Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends “universal indoor masking” in schools regardless of vaccination status, schools across the country are not embracing mask requirements, including for students under 12 who aren’t yet eligible for protective vaccines.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 20, 2021
Flagler County Planning Director Adam Mengel and GoTobin Publisher and Realtor Toby Tobin talk growth on WNZF’s Free for All, Palm Coast reviews cultural arts grants, a scorcher of a day with the heat index reaching toward 108.
Why I No Longer Think We Can Eliminate Covid
The fact that the virus is mutating may explain why they’ve found it harder to keep it at bay. The virus is becoming better at spreading in humans. The alpha variant is around 50% to 100% more transmissible than the original virus that emerged in late 2019, and delta around 50% more transmissible than alpha. The more infectious the virus becomes, the more that has to be done to enforce suppression.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 19, 2021
Distant and unthreatening tropical activity, a plea, in the Flagler wilderness, to do the right thing on masking, free testing and vaccine schedules at two locations, Alejo Carpentier on freedom of expression.
Schools and Covid Safety: What Works and What Doesn’t
Vaccines and masks work. Plexiglass and temperature checks aren’t worth it, testing everyone isn’t necessary, but students should still keep their distances when eating–and the delta variant still has many unknowns.
White House Orders Nursing Home Workers in Florida Vaccinated, Whatever DeSantis Says
As Covid-19 cases continue to surge in Florida, the White House announced Wednesday that nursing homes that rely on Medicaid and Medicare funding must require their staff members to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
State Board of Education Hints It Could Remove School District Officials Defiant Over Masking Rules
The state Board of Education ordered an investigation of the actions of Alachua County and Broward County school officials and suggested the result could include withholding funds from the districts, or that “it may involve withholding salaries, it may involve removing officers, it may involve reviewing district conduct.” The state board did not impose such penalties Tuesday.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 18, 2021
A hearing about a fugitive murderer out of New York in circuit court, Brian McMillan on vaccines, FPL’s rate-hike request, Mohsin Hamid on America’s retro infatuation with flags and uniforms.
Afghanistan and American Hubris
In Afghanistan, American hubris–the United States’ capacity for self-delusion and official lying – has struck once again, as it has repeatedly for the last 60 years. This weakness-masquerading-as-strength has repeatedly led the country into failed foreign interventions.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 17, 2021
The Palm Coast City Council votes on land use changes and hears about a new partnership for teen programs at the Community Center. The School Board talks legislative priorities and impact fees. A couple of words from Bernard Rustin.
Social Justice Begins With Honest History
As 28 states consider or enact legislation to limit the teaching of this painful history, this is in fact a moment to dig more deeply into our nation’s past. Doing so can uncover the roots of our current challenges – from what children learn in school to how Americans are treated as they drive a car – and help us chart a better path forward.
Food Stamps Benefits Will Increase 25%, First Increase in 15 Years, Helping 15,000 in Flagler
In Flagler County, 14,809 people in 7,546 households were receiving food stamps, and 3.3 million Floridians in 1.9 million households were. Average monthly benefits will increase to $157, or $36 more than pre-pandemic levels.
The Forever Failures
President Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan is welcome news, in one sense. Our part of the war will finally be over. But it’s 20 years too late. And his claim that we achieved our goals is absurd. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban won. We lost another war where we did not belong.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 16, 2021
The East Flagler Mosquito Control District considers expanding its boundaries, the County Commission discusses its budget and the sheriff’s request for additional deputies, Old Kings Road North closes again tonight past Palm Coast Parkway.
Afghanistan Was Always a Losing Battle
Over the past 20 years, the US has poured trillions of dollars into Afghanistan to oust the Taliban, an effort that was clearly unsuccessful. But a look at the country’s strategic geographic location and the politics of the region (including support for the Taliban) tells us that this outcome was inevitable.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 15, 2021
Old Kings Road nightly closures north of Palm Coast Parkway, finishing up a soggy weekend, Sunday covid testing or vaccination hours between 9 and 11 a.m. at the Health Department, a Donald Barthelme observation about good conversation.
Wonder and Promise of the Appalachian Trail
The AT, as it’s widely known, is a national icon on a par with conservation touchstones like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone’s Old Faithful geyser and the Florida Everglades. It symbolizes opportunity – the chance to set out on a life-altering experience in the great outdoors, or at least a pleasant walk in the woods.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 14, 2021
Tropical Storm Fred swings west, the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the Marineland History exhibit and Surf Culture Museum, covid testing and vaccinations this weekend.
Holocaust Survivors Got Reparations. Why Not Slavery’s Descendants?
