DeSantis has savaged lawmakers for not doing enough to support President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to detain and deport as many as 20 million undocumented immigrants. He has worked assiduously to engineer Florida’s reactionary version of “how many ways can we screw over immigrants?”
All Else
House Unanimously Passes Bill Banning Pickleball and Golf Courses in State Parks
The Florida House made clear Wednesday it doesn’t want golf courses and resort-style lodges in state parks. House members unanimously passed a bill (HB 209) that stemmed from a public outcry last year about a now-shelved plan that would have put golf courses, lodges and pickleball courts in state parks.
9-Month, $6.67 Million Reconstruction of Whiteview Parkway Will Add Turn Lanes and Alter Median
Whiteview Parkway is about to be a construction zone for the next nine months. It will also be unrecognizable along most of its 3.4 miles as crews begin the reconstruction and repaving of the road, adding numerous turn lanes, eliminating or changing the look of the median, and extending the foot path the entire length of the road, from Belle Terre Parkway to U.S. 1.
Cop’s Son Pleads to Hit-and-Run Death of Shaunta Cain and Could Face Little or No Prison
Jayden Jackson, 22, pleaded today to the hit-and-run death of Shaunta Cain, 51, in November 2022 on U.S. 1. When he is sentenced in May, he could also end up being sentenced as a youthful offender, and if the prosecution fails to prove that alcohol was involved in the crash, he could face less than four years in prison and possibly to no prison time at all, but a combination of house arrest and probation.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Flagler Tiger Bay Club welcomes Brian London on tourism, a suburban conjunction featuring Palm Coast’s Epic Theatre, Walker Percy on hs own “Moviegoer,” the Palm Coast Planning Board meets.
Secular Americans Are Changing the Political Landscape
After climbing for decades, the percentage of Americans with no religion has leveled off. For the past few years, the share of adults who identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” has stood at about 29%, according to a major study the Pew Research Center released Feb. 26, 2025. But this hardly means that the “nones,” or their impact on American life, are going away. In fact, their sheer size makes it likely that they will increase in political prominence.
224 New Houses Cleared to Build Off Royal Palms Parkway as Worries About Nightmare Intersection Intensify
The backups at the intersection of Royal Palms Parkway and Town Center Boulevard are nightmares. They’re about to get worse as the Palm Coast City Council cleared the way for the first 224 of a planned 333 single-family houses at “Sabal Preserve.” A three-way stop may be on the way. But city planners say a roundabout is the surest solution.
Shrimp Boat That Ran Aground in Beverly Beach Is Towed as Appeal for Help Is Issued
The term “mayday” (as in “mayday! mayday!) comes from the French for m’aider–help me. That’s what Capt. Corey Thomas is pleading since his shrimp boat, the Miss Montie, ran aground in Flagler Beach Sunday. The 50-foot steel-hull boat broke down, lost its anchor and drifted 20 miles north before beaching in the sands near the Si Como No Inn, just south of Osprey Drive.
Ex-County Commissioner Dave Sullivan Appointed to Palm Coast Council After Bruising Process
Dave Sullivan, the former county commission member, was appointed to the Palm Coast City Council’s District 3 seat vacated by an ailing Ray Stevens in late February. It’s a wonder Sullivan wasn’t himself ailing by the time he got the council’s vote: his appointment was not elegant. The council’s decision was on a 3-1 vote following several fractious, at times injurious and ageist public comments about Sullivan.
Natalia Aleksiun Delivers Holocaust Lecture on Hidden Survivors of Nazi Occupation at Stetson
Historian and Holocaust Studies scholar Natalia Aleksiun delivers the Stetson University 2025 Holocaust Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, April 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Stetson Room, located inside the Carlton Student Union building on Stetson’s DeLand campus.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
The Palm Coast City Council meets and picks a new member, Food Truck Tuesdays in Town Center, remembrances of Mario Vargas Llosa from “Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter” to “Conversations in the Cathedral.”
Mario Vargas Llosa the Great
The death of Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa (Arequipa, 1936 – Lima, 2025) marks the end of a Golden Age of Latin American literature. Just as there will not be another generation in Spain like that of Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca, Tirso de Molina, Góngora and Quevedo, in America there will not be another like that of Vargas Llosa, Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, César Vallejo, Pablo Neruda, Jorge Luis Borges, Alejo Carpentier and Carlos Fuentes.
