American Studies and History professor Paul Croce and Associate Professor of Geography J. Anthony Abbott also won Hand awards; Harry Price, an associate professor of chemistry, got the John Hague Teaching Award.
All Else
Pride of a Principal, Pride of a Thousand Parents As FPC Class of 2011 Graduates
Flagler Palm Coast High School Class of 2011’s 509 graduates will, in their principal’s words, be “competing for jobs that haven’t been invented yet.” But not yet: Monday evening was for jubilation at the Ocean Center.
Carver Gym Auction Update, Banks’ Foreclosed Hostages, Sadness at Fox: The Live Wire
Not much time left for the Carver Gym auction, unconstitutional prison-jamming, Florida’s war on watchdogs, questioning cheerleading as a sport, Nate Silver’s advice to the next generation of journalists, and more.
Rapture On: God Is Great, Beer Is Good, People Are Crazy
Judgment Day came and went and we’re still here. Most of us, anyway. A few thoughts about the book of Revelation and the greatest country song since “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”
Suspect in Thursday’s Leidel Drive Shooting Arrested by Marshal Service in Volusia
William Copeland, 20, was wanted in the shooting of Accursio Venezia at his two-level home in northwest Palm Coast around midnight last Thursday. He is recovering.
When Obama Bombs
Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East on Thursday was no landmark. It was a retreading of old cliches, a window into an administration at a loss for principled coherence, and an offense to Palestinian and Arab self-determination.
Flagler Unemployment at 13.8%, Lowest Since 2008; Florida’s Improves to 10.8%
Flagler County’s labor force has shrunk by 2.5 over the past 12 months, a significant drop, while the number of employed residents has fallen by 1.5 percent, suggesting that job creation isn’t yet as evident as out-migration.
Reform Minister: David Ottati’s Healthy Risks at Florida Hospital Flagler
David Ottati, Florida Hospital Flagler’s CEO, is investing, building, innovating, and taking risks despite–and because of–a sputtering economy and health care’s jaggedly changing landscape. So far, it’s paying off.
Bunnell Manager’s “God’s City Day” Proposal Yields to Tamer Prayer Proclamation
City Manager Armando Martinez wanted to declare every first Thursday of May “God’s City Day” in Bunnell. A proclamation on next Monday’s city commission agenda ties Bunnell to the National Day of Prayer every first Thursday in May.
Flagler Ranks Low in Latest Florida Forever Priorities, But Money Is Elusive Anyway
Only one project–the 4,200-acre Flagler County Blueway–made the list of the state Florida Forever priorities for preservation this year, and at a low ranking–with little to no money in the state fund anyway.
Long Before the Potato Festival, Long Before Bunnell, Flagler Bred the Mighty Potato
Ahead of this weekend’s Potato Festival in Bunnell, Sisco Deen, the archive curator for the Flagler County Historical Society, traces the history of the potato’s evolution in Flagler County going back to the 19th century.
Donald Trump Joins Mike Huckabee On Obama’s Re-Election Sidelines
Donald Trump won’t run for president, though he still claims he could have won. Firing people on the Apprentice was a bigger priority: NBC forced him to make a choice.
Endeavour Arcs Beyond Flagler Beach and Into History As Throngs Squint Goodbye
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off for the last time Monday morning as the ritual throngs of launch enthusiasts lined Flagler Beach’s boardwalk, pier and beaches.
Coulter’s Godless, A Night at Ikea, the Book on Mormons, Yo-Yo Ma’s Spiked Swan: The Live Wire
Erin McCaskill’s first art sale, atheists in the military, talking philosophy with children, next-generation digital books, Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma, Ann Coulter’s godless church of liberalism, and more.
Brush Fire in Residential Area of Bunnell’s Mondex Flirts With Clothing Ministry
The fire in a residential area, believed to have been triggered by a lightning strike, was near a house and God’s Clothing Ministry, which hands out free clothes and shoes twice a week. No evacuations were necessary.
Bean-Counting Innovation: When Small-Bore Government Patents Job-Killing
Innovation is at the root of job creation. The U.S. Patent Office is innovations’ gate-keeper, with a backlog of 715,000 patent applications. Yet Congress just reduced the office’s budget by $100 million while dickering over reforming its administration.
Summit-Scaling: Enterprise Flagler, Rising Again, Wants $6.5 Million Over 3 Years
What you can expect at Friday’s economic-development summit: Demands for more tax dollars, speculative promises of thousands of jobs from executives, skepticism and disconnects. In short, a retread of old scenarios.
