In Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond, the Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed with the state’s attorney general, Gentner Drummond, that the charter school board violated state law, the Oklahoma Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution when it allowed St. Isidore, a Catholic online school, to become a charter school.
All Else
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 25, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens, coffee with Commissioner Spradley, ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, Gamble Jam, Cinderella: Youth Edition, at Athens Theatre, pining for the days when reading the press didn’t induce vomiting.
The Good and Bad of Ozempic
Today, GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, have become household names and key tools in the fight against obesity. GLP-1 drugs could help treat dozens of other ailments as well. But there are risks. GLP-1 drugs come with significant side effects and increase the risk of 19 health conditions, such as gastrointestinal issues, kidney stones and acute pancreatitis, in which the pancreas becomes inflamed and dysfunctional.
Republicans Hold Huge Registration Advantage in Special Elections, But Turnout Is Tepid
Heading into special elections to replace former U.S. House members Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz, Republicans hold major voter-registration advantages in the two districts, according to newly released numbers. But turnout has been tepid. Republicans are holding a two-to-one advantage over Democrats turning up at the polls in Flagler County, with 4,859 registered Republicans casting a ballot, to just 2,592 Democrats doing so.
Flagler Beach Pier Construction Delayed to Spring as City Commission Approves $14.1 Million Construction Contract
After a relatively brief discussion that belies nearly nine years of anguish, delays, debates, financing and design of a new pier, the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening unanimously approved a $14.1 million contract with Beckley, W.Va.-based Vecellio and Grogan to build a 714-ft. concrete pier in place of the existing, 97-year-old wooden relic, which has been closed to public or any use since the fall of 2022. Construction was previously set to start last December. It may not start until late spring, and it’ll be a challenge to complete it by July 4, 2026.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, January 24, 2025
Remembering Dexter Romweber, the cold-weather shelter opens, Flagler and Florida unemployment numbers released, ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, Cinderella at Athens Theatre.
Palm Coast’s Disc Golf Course in W-Section Wins Private Public Partnership Award
The City of Palm Coast was awarded the “Outstanding Private and Public Partnership” award by the Florida Planning and Zoning Association (FPZA) Surfcoast Chapter. This award recognizes the City’s collaborative work with Mesa Capital Group to bring the Palm Coast Disc Golf Course to life.
Charlie Hebdo 10 Years On: Conversations About Free Speech Are Still Too Black and White
Communities’ reactions to satire are deeply influenced by factors such as religious marginalization, political exclusion and cultural tensions. The Charlie Hebdo attack was a horrific act of violence that cannot be justified. However, the discussions that followed often overlooked the ways in which the magazine’s caricatures perpetuated racist stereotypes – particularly against Muslims.
Behind Daniel Fish Losing Head Football Coach Job at FPC: Major Fumbles in Classroom, and 2nd Reprimand in 14 Months
Following an internal investigation that ended in December, Daniel Fish, who was fired last week as head football coach at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was the subject of a letter of reprimand for a series of grave failures in his teaching and administrative duties. It was the second disciplinary write-up for Fish in 14 months. He had been the subject of a “letter of caution” in October 2023 following a violent incident that had started among student-athletes in the football team’s unsupervised locker room. He retains his teaching job.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 23, 2025
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets and awards a contract to start demolition and construction of the pier, Lee Greenwood at the Fitz, a Palm Coast committee considers requests to rename two city venues, Alice Munro considered and reconsidered.
Trump’s Attack on Birthright Citizenship
One of President Donald Trump’s first executive orders relating to immigration and immigrants is a direct attack on the long-standing constitutional principle of birthright citizenship. That’s the declaration in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that anyone born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen, regardless of their parents’ nationalities or immigration status.
Flagler-Palm Coast Affordable Housing Advisory Committee Is Seeking New Members: Please Apply
The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC), which makes recommendations to the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners and the City of Palm Coast, is seeking to fill open vacancies.