DeSantis Claims Florida Could Handle Disasters Without Federal Aid
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday during a press conference in Kissimmee that Florida could handle emergencies without federal funds but still believes the federal government will grant states money to deal with disasters without oversight. The governor has advocated for states to receive block grants to operate all aspects of emergency preparation and response over getting assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In Flagler Beach, a $140,000 Mobility Study Suggests Transportation Fees Won’t Be Just About Cars Anymore
The Flagler Beach City Commission approved a $140,000 appropriation for a “mobility study,” an essential step before the city can impose a transportation “mobility fee.” It is no longer called a transportation impact fee, because a “mobility” fee’s purpose is broader. It’s not just about adding lanes and sidewalks anymore, or simply increasing road capacity for cars and trucks. It’s about making even existing roads flow better, or examining parking concepts, or taking account of pedestrians, bicyclists, even water taxis.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, April 14, 2025
Kerouac on the road, Florida Man v. ski patrol, the Bunnell City Commission meets, the Flagler County Library Board of Trustees meets, and a look at how policy is devised in the Trump White House.
How Could FIFA Award Saudi Arabia 2034 World Cup?
FIFA officially awarded Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup. The Gulf Kingdom was the sole bidder. Human rights groups, though, have widely condemned FIFA’s decision – Human Rights Watch warned that there is “a near certainty the 2034 World Cup […] will be stained with pervasive rights violations.”
Florida Bill to Prevent Anonymous Complaints Against Cops Divides Law Enforcement
A bill that would withdraw citizens’ ability to lodge anonymous complaints against law enforcement officers sparked sharp disagreement between department leaders and rank-and-file officers. The bill (HB 317), sponsored by Miami-Dade Republican Tom Fabricio, is supported by groups representing law enforcement officers, such as the Fraternal Order of Police. Two of the most powerful lobbyist organizations in Tallahassee — the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association — are firmly opposed.
Clothing Under $75 May Get Permanent Sales Tax Exemption
Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed support during a Thursday press conference for Senate President Ben Albritton’s plan to permanently exempt sales taxes on all clothing worth $75 or less. DeSantis said he agreed with a narrower sales tax cut over Perez’s plan to permanently cut sales taxes by .75%, which is estimated to lower tax collections by $5 billion.
American Rendition: Rümeysa Öztürk’s Journey From Ph.D. Scholar to Trump Target Languishing in Louisiana Cell
30-year-old Turkish national Rümeysa Öztürk is a former Fulbright scholar in a doctoral program at Tufts University. Here’s how, though charged with no crime, she ended up in a crowded cell in Louisiana, part of a sprawling, opaque apparatus designed to deport the maximum number of people with minimum accountability. Her lawyers describe it as the story of a Trump-era rendition, a callback to the post-9/11 practice of grabbing Muslim individuals off the street and taking them to locations known for harsh conditions and shoddy oversight.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, April 13, 2025
April 13, 1975: 50 years ago today, the beginning of long war. ‘Sense and Sensibility’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, “Something Rotten,” at the Daytona Playhouse.
Supreme Court’s Order to Return Wrongly Deported Man: Rule of Law Matters
The Supreme Court has now said the order to facilitate Abrego García’s return is proper. But the high court also said the district court judge should further clarify its order, being mindful of the president’s authority when it comes to conducting foreign relations. The Salvadoran government seems to be imprisoning Abrego García at the request of the U.S. government.
‘Enough Is Enough’: An Open Letter to Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris
Aghast at Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris’s paranoid and accusatory performance at the State of the City Address this week, a resident asks the mayor for a reckoning with himself–whether he is truly up to the job of serving the community to the best of his ability, to do so within the requirements of the city charter, and to bear the title of mayor honorably and responsibly.
Miami-Dade Mayor Vetoes County Measure Banning Fluoride
More than a dozen local governments in Florida have banned fluoride in their public water drinking systems since state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s recommendation in November that they do so. Miami-Dade County won’t be one of them, though, after Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced Friday that she would veto a resolution approved by the Board of County Commissioners on April 1 directing that fluoridation of the county’s water end within the next 30 days.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, April 12, 2025
Sean Foo on the Greenland Grab, U.S. Rep. Earl Carter wants the island to be renamed “Red, White, and Blueland,” Second Saturday Plant Sale at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, “Something Rotten,” at the Daytona Playhouse.
Flagler Beach May Sell Ocean Palm Golf Course, Where Owner Plans Building the Size of Palm Coast City Hall
Flagler Beach government is considering selling the 40-acre, nine-hole Ocean Palm Golf Course at the south end of town to Jeff Ryan’s KTS Holdings, the current leaseholder of the property. Ryan would sign a deed restriction that would ensure the grounds remain a golf course in perpetuity. But Ryan is proposing to build a two-story, 30,000-square foot clubhouse and restaurant (the footprint would be 15,000 square feet, the building height 30 feet). The existing clubhouse is a one-story 1,560 square foot building built in 1961.