Thelma and Louise of Geometric Abstractions Ride Into Hollingsworth Gallery
Louise Lieber, a sculptor and painter, and Antoinette Slick, a painter, are paired in a beguiling new show at the Hollingsworth Gallery. Their art is a journey into the possibilities and beauties of geometry.
Fallout from Sylvan Learning Center Closures: Benefit for Palm Coast, Word War Elsewhere
When three Sylvan Learning Centers closed abruptly in Volusia County, Palm Coast’s center offered to take in students left out. Meanwhile, the Volusia franchise owners and Sylvan’s home office are in a war of words.
Making It Right in New Orleans, 6 Years After Katrina: The Grit of Pitt and Green
From Brad Pitt’s Make It Right program to a broad-based spirit of enterprise, Flagler Beach’s Frank Gromling has been tracking New Orleans’ rebirth every year by attending the city’s annual jazz festival.
Wicked Transition to Stage Magic as FPC Goes Emerald With “Wizard of Oz” This Weekend
“The Wizard of Oz” at the Flagler Auditorium is the biggest FPC stage production to date, with a live orchestra and a cast and crew of 75. The production gelled in a mere six weeks under a new director, after the previous one quit.
A Cardboard Castle Contest and Other First Friday Royalties in Flagler Beach
Flagler Beach’s May edition of First Fridays brought the most construction activity to the county in three years, and tastings from around the globe.
Il Scott, Il Duce, Whites Against Black Movies, Florida Against Watchdogs: The Live Wire
The what-ifs of capturing bin Laden, Obama’s Osama rap, Florida’s war on watchdogs, why whites don’t watch movies starring blacks, a girl is forced to cheer for her rapist, arts, education and Obama, David Hume at 300, and more.
Lawmakers Quietly and Hurriedly Approve $10 Million Statewide Boarding Charter School
The charter school, vehemently opposed by Ormond Beach Sen. Evelyn Lynn, who cited other education priorities, would focus on troubled youth but be paid for with public funds and run by a private concern.
Doubts, Debates, Debacles and New Details: The Bin Laden Follies Weekend Round-Up
In the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death, there’s no dearth of debates over torture’s merits, whether he’s really dead, what Pakistan knew and when it knew it, and the Obama administration’s ever-changing stories. A guide.
“To Catch a Predator,” To Bait a Voyeur: Chris Hansen and the Sweep of Sleaze
Chris Hansen’s To Catch a Predator and Perverted-Justice developed a brand of sleazy, ethically compromised journalism to coincide with NBC’s most important ratings months, when underage sex in any form sells.
Economy Adds 244,000 Jobs, an Unexpected Surge, But Unemployment Back Up to 9%
The 244,000 net new jobs defied economists’ expectations of a much weaker April, but the unemployment rate, obtained from a separate survey, rose for the first time in five months.
Prom Night Recklessness: FPC Rattles Students With Tombstones and Scary Statistics
Carrying pickets and tombstones to symbolize the dangers of recklessness on prom night, students and FPC Activities Director Cheryl Perry sent a cautionary message to fellow students who’ll be partying on prom night Friday.
Select Flagler School Seniors Receive 239 Scholarships Worth $240,000 at Ceremony
The annual ceremony hosted by the Flagler County Education Foundation celebrated its 25th year Tuesday as 108 organizations’ scholarships were presented to 138 seniors. See the full list.
Bunnell Puts Its Stamp on Day of Prayer While Another Group Marks “Day of Inclusivity”
The Bunnell city administration coordinates an event with distinctly Christian overtones on its city hall’s steps Thursday afternoon while church-state separation group celebrates Inclusivity Day at heroes Park Thursday evening.
Spectacular Survivor: Stalled Plane Crashes in Flagler Pines, 66-Year-Old Airman Unscathed
John Roderick, a 66-year-old retired Air Force pilot, was on his way back to St. Augustine when his D260 stalled over Western Flagler. He eased the plane into the pines.
Kent State, Trump Foxed, Holocaust Tales, a Fawn Saved in Flagler Beach: The Live Wire
Remembering the 14 students shot by their own troops at Kent State in 1970, First Fridays in Flagler Beach, Rick Scott in Daytona, the super-rich’s tax hypocrisies, and the continuing stupidities of Donald trump, and more.
Room for Debate
Bin Laden Death Photos and Videos: Should They be Released?
A dead and bloodied photo or video of Osama bin Laden may be “gruesome,” as the White House claims, but why should the public not have a full accounting of the raid and of bin Laden’s burial?
Circulation Still Declining at News-Journal, Rising at Sentinel and St. Augustine Record
The News-Journals losses over the past 12 months were not as steep as in previous years: a 1.2 percent decline on weekdays, 2.5 percent decline on Sundays, though other regional newspapers are seeing increases in circulation.
