LaShakia Moore this morning was fully in control of a Flagler County School Board that has often been unmoored and adrift for much of the past year as she parried questions and asserted how she would handle her first hundred days as superintendent, if the board were to appoint her into that role this evening. There seems to be little doubt that this evening’s vote will be anticlimactic, and that come 5:15 p.m., Moore will be voted the new, permanent superintendent.
All Else
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, September 5, 2023
It’s back to work with–amazingly–three open meetings of the Flagler County School Board, a meeting of the Palm Coast City Council, Beth Macy on “Dopesick,” a few more words on the American worker.
Quran Burning and the Line Between Free Expression and Incitement of Hatred
While freedom of expression is a fundamental human right in liberal democracies, the right to express one’s opinion can become complex when expressing one’s views clashes with the religious and cultural beliefs of others and when this rhetoric veers into hate speech.
18-Month-Old Girl Killed by Gunshot in Palm Coast’s R-Section; Person of Interest Arrested on Unrelated Charge
An 18-month-old girl was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head from an automatic pistol at 2 Ranwood Lane in Palm Coast shortly before midnight Sunday. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and two other agencies are investigating. The victim had not handled the gun.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, September 4, 2023
A remembrance of Labor Day’s origins, history and misuses, a look back at the Florida labor department’s understanding of workers’ rights, Robert Reich on Labor Day.
Workers Want Talk About Diversity and Inclusion
Companies’ commitments toward diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have stalled or reversed at the same time as a growing conservative backlash is threatening to further undermine such initiatives. But research shows that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives improve creativity, innovation, productivity and organizational performance.
Judge Rules Unconstitutional DeSantis Plan That Eliminated Black Representation
Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ruled that a congressional redistricting plan pushed through the Legislature by Gov. Ron DeSantis violated the Florida Constitution and needs to be redrawn. The judge sided with voting-rights groups in a lawsuit focused on a North Florida district that in the past elected Black Democrat Al Lawson but was dramatically revamped during the 2022 redistricting process. White Republicans won all North Florida congressional districts in the November elections.
Channeling George Wallace, DeSantis Uses Education to Keep Blacks Down
Despite those idiotic “Build the Wall” campaign ads, he didn’t seem to be a Trump-style racist when he took office in 2019. There was hope he’d acknowledge our sad history and move us toward a more equitable society. But he didn’t. And he isn’t. Maybe the Napoleonically ambitious DeSantis decided white nationalism was his ticket to the Republican presidential nomination. His racism is less overt than Trump’s or George Wallace’s but almost as damaging.
‘Horrified’ SURJ Flagler Issues Statement on Bunnell Elementary’s Segregated Assembly
SURJ Flagler is horrified about the devaluation of the African American students, and how they were subjected to a “less than” self-image. Not to be forgotten is the impact of this segregation on the non-black students, where yet another false seed of academic and social superiority has been planted.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, September 3, 2023
Sunday Chess Club at Chabad of Palm Coast, the Farmer’s Market, Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A Major, John Pekkanen on the whole drug industry campaign for mood drugs in the 1960s.
Crash Dummies: Why Isn’t the V-22 Osprey Grounded Already?
The Osprey is a relatively new type of aircraft, with a patchy track record for safety. But the advantages it offers for the military – and perhaps for civilians – mean we will only be seeing more of it in the future.
Stop Blaming Line Workers for Poor Service. It’s CEOs’ Fault.
Ever get mad at a delivery driver for bringing your pizza late? Stop, and consider: It’s late because an overpaid boss is probably making two employees do the job of 10 as chronic but unnecessary and often intentional understaffing plagues many of America’s largest retailers and fast food corporations.
Federal Judge Refuses to Block Florida Law Targeting Adult Transgender Care, But Individuals May Sue
A federal judge on Friday refused to block a new Florida law making it more difficult for transgender adults to access hormone therapy and surgeries. But U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said he could issue a narrowly tailored injunction to ensure care for individual plaintiffs if they provide detailed medical records.
