Some of the younger evangelicals are openly questioning their religious and political traditions while the majority of white evangelicals are aging and a portion of younger evangelicals are engaging in both religion and politics differently.
All Else
Quietly, and Without Voter Say, Flagler County Readies to Raise Sales Tax on Everyone. Palm Coast Says No.
The Palm Coast City Council today rejected a request by county government to support raising the local sales tax from 7 to 7.5 percent. The rejection deals a blow to county government, which is looking to increase the tax to pay for law enforcement and fire operations, but it also replays tensions from 10 years ago when the county’s approach on the sales tax was equally clumsy and unilateral.
Crime Dropped By Half in Staly’s 1st Term, Giving Flagler 4th-Lowest Rate Among Florida Counties of 100,000 or More
Flagler County’s crime rate in 2020 fell for the 11th straight year, though it’s never fallen as sharply as it has in the last three, when it fell by half since 2017. In 2020, Flagler had the fourth-lowest crime rate in the state for counties of 100,000 or more people, aided in part by the pandemic.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 22, 2021
The Palm Coast City Council discusses whether to support a county-initiated increase in the sales tax, a mayoral forum put on by pachyderms, and Croatia takes the field against Scotland in a long-shot hope to advance at Euro 2020, on its own Anti-Fascist Struggle Day.
Flagler County Graduates Second Leadership Academy Class
Flagler County Leadership Academy 2021 Graduates: Matt Adams; Jordan Butler; Holly Durrance; Nathan Hockenberry; Nealon Joseph; Joe King; Michael Lagasse; Gina Lemon; Trevor Martin; Christina Mortimer; Michael Orlando; Ashlee Ouellette; Darlene Pardiny; Tishia Peterson; Ryan Prevatt; Roy Sieger; Amy Stroger; and, Jason Wheeler.
Supreme Court Upholds Religious Liberty Over LGBTQ Rights and Nods to Bigger wins for Conservatives Ahead
Last week’s Supreme Court ruling is narrow, but it means that any unequal treatment of religious groups will be regarded as a violation of the First Amendment, even if it comes at the expense of the dignity of LGBTQ citizens.
State Workers Across the Nation Had a Holiday for Juneteenth, but Not in Florida
Even with short notice after the president signed the federal holiday into law, some states were able to manage authorizing a paid day off Friday for their state employees. Gov. Ron DeSantis could have granted state workers a paid holiday. He did not.
Reagan’s Legacy for Women
The Reagan “vision” for America, with its disproportionately negative impact on the female half, is now firmly embedded in Republican dogma. The 40th president envisioned a world where women would never be granted equality under the U.S. constitution, where abortion was illegal, and where equal employment laws would be history, argues Martha Burk.
Florida and Seven Other States, All Republican-Controlled, Enact Anti-Protest Laws
Eight states have passed laws cracking down on protest activity since Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the United States last summer, according to the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, which tracks such legislation. Similar bills are pending in 21 states, according to the Washington, D.C.-based center.
With Nod to Continuity, Not Salinas, County Appoints Heidi Petito Interim Administrator for 3 Months
The Flagler County Commission this evening appointed Heidi Petito interim manager for at least the next three months, or long enough to shepherd the county through budget season, but likely for much longer, the commission being uninterested in laboring over a successor. It was a surprise: Jorge Salinas, brought on as chief of staff in January, was widely expected to be named interim. Instead, he now says he is no longer interested in the top job.
Flagler Mosquito Control Launches Plan that would Expand Spraying to Entirety of County By 2026
The plan would expand taxing for mosquito control of property owners countywide. Currently a property with a taxable value of $150,000 pays around $24 a year for mosquito control. Currently the district boundaries include Palm Coast, Bunnell, Flagler Beach and Beverly Beach.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 21, 2021
The Flagler County Commission bids farewell to Administrator Jerry Cameron and likely appoints Jorge Salinas as its next interim, Flagler Beach’s golf course manager goes on trial for insurance fraud and DUI, a word about Al Hirschfeld, Obamacare and LBJ’s bombing angst.
