Innovation is at the root of job creation. The U.S. Patent Office is innovations’ gate-keeper, with a backlog of 715,000 patent applications. Yet Congress just reduced the office’s budget by $100 million while dickering over reforming its administration.
Backgrounders
Thelma and Louise of Geometric Abstractions Ride Into Hollingsworth Gallery
Louise Lieber, a sculptor and painter, and Antoinette Slick, a painter, are paired in a beguiling new show at the Hollingsworth Gallery. Their art is a journey into the possibilities and beauties of geometry.
Wicked Transition to Stage Magic as FPC Goes Emerald With “Wizard of Oz” This Weekend
“The Wizard of Oz” at the Flagler Auditorium is the biggest FPC stage production to date, with a live orchestra and a cast and crew of 75. The production gelled in a mere six weeks under a new director, after the previous one quit.
Select Flagler School Seniors Receive 239 Scholarships Worth $240,000 at Ceremony
The annual ceremony hosted by the Flagler County Education Foundation celebrated its 25th year Tuesday as 108 organizations’ scholarships were presented to 138 seniors. See the full list.
Kent State, Trump Foxed, Holocaust Tales, a Fawn Saved in Flagler Beach: The Live Wire
Remembering the 14 students shot by their own troops at Kent State in 1970, First Fridays in Flagler Beach, Rick Scott in Daytona, the super-rich’s tax hypocrisies, and the continuing stupidities of Donald trump, and more.
Circulation Still Declining at News-Journal, Rising at Sentinel and St. Augustine Record
The News-Journals losses over the past 12 months were not as steep as in previous years: a 1.2 percent decline on weekdays, 2.5 percent decline on Sundays, though other regional newspapers are seeing increases in circulation.
Jacksonville Symphony Pops “Americana Under the Stars” at Palm Coast Concert
Featuring a slew of favorites from Gershwin to Berlin (Irving, that is) to Strauss, the Jacksonville Symphony’s annual pilgrimage to Flagler is the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s signature event and fund-raiser.
Obama Releases Long-Form Birth Certificate; Trump Takes Credit
President Obama this morning released his long-form birth certificate, hoping to end conspiracy theories about his place of birth. The release is unlikely to put an end to birthers midwifing new theories.
Birther Myths, Imagine’s Cheerleaders, In Defense of Flogging and Typewriters: The Live Wire
Anderson Cooper takes on birthers, Imagine School’s cheerleaders take on Sarasota, Unions take on the Florida Chamber, a prison scholar takes up flogging, the typewriter is still clicking, and more.
John F. Kennedy’s Speech on the Arts and Robert Frost, Amherst College (1963)
Full text and audio of John F. Kennedy’s Amherst College speech on the arts in 1963, one of the most eloquent defenses of the artist and art’s role in American civilization by an American president.
NTSB Preliminary Investigation Report: Flagler County Airport Crash on March 26, 2011
Full text of the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary investigation report, released on April 19, 2011, of the fatal plane crash at the Flagler County Airport on March 26, 2011, involving an Aerostar S A YAK-52, piloted by Bill Walker.
Bunnell Police Miscues Helping To Lessen Case Against Ex-Cops John and Lisa Murray
Lisa Murray faces one less count of official misconduct, but while a grand theft charge against John Murray was dropped, a charge of official misconduct was added. The cases, for now, are proceeding to trial.
It’s Not Enough to Say No to a Seawall in Flagler Beach: An Action Plan Past Opposition
Sherry Epley, a resident of Flagler Beach, lays out a six-point action plan on how to build and sustain opposition to a seawall while developing a viable alternative that saves the beach and State Road A1A.
Textual Titillations, Chamber Scott, Perot Trump, Buying Legislators and Poetry in Jazz: The Live Wire
Buy one legislator, get one free, what’s far worse than sexting, a free speech leap in Vancouver, the Rude Pundit on Obama, when Donald Trump insults “the blacks,” and more.
Stereotype This: “Lazy Mexicans” And Other Insolvent Myths of American Superiority
As it turns out Mexicans are not only harder workers than Americans. They are the hardest workers in the industrialized world, while smugness, selfishness and the pursuit of inequality are becoming American brands.
Water Wars, Side B: Why a Subdivision With 10% of Bunnell’s Residents Is Suing the City
Bunnell has been reading Palm Terrace Mobile Home park’s water meters and servicing its sewer station for 27 years. The city wants to stop doing so to save money, billing the park in one lump sum. The park owner says the city is breaching a 27-year-old annexation agreement.
