In 2018, after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida passed a red flag law, and many other states followed suit. By the end of 2021, 19 states and the District of Columbia had done so. Not every state is on board: In 2020, Oklahoma banned its counties and municipalities from passing red-flag laws.
All Else
‘If You Get Out of This Car You’re Going to Jail,’ Troopers Warned Joe Mullins in Confrontational Stop
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins was threatened with arrest by troopers as he argued with them and told them, twice, he was an elected official, after being pulled over for going 91.7 mph on I-4 in June, and after initially ignoring the troopers even as one of them clocked him.
Contentious Education Laws Take Effect Today as Schools Grapple With Confusion and Unknowns
Florida state laws that went into effect today include measures that prohibit certain lessons in history from being taught, limit class discussions on matters involving the LGBTQ+ community, and even remove books from school libraries.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 1, 2022
First Friday in Flagler Beach, the Tour de France begins, Remembering Liberace in all his flamboyance, William O. Douglas on the spiritual values of wilderness.
Leon County Judge Rules 15-Week Abortion Law Violates Florida’s Constitutional Privacy Protections
The law (HB 5) is set to take effect Friday. It will be in place for at least a few days before Cooper issues a written order. The state also quickly announced it plans to file an appeal, which would automatically freeze Cooper’s order and effectively put the law back into effect.
How Coastal Gentrification in Puerto Rico Is Displacing People and Damaging the Coast
Tourism income is central to Puerto Rico’s economy, especially in the wake of heavy damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017. But it comes at a cost: destruction of mangroves, wetlands and other coastal areas. Puerto Rico is no stranger to resort construction, but now widespread small-scale projects to meet demand for rentals on platforms like Airbnb are adding to concerns about coastal gentrification and touristification.
Flagler Beach Mayor Files Grant On Her Own, Underscoring Grievance With Manager Over Serial Fails
Flagler Beach Mayor Suzie Johnston filed an application to the county’s Tourist Development Council for a $739,000 grant to rebuild the city’s boardwalk, without commission approval, but in reaction to what she sees as a series of failures on the city administration’s part to follow through on city initiatives.
The Christian Arrogance Behind Praying Coach’s Supreme Court Case
Christian coach Joseph Kennedy’s prayer at a public school football field’s 50-yard line is not about religious freedom. It is not about God. It is not even about praying. It’s about imposing one version of Christianity in an increasingly pluralist society in one of the last places where that kind of favoritism has no place. It is intolerance by exclusivity.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, June 30, 2022
Drug Court convenes, Wallace Stegner hangs out with the great Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz, Free Meals for Kids and Teens at FPC and the Housing Authority in Bunnell.
Deepfakes: How To Combat Their Unethical Use
Malicious and unethical use of deepfakes can harm people. Organizations are increasingly vulnerable to this technology and the costs of this type of fraud can be high.
As Clock Ticks to Friday Deadline, Green Lion Wraps Compromise Proposal in Threat to Sue Palm Coast
The Green Lion restaurant at Palm Harbor Golf Course has until Friday to sign a new agreement with city government or face eviction in the next 180 days. The restaurant issued a counter-proposal to the city in a letter Tuesday, but to the city, the matter has been decided: it’s take it or leave it.
Sheriff Staly to Undergo Out-Patient Surgery on July 1
Sheriff Staly is scheduled for out- patient surgery on July 1, 2022, to repair a knee injury. Chief of Staff Mark Strobridge will be the Acting Sheriff while Staly is under anesthesia.
In Rare Invocation of Unsecured Gun Law, Mother faces Felony Charge in Son’s Accidental Shooting
Parents or guardians are rarely prosecuted for leaving guns unsecured or within reach of children, even though under Florida law it’s either a misdemeanor or a third-degree felony. Last week, the State Attorney’s office filed a rare such charge against a Bunnell mother whose 13-year-old son accidentally shot himself with an unsecured firearm.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 29, 2022
The Supreme Court’s seesaw on the death penalty, Blue 22 Forum, the full testimony by Cassidy Hutchinson, former senior aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Why the Supreme Court’s Coach Decision Is a School-Prayer Game-Changer
The court has now decided that public school employees can pray when supervising students. It also helps close out a Supreme Court term when the current justices’ increasing interest in claims of religious discrimination was on full display, with another “church-state” case decided in religious plaintiffs’ favor just last week.
Trump, Enraged, Had to Be Physically Kept from Joining Jan. 6 Mob, House Panel Told
Donald Trump had to be held back from joining his enraged, rioting supporters — even after the president was told they were armed — in their assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to astonishing testimony to the Jan. 6 committee Tuesday from a former top White House aide.
