This time the forum, at the Realtors building on SR100, will feature audience questions. All four candidates are scheduled to appear at the 6 p.m. event.
All Else
Dancing, Archery, History: Native American Festival at Princess Place Saturday and Sunday
In a first, Flagler County is hosting a Native American Festival at Princess Place Preserve Saturday, February 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Sunday March 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. General admission is $5 per carload, up to four, and $1 for each additional passenger.
FPC’s Dustin Sims Is One of Three Finalist For State Assistant Principal of the Year
The Assistant Principal of the Year receives a cash prize of $2,500 and a weekend resort stay at the Walt Disney World Resort and theme park admission also courtesy of Disney Youth Programs.
When Your Armed Neighbor Comes
Knocking: Guns and Muslims in Chapel Hill
What kind of country do we live in, where it’s legal for a man to bring a weapon to a noise complaint? Or a parking dispute? Mitchell Zimmerman confronts the Chapel Hill killings of three Muslims.
Lily Sara, Humanitarian and Founder of
La Voix de La Femme Libanaise, 1929-2014
Lily Sara, one of Lebanon’s leading humanitarians and founder of La Voix de La Femme Libanaise–the Voice of the Lebanese Woman–died in Beirut on Dec. 10, 2014. Testimonies and eulogies were offered on Dec. 13.
From His Flagler Beach Home Base: Ray Black Jr.’s Road to NASCAR’s Truck Series
Ray Black Jr., competing tonight in NASCAR’s Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway, tells of his joujrney from Alabama to Flagler Beach, and the wisdom in not wrecking.
Southwest Palm Coast Records a Low of 25 as Cold Snaps Power for Over 800 Customers
The lowest temperature in the county was reported at Eagle Rock, sinking to 24. Despite a cloudless sun, temperatures were still around 40 in Palm Coast at mid-morning, with winds strong enough to make it feel more like in the lower 30s.
Ending Long Fight, County Approves Short-Term Rental Regulations–With Grandfather Clause
New rules limit short-term rental homes to 10 overnight occupants, and require inspections and a certification process, ending a three-year effort by the county to change state law and enable the commission to regulate the industry.
FHP Launches “Operation Race to Safety” on I-95, Targeting Aggressive Drivers
Coinciding with races and the traffic they bring at the International Speedway, FHP will be conducting Operation Race to Safety between Thursday, February 19 and Sunday February 22, 2015.
Why Journalism Should Be Addicted to David Carr
Unlike many aging baby boomers, the New York Times’s David Carr, who died last week, had no fear of new technology and no contempt for young people who did not equate the survival of newspapers with the survival of journalism.
Publix Doesn’t Want You To Buy Liquor In Grocery Stores. Wal-Mart and Target Do.
A proposed law to end Florida’s 80-year-old prohibition on liquor in any but stand-alone stores cleared a House committee over the objections of Publix, some sheriffs and liquor store owners.
Appeal Court Upholds Florida’s Ban on Open-Carry, But Case Appears Headed For Supremes
Dale Norman, a resident of St. Lucie County, was arrested at gunpoint for carrying an openly visible handgun in a holster, on his hip. Florida Carry Inc. took his case and has been fighting his conviction since.
Sheriff Manfre Agrees to $183,000 Settlement Over Wage Dispute With 155 Deputies
The settlement will award an average of $487 in back pay to 104 current and former road deputies, and an average of $1,670 to current and former corrections deputies, ending one of three major legal matters burdening the sheriff’s office.
Ex-Cop Is Charged With Torture of Daughter, 14
Stanley Wykretowicz, 38, and a 33-year-old woman, residents of Palm Coast, were jailed on a charge of willfully torturing Wykretowicz’s daughter. He faces an additional charge of battery by strangulation.
Florida Justices Halt Execution Until U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Lethal Injection
Saying it must “err on the side of extreme caution” or risk threatening the “viability of Florida’s entire death penalty scheme,” the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday halted the Feb. 26 execution of a convicted killer until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a lethal injection drug.
Freeze Watch Issued for Flagler-Palm Coast From Wednesday Night to Thursday Morning
The cold front will remain in place until Friday, bringing overnight lows below freezing and daytime highs of only 50 Thursday and Friday. Warmer weather will return Thursday.
Palm Coast City Attorney Bill Reischmann Thanks Responders After Car Wreck
Palm Coast City Attorney Bill Reischmann was involved in a two-vehicle crash at Palm Coast Parkway and Clubhouse Drive on Feb. 3, as he was driving to a city council meeting.
