The ceremony, organized by Donna Lunsford and Carol Fisher, is part of the Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting that takes place on the same day in every part of the world.
Health & Society
Flagler County Approves 6-Month Moratorium on Medical Pot Dispensaries or Facilities
Flagler County commissioners said the moratorium is not intended to counter the constitutional amendment legalizing medical pot, but to give the county time to figure out what zoning and other regulations may be in place with legalization.
Florida Court Backs Notifying Minor’s Parent Before Abortion, But Waivers Are Easy Out
Judges rarely turn down requests for waivers. The decision cites evidence that 89.5 percent of petitions were granted in 2013, 90.5 percent in 2014 and 94.7 percent in 2015.
Opting Out of Obamacare: When Penalties Are Preferable to Unaffordable Premiums
Amid the uncertain future of Obamacare in a Trump administration, some resisters are feeling vindicated and other consumers simply don’t see the need to sign up.
Boil-Water Advisory In Bunnell as Water Plant Has a Problem For 3rd Time in 2 Months
Overnight Sunday, the water plant shut down again for about half an hour, the water pressure in pipes fell from 60 pounds per square inch to below 22 pounds, some customers may have gone without water for a while.
Pot Amendment’s Passage Creates a Green Rush in Nation’s 2nd Largest Marijuana Market
Florida voters’ overwhelming approval of a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana for a broad swath of patients may have spurred a green rush into the state by investors eager to cash in.
Medical Marijuana Cruises to Reality in Florida With Healthy 71% Majority
Stunning even some of the proposal’s most avid supporters, Florida voters Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana for patients with a broad swath of conditions.
Amendment 2: Medical Marijuana Through the Eyes and Suffering of Those Who Need It Most
For two years Palm Coast’s Jennifer Kaczmarek, the artist-photographer, has followed 10 families struggling with debilitating illnesses that only marijuana alleviate. They plead for Amendment 2, the proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize medicinal marijuana.
Woman At Center of Suicide-By-Cop Attempt in 2015 Kills Herself With a Gun Halloween Night
Palm Coast’s Stacy Culotta is the 37-year-old Palm Coast resident who 13 months ago had attempted suicide-by-cop as she pointed a gun at three Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies in her yard at 8 Pine Brook Drive.
Facebook Profiling: Its System Lets Advertisers Exclude Black, Hispanic, and Other “Ethnic Affinities” From Seeing Ads
Imagine if, during the Jim Crow era, a newspaper offered advertisers the option of placing ads only in copies that went to white readers. That’s basically what Facebook is doing nowadays.
Those Double-Digit Health Insurance Rate Hikes in Florida? Blame State GOP.
Sen. Bill Nelson, once Florida’s insurance commissioner, reminds residents that it was the Republican state Legislature that stripped the office of insurance regulation of the authority to approve, modify or reject rate hikes by health insurance companies, thus leading to current, unacceptable rate hikes.
Farm Share Distributes Food to 300 Families at Flagler Airport as Post-Storm Needs Persist
By 11 this morning some 20 cars were turned away from the Flagler County Airport as a truckload of Farm Share food began running out, underscoring persistent needs in post-hurricane relief in Flagler.
Farm Share Food Bank’s Big Truck Will Distribute Free Supplies Monday at Flagler Airport
Farm Share distribution will begin at 9 a.m. and will continue as long as supplies last. It will provide a good opportunity for those who have been unable to get other food assistance.
Recovery Round-Up: FEMA Inspects Flagler, Crews Inspect the Pier, Assistance Center Opens, Debris Pick-Up Cautions
A comprehensive update on the latest in Hurricane Matthew recovery operations in Flagler County and its cities, including essential information from FEMA and debris removal requirements.
Carnage Embroidered in Pink Hope at Flag-Raising for Breast-Cancer Awareness
Flagler County Fire Rescue had coated an entire firetruck in pink to mark the month-long Pink Army campaign, aimed at raising money and awareness for breast-cancer prevention, detection and research.
Florida Push to Legalize Medical Marijuana Gets $1 Million Boost, Aiding Amendment 2 Vote
It’s the largest single contribution received by supporters of Amendment 2 and comes as the battle over the constitutional question heats up in advance of the Nov. 8 election.
Project Pandemic Prevention: Flagler’s Campaign Against Zika Bats Strategies Around
Today’s joint meeting of Flagler government representatives and health department officials summarized the latest in the Zika outbreak (with two cases locally) as two FPC students prepare to launch a zika-fighting project involving bat houses.
Court Sees No Crime in Sarasota High Student’s Tweeted Threats to “Shoot Up” His School
A 16-year-old high school student who repeatedly threatened on Twitter to shoot up his school in Sarasota did not commit a crime because his threats were not directed at anyone in particular, the second District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday.