Citing Violent Crime, Commission Approves Costly Expansion of Surveillance Cameras in South Bunnell
The proposal drew unanimous approval from the five-member commission and near-unanimous approval from the public in attendance, including two former city commissioners and a former sheriff’s office sergeant, all three Black, all of whom either grew up in or still live in South Bunnell.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 28, 2022
The Palm Coast Council talks budget, Kids Summer Performer Series at the public library, National Columnists’ Day, why Thomas Friedman is unbearable.
Octavia E. Butler, Sci-Fi Pioneer, and Her New Vision for Humanity
Octavia Butler was the first science fiction writer to be awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant. A pioneering writer in a genre long dominated by white men, her work explored power structures, shifting definitions of humanity and alternative societies.
Flagler County Seeks Volunteers for Meals on Wheels and Supplemental Food Programs
Flagler County Senior Services is looking for a few good men and women volunteers to assist with the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program and Meals on Wheels.
Gerald McCaskell, 51, a Repeat Felon, Accused of Stabbing A Man in a Street Fight in South Bunnell
Gerald McCaskell of Bunnell, who has spent 14 years of the last 32 years in prison, was back at the Flagler County jail Saturday, on $100,000 bond, following an accusation that he stabbed and gravely injured a 54-year-old Palm Coast man with a serrated blade during a street fight that evening.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 27, 2022
Connor Segledi trial for alleged elderly abuse, the Bunnell City Commission considers a video-surveillance system on city streets, the national debt in 1956, “good guys with a gun.”
Supreme Court Brandishes Second Amendment Rights to New Heights
For most of the history of the court, Second Amendment rights have been seen as distinct, more dangerous and thus more open to regulation. Now, the majority of justices has invoked a major change, with implications for many rights and regulations in American society.
My Son Leaves
Today’s the day. We’re taking our son to UCF. There will be bleakness. This day has been hurtling toward us since he was born. It was once a distant meteor, invisible to the naked heart. But impact is today at 3:30 p.m.
Republicans, DeSantis Among Them, Appear Willing to Lynch Democracy
The House hearings on the violent near-coup at the Capitol is the most exciting television since “Game of Thrones,” though with less sex and fewer beheadings. Since eight years of decent progress on social justice under Obama, it’s becoming clear something has gone very wrong with Republican brain-wiring.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 26, 2022
KidZ Jamboree at Holland Park, Grace Community Food Pantry, Fritz Kreisler, David Foster Wallace on the great literary phallocrats.
‘A Revolutionary Ruling – and Not Just for Abortion’: A Supreme Court Scholar Explains the Impact
What does this ruling mean? Why is there now no right to abortion, when Roe recognized it? Is a fetus now a person? What effect will the ruling have on other issues?
Flagler Leadership Academy’s 3rd Class Graduates 16 from Eight Local Governments
Sixteen students – representing the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, and Flagler Schools, as well as the cities of Bunnell, Flagler Beach, and Palm Coast – were presented diplomas for completing this leadership development program.
DeSantis Vetoes Travis Hutson Bill That Would Have Allowed Business to Sue Cities and Counties
While the veto of the business measure (SB 620) drew praise from local-government and environmental groups, DeSantis left open the door for lawmakers to consider similar, but more targeted, legislation in the future.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 25, 2022
Flagler Beach farmers’ market, Grace Community Food Pantry, The leper colony of Carville, La., Joan Didion plays it as it lays.
An American Tragedy: The Roe Regression
In right-to-life theology, the woman’s right is non-existent. She’s a vessel. Pro-life? It might help us to look beneath our legal and social burquas once in a while. It’s not pretty, and it sure as hell isn’t nearly as moral or pro-life as you think.
Summer High: 5 Books on the Joys and Challenges of LGBTQ Teen and Young Adult Life
In recognition of LGBT Pride Month, Jonathan Alexander – an English professor with a scholarly interest in the interplay between sexuality and literature, and the children’s and young adult fiction section editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books, presents his “must-reads” for this summer.
ELO Meets FYO as Band’s Strange Magic Electrifies Flagler Auditorium With Flagler Youth Orchestra Saturday
The tribute band Ticket to the Moon, which formed in 2019 and took its name from an ELO song title, performs in a Saturday concert at Flagler Auditorium, bringing the band’s music to life with the aid of four teens — a string quartet from the Flagler Youth Orchestra.
Flagler Beach Misses Deadline on $739,000 Tourism Grant. It had 18 Months to Apply. And an Extension.