On Flagler Roads, Cyclists Share Some Blame For Wrecks; Legislator Files Protective Bill
A proposed bill to strengthen protections for cyclists drew mixed reviews from a Flagler County commissioner and a Florida Highway Patrol homicide investigator, who both pointed at cyclists’ responsibilities on the road.
Guns on Florida Campuses: University System Says No, Citing Values and Protection
Florida’s university system wants state lawmakers to holster the idea of allowing guns on campus, saying it would jeopardize providing a safe and secure learning environment.
With “Venus in Fur,” Palm Coast’s City Rep Theatre Goes Fifty Shades of Dare
John Sbordone’s latest envelope-pushing offering at City Rep Theatre is a play within a play that mixes kinkiness, subtlety, and–as the lead character puts it–a little S&M porn.
Buddy Holly Story at the Flagler Auditorium: The Boundless Influence Of a Rock Legend
“The Buddy Holly Story,” at the Flagler Auditorium Friday, reflects the enduring influence and popularity of a rock-and-roller whose career spanned just 18 months before he died in a plane crash.
Botticelli: The Birth of Venus (1468)
Sandro Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus,” or “Nascita di Venere,” with a video tutorial on the 1468 painting.
Is Your Facebook Account Private After You Die? Senate Bill Says Not So Fast.
Florida Sen. Dorothy Hukill wants to permit online account access after an account holder has died. The Act seeks to open the book on our digital lives, even after we have uploaded to the great cloud in the sky, writes Peter Schorsch.
John Steele Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in Hit-and-Run Death of Sean Lynn Ryan
Sean Lynn Ryan was 25 when he was killed by a vehicle John Steele drove in December 2012 as Ryan walked along U.S. 1 near Plantation Bay. Steele kept going.
Third General Manager in 5 Years Takes Over Palm Coast’s Troubled Golf and Tennis Clubs
Six-figure deficits that taxpayers have subsidized year after year have riddled the budgets of Palm Coast’s Palm Harbor Golf Club and its tennis center since they opened.
Net Neutrality’s Biggest Deal: FCC Rules Would Keep Internet Open
If the FCC ignores big cable and communications companies’ pressure and approves the rules, it would be one of the greatest public policy victories in decades, argue Matt Wood and Candace Clement.
Back In Tallahasee, Jeb Bush Gets a Taste of Push-Back Against His Education Legacy
Appearing at an education Summit, Jeb Bush, who is preparing a run for the presidency, saw his common core, school voucher and high-stakes testing ideas challenged, as they would likely be on the campaign trail.
Despite Obamacare Rules, Some Contraceptives May Still Require Co-Pay
Even though an unplanned pregnancy would cost an insurer a lot more than the contraceptives to prevent it, some insurers still try to limit what they cover.
Palm Coast Begins Conversion to LED Street Lights In Latest Push For Conservation
Palm Coast won’t retrofit its 3,000 street lights to LED just yet, but all new installations will be LED, and in a year or 18 months may consider a broader retrofit program if the investment shows solid savings over time.
Palm Coast Close To Suspending Red-Light Camera Program as Legal Challenges Mount
By all appearances from the council’s discussion this morning, the council is ready to end its program as it is now configured, with a final decision to be taken on March 3.
Parents Ask Judge To Disqualify Union From Challenging School Voucher Program
Lawyers for the state and parents whose children use Florida’s de facto school-voucher program argued Monday that groups including the state’s largest teachers union don’t have the right to challenge the program in court.
Jeb Bush’s Behavior in the Terry Schiavo Case: Unworthy of a Governor — Or a President
Schiavo was brain-dead for 10 years. Her Catholic parents prevented her husband from removing a feeding tube, and Jeb Bush intervened, strong-arming the Florida Legislature to circumvent a court ruling.
With Generous County Subsidy, Christian School May Be Next Tenant of Old Courthouse
County government will vote Tuesday on a proposal by First Baptist Christian Academy of Palm Coast to lease the old courthouse in Bunnell for $5,700 a month, and with an interest-free, 30-year tax-funded loan of $360,000.
For Second Time in Five Days, R-Section Houses Are Targets of Several Bullet Shots
A house at 7 Rolland Lane and another at 6 Roxboro Drive were each sprayed with five bullets within five days of each other, and in each case a bullet struck a vehicle inside a garage. No arrests have been made.
