The covid-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasn’t doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults. But decisive actions that advocates had hoped for haven’t materialized. In the last week of 2023 and the first two weeks of 2024 alone, 4,810 people 65 and older lost their lives to covid — a group that would fill more than 10 large airliners — according to data provided by the CDC. But the alarm that would attend plane crashes is notably absent.
Health & Society
Lab-Grown Meat Companies Push Back Against Florida Lawmakers’ Attempt to Ban Their Product
Two California companies can now offer lab-grown meat in restaurants and eventually supermarkets following approval of their products by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last June. But those same products would be banned in Florida if lawmakers approve a proposal moving through the Legislature. The bill by Tampa Bay-area Republican Jay Collins (SB 1084) would make it unlawful for anyone to manufacture, sell, hold or offer for sale, or distribute “cultivated” meat in Florida. A violator could be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor.
Some Florida Justices Skeptical About State’s Attempt to Keep Abortion Rights Amendment Off the Ballot
Some justices questioned how far the court can go to prevent initiatives from being placed on the ballot as they heard arguments about whether a proposal to ensure abortion rights in the state should be placed on th November ballot. “People in Florida aren’t stupid. I mean, they can figure this out,” Chief Justice Carlos Muniz said.
DeSantis Lends Support to Proposal Banning Local Governments from Giving Refuge to Homeless on Public Property
Saying that while no city in Florida is contending with the issues of homelessness that are prevalent in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday came out in support of a proposal moving through the Florida Legislature that would ban local governments from allowing people to sleep on public property without a permit.
Threatening Charges, Florida Forbids Trans’ Preferred Gender Identity on Driver’s Licenses
Transgender people can no longer obtain a driver’s license that reflects their gender identity under a new policy that treats “misrepresenting one’s gender, understood as sex, on a driver license” as fraud punishable by civil and criminal penalties plus cancellation, suspension, or revocation of the license.
Mother of 6-Week-Old Boy at Project Warm Is Charged with Aggravated Child Abuse After Discovery of Burns
Jessica Marie Jordan, a 35-year-old resident of Project Warm, the behavioral health program in Bunnell for pregnant women and young mothers who have battled addiction, is at the Flagler County jail, facing two grave child abuse charges after her 6-week-old child was found to have burn marks that were several days old. Jordan has been a client, or resident, at Project Warm since May 2.
Targeting Homeless, Lawmakers Want to Forbid Local Governments from Allowing Sleeping on Public Property
A Senate committee Monday backed a proposal that would prevent counties and cities from allowing people to sleep or camp on public property without permits. Bill sponsor Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, called his proposal (SB 1530) a way to address a mental-health crisis in the state and to assist the “chronically homeless.”
Stabbing at Econolodge: Money Issues for Homeless Family Staying There Escalate Into Violence
A juvenile girl apparently defending herself from being choked stabbed her mother’s boyfriend, 35-year-old Tyland Chambers, at the Econolodge in Palm Coast Sunday morning, before Chambers allegedly attacked another man who was trying to protect the girl. Chambers ended up hospitalized for treatment, and facing four charges, including two felonies. The girl was not charged.
Parents Jailed on 6 Felony Counts of Child Neglect Over Abject House Conditions as DCF Takes 3 Children
Michelle Sofia, 35, and Willie Lee London, 41, are facing three felony child neglect charges each in connection with Bunnell police discovering their three children living in abject conditions at 811 Hymon Circle, with no food, running water or sanitation. The children are an 11-year-old girl, a 12-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy.
The Child Tax Credit Changed My Life. Bring It Back.
A myth exists in America that financial well-being follows if we just work hard and make good choices. But it’s not that simple. At some point, most of us face unforeseen obstacles — from physical or mental health challenges to lost jobs, economic downturns, and natural disasters. Along with low wages and other structural causes of poverty, that puts financial well-being out of reach for about 140 million people in this country.
Stop the LGBTQ Cheap Shots
There are some feel-good bills and cheap shots that require no courage to vote for and bring the political bonus of being difficult for an opponent to argue against this summer, when most legislators will be back home running for re-election. And no topic makes for easier demagoguery than sex, specifically any activity that makes strait-laced Republicans a little squeamish.
Forbes Advisor Ranks Daytona State Among the Nation’s Best Online Nursing Programs
Forbes Advisor has recognized Daytona State College as offering one of the best affordable 100% online Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-BSN) programs for 2024. The program is designed for new or working nurses who have earned an Associate Degree in Nursing interested in advancing their careers – including moving into leadership and management positions – by earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
Mary Lou Retton’s Explanation About Having No Health Insurance Makes No Sense
Former Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton revealed that she survived a rare pneumonia but was uninsured, blaming that lack of coverage on 30 orthopedic surgeries that count as “preexisting conditions,” a divorce, and her poor finances. The reasons she cited for not buying coverage — preexisting conditions and cost — are among the things the Affordable Care Act directly addresses, making her claim difficult to believe.