Deputies and Firefighters Talk a Suicidal 17-Year-Old Girl Off the Ledge at Palm Coast Parkway and I-95
Four public safety agencies this morning cooperated in literally talking a 17-year-old Palm Coast girl off the ledge on the I-95 overpass at Palm Coast Parkway. The incident shut down I-95 northbound and the parkway’s eastbound traffic in the 6 and 7 o’clock hours this morning before it was resolved without harm to anyone.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 20, 2021
A few thoughts on Father’s Day from Roth’s Levov to Bertrand Russell. Last day for two plays at CRT and the Flagler Playhouse. Richard Rorty on how “Each new generation of students ought to think of American leftism as having a long and glorious history.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, Juneteenth 2021
It’s Juneteenth, but this being Flagler County, and an AACS virtual program aside, you wouldn’t know it. The stages at City Repertory Theatre and the Flagler Playhouse are lit up tonight. And it’s a day of superpowers at Euro 2020.
Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Conservation Program Releases 5 Endangered Sea Turtles in Ormond Beach
The fruits of The Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Conservation Program labor were realized with the release of five rehabbed sea turtles including two Kemp’s ridley and three greens yesterday in North Ormond Beach.
Woman Claiming She was Drugged and Raped Sues Palm Coast Doctor Gerard Abate; Criminal Investigation Open
A woman is suing Gerard Abate, a 67-year-old Palm Coast physician who runs his own medical consultancy, over claims he drugged, raped and exposed her to a sexually transmitted disease after meeting her on a dating site in 2017. A potential criminal case against Abate is pending, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
Florida Supreme Court Justices Again Reject Recreational Pot Amendment Despite Strict Regulatory Language
Justices, in a 5-2 decision, said a proposal by the political committee Sensible Florida included ballot wording that would mislead voters. By the same margin, the court in April rejected a recreational-pot proposal by the committee Make It Legal Florida.
The Weekend Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, June 18, 2021
UNF-Mednexus-Palm Coast’s new director Miriam Griffin is on Free For All Fridays, “All in the Timing” at the black box theater by the Flagler Auditorium, Frank Bruni says goodbye with a mea culpa.
Biden Signs Law Making Juneteenth a New Federal Holiday
“Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names—Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at the White House signing ceremony, noting that the White House was built by slaves. “And today, a national holiday.”
Supreme Court Declines to Overturn ACA — Again. Florida Was Among Losing Plaintiffs.
By a vote of 7-2, however, the justices did not even reach the merits of the case, ruling instead that the suing states and the individual plaintiffs, two self-employed Texans, lacked “standing” to bring the case to court.
Road Signs May Not Be Enough to Stop Sea Turtles’ Carnage on Flagler’s Beachside
A dead or stranded turtle on the side of the road is common, but prevention is not complicated, whether it’s reducing clutter and pollution on the beach or following up on the Flagler Turtle Patrol’s awareness tips.
From ‘Hamlet’-Writing Chimps to Erotic Miniature Golf, It’s ‘All in the Timing’ for City Rep’s Latest Production
Whether it’s the three chimpanzees of “Words, Words, Words” discussing the crafting of high literature, the miniature-golf-as-metaphor-for-sex shenanigans of “Foreplay, or The Art of the Fugue,” or the multiple replays of murder in “Variations on the Death of Trotsky,” the “All in the Timing” one-acts are soaked in bizarro scenarios.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, June 17, 2021
City Repertory Theater returns to an actual indoor stage, at the Black Box at the Auditorium, with David Ives’ ‘All in the Timing’ all weekend. Stages are alive and well: the Flagler Playhouse’s workshop production of “The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey” is also on all weekend.
A Debate Breaks Out During Florida Cabinet Meeting Between Fried and DeSantis, Imminent Contenders
Sniping between DeSantis and Fried was a marked feature of the meeting Tuesday. DeSantis, a Republican, has not yet announced for reelection next year but Fried is among a number of Democrats seeking her party’s nomination to try to deny him a second term. (So is Congressman Charlie Crist of St. Petersburg.)
