“In the past 20 years, not a single officer in Florida has been charged with using deadly force,” The New York Times reported last week, a startling prevalence of de-facto immunity in a state where police violence is not rare.
Rights & Liberties
Lillian Gobitas Klose, Who Defied Mandatory Pledge of Allegiance, Is Dead at 90
Lillian Gobitas Klose was 12 when she was expelled from school for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Eight years later, in the midst of World War II, the U.S. Supreme Court vindicated her decision.
The Palm Coast City Council as Labor Tribunal: Firefighters Union and Administration Face Off
Palm Coast firefighters and the city administration reached an impasse in December after more than three years of negotiations over a contract, leaving it to the city council on Friday to settle the dispute in an unusual hearing.
Appeals Court Orders City Government to Release “Shade” Meeting Transcript
In a highly critical opinion, an appeals court Wednesday ordered the city of St. Pete Beach to release a transcript of a closed-door discussion about the settlement of a lawsuit.
Sheriff’s Deputies Never Wrote an Incident Report After Fatally Shooting Palm Coast Man
Details of the December 2012 fatal shooting of 32-year-old Troy Gordon on Brownstone Lane in Palm Coast, at a time when Don Fleming was still sheriff, emerged in a court case today that revealed how a union could trump sheriff’s policy even in grave shooting incidents.
Federal Judge Rules Florida’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional, But Stays Decision
It is the fifth court decision in the state finding against Florida’s ban, but the first federal-court decision, and the first that applies state-wide. Nevertheless, as in previous cases, the judge stayed the decision, granting time for this and other decisions to be appealed.
The Phony War Over Campaign Signs
The problem isn’t the county’s ban on campaign signs at the public library, it’s the dismal slate of candidates on this year’s primary ballots, but Flagler’s Ronald Reagan Assembly candidates and Supervisor of Elections Weeks have teamed up to play up a bogus controversy.
Every Town a Ferguson:
Reflections of a Scary Black Kid from Brooklyn
Next time you feel intimidated by a black man, try to understand that it’s not about you, writes Jon Hardison, as much as it reflects remnants of a fear of what the average black American grew up with.
Kimberle Weeks Calls County’s Campaign Sign Rules “Interference”; Administrator Craig Coffey Responds
Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks says the county’s political-sign rules “may create an unpleasant and dangerous environment” for voters and campaigners at the public library. County Administrator Craig Coffey disagrees.
4th Judge in 3 Weeks Strikes Down Florida’s Gay-Marriage Ban
A Palm Beach County circuit judge ruled Tuesday that Florida’s same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional in a probate case involving a gay couple who married in Delaware.