The Palm Coast City Council in its 24th year is codifying its own referendum and recall process–the method by which residents may pitch or force the reconsideration of an ordinance, amend the city charter, or initiate a recall of a sitting council member.
All Else
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Marc C. Gordon in court, Separation Chat’s open discussion, weekly chess club, a farewell to Cormac McCarthy, with a few dissenting words.
Guns and Drugs: Life Expectancy in the U.S. Keeps Falling
People in the U.S. are dying at higher rates than in other similar high-income countries, and that difference is only growing. It goes well beyond Covid, to an epidemic of gun deaths and drug deaths.
Anti-Trans Politicians Take Pages from Nazi Playbook
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other GOP leaders are following the Nazi playbook, substituting transgender youth for the Jews. They industriously promote hatred, fear, and physical revulsion of this small group — also barely 1 percent of the population — and pretend it’s out of concern for children.
Palm Coast Encourages Involvement in Budget Process
The City of Palm Coast is excited to announce the release of an informative budget video designed to provide residents with a comprehensive understanding of the city’s annual financial plans.
Should Palm Coast Allow Backyard Chickens? Council Balks, But Limited Pilot Program Is Possible
The Palm Coast City Council is not excited about allowing chickens in city backyards. But it may enact a strictly limited pilot program involving a few households, or set aside some public land for a community garden where residents could tend their chickens. Backyard chickens could also be on the 2024 ballot as a referendum.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Nysean Giddens in court, the Palm Coast City Council talks referendum and recall procedures, St. Mary’s Missionary Baptist Church in St. Augustine, Bruce Catton’s Civil War.
South Florida’s Rich Spanglish-Infused Dialect
A new dialect is taking shape in South Florida, a language variety that came about through sustained contact between Spanish and English speakers, particularly when speakers translated directly from Spanish.
Why the 9/11 Families Are So Angry With the PGA Tour
The PGA Tour seized on alleged Saudi connections to the 9/11 attacks when opposing the Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour. But in partnering with LIV, families of the 9/11 victims say the PGA has “done a complete 180.”
Walking with Warriors: A Project Rebirth Training to Provide Vital Support for Veterans and First Responders
In response to the unique needs of our brave Military Veterans and First Responders, Walking with Warriors: A Project Rebirth Training is coming to the Florida National Guard Armory in Palm Coast on Friday, June 23 from 9:30am – 4pm EDT with lunch included. The Armory is at 100 Fin Wy 100 Fin Way, Palm Coast.
Ed Danko Announces Run for County Commission, Setting Up Primary Against George Hanns
His third year on the Palm Coast City Council not yet completed, the peripatetic and willfully controversial Ed Danko today announced a run for a County Commission seat in the 2024 election, setting up a primary contest against former Commissioner George Hanns.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 12, 2023
The county commission holds a budget workshop, what if the moms for bigotry held a “festival” of their own, the Bunnell City Commission meets.
America’s Gun Crime: Why Tourists Are Being Warned to Avoid and Beware
Uruguay has suggested its citizens avoid certain American cities, Germany warns of the possibility of killing sprees, Canada now recommends its citizens familiarise themselves with how to respond to an active shooter before visiting, Australia’s official travel advice warns “gun crime is prevalent.”
Flagler Sheriff Requests 12.2% Budget Increase and 5 New Deputies from County as Constitutionals Submit Proposals
All constitutional officers’ budgets will be reviewed by the County Commission Monday. The sheriff’s budget, the largest constitutional portion in the county budget, would include funding for five new deputies, increasing retirement costs, union-negotiated pay increases and a 5.3 percent across-the-board cost of living pay increase.
The American Way of Woke
What is truly perverse today are those who actively seek to infringe upon the liberties of others while masquerading as defenders of liberty, argues Brad West. We are not perfect, and will always be a work in progress, even in wokeness. But we get better because of those who have been, and are, woke.
Marketing 2 Go’s Cindy Dalecki Leads Series on AI and Content Creation for Businesses
VMA is excited to announce the launch of an upcoming two-part social media series designed to help not only manufacturers, but any business learn the fundamentals of content creation, analyzing your efforts, and how AI can help increase efficiency, effectiveness and ROI.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 11, 2023
Pride Fest’s Vigil for Pulse Victims, Wanda Sykes’s crush, Al-Anon Family Groups, Joseph Epstein on Donald Trump’s bug.
