Dearborn, Michigan, is a center of Arab American cultural, economic, and political life. It’s home to several of the country’s oldest and most influential mosques, the Arab American National Museum, dozens of now-iconic Arab bakeries and restaurants, and a vibrant and essential mix of Arab American service and cultural organizations.
All Else
Jimmy Carter in Hospice Is Still Better than Trump in White House
Biden is old. He’s slow. He’s forgetful. He trips all over the place, he’s in hiding, and the Democratic Party is a pitiful band of backbenchers who couldn’t give us a more convincing alternative. For all that, compared to Trump he’s still the only credible choice, if it’s a republic we still want.
Moms for Liberty’s Book of Morons
The moms of Moms for “Liberty” are feeling a little touchy, put-upon, even diminished. Their do-boy DeSantis crashed out of the presidential race. They’re losing school board elections. They’re making idiots of themselves in the national media, as when Moms co-founder Tiffany Justice simultaneously defends taking books off school library shelves while denying that Moms want books taken off school library shelves, unless they’re by Black writers or gay writers, or ones dealing with the Holocaust, racism, or any sex.
Buddy Taylor Middle School 7th Grader Douglas Seth Breaks Florida Record for 3,000 Meter
Buddy Taylor Middle’s Douglas Seth competed at the State Indoor Middle and High School Track Championships at the Alachua County Sports Complex in Gainesville. His time of 9:33.40 earned him the number one ranking among Florida middle school competition. His time was the fastest ever recorded for a Florida middle school student-athlete, as well as being the 13th fastest ever in the nation on the middle school level.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, February 18, 2024
The Palm Coast Open final, ‘Tuck Everlasting,’ at Limelight Theater in St. Augustine, Woody Allen’s ‘Don’t Dring the Water,’ at Daytona Playhouse, and the pleasures and long history of the word “irregardless.”
Navalny’s Death Leaves a Blueprint for Anti-Putin Activism
While Navalny languished in prison camps following his arrest on charges of violating parole during his recovery in Germany, many of these activists in exile continued to operate outside of Russia. This new generation of Russian activists – whether those in exile advocating for change or those risking their well-being in Russia to support anti-war candidates – is Navalny’s legacy.
Ralph Carter Park Community Meeting and Update
The City of Palm Coast will host a Ralph Carter Park Community Update meeting for residents of the R-Section and users of Ralph Carter Park on February 28th at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held in the community wing of City Hall at 160 Lake Avenue.
Equal Justice Initiative Unveils Statue of Rosa Parks
The Equal Justice Initiative has unveiled a statue of Rosa Parks at its Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday, part of a broader effort to memorialize civil rights icons.
In the coming months, statues for Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis will also be erected at the museum, connected with the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, also known as the lynching memorial.
Senate Backs Paul Renner Initiative Banning Children Younger Than 16 From Social Media, With Caveats
The House overwhelmingly passed the initial version last month, and the newly revised version does not change the basic components. It would prevent children under 16 from creating accounts on at least some social-media platforms; require platforms to terminate existing accounts that they know or have “reason to believe” are held by minors younger than 16; and allow parents to request that minors’ accounts be terminated.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, February 17, 2024
The Palm Coast Open nears its culmination, Live From the Waterworks, Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, at the Jacksonville Symphony, the Library of America announces its forthcoming 2024 titles.
Five Signs that You Might Be Rightwing
The United States has the greatest gap between left and right for 50 years. Europe is anticipated to take a sharp right turn in this year’s European parliament elections. The past decade has already seen a rightward shift in India. In light of these global trends, it’s crucial to understand what being “rightwing” actually means, rather than simply using the term as an insult.
Superintendent Moore Rededicates ‘Our House’ in Bunnell
This Valentine’s Day, Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore and Flagler County Education Foundation Executive Director Teresa Rizzo, along with others from Our House and from within the community, helped cut the ribbon on the rededication of the 502 South Bacher Street facility.
Palm Coast Has No Money to Pave Your Neighborhood Streets. It’ll Apply a Cheap Sealant and Hope for the Best.
Facing a $10 million deficit in road repairs and no new revenue identified, the Palm Coast City Council approved a diminutive $1 million plan to “microsurface” 29 neighborhood roads and $2.7 million to resurface a few arterial roads. Microsrufacing is not traditional paving. It’s more like a tooth sealant, but for roads: cavities aren’t fixed. They’re covered up. The tentative approach points to the consequences of a council deferring infrastructure needs while rolling back the tax rate.
