• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Rights & Liberties

1st Amendment Lawsuit Over Florida School District’s Ban of Children’s Book Cleared to Proceed

April 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

and tango makes three

A federal judge has ruled that two authors and a student can pursue First Amendment claims against the Escambia County School Board over the removal of the children’s book “And Tango Makes Three” from library shelves. But U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, in a 27-page decision Thursday, dismissed allegations against state education officials and leaders of the Lake County school district.

Brendan Depa’s Sentence: Neither Vengeance Nor Mercy. Only Humane Justice.

April 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 41 Comments

Brendan Depa with his grandmother in 2020. (Depa family)

On May 1 Circuit Judge Terence Perkins will sentence Brendan Depa on a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The punishment will be nowhere near that: the sentencing guidelines don’t call for it, the incident doesn’t warrant it, and Perkins is not a hanging judge. The question is whether he will impose any prison time, and whether reason and justice, not mercy or vengeance, will prevail. 

Supreme Court Appears Likely to Side With Trump on Some Presidential Immunity

April 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

trump immunity

Some of the court’s conservative justices expressed concern about the prospect that, if former presidents do not have immunity, federal criminal laws could be used to target political opponents. However, the justices left open the prospect that Trump’s trial in Washington, D.C., could still go forward because the charges against him rest on his private, rather than his official, conduct.

Lawsuit Blames Flagler Schools’ Failure to Address Brendan Depa’s Known Needs and Risks Before Attack on Aide

April 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 39 Comments

Brendan Depa last July in court, where he is returning on May 1 for his sentencing. (© FlaglerLive)

Brendan Depa, the now-18-year-old former Matanzas High School student captured on surveillance video attacking his teacher’s aide 14 months ago, filed suit today against Flagler County schools, accusing the district of failing to properly address his behavioral end mental disabilities, to properly train the staff in charge, or to provide legally required educational supports. The failures led to a grave but foreseeable, violent incident, the lawsuit states, injuries to the aide, and the prospect for prison for Depa.

St. Johns County Among 3 Finalists for Site of Florida Museum of Black History

April 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

confrontation st augustine

A committee on Friday narrowed down options for the site of a Florida Museum of Black History, selecting as finalists St. Johns County, Eatonville in Orange County and Opa-locka in Miami-Dade County.

A Bittersweet Arab American Heritage Month

April 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

At Orlando's Arab-American Fest last year. (© FlaglerLive)

April is National Arab American Heritage Month. It should be a time to celebrate the contributions of the over 3.5 million Arab Americans who strengthen our proud nation. But right now, it’s impossible to feel celebratory as Palestinian-Americans reel from the immense pain and horror of an unfolding genocide against the 2.3 million Palestinians of Gaza, as Israel’s unrelenting bombardment and mass starvation of civilians continues. Adding insult to injury, Israel is using U.S.-supplied weapons to commit these atrocities.

Signing Bill Inviting Chaplains Into Public Schools as Counselors, DeSantis Scoffs at Challenges and Church State Wall

April 18, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

ron desantis chaplains

The state won’t allow satanists to take advantage of a new law allowing religious chaplains to serve as counselors in public schools for students whose parents approve, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday while signing the legislation. The governor also predicted the state would prevail if the new law draws a legal challenge over separation of church and state concerns.

Palm Coast Honors Curtis Gray’s Memory and Proclaims Rise Above the Violence Day

April 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Curtis Gray.

The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday issued a proclamation remembering Curtis Gray, the 18-year-old Flagler Palm Coast High School student gunned down in a dispute at a local strip mall on April 13, 2019, and proclaimed the date Rise Above the Violence Day. 

‘I’m Not black, I’m O.J.’: O.J. Simpson and the Race Trap

April 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

O.J. Simpson listens to testimony during his 1995 trial, in which he was acquitted of murder charges.

Simpson was charged in two murders and during the trial became the epitome of Black, male toxicity. Though acquitted – in large part because of the Los Angeles Police Department’s racist history of police brutality – his trial exposed the racial divisions within America and the deep-seated resentment that many Black people had for the U.S. criminal justice system.

DeSantis Signs Education Bill Controlling Book Challenges and Broadening Charter School Takeovers

April 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

John Green's "Looking for Alaska" was challenged in Flagler County schools last year. It survived at the time. It may not have survived since. (© FlaglerLive)

After more than 1,200 objections were filed to school-library books and other materials last school year, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill that will limit challenges by some people. The wide-ranging bill (HB 1285) also includes making changes designed to ease the process of charter schools taking over operations at traditional public schools that lag in performance.

Evading Usual Bill-Signing Spectacle, DeSantis Kills Local Efforts to Protect Workers from Florida’s Brutal Heat

April 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 54 Comments

Gov. Ron DeSantis has quietly signed into law a measure barring local governments from requiring employers to provide workers with basic protections like shade, accessible water, and breaks from the Florida’s scorching heat and humidity.

