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Florida Argues in Court It Is Free to Censor or Control State-School Professors’ Academic Freedom in Classrooms

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The state of Florida is free to forbid college professors from criticizing the governor in the classroom, an attorney argued on behalf of the state during an appellate court hearing over the Stop Woke Act — adding that those professors are free to seek work elsewhere if they don’t like a legislature-controlled curriculum.  Academic freedom and when the government can insert itself into the classroom were focal points for a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit panel.

France’s Narrow-Minded Headscarf Ban in the 2024 Summer Olympics

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In September 2023, the International Olympic Committee, upholding freedom of religious and cultural expression for all athletes, announced that athletes participating in the 2024 Paris Games can wear a hijab without any restriction. French athletes, however, are bound by France’s strict separation of religion from the state, called laïcité.

Historic Sweep: Flagler’s 5 Constitutionals Elected Without Opposition as Shelly Edmonson Wins Tax Collector’s Seat

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Clerk of Court Tom Bexley, Tax Collector-Elect Edmonson, Property Appraiser Jay Gardner, Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart and Sheriff Rick Staly were elected without opposition today, the first time an entire slate of constitutionals managed the feat in memory. Edmonson will take over for Suzanne Johnston, who decided to retire after 20 years as the tax collector.

Lowering Speed Limits to 25 in Palm Coast Too Expensive, But City Considers Traffic ‘Humps’ in Neighborhoods

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The Palm Coast City Council is not interested in spending $1.6 million to lower speed limits citywide from 30 to 25 mph–it would cost that much to change all the signs–and is leery about certain “traffic-calming” devices, whether speed “humps” or traffic islands. But it will consider a plan that would leave it in residents’ hands to decide whether they want speed humps in their neighborhoods.

Rosario “Rocky” DiBella, 1951-2024

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Rosario “Rocky” DiBella, 72, of Palm Coast, Florida, passed away unexpectedly on June 3, 2024, at his home. A native of Castiglione, Sicily, Rocky was born on September 12, 1951, to the late Giuseppe and Agata DiBella.

Amendment 5: I’m Homesteaded. I Don’t Need Another Perk To Deepen Inequalities and Hurt Local Governments.

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A yes vote on Florida’s Amendment 5 on this November’s ballot means that every year, the second of two $25,000 exemptions will increase according to the previous year’s inflation rate. The indexing is not only unnecessary–the Save Our Homes cap on taxes already does that–but it’s another pander that will deepen disparities at the expense of local governments, businesses, renters and agricultural properties, all of whom will have to make up for lost revenue. 

Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Access to Abortion Pill Without Foreclosing on a Future Challenge

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Thursday’s ruling means that mifepristone will continue to remain widely available in the United States, where it is used in over 60% of abortions by health care providers. The decision, however, does not necessarily foreclose another challenge to the FDA’s actions. Three states with Republican attorneys general – Idaho, Missouri, and Kansas – joined the dispute in the lower court earlier this year.

Anger Over Vietnam Ignited Violence in 1960s. It Could Happen Again Over Gaza.

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This summer, the Democratic National Convention will again be in Chicago. The parallels with previous events in Chicago, such as the Battle of Michigan Avenue in 1968 and the Days of Rage in 1969, are intriguing to consider – especially given the strong divisions in the country now over the Israel-Hamas war. There are also, of course, major differences, including the fact that students in the U.S. do not have a legitimate fear of being drafted – and there are not U.S. troops on the ground in Gaza.

Beach Dredging and Rebuilding Project Will Take 4 Months, Not 9, and Flagler Beach Will Be Spared Detours

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In a boon for a city besieged by construction, the contractor starting work on Flagler County’s first-ever beach-renourishment project within days informed Flagler Beach officials that the dredging will start at the south end of town and move north, will not use Veterans Park as an equipment staging area, and will not require traffic detours downtown, as had been previously planned. 

On Liars

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Prominent cases of purported lying continue to dominate the news cycle. Hunter Biden. George Santos. The rapper Offset. There are a number of variables that distinguish these cases. One is the audience: the faceless government, particular donors and millions of online followers, respectively. Another is the medium used to convey the alleged lie: on a bureaucratic form, through intermediaries and via social media.

Biden and Trump Are Forgetful Of Some Details. But Here’s What Matters More.

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Presidents need to use both intuitive and deliberative decision-making. The ability to make smaller decisions effectively using intuitive decision-making frees up time to concentrate on larger ones. However, the decisions that make or break a president are exceedingly complex and highly consequential, such as how to handle climate change or international conflicts. Here is where deliberative decision-making is most needed.

In Sharp Retreat, Flagler Rejects Countywide Beach Tax to Focus on Barrier Island Only, and on Informing Public

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A week after approving a plan in principle that would have imposed a new tax on almost all residents countywide to raise $7 million a year for beach protection, the Flagler County Commission today stepped back sharply from that plan, acknowledging that it had not done the necessary “outreach” to the public or to other local governments to ensure its success.

Sheriff: Increase School Board’s Cost Share of Campus Deputies to 60%, Lower County’s Share to 40%

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The Flagler County Sheriff is recommending to the County Commission that the 50-50 cost share for school resource deputies, or SRDs, between the School Board and the County Commission be changed. Staly is recommending that the School Board shoulder 60 percent of the cost, adding $300,000 to the district’s budget, while lowering the county’s responsibility an equal amount. 

