Mike Williams, the longtime president of the Florida AFL-CIO and a giant in the labor movement, died Saturday, June 17.
All Else
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 19, 2023
The Flagler County Commission meets, the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s salvo against zealotry in our governments, an opening shot from Charles Portis.
The Fearless Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy’s unique and varying writing style has been compared with that of many of the greatest authors of American letters, with scholars highlighting connections to the writings of Herman Melville, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Toni Morrison, Thomas Pynchon, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner.
Tampa Is Latest City to Unveil Climate Action Plan, Tapping Tax Credits
Tampa’s plan comes just days after two federal agencies released guidance that will for the first time allow local and state governments and nonprofit organizations to access clean energy tax credits that come from 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, which contained nearly $370 billion in climate provisions.
Flagler Jail’s Inmate Medical Savings Program Posts Results
This fiscal year to date, using Prime Corrections to review and adjudicate offsite inmate medical bills, Prime has processed a total billed amount of $1,413,133.02. Prime retains a portion of the savings: $719,906.02, or 51% of the total costs this fiscal year.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 18, 2023
Suicide and homicide rates among young Americans at decade high, Gavin Newsom on Hannity, more guns means more violence.
The George Soros Legacy
Baseless conspiracy theories have at times clouded George Soros’s legacy as one of the world’s biggest donors to causes like higher education, human rights and the democratization of Europe’s formerly communist countries.
Surveying Why Visitors Choose Florida
A University of Florida survey examined the various factors involved in visitor decision-making and found that social media plays a huge role in why people visit Florida.
Flagler School Board Cocks Its Next Folly: Arming Employees
Next Tuesday, the Flagler County School Board will vote on whether to arm some school employees. The board will vote yes, on zero evidence and without asking any of the right questions, because as is becoming routine with this board, when it is offered a chance between right and wrong, it chooses wrong.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 17, 2023
Rat Pack Universe, a fund-raising concert for arts in education at the Flagler Auditorium, John Wayne speaks to Americans of tomorrow, Francis Parkman speaks of pre-Americans of yesteryear.
The Courage of Daniel Ellsberg
How a young war planner became a peace activist is one of the most striking conversion stories in American history. But Ellsberg’s political and moral transformation did not happen in a vacuum. It reflected a titanic shift in public attitudes about the Vietnam War.
Large Dog Park at Holland Park Set to Reopen on June 26
The repairs to the large dog park at James F. Holland Memorial Park are nearing completion, and it is scheduled to reopen on Monday, June 26, 2023.
Despite Severe Autism, Judge Finds Depa, Ex-Matanzas High Student, Competent to Be Tried for Assault on Aide
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins today found Brendan Depa, the 17-year-old former Matanzas High School student accused of assaulting a teacher aide in February, competent to stand trial.
Indian Trails Middle School Teacher Suing District Has a New Attorney, and Seeks Trial
Indian Trails Middle School teacher JaWanda Dove’s employment discrimination case against the Flagler County school district is back on track toward a trial date as both sides also continue to seek an out-of-court settlement.
As Florida Floods Private Schools with Public Money, Schools Raise Tuition to Capitalize
The Florida allocation of public money per private school student is expected to be about $8,000 a year — more than some private schools were charging for annual tuition. As a result, some private schools raised their prices.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, May 16, 2023
Brendan Depa in court for a competency hearing, David Ayres discusses growth in Flagler, Rebuke to a Dog Poisoner, Ferris Bueller’s day at the museum.
96.4% of Americans Had Covid-19 Antibodies in their Blood by Last Fall
Antibodies to the virus that causes Covid-19 were present in the blood of 96.4% of Americans over the age of 16 by September 2022. That’s according to a serosurvey – an analysis testing for the presence of these immune defense molecules – conducted on samples from blood donors.
City of Palm Coast Budget Procurement Office Wins FAPPO Excellence Award
The City of Palm Coast Financial Services Department’s Budget Procurement Office was awarded the Excellence in Public Procurement Award by the Florida Association of Budget Procurement Officials (FAPPO).
Sheriff Negotiates $10 Million Joint Training Facility for Local Police, Fire and State Guard HQ
The Flagler County Commission and the Florida State Guard are preparing to sign a lease agreement conceived by Sheriff Rick Staly that would have the Guard build a $10 million headquarters and training facility in Bunnell that would also be a training ground for all local law enforcement and firefighting agencies.
Crumbl Cookies Set to Open in Palm Coast With Its Giant Repertoire of Sweet-Spot Marketing
As Crumbl Cookies opens its first store in Palm Coast Friday, and the first in the Flagler-Putnam-St. Johns market, the marketing machine that has made the dessert chain the fastest-growing in the nation–800 stores and growing–will be on full display, along with its rotating cast of 250 cookie flavors.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, June 15, 2023
Drug court, Magna Carta’s anniversary, Franz Liszt’s Consolations, Matthew Yglesias on how politics at its best just isn’t necessarily all that entertaining.
Inside the Black Box of Amazon Returns
In 2022, Amazon returns cost retailers about US$816 billion in lost sales. That’s nearly as much as the U.S. spent on public schools and almost twice the cost of returns in 2020.
Once a Model of Independence, Florida’s Judicial Nominating Process Is Now an Irrelevant Farce
Veteran prosecutor Victoria Avalon, a Florida Supreme Court candidate, warned that the judicial nominating process that once was a model of independence under Gov. Reubin Askew has been politicized to the point of irrelevance by Republican governors since Jeb Bush, with all picks pre-ordained.
So You Want to Recall a Council Member or Write an Ordinance? Palm Coast Codifies Process After 24 Years.
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.
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.