Florida legislators are again planning an expansion of the corporate tax break that siphons money from public to private education, the dirtiest job on the internet, your brain on sex, and more.
All Else
Audubon of Florida Applauds Gulf Coast Task Force’s Restoration Roadmap From BP Spill
Audubon of Florida Monday said it applauded the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force for crafting a road map for Gulf restoration in response to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Flagler County Jury Finds Quritus Lowe Guilty of Murdering Retired School Teacher
Myrtle McKinney, a 58-year-old retired schoolteacher, was found bludgeoned to death, gagged and blindfolded on Christmas Day 2007. Quritus Lowe II, one of four people charged in the murder, was convicted of first-degree murder in Flagler Monday, where the trial was moved because of publicity in Palatka. He may face the death penalty.
Doing It Right: How To Avoid Becoming Part of The 44,000 People Hospitals Kill Each Year
A bike accident sent Michael Millenson’s wife to three hospitals. It led him to offer a unique perspective on the health care system and how to reduce hospital errors that kill 44,000 to 98,000 people each year.
Strings, Arts Openings, Christmas Parade and More Uniform Follies: This Week in Flagler
A busy week of fun and follies all around. The fun: the Flagler Youth Orchestra’s Christmas concert, Palm Coast’s Christmas parade and new arts show openings. The follies: Another uniform forum, and the Florida House releases its redistricting maps.
Durban Dithers: As Climate Changes With Costly and Ruinous Fallout, Obama Chills
The volume of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere in 2010 leapt a record 6 percent from the year before. Planetary pollution is now worse than what scientists predicted as the worst-case scenario four years ago. That means global warming will be correspondingly worse than previous worst-case scenarios, too.
Dinner with Santa at FPC
Have dinner with Santa at Flagler-Palm Coast High School on Thursday, December 15 from 6-8 pm in the campus cafeteria. Photos, crafts, and a $3 meal, with proceeds to benefit Flagler families.
Christmas Parachutes Into a Parade and Yules Up Sweaty Bed Races in Flagler Beach
The annual bed races, postponed in October, capped a day of festivities that had Santa jumping oput of a plane and landing on Flagler Beach’s sands and a parade that seemed to go on forever, like the photo gallery included here.
0.2% Stupor: Protecting 350,000 Millionaires At the Expense of 160 Million Workers
There’s a very simple way to ensure that this country goes the way of old, bankrupt empires, and it doesn’t take flying planes into building or suckering the world’s mightiest military into pointless wars halfway around the globe. All it takes is voting Republican.
Toxic Algae: Environmentalists File Suit Over Florida’s Water Pollution Standards
Prompted by proposed state regulations it says are inadequate, a coalition of environmental groups on Thursday filed an administrative challenge to the new rules set up to determine acceptable pollution levels in Florida waters.
Prayer Becomes Official Policy at Bunnell Meetings; “You Can Wait Outside” If Offended
Bunnell voted to open its government meetings with one or more prayers, an idea proposed by Commissioner Elbert Tucker. The city attorney offered cautionary guidance rather than objections.
God Nuts vs. Obama, Gluttons and the Real Shakespeare: The Live Wire
When Obama doesn’t mention god, why Carlsberg is the greatest beer in the world, Newt as the latest flavor of the month, teachers cheating to the test, Updike’s “November,” and more.
In Praise of Tom Wicker, Antidote to the Age of Reagan
Tom Wicker, the Times columnist for 25 years, wrote as if he’d seen the country’s best days. He probably had even then, having witnessed the eight years of Reagan taking out a second, third and fourth mortgage on the nation’s prosperity while making Americans feel like a million bucks.
The Rich Are Different From You and Me
Donald Kaul responds to questions raised by his recent “class-war-is-over-the-rich-guys-won” column, demystifying wealth, taxes and other dogmas.
Workers’ Black Fridays: Florida Second in Mass Layoffs in October; Chill Winds Ahead
While mass media’s attention has deflected attention to the annual post-Thanksgiving shopping craze known as black Friday, indicators point to conflicting and worrisome trends ahead for Florida’s and America’s pocketbooks.
Appeals Court Lets Lawsuit Over School Funding Proceed, Florida Supreme Court Next
An 8-7 ruling by the First District Court of Appeals overturned the state’s effort to stop the lawsuit and may lead to a momentous decision by the Florida Supreme Court interpreting the state’s responsibility to adequately pay for education under the Florida Constitution.
Feed Flagler: Community-Wide Celebration Wraps-Up With 3,000 Meals Served
We’re reporting live this afternoon from various Feed Flagler locations as the community-wide Thanksgiving celebration takes place from 3 to 6 p.m.