It’s easier to obtain reparations when the event occurred within living historical memory. It’s also easier when there are only a few identifiable perpetrators. And it is still easier when there is a limited number of victims, and the event occurred within a short period of time.
Pfizer CEO to Public: Just Trust Us on the Covid Booster
Pfizer has not yet delivered conclusive proof to back up confidence that a third, booster, shot would improve immunity. The company lacks late-stage clinical trial results to confirm a booster will work against covid variants including delta, which now accounts for 93% of new infections across the U.S.
DeSantis Pursues Mask Crackdown in Schools as Covid Surge Continues and Counties Defy Orders
The State Board of Education has scheduled an emergency meeting Tuesday “to consider the compliance of school districts, including Broward and Alachua” with the rule and a new state law. Broward and Alachua have imposed mask requirements in schools.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 13, 2021
UNF Mednexus CEO David Szymanski is on WNZF, it’s “Jumanji: The Next Level,” at Movies in the Park in Palm Coast’s Town Center, and Fred is expected to re-become a tropical storm by evening as it nears the Florida Peninsula.
The Immense Tax Sums Religious Organizations Don’t Pay
If religious organizations in Manatee County paid property taxes, they would add $8.5 million to the tax revenue of the county annually, or 1.1% of the total, enough to cover, in just one year, the building of three newly proposed emergency medical services stations in the county, along with upgrades of EMS equipment and its 911 service.
My Kids’ School Won’t Reinstate Masks Despite the Covid Surge. Here’s What I Chose to Do.
“It’s disappointing that the districts are not implementing the strategies recommended by the CDC to keep these kids safe when there is moderate to high transmission,” said Elizabeth Stuart, a biostatistician at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in reference to districts that are not requiring masks. “It puts families into these really challenging situations.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 12, 2021
No Flagler Beach City Commission meeting this evening as a couple of commissioners and the city manager are attending the annual conference of the Flagler League of Cities in Orlando through Saturday. Tropical Storm Fred is threading its way across the northern coast of Cuba.
Don’t Be Too Quick to Claim Voter Suppression
Classifying a law as a voter suppression, as a voting restriction or as a tightening of a rule for voting involves judgment. It anticipates the future effect of a law, and it concludes that the law will have a negative effect. Some new laws do that. But many are ordinary rules of election administration that simply don’t merit those labels and likely have no discernible effect, much less a negative effect, on the right to vote.
First in Florida, Embry-Riddle Now Offers Robotic Food Deliveries
Starship Technologies rolled out its robot food delivery service Tuesday on Embry Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus, making it the first university in Florida to offer automated delivery robot service to its students. On-demand, zero-emission deliveries will now be part of the dining options offered by food service provider Sodexo, providing a greener way for Eagles to score quick meals.
Judge Will Weigh DeSantis Order Banning Mask Mandates in Schools
A Leon County circuit judge has scheduled a hearing Friday in a lawsuit filed by parents challenging an executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis that seeks to prevent school districts from requiring students to wear masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 11, 2011
Keep an eye out for Fred, the indecisive storm. The Health Department’s two locations for rapid testing and vaccinations are operating from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.–at the county airport and at the department’s headquarters in Bunnell.
Millions of Working Americans Still Can’t Afford Food and Rent
The economy runs better when people aren’t forced to choose between paying rent, buying food or getting medicine. Yet too many are compelled to do just that. The average American city has a cost of living of around $30,000 a year for a single person.
DeSantis Administration Threatens to Dock School Officials’ Pay Over Masks. White House Says It May Cover Paychecks.
Most districts have reluctantly acceded to the rules, requiring kids to wear masks but offering opt-outs at the request of parents or guardians. Broward County school officials voted Tuesday to mandate masks and if necessary challenge DeSantis in court. The Flagler school district is not going so far as to mandate, even with an opt-out. Reports from schools today indicate that only a minority of students masked up, while top school officials visiting the schools did so unmasked.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 10, 2021
It’s back to school for what the district hopes is 13,000 students or more, almost entirely as as normal. The Palm Coast City Council meets in a long workshop talking on budgeting, garbage, street paving and many other issues.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 9, 2021
The Flagler County Commission debates the sheriff’s request for 15 additional deputies (in addition to the 10 he’s requested from Palm Coast). The reconstituted Bunnell City Commission meets at 7 p.m. Circuit Judge Terence Perkins holds bond, status, and sentencing hearings. A few words from Richard Nixon about his resignation.
For Palestinians and Israelis, Human Rights and Another Grand Bargain
The recent flare-up in the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict shows both that the issue is not going away and that prospects for real progress remain bleak. Two perspectives offer a way to see anew a solution to the conflict.