Local Authorities Converge on Areas of Concern as Travel-Related Zika Cases Are Declared in Palm Coast
Mosquito Control officials have been focusing on mosquito hot spots in Palm Coast’s P Section and visited other properties of concern as county officials prepare a county-wide meeting next week to address the local response.
Florida Universities Seeking $14.5 Million Extra To Meet Spiking Demand for Mental Health
Universities saw a 48 percent increase in demands for counseling and other mental health services, and an increase in emergency or crisis visits, involving issues like severe depression, acute anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
Sally’s Safe Haven at Year 2: Where Children Traumatized by a Violent Parent Can Still Visit
Sally’s Safe Haven in Bunnell, which has served almost 100 families so far, allows supervised visits for parents otherwise restricted from seeing their child. The haven is underwritten by a federal grant and run by the county and the the Children’s Home Society.
Flagler Youth Center Director Cheryl Massaro Appointed to Federal Juvenile Justice Board That Advises Congress and the President
Cheryl Massaro, for 11 years the director of the Flagler Youth Center, has served on the local and state juvenile justice advisory boards, and will now be responsible for representing Florida and other states for two years on the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice.
Suspect in Greg Lynn Jewelers Heist Found Hanging in Florida Hospital Flagler Bathroom
Two days after checking into Floria Hospital Flagler, Craig Anthony Chavez, the 52-year-old Palm Coast resident arrested in late June for the alleged robbery of a jewelry store, was found dead in his hospital room’s bathroom of an apparent suicide.
Florida Hospitals in Flagler and Volusia Anchor 3-Year Project to Improve Lung Cancer Care
The ACCC Optimal Care Coordination Model for Lung Cancer Patients on Medicaid project will work to reduce barriers to care by developing a care coordination model to leverage effective partnerships among cancer programs and practices, community organizations, patients, and primary care and specialty providers.
Travelers Continue to Bring Zika Into Florida
Florida has 744 reported cases of the Zika virus, with 12 new cases involving people who contracted the disease outside of the state, the Florida Department of Health reported Thursday. There were no new cases of locally transmitted Zika, with 56 previously reported.
At Rymfire Elementary, Response to a Child’s Scar Comes Unglued and Leads to a Lawsuit
A 1st-grader at Rymfire Elementary came home with a bleeding head from a scar that her mother claims was treated improperly by an unqualified staffer, while the school never called the parent to let her know her child was being treated.
That Dramatic Drop in Teen Births? Credit Easier Access to Contraceptives, Not Less Sex
The drop was especially steep for younger girls: in births to girls 17 or younger in Flagler, the drop went from 12 such births per 1,000 in the early 90s to 3.8 in 2013-15, and four in Florida.
America’s Other Doping Problem: Drugging Up the Elderly in Hospitals
An increasing number of elderly patients are on multiple medications, raising chances of dangerous drug interactions. Often the drugs are prescribed by different specialists who don’t communicate, and hospital doctors add to the list of drugs, sometimes unnecessarily or unsuitably.
The Reek of Hypocrisy Behind Federal Marijuana Laws
In most cases, our laws treat chemicals as safe until proven dangerous. Marijuana, on the other hand, is being held to a higher standard. It’s not even that it’s considered dangerous until proven safe. The government says that they won’t lift regulations on it until it’s proven beneficial.
Florida Adds 15 Travel-Related Zika Cases for Total of 42
Fifteen new cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus were reported Friday in Florida, all tied to people who brought the disease into the state after getting infected elsewhere.
Retired Palm Coast Nurse Accused of Suffocating Husband, a Cop, in Hospital Bed
Henry Soschalski, 64, and his wife Jan Sochalski, 61, had lived in their Palm Coast home 13 years. She faces a second-degree murder charge over his death in a hospital bed. He had been in a coma for weeks.
Does Diversifying Police Forces
Reduce Tensions? Not Necessarily.
Beyond diversity, hiring officers who know and understand the community, asking officers to build better relationships with neighborhoods they serve, reducing officers’ use of aggressive arrest tactics and increasing officer training is shown to be more effective than changing the color of the ranks.
In a First, Blind High School Student Is Matanzas-FPC Football Game’s Radio Commentator
Trent Ferguson, 18, a student at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, will be the color commentator on WNZF Radio of the Matanzas-FPC match at 7 p.m. Friday, a unique experiment for the radio station that may not end there.
Richard Gordon Dies By Gunshot in Palm Coast’s L Section, 4th Apparent Suicide in 11 Days, 3rd By Firearm
The numbers are startling for Flagler County, which has averaged a total of 15 suicides per year over the past 10 years. The latest suicide took place just after 8 a.m. at 56 Londonderry Drive in Palm Coast.