Feed Flagler Raises $25,000 as Don Fleming Reminds Suzanne Johnston Who’s Sheriff
The $25,000 raised largely on the strength of the sheriff and the tax collector’s efforts is $10,000 more than last year, and means that $14,000 of it will be split between two Flagler County food pantries. The rest pays for today’s 4,000 free Thanksgiving meals across the county.
Flagler School District Reaffirms Wireless Ban On Buses Even As It Encourages iPad Fever
A proposal to let students use their smart phones to listen to music or text failed on a 2-2 vote, but the school board left silent the matter of tablets, such as iPads, which can also be used to read a book, do homework or write an essay on the bus–but are now banned as well.
How Progress Energy Wants to Pass On A $2.5 Billion Nuclear Blunder to Customers
One of the most expensive nuclear accidents in United States history happened right here in Florida a little over two years ago, and now Progress Energy wants customers to pay for its mistake at the Crystal River nuclear plant.
Palm Coast Observer Bucks Bleaker Newspaper Trends As Weekly Nears 2-Year Mark
The Palm Coast Observer’s latest audit shows a weekly print run of 25,000 and a household reach in Palm Coast exceeding 60 percent, compared with the News-Journal’s daily reach of 20 percent.
Our School District’s Uniform Follies
The Flagler County School Board’s push for uniforms is out of touch with the county’s struggling families and plundered budgets and revealing of a board too prone to selling out to charter-school gimmickry.
Flagler’s Firefighters and Paramedics Sweep Another Competition, This Time in Nebraska
Flagler County’s firefighters-paramedics took first, third and fourth-place honors in an annual competition in advanced life support in Omaha, Neb., and second place in the basic life support category.
Florida’s Prescription Express: Doctors Shoving Drugs at Poor Patients, for Millions
Florida regulators are finally getting around to stopping doctors from over-prescribing drugs, some of them risky, to Medicaid patients, and at times to the wrong patients, after enabling the practice despite signs of misconduct.
Feed Flagler Heats: Sheriff and Tax Collector Top $6,000, Chicks With Cans Up Tonnage
Suzanne Johnston and Don Fleming are racing to top each other in fund-raising, and all else is set to go go next Wednesday’s Feed Flagler serving of 4,000 meals at 11 locations across the county.
Florida’s Unemployment Falls to 10.3%, Lowest in 28 Months; Flagler’s at 14%
While the jobless figures are improving and trends are better than they’ve been, Florida is also paring people off its jobless rolls through artificial means that create a slightly deceptive result.
FPC’s Frankie Garcia Picked to Join U.S. Army’s All-American Marching Band
Frankie Garcia’s honor is reserved for just 125 high school senior band musicians once a year, chosen from 1,234 nominations across the nation. He’ll perform at the the annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl’s half-time show before a national television audience.
Exodus at Flagler Chamber of Commerce As Four Staffers Resign in Four Weeks
After Peggy Heiser announced her resignation as tourism’s VP, Lauren Walsh, Nick Langille and Laura Gamba followed, though Chamber President Doug Baxter assures: “It’s got nothing to do with me,” while the TDC wondered if pay is adequate.
What Global Warming? Science-Doubting Florida Lawmakers Move to Kill Cap-and-Trade
The 2008 law that would be repealed was pushed through in 2008 by former Gov. Charlie Crist, but has never been used to pursue cap and trade — an approach that would provide incentives for businesses, such as electric utilities, to reduce emissions.
Françoise Pecqueur, Struck By School Board Member’s Wife, Dies 2 Days Short of 77
Françoise Pecqueur was walking her dog in Palm Coast’s C-section the evening of Nov. 10 when she was struck by a a car driven by Jamesine Fischer, wife of John Fischer, the Flagler County School Board member. The incident is now a homicide investigation.
Henry Flagler Dies, Vegas on Pot, Will Ferrell’s Lies, Regulation Myths: The Live Wire
An update on Henry Flagler’s death, FCAT’s coming F schools, Peter Gabriel gives a full concert, Jim Romenesko leaves Poynter under an undeserved cloud, Dubai goes flash mob, and more.
At Hollingsworth Gallery:
Weldon Ryan, Artist of the Year
Weldon Ryan’s journey from Trinidad to the Bronx to Brooklyn to Palm Coast, navigating poverty, violence, brutality and beauty, begins to explain his art’s hyper-realism and its arms-length emotions.
Lazy, Cheap, Irresponsible Palm Coast
This week’s dismal voter turn-out for the Palm Coast election is a reflection of a city and a council that mirror each other in laziness, misplaced penny-pinching and indifference to civic engagement where it actually matters.
