Before starting your July 4 celebrations, remember the great Nicholas Winton, savior of nearly 700 Jews and others from the gas chambers. Plus, Susan Sontag, how art became irrelevant and a few safety tips.
All Else
Disney’s CEO Makes $248 a Minute as Some of His Employees Go Homeless on $8.03 an Hour
Even after a raise to $10 an hour, Disney employees can only expect to take home about $20,000 over the course of a year, not enough to live decently in Orlando. A $15-an-hour wage is more critical, argues Scott Klinger.
At Bunnell’s Methodist Church, Rev. Terry Wines Begins Filling Beth Gardner’s Big Void
It’s pat of an annual and anxious ritual in the sprawling world of the United Methodist Church when “elders” typically move from church to church around this time of year.
Wednesday Briefing: Principals Hinson and Pryor Say Farewell, Full-Moon Gamble, Bunnell’s Cop Cars
Buddy Taylor Principal Stephen Hinson and Matanzas Principal Chris Pryor bid their last farewell, why racists burn black churches, more overtime pay for managers.
Judge Halts Abortion Waiting Period Set to Start Wednesday, Pending ACLU Challenge
But the appeal by Attorney General Pam Bondi triggered an automatic stay on Francis’ decision, which could allow the law to go into effect. The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the initial case, immediately responded by asking for Francis to lift that stay.
Don Apperson, Long-Time School Resource Deputy and Youth Leader, Retires
For 13 years until last fall Don Apperson was the face of school resource deputies in Flagler County and appearing before local government boards to advocate either for the SRD system or for stronger laws on various issues.
Flagler Officials Caution Against Beached Debris From SpaceX Rocket Explosion
While it is highly unlikely any of the debris resulting from the explosion of the SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule will reach Flagler County’s coast, emergency officials are asking residents to steer clear of it and notify authorities.
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast Talks Fences, School Board’s Disability Dollars, Social Media Day
Social Media Day is marked at Cowork this evening, fencing regulation is again on the Palm Coast Council’s agenda, while the school board hunts for dollars to keep its adults with disabilities program going.
Backdoor Snooping: Why the U.S. Is Wrong to Oppose Full Encryption of Your iPhone
The U.S. argues that the country will be less safe if the proper authorities have no “backdoor” – a piece of code that lets them in. Software engineers call backdoors “vulnerabilities,” deliberate efforts to weaken security.
Sunday Night Standoffs: Deputies Contend With Armed Men in Hammock and W-Section
Both stand-offs, which began after domestic confrontations, ended peacefully, with the arrest of Val Mateyshin in the W Section and no arrest in the Hammock.
Monday Briefing: Supreme Court Goes Lethal, Puerto Rico Goes Greece, Flagler Goes Jet Skis
The Supreme Court refused to declare lethal injection unconstitutional in a fractured 5-4 opinion, Flagler County Fire Rescue has itself new jet skis in time for July 4.
New Laws Kick In This Week: Body Cameras, Drones, Abortion, Traffic Tickets, Secret Recordings, Flags
Florida’s record-setting budget goes into effect on Wednesday, along with 130 other new laws that were produced by the Legislature this year in the regular and special sessions and signed by Gov. Rick Scott. Here’s a run-down.
The Confederate Flag:
A Swastika Cross-Dressing as Heritage
Removing the Confederate flag from public places isn’t a denial of first amendment rights. It corrects an offensive version of false history and opposes black honor to white supremacy.
Gay Marriage Is Now Legal in the United States: Supreme Court Rules for Equality, 5-4
The United States Supreme Court this morning declared gay marriage legal across the United States in a 5-4 decision authored by conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Bad Judges: Florida Supreme Court Seeks to Rein in Rogues and Hotheads
The number of judges facing sanctions in Florida jumped last year, and the high court is more often seeking harsher penalties than those originally proposed by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.
Algal Bloom Observed at the Confluence of Flagler’s Dead Lake and Bull Creek
Algal blooms damage the environment because they replace vital food sources, clog fish gills, prevent sunlight from reaching seagrass and contribute to low oxygen “dead-zones” when they degrade.
Weekend Briefing: Banning the Ghastly Selfie Stick, Ham Radio Fest in Flagler Beach, Construction Updates
The selfie stick is finally banned at Disney, Flagler County’s ham operators hold their annual open house in Flagler Beach Saturday, all sorts of construction progress reports.
Explosion at Santore Fireworks Causes Small Fire, Panic But No Injuries
The fire was restricted to a 12-by-12 area at Santore Fireworks’s manufacturing plant on County Road 305 in western Flagler. Two employees had minor injuries.