Now That It’s Cleared, a Massive Gambling Compact Is About to Change the Florida Landscape
It’s official. Federal authorities green-lighted Florida’s gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida on Friday, marking the start of a new cultural era by allowing digital gambling statewide for the first time in Florida history. The 30-year compact is worth $2.5 billion to the state of Florida in just the first five years.
How Unemployment Insurance Fraud Exploded During the Pandemic
Bots filing bogus applications in bulk, teams of fraudsters in foreign countries making phony claims, online forums peddling how-to advice on identity theft: Inside the infrastructure of perhaps the largest fraud wave in history.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 8, 2021
City Repertory Theatre’s “Twisted”, a comic adult musical with adult themes and language, directed by Beau Wade, closes out its run with a 3 p.m. matinee. The Borowitz Report on DeSantis. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings remembered.
Cults and Cultism
It’s certainly true that the word cult grabs our attention. But what exactly does it mean when we use words like cult or “cult leader”? The problem is the popular use of the word is often used to describe authoritarian groups that practice mind control or brainwashing.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 7, 2021
The annual Flagler County School District-sponsored Back to School Jam is back this year, at Flagler Palm Coast High School, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please wear masks. CRT’s “Twisted” is tonight.
Atomic Bomb Foresight Exploded Long Before Hiroshima
So many writers explored the idea that the early 20th century is sometimes called the “Radium Age” of science fiction. Prominent scientists wrote popular books on how to experiment with radioactive substances at home. It was a concept as widely known as the Star Trek warp drive might be today.
U.S. Economy Adds Nearly 1 Million Jobs for 2nd Month in a Row, Lowering Unemployment to 5.4%
The national economy added 943,000 jobs in July, building on the 938,000 jobs in June and lowering the unemployment rate by 0.5 percentage points, to 5.4 percent, reducing the number of officially unemployed people to 8.7 million.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 6, 2021
City Repertory Theatre’s “Twisted”, a musical directed by Beau Wade, continues its four-day run at City Repertory Theatre in City Marketplace. It’s Hiroshima Day, calling for remembrance.
Narcissists
Some people are more narcissistic, others less so. Narcissism typically involves an inflated view of oneself, a sense of superiority and entitlement and a lack of concern for others. It’s a familiar portrait. But it isn’t the only one.
Citing DeSantis’s ‘Baseless and Dangerous Claims’ About Children Wearing Masks, Senator Calls Rulemaking Illegal
In a letter to Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, Sen. Gary Farmer Jr., the Broward County Democrat, says the department’s move to enact an emergency rule banning school districts from enacting masking requirements is outside both the governor’s and the Education Department’s authority under law.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 5, 2021
City Repertory Theatre’s “Twisted” begins its weekend run. Both Buddy Taylor Middle School and Indian Trails Middle School, both under new principals–Cara Cronk at Buddy Taylor, Ryan Andrews at Indian Trails–host student orientation ahead of the new schoolyear starting Aug. 10.
Covid-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Cases: Data from the States
The rate of breakthrough cases reported among those fully vaccinated is well below 1% in all reporting states, ranging from 0.01 percent in Connecticut to 0.29 percent in Alaska. The hospitalization rate among fully vaccinated people with COVID-19 ranged from effectively zero to 0.06 percent, and the rates of deaths were even lower.
Is It Time to Retire the ‘My Body, My Choice’ Slogan?
Whether talking about reproductive health or COVID-19, choices involving health care are not only freedoms from external control. They also rely on the ability to access necessary care. As abortion rights make their way back to the Supreme Court during an ongoing global pandemic, it is a good time to reconsider whether “my body, my choice” is the right slogan for a right to health care.
In Florida Covid Crisis, Politics Define Gov. DeSantis’s Decisions from Barring Mask Requirements to Vaccine Passports
Elected officials’ attitudes and actions about masks and vaccinations have become a flashpoint in the increasingly tribal nature of partisan politics. The ideological schism over preventive protocols in Florida has aided DeSantis’ rise as a national presidential contender and, at the same time, become a cornerstone of Democrats’ efforts to oust him.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 4, 2021
The Canvassing Board of the Palm Coast special election for mayor meets for the last time to conduct a legally-required manual audit of one precinct in the election. A community meeting about Cimarron Drive, and a good word from Ninon de Lenclos.
Trump Endorsements Make a Difference, But Not the Way Candidates Hope They Do
During the 2018 midterm elections, President Trump’s endorsements helped Republicans he endorsed raise money, but ultimately were more detrimental than helpful, leading to an increased vote share going to the Democratic opponent of the candidate Trump endorsed.