Yes, Efforts to Eliminate DEI Programs Are Rooted in Racism

April 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

new college dei florida racism

In the past year, a number of states have begun to dismantle their DEI programs. Alabama, Utah, Texas and Florida have all passed and signed into law anti-DEI legislation ranging from prohibiting diversity training to terminating all positions associated with DEI efforts. Florida lawmakers have restricted the teaching of what they call racially “divisive” subject matter in public schools, colleges and universities. Legislatures in more than two dozen additional states are considering similar measures.

For the Homeless, Housing Works, Not Handcuffs

April 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

housing, not handcuffs for the homeless

Too many communities are responding to rising homelessness by criminalizing the unhoused. It’s more humane and effective to house people. According to the National Homelessness Law Center, almost every state restricts the conduct of people experiencing homelessness. In Missouri, sleeping on state land is a crime. A new law in Florida bans people from sleeping on public property — and requires local governments without bed space for unhoused people to set up camps far away from public services.

The Flood of anti-LGBTQ+ Laws Shadowing Nex Benedict’s Suicide

April 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

A woman speaks during a candlelight vigil for 16-year-old nonbinary student Nex Benedict

Nex Benedict’s death is shadowed by the sentiment and ideology behind a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws sweeping the country. In 2024 alone, various state legislatures have introduced almost 500 such bills, many of which target LGBTQ+ youth in schools. Some of these bills restrict which restrooms transgender students can use and which sports teams they can join. Others censor the information that all students receive at school about sexual orientation and gender identity.

DeSantis and Surgeon General Turn Fentanyl Bill-Signing Into Attack on Transgender Athletes

April 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

ladapo and desantis

Just moments after the governor said that he would sign two bills, one promoting opioid antagonists to prevent deaths from overdose and another boosting penalties for recklessly exposing first responders to fentanyl, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo opened fire on athletic competitions that pit transgender women and girls against those who are biologically female.

Time for Renters’ Tax Credit

April 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

renters tax credits

According to the Low-Income Housing Coalition, there is no state or county in the United States where someone working full-time at minimum wage can afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. When a huge chunk of your paycheck goes to rent or the mortgage, there’s little leftover for an emergency. And most Americans — 56 percent of us — can’t pay for an unexpected emergency of $1,000. A surprise dental bill, medical bill, or car repair can send us spiraling into poverty.

DeSantis Lashes Out at Pot Freedom and Abortion-Rights Amendments

April 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Gov. Ron DeSantis violated the public record law. (© FlaglerLive)

Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at two proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the November ballot, three days after the Florida Supreme Court signed off on the measures.

To Win in November, Recreational Pot in Florida Must First Defeat Reefer Madness

April 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

A detail from one of the posters for "Reefer Madness," the 1936 American propaganda film that attempted to link marijuana to degeneracy. (Wikimedia Commons)

Now that the Florida Supreme Court has cleared the proposal to legalize recreational pot for the November ballot, the drug of choice among those who want to defeat the proposal is going to be disinformation. So it’s worth having a look at what we’ve learned from other states that have inhaled.

6-Week Ban and Abortion-Rights Measure on November Ballot Could Boost Florida Democrats

April 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

abortion rights sign

Following a pair of blockbuster decisions by the Florida Supreme Court, Democrats are galvanizing around abortion as a “front and center” issue that they say could affect races up and down the ballot in November. Focus on the abortion issue exploded shortly after the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent and triggered a 2023 law preventing abortions after six weeks. Critics maintain that the six-week restriction, which will take effect next month, amounts to a virtual ban on abortions.

You May Not Have An Abortion Past 6 Weeks in Florida. You May Vote To Restore Abortion Rights in November.

April 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

abortion waiting period

The Florida Supreme Court released two blockbuster rulings on abortion rights on Monday — one that within a few weeks will allow a ban on the procedure after six weeks’ gestation to take effect, and another allowing the voters to decide in November whether to amend the Florida Constitution to protect access to the procedure.

Florida Is Blatantly Mixing Church and State in So-Called ‘Pregnancy Crisis Centers’

March 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Detail from the original cover of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" (1985).

Planned Parenthood says Crisis Pregnancy Centers are “run by anti-abortion activists who have a shady, harmful agenda: to scare, shame, or pressure you out of getting an abortion, and to tell lies about abortion, birth control, and sexual health.”

Gaslighting Greed: Uber Overcharges Riders and Underpays Drivers

March 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

uber greed drivers riders

That higher driver pay would force big fare hikes is one of Uber and Lyft’s favorite scare tactics. As drivers across the country have protested poverty wages and organized for better pay, the rideshare giants have trotted out this line again and again. It’s false. The companies are reaping billions at drivers’ and riders’ expense, especially where no protections are in place.