The Flagler Beach City Commission learned Thursday evening that the city missed out on up to $739,000 in grant funds from the Flagler County Tourist Development Council–a grant that had been available since January 2021. The city was afforded an extension. It missed that deadline too.
Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade; Florida Ban on Abortions After 15 Weeks Starts July 1
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established abortion as a constitutional right. In Florida, abortions after 15 weeks of gestation will be illegal starting on July 1.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, June 24, 2022
Florida on Fire, at the public library, the Summer BreakSpot, Free Meals for Kids and Teens, Monday through Friday, Ruth Westheimer is still kicking, Joan Didion on morality.
Biden Thinks a Federal Gas Tax ‘Holiday’ Will Help. Not Likely.
Several states have temporarily waived their state gasoline taxes to reduce the burden on consumers. Does it help? Not substantially, other than to let politicians who feel a need to show voters they are doing something appear as if they are.
Take the ‘Internet Speed Test’ Survey
Flagler County officials are encouraging residents to take an anonymous one-minute speed test and survey to help identify opportunities for expansion of broadband services in Florida. The survey can be completed on any device and from any location.
Stray F Word and 14 Seconds of TikTok End Flagler Teacher Abbey Cooke’s Storied 13-Year Career
The 3-1 vote to fire Abbey Cooke, for a dozen year a highly rated teacher and 2017 Teacher of the Year at Belle Terre Elementary, sent a chilling message to those who would challenge the board, or those who land on any board member’s hostile radar: the slightest misstep can and will be used against them.
Again Ticketed for Speeding, Flagler Commission Chairman Joe Mullins Again Begs for Favor
The ticket is not remarkable. What’s more notable about Joe Mullins is his pattern of seeking to get out of penalties, and of reaching out to public officials to do so or invoking their names either to get out of a ticket or in attempts to get out of being adjudicated and getting points on his license, with a promise that he’d never do it again. Then he does it again.
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Limits on Concealed Carry Laws, Expands Gun Rights
The court ruled that New York’s concealed carry law violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution — a major decision that expands the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The opinion came at the same time Congress is considering new gun control legislation following two deadly mass shootings.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, June 23, 2022
Pride Night at Daytona Tortugas, Schoolhouse Rock Live, a City Repertory Theatre production, The Palm Coast Beautification Committee hears a history of Palm Coast, Anna Akhmatova, Bob Fosse’s birthday.
Understanding the Heat Dome: Why America Is Baking
A heat dome occurs when a persistent region of high pressure traps heat over an area. The heat dome can stretch over several states and linger for days to weeks, leaving the people, crops and animals below to suffer through stagnant, hot air that can feel like an oven.
Ex-Governor Candidate Andrew Gillum Arrested on Wire Fraud, Lying and Conspiracy Charges
A 21-count indictment, delivered by a grand jury this year and unsealed Wednesday, accused Gillum and a longtime adviser, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, of illegally soliciting and obtaining money from various entities “through false and fraudulent promises and representations that the funds would be used for a legitimate purpose.”
DSC Gets $10,000 Bank of America Grant for 1,200 At-Risk Students’ Meals
Daytona State College will use a $10,000 grant from Bank of America to provide more than 1,200 meals to low-income and under-represented students who might not otherwise have access to healthy food during the school day.
Florida Park Drive Will Be Closed to Thru Traffic for at Least 4 Months for Major Utility Work
Starting Monday, June 27, Florida Park Drive will be closed to thru traffic for at least four months to accommodate a major utility reconstruction project. Local access will still be possible. But accessing either Holland Park or most of the neighborhoods along Florida Park Drive from Palm Coast Parkway will not be possible without a wide detour.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Schoolhouse Rock Live, a City Repertory Theatre production, presents two shows at the Flagler Auditorium, when Joe Louis knocked out James Braddock, sellout culture.
Endorsements Aren’t As Influential as You Think
So far, 94 percent of Trump’s favored candidates have won their Republican primaries. But most of the candidates Trump has chosen to endorse were already on track to win their respective races.
Volusia/Flagler YMCA HYDRO4 Swim Team Places 18th in U.S.
The Volusia Flagler Family YMCA’s HYDRO4 Swim Team has been recognized as a 2022 American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Top 100 Age Group Team. The team placed 18th in the USA.
A Green Lion Deal Dims as Positions Harden in Acrimony, Accusations and a Deadline
Green Lion owner Tony Marlow called Palm Coast City officials “crooks” as a council segment on a proposed lease resulted in a take-it-or-leave it offer from the city, and a 10-day deadline, or else the city will terminate the lease and seek a new vendor for the space.