Flagler Beach Steps Back from Pushing Changes to Mayor’s Powers, Opting for Charter Review Instead
With a majority of city commissioners and the public speaking their skepticism about changing the make-up of the Flagler Beach City Commission, giving the mayor more voting or veto power, or changing the lengths and limits of commissioners’ terms, a proposal to go down that road appears to be teetering on the edge of a failing vote, if it comes to that. But it won’t.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, February 16, 2024
The Palm Coast Open continues, Annual Health and Fitness Fair at the Palm Coast Community Center, Darryl Worley and Anthony Smith, at Flagler Auditorium, Woody Allen’s ‘Don’t Dring the Water,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, at Jacksonville Symphony, a detour to Nigeria.
Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’: Jazz, Race, and That Problematic Melting Pot
Programming “Rhapsody” for concerts today has become somewhat of a double-edged sword. A century after it premiered, it remains a crowd favorite – and almost always guarantees a sold-out show. But more and more scholars are starting to see the work as a whitewashed version of Harlem’s vibrant Black music scene.
Jury Finds Andrew Sharp, 22, Guilty of Raping His 9-Year-Old Cousin and Faces Life in Prison
A jury found Donald Andrew Sharp, 22, a former Palm Coast resident, guilty of raping his cousin when she was 8 and 9, and of directing her brother to molest her, in case Sharp needed a scapegoat if he were ever accused of improprieties. He will be sentenced to life in prison.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, February 15, 2024
The Palm Coast Open, ‘Tuck Everlasting,’ at Limelight Theater in St. Augustine, the day the world almost ended in 2013, an Abba tribute at the Peabody Auditorium, a few lines from Salman Rushdie.
Above-Average Rainfall Dominates Most of the Region in January
In January, the 18 counties forming the St. Johns River Water Management District, including Flagler, continued its trend of above-average rainfall, mainly due to frontal systems, a common occurrence during this time of the year. Eleven counties received between half an inch to an inch more rainfall than their usual monthly average.
The Myth of Men’s Full-Time Employment
Men’s labor force participation has been steadily declining since the 1970s, and workers are experiencing greater labor market precarity – that is, shorter job spells, greater job insecurity and more long-term unemployment. Only 41% of late baby boomer men – those who were between 14 and 21 years old in 1979 – worked steadily and continuously, which we defined as working almost every week of the year between ages 27 and 49.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Separation Chat, Open Discussion, Stayin’ Alive: One Night of the Bee Gees, at Flagler Auditorium, a Gazan writes, the impossibilities of a peace settlement as Marwan Barghouti rots in an Israeli prison.
Republicans and Democrats Consider Each Other Immoral No Matter What
Both Republicans and Democrats regarded people with opposing political views as less moral than people in their own party, even when their political opposites acted fairly or kindly toward them, according to experiments. Even participants who self-identified as only moderately conservative or liberal made the same harsh moral judgments about those on the other side of the political divide.
Palm Coast Council Still Not Thrilled by Proposed Utility Rate Increases Near 18 Percent Over 3 Years
As in November, the city’s utility consultant was again tasked with drafting an amendment to a study recommending sharp water and sewer rate increases, on the heels of a 20 percent increase in the last four years. Council members want to know what the consequences would be if certain capital projects were delayed, since they drive a lot of the need for the rate increases through 2028.
Austin Ross, 27-Year-Old Recruit Hopeful with Flagler Sheriff’s Office, Dies Following Physical Agilities Test
Austin Ross, a 27-year-old Palm Coast resident hoping to become a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy, fell to the ground during a physical agilities test Monday morning, the first step toward becoming a recruit, and later died of an apparently heart-related medical episode.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, February 13, 2024
The Community Traffic Safety Team meets, it’s Palm Coast City Council workshop day, the Palm Coast Open is ongoing, Cameron Driggers’s Youth Action Fund leads an anti-book-banning rally in Brevard County, only for a Sarah J. Maas book to be banned.
Why Florida Is Wrong to Have Downgraded Sociology in College
The American Sociological Association’s current president and a professor of sociology and public policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst explains why Florida’s decision to reduce the number of students enrolled in sociology courses is both disturbing and an opportunity to help the public better understand the academic discipline.
