The Bunnell City Commission recognizes several of its law enforcement officers for various achievements, the library board meets, recalling the other “It Can’t Happen Here”: Nathanael West’s “A Cool Million.”
All Else
Federal Hate Crime Laws Have Been Remarkably Ineffective for Decades
The federal hate-crime law is ineffective at both accumulating data and enforcing penalties. Not only was the first federal conviction for a hate crime on the basis of gender identity made 15 years after the law’s passage, but hate crimes generally are also subject to chronic underreporting.
Daytona State College’s Automotive Service Technology Program Re-Accredited
Daytona State College’s Automotive Service Technology program has been re-accredited by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Education Foundation, a non-profit organization that accredits automotive service programs.
I Run a Food Pantry. Without Food Stamps, It’s Not Enough.
Pantries are a critical piece of the anti-hunger puzzle, but they’re filler pieces. Government nutrition programs — with the infrastructure and funding to get the job done — should be the centerpiece. SNAP is the nation’s most effective anti-hunger program, feeding nearly a quarter of all U.S. children. But the end of a Covid-era boost in benefits is leaving nearly 13 percent of the population experiencing food insecurity.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, May 12, 2024
‘First Date,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, Shine Mindfulness for Kids Group, Israel’s growing censorship regime and American bombings of al-Jazeeras past.
Beethoven’s Ninth at 200
Symphony No. 9, sometimes referred to as the Choral Symphony, was the capstone to Beethoven’s extraordinary career. In the 200 years since its debut, the symphony has become an essential composition in the orchestral repertoire and is often cited as the crowning achievement of Western classical music.
23 Million Americans Are Losing Federal Help to Pay for Internet, Reopening Digital Divide
The federal Affordable Connectivity Program, launched at the end of 2021, has provided a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible low-income households and up to $75 for households on qualifying tribal lands. Now, without additional funding from Congress, more than 23 million households across the country have begun to lose the aid. April was the last fully funded month, with some households receiving partial benefits from their internet service provider through May.
DeSantis Office Dismissed from Open Records Case Over Travels, But Lawsuit Against FDLE Continues
A Leon County circuit judge has dismissed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office from a lawsuit filed by the Washington Post over access to DeSantis’ travel records. Judge J. Lee Marsh this week issued a nine-page ruling that said DeSantis’ office is not the “custodian” of disputed records held by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The ruling did not dismiss the case against the law-enforcement agency.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, May 11, 2024
LGBTea Social at Flagler Tea Company, Bartram Living History Fest, The City of Palm Coast Public Works Department hosts its Touch-a-Truck event, the lowdown on Stormy Daniels and her full disclosures.
Media Coverage of Campus Protests Is Out of Focus
To the students taking part they are, in the words of one protester, “uplifting the voices of Gazans, of Palestinians facing genocide.” But to many people outside the universities, the focus has been on confrontations and arrests. Where does this disconnect come from? Most people don’t participate in on-the-streets protests or experience any of the disruption that they cause. Rather they rely on the media to give a full picture of the protests.
Flagler County Cultural Council Awards $25,000 in Scholarships
The Flagler County Cultural Council (FC3) presented scholarships to Flagler County graduating seniors Scott Wiggins, Mae Fasnacht, April Bonilla, Winston Sjeda and Angelina DeMaio.
2-Year Investigation Leads to Arrest of P-Section Bomber Who’d Left Trail of Violent and Disturbing Letters
Late Thursday, Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Jason Robert Burns, a 49-year-old resident of 9 Bronson Lane, on a first-degree arson charge and a charge of possessing explosives, both first-degree felonies, each with a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. He is accused of setting off a pipe bomb outside a house in Palm Coast’s P Section in 2022, and had left a trail of handwritten letters filled with grievances and veiled threats and slanders against his ex-wife.