Vincent’s Clubhouse Spurs Opportunities for People with Disabilities, Bridging Needs Beyond School District
Vincent’s Clubhouse Enrichment Center at Palm Coast’s European Village is an evidence-based program focused on vocational and life skills training, personal development, hygiene, financial skills, marketplace skills, and literacy for adults and younger people. But it was not until late last year, after years of evolution and growth, that Vincent’s Clubhouse’s nomadic years ended with the opening of its permanent home, a 1,600-square-foot facility–what would otherwise be a shopfront–at European Village, with a faculty of five and 20 adult “members” enrolled.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
A discussion on book bans at today’s Separation Chat discussion, John Lennon’s ‘Lost Weekend,’ at Ocean Art Gallery, Weekly Chess Club for Teens, reflections on the inaugural, a few words about Andrew Jackson.
Sexual Identity Is More Fluid Than Previously Thought
Nearly 16% of people changed their sexual identity over a 12-year period, according to a new study I conducted with my colleagues, involving around 35,000 residents of Stockholm County. This challenges long-held beliefs about sexual identity being largely fixed.
Catherine Robinson Again Re-Elected Mayor Without Opposition; 5 Vie for Bunnell Commission, 3 for Flagler Beach
Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson was re-elected without opposition when qualifying ended last week, extending the longest tenure of any of Flagler County’s 37 elected officials, by a wide margin. Three commissioners and the mayor in Beverly Beach were re-elected without opposition. But two commission seats in Bunnell and two seats in Flagler Beach are being contested. The election is March 4.
Yacht Club Gives Up Palm Coast Boat Parade After 41 Years, Citing Costs and City’s Obstacles; Mayor Pledges Takeover
The Palm Coast Yacht Club is giving up on the Holiday Boat Parade, a local fixture for 41 years. The Yacht Club cited burdensome costs and too many obstacles and expectations from the city, all of which have taken the fun out of running it, its organizer says. The Palm Coast City Council today signaled its willingness to take it over and run it as a special event. But it would have to be approved through the coming budget process.
Sorry Palm Coast, No Snow For You: Winter Storm Warning Boundaries Are North and West of Flagler
If you’re hoping to see a few snow flurries as a rare winter storm barrels through the Gulf of Mexico, you’ll have to go north and west of Flagler County even as winter storm warning boundaries were extended southward to include all of Duval and Clay counties overnight. Putnam and St. Johns have a winter storm advisory.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, January 21, 2025
The Palm Coast City Council meets, where James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice meets John McCain’s cheeky Islamophobia.
3 Strategies to Bridge the Deepening Partisan Divide
A record-high 80% of Americans believe the U.S. is greatly divided on “the most important values”. A similar percentage of Americans said they feared violence and threats to democracy. Almost half the country believes people on the other side of the political divide are “downright evil.” Some say that the vitriolic rhetoric of political leaders and social media influencers is partly to blame for the country’s state of toxic polarization. Others cite social media platforms that amplify misinformation and polarization.
Manifest Perfidy: Trump Is No Seward
As the Dear Leader asserted the other day in his completely rational press conference, if the 51st-staters don’t play nice, we’ll bring them to their frostbitten knees with “economic force” and turn their so-called “provinces” into good Christian Florida counties with lousy hospitals and empty libraries.
“We Cannot Walk Alone… We Cannot Turn Back”
A brief history of the origins and battles of the Martin Luther King federal holiday, and of the MLK monument at the Washington Mall, with full text and video of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech.”
Rotary Club of Flagler Beach Equips Lifeguards with Lifesaving AEDs
The Rotary Club of Flagler Beach presented three lifesaving automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to the Flagler Beach lifeguard captains at their club meeting last month. These AEDs, acquired through a successful grant, will be mounted on the lifeguards’ ATVs, ensuring rapid response to cardiac emergencies along the beach.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, January 20, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens. A strange conjunction between Martin Luther King Day and the inaugural, with a very special musical special to mark the special occasion, and Trump’s Letterman nights.
David Lynch Exposed the Rot at the Heart of American Culture
Lynch’s films and TV series reflected the dark, ominous, often bizarre underbelly of American culture – one increasingly out of the shadows today. American cinema holds up a mirror to society. Lynch was a master at this. His images of corruption, violence and toxic masculinity ring all too familiar in America today.