Brian Williams and Baghdad Bob
When Brian Williams lied about being shot in a helicopter, it was part of a broader pattern of bogus stories the American media were too happy to broadcast about the war in Iraq as it sped to George W. Bush’s Mission Accomplished moment on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Lest We Get On Our High Horse: Obama’s Caution to Self-Righteous Christians
President Obama’s speech at the National Prayer Breakfast cautioned Christians against shutting their eyes to their own brutal past, but was rebuked by Evangelicals and the conservative press, often with flurries of historical inaccuracies.
Last Tango For Nuclear:
Atomic Power’s Environmental Ringers
The nuclear power industry’s attempted revival is relying on a corps of environmental converts to the cause, including Obama climate czar Carol Browner and ex-EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman.
In a First For Jacksonville Zoo, A Baby Gorilla Is Successfully Born
Almost a year after mourning the death of a newborn gorilla, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens this morning announced the first successful gorilla birth in its history. The newborn’s sex is currently unknown.
Gripes Aside, 6,000 Palm Coast and Flagler County Residents Enrolled in Obamacare as Deadline Approaches
Brisk enrollment in Flagler County and Palm Coast is nevertheless accompanied by individuals’ continued struggles, financial and ideological, over the Affordable Care Act even as Florida leads the nation in Obamacare enrollments, with 1.3 million people, and more expected ahead of the deadline.
24-Hour Waiting Period for Abortions and Repeal of Undocumented Immigrant Attorney Law Filed
In a sign that hard-core Republican legislators intend to press their case at the Florida Legislature, lawmakers this week filed bills that would impose a 24-hour waiting period for abortions, and that would repeal the law adopted last year that enabled Jose Godinez-Samperio, an undocumented immigrant, to become a practicing lawyer.
Ban on Confederates in Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame Raises Gray Hackles
The Civil War became an unlikely point of contention at the last Florida Cabinet meeting as Agriculture Commissioner Putnam criticized a decision not to include Confederate soldiers in the hall of fame, though Florida law prevents it.
Strong Job-Creation Pace Continues, Adding 1 Million in Last 3 Months
The U.S. economy added 257,000 jobs in January, continuing a job-creation pace not seen since 1999, when the economy added 3.18 million jobs overall. The unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent.
A Strip-Club Sin Tax That Also Takes Names? This Conservative Says No And No.
Florida lawmakers are considering a measure that would charge a $10 surtax on sex-club patrons and require the business to keep a database of customers. Nancy Smith says no.
DSC’s Kristy Presswood Is “Fearless and Focused” Series Speaker at Feb. 12 Lunch
For $15 a spot, “The Importance of Education in the New Economy” is the topic for the Palm Coast Business Assistance Center’s first “Fearless and Focused: Women in Business” Lunch n Learn for 2015.
9-year-old Girl Scout Shot While Selling Cookies
Nine-year-old Sinai Miller was shot in the leg as she prepared to sell girl scout cookies in Indianapolis.
Obamacare’s Insurance Subsidies: The U.S. Supreme Court at Stake
The U.S. Supreme Court in March will hear arguments in a case, King v. Burwell, that will decide whether in states like Florida, which do not have health care marketplaces of their own, people ensured under Obamacare may receive federal subsidies. If the Supreme Court rules that the subsidies are illegal, individuals will lose those […]
Don’t Expect Supreme Court’s Latest Review of Lethal Injection to Kill Death Penalty
States changed from hanging to electric chair because it was a modern, supposedly painless method of execution. Botched executions have rendered that assumption problematic.
“I’m So F— Sorry”: In 911 Call of AK-47 Shooting, Regret and Worries of Going to Jail
In the 911 call, Brandon Williamson describes how he shot his friend Shane Huber and apologized repeatedly as Huber sat or stood near him for 8 minutes before deputies and paramedics arrived.
The FBI’s Palm Coast Visit and Jim Landon’s Accuracy Problem
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon Tuesday accused local media of mis-characterizing the FBI’s recent interview of two city officials, but it was Landon who distorted the record and derided the local press in a way he never would dare—or that council members should never tolerate—if he were referring to any other local business.
18-Year-Old Shot With AK-47 In House Across From Wadsworth Elementary in Apparent Accident
18-year-old Shane Huber of Palm Coast was shot in the chest with an AK-47 Tuesday afternoon at a house on Parkview Drive, across the street from Wadsworth Elementary. The school by then had let out.