Pat Robertson: What We Endured
Televangelist Pat Robertson, who died at the age of 93 on June 8, was a familiar face on television for many conservative Christians, and wielded enormous influence on American politics.
Recorded Executions in 2022 Skyrocketed to Highest Total in 5 Years
Recorded executions in 2022 reached the highest figure in five years, as the Middle East and North Africa’s most notorious executioners carried out killing sprees, Amnesty International said as it released its annual review of the death penalty.
Exuberant Pride Day Follows Drag Night as Palm Coast Goes United Colors of LGBTQ+ in Town Center
Bookended by an exuberant evening of drag the night before and Sunday evening’s more solemn vigil in memory of the Pulse massacre victims, Flagler Pride today celebrated the local and regional LGBTQ community with song, dance, causes and bounties of divergence in the fourth annual Pride Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center, drawing some 750 people.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 10, 2023
Flagler Pride Fest, celebrating National pride Month, at Palm Coast’s Central Park in Town Center, celebrating Saul Bellow’s birthday, Gamble Jam.
Trump’s Charge Under The Espionage Act Explained
The Espionage Act has historically been employed most often by law-and-order conservatives. But the biggest uptick in its use occurred during the Obama administration, which used it as the hammer of choice for national security leakers and whistleblowers.
Trump Indictment: 37 Felony Counts in Classified Documents Probe
According to the indictment, Trump schemed with an aide to keep possession of top secret and other sensitive national security documents from his presidency and concealed those documents even from his own lawyers, who sought to comply with a federal order to return them.
Flagler Sheriff’s Chief Welker Graduates from Prestigious FBI National Academy
FCSO Community Policing Division Chief Jonathan Welker graduated from the 286th session of the FBI National Academy (FBINA) in Quantico, Virginia on June 8th.
Palm Coast and County Snub Role in EV Charging Stations In Shocking Rebuff to a Green Energy Grant
Partisanship, misinformation, false assumptions and free-market ideology all played a role in Palm Coast and county government rejecting a partnership in what would have been a potential $15 million federal grant to build electric vehicle charging stations at various public locations in cities and the county.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, June 9, 2023
Burlesque and drag night at Coquina Brewery in Flagler Beach, Christian Boyd, is sentenced, Flagler Pride’s Erica Rivera on Free for All Fridays, the surprising Justice Roberts.
Why a Federal Judge Found Tennessee’s Anti-Drag Law Unconstitutional
On June 2, Judge Thomas Parker, a Trump-appointed federal district court judge in western Tennessee, ruled that Tennessee’s anti-drag “Adult Entertainment Act” violated the First Amendment’s free speech protection.
No, Flagler Beach Isn’t Asking for Money. It’s Asking for Cooperation from County and Cities.
Flagler Beach is quickly becoming “maxed out” with visitors, Flagler Beach City Commission Chairman Eric Cooley says, and is looking for help from the county and its other cities to devise a balancing strategy and spread out tourists and day-trippers more manageably. He refutes the claim that the city is looking for more money.
In Surprise Victory for Voting Rights, Supreme Court Rejects Redistricting Map Diluting Black Vote
By a vote of 5-4, the justices issued a major voting rights decision, ruling that Alabama’s new congressional map likely violates the Voting Rights Act. Even more significantly, the court declined an invitation to adopt an interpretation of the act that would have made it much more difficult to challenge redistricting plans.
The Hung Jury Got It Right in the Monserrate Teron Trial
Raymond Warren, a retired assistant public defender who practiced in Flagler County and the rest of the Seventh Judicial Circuit for decades, reviews the reaction to the hung jury in the Monserrate Terron case and argues why the jury got it right.
Appeals Court Will Decide Whether DeSantis Violated Public Records Law in Migrant Flights Case
A state appeals court Tuesday will hear arguments in a dispute about whether Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration violated Florida’s public-records law by not properly providing documents about a controversial plan to fly migrants from Texas to Massachusetts last year.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, June 8, 2023
Drug Court, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets, Library Director Holly Albanese speaks to the The Palm Coast Democratic Club on the ongoing assaults against the freedom to read, Canada’s horrific C-18 bill.
Canada Wants Google and Facebook to Pay for News Content. The Effort Is Misguided.