Where the Humanities and Medicine Meet
While there is a long history of doctor-poets – one giant of mid-20th-century poetry, William Carlos Williams, was famously also a pediatrician – few people seem to know this or understand the power of combining the humanities and medicine. Literature has had a large role in helping the author define the kind of physician she strives to be – one who is not only empathetic and a good listener but also a fierce advocate for changing the sociopolitical forces that affect patients’ lives.
Bill That Would Allow Kids 16 and 17 to Work Over 30 Hours a Week During School Year Advances
The proposal by Tampa Bay area Republican Rep. Linda Chaney (HB 49) would allow 16 and 17-year olds to work more than 30 hours a week during the school year and allow for fewer mandatory work breaks. The proposal was approved on a party-line vote in a House committee and is one committee stop away from making it to the House floor for final approval.
GOP Measure Would Forbid Government Agencies from Using Individuals’ Preferred Pronouns
Mirroring a House bill filed in November, a Senate Republican on Thursday proposed a measure that would place restrictions on government agencies in the use of personal pronouns.
With 3,500 Petitions from Flagler Voters, Abortion-Right Ballot Measure Meets Signature Requirements
Some 910,946 valid signatures have been tallied for a constitutional amendment proposal that would protect the right to an abortion in Florida until the viability of a fetus. That topped a requirement of submitting 891,523 signatures to qualify for the ballot. Flagler County alone submitted 4,800 petitions, 3,543 of them valid.
Lie of the Year: RFK Jr.’s Campaign of Conspiracy Theories
As pundits and politicos spar over whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign will factor into the outcome of the 2024 election, one thing is clear: Kennedy’s political following is built on a movement that seeks to legitimize conspiracy theories. His claims decrying vaccines have roiled scientists and medical experts and stoked anger over whether his work harms children. He has made suggestions about the cause of covid-19 that he acknowledges sound racist and antisemitic.
‘That Was My Home’: The Homeless Are Being Purged Out of Their Encampments
More than 653,000 Americans are experiencing homelessness in 2023, a 12% increase from last year. Among the people experiencing homelessness, 64% are unsheltered. As tent encampments continue to dot urban landscapes — strewn around parks, along sidewalks, lining highways or sometimes abutting schools — many cities have increased their sweeps, some governors have announced funding to clear encampments, and several states have outlawed the tent communities altogether.
Ban on Felons Owning Guns Survives as Florida Supreme Court Rejects Challenge
Florida Supreme Court Justices on Monday issued an order rejecting an appeal by William Edenfield, who was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after a 2020 shooting incident in Leon County. Edenfield went to the Supreme Court in August after the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected his Second Amendment arguments.
Florida Court Rules Child Is Mature Enough to Be a Mother, But Not to Have an Abortion
A state appeals court Friday upheld a Calhoun County circuit judge’s ruling that blocked a minor from having an abortion without notification and consent of a parent or guardian. The decision’s implicit reasoning is that the child is nevertheless mature enough to carry the baby to term.
The Immoral Gamble of ‘Shopping’ for Health Insurance
Between high premiums, deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, other out-of-pocket costs, and the enduring myth that Americans still get to choose their own doctor, health insurance has become a maze of forced costs and limited options based on impossible choices you shouldn’t have to make. Obamacare has failed. Private insurance is often an overpriced, over-subsidized racket. Medicare alone remains the only viable solution with universal application.
Proposal to Rollback Florida’s Child Labor Laws, Masked as Opportunities for Teens, Clears Its 1st Hurdle
A proposal that would eliminate restrictions on the number of hours that 16- and 17-year-olds could work received its first hearing in the Florida Legislature on Wednesday, where it passed on a party-line vote in the GOP-controlled committee. The measure limits restrictions that now prohibit 16- and 17-year-olds from working more than six consecutive days in any one week or working 4 hours continuously without a break.
DSC Lands $400,000 Justice Department Grant Aimed at Reducing Sexual and Domestic Violence
The U.S. Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women has awarded Daytona State College $400,000 to continue programs educating students, faculty and staff on issues of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. DSC will work in partnership with the State Attorney, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and Family Life Centers in Flagler and Volusia.