Disney Narrows Lawsuit Against Florida, Focusing on Retaliation by DeSantis Administration
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts moved Friday to narrow a federal lawsuit that alleges state officials unconstitutionally retaliated against the company because of its opposition to a 2022 law that restricted instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, September 2, 2023
The Flagler Beach All Stars hold their monthly beach clean-up, the Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Sunshine and Sandals Social at Cornerstone, Henry James’s “A Light Man.”
Sisco Deen, Giant Archivist and Historian of Flagler County from One of Its Original Families, Dies at 83
Claude Sisco Deen, Flagler County’s premier archivist and a leading historian of local families and culture, died Thursday evening in Palm Coast a little after sunset. He had been the research maven behind Flagler County’s centennial in 2017, was that year’s Flagler County Veteran of the Year, and built unparalleled databases of local family histories and historical documents.
Molly Tuttle, Abortion and Country Music
Jason Aldean’s song “Try That In A Small Town” extols small towns as bastions of conservative values standing up against a litany of violent big-city bogeymen. The song, and the backlash against it, threatens to strengthen popular conceptions about the inherent conservatism of country music. Yet the most striking of the new “abortion songs” and women’s autonomy comes from acoustic guitar wizard Molly Tuttle, a bluegrass musician and rising star in the American roots music scene.
Sally Hunt Wanted to Censure School Board Chair For Going Off Script in Talk Over Segregated Assembly
Flagler County School Board Chair Cheryl Massaro said fellow Board member Sally Hunt considered calling for a vote of censure against her because Massaro did not stick to a script provided her before last week’s press conference denouncing Bunnell Elementary’s segregated assembly days earlier.
Florida Seeks Wider Federal Disaster Declaration Than to Seven Counties Ahead of Biden Visit
DeSantis and state Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Friday they plan to ask the White House to include more counties in the disaster declaration signed Thursday by President Joe Biden. The declaration, in part, makes federal money available to help people in Citrus, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee and Taylor counties.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, September 1, 2023
First Friday in Flagler Beach, Remembering U.S. District Court Judge James C. Turk, Catherine Edmondston discovers that there’s nothing ever new under the sun, missing David Letterman.
Why Is the DeSantis Campaign Stalling? Americans Don’t Like Imperial Governors.
Why is Ron DeSantis’s campaign stalling? Current and former governors would say: Because he has become an imperial governor-– one who believes he is all-powerful and that all his decisions will be just applauded and never questioned or opposed.
Emergency Management’s Jonathan Lord and Nealon Joseph Deploy to Madison County
Flagler County Emergency Management had scarcely returned the Emergency Operations Center to its normal activation level on Wednesday (August 30) when Director Jonathan Lord and Emergency Management Planner Nealon Joseph headed out to Madison County to assist with their recovery efforts.
For Charlie Ericksen, a Poignant Farewell from Colleagues and Friends in a Chamber He’d (Mostly) Loved
Flagler County government’s Holly Albanese organized a Celebration of Life of former County Commissioner Charlie Ericksen, who died on July 31. The celebration was held in the commission’s chamber last Tuesday, where some three dozen colleagues and friends and two of Ericksen’s sons attended, some of whom speaking with poignancy and candor.
Sheriff’s Michael Breckwoldt Demoted to Corporal Following Investigation of Drinking Incident at Finn’s Bar
Michael Breckwoldt, the 20-year veteran of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office who was in charge of the agency’s narcotics unit until last May, was demoted from sergeant to corporal and placed on last-chance probation for a year and a half as a result of an incident at Finn’s Beachside Pub in Flagler Beach, where Breckwoldt’s drinking led to “offensive behavior,” in violation of agency policy, and where he behaved in an unbecoming way toward patrons.
Flagler Sheriff Sends 10-Member Emergency Response Team to Help in Hurricane Idalia Recovery
Ten members of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team are deploying to Florida’s Big Bend region to assist in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Idalia after being activated by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Sheriff’s Association Task Force.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 31, 2023
Flagler County Comprehensive Plan update at Hammock Community Center, “digging out” from Idalia, the Charleston earthquake of 1886 and Edward Gibbon’s reflections on natural disasters.