Phoenix Will Close as All But Handful of Students Sign Up for Wadsworth’s New STEM Academy
An open house to introduce Phoenix Parents to Wadsworth’s new STEM Academy, and sell them on enrolling their children, was hugely successful Wednesday evening, sealing the fate of Phoenix for good.
Following Her Dog, a 2-Year-Old Girl Wanders Across Belle Terre Parkway As Her Mother Sleeps
Heather Seils, the 24-year-old mother of a 2-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, was asleep Saturday morning in her B-Section home in Palm Coast when, somehow, her daughter manager to wander out of the house unattended.
Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Subsidies, 6-3, Protecting Benefits For 1.3 Million Floridians
Some 1.3 million Floridians and millions more across the country will not lose their health insurance subsidies as the U.S. Supreme Court this morning ruled decisively, by a 6-3 vote, that the subsidies are legal and must remain in place, even in states that have not established their own health insurance exchanges.
Thursday Briefing: Regulating Flagler Beach’s Farmer’s Market, Amazon’s Lovably Stupid Alexa, Flagler Cigar Launch
The Flagler Beach City Commission again tries to regulate farmer markets after its clumsy and failed attempt in September, the launch of the Flagler Cigar Company’s own cigars, evaluating Amazon’d Alexa.
Judge Considering Temporary Block of Florida’s New 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period
A judge is considering halting the law from going in effect July 1 while a constitutional challenge goes forward. The challenge was filed by the Florida ACLU.
Three Adults and a Child Hospitalized After Two-Vehicle Wreck on SR100 and CR305
A pick-up truck attempted to pass a Toyota in a no-passing zone as the Toyota was making the turn, triggering the wreck at 3:30 p.m. The road was reopened by 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday Briefing: Open House on Phoenix Academy’s Likely Closure, Home-Grown Extremism’s Death Tally, Don Lemon Whiffs
A 6 p.m. open house on the likely closure of Phoenix Academy as it “transitions” to Wadsworth Elementary’s STEM Academy is scheduled at Wadsworth’s media center, the truth about American right-wing extremists, in numbers, Don Lemon’s outrageous advantages to CNN.
The Climate Pope’s Message: Reversing Global Warming is Humanity’s Responsibility
If we do not change our behavior quickly, we may well lose the environmental stability upon which our planet – and our lives – depends. This is the main message of the pope’s encyclical.
Flagler Looking to Raise Tourism Tax For 2nd Time in Four Years Despite Surging Revenue
Flagler County wants to raise the local sales surtax on hotel and motel stays to 5%, from 4%, even though revenue has grown ten-fold over the past decade.
Environmentalists Sue Florida Lawmakers Over Amendment 1, Claiming Misuse of Dollars
The suit seeks a court declaration that money from the state’s Land Acquisition Trust Fund, which will handle all the Amendment 1 funding, may not be substituted for general-revenue funds or used to pay for other services and programs.
Tuesday Briefing: How to Evaluate Teachers, The Supreme Court’s Surprising Left Tilt, Suing Over Amendment 1
The Flagler School Board continues to wrestle with a teacher evaluation system, environmentalists sue over the Legislature’s perceived misinterpretation of Amendment 1, the U.S. Supreme Court moves left.
Lawmakers Again Refuse to Extend KidCare Coverage to Children of Legal Immigrants
The proposal in the Florida Legislature would have eliminated a 5-year waiting period for lawful immigrants to qualify for the subsidized insurance program that serves children from low- and moderate-income families.
“Oh, Brother”: 165 Seconds of Errors as Candidate Richter Berates Commissioners Then Zips Out Before Corrections
Mark Richter, the first announced candidate for Flagler County Commission in 2016, was seriously fact-challenged in a brief appearance before commissioners today as he took on jail costs and the planned jail expansion.
Monday Briefing: Varn Park Flush With Colors, Bunnell Garbage Costs, Confederate Battle Flag Embattled
Varn Park’s renovations are celebrated at 1 p.m. today in a ribbon-cutting, Bunnell recalibrates its garbage rate for the school board, Marco Rubio veils his support for the Confederate flag.
Flagler Chamber Seeks Applicants for Leadership Flagler’s Next Class
The Flagler County Chamber of Commerce is currently accepting applications for Leadership Flagler, a program that nurtures and engages the leadership skills of potential and current community leaders.
$780 Million More for Education in Florida, But a $500 Million Property Tax Increase
The special session’s much-touted tax cut of $427 million is wiped out by a nearly $500 million tax increase to pay for education funding increases.