Records Reveal Trump Wanted U.S. Supreme Court to Order New Election in 6 States
The complaint prepared by the Justice Department at Trump’s order but never filed asked the Supreme Court to nullify the electoral votes of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and to order all six states to hold special elections to appoint presidential electors.
UNF MedNexus in Palm Coast Names Dr. Miriam Griffin Program Director
The University of North Florida has named Dr. Miriam Griffin as program director and assistant professor for UNF MedNexus in Palm Coast. Griffin lives in the Palm Coast area and will lead the efforts in establishing and leading the UNF MedNexus nursing cohort program beginning fall 2021.
Reflections on a Bobcat Sighting on Palm Coast’s Squadron Place
“This is the first bobcat I’ve seen during my 31 years in Florida,” writes Rick de Yampert of his sighting outside his Seminole Woods home this morning. “At my hermitage beside the wilderness in Palm Coast, there are wild woods to the south and flatwoods to the east and southeast. Bob sat at the east edge of my backyard for a full 20 minutes.”
Man Who Killed His Father Says His Freedom Doesn’t Mean ‘I’m Going to Jump Off a Bridge and Kill Somebody’
A judge denied lifting all restrictions on Richard Dunn, 60, who killed his father in Palm Coast in 2006 and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. But numerous restrictions have been lifted, and Dunn’s other family members are objecting to further freedoms he may gain, which make them fearful for their safety.
Mad Dogs Completes Spring 2021 Season, Crowning List of Champions
Mad Dogs Flag Football of Palm Coast completed its Spring 2021 season with its Championship Weekend festivities on June 12 at Wadsworth Park in Flagler Beach.
Patient Batters 3 People at AdventHealth’s ER Waiting Room Before One Victim, a Security Guard, Stops Him
Kory Prusaitis, a 25-year-old resident of Winterling Place in Palm Coast, was upset at hospital staff when told that that his mother couldn’t come into the waiting room with him, and went on a brief rampage against three people.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 16, 2021
All about credit unions at a virtual Flagler Tiger Bay lunch, Jasper Johns on becoming an artist, a man found not guilty by reason of insanity wants his total freedom back, and a trio of matches from Euro 2020.
Robert Hill Had Threatened to Smash His Girlfriend’s Face In Before Shooting Her. She Recorded Him.
It was Brenan Hill, 32, who unknowingly led detectives to the gun used in the shooting of his 22-year-old girlfriend in Palm Coast last March, and the victim’s own recordings of him that made him the chief suspect, as a trove of digital footprints unraveled his many lies to detectives.
Richard Dunn Nearing Full Freedom from Restrictions 15 Years After Being Found Insane in Father’s Murder
Richard Dunn, the 60-year-old former Palm Coast resident found not guilty by reason of insanity in the stabbing death of his father Jack Dunn 15 years ago, will again appear in court Wednesday to seek his full freedom, without medical or other supervisory restrictions.
Being Vaccinated Doesn’t Mean You Must Go Maskless. Here’s Why.
The dramatic rollback of mask-wearing and physical distancing recommended last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention applies only to people who have been fully vaccinated. Even if you are vaccinated, though, you don’t need to change your behavior one iota if doing so makes you uncomfortable.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
The Flagler County School Board has a trio of meetings, most importantly a special meeting at 5 p.m. to discuss impact fees in light of a new law restricting how much those fees may be raised, just when the district needs them most. Plus Michael Jordan on being Black and the immorality of zoos.
Attempted Murder Charge for Brenan Robert Hill in Shooting of Girlfriend Near Microtel in March
Brenan Robert Hill was charged today with attempted second-degree murder in the shooting of his girlfriend near the Microtel March 26, a shooting Hill had blamed on a robbery and that had briefly seemed like an inexplicable, unnerving act of violence.
