefer Their Government Mostly Masked
The case against Julian Assange and Wikileaks is nonexistent, Darrell Smith argues in a column. What case has been built against him unravels the false claim that Americans prefer their government to be transparent.
All Eyes on Pensacola Federal Judge Roger Vinson as Health Reform Faces Its Next Bug
Pensacola-based federal District Judge Roger Vinson will be ruling soon on the constitutionality of Obama’s health care reform. He’s likely to rule it unconstitutional, further weakening the law’s legitimacy as it moves toward the U.S. Supreme Court.
Saluting FPC’s Student Government, Developers’ Psyche, USB’s New Dress Code: The Live Wire, Dec. 16
BP’s other blow-outs, are developers greedy or misunderstood?, your answers if you want to be a journalist, debating Islam, how relationships die, and more.
Toxic Bosses: When Supervisors Inflict the 7 Deadly Sins of Business on Their Employees
When it comes to anger, greed, laziness, pride, lust, jealousy and, of course, gluttony, there’s no beating the boss: Florida State University researchers are documenting the toxic effects of lousy supervisors on their workers.
The Week’s Highlights: FlaglerLive’s Video Recap, Dec. 9-15, 2010
On Point reviews the week’s main events, including Palm Coast’s park construction past and future, the city’s half-marathon promoter’s troubles, a mess of wrecks, and more.
Health Care Reform Ruled Unconstitutional; Florida Judge’s Decision Up Next
Monday’s ruling doesn’t stop the roll-out of federal health care reform. Two federal judges have previously ruled the law constitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court will settle the issue by 2012 or 2013.
The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol and Beguiling Genders: Culture Worth the Miles
Three actors portray all of the characters in Dickens’ Christmas Carol at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center, Michael Andrew at the Plaza Theater, The Nutcracker (of course) by the Orlando Ballet, and more.
A Confederacy of Bipartisan Dunces
Obama’s deal with a minority of Republicans over extending tax cuts and adding $900 billion to the national debt is the latest in three decades of bipartisan collusion between Washington and the myth of American power.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 8-hr 38mn Speech on Obama’s Deal With the GOP
On Dec. 10, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent, held the floor of the Senate for eight hours and 38 minutes in a remarkable filibuster-like speech opposing Obama’s tax deal with the GOP. Here’s the full speech.
Turnout Strategy: Florida’s War on Federal Health Care Reform Targets 2012 Ballot
Florida Senate Republicans approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would exempt Floridians from following federal health care reform mandates. The 2012 ballot measure is intended to bring out anti-Obama voters.
Prosecutorial Impotence: How Bankers Crashed the System and Got Away With It
The most popular reason offered for the dearth of financial crisis prosecutions is that the banking system was hit by a systemic and unforeseeable disaster, which means that it’s unlikely that anyone committed any crimes. Is it?
The Many Lies of Waiting for Superman, Beating Terrorism, Disney’s Epic Mickey: Live Wire, Dec. 8
Waiting for Superman, a documentary packed with exciting lies about charter schools, comes to Palm Coast, why no one cares about the jobless, suicide bombers, Beatles fans getting excited about Paul McCartney’s death, and more.
To Ban Texting While Driving in Florida: Ormond Beach Lawmaker Will Try Again
Such bans have failed repeatedly in previous years. Sen. Evelyn Lynn, the Ormond Beach Republican, hopes Florida will be the 31st state this year to ban texting and other such uses of cell phones while driving.
From Handel’s Messiah to a Boat Parade: Culture Worth the Miles
A Messiah performance by the Orlando Philharmonic, the 7th Annual Winter Park Holiday Boat Parade, Paperworks exhibit at the Eustis Museum of Art, Florida sculptor Barbara Sorensen at the Museum of Florida Art, a free holiday concert by the Maitland Symphony Orchestra, and more.
From Flagler County to Pearl Harbor: James Brazier Booe’s Story
Flagler’s own Chief Petty Officer James Brazier Booe, son of former Flagler County Superintendent Zeb E. and Ida Coffing Booe, was among the 3,500 Americans killed or wounded at Pearl Harbor. Here’s his story.