That Other American Exceptionalism:
Right-Wing Terrorism
For all the wasted blood spilled on ISIS and al-Qaeda, the real terrorist threat is neither far away nor foreign. It speaks English. It’s white. It’s American. And it’s sanctified by the NRA’s liturgy of guns today, guns tomorrow, guns forever.
Weekend Briefing: Lynching By Gun in Charleston, “Mental Illness” Lies, Health Fair at AACS
The terrorist attack on a black church in Charleston is a modern-day lynching, Obama, Stephen King and Jon Stewart take on a culture of complicity, and other local happenings.
Florida’s Nature Conservancy Gets It:
It’s About Land Management
Most Florida environmental groups this special session made a lot of noise and spent a lot of money, but came away empty-handed and unhappy. Not The Nature Conservancy.
Giuseppe Verdone Is Found Guilty on All Charges in Brutal Assault of Chinese Food Delivery Driver; He Faces Life in Prison
The jury took barely 50 minutes to reach a verdict of guilty on all five felony counts in the case of Giuseppe Verdone, the 24-year-old Palm Coast resident who two years ago was accused of assaulting and kidnapping the co-owner of a Chinese food restaurant in November 2013.
Palm Coast’s Jim Landon Retaliates Against County in Series of Accusations, Then Says Conflict Is All But Resolved
Landon put the city’s trust of the county in question, implied the county runs a less professional organization than the city, accused the county of deceiving a state agency, and accused the county manager of using bullying tactics before conceding that all is just about well between the two sides.
Thursday Briefing: Vote For Office Divvy’s Grant, World’s Largest Swim Lesson at Frieda Zamba, Home Prices Stabilize
Palm Coast’s Office Divvy wants your vote, the largest swim lesson at Frieda Zamba pool this morning, Job Bush slow-jams the news, Jon Stewart thanks Donald Trump.
Quit Turning Your Backs on Desperate Migrants. Help Them Instead.
Like Americans’ ancestors, migrants are fleeing poverty, war, or oppression, or are searching for a better life in a new land. Blocking that flow, argues Kofi Anann, is bound to fail, with disastrous consequences for human lives.
Flagler County’s Dust-Bowl Era Soil and Water Conservation Board Is Dissolved For Inaction
Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner ordered the 5-member elected board, established in 1937, dissolved for not complying with reporting requirements. It had not met in years.
The End of Phoenix: Divided School Board Votes to Replace It With STEM Academy at Wadsworth
A contentious vote reflecting the board’s unhappiness with lack of transparency nevertheless led to the creation of a new STEM academy at Wadsworth, closing the long-embattled Phoenix Academy next fall.
Tractor Trailer Crashes Into 3 Parked, Mostly Empty School Buses on I-95, Four Injured
A tractor trailer on a route from Miami to Jacksonville crashed into three parked and empty school buses as the buses’ drivers were working on one of them on the side of I-95 just north of the Palm Coast Parkway exit at 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Wednesday Briefing: Benefit Concert For Flagler Beach Family in House Fire, the TDC’s Empty Kitty, Extinct Cougar
A fund-raiser for the the Johnson-Ghormley family twho lost their home in May is at the Beach Front Grille in Flagler Beach at 5:30 p.m. The Flagler Tourist Development Council is out of money for certain grants. The federal government is ready to declare the eastern cougar extinct.
School Board Seals Agreement Reforming Disciplining of Black Students, Ending Civil Rights Complaint
The Flagler County School Board this evening voted 5-0 to ratify an agreement with the Southern Poverty Law Center that seeks to eliminate racial disparities in school discipline, resolving a federal civil rights complaint the center filed three years ago.
Flagler Court Clerk Throws a Switch, and Mass of Criminal and Civil Records Becomes Accessible Online
Flagler County court records, from arrest affidavits to civil, criminal, county and probate court are now all available online, 24 hours a day, in a vast improvement of public record access ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.
Tuesday Briefing: YMCA Taking Over Belle Terre Racket Club, Yet Another Dollar General, Yet More Trump
The school board this evening may ratify an agreement with the YMCA to take over Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, a Dollar general is planned for the west side of the county, the pope’s global warming encyclical is leaked.
County Rips Into Palm Coast Government Over Shackled Airport Water Deal
County frustration boiled into outright criticism of Palm Coast’s administration Monday as the city has yet to sign a deal both sides agreed to seven months ago, controlling water service at the county airport.
Flagler Government Embraces Socialized Medicine in Striking Drug Deal with Canadian Rx Company
The Flagler County Commission voted 4-0 Monday to contract with CanaRx to provide prescription drugs to county employees at 50 percent of their U.S. cost.