Data Company Wants to Use Veterans Park to Land Undersea Cables; Flagler Beach Wants Appropriate Payment
DC Blox, a data company planning a data center in palm Coast–its Florida subsidiary is called DC Orchid–is now proposing to run its undersea internet cable landing site through the north side of Veterans Park in the heart of Flagler Beach, after a proposal to do so at a South 6th Street location displeased city commissioners. The company is also willing to pay more than the one-time, $100,000 fee it had offered, per cable–a sum city commissioners found paltry.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, May 10, 2024
Church Folks Ain’t Laughing Enough variety show at AACS, LGBTQ+ Night at Flagler Beach’s Coquina Coast Brewing Company, “The Color Purple” Movie Matinee 1 p.m. at the Flagler County Public Library.
Election Laws Hamper 3rd Party Candidates Beyond Spoiler Role
The two major parties have largely run minor-party competitors out of business in intentional ways. Democratic and Republican officeholders adopt laws making it more difficult for others to run. But although a third party is not likely to have much electoral success anytime soon, they do enrich American politics.
Sen. Rick Scott Attends Trump Trial and Calls Prosecutors ‘Thugs’
Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott traveled to New York City on Thursday, where he became the first member of Congress to attend Former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial. Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom during a break from the proceedings, Scott said that the treatment that the former president was enduring was “despicable.”
That Color in Your Water Is Due to Low Rainfall and Palm Coast’s Use of Certain Wells
The City of Palm Coast is actively responding to the challenges posed by the current dry conditions, which have led to significantly increased water usage and heightened demands on our water supply. As a result, residents may notice a change in the color of their water, particularly throughout the summer months.
Brendan Depa’s Sentencing Will Not Resume Until Aug. 6, Giving Defense Time to Recover from Bad Day
The defense for Brendan Depa, the 18-year-old former Matanzas High School autistic student to be sentenced in the beating of his teacher’s aide, faces a steep climb back from a prosecution case that portrayed Depa as a willful, intelligent, chronically violent man who knows right from wrong and who knew what he was doing that day at Matanzas. The prosecution is developing an argument that sidelines Depa’s autism as irrelevant, and calls prison time essential. The defense has yet to make its case.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, May 9, 2024
Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series: Novel Approaches to Control Mosquito-Borne Diseases, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets, the Palm Coast Democratic Club, ‘First Date,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre.
Can Biden Stop Israeli Sadism?
Israel entered Rafah, a city that marks Gaza’s southern border crossing with Egypt, on May 7, 2024, launching a military offensive that the U.S. and others have cautioned Israel not to pursue. As always, Israel ignored the cautions and pressed on, running up the mass-killing tally despite Hamas accepting a cease-fire proposal.
Recording Someone Without Permission Is Illegal in Florida. What If the Recorder Is in Ohio?
Justices are grappling with whether gamer David Race, who lives in Ohio, violated Florida law when he secretly recorded fellow gamer Billy Mitchell without the Broward County resident’s permission. Florida is one of 11 states that require all parties to consent to being recorded.
No, Feeding Wildlife Isn’t Kind. It’s Potentially Dangerous, and Illegal.
The temptation to engage with wildlife by feeding them is real – especially for children – but the consequences for the animals, and the public, can be dire. Flagler County officials remind you: don’t do it.
Congestion-Prone Stretch from Royal Palms Parkway to Town Center and Old Kings Road Will be Four-Laned
The Palm Coast City Council approved the first leg of a $4 million plan to redesign and widen the congestion-prone intersection of Royal Palms Parkway and Town Center Boulevard, the intersection of Town center Boulevard and Old Kings Road, and Old Kings Road from there to just south of Palm Coast Parkway. But it will be more than a year before anyone sees construction.
Flagler School Board Will Send Letter of Support for Locating Museum of Black History in St. Johns
Following the recommendation of Will Furry, its chair, the Flagler County School Board will send a letter of support to a state task force in hopes of luring the future Museum of Black History to St. Johns County. St. Johns was ranked first among three finalists for the location. Its competitors are Eatonville in Orange County and Opa-locka in Miami-Dade County.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, May 8, 2024
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office hosts the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service at 7:45 p.m. at the Sheriff’s Operations Center, Separation Chat, Open Discussion, when Britney Spears’ midriff buckled to “Hit me, baby, one more time.”