State Laws Like Florida’s Are Threatening Academic Freedom

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Over the past few years, Republican state lawmakers have introduced more than 150 bills in 35 states that seek to curb academic freedom on campus. Twenty-one of these bills have been signed into law, several of them in Florida. Taken together, this legislative onslaught has undermined academic freedom and institutional autonomy in five distinct and overlapping ways.

Charter Review Committee Field Grows to 10, With Notably Experienced Additions (Redirected)

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The list of applicants to serve on the five-member Palm Coast Charter Review Committee has grown to 10, with a little over a week left before the application window closes. The four new applicants since last week bring distinct and varied experience, including Donald O’Brien, who just ended an eight-year tenure as county commissioner, two of them as chair, Jake Scully, the data architect, former member of the Palm Coast Planning Board and former long-time owner of PC Bike, and Karen Sousa, a 10-year employee of the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections office.

In Florida and Elsewhere, New GOP Rules Hostile to Voter Registration Threaten Fines and Criminal Penalties

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Republican lawmakers in Florida , Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and Texas have enacted a variety of voter registration laws over the past four years. The measures add new requirements around registering and communicating with voters and threaten hefty penalties for violations. The stated goal of the new laws is to prevent fraud, but in the absence of any evidence of more than very rare fraud some voting rights groups contend their real purpose is to dampen participation by likely Democratic voters.

Germany Lowers Voting Age to 16 for European Election

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Ahead of the European parliament elections in June, Germany has lowered the age limit on participation to 16. This makes it the largest of just a handful of states in the EU to allow people under the age of 18 to vote. Austria, Belgium and Malta have already enfranchised 16 and 17-year-olds, and Greece is to allow anyone turning 17 in 2024 to participate in the June vote.

The Anti-Democratic Tactic Behind Trump’s Post-Conviction Rhetoric

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Rhetoric strengthens or erodes democratic institutions and can prime an audience to expect or accept violence. Regardless of how someone feels about the legal arguments made during Trump’s trial, Trump’s attempts to prevail in the court of public opinion continue his campaign to discredit democratic institutions and threaten anyone who gets in his way.

Flagler County’s Beach Protection Tax: Right Idea. Wrong Execution.

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The county has the right idea: we need a new tax to pay for expensive beach protection, or we’ll lose the beach. But the county’s execution is hurried, the plan is poorly thought-out, it is riddled with holes and inconsistencies, and it has included zero public participation and zero preparatory discussions with other governments. That’s a recipe for failure, deservedly so: the county is taking the public and its sister governments for granted, if not punting to the cities to do the heavy lifting.

Six Flagler Residents Among 9 Sentenced to Federal Prison in Conclusion of Multi-State Drug-Trafficking Conspiracy

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The United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida has announced that all nine individuals charged as a result of “Operation Ice Man” have been sentenced to prison. Each defendant was found guilty by a jury or pleaded guilty for their role in a multi-state drug trafficking conspiracy that spanned from Mexico to California, Arizona, central Florida, and Flagler County.

FPC’s David Halliday, a Finalist for National Coach of the Year in Track and Field, Reflects on 30 Years’ Inspiration

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David Halliday, one of Flagler Palm Coast High School’s most successful, if not its most successful, coach over the past 20 years, is one of eight finalists for the Coach of the Year in Track and Field award by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. The Florida native reflects on a 30-year career that and a coaching philosophy summed up by the sort of humanism and commitment he tries to impart on his students and athletes.

‘It Can Happen Here’: Emergency Management Director Warns Against Hurricane Complacency in Flagler Ahead of Busy Season

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There’s a dangerous myth in Flagler County, and the longer people have lived here, the more they start believing the myth, and spreading it: that Flagler County is immune to hurricanes. Jonathan Lord, Flagler County’s emergency management director, says ahead of what has been predicted to be the busiest hurricane season in memory that Flagler County is at risk of getting a direct hurricane hit, even a Category 5 hurricane, as any other coastal community in the state.

The Divided, Violent Country Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s 1st Woman President, Has Inherited

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This was the largest election in Mexico’s history, with more than 98 million citizens registered to vote. It was also the most violent election, with more than 30 politicians killed. The new president will now face two major challenges: confronting the rampant violence in Mexican society and increasing militarisation of public life, and the deterioration of checks and balances on executive power.

Sprawling Vacation Rentals Becoming a Nuisance to Palm Coast Residents. City’s Answer: ‘Our Hands Are Tied.’

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As resident after resident complained about short-term renters next door–the noise, the partying, the traffic, the garbage, the unexpected–the Palm Coast City Council chambers Tuesday evening sounded more like a scene transplanted from the County Commission a decade ago, or legislative committees in Tallahassee every year since. But the legislature just passed a new law that forbids cities like Palm Coast from imposing stricter regulations on vacation rentals than they would on permanent residents.

Ex-Marine Had It In for Sheriff Staly As He Compared Son’s Arrest to Donald Trump’s in a ‘Dying’ America

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Robert Shawn Detherow, 55, threatened to dismember the sheriff’s deputy taking him to the Flagler County jail after he held off deputies in a six-hour standoff Wednesday, three days after posting a series of video exhorting people to join him to pray, to confront Sheriff Rick Staly, who he said should be arrested, and to ward off a civil war in the United States. He was upset over his son’s arrest in March, which he compared to the arrest of Donald Trump.