It’s become one of Governor Rick Scott’s favorite clichés: “Government has no resources of its own. Government can only give to us what is previously taken from us.” He’s in the wrong country.
All Else
Gallery Whales: Rick Cannizzaro’s Giants Opening at Ocean Publishing
The third in a series of gallery shows that tie art to books (and a cause), Rick Cannizzaro’s “Ocean Giants” features 11 new paintings of whales, along with a few works from previous shows.
A Morning Memorial on A1A for Jigme Norbu Before His Walk Resumes By Other Steps
The Dalai Lama’s nephew’s body was flying back to his home in Indiana as a group of friends and supporters gathered at the accident site in the Hammock before resuming his Walk for Tibet-Florida, ending in West Palm Beach later this month.
Cops Recoil Over Florida Pension Reforms; Deferred Retirement (DROP) Slated to End
Senate plans introduced Wednesday would replace traditional state pension plans with 401(k)-style systems, and would end the deferred retirement option plan known as DROP.
Dalai Lama’s Nephew’s Last Day: Jigme Norbu Remembered, and His Mission Honored
Jigme Norbu’s Florida walk for Tibet will continue, starting with a prayer ceremony on A1A in the Hammock Thursday morning in honor of Norbu, the Dalai Lama’s nephew killed there Monday evening.
Despite Potential for 14,000 Jobs, Scott Rejects $2.4 Billion in High-Speed Rail Money
SunRail in Volusia and the passenger rail line between Jacksonville and Miami are also in jeopardy as Gov. Rick Scott announces focus on roads and seaports.
Leon Redbone, Anne Frank and Orlando’s Art & Living Expo: Culture Worth the Miles
Winter Park’s Morse Museum is expanding, Orlando’s Downton Art Living Expo, Leon Redbone at the Plaza Theatre, and the “Diary of Anne Frank” at the Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park.
Medicaid Changes For 2.9 Million Floridians: Fewer Choices, More HMOs
A Florida Senate proposal would vastly increase the role of managed care in Florida’s $20 billion Medicaid program, and pull out of the federal system if the federal government doesn’t approve it.
Behind the Story: Jigme Norbu’s Death–and Flagler’s Responsibility to His Last Steps
Flagler County is a small world, often too impressed by its own smallness. It would be compounding loss upon loss if Jigme Norbu’s death had a greater effect elsewhere than in what will always be the grounds of his very last steps.
Dalai Lama’s Nephew Killed by a Car While Walking for Tibet on A1A in the Hammock
Jigme Norbu, nephew to the Dalai Lama, had walked or biked 7,800 miles for Tibet on several continents, and had just started his 20th walk, and first in Florida, when he was struck and killed near Palm Coast.
Chamber Survey: 21% of Floridians Would Leave; Business, Government Equally Blamed
The annual Sunshine State Survey finds 65 percent of Floridians saying the state is worse or the same as five years ago, and 69 percent saying business leaders do the right thing only some of the time or never, about as much as government leaders. The full results.
State Attorney Larizza on Bunnell’s Ghetto Spy-Cams: Should Be a Cost-Benefit Thing
State Attorney R.J. Larizza echoed comments by Public Defender Jim Purdy and Bunnell Commissioner Elbert Tucker on the economics of spy cameras, though a majority of the commission appears sold on the idea.
Florida’s War on the Jobless, Obama’s Budget, Russian Gun Porn: The Live Wire
Journalists, Anderson Cooper and “objectivity, rethinking education, when parents kill their adolescents, the end of sex in movies, Stan Drescher’s latest poem, and more.
Don’t Be Alarmed: Smoke-Testing in Palm Coast’s P-Section Sewers Feb. 21-25
Some residents may see smoke rising from yards, streets or drains, signaling faulty sewer lines or plumbing. Residents may experience caughing, but the city says the smoke is not hazardous to health and dissipates within 15 minutes.
Memories of River City: “The Music Man” Then and Now
Caren Umbarger, artistic director of the Flagler Youth Orchestra, grew up in Mason City, the real setting for “The Music Man”‘s River City, and both her grandfather knew Meredith Willson, the musical’s author, personally. She recalls her youth–and previews the show.
More Charter Schools, Less District Oversight: Where Rick Scott and Jeb Bush Merge
Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Jeb Bush’s education foundation are teaming up for a concerted push to open more charter schools while reducing or eliminating local school district approval and oversight, among other plans under the school “choice” umbrella.