Why Fish & Wildlife Commission Is Keeping Strict Limits on Snook Fishing in Florida
Snook fishing was allowed this fall, Fish and Wildlife Chairman Rodney Barreto writes, but all harvesting of the fish in Florida waters will end from Dec. 15 until at least next September to better protect stock and spawning.
Cold Weather Shelter Needs You, A Panther at Linear Park, Qatar’s US Trouncing: The Live Wire, Dec. 6
The cold weather shelter for the homeless is open in Bunnell and needs your help, 2011’s biggest job killers (your local governments), Obama’s wimpiness,Christmas parades and grand marshals, Starbucks’ language problem, and more.
How Rick Scott Bought the Election
Rick Scott spent more than $60 million of his own money, and drew on a slew of health care industries through a front called the “Let’s Get to Work” committee.
At Indian Trails, Girls’ and Boys’ Reading Clubs Find Creative Ways to Fill Their Library
The girls’ reading club hosted a sleep-over in the library, the boys’ club launched a reading campaign, and both are sponsoring a book drive this week to benefit the ITMS library.
US Unemployment Rises to 9.8% as Job Creation Again Declines to Just 39,000
Temporary workers lost jobs in droves and the previous month’s stronger job gains did not hold up, sending the unemployment rate to its highest level since last December. GOP lawmakers continue blocking extensions of unemployment benefits.
More Foreclosure Screws, Jeb Bush Finds His Inner Hispanic, Christmas in Flagler Beach: The Live Wire, Dec. 2
Flagler Beach celebrates Christmas Dec. 3 and 4, the GOP denies children their lunch, Amazon censors Wikileaks, remembering Rosa Parks’ moment, the decline of marriage, the latest from Little Miss Flagler Daviana Campbell, and more.
Dismantled or Reorganized, It May Be the End of the Department of Health As We Know It
The state Department of Health is facing a reorganization–and possibly a dismantling–that may affect the way local departments of health are run, and the diseases they keep track of.
In Praise of Wikileaks: Undressing The Scams and Shams of Government Secrecy
With rare exceptions, it’s never been true that secrecy protects national security or interests. Rather, secrecy damages both, often with costly, lethal consequences. That’s why Wikileaks is an indispensable service to democracy.
Wrongful Foreclosure: What You Need To Know
Banks and foreclosure defense attorneys disagree on whether errors in the process have caused wrongful foreclosures — but their definitions of what constitutes a “wrongful foreclosure” differ.
Eleanor Roosevelt: If I Were a Republican Today
In a 1950 piece for Cosmopolitan that could have been written today, Eleanor Roosevelt sees through the vacuous sloganeering of the Republican opposition, though she’s not much kinder to Democrats.
3,338 Days: U.S. Occupation of Afghanistan Is Now Longer Than Soviet Union’s
A photo gallery of the human and inhuman side of a conflict that’s worse than Vietnam in many ways, and is damaging American strategic and financial interests–with no end in sight. The only clear winner: al-Qaeda.
The Anti-Black Friday: In Flagler Beach, Small Business Saturday Rings Up Authenticity
Carol Fisher isn’t interested in the madness of Black Friday. In a column, she invites you to experience the more authentically American tradition of small, heartbeat businesses that are the life transfusions of local economies.
A Little Frankenstein to Brighten the Holiday Season: Culture Worth the Miles
You want culture? Free culture? You’ve got it: Winter Park’s Central Park offers the annual Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s Holiday Pops concerts Nov. 28; on Dec. 2, it’s the Bach Festival Choir singing to the illumination of the Morse Museum’s Tiffany windows. Plus Frankenstein and much more.
Casablanca, Thoreau, Haydn, Even Ayn Rand: A Thanksgiving Weekend LiveWire
Big thanks to FlaglerLive readers, Dooley Wilson plays it again, the hero entrepreneur myth is questioned, Joseph Haydn as Rodney Dangerfield, Ayn Rand on atheism, Richard Pryor on “nigger,” and plenty more.