Trump’s Coming Tax Plan: Shift Handouts from Poor to Rich
Republicans plan to give the richest Americans a fresh round of individual tax breaks, slash the corporate tax rate yet again, and cut taxes on capital gains and dividends, which would let their Wall Street friends keep even more of their winnings when they sell a stock or are showered with dividends. Then they’ll move to step two: draconian budget cuts for the programs Americans rely on.
Suzanne Johnston Is Flagler Sheriff’s Citizen of the Year
Suzanne Johnston will be recognized as Citizen of the Year at an upcoming Sheriff’s gala. Johnston recently retired after serving as Flagler County Tax Collector since 2005. In total, Johnston dedicated 55 years of service to the community prior to her retirement. Deputy Christian Harrison will be recognized as Law Enforcement Deputy Sheriff of the Year.
Childhood Vaccination Rates Are Slipping in ‘Health Freedom’ Florida and Other States with Exemptions
Pediatricians in states with high exemption rates, such as Florida and Georgia, say they’re concerned by what they see — declining immunization levels for kindergartners, which could lead to a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles. The Florida Department of Health reported nonmedical exemption rates as high as 50% for children in some areas.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, January 19, 2025
‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, ‘Crimes of the Heart’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, the tautology of “Christian fiction,” Mencken’s two cents.
RFK’s Vaccine Disinformation is Distorting Science and Threatening Public Health
Doctors, scientists and public health researchers have expressed concerns that Kennedy would turn his views into policies that could undermine public health. As a case in point, news reports have highlighted how Kennedy’s lawyer, Aaron Siri, has in recent years petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw or suspend approval of numerous vaccines over alleged safety concerns.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 18, 2025
The Martin Luther King Day celebration and parade in Bunnell, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley returns, ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, ‘Exit Laughing,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Woodrow Wilson’s racism.
Rule of Law Lost in Hush Money Sentencing of Trump
Trump won’t be able to buy a gun in some states, travel to 38 countries including Canada and Japan without a waiver, or do jury duty. Yet Trump was sentenced only to an “unconditional discharge”, meaning he will face no further penalties. Nearly half of people convicted of the same crime in the state of New York would go to prison, and Trump could have faced a fine of up to US$170,000.
Exhibit Features May Pang’s Intimate Photos of John Lennon’s ‘Lost Weekend,’ at Ocean Art Gallery
Few people knew John Lennon as intimately as May Pang. Pang was Lennon’s lover during the infamous “Lost Weekend” which lasted 18 months during late 1973 through 1975. During this highly creative time for Lennon, Pang took candid photos of Lennon in a comfortable, relaxed environment. A collection of these private photographs including several taken at Disney World, will be on display and available for purchase at Ocean Art Gallery in Ormond Beach on Jan, 21 and 22. Admission to the exhibit is free to the public. All works are available to purchase – See John Lennon as May saw him.
Marineland Suspends All Event Permits Until Town and Flagler County Comply with State’s River to Sea Park Rules
The Marineland Town Commission Thursday evening agreed to suspend all permitting of special events, including vendor markets, 5K runs and weddings anywhere on the grounds of the River to Sea preserve–a public park–until the town and Flagler County government are in full compliance with the management terms of the preserve both had violated. The suspension is not a small matter for Marineland, whose character as a town with only a handful of residents and just one private business is defined at least in part by the events that take place in town, especially in connection with its natural amenities.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, January 17, 2025
The great Crystal Gayle at the Fitz, ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, ‘Crimes of the Heart’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, Chekhov.
2024 Was Deadliest Year on Record for Reporters
Since 7 October 2023, at least 146 journalists have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon, though the actual numbers are likely much higher, as the CPJ is investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing or detained. Meanwhile, foreign journalists are denied access to Gaza by Israeli authorities.
Traffic-Calming Speed ‘Cushions’ Coming to Cimmaron and Florida Park Drive
A traffic-calming study’s first phase will begin on January 22, with the installation of speed cushions on Cimmaron Drive and Florida Park Drive.