Paul Auster, An American Writer with a European Sensibility
With the passing of Paul Auster, who died of lung cancer on April 30 at the age of 77, the aesthetics of postmodernism retreated another significant step back into the past tense of history. Auster became closely associated with postmodern style because of his highly self-conscious and self-reflexive fiction. In 2017, he wrote that he “wanted to turn everything inside out.”
DeSantis Lawyer Argues Governor’s ‘Executive Privilege’ Places Him Above Public Record Law
In a case that could have far-reaching implications for the state’s public-records laws, an appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in a challenge to a judge’s ruling that “executive privilege” shields Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration from releasing records. During Tuesday’s arguments before a three-judge panel of the Tallahassee-based 1st District Court of Appeal, the plaintiff’s attorney said that the constitutional right to public records does not include an exemption for the governor’s records.
AdventHealth Hired 10,000 Nurses Since 2020
Four years after a global pandemic rocked the health care industry and exacerbated a nationwide nursing shortage, AdventHealth celebrates a major milestone: 10,000 registered nurses hired across its Central Florida hospitals and health care locations since 2020. AdventHealth’s hospitals in Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties have successfully reduced turnover by 22 percent and travel-nurses by 39 percent.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, May 7, 2024
The Palm Coast City Council meets and approves a state grand enabling the city to design the four-laning of Old Kings Road south of Palm Coast Parkway, the school board meets, and Bill Maher sacrifices intellectual honesty for a laugh.
Do Americans Really Think the Country Is ‘On the Wrong Track’?
Researchers who run the American Communities Project, which explores the differences in 15 different types of community in the United States, believe the surveys are asking a question with no real meaning in the United States in 2024 – a question that may have outlived its usefulness.
Worrisome Dry Conditions in Flagler Prompt Caution About Wildfires and Yard Kindling
The lack of recent rain means conditions are getting drier in Flagler County, increasing the potential for brushfires. Taking a few precautions now can go a long way to protect homes and businesses from these fires, which can be all too common this time of year.
$27 Million Contract Awarded as 9-Month Dredging to Rebuild Beach North and South of Pier Starts in Weeks
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week awarded a $27 million contract to a New Jersey company with extensive beach-rebuilding experience in Florida to rebuild 3.5 miles of severely eroded beach north and south of the Flagler Beach pier. The reconstruction starts in June. By the time the nine-month beach-reconstruction is done in March 2025, the beach will have grown in width by 140 to 180 feet with1.3 million cubic yards of sand. The work will be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Rev. Daisy Henry, ‘Matriarch of Bunnell’ and Determined Advocate for Carver Gym, Dies at 77
The Rev. Daisy Henry, a pastor, the former Bunnell City Commissioner and long-time advocate for South Bunnell and the Carver Center, died on Friday in Bunnell. Community members have been paying tribute to her tenacity and forthrightness through the years. She was 77.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, May 6, 2024
Hammock Community Association Meeting with Sheriff Staly and Cmdr. Ryan Emry, the Flagler County Commission meets, the Beverly Beach Town Commission meets, The Onion explains passive sentences.
Ancient Rome Knew LGBTQ Rights Better Than the Catholic Church Ever Has
A Vatican declaration, the “Infinite Dignity,” opposes gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy. Yet even in the ancient Roman Empire, individuals could transgress traditional conceptions of gender roles in various ways. While Roman notions of femininity and masculinity were strict as regards clothing, for instance, there is evidence to suggest that individuals could and did breach these norms, although they were likely to be met with ridicule or scorn.
The Fear and Loathing Behind GOP’s Christian White Nationalism
MAGA adherents to Aryan tough-guy Jesus see America becoming less white and less Christian, so they’re freaking out, flailing around, breaking things — such as your right to control your own body, your right to read what you want, identify however you want, and love who you want.
Jacksonville Rep. Angie Nixon Stands With Pro-Palestine Protesters at UNF
For months, Jacksonville Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon has advocated for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. She has been labeled an antisemite for doing so, too. But last Tuesday she made an appearance at the pro-Palestine protest at the University of North Florida.