How DeSantis and GOP Are Undermining Abortion-Right Ballot Initiatives Before the Vote
As abortion-rights initiative pick up victories in referendums, Republicans across the nation, exemplified by Florida’s Ron DeSantis, want to change the terms of the debate by injecting it with misinformation or overriding the referendum process.
Jury Sides with Physician and AdventHealth in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Involving 38-Year-Old Palm Coast Man
Ending a seven-day civil trial, a six-person jury on Tuesday found that Dr. Kizhake Kurian, a cardiologist who practices in Palm Coast with AdventHealth Medical Group, was not negligent in the death of Richard Starr, a 38-year-old Palm Coast resident who had been in relative good health until a series of heart-related medical episodes in the last days of March 2018.
Paul Renner Rails at ‘Climate Activists’ and Pledges New Controls on Kids’ Social Media Access
House Speaker Paul Renner said Tuesday that lawmakers during the 2024 legislative session will take steps to support energy companies and place limits on children’s access to social-media sites. He provided little detail.
Florida Likes Its Tailpipe Emissions As They Are and Rejects $320 Million in Federal Carbon Reduction Aid
Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue has turned down $320 million in federal money aimed at reducing tailpipe emissions, arguing federal transportation officials are overstepping their authority in the program. Perdue on Nov. 13 notified U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg the state will not participate in the federal Carbon Reduction Program, a five-year, $6.4 billion effort focused on emissions that contribute to global warming.
Coded Racism in Jason Aldean’s Song Exposes Problem with Small-Town Values
The Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, has come to represent the overlooked cultural divisions between urban and small-town America.
The courthouse was the site of the lynching of a Black teenager in 1927. It also served as a rallying spot for white vigilantes who assembled there during race riots in 1946. It is now the focus of a modern-day controversy over singer Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town.”
Yes, the South Has a Poverty Crisis
By a range of economic indicators — personal income per capita and the proportion of the population living in poverty, for starters – large parts of the South, and particularly the rural South, are struggling. About 1 in 5 counties in the South is marked by “persistent poverty” — a poverty rate that has stayed above 20% for three decades running. Indeed, fully 80% of all persistently poor counties in the U.S. are in the South.
European Village Business Leading Christmas Drive for Toys for Tots
AW Custom Kitchens Inc. is partnering with Toys-for-Tots for a non-profit Christmas toy drive. Donations to the Toys-for-Tots Foundation are accepted through December 23, and may be dropped off at AW’s showroom at 101 Palm Harbor Parkway Unit B113 at European Village.
154 Participants Later, Flagler Cares’ Opioid Recovery Initiative Marks Its First Year, With New Wheels
The Coordinated Opioid Recovery initiative launched in Flagler County a year ago under the umbrella of Flagler Cares, umbrella. It’s a multi-layered approach that shepherds individuals toward recovery through medically-assisted treatment, peer-to-peer counseling, mental health and other services. Last week it marked its anniversary with, among other things, the ribbon-cutting for an outreach vehicle run by Flagler Open Arms Recovery Services.
Should Domestic Abusers Have Access to Guns?
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday hears arguments in a case that will decide whether courts should, as is the case in Florida, have the authority to take away the guns of people who are under a domestic violence protective order, which aims to shield victims from their abusers.
Americans Need to Hear More Palestinian Voices
The absence of Palestinians and their advocates from news coverage isn’t just unfair. Sarah Gertler, a Jewish American, argues it is harmful, silencing criticism of Israel and making news media complicit in war atrocities.
Construction Begins at AdventHealth Palm Coast’s Freytag Health Plaza
Named in honor of Palm Coast residents Peter and Sue Freytag, the Health Plaza will become a vital hub for cancer treatment, primary care and rehabilitation services.
A Student Is Bitten By a Wild Rat at Buddy Taylor Middle School’s Farm; Teacher Reprimanded
Two Buddy Taylor Middle School students were bitten and one of them injured by wild rats, while two dozen students were exposed to the rats as a teacher was flushing them out of a hole with a water hose at the school’s farm. The activity was neither part of a lesson plan nor of the curriculum.
Secret Camera Records Violence and Leads to Palm Coast’s Man’s Arrest on Child Abuse Charge
Pierre Betine Joseph, a 49-year-old resident of Rolling Sands Drive in Palm Coast, was arrested on a felony child abuse charge after video footage from a secret camera installed by the victim’s siblings showed Joseph whipping his middle school son 11 times with two different belts as the child screams in pain and pleads for mercy, leaving welts on the child’s legs.
Politicians Love To Cite Crime Data. It’s Often Wrong.
When Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his presidential campaign in May, he proudly told the nation that Florida’s crime rate in 2021 had reached a 50-year low. But really, DeSantis couldn’t say for sure. That’s because fewer than 1 in 10 law enforcement agencies in his state had reported their crime statistics to the FBI.
Hailey Lulgjuraj Ended Chemo a Week Ago. She Is Hosting a Benefit for Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors Saturday.
Hailey Lulgjuraj has just ended treatment after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. She never stopped working. She decided to channel her gratitude toward the first annual “Tides of Hope” benefit for breast cancer patients and survivors at Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill, the Flagler Beach restaurant her husband co-owns with her brother in law. She tells the story behind the benefit.
An Honest Conversation About Old Age
“Honest Aging: An Insider’s Guide to the Second Half of Life,” by Rosanne Leipzig, is the most comprehensive examination of what to expect in later life. “So much of what’s out there is dishonest, claiming to teach people how to age backwards,” Leipzig said. “I think it’s time we say, ‘This is it; this is who we are,’ and admit how lucky we are to have all these years of extra time.”
Union Power: Health Care Workers Win
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions reached a tentative agreement with its employer on a new four-year contract on Oct. 13, 2023. They agreed following the largest documented strike of U.S. health care workers on record, which involved more than 75,000 workers in several states and the District of Columbia.
Outreach Event Providing Wide Range of Social Services for Needy at Cattleman’s Hall Friday
Flagler Fall Outreach, a free event providing access to and information about a range of social service, health, education, legal and recovery services, will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Friday (October 20) at Cattleman’s Hall at the Flagler County Fairgrounds at 150 Sawgrass Road, Bunnell.
In Lawsuit Settlement DeSantis Administration Will Stop Censoring Covid Death Counts and Vaccinations
The DeSantis administration has agreed to release years of previously suppressed data about Covid’s spread in Florida to settle a lawsuit filed by a former state House member, a government openness group, and news organizations. The Florida Department of Health will resume posting on its website details of vaccination counts, case counts, and deaths weekly by county, age group, gender, and race in the future.
In Florida, Surgeon General Normalizes Medical Quackery
In 2021, when Ron DeSantis brought the Quack Ladapo to Florida, it was like returning to a simpler, much stupider time, when docs prescribed drinking a little ground unicorn horn mixed with water as a cure for the plague. Or if you were fresh out of unicorns (or the virgins you need to catch them), you could always try chicken butt.
Before Her Leap Off the Flagler Beach Bridge, Untouched Drinks and a Purse Left Behind
The Flagler Beach Police Department identified the woman who jumped from the Flagler Beach bridge Wednesday afternoon and survived as Mandy Michelle Mincey, a 47-year-old woman with no reported home. She was also known as Mandy Monroe. Earlier that day she had been at a bar and had ordered drinks, but left them untouched as she ran to the bridge.
Bob Snyder, ‘Giant During Covid,’ Steps Down from Flagler County Health Department He Led for 11 Years
Bob Snyder, who’s led the Flagler County Health Department since 2013, was the co-architect of the county’s response to the Covid pandemic and more recently ensured that the department’s funding more directly reflect the county’s population, after decades of imbalance, stepped down and opted for retirement Sunday, six months before he was planning to do so.
Judge Exonerates ‘Christian’ Teacher Who Refused to Refer to Trans Student by His Preferred Pronouns
An administrative law judge Monday backed a Miami-Dade County teacher who reportedly told a transgender student that, “I’m a Christian, and my God made no mistakes” while refusing to call the student by preferred pronouns.
Sally Hunt Raises Questions About Using Schools as Shelters During Hurricane Emergencies
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt questioned whether district schools should continue to be used as shelters during tropical storm emergencies, and whether the district could go to late starts rather than cancel whole days of school. Officials explained to Hunt that schools are an integral part of emergency management, with closures are carefully calibrated between potential risk and the safety of students and staff.
Against Family’s Wishes, Chad Cordoma, 21, Is Sentenced to Prison for Texting His Little Brother a Threat
Chad Cordoma, 21, of Palm Coast, who’s had numerous mental health issues, was sentenced to 13.5 months in prison and 18 months on probation for texting his younger brother a death threat and the picture of a gun he was carrying. His parents called 911 thinking they were getting him help. He was arrested, charged with two felonies, and sentenced today, despite the family’s plea against a prison sentence.
No Plans Yet for Florida Health Departments to Offer New Covid Vaccine Even as It Rolls Out in Other States
As Gov. Ron DeSantis campaigns on Covid-19 vaccine distrust, local health departments in other states have started doling out the updated shot. Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health has not made public any plans to follow suit.
