A $100 reward is put out to punch Florida Congressman Alan Grayson. A death threat follows, not for the first time.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Florida Tax-Free Days: The Fine Print
The tax-free holiday in all its details: what’s tax-free, what’s not, according to Florida’s tax revenue department.
Questions of Relevance and Relevant Questions Over Shooting at Sheriff’s Capt.’s House
Wagons circled around a sheriff’s captain after we reported on a shooting at his house, revealing a disturbing double-standard when law enforcement isn’t in the best light.
Don’t Fall For It: The “Obama Mom” College Grant Scam
Obama mom ads are everywhere. But there’s no such thing as an Obama grant for moms, who are eligible for Pell Grants, student loans and other aid like anybody else.
Florida Leads States’ Failures in Reporting Problem Caregivers
Florida leads the nation in ignoring federal database reporting of health professionals who have been disciplined on the job, undermining background and safety checks on frontline caregivers.
Beat Shuffle at the News-Journal
The paper is making fewer changes than meet the eye while continuing to attempt to do a little more with far less.
Food Safety Inspections End At Florida Hospitals, Child Cares and Nursing Homes
A new law designed to diminish duplication of services ends them instead, as food-preparation for children, the sick and the elderly will go mostly uninspected from now on.
Sunshine Fusion: Florida Art, Music & History Merge in Landmark Symphonic Performance
Mark your calendars for this one: A uniquely Florida, uniquely artistic performance of “A Historic Portrait in Sound” combing painting, music and words Sept. 18-19 in DeLand.
Flagler and Volusia Unemployment Rising Again, Florida’s Dipping for 3rd Month
Flagler’s 15.4 percent unemployment rate makes it the second-worst in the state after Hendry County’s 16.1 percent.
Compact Shuffles Bad Nurses Like Parishes Shuffling Bad Priests
A 24-state nursing compact, which does not include Florida, enables nurses to evade their shady pasts merely by moving to a new job.
Mandatory Mediation on Home Mortgage Foreclosures To Start in Flagler July 19
Mediation is designed to reduce the caseload on the court system and help people stay in their homes. Whether it actually works is open to question.
Your Water Management District Tax Next Year: $42 (On Average, Anyway)
The tentative $247.4 million budget is 21 percent, or $65.8 million, less than the current fiscal year’s amended budget. Half the budget is made up of your property taxes.
This Week in Orlando: Culture Worth The Miles
Marc Cohn, Clyde Butcher, a theater festival, new ballet stars, Herman’s Hermits’ 60s, and much more.
State’s Largest Districts Find “Significant Anomalies” in FCAT Results and Demand Halt to Grading
In the latest FCAT testing scandal this year, superintendents want FCAT tests investigated before high-stakes school grades are released.
Florida Beaches Stay Open Despite Tar Balls and Sicknesses
Despite EPA warnings that some Florida beaches may be unsafe, people are taking to them–and getting sick.
Portrait of a Transcending Mind: J.J. Graham’s Hollingsworth Gallery Genesis
J.J. Graham is remaking Palm Coast’s art world through his Hollingsworth Gallery, which he opened at City Walk in January 2009. He’s remaking more than the art world.
BP Texas Refinery Spewed Tons of Toxic Chemicals for 40 Days Just Before Gulf Blowout
From April top Mid-May, a BP refinery in Texas spewed 538,000 pounds of toxic chemicals into the skies for 40 days, and never shut down the refinery.
For a Few Dollars More: How the News-Journal Is Hounding Its Retirees
Retirees’ pension and health plans are in jeopardy as battle continues over who’s owed what first.
This Week in Orlando: Culture Worth The Miles
Singer Andrea Canny, Harpist Christine MacPhail at the rescued James Gamble Rogers home, rocking tributes at Epcot, impressionist William Vincent Kirkpatrick, Marc Cohn and more.
Proudest Moment on a Gray Day:
On Becoming an American
My personal July 4th happens to fall on December 16. That day, 24 years ago, I became an American. The day has become more important to me than any other, including my birthday.
Miss Flagler County 2010 Essay Winner: Recession or Not, Blessings Point to Rebound
As a nation and a culture, whether in recession or not, we are incredibly blessed and should be thankful, says Mia Parliaricci in an essay that won her this year’s Miss Flagler County essay competition.
Double-Dip: US Economy Loses 125,000 Jobs Even as Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.5%
With census jobs vanishing, so is job creation as the US economy in June appeared headed for a double-dip recession.
Prescription Pill-Popping By Far a Leading Killer as Florida’s Drug Deaths Spike 20%
Oxycodone, the addictive prescription pain-killer also known as OxyContin, directly caused more deaths in Florida in 2009 than cocaine, heroin and morphine combined.
Charter School Failure: Why Imagine and Heritage Weren’t Included in FCAT Tallies
Charter schools are not in the same league as traditional public schools. Their standards are lower. The burden is on charters to prove their worth.