There is no evidence that shows news outlets are worse off because of Google, Facebook and other aggregators. If anything, evidence (and lots of it) shows that, overall, news outlets would be in worse shape without these digital platforms.
Flagler Sportfishing Club Donates $5,000 to Disabled American Veterans
The Flagler Sportfishing Club is proud to announce its recent donation of $5000 to Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a renowned organization dedicated to assisting veterans in accessing the benefits they deserve.
Man Points a Gun at Another Driver on SR100, Now Faces Felony and Car Forfeiture
Bryant E. Stanley, 50, was booked at the Flagler County jail overnight on a felony aggravated assault charge stemming from an apparent road rage incident on State Road 100, where he is alleged to have pointed a gun at another driver on Tuesday.
Flagler Pride Fest Is On Despite Hostile Climate, Drag Show Included, With a Few Cautionary Tucks
While some other communities have cancelled their celebrations because of state hostility, the fourth annual Flagler Pride Fest will be a three-day celebration this weekend, starting with drag night at Coquina Brewery, a day-long festival at Palm Coast’s Town Center, and the Pulse commemoration at veterans Park in Flagler Beach Sunday.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 7, 2023
The Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets, Separation Chat, Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Schubert’s 13th piano sonata, Henry Adams has contempt.
Hernando Superintendent Bill Goes to DeSantis Amid Calls for Ouster
Amid calls by some Republican lawmakers to remove the Hernando County superintendent of schools, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday received a bill that could lead to the superintendent’s job becoming an elected post.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 6, 2023
The Palm Coast City Council, the Bunnell Planning Board and the school board all meet, the Boys of Pointe du Hoc on the commemoration of the Normandy invasion.
Don’t Buy the Cynical Claim that Students Are Shutting Down Speech on Campus
The claim that college students censor viewpoints with which they disagree is now common. Such cynical distortions dominate discussions of higher education today, misinform the public and threaten both democracy and higher education.
AdventHealth Names Clifton Scott COO for Both Hospitals in Palm Coast
AdventHealth has named Clifton Scott as chief operating officer (COO) at AdventHealth Palm Coast and AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway, effective June 18.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 5, 2023
The County Commission starts its budget discussions, The Astronomy Club of Palm Coast meets, Ron DeSantis is all in on creating an autocracy, Roth’s “Dying Animal” on film.
The Better Way to Disagreements
At home, at work and in civic spaces, it’s not uncommon to have conversations that make you question the intelligence and benevolence of your fellow human beings. When that argument fails to have the intended persuasive impact, people often grow frustrated, and disagreement becomes conflict. There’s a better way.
Palm Coast’s Annual Photo Contest Is Accepting Submissions
Capture the people, the landscape, and the lifestyle of Palm Coast in the City’s annual photo contest. The six categories are: Pets, Recreation, Wildlife, Landscapes, Events and Residents.
Take Pride
This Pride Month, there’s not much to be proud of in people who to this day would rather burn than raise the Pride Flag. It’s about time it replaced all those MIA flags in school yards and at courthouses. LGBTQ victims, unlike the mythical missing, are real, and they’re piling up.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 4, 2023
Cecile Robilliard on flute, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market, what makes you a conspiracy theorist, and 2023 on pace for a record-breaking year of mass killings in the United States.
Drag Queen Story Hour Is Not What You Think
Contrary to misconceptions, exposing children to diverse gender identities and expressions supports their natural development. Further, it fosters inclusive and accepting communities and school environments, which is fundamental for developing well-adjusted adults.
To Survive Poverty, Prayer Helped. But So Did Government.
In Florida, I worked three jobs — not enough to make ends meet, but enough to disqualify me from food stamps and cash assistance. Politicians who cut our safety net say these strict rules encourage work, but for me it was the opposite.
Five Florida Law Enforcement Officers Inducted Into Hall of Fame
Five former law enforcement officers from throughout Florida were honored this morning at the Florida Law Enforcement Officers’ Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. They are: John E. Brooks, Gary W. Hester, Douglas F. Muldoon, Anthony L. Peterson and Dorene E. Thomas.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 3, 2023
Sunshine and Sandals Social at Cornerstone, The First Saturday Creative Bazaar Arts and Craft Market, Nate Persily on Alex Jones type conspiracists.