Foreign Accents Shape the Way We Interact
Foreign accents can have a big impact on the way we interpret meaning. In our increasingly globalised world, foreign accents are an inevitable part of communication, but studies suggest they can create barriers, not just in comprehension but also in perception of the speaker and social interaction.
Why Is the President Undermining Libraries and Museums?
A few weeks ago, President Trump issued an executive order calling for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), adding to a growing list of illegal efforts to bypass Congress and abolish entire government agencies. All staff at the agency were placed on administrative leave on March 31. IMLS is an independent federal agency that provides crucial financial support to America’s 125,000 public, school, academic, and special libraries and museums nationwide.
Palm Coast Man, 34, Arrested Over the Death of a Cat
On March 7, Atticus Robert, a 34-year-old resident of Pittston Lane in Palm Coast, was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of false imprisonment following a heated argument with his live-in girlfriend of three years. On Tuesday, Robert was re-arrested, this time in DeSoto County, and charged with aggravated animal cruelty over the death of his girlfriend’s cat.
Palm Coast Carnage: Mayor Norris Stuns Audience With Bleak Litany of Grievances at State of City Address
A day after he pulled up his truck to City Hall and cleared his office, Mayor Mike Norris delivered what amounted to a Palm Coast Carnage address to a stunned audience at the State of the City Thursday evening at the Community Center. A prickly, aggrieved, and paranoid-sounding Norris fabricated the story of a “blockade” of City Hall by homebuilders, attacked unnamed forces for allegedly orchestrating city employees’ complaints against him to drive him out of office, and referred to land owners as “swamp peddlers,” and challenged residents to chart a new course away from “people that have failed our community for more than 40 years.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, April 11, 2025
John Cheever’s “Superintendent,” the Dallas String Quartet at the Fitz, State Attorney RJ Larizza, Sheriff Rick Staly and Family Life Center Director Trish Giaccone talk safety in Flagler County on Free For All.
Universities In Nazi Germany And The Soviet Union Thought Giving In To Government Demands Would Save Their Independence
Across the United States, many universities are dismantling DEI initiatives – closing and rebranding offices, eliminating positions, revising training programs and sanitizing diversity statements – while professors are preemptively self-censoring. While some universities may believe that compliance with the administration will protect their funding and independence, a few historical parallels suggest otherwise.
Flagler Beach Gets Its First Glimpse at App-Based Paid Parking, and Guardedly Likes What It Sees
The Flagler Beach City Commission got its first glimpse at an app-based paid-parking system for the city this afternoon from Passport Parking, a company with more than 800 clients across the country. The commission was non-committal, but most Flagler Beach residents who spoke approved of the plan, some guardedly, some enthusiastically–as long as the plan exempts Flagler Beach residents from paying–and some, disbelieving in a parking problem, opposed.
Lessons from Palm Coast’s Fuel Dump Folly
The push for building the ill-fated Belvedere Terminals fuel dump in Palm Coast was tied to a series of myths: that somehow Palm Coast’s overwhelmingly residential tax base is unsustainable. That its tax burden is lopsidedly on residential homes. That commercial and industrial development lowers property taxes. The premises are taken as gospel in this county and never tested. Not one of them is true.
Bill Changing Gulf of Mexico’s Name in All Florida Documents and Textbooks Goes to DeSantis
The Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would change dozens of state laws to carry out President Donald Trump’s directive that the Gulf of Mexico should be called the Gulf of America. The Senate also gave a final sign-off to a bill that would require the name change to start being reflected in materials at state agencies and schools.
2 Matanzas High School Students Accused of Burglarizing Cars on Campus
On April 9, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested two Matanzas High School students, MLR, 15, of Palm Coast, and AO, 14, of Palm Coast, for burglarizing vehicles on the school campus.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, April 10, 2025
A few thoughts about the McKinley tariffs, your $2,000 iPhone, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets, Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Central Park.
Tariffs Will Not Bring Back the Glory Days of Manufacturing
There is a broad fetishisation of manufacturing in many countries. One theory is that it is potentially ingrained in human thinking by pre-historic experiences of finding food, fuel and shelter dominating all other activities. But for Trump, the thinking is likely related to a combination of nostalgia for a bygone (somewhat imagined) age of manufacturing, and concern over the loss of quality jobs that provide a solid standard of living for blue collar workers – a core part of his political base.