Flagler and St. Johns Award Paul Renner Emergency Preparedness Legislative Achievement Award
Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord and St. Johns County Emergency Management Deputy Director Kelly Wilson spent part of “Emergency Management Day at the Capitol” (February 7) presenting House Speaker Paul Renner with the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA) Legislative Achievement Award.
Sally Hunt’s ‘Causes’ to Fire Attorney, Withheld Despite Numerous Requests, Repeat Fabrications and Unfounded Claims
Sally Hunt, who now openly says she will not complete her term on the board, claims she did not think her “notes” on firing former School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin qualified as public records. The list of 10 grievances echoes the six fellow-Board member Christy Chong filed, repeating some of the same inaccuracies or fabrications and making several unsupported statements.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, February 12, 2024
Trial week in felony court, with some right or nine potential trials, the Palm Coast Open, the Garden Club meets at the Palm Coast Social Club, the Bunnell City Commission meets, CNN’s Israel bias.
The Two-State Solution Is Dead
The simple fact is the number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem) – now about 700,000, who live alongside three million Palestinians – means there is not much space left for a Palestinian state. The only way space could be made for another state would be if the government were to dismantle the settlements. That’s not going to happen.
MAGA Has Taylor Swift’s Number
Clearly, Taylor Swift hates America, practices mind control, is corrupting the NFL and is an emissary from the Deep State, but at least people like Stephen Miller, Matt Gaetz and Mike Crispi know the score, and are saving us from the cabal.
Updated Palm Coast’s Technical Manual for Residential Construction Compliance Is Reissued
One notable amendment mandates that all flatwork, including sidewalks, air conditioning pads, patios, and other hardscaping elements, along with the PEP tank, must not obstruct drainage flow or the maximum slope of drainage conveyance. Consequently, these features may need to be relocated to the rear of the structure to maintain effective drainage functionality.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, February 11, 2024
The Palm Coast Open at the Tennis Center, Farmers’ Market at European Village, St. Augustine Music Festival: Bach to Blacknotes, Lindsay Zoladz on Tracy Chapman, H.L. Mencken’s Happy Days.
Trump’s Control of the GOP Is Bad for Democracy
As former President Donald Trump edges closer to clinching the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, research has shown that a second Trump presidency is likely to damage American democracy even more than his first term did. The reason has less to do with Trump and his ambitions than with how power dynamics have shifted within the Republican Party.
Palm Coast Fire Department Announces Wave of Promotions
Chief Kyle Berryhill unveiled the latest promotions within the department’s ranks, demonstrating dedication to enhancing the organization. Among these notable advancements is the elevation of Driver Engineer Kalin Graham to the role of Lieutenant, succeeding Lieutenant Rich Cline, who retired this past September.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, February 10, 2024
American Association of University Women feature speaker Lenny Foster, Brass, Organ and Percussion at Jacksonville Symphony, Gamble Jam at Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area, Rummage sale at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Palm Coast Open, Jeff Sharlet.
Race Is a Theme of the 2024 Election. But It’s An American Tradition.
The centrality of race to our politics is clear in the current presidential campaign. The U.S. is not now “post racial,” free from racial prejudices or discrimination, nor has it ever been. Nor is it easy to argue seriously that white people are more discriminated against than Black Americans.
Biden: ‘A Sympathetic, Well-Meaning, Elderly Man With a Poor Memory’
Biden in a press conference called Thursday night hit back at this characterization and others, including an assertion in the report he “did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.” The Hur report seeks to differentiate between the Biden investigation and another of former President Donald Trump’s handling of documents, which did lead to charges, saying there are “several material distinctions.”
UNF Breaks Ground on New Honors Residence Hall
The University of North Florida broke ground today on a new Honors Residence Hall and living-learning community that will house more than 500 students and open in fall 2025. The four-story, 164,579-square-foot residence hall is being built on Osprey Ridge Road along the east side of the campus adjacent to Osprey Fountains. UNF’s new strategic plan, approved last month by the Florida Board of Governors, includes plans to increase enrollment to 25,000 students over five years.