Sisco Deen on the Meaning of Veterans Day, Frank W. Buckles and Mackenzie’s Card
In a moving tribute to veterans and Frank Buckles, the late, last World War I veteran, Sisco Deen, Flagler County’s archivist, reminds us why we must “always remember and honor those who have served and dedicated their lives to our country.”
76-Year-Old Walker in Critical Condition After Car Strikes Her and Drives On in Palm Harbor
The car that struck Francoise Pecqueur, 76, was driven by Jamesine Fischer, 55, the wife of John Fischer, the Flagler County school board member. The car was impounded and the case is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
A Matter of Heart: Tommy Tant Surf Classic Returns to Roil Flagler Beach
The annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic, a competitive surfing celebration of the late Tommy Tant, runs Saturday and Sunday in Flagler Beach with a focus this year on heart health, as Tommy died of an aortic aneurysm 13 years ago.
The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: Ronald Reagan in Normandy
Reagan’s speech at Normandy’s Pointe du Hoc on June 6, 1984, commemorating the 40th anniversary of D-Day, is one of his noblest, especially in retrospect, for what he said about the cold war, the Soviet Union and nuclear weapons.
Florida’s Latest Immigrants: Undocumented Workers Fleeing Alabama’s Harsh Vise
Reversing Florida’s recent population loss, there’s been an influx of undocumented workers moving to Florida from Alabama as a result of a newly passed state law, the harshest immigration enforcement measure in the country.
Angela Wray, a Cop’s Wife, Jailed Over Embezzling $59,000 from Celico Auto
Angela Wray worked as Celico Auto Body’s bookkeeper and secretary from January 2007 to December 2010, committing 127 individual acts of thefts, according to the FDLE, and cashing checks or paying personal bills at various banks or financial institutions.
Walmart Wants To Be Your Health Care Provider
Walmart wants to become by “the largest provider of primary healthcare services in the nation,” according to a request for information from potential partners sent the same week Walmart–the nation’s largest private employer–scaled back its health coverage for employees.
McGuire Ahead of Moorman by 54 Votes, DeLorenzo Ahead of Cross by 37
Our earlier report that Holsey Moorman had won the election may have been premature. An additional tally by the Supervisor of Elections, this one including absentee ballots, shows McGuire beating Moorman by 54 votes, and Jason DeLorenzo beating Dennis Cross just under 40 votes.
Too Close to Call: Early Voting Gives Slim Lead to Moorman, Cross and DeLorenzo Closer
Results of the Palm Coast City Council election between Holsey Moorman and Bill McGuire, and Jason DeLorenzo and Dennis Cross.
Secret Donors, Unlimited Contributions, Super-PAC Elections as FEC Stalemates
Nearly two years after a U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down key restrictions in campaign finance law, the Fderal Elections Commission still hasn’t begun the process of changing its regulations to comply with the ruling.
Running on Faith: Flagler County’s Free Clinic Is a Refuge For Health Care’s Untouchables
The Flagler County Free Clinic in Bunnell has been a commitment of grit and conviction by cancer survivor Faith Coleman and Dr. John Canakaris for the past six years. Now Coleman’s cancer is back, and like all her patients, she has no insurance.
This Week in Flagler and Tallahassee: Elections, Weldon Ryan, Tommy Tant
Weldon Ryan, the Flagler County Artist of the Year, opens at the Hollingsworth Gallery Saturday, the annual Tommy Tant Surf Classic is this weekend, governments are on low simmer.
Veterans Day Ceremonies in Flagler and Palm Coast’s Heroes Park
This Friday’s Veterans Day ceremonies will be held at 8:30 a.m. at Palm Coast’s Heroes Park and at 10 a.m. in front of the county administration building in Bunnell.
Sheriff’s In for $5,000, Tax Collector for $6,000; Let’s Do Our Part for Feed Flagler
The third annual Team Feed Flagler challenge kicks off, raising money and food for 4,000 free meals the day before Thanksgiving. Help us rival Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston, last year’s fund-raising winner.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter
A car stolen at Florida Hospital Flagler (and recovered), an arrest at McCharacter’s turns violent, a fight at Finn’s turns violent, too, horny Halloween teen shoplifters, and more.
NFL Teams Blacked Out in Local Florida Markets Would Be Fined $125,000 Per Game
Last season, eight home games were blacked out because of poor ticket sales even as professional sports franchises reap millions in taxpayer subsidies every year.
Holsey Moorman: The Live Interview
Holsey Moorman is running for Palm Coast City Council against Bill McGuire. He answers 14 questions and a few follow-ups on a broad range of issues.