Conklin Is Fired From State-Backed Job After Talk of Suing the State Over Education Funding
Colleen Conklin has been an outspoken advocate for education as a Flagler County School Board member for 10 years–and as the COO of a largely state-funded education foundation for the last four. One job cost her the other.
Palm Coast Maps Out Gentler, Kinder Impact Fees on Developers, But Questions Arise
The one-time impact fees developers pay when they build something would be lower for residential construction. Builders would get discounts for paying up front, or get to pay them on an installment plan.
Flagler County School District Employee Health Insurance Benefits, 2011-2012
Flagler County school district employee health insurance benefits, dental and vision plans as provided by United Health Care for 2011-2012: chart and comparison with previous year’s premium costs.
Barack Obama and Rick Scott In Florida Voters’ Eyes: From Lousy to Dismal
The latest poll has Obama’s approval at just 44 percent, and Scott’s at 35 percent, with Scott’s disapproval rating doubling in two months, and 60 percent of Floridians saying Florida is on the wrong path. The poll reveals widespread dissatisfaction.
At Public Forum on Sex Education, Passionate Opinions and Reprimands, But No Consensus
Some 40 people spoke out of the 100 who showed up at the school district’s forum on what direction sex education should take. The disappointing turnout underscored the board’s point–that parents are uninvolved, making the district’s role more vital.
Far Apart, School Unions and Flagler District Negotiators Still Looking for a Common Page
After two sessions on Wednesday, negotiators only agreed to meet again in mid-April to discuss clearer, fresher budget numbers before negotiating proposed cuts of $3.5 million that would affect most employees and students in the district.
School Employees Facing Steep Increases in Health Insurance Costs, Further Eroding Pay
Premiums are rising by up to 37 percent for many of the 1,337 school district employees who seek health coverage, particularly for those with family coverage. Employees also face another pay cut next year if retirement contributions are expected of them.
Sex Education In Flagler County Schools: Students’ Comments, Part 1
Complete set of (anonymous) comments by students from grades 6 to 12 in response to a sex education survey by the Flagler County school district. Comments are provided here unedited and uncensored.
Sex Education In Flagler County Schools: Students’ Comments, Part 2
Complete set of (anonymous) comments by students from grades 6 to 12 in response to a sex education survey by the Flagler County school district. Comments are provided here unedited and uncensored.
In Their Words: What Flagler’s Students and Adults Think of Sex, Abstinence and Condoms
More than 2,600 student surveys on sex education and behavior and 34 pages of students’ comments–and fewer by adults–were tallied ahead of Thursday’s public forum on sex education.
Sex Education In Flagler County Schools: Parents’ Comments
Complete set of (anonymous) comments by parents of Flagler County school students in school in response to a sex education survey by the Flagler County school district. Comments are provided here unedited and uncensored.
Sex Education In Flagler County Schools: Community Members’ Comments
Complete set of (anonymous) comments by residents who have no children in school in response to a sex education survey by the Flagler County school district. Comments are provided here unedited and uncensored.
But Should They Be Paid? Flagler School Board Members Defend Their Salaries
A Florida Senate proposal would replace school board members’ salaries with a $100 per-meeting stipend. Retirement and health benefits would be eliminated, too. Savings would exceed $10 million a year.
They Bring Good Schemes to Life:
How GE Pays Little Or No Corporate Taxes
GE’s tax department is a company in itself: some 1,000 people working to minimize GE’s corporate tax liabilities, with huge success. In 2010, GE paid no taxes on $14.2 billion in profits. GE claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.
Flagler’s Quality of Health Ranks It 17th in the State; Smoking and Obesity a Problems
Department of Health Administrator Patrick Johnson cautions that Flagler’s health rankings should not be overdramatized–for good or ill–but that they still point to trends that should clarify where the county’s health priorities should be.
Circuit Judge Julianne Piggotte, in Daytona Beach, Retiring After 21 Years
Piggotte has been a judge since 1990, and was chief judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which includes Flagler County, from 2003 to 2005.
Flagler Firefighters Battling 2-Day, 300-Acre Brush Fire on Old Brick Road
The fire started Saturday, at the same time that firefighters were responding to the plane crash and ensuing brush fire at the Flagler County airport. The brush fire was 30 percent contained by Monday afternoon.
