The 100,000-barrels-per-day scenario contrasts sharply with BP’s public pronouncements of a much smaller spill rate.
Florida
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?
Citing School Board Flux, Conklin Opts Out of Taking on Thrasher Or Others Until 2012
Her eyes set on higher office in 2012, School Board member Colleen Conklin said she came close to running against John Thrasher but will let a Duval Democrat take him on.
How the Oil Slick Is Fouling Florida’s Government Budgets–And What To Do About It
The oil spill is Florida’s 9/11. People won’t die. A way of life will. The Florida Legislature should be in crisis mode, not in recess, anticipating what to do next.
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.
Mica: Bunnell Still Has “Fighting Chance” for a Train Station; Data and State’s Will Are Key
In an interview with FlaglerLive, John Mica outlines what Bunnell has going for and against it as it angles for a train station.
Marineland Mobilizes Against BP Oil Spill — and Beyond
Florida has no contingency plan if dolphins, turtles and manatees begin showing up coated in oil. Marineland’s Jim Jacoby wants to fix a blind spot in planning dating back to two Jeb Bush vetoes in 2000 and 2001.
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.
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.
Florida Legislature’s Spending Misleadingly Labeled as Pork
Most of the spending called “pork” (or “turkeys” by Florida TaxWatch is of immediate and necessary benefit to senior health, care for the poor and transportation.
Loner Palm Coast Drips Desal to Fraction of Original Plan; Water Costs Would Rise Sharply
The city is reducing its desal ambitions to a sixth the original size, but 1,000 gallons would cost five to six times more than current water.
How Flagler County Is Preparing for the BP Oil Slick–If It Hits (And What You Need to Know)
Flagler County’s emergency response to the oil slick hitting Flagler Beaches is similar to hurricane preparation. It’s happening now.
Flagler Unemployment Lowest in a Year, Remains State’s Highest; Florida’s Dips for First Time Since 2006
Led by federal census jobs and tourism jobs, Florida’s employment rolls showed their best gains in four years. Flagler’s decline is due in part to population loss. The complete April unemployment report.
Florida Medicaid Audit Reveals Shockingly Poor Oversight
Lax state oversight of Medicaid is fueling runaway costs in the health program covering 2.7 million poor and elderly Floridians.
Florida’s Abortion Follies:
When Lawmakers Are Sexual Predators
Florida’s latest anti-abortion legislation shows that sexual predators aren’t just the monsters who assault and rape. They can also be men who control women and girls by subordinating them their moral assumptions, which usually have immoral results.
Flagler Beach Dumps Desalination Group
The Flagler Beach City Commission cited costs and its own ready water supply as reasons to drop out of the Coquina desalination consortium.
Desalination’s Future Brackish as Costs Soar for Palm Coast
Hopes for a desalination plant are down to whether Palm Coast can bear the burden of mounting costs mostly by itself as other governments drop out of the colossally expensive consortium.
$75 Billion Mortgage Modification Program Is $74.76 Billion Behind
The Obama administration committed to spend up to $75 billion on its foreclosure-prevention program. More than a year later, only about $242 million had actually been paid out.
Florida’s Small-Business Health Insurance Exchange a 2-Year Bust
Two years after GOP lawmakers launched it as a way to deregulate the health-care market for small businesses, Florida Health Choices still offers no coverage and faces an uncertain future.
Palm Coast Hops on Bunnell Train Station Bandwagon
Palm Coast was absent from the May 1 Amtrak attention-grabber in Bunnell, but the city council is making amends with a resolution of support.
Florida Regulators Stop Admissions to Troubled Youth Facility
Officials cut off admissions to Manatee Palms Youth Services, a 60-bed facility that serves 6 to 17 year olds when the facility failed to address violations.
Heather Beaven’s WTF Campaign
Democrat Beaven’s congressional campaign against John Mica so far is shoddy, vague, and lacking transparency.
In Blow to Palm Coast, St. Johns Latest to Retreat from Desalination
With St. Johns’ role and money minimized, Palm Coast taxpayers must assume a far larger share of the $1.2 billion project.
Two Children Die in Dental Chair. Why?
Does parents’ desire to spare their children the anxiety of dental care lead them into taking unnecessary risks?
How a Boating Guru Turned Manatee Advocate
Ed Caroe applied for a manatee-protection rules committee as a boating advocate. At the last minute, he switched to manatee advocate. Here’s how.