Zika Virus In Flagler: Preparations In Place But Response Limited to Education and Prevention
The Flagler County Health Department says it’s prepared for an outbreak of Zika virus in the county, which has so far been spared, but the focus is on the only thing officials can do: education, elimination of standing water where possible, and limited travel for pregnant women.
School Districts Focus Efforts on Stopping Zika Spread as Cases Mount
Classroom materials were being distributed to teachers and administrators across the state so that they can encourage students “to take simple steps in order to help prevent Zika,” including removing standing water, using insect repellent and wearing protective clothing.
Key Flagler Panel Votes 7-5 To Endorse Pot Citation Proposal, But Split Reflects Hazy Fate
The proposed ordinance to decriminalize some pot possession now goes to the county commission, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach for approval, but it’s faced sustained opposition.
Stewart-Marchman-Act Foundation Raises $129,000 for Adolescent Care Facility
Proceeds benefit the Huger Adolescent Campus Project, which includes major renovations of SMA’s facility on Tiger Bay Road to create a new Adolescent Campus that will re-imagine what it means to deliver an exceptional experience for a child going through a difficult time of life.
With 30 of 67 Counties Reporting Zika, Scott Calls For Protection in Schools and Colleges
Scott met with St. Johns County officials on Monday to review Zika response plans. State health officials still believe the 17 Florida cases all originated in the Wynwood neighborhood in Miami-Dade County, with the person involved in the new Palm Beach case having recently traveled to Miami.
Gun Violence And Mental Health Laws, 50 Years After Texas Tower Sniper Murdered 16
Six months before Charles Whitman took aim from that tower he visited a school psychiatrist, and admitted while there that he had a violent fantasy of going to the top of the tower with a deer rifle and shooting people.
Gov. Scott Says Florida Still a “Safe State” as Zika Travel Advisories Begin to Target the State
A big concern for Florida is the frequency of travel between the state and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, where more than 4,500 cases have been reported, nearly all contracted through mosquitoes.
Homegrown Zika Cases in Florida Climb to 14 As State Asks for Additional Federal Help
A statement released by Scott’s office said the 14 locally transmitted cases are believed to have occurred in a 1-square-mile area north of downtown Miami. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a notice advising women who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant to avoid unnecessary travel to the targeted area.
First Four Cases of Mosquito-Borne Zika Virus Reported in Florida–And the U.S.
Florida has seen a steady increase in Zika diagnoses to nearly 400, but until Friday, cases stemmed from people infected while traveling to South America. Today’s revelation is the first Florida-based set of infections.
Florida Hospital Will Install Infrared Palm Scan To Improve Patient Identification
The PatientSecure device uses infrared light to painlessly scan the palm, then links the unique biometric trait to each patient’s electronic health record. It’s the latest effort to combat identity theft.
Carla Traister, Champion Protector of Flagler’s Homeless, Wins Outstanding Leadership Award
The 2016 Northeast Florida Community Action Agency’s award cites Traister’s work at the Sheltering Tree, Flagler County’s only homeless shelter on cold nights, which Traister co-founded in 2009.
Republicans’ Women Problem
Long before Donald Trump the Republican Party has been relentlessly pushing policies aimed at curtailing women’s reproductive rights, economic freedom, access to health care, and autonomy.
“A Hair Between Sanity and Insanity”: Pehota’s Anguished Account of Killing Husband Marks 1st Trial Day
A video interview of Pehota describing the killing of her husband and the circumstances surrounding it underscored the first day of her trial. She faces a second-degree murder charge. Nothing happened today to shake an aura of sympathy–even empathy–around Pehota.
In Jury Selection for Anna Pehota Trial, Pronounced Sympathies for the Killer
Anna Pehota, 76, facing a second-degree murder charge for shooting her husband in the Hammock last September, is benefiting from inherent sympathy going into her trial, which began with jury selection Monday and starts in earnest Wednesday.
Pyrrhic Vanishing: Democrats Unite, But What Happened To Medicare For All?
Most health policy analysts — including those who are sympathetic to the idea — say moving from the current U.S. public-private hybrid health system to one fully funded by the government in one step is basically impossible. And that’s making a huge assumption that it could get through Congress.
“We Don’t Need Vigilantes”: P-Section Man Shoots at Teen Pokémon Go Hunters
Two P-Section residents, 16 and 19, were shot at early Saturday morning by a homeowner on Primrose Lane as they played Pokemon Go and the homeowner mistook them for trouble-makers after hearing a loud noise outside his home.