‘Thoughts and Prayers Aren’t Enough’: Flagler Marks Pulse Nightclub Massacre at Year 5 with a March and Vigil
It has been five years since a gunman ended the lives of 49 people and injured 53 others at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Saturday night the Flagler community honored the dead with a march across the Flagler Bridge and a vigil at Veterans’ Park.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 14, 2021
The Bunnell city administration will start tracking its drivers. Jeff Bezos has money to burn. José de Nebra’s Vendado es amor, performed by Concerto Koln.
Sexism + Socialism: The Republican Line on Florida’s Democratic Women Candidates Is Emerging
“Do-nothing.” “Delusional.” That’s the way Republicans are talking about Nikki Fried and Val Demings, the top Democratic women running for governor and U.S. senator in next year’s elections, reflecting a concerted strategy of sexism and denigration with no factual basis.
Here’s What I Tell Middle and High School Teachers About How to Teach Young Students About Slavery
Nervous. Concerned. Worried. Wary. Unprepared. This is how middle and high school teachers have told me they have felt over the past few years when it comes to teaching the troublesome topic of slavery, writes Raphael Rogers, with advice.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 13, 2021
Last of the first weekend showings of the Flagler Playhouse’s The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, Joe Biden’s clone, and how the admonition to be “clear and clean,” to be “professional” serves as an excuse to whitewash.
Critical Rage Theory
Critical race theory has been around almost 50 years and went mainstream 25 years ago, but Trumpist Republicans are discovering it only now, passing laws in several states to ban the teaching of critical race theory without understanding the first thing about it, but proving with every ban that it is less theory than fact.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 12, 2021
The memorial walk and vigil for the victims of the Pulse massacre in Orlando in 2016 begins with participants gathering at Wadsworth park in Flagler Beach after 6 p.m. The walk across the Flagler Beach bridge is at 7 p.m.
Acquitted of Molestation 4 Years Ago, L’Darius Smith Loses Stand Your Ground Argument and Heads for Trial Again
L’Darius Smith, the 25-year-old Bunnell resident who in 2017 was on trial for molesting two of his step-sisters years earlier, is going to trial on aggravated assault and burglary charges after a failed attempt to acquit himself of the assault charge on a stand your ground defense.
Made Invisible at DeSantis’s Pandemic Briefings, Surgeon General Scott Rivkees Will Remain as Surgeon General
Following a tumultuous two years filled with surges in Covid-19 cases, transparency issues and limited public appearances after being off-message at a DeSantis news conference, Scott Rivkees will stay on as Florida’s Surgeon General.
The Weekend Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, June 11, 2021
A weekend of performances and memorials: The Flagler Playhouse’s stage will come to life again, the Jacksonville Symphony performs Schubert’s “Great,” and the Pulse massacre’s victims are remembered with a walk and a vigil Saturday in Flagler Beach.
Palm Coast Fire Chief on Joe Mullins: a ‘Wrecking Ball’ who ‘Disgraces the Hard Working Men and Women of Flagler County Fire Rescue’
After County Commissioner Joe Mullins spoke to Palm Coast Fire Chief Jerry Forte about Palm Coast taking over county fire services, Forte ripped into Mullins in a scathing email to the county administrator and his deputy, calling Mullins a “hack” who seeks to incite hostility when he “stay in his own lane.”
For Whispering Meadows Ranch, a Slow But Likely Trot Away from John Anderson, to New Site at County Fairgrounds
If negotiations between Whispering Meadows Ranch’s owners and county government officials continue on the constructive course they’ve followed for the last few weeks, the ranch appears headed out of its 13-year location at a residential property on John Anderson Highway and will be recreated on the grounds of the Flagler County Fairgrounds off of County Road 13.
The Live Daily Quote Archive, 2017-2021
The archives of the Briefing’s Live Daily Quote, covering every imaginable idea, philosophy, religion, politics, from the sublime to the outrageous to the astonishing, with style and substance, selected daily by the editor. This is not your grandpa’s Bartlett.