Reporters Without Borders Condemns Wave of Arrests and Violence Against Journalists Covering Campus Protests
Four journalists have been arrested by police and four others attacked in the course of covering university campus protests in the past week. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this wave of arrests, criminal charges, and violence against journalists and urges law enforcement agencies and school administrators to protect and respect the rights of all journalists, including student media.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, May 5, 2024
The Palm Coast Songwriters Festival wraps up, ‘Hysteria,’ At Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, ‘First Date,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, Ronald Reagan’s ill-advised visit to Bitburg cemetery and its SS in 1985.
The Supreme Court Cozies Up to Union-Busting in Starbucks Case
The global coffee shop chain is challenging the NLRB, the federal agency responsible for enforcing U.S. workers’ rights to organize, saying that the agency used the more labor-friendly of two available standards when it asked a federal court to order the company to reinstate workers at a Memphis, Tennessee, store who lost their jobs in 2022 amid a nationwide unionizing campaign.
Marco Rubio Auditioning for Trump’s Vice President
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio will be one of several names being tested for Trump’s vice president at a donor retreat at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, where Trump will be “parading the top contenders for the slot in front of rich benefactors this weekend.”
Fund Mass Transit, Not Maddening Highways
For too long, policymakers have sold us the false choice that we must fund highways above all else. They continue to waste billions of our tax dollars on highway expansion projects that pollute our air and increase traffic, instead of funding sidewalks, safe biking routes, and robust public transportation options. This has resulted in a system where most people must drive for every trip to meet their daily needs. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Unquiet Silence: Inside a Jacksonville Abortion Clinic After Ban Kicks In
On Monday, almost 60 people came to A Woman’s Choice, a clinic in Jacksonville that offers abortion services. Half did so for their abortions, and half for the preliminary consults. A third were from somewhere other than Florida. The vast majority were past six weeks of pregnancy. By Wednesday morning, it was all over. Outside, half a dozen abortion opponents chanted prayers. Inside the clinic was quieter. The six-week ban had kicked in.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, May 4, 2024
Arbor Day in Palm Coast’s Central Park at Town Center, The Flagler Beach All Stars hold their monthly beach clean-up, Palm Coast Historical Society Speaker Series: Bob Kealing On How the Beatles Rocked Florida, ‘Hysteria,’ At Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, math as god.
AI Imaging Scams and Spam
AI-generated content has become another “weird trick.” It’s visually appealing and cheap to produce, allowing scammers and spammers to generate high volumes of engaging posts. Much of the content is still clickbait: Shrimp Jesus makes people pause to gawk and inspires shares purely because it is so bizarre. Facebook is encouraging it.
Flagler Sheriff’s Employees and Volunteers Recognized by Military, AmeriCorps and Points of Light
On Tuesday, April 30, members of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) were presented with multiple prestigious awards recognizing FCSO’s support of service members and volunteers.
Flagler Court’s Chris France and Melissa Distler Among Slew of Robes Retained Without Opposition
Circuit Judge Chris France, who oversees civil and family court in Flagler County, and County Judge Melissa Distler, who was first elected in 2012, were both re-elected–or retained–without opposition.
DeSantis Signs Bill Censoring Teacher Training Programs, Saying It Will Prohibit Their ‘Indoctrination’
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed bills that include seeking to prevent “indoctrination” in teacher-training programs and beginning to allow credit unions to hold state money. The teacher-training bill (HB 1291) was one of the most-controversial education issues of this year’s legislative session, which ended March 8. It seeks to prevent “identity politics” from being included in teacher-preparation programs at colleges and universities.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, May 3, 2024
First Friday in Flagler Beach, ‘Hysteria,’ At Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, Free Family Art Night at Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens, the serendipity of afterlives.
What Student Protesters Want
The protesters are demanding divestment, meaning the sale of financial assets either related to Israeli companies or shares in other corporations perceived to assist the Israeli military. In addition, many protests include calls for the disclosure of those financial ties. They also feature demands for colleges and universities to distance themselves from Israel by ending study-abroad programs and academic exchanges.