Barack Obama’s order to open the U.S. to 10,000 refugees is dismal compared to Germany’s. Racism, not means, block greater numbers from an American welcome.
All Else
The Hell With Your Tired,
Everybody Likes Pre-K. Defining It Is Another Matter.
While there’s a growing consensus on the value of preschool, states disagree on where the programs should be based, who should run them, or how the government should support them.
In Publix Trial, Jury Must Now Weigh Plaintiff’s History of Dishonesty Against Claim of Wrongful Termination
The witness phase in the trial against Publix ended Friday in Flagler Circuit Court, leaving it to a jury Monday to decide the claim of ex-employee Robert Barry that he was fired because he reported a case of sexual harassment that may never have happened.
Pedestrian Evacuated in Critical Condition After Being Struck By Pick-Up on A1A in Flagler Beach
Ronald Tristani, a 71-year-old pedestrian and Palm Coast resident, was struck by a pick-up truck on State road A1A in Flagler Beach, at South 5th Street, at 10:42 this morning, and was flown out in critical condition within minutes.
Weekend Briefing: Big Band Night, Arts in Education Week, DSC’s Free SAT Workshops, Manly Crying
The Palm Coast Arts Foundation hosts its Big Band Night at Halifax Plantation, Senior Games begin, Biden hedges away from a presidential run, and a look at crying men in history.
Case Against Publix Wilts as Judge Tosses Whistleblower Charge and “Biscuitbutt” Refutes Sex Harassment
The Flagler civil trial continues though the case of a fired employee weakened further when the women he alleged had been sexually harassed–whose nickname is “Biscuitbutt”–testified nothing of the sort had ever happened, but other machinations had.
Facing Lawsuit from Florida Carry, FSU Scraps Gun Ban in Cars on Football Game Day
The changes to the school’s “Game Day Plan 2015” guide for fans won’t holster the legal challenge by Florida Carry Inc. as legislators again consider allowing concealed weapons on campus.
Thursday Briefing: Restaurant Week Begins, Flagler Beach Takes Up Private Pier Parties, Democrats’ Hillary Panic
Time for some Flagler gastronomy as the chamber’s Restaurant Week teases palates, the Flagler Beach City Commission again takes up the renting out of the pier to private parties, Democrats look at Al Gore and others as Hillary replacements, just in case.
In Trial Day 2, Case Against Publix Falters Over Credibility and Tempers of 2 Main Witnesses
Robert Barry ‘s claim of wrongful termination against Publix frayed Wednesday as his temper and questionable veracity proved to be his biggest liabilities, with Publix’s witnesses yet to take the stand Thursday.
County Rejects One Jumbo Cell Tower, Approves Another and Hedges On Third
The Flagler commission was responding to concerns about the height and visibility of three proposed communications towers rising between 320 and 350 feet–more than twice the allowable size under county rules.
Opelka’s Pro Career Begins as Junior Circuit Days End With Loss in 3rd Round of U.S. Open
For Opelka, the Wimbledon boys champion, it was a disappointing end to his junior tennis career, but he now starts on the pro tour full time.
Wednesday Briefing: Dog v. Boy, Barry v. Publix, Nimby v. Cell Towers, Tax Hearings and Child Protection
The Flagler County Commission will decide whether to allow three colossal cell towers to rise past its usual rules, and rule on whether a dog should be declared dangerous for biting an 8-year-old boy. Palm Coast and Flagler Beach hold tax hearings.
Publix on Trial as Ex-Palm Coast Employee Claims He Was Fired For Whistleblowing Sex Harassment
Robert Barry, 30, claims he was fired from the Palm Coast Town Center store after alerting superiors about a supervisor’s sex harassment of a coworker. Publix claims Barry made up the story and fired him for dishonesty.
Confederate General Is Out, Henry Flagler May Be In as Florida Lawmaker Seeks Capitol Statue Switch
The bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith has stood in the U.S. Capitol since 1922. It would be replaced by the likes of Henry Flagler or Walt Disney under a bill filed Tuesday by Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, a Republican.
Flagler’s Push For Trio of Cell Towers Rising Higher Than Statue of Liberty Beams Alarms
Flagler County Emergency Services wants the three towers, including an especially controversial one on John Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach, to improve its communications network, but residents and environmentalists are raising questions.
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast Talks Manatees, Parkway 90% Done, Coastal Cloud’s 100th, Leadership Flagler’s New Class
Work returns with a vengeance after Labor Day as budget and tax hearings begin today, starting with the school board, palm Coast discusses manatee protection, Coastal Cloud celebrates its 100th client.
“God’s Authority” Has No Place In Civil Government
Kim Davis is not the problem. She’s a symptom of a dangerous movement that seeks to carve out religious objections all over the law books, making civil government a vassal of religious edicts.