Flagler Get Your Gun: Supremes Rule 5-4 That 2nd Amendment Extends to States and Locals
The ruling is more likely to confuse rather than clarify how state and local gun regulations may be written into law.
Senate Tribute to Robert C. Byrd on Casting His 15,000th Vote
A tribute to Robert Byrd, never before published, on his casting his 15,000th vote in the Senate. Byrd died this morning, June 28, at 3 a.m. He was 92.
Bill Delbrugge Joins FlaglerLive Board; Here’s Who We Are
An introduction to the seven-member FlaglerLive Board of Directors, and a few words about who we are and what we’re about.
Drill This: Hundreds in Flagler, Thousands Across Globe’s Sands Link Against Oil
The moment was as symbolic as it was literal: a human chain in Flagler Beach against off-shore oil drilling and for alternatives to fossil fuels.
Hit the Beaches: Solidarity Against Oil As Hands Across the Sands Gets Set for Noon
Colleen Conklin, the school board member, is organizing the event–handing out slips and whistles, synchronizing the human link–along with Carmen Arasknick.
Firing McChrystal Isn’t Enough. Fire the War.
The McChrystal firing is the Obama administration’s grandest distraction from a failing war it still pretends to be winnable.
Barbary Wars, the Sequel: US Moves On for First Time Since ’94
Live commentary of the critical US-Algeria match, along with the simultaneous and deciding England-Slovenia clash.
100,000 Barrels Per Day? The Internal Document that Contradicts BP’s Claims on Oil Flow
The 100,000-barrels-per-day scenario contrasts sharply with BP’s public pronouncements of a much smaller spill rate.
Census Jobs Help Lower Unemployment; Flagler at 15.1%, Florida at 11.7%
As in the rest of the nation, census employment is lowering the unemployment rate. But will it last?
Florida Law on Wrecker-Operators and Penalties for Skirting the System
Florida law prohibits unauthorized wrecker operators from monitoring police communications to scout for potential business.
Timeline: Bunnell Police Department Firings and Resignations, 2005-2012
The Bunnell Police Department has been riddled with serious internal problems for the past several years. The following is a list of firings, resignations and allegations going back only to 2005.
FPC & Matanzas Students Collect the Most Awards in World Competition’s 36 Years
The school’s Future Problem Solvers brought home three top awards, plus second, third and fourth place trophies.
CNN Confessions: Not Quite Oprah After the Show
What was supposed to be a leisurely interview on Saturday afternoon turned into its own Deepwater Horizon blowout.
Engaging the Next Generation By Shutting It Up
An exception among metro newspapers, the News-Journal silenced all online comments under the guise of maintaining standards.
Catch FlaglerLive on CNN
I’ll be on CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield during the 3 p.m. hour discussing the oil spill’s impact on local governments, and particular local school districts.
Crist, Rediscovering His Inner Moderate, Vetoes Anti-Abortion Bill
The veto continues Crist’s rejection of GOP hard lines against teacher unions and in favor of unregulated business.
Fury and Fallacies Hook Red Snapper Fishing Ban
The indefinite extension of the ban on commercial or recreational fishing for red snapper off Florida’s coast will hurt boaters. But so would overfishing and crashing fish populations.
3 From FPC, Representing Florida, Heading for DC’s Kennedy Center Stage
Boyd Fulmer, Caitlin Hannan and Jeff McDevitt join 82 other top students in the National Honor Ensembles for the concert at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
How the Chamber’s Tax Proposal Undermines Schools, Cities and the County
Ignoring leery voters and a building bust, the Flagler chamber’s tax for commercial construction is jeopardizing local governments’ own urgent tax referendums in 2011 and 2012.
Job Creation Soars by 431,000, Almost All Census-Driven; Unemployment Down to 9.7%
Despite the surge in employment, signs are grim for sustained job recovery as private-sector and construction jobs lag.
Hanging With Manatees
It’s not just seeing manatees upclose alone that moves you. It’s seeing their injuries, and their utter helplessness.
Feds, Not Florida, Will Pay for Medicaid’s 1 Million New Beneficiaries
Attorney General Bill McCollum’s claim that health reform forces Florida to shell out too much money for Medicaid is demonstrably false.
Ego and Egoer
Two of Volusia’s giant egos, Daytona State’s Kent Sharples and ICI Homes’ Mori Hosseini, have turned the college board into their own little Khe Sanh. The NJ puts in some worthy war reporting.
Graduations from God to America
Graduation speeches are part of the American habit of reinvention. They should be provocative and revealing, even if we don’t all agree with the message.
Pryor to Class of 2010: “Take Your Chance, Make Your Choice, Make Your Move”
Citing William Jennings Bryan, Robert Frost and David Wilcox, Matanzas High School Principal Chris Pryor mixed anecdotes and metaphor in his last words of advice to the Class of 2010.
Ten Things You Should Know About the $70.4 Billion Budget Crist Is About To Sign
Undermining Bright Futures, imposing ultrasounds on pregnant women, studying school funding, favoring bikers, and more curiosities from the state budget.