Gumbo Humanitarian: Sauce Boss
Crusade for the Poor Blues Up Flagler
Sauce Boss Bill Wharton: a blues-singing, gumbo-cooking humanitarian for the needy feeds the homeless Friday and performs at the Florida Agricultural Museum Saturday in a fundraiser for the museum and the needy. A profile.
Two Down. Twenty To Go.
It’s a great day for Egypt, a great day for the Middle East. It’s only a beginning. American-backed dictatorships are still the rule in the region. It’s time for a wholesale reckoning.
FPC’s Delegates Win 2nd Place and Score Hat Trick at Tallahassee Model UN
FPC’s Model United Nations team took on the world and brought home a batch of awards at a conference hosted at the State Capitol Feb. 11. Kyle Russell live-blogged the entire day.
Premature Celebrations: Scott Silent on Park Closures. Legislature May Still Ax Some.
State parks such as Washington Oaks Gardens appear to have been spared closure in Gov. Rick Scott’s budget, but they’re far from safe as the Legislature begins to look for ways to close a $4 billion deficit.
John Rogers Election: Johns towing ad:
In Your Face: Palms and Heads Color Hollingsworth Gallery Opening
Opening Feb. 11, the portraits of New Smyrna Beach artist Patricia Zalisko and the landscapes of Ormond Beach artist Karlene McConnell, and both their adventures with color and space, are the subject of their show at Hollingsworth gallery through March 1.
Ronald Reagan Fetish, Rick Scott Bully, Stoning Valentine Couples: The Live Wire
Setting the Reagan legacy straight, setting the Muslim Brotherhood straight, setting American manufacturing straight, setting overly despicable Valentine’s Day couples straight, and more.
Who’s Afraid of the Muslim Brotherhood?
The biggest bogeyman in Egypt is the Muslim Brotherhood, whose influence extends across the Arab and Islamic world, and whose name sheds fear and misconception in the United States. Analyst Mohammed Khan dispels myths.
Murray Sedich of Palm Coast Killed in Panhandle Accident, in Wewahitchka
Murray Edwin Sedich, 26, of Palm Coast, was walking north along 2nd Street in the small Panhandle town of Wewahitchka Tuesday when a car driven by Lloyd Husbands, 52, veered off the highway and hit Sedich.
Boys Basketball Playoffs: FPC’s Bulldogs Rally to Beat Mainland, 45-39
Down 11 points well into the 3rd quarter, the Bulldogs rallied behind Tyler Hopkins’s three-point shooting and Michael McDonald to defeat rivals Buccaneers at Mainland in the district quarterfinals Wednesday.
So Much for Pill-Mill Policing: Citing Privacy, Florida Verges Away From Abusers’ Database
The matter is of immediate relevance in Flagler County, where local governments passed ordinances imposing moratoriums on new pain clinics while awaiting stronger state regulations. The state’s direction would effectively invalidate the moratoriums’ justification.
John O. Hill, 76, Killed in Wreck With Teen Driver on S.R. 13 in St. Johns
John Oscar Hill, 76, of Orange Park, was killed in an afternoon wreck with a teen-age driver at the intersection of Bishop Estates Road and State Road 13 just south of Jacksonville Tuesday, February 9.
Unemployment Lines: Throngs Turn Up for 220 Jobs at Red Lobster and Olive Garden
More than 1,000 applicants–about a fifth of the county’s total unemployed–were expected on Wednesday alone, the first day of hiring at the two new restaurants, in an sign of enduring economic hardship.
Chambers of Commerce Betrayals, the Bible Does Sex, Fox Does Egypt: The Live Wire, Feb. 8
How chambers of commerce have ditched mainstream values, the continuing rape of Appalachia, choice comments of the week, fields of gold, a surge in black-owned businesses, Richard Lewis in pain, and much more.
Pride, Prejudice, State Fairs and Curious George: Culture Worth the Miles
It’s state fair time in Tampa, harbor nights at Portofino Bay, Richard Rogers’ music at the Orlando Philharmonic, Curious George at the Orlando Science Center, Jane Austen at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, and more.
From Flagler’s Washington Oaks, Fla. Audubon Launches Campaign to Save 53 State Parks
Some 65 people gathered at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park Monday to kick-off the campaign to save endangered parks, including two in Flagler County, as Gov. Rick Scott was pledging to cut $5 billion from the budget.
Skipping Specifics, Scott Calls for $5 billion in Spending Cuts, $4 Billion in Tax Cuts
Gov. Rick Scott today unveiled to a tea party crowd a budget that would cut an unprecedented $5 billion and provide for $4 billion in tax cuts, $1.4 billion of which in property taxes. Scott’s details are few.