Yes, Stetson Kennedy Is Still Alive: Labor and Civil Rights Legend at Stetson Wednesday
Stetson Kennedy, who unmasked the Ku Klux Klan after infiltrating it and remains a prominent voice for unions, labor and civil rights, gives a free lecture at Stetson University. He is 94.
Our Legislature for Sale, Breastfeeding Stupidity, End of High School Sports: The Live Wire
Rick Scott’s sunshine problems, developers’ Florida free-for-all, return of the pythons in the Everglades, nuclear accidents, cave art, Hunter S. Thompson interviews Keith Richards, and more.
Flagler Beach Dog Lovers: “If We Wanted More Rules We’d Go To Palm Coast”
More enforcement of existing rules and more self-policing, but no change in Flagler Beach’s dogs-on-the-beach ordinance, city commissioners decided after hearing from 38 people over 90 minutes Thursday evening.
Florida Slush Funds, Radioactive Coulter, Corrupt Editors, Bullies and Body-Slammers: The Live Wire
The Australian anti-bully body-slammer talks, Ben Stiller on manchild syndrome, Ann Coulter thinks radiation is good for you, acts and pictures worse than Abu Ghraib, Willem de Kooning and more.
Murder-Suicide Shakes Community on Barkwood Lane in Northern Palm Coast
A middle-aged couple was found dead in their home on Barkwood Lane, off of Belle Terre Parkway, late Sunday afternoon. A shotgun was found at the scene next to the man.
School Board Member Salaries By County, 2010-2011
Complete list of Florida school board members’ salaries, county by county, as set by state law. Salaries are set by population–or according to the starting pay of a teacher, whichever is less.
Flagler Reads Together: Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 15
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Flagler Reads Together, FlaglerLive is serializing Huckleberry Finn, this year’s book. Here’s Chapter 15: Huck Loses the Raft; In the Fog; Huck Finds the Raft; Trash; With E.W. Kemble’s original illustrations.
Disaster Ready? 5 Nuclear Reactors in Florida, 3 Of Them Within 180 Miles of Palm Coast
Progress Energy’s Crystal River Plant in west Florida is exactly the same distance–140 miles–separating Tokyo from the exploding Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Two reactors in Jensen Beach are 180 miles south.
King Scott’s Nepotism, Tsunami Creeps, Kerouac Dreams, A Flash Mob in Beirut: The Live Wire
Why Bob Graham fears Rick Scott, the new pessimism in American culture, Bahrain imports repression, Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, dental floss imports, and more.
Sex-Ed in Flagler: School District Prepares to Move Away from Abstinence Only
Flagler’s sex-ed curriculum is abstinence only. But it’s barely taught and it appears not to address rising STD rates, though Flagler’s teen-pregnancy rate is lower than that of Florida or the United States. School board members are exploring a change.
New Flagler Beach Commission Is Seated–and Pier Restaurant Deal Almost Unravels
Unexpected discussion about breaking the bait and tackle shop at the pier out of the restaurant lease, and inviting others to bid for running it, almost demolished months of negotiations over the restaurant lease.
“Waiting in the Wings” at the Flagler Playhouse: Old Age in Wit and Drink
Set in a retirement home for aging actresses, Noel Coward’s play is an often funny, at times heartbreaking comedy-drama pulled off beautifully by an ensemble cast at the Flagler Playhouse: every weekend through the end of March.
Ex-Neo-Nazi White Supremacist Recruiter Lectures on “Turning Away from Hate” At Stetson March 21
TJ Leyden is the author of Skinhead Confessions and an adviser and trainer to state and federal panels, the military and law enforcement. Jason Alexander, the Seinfeld star, wrote the Foreword to Leyden’s memoir.
Oxycodone Central, James Bond in Drag, Placenta-Eating and Georgia O’Keeffe at 92: The Live Wire
The 100th International Women’s Day, islamophobe Brigitte Gabriel, Mike Huckabee’s bigotries, Duke Ellington’s wonders, a Palm Coast company on TLC, pretend abortions in Oklahoma, and more.
In Your Backyard: Public Discussion on Where to Plunk Desalination Plant Wednesday
The $200 million, Palm Coast-led desalination project is holding an open house and public comment period on the project’s location beginning at 6 p.m. at the Whitney Laboratory in Marineland on March 9.
Room for Debate: Do You Let Your Teen Drink At Home?
A new study shows that 5.9 percent of adolescents 12 to 14 drank at home in the past month, almost half of them getting their drink from family. Do you let your teen drink in hopes of teaching responsibility?
Florida Constitution, Article IX: Education
The Florida Constitution, Article IX: Education.