Term Limits for Politicians Are Common. Why Not Age Limits?
Can politicians be too old to serve in office? Should society make retiring at a certain age mandatory for elected officials who run the country – like presidents and senators? Whatever view one takes on the ethics of age limits for politicians, voting remains the primary way to put one’s views into practice.
Rural Counties Begin Recovery from Hurricane Idalia: ‘As Bad as It Is, It Still Ain’t as Bad as It Could Have Been’
Category 3 Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Taylor County’s Keaton Beach area, and county Sheriff Wayne Padgett said other hard-hit areas included downtown Perry and Steinhatchee, “a little fishing village on the coast down there,” which he said had the most storm surge. “As bad as it is, it still ain’t as bad as it could have been,” Padgett said.
Great News: Brian and Hailey McMillan Buy the Palm Coast and Ormond Beach Observer
Hailey and Brian McMillan are the new co-owners of the Palm Coast and Ormond Beach Observer, an acquisition roundly applauded by the paper’s staff, community leaders and competitors. Matt and John Walsh founded the Observer in late 2009 and hired McMillan as their first editor. He’d led the paper until his reluctant departure 2022.
Hurricane Idalia Makes Landfall as Cat-3 Hurricane; Local Impacts on Flagler Limited, Evacuations Rescinded
After Hurricane Idalia became an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, it made landfall as a Cat-3 in Florida’s Big Bend this morning. Effects on Flagler and Palm Coast are expected to be limited to rain and wind gusts as the storm’s track has shifted north.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Absent scheduling changes due to the storm, Michael Bowling, the former Mondex man serving 20 years in prison for molesting a girl at his stepdaughter’s sleepover, is in court arguing for a lesser sentence.
Shouldn’t You Be Napping at Work?
Short naps can boost mental functioning and memory, as well as improve alertness, attention and reaction time. Short naps are also linked to increased productivity and creativity. Because napping seems to improve creative thinking, some companies have attempted to harness this by introducing napping rooms into the workplace.
Gabriella Alo Pleads Out in Brutal, Dual Flagler Beach Attack, Leaving Herself Open to Steep Prison Sentence
Gabriella Alo, the 19-year-old woman accused, with her brother, of beating a teen and running over a woman’s foot at Wickline Park last January, pleaded to numerous charges that add up to a potential 67 years in prison, though she will likely face considerably less than that when she’s sentenced on Dec. 1. How much less is the question: she tendered an open plea to Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, who is neither softie nor sadist.
Hurricane Idalia’s Track Again Shifts North, Further Reducing Feared Flagler Impacts
Hurricane Idalia’s track shifted north again, further away from Flagler County, in the National Hurricane Center’s Tuesday evening report. That further reduces but by no means eliminates tropical storm force impacts in Flagler County, especially inland.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 29, 2023
The Palm Coast City Council goes over its final budget for next year, A celebration of the life of the late Charlie Ericksen, keeping score on Donald Trump’s indictments and civil lawsuits.
Social Media Algorithms Warp How People Learn From Each Other
People are increasingly interacting with others in social media environments where algorithms control the flow of social information they see. Algorithms determine in part which messages, which people and which ideas social media users see.
Hurricane Idalia: Tropical Storm Impact in Flagler Wednesday as Schools Will Close and Shelter Open at Rymfire
Hurricane Idalia will make landfall in western Florida Wednesday and rapidly transit across the state, impacting at least western Flagler County with tropical storm force winds and rain. Flagler County schools will be closed Wednesday. A combined general population and special needs shelter will open at Rymfire Elementary in late afternoon Tuesday.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 28, 2023
The Flagler County Commission holds a 2:30 p.m. workshop to discuss its beach management plan, the Flagler County Beekeepers Association meets, a cop beats a man with a tennis racket as the man is being attacked by a police dog.
What Is Bail?