On Unexpectedly Historic Night, Jacksonville Symphony Celebrates America in Palm Coast
The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra lit up the night at Palm Coast’s Town Center Sunday with a tribute to Irving Berlin, John Williams, Aaron Copland and Scott Joplin, among other American greats, in the fifth annual picnic and pops concert produced by the Palm Coast Arts Foundation.
Palm Coast Garden Club’s Biennial Flower Show Shrubs Up Colors and Designs
The two-day show included a couple of competitive design divisions and a plant sale that drew entrants and horticultural enthusiasts. Charlotte Marten’s video report.
Donald Trump Can’t Take a Joke and Other Tales from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
“Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising, since I just assumed he was running as a joke.” And more from the White House Correspondents’ Association’s dinner, videos of Obama’s and Seth Meyers’s routines included.
Jacksonville Symphony Pops “Americana Under the Stars” at Palm Coast Concert
Featuring a slew of favorites from Gershwin to Berlin (Irving, that is) to Strauss, the Jacksonville Symphony’s annual pilgrimage to Flagler is the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s signature event and fund-raiser.
Obama Releases Long-Form Birth Certificate; Trump Takes Credit
President Obama this morning released his long-form birth certificate, hoping to end conspiracy theories about his place of birth. The release is unlikely to put an end to birthers midwifing new theories.
Birther Myths, Imagine’s Cheerleaders, In Defense of Flogging and Typewriters: The Live Wire
Anderson Cooper takes on birthers, Imagine School’s cheerleaders take on Sarasota, Unions take on the Florida Chamber, a prison scholar takes up flogging, the typewriter is still clicking, and more.
De•lec•ta•ble (di lek’tә b’l), Adj., Very Pleasing, Delightful, Luscious; as in: Taste of Flagler
The Flagler County Chamber of Commerce and Affiliates’ annual Taste of Flagler, at the Conservatory Golf Club, was a serial seduction of the senses: a video and the list of winners.
John F. Kennedy’s Speech on the Arts and Robert Frost, Amherst College (1963)
Full text and audio of John F. Kennedy’s Amherst College speech on the arts in 1963, one of the most eloquent defenses of the artist and art’s role in American civilization by an American president.
Dull and Duller GOP Candidates, Pink Toenails, Bright Futures Dim, The Beatles at Shea: The Live Wire
Why homebuilders have the blues, why real estate agents also do, a Palm Coast molestation case reopens, The Legislature’s latest cleavers, vegetarian oral sex, Sheriff Fleming’s videos, and more.
Beanery Endeavour: Georgia’s Famed Tallulah Students Stop By For 46 Brown-Bag Breakfasts
Georgia’s Tallulah School is one of the nation’s most celebrated schools. Its 7th graders have been making spring trips to Florida for years. They stopped by the Beachhouse Beanery for breakfast and a chat with Mayor Alice Baker.
NTSB Preliminary Investigation Report: Flagler County Airport Crash on March 26, 2011
Full text of the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary investigation report, released on April 19, 2011, of the fatal plane crash at the Flagler County Airport on March 26, 2011, involving an Aerostar S A YAK-52, piloted by Bill Walker.
Varieties of Religious Experience: Watching an Eagles’ Nest, Live
The Raptor Resource Project’s live, 24-hour streaming video of a family of eagles, from their nest in Idaho. With hatchlings and river sounds nearby. Warning: watching can be addictive.
Bunnell Police Miscues Helping To Lessen Case Against Ex-Cops John and Lisa Murray
Lisa Murray faces one less count of official misconduct, but while a grand theft charge against John Murray was dropped, a charge of official misconduct was added. The cases, for now, are proceeding to trial.
It’s Not Enough to Say No to a Seawall in Flagler Beach: An Action Plan Past Opposition
Sherry Epley, a resident of Flagler Beach, lays out a six-point action plan on how to build and sustain opposition to a seawall while developing a viable alternative that saves the beach and State Road A1A.
Textual Titillations, Chamber Scott, Perot Trump, Buying Legislators and Poetry in Jazz: The Live Wire
Buy one legislator, get one free, what’s far worse than sexting, a free speech leap in Vancouver, the Rude Pundit on Obama, when Donald Trump insults “the blacks,” and more.
Stereotype This: “Lazy Mexicans” And Other Insolvent Myths of American Superiority
As it turns out Mexicans are not only harder workers than Americans. They are the hardest workers in the industrialized world, while smugness, selfishness and the pursuit of inequality are becoming American brands.