10 Named to Flagler’s Manatee Rules Panel
A county-appointed rules committee has 60 days to recommend whether manatee speed zones are needed in Flagler’s waterways.
Florida Law on How New Manatee Protection Rules May Be Adopted
Complete language of Florida Statute § 379.2431(2)(f) which sets out the steps the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and county governments must follow when adopting rules regulating “speed and operation of motorboats for purposes of manatee protection.”
We Need Drilling. Just Not Where You Think.
The BP rig disaster will spill more oil in the Gulf of Mexico than the Exxon Valdez did in Prince William Sound. Time to cap the follies of cheering for more offshore oil-drilling in Florida.
Obama-Leno: No Correspondence
How even Barack Obama is funnier than Jay Leno. Then again, it’s no contest. Tales from the Correspondents dinner.
Bunnell and Flagler Whistle-Stop Amtrak
Bunnell and Flagler County put on a show for Amtrak’s 60-second slice through Bunnell as it considers resuming passenger service on the old Florida East Coast Railway tracks.
The Liberation of Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist, never foreign to transgression, transgressed what’s left of the Republican Party, which has no room for moderates.
Cash for Clunkers:
The Mica-Beaven Money Race
Complete charts, graphs and analysis of campaign finance for incumbent John Mica and challenger Heather Beaven in their 7th Congressional District race.
US To Florida: Health Care Opt-Out Is Not an Option
Hours after the Legislature voted on party lines to “opt out” of the new federal health law, the Obama administration said that will not be permitted.
Legislature’s Roadkill: Raiding Trust Funds
The Florida Legislature has balanced the budget by taking money from the transportation trust fund. It’s a short-sighted solution with dire consequences, argues Mark Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Students Fail. Cut Teachers’ Pay. Seriously?
The thinking behind Senate Bill 6 is rooted in the idea that teachers cause students’ success or failure. That’s wrong, argues Dave Riegel, a high school principal.
Briefing: Florida’s Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program
Explanation of Florida’s $3,000-per-job tax rebate for companies creating new jobs in certain industries. The program is used by Flagler County and Palm Coast.
KKK Confirms: We’re Recruiting in Flagler
In an interview with FlaglerLive, KKK Imperial Wizard Cole Thornton says the drive will continue across the state. Dan Warren recommends vigilance.
Happy Birthday, Sisco Deen
Sisco Deen, the living memory drive of Flagler County and its archive curator, turns 70 today.
At 16.6%, Flagler Unemployment Crawls Lower
While Florida’s unemployment rate continues to break post-Depression records, Flagler’s may be steadying downward.
Festive Fears and Cheers at Tea Party Rally
Palm Coast’s Tea Party movement brandished its message in a Tax Day rally in the heart of town Thursday, and in an atmosphere more festive than furious.
Crist Vetoes Senate Bill 6
Teachers are celebrating, but by vetoing SB6, Charlie Crist sent a message to Marco Rubio that the race for US Senate will be played out in the general election.
Blasting SB6: Teacher Rally Photo Gallery
If Gov. Crist had been in Palm Coast the afternoon of April 14, he’d have witnessed enthusiastic, dedicated anger at SB6 from a big segment of the county’s teachers.
Delbrugge on SB6: “Mean-Spirited” and Half-Baked Legislation
The Flagler school superintendent deconstructs the demerits of a proposed law that would, he says, be bad for students and districts alike.
Flagler Teachers Tell Crist: Veto “Horrific” SB6
Some 200 Flagler County teachers, supporters and children thronged a 150-yard stretch of sidewalk in the heart of Palm Coast Wednesday afternoon to protest Senate Bill 6 and demand that Gov. Charlie Crist veto it.
Polk Sheriff Subjects Teen Girls to Rape Exam–After Dates
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd arrested two 18-year-old boys for fondling their 14- and 15-year old dates, and subjected the girls to a rape exam.
Health Reform’s Bigger Windfalls for Florida
while there are still many unknowns about how the new federal health-care laws will be implemented, Florida stands to do very well financially and socially.
Conklin to Crist: Children Are More Than Test Scores
Flagler School Board member Colleen Conklin urges Gov. Charlie Crist to veto Senate Bill 6, which she terms “political” and “inappropriate” for children’s education.