For Every US Soldier Killed in Afghanistan, 13 Children Were Shot and Killed in America
Between 2002 and 2012, at least 28,000 children and teens 19-years-old and younger were killed with guns. Teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 made up over two-thirds of all youth gun deaths in America.
Though Likely Profiled and “Harassed,” Flagler Sheriff’s CSI Pazarena Is Reprimanded Over “Conduct Unbecoming” Anyway
An internal sheriff’s investigation completed today makes clear that Pazarena and her boyfriend at no time behaved improperly at a Vitamin shop where the incident occurred, or did anything more than what an overly inquisitive shopper might do, though store employees exhibited behavior identical to profiling.
Utilities Take Credit, But Lower Power Bills In 2016 Are Due to Cheaper Coal and Gas
An FPL customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours a month currently pays $96.72. That number is projected to drop to $93.24 in January before going to $94.86 in June.
Palm Coast’s Opelka Loses 1st-Round Doubles Match at U.S. Open, Heads for Juniors
Former Palm Coast resident Reilly Opelka got his first taste of the U.S. Open men’s doubles action on Thursday, as he and partner Taylor Fritz fell in a close three-setter to Marcus Daniell and Jonathan Marray, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Weekend Briefing: The Flagler Youth Orchestra Recruits, St. Augustine Celebrates, English-Only Bigots Speak
The Flagler Youth Orchestra is taking enrollment for the 11th season of its free program, St. Augustine celebrates its 450th, English-only fooleries wag their tongues again, spurred by Trump.
Dog Bites 8-Year-Old Boy: Should It be Declared Dangerous, Or Does Castle Doctrine Apply? County Commission Will Decide.
The Flagler County Commission on Sept. 9 must decide whether to declare a 2-year-old Labrador dangerous, or whether to rule that the dog was merely defending its home from an intruder.
In Flagler Beach, Builders Are Beating Back Higher Standards For Flood-Plain Homes
Builders in February opposed new regulations raising new homes higher than current flood-plain heights. Builders are now objecting to a compromise, forcing the city to revisit its regulations yet again.
Thursday Briefing: Women’s Self-Defense, Paramedics in Flagler Beach, Jeb Goes Sour, Colbert Goes Live
Palm Coast is offering self-defense classes for women, budget-adoption hearings begin this evening at the county, Trump is getting under Jeb Bush’s skin, and Colbert goes live in a matter of days.
Bill Gates: The Rich World’s Responsibility to Those Who’ll Suffer Most From Global Warming
Climate change can’t be stopped tomorrow, but its devastating effects on millions of the poorest farmers can be reduced if richer countries invest in cleaner technologies now, and help farmers better adapt, Bill Gates writes.
Split Florida Conservation Commission Approves Letting Hunters Kill 10% of Bear Population in 4 Regions
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission cleared the killing of at least 320 black bears for two to seven days in October, the first bear-hunting season in two decades.
Men v. Women: Three Domestic Violence Incidents Land Three Men in Jail on Felonies
Three Palm Coast men ended up at the Flagler County jail in a 48-hour span following unrelated incidents that entailed allegations of substantial violence against women and girls–two of the men’s spouses, a girlfriend, and one of them men’s two teen-age daughters. All three incidents resulted in felony charges.
Gov. Scott and Florida Cabinet Honor 3 From Flagler: John Seth, Rick Staly and Ed Wolff
Rick Staly until spring was the undersheriff in the Jim Manfre administration, John Seth is the long-time band director at Flagler Palm Coast High School, and Ed Wolff is the county’s teacher of the year.
Wednesday Briefing: Kiwanis at 100, Violent-Offender Pre-Trials, Taser-Armed Drones, Pythons and Bears
Numerous violent offenders appear in a series of pre-trials before Judge Walsh this afternoon, the Fish and Wildlife Commission takes on pythons and bears, Fox News falsely ties cop killings to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Florida’s New Drone Law, Restricting “Surveillance,” Is a Gift to Personal Injury Lawyers
Like medical marijuana, there’s an entrepreneurial rush to get in on the drone business, but states like Florida have been stumbling their way to legislation., argues Nancy Smith.
Alone Among 50 States, Florida’s Ban on Prison Newspaper Is Upheld
Florida Corrections officials have censored the publications for six years, objecting to certain ads and calling them a security risk. No other state prison system agrees.
Privatize the Flagler Beach Pier? Commission Says Yes to 6 Events Per Year, to Make Money
The Flagler Beach pier already generates well over $300,000 a year for the city, and rising, but commissioners want more: they’d close off the pier to private parties six times a year, for $155 an hour plus additional fees.
