How dire could the consequences of not raising the debt ceiling be? What are the possible solutions? Here’s a reading list to help you keep up as the clock ticks to next week’s deadline.
Backgrounders
Slow-Cooked Success: Palm Coast’s Woody’s Bar•B•Q Marks 13th Year
Owned by Flagler County natives, Woody’s BarBQ on State Road 100 in Palm Coast has, like any business, weathered its share of difficulties in the past three years. “We’re not going anywhere,” its owner says.
Flagler County Tax Rates Will Go Up 12%, But Tax Bills Are More Likely to Go Down
Flagler County’s tax rate is going up for the fourth year in a row to make up for collapsing valuations, but the rise will still not translate into a tax increase for most. The contrary may be true.
Florida Graduation Requirements for Students Entering 9th Grade, 2011-2017
Florida high school graduation requirements for entering 9th graders from 2011-12 to 2016-17: a year-by-year guide including FCAT, end-of-year-course assessments and science requirements.
The Greater Threat: Christian Extremism From Timothy McVeigh to Anders Breivik
Those two men—two right-wing reactionaries, terrorists, anti-government white supremacists, Christians—have plenty in common with the fundamentalist politicians and ideologues among us who pretend to have nothing to do with the demons they inspire.
Ayn Rand as Adolescent Sap, Private Prison Scams, Patraeus Rewrites Vietnam: The Live Wire
Ayn Rand’s success: she was a children’s writer, circumcisions of the world unite, music as a way to slow down aging, Steve Carrell, Lucian Freud and Google’s top 20 key words, and more.
Palm Coast’s Rabbi Shapiro and Education Trio Sue Over “Religious Freedom” Amendment
Florida’s so-called “Religious Freedom” amendment is misleading, the lawsuit argues, as it would reopen the way for religious, private school vouchers at public expense and turn the state into an arbiter of public dollars for religious organizations.
Do Flagler School Administrators Making $97,000 a Year Need A Raise? They Say Yes.
Some 25 Flagler school administrators make between $80,000 and $105,000 a year. They’re saying they were disrespected when denied a 2 percent raise. The school board is reconsidering.
Is Flagler County’s Real Estate Industry Finally Brightening? Depends Whom You Ask.
Sales are increasing somewhat by volume but more than half the transactions are for cash, prices keep falling, foreclosures are increasing, and the overall economy shows little sign of improvement.
Fixing The Gays, Paul McCartney at 69, America’s World Cup Women: The Live Wire
Marcus Bachmann’s gay-fixing clinic, Paul McCartney rocks Yankee Stadium, a million millionaires, Google Chrome meets Google+, wages go down, work hours go up, and more.