Despite Extension, City Manager Opening Draws Just 38 Applicants; Only 1 Managed a City of Palm Coast’s Size
Only 38 candidates have applied to be Palm Coast’s next city manager. The general quality of applicants is not stellar: top-flight candidates are not beating down the city’s door. Less than half the applicants (17) have previous city manager experience. Only a handful of those have managed a city with more than 50,000 people. Among the three, only one has managed a city with a population close to Palm Coast’s 107,000 (the current city manager of Edison, N.J.)
In ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ City Rep Produces the ‘Most Hilarious Show About Depression You’ve Ever Seen’
“Every Brilliant Thing” a one-man play, is the story of a man who as a child sought to cope with his mother’s depression and suicidal tendencies, and to find a way to cheer her up. At first glance, “Every Brilliant Thing” may seem to be a play that labors and strains under the profound, harsh realities of depression and suicide. But a critic called it “the most hilarious show about depression you’ve ever seen.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 16, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens again as temperatures dip into the 30s, Marineland and Flagler County workshop a new agreement over park land, ‘Exit Laughing,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Elvis’s Aloha from Hawaii.
Panama to U.S. and China: Buzz Off
Panama is aware of the importance of its key geopolitical asset and keen to balance U.S. and Chinese interests with its own desire to run the canal without undue influence from either Washington or Beijing.
Flagler Cares Offers One-Stop Help Night on Range of Social, Medical and Legal Services
Join Flagler Cares and other community partners for this one-stop Help Night offering a range of social, medical, legal and other services from 3 to 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at Flagler County Village, City Marketplace, 160 Cypress Point Parkway in Palm Coast. Help Night is on the third floor of Building B, Suite 304.
It’s Not Your Imagination: Palm Coast Homes Used as Vacation Rentals Increase by 70% in 2 Years, to Over 500
It’s not your imagination. The number of single-family homes used as short-term vacation rentals has increased by 60 percent in two years across Flagler County, while the number of vacation rentals in Palm Coast alone, where most of the growth is concentrated, has surged by 70 percent, with the overwhelming share of those in single-family homes, condos or town houses.
After Ragga Surf Cafe Exit, Flagler County and Marineland Seek to Win Back State’s Trust in Preserve Management
Flagler County government and the Town of Marineland administration have drafted a joint plan to reassure the state agency with oversight of the River to Sea Preserve that the two local governments are still capable of managing the Preserve, which had fallen out of compliance with state requirements and put both governments at risk of losing ownership. Meanwhile, Ragga Surf cafe has left Marineland and will reopen at a location in St. Augustine on Friday.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, January 15, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens tonight, the Tourist Development Council meets, the Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board hears the site plan application for Palm Coast’s future maintenance operations center, the hottest year on record.
Beware Snowbirds: The Far Right Is Growing in Canada, Too
A book on the far right in Canada, “The Great Right North,” shows that events like the Freedom Convoy are representative of where the far right is going, how it is recruiting, how it is communicating internally and with Canadians at large, and how it is progressing in the national political discourse, with similarities with the United State’s maga movement.
Ag Commissioner Sees No Harm to Florida Farms from Migrants’ Deportations
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson advocated for a more simplified agriculture working visa program Tuesday, but played down prospects that mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration would harm Florida farms.
The Paints They Are A-Changin’: Palm Coast May Lift Most Restrictions on House Colors
The Palm Coast City Council appears on the verge of repealing most restrictions on house colors. As a consequence, homeowners would be allowed to paint houses in darker, less light-reflecting colors than allowed in the city’s 25-year history. But the move occurs in opposition to environmental trends that are encouraging lighter, whiter urban colors as a tool of fighting climate change, as darker colors absorb heat rather than reflect light and require homes to spend more energy on cooling.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, January 14, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens, the Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop, the Community Traffic Safety Team meets, Matt Gaetz’s name is floating around the 2026 gubernatorial race.
Global Temperatures Passed Critical 1.5°C Milestone for First Time in 2024
2024 was the first year on record with a global average temperature exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. All continents except Australasia and Antarctica experienced their hottest year on record, with 11 months of the year exceeding the 1.5°C level. Global temperatures have been at record levels – and still rising – for several years now. The previous hottest year on record was 2023.