Trump’s bail was set at US$200,000, while his former attorney Rudy Giuliani’s bail was set at $150,000. Megan T. Stevenson, a University of Virginia law professor who researches bail, answers questions about the American bail system and how the bail amounts in the Georgia election interference case reflect that system.
DeSantis Wants Children to Be Ignorant, Intolerant and Narrow-Minded
In Ron DeSantis’ Florida, teachers are expected to present a version of the world in which “gender” is not to be spoken of, “gay” likewise, there’s no climate crisis — the weather’s always changing! — Shakespeare needs to be toned down, the human body is disgusting, slavery had an upside, America is the best country that ever was and ever will be, and books that challenge any of these self-evident truths must be banned.
White Supremacist Murders 3 Black People at Dollar General in Jacksonville, Before Shooting Himself
Sheriff T.K. Waters said two males and one female — all Black — were killed in the shootings, and the shooter killed himself. He had been armed with an AR-15 style rifle and a handgun, with the rifle showing several swastikas. At the time of the news conference, the shooter’s name had not yet been identified, but Sheriff Waters said the man had authored manifestos that were provided to his parents, the media, and federal agents. The sheriff referenced the “disgusting ideology of hate.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 27, 2023
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, how the FBI, not the Washington Post, brought down Richard Nixon, and once again, Pacho Flores’s performance, on the trumpet, of Arturo Marquez’s superb “Autumn Concerto.”
Ex-Wife Once Outsold The Great Gatsby. Why is No One Reading It Now?
Both “Ex-Wife” and “The Great Gatsby” are modern novels of love and loss, money and (mostly bad) manners. At first, “Ex-Wife” was far more successful than “Gatsby,” blasting through a dozen printings and selling over 100,000 copies. It’s forgotten, yet “Ex-Wife” deserves a place alongside Fitzgerald’s novel in classrooms and in the hands of a new generation of readers based on the merits of its style and contents.
Escambia County School Board Wants to Ban Any Book It Wishes
The Escambia County School Board is urging a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit filed by authors, a publishing company, parents and a non-profit organization challenging the removal or restriction of books in school libraries. It argues that it has authority to decide what books will be allowed in schools and that a new state law helps shield it from the allegations.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 26, 2023
The Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, “Jerry and Moly and Sam,” a story by Raymond Carver, the Commitments at the dark end of the street.
Why Most Trump Trials Won’t Be Televised
The near blackout will leave 330 million Americans relying on news reports, artist renderings and social media posts for the bulk of their information, despite wanting to see the live proceedings for themselves.
GOP Lawmaker Proposes 8-Year Term Limits for County Commissioners
A House Republican on Thursday proposed a constitutional amendment that would impose eight-year term limits on county commissioners. Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, filed the proposal (HJR 19) for consideration during the 2024 legislative session, which will start in January. But turnover has not been an issue on the Flagler County Commission.
Flagler Schools Have a ‘Subgroup’ Problem. It’s Not Blacks. It’s Not Even Students.
It is now so routine to reduce individual students to cogs among subgroups enslaved to the expectations of standardized testing that our educators have lost sight of their purpose. The state’s transformation of education into a dehumanizing machinery is to blame. So is the Flagler County School Board’s emphasis on running the district as a business, and now branding its superintendent a “CEO.” The individuality and dignity of students is lost to a damaging bottom-line mentality.
Deep Disagreements Remain Between School District and Cities and Builders Over Enrollment and Impact Fee Dues
Are Flagler County’s public schools adding students? Will the district need to build new schools? Should it be drawing money from developers today even though it has no certain plans to build schools yet? Those questions were asked and answered with varying degrees of certainty and a lot more disagreements on Thursday in the latest meeting of a joint committee of local government representatives in charge of reviewing how much money developers are required to pay to defray the cost of new school construction.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 25, 2023
The Blue 24 Forum, the A1A Pride Committee meets, the death of Lolita, the The 57-year-old whale at the Miami aquarium, Susan Orlean on Willie.