Flagler Beach Is Fiercely Opposed to Consolidating Library With County, But Cooperative Intrigues Even Jane Mealy
Flagler Beach on Thursday formally rejected an inquiry by Flagler County government about the possibility of merging the Flagler Beach Public Library with the county’s system. But that does not necessarily close the book on a collaborative partnership. City Commissioner Jane Mealy, the fiercest defender of the Flagler Beach library’s independence, is intrigued by the possibility of a cooperative that would preserve that independence but expand Flagler Beach residents’ access to county library resources, likely at no additional cost.
In Flagler Beach, A Lack of Consensus Even About the Discussion on Changing Mayor’s Role and Commission’s Make-Up
The Flagler Beach City Commission is heading to a Feb. 15 workshop to discuss possibly placing on a referendum questions about changing the mayor’s role to a voting one, changing commissioners’ terms, and changing the role of the chair. But the commission is more divided than not both about the questions themselves and the purpose of the workshop. That does not bode well for its outcome–at least the outcome Commission Chair Eric Cooley wants, which is to put the questions to a referendum.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, February 9, 2024
Rummage Sale at St. Thomas Episcopal, LGBTQ+ Night at Flagler Beach’s Coquina Coast Brewing Company, revisiting the Pillars of Creation, Knausgaard and “this ability, to give life to the lifeless.”
‘Look for a Reversal in a Fairly Short Period of Time’: Trump Will Stay on Ballot
To get the rare perspective of a former federal judge on the oral arguments at the Supreme Court, The Conversation U.S. spoke with John E. Jones III. He is the president of Dickinson College and a retired federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in 2002. The case is about former President Donald Trump’s claim that he should be allowed on the presidential ballot in Colorado – and other states – because the language of the 14th Amendment does not apply to him.
City Invites Residents to Grand Opening of Palm Coast’s Southern Recreation Center
The City of Palm Coast is thrilled to announce the grand opening of the long-awaited Southern Recreation Center and the new Lehigh Trailhead, adjacent to the current Palm Coast Tennis Center, on February 23rd from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm at 1290 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast, FL 32164. These projects are pivotal steps in aligning with the priorities outlined by the community during the recent countywide Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
Heidi Petito Gets a Combined C+ from Commissioners’ Evaluation of Her 2nd Full Year as County Administrator
It was not the strongest evaluation year for Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito, who scored a C-plus from the five combined reviews by her county commissioner bosses, despite perfect scores from two of the five. But the commissioners’ written comments to Petito generally painted a more complimentary picture than their numbers.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, February 8, 2024
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series–on tape worms, the Palm Coast Democratic Club, a lady’s hat catching fire at a theater has precedence over news of Jules Verne’s death.
School Board’s Christy Chong’s ‘Cause’ Letter to Fire Attorney Is a Tissue of Fabrications, Petty Grievances and Cluelessness
The six “causes” Flagler County School Board member Christy Chong listed as reasons to fire attorney Kristy Gavin come nowhere near “just cause” as defined in Gavin’s contract. Rather, they’re petty, inaccurate, gossipy and falsified grievances that have more to do with Chong being out of her depth, her embarrassment, her hatred for the press and her contempt for transparency and the public than anything to do with the quality of Gavin’s work in nearly two decades of representing the board.
Nonwhite People Are Drastically Underrepresented in Local Government
Across cities in the U.S., one commonality stands out: Nearly universally, the percentage of elected officials who are white is higher than the white share of the population. This overrepresentation persists from the early 1990s to more recent years among mayors.
U.S. News Ranks Daytona State’s Online Bachelor’s Programs Among the Best in U.S. for 12th Straight Year
For the 12th straight year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Daytona State College’s Online Bachelor’s Programs among the best in the nation. And DSC is again the top-ranked non-university college in the United States, advancing in the overall rankings among all colleges and universities nationwide.
Palm Coast Clears Way for $31 Million Connector to Loop Road Through Vacant West of the City, With a Warning to FPL
The Palm Coast City Council on approved four related measures that will advance the opening to development of 12,000 acres on the west side of U.S. 1, from the Matanzas Woods Parkway area, including a $25 million state grant contributing to the cost of a $31 million connector road, dubbed a “flyover,” that will cross above the Florida East Coast railroad corridor. But FPL drew withering criticism from council members over the manner in which the company is charging the city for an “estimate” about moving its infrastructure as part of the Matanzas Woods project.