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast’s Life-Saving Firefighters, Weaponized Police Drones, Rising Murder Rates
A Palm Coast couple writes of firefighters’ life-saving intervention, murder rates are rising sharply in many cities, Flagler Beach firefighters raise money for MDA, Shostakovich’s great waltz.
Supreme Court Weighs Solar Power Measure Big Utilities Want Unplugged From 2016 Ballot
The Floridians for Solar Choice constitutional amendment, in part, would allow businesses to generate and sell up to two megawatts of power to customers on the same or neighboring properties.
Why You’re Getting Poorer: iPhones Aren’t The Economic Engine Cars and Electricity Were
Robert Gordon argues rising standards of living brought by cars, indoor plumbing and electricity can;t be replaced by iPhones and the internet. Martin Feldstein disagrees.
Flagler, Among Top 10 Counties With Most Concealed-Weapon Licenses, Will Fast-Track Permitting
Flagler has 8.24 concealed carry permits for every 100 residents. Starting Jan. 1, the Flagler Tax Collector’s office will accept concealed-weapon permit applications for $134 and renewals for $72.
The Hammock’s Paul Hillman Charged With Attempted Murder In July Attack on Couple
Paul Hillman, a 43-year-old resident of 29 N. Shady Lane in Palm Coast’s Hammock, was jailed overnight on charges of aggravated assault, armed burglary and burglary with assault after he allegedly stormed the house he used to live in and battered both occupants—on of them a blind 55-year-old woman—with a rifle.
Still Under Internal Investigation, Flagler Sheriff’s CSI Pazarena Returns to Full Duties
Laura Pazarena, the Flagler County Sheriff’s crime scene technician hired two years ago to launch the department’s first CSI unit, is under internal investigation, and has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome.
Monday Briefing: Facebook and Twitter After You Die, Flagler Photography Club Annual Show, Denali’s Rebirth
Find out what happens to your Facebook and Twitter pages after you die, Denali takes back its name from McKinley, Oliver Sacks dies, the Flagler Photography Club’s annual show is on.
With Florida Leading U.S. in Child Drownings, States Are Pressed to Improve Prevention
Florida had 50 drownings of children 15 or younger last year, by far the most in the nation. California was second with 36. Better pool-safety regulations help.
Indentured Regression: Marco Rubio Thinks College Students Should Be Sharecroppers
Marco Rubio is proposing human capital contracts as a way for college students to pay tuition: investors would foot the bill and claim a percentage of the graduates’ income for years. It’s a terrible idea.
Degraded Erika No Longer Severe Threat to Flagler, Though State of Emergency Still in Effect
Though a state of emergency remains in effect in Flagler, Erika has degenerated into a tropical depression and moved wide west of the Florida Peninsula.
The New World of Wimbledon Junior Champ Reilly Opelka: Autographs, Pressure and a Rising Ranking
Palm Coast’s Reilly Opelka turned 18 today as he prepared for the U.S. Open, where he qualified for the doubles draw and will play in the Juniors tournament next week, but fell in qualifiers for the men’s draw.
Weekend Briefing: Dank and Stormy Days, A Night at the Ag Museum, Israel’s Red-State Illusions
A wet, relatively uneventful weekend in anticipation of Tropical Storm Erika, Israel’s illusions as a GOP red state, a sleep-over at the Florida Ag Museum, plus Edward Gibbon and Rubenstein playing Chopin.
SLAPP This: Florida Scores a Big Free Speech Victory Against Intimidation Lawsuits
It was a rare success in the last Florida Legislative session: a new law protecting the public from frivolous corporate or otherwise intimidating lawsuits intended to silence public expression in government issues.
Disaster Economics 101: Flagler Businesses Are Made Part of County’s Recovery Plans
Kevin Guthrie, the county’s emergency services director, told some 80 Flagler business leaders what role they must play in the immediate recovery after a disaster to ensure that the local economy returns to normal.
Thursday Briefing: Raising the Floor in Flagler Beach, Live Murder of Journalists, That Old Trump-Bush Feud
Two journalists are murdered on live TV, Flagler Beach aims to raise base-floor elevations of new homes (builders are unhappy), plus Jonathan Franzen, R.L. Lewis, Trump and Bush.
Overselling Flagler: How County Tourism and Government Zeal Lost the Spartan Race Before It Started
An examination of the documents behind the Spartan Race proposed for Princess Place show tourism chief Matt Dunn repeatedly getting ahead of the process, showing little awareness of policy and protocols and virtually no appreciation for the political context that ultimately sank his biggest pet project to date.
Portuguese Secretary of State José Cesário Marks Palm Coast Opening of Honorary Consulate
Thanks to its huge Portuguese community, Palm Coast now has the distinction of having one of just two such honorary consulates with full administrative powers.