Dallas String Quartet Unleashes Bach ’n’ Roll Classical Crossover at Palm Coast Concert
The Dallas String Quartet has continued to invigorate the so-called “classical crossover” genre with seven albums that find them infusing elements from Bach, Rachmaninoff, Sibelius and other classical composers into their arrangements of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and “Thunderstruck,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and many more. They’re in concert at the Flagler Auditorium,/Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center Friday.
Brendan Depa Appeal Again Delayed as Court Warns No Further Extensions Will Be Granted
The Fifth District Court of Appeal is tiring of lawyers requesting extensions to file the appeal of a Flagler County judge’s decision last August to sentence former Matanzas High School student Brendan Depa to five years in prison for his brutal attack on a teacher aide in 2023. The appeal court has granted three extensions so far, the third one granted on April 4 with a caution against further requests for delays.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Docket sounding in felony court, 4-H and FFA Youth Livestock Show and Sale at the Flagler County Fairgrounds, updating the 2025 Kennedy Center schedule, JFK on arts and politics.
From Greenland to Fort Bragg, Place Names as Political Tools
Place names are more than just labels on a map. They influence how people learn about the world around them and perceive their place in it. Names can send messages and suggest what is and isn’t valued in society. And the way that they are changed over time can signal cultural shifts.
Micro-Surfacing Begins April 14 on A Dozen Palm Coast Streets
The City of Palm Coast is notifying residents about an upcoming High-Performance Micro-Surfacing project on several local residential roadways. Work will begin April 14 and is expected to last approximately three weeks.
Florida Senate Will Vote on Prohibiting Fluoride in Local Water Services
Over objections by the Florida Dental Association and League of Women Voters of Florida, a Senate panel voted Tuesday to bar public water systems from “the use of any additive included primarily for health-related purposes.”
County Buys Into $110 Million Speculative Sports Complex Palm Coast Voters Rejected in November
The Flagler County Commission signaled it was happily turning to an untested and financially risky public-private partnership with a company that would build a $110 million sports complex (in Palm Coast) in exchange for $6 million a year “lease payments” from the county. It is the same complex and concept that was behind Palm Coast voters’ rejection of a referendum last November.
Three County Commissioners Now Opposed to Sales Tax for Beach Management, Putting County Plan in Doubt
Just as Palm Coast and Bunnell had been increasingly coaxed to support the county, a majority of county commissioners–Leann Pennington, Kim Carney and Pam Richardson–spoke in opposition to a sales tax increase to support a comprehensive beach-management plan. Without that increase, the plan Petito devised to rebuild and manage all 18 miles of the county’s beaches would collapse, and with it any hope of continuing the beach renourishment the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started in Flagler Beach.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Clay Jones on Trump golfing through the crash, the Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop, Zachary Tuohey is back in court, the Flagler County School Board meets, drinking La Fin du Monde.
Israelis Are Calling for Genocide of Palestinians with Impunity
Thirty years ago in Israel, advocating for genocide could land you in prison. Not anymore. Israeli clerics and officials are openly calling for the systematic massacre of Palestinians–genocide–in Gaza. The Israeli legal system is ignoring the rhetoric.
U.S. Rep. Wilson Seeks to Visit Miami Immigrant Detention Center Amid Reports of Mistreatment
Democratic U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson wants to examine conditions at a Miami immigrant detention center, saying she’s concerned about reports of people sleeping on concrete floors. Wilson, who represents part of Miami-Dade County, sent a letter Monday to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem requesting her help in arranging a congressional visit this month to the Krome North Service Processing Center.
Fuel Farm Off U.S. 1 Appears Dead as Palm Coast Mayor Norris Pulls His Support, Joining Council Skeptics
The proposed Belvedere Terminals fuel farm off U.S. 1 in Palm Coast appears to be dead. In an email to City Manager Lauren Johnston on Friday, Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris pulled his support without equivocation, joining three council members who are extremely skeptical of the proposal. Belvedere couldn’t afford to lose Norris’s support. Until then, the mayor had been the company’s champion in the city.
Three of Five Finalists for Palm Coast City Manager Drop Out as Council’s Instability Takes a Toll
The shortlist of Palm Coast city manager candidates who were to interview with the City Council at the end of April is down to two, from five. The last two were among the somewhat less favored of the five when the council ranked them on March 11. Today, Sonia Alves-Viveiros, the Edison, N.J. city manager, withdrew, citing the lack of stability on the City Council as a reason.