Tornado Warning for Flagler Is Over; Pea-Size Hail in Flagler Beach
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for southeastern Putnam County and northeastern Flagler County Monday afternoon, in effect until 3 p.m.
Watch Gov. Rick Scott’s Budget Unveiling at Tea Party Rally in Eustis Now
Gov. Rick Scott’s budget unveiling in Eustis, Fla., live before a tea party rally.
God’s Plagues, Man’s Fates, Roth’s Nemeses
With Nemesis, Philip Roth puts an end to to a quartet of novels about death, dying and disease. Roth’s books are as much elegy as honest preparation. There’s no faulting him for not deluding us.
Florida’s Broke, But It’s Refusing a $1 Million Health Insurance Oversight Grant Anyway
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty forfeit a $1 million federal grant that was supposed to go toward beefing up oversight of health-insurance rates.
Justin McElveen, 22, Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash Near Bronson, Fla.
Justin Price McElveen, 22, was traveling south in a 2005 Ford F-350 pick-up truck just before midnight on Feb. 5 on County Road 343 in Levy County when his truck failed to negotiate a curve.
Devan Bozeman, 16, Killed in Single-Car Wreck Near Lake City Early Saturday (Feb. 5)
Devan Bozeman, a high school student, was traveling south at 5 a.m. Feb. 5 on State Road 247 near Lake City when his 1993 Ford Ranger left the road and crashed against a tree.
My Journey Out Of Egypt: An FPC Graduate and Cairo Transplant Describes Her Exit
Catherine M., who asked that her last name not be used for security reasons, is the daughter of two prominent Flagler residents–a former sheriff and a commercial real estate broker. She wrote from Dubai.
Stetson Goes Tahrir: Panel Discussion on Egypt’s Future, Thursday (Feb. 10)
In a free event open to the public, Stetson University professor Jamil Khader will moderate a panel discussion titled “The Egyptian Revolution and the Future of American-Arab Relations.”
David Wayne Caudill of Lake City Killed in Wreck on CR 341 near I-75
David Wayne Caudill, 52, was killed in a two-vehicle wreck on County Road 341 Friday evening (Feb. 4) at 10:30. Bernard Mayo, 48, was seriously injured in the collision. Both men are from Lake City, Florida.
World Guy Erik Bendl Globe-Trots
Through Bunnell and Palm Coast for Diabetes
World Guy Erik Bendl has been walking across the country to raise awareness for diabetes for years, in memory of his mother. Here’s a video report as he walked US1 in Bunnell this week, on his way to Georgia.
Death of a Right Whale, Betty Friedan, Liberace and a Disgrace to the Uniform: Live Wire Weekend
Jeb Bush rising again, how Betty Friedan and Liberace shared a date, Henry Miller in the bathroom, a Hardison-Millay special, economic disaster porn, and more.
Jason Wisham of Palatka Killed Near Hope Baptist Church in Starke
Jason Wisham, 29, of Palatka, was killed Feb. 4 when an out-of-control van driven by David White of Florala struck him as he waled near Hope Baptist Church in Starke, in Bradford County, Florida.
Decaffeinate This: Imagine’s Ivana Moore Repeats as District Spelling Bee Champion
Eighteen champion spellers from eight Flagler County Schools battled over 48 words at the annual spelling been competition, with Ivana Moore, Sandra Defalco and Olivia Taylor taking first, second and third place.
Reality Check: Censoring Al-Jazeera
It’s no surprise when the thuggish Hosni Mubarak censors al-Jazeera. But American satellite and cable providers have been censoring al-Jazeera English since it went live in 2006, to the detriment of broader perspectives.
Unemployment Drops Again, to 9%, But Job Creation Far Short of Expectations
The U.S. economy added just 36,000 jobs in January as governments continued to shrink, though the 9% rate is the lowest since April 2009. Bad weather contributed to the poorer job creation.
Detox for Tax Fact Cheats
It’s a resilient urban legend: the top 5 percent of earners pay over 50 percent of taxes, and over half our citizens pay no taxes. It’s also false. Time to set the record straight.
ArtsFest 2011: Free Art in 81 Central Florida Venues, Feb 4-13 (and a Boat Show)
ArtsFest 2011 means all events from Feb 4-13 are free in 81 arts and performing in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. A wonder sampling of what the Central Florida arts community has to offer. Plus a boat show.