They/Them vs. Him/Her: A Federal Judge Will Decide Legality of Florida’s Ban on Pronoun Freedom

March 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

pronouns freedom

A federal judge on Friday heard arguments in a court battle over a law restricting educators’ use of personal pronouns and titles in schools, in one of a series of challenges to Florida policies targeting LGBTQ people. The challenge alleges the law violates the teachers’ First Amendment rights and runs afoul of a federal civil-rights law.

Lawsuit Challenges Constitutionality of Florida Law Restricting Employment for Chinese and Some Others

March 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Two graduate students and a professor on Monday challenged the constitutionality of a 2023 state law that restricts employment of people from China and six other nations at Florida public universities and colleges. The challenge alleges, in part, that the law is unconstitutional because it is trumped by federal immigration laws.

DeSantis Signs Bill Restricting Children’s Social Media Accounts and Inviting Yet Another Lawsuit

March 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

House Speaker Paul Renner expressed confidence that a new social-media law will withstand a First Amendment challenge. Colin Hackley/File

With the state preparing for a legal challenge from the tech industry, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a high-profile bill aimed at keeping children off social-media platforms. Paul Renner and other key supporters argue that social-media companies have created addictive platforms that harm children’s mental health and can lead to sexual predators communicating with minors. But critics, including tech-industry groups, argue the bill is unconstitutional and point to courts blocking similar legislation in other states.

Why Millions of Americans Still Believe the 2020 Election Was ‘Stolen’ From Trump

March 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

trump stolen election

Two thirds of Republican voters (and nearly 3 in 10 Americans) continue to believe that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and that Biden was not lawfully elected. In fact, this “election denialism” is one of the major differences between those who support Trump and those who voted for his rival, Nikki Haley.

Opponents Seeking to Redefine Constitutional Language on ‘Persons’ to Keep Abortion Rights Proposal Off Ballot

March 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

personhood justices

With the Florida Supreme Court deciding whether an abortion-rights constitutional amendment should go on the November ballot, Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office and abortion opponents are urging justices to consider another part of the state Constitution that they say could apply to “unborn children.” Moody’s office Monday raised the possibility of filing an additional brief about what is described as the “natural persons” provision of the state Constitution.

Cash Bail: Unfair, and a Violation of Due Process

March 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

cash bail due process injustice

When arrested on suspicion of committing a crime, everyone in the United States has the right to due process and to defend themselves in court. But in a cash bail system, when judges set bail amounts, those who cannot pay the full amount remain jailed indefinitely — a clear violation of their due process rights — while the rich can pay their way out of jail.

DeSantis Says Undocumented Immigrants Will ‘Regret’ Coming to Florida as He Signs Harsher Penalties Into Law

March 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Gov. Ron DeSantis stages a press conference in Winter Haven on March 15, 2024. Source: Screenshot/DeSantis Facebook

One bill doesn’t mention migrants specifically but imposes a mandatory 10-day jail sentence for a third or subsequent conviction for driving without a license or with a license that has been suspended, cancelled, or revoked. Another bumps criminal penalties for people who commit felonies after having been deported and returning to the United States.

Watchdog Groups Call on Gov. DeSantis to Veto Ethics Bill Restricting Investigations of Corruption

March 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

"Bosses of the Senate," Joseph Keppler's 1889 cartoon first published in Puck. (Wikimedia Commons)

A coalition of state watchdog groups have sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling on him to veto an ethics bill that prohibits ethics commissions from pursuing any investigation of public officials or candidates for public office unless it comes from an individual “based on personal knowledge or information other than hearsay.”

Wrongfully Arrested Migrant To Be Freed on Immigration Bond as Civil Rights Suit Is Filed Against St. Johns Sheriff

March 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

A one-man protest of Virgilio Mendez's arrest and detention, outside the St. Johns County courthouse the morning of a hearing in Mendez's case last December. (© FlaglerLive)outside the Sty

Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, the Guatemalan migrant who had been wrongfully arrested outside his motel in St. Johns County last May and charged with manslaughter after the sudden death by heart attack of his arresting deputy, is to be released from federal custody on an immigration bond this week. On Tuesday, one of his attorneys filed an amended federal lawsuit accusing St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick of violating Mendez’s civil rights.

As DeSantis Crows, Opponents of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law Say Settlement Rectifies Some of the Damage

March 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

anti lgbtq cheap shots

Gov. Ron DeSantis was quick out the door with a claim that a settlement in a legal challenge to his Parental Rights in Education Act— or Don’t Say Gay — vindicated his efforts “to keep radical gender and sexual ideology out of the classrooms of public-school children.” In fact, the settlement agreement’s terms also limit enforcement of that law which the governor pushed through the Legislature two years ago to bar public school instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Rights-Of-Way Ban on Realtor or Any Signs Will Remain as Palm Coast Moves to Adopt New Ordinance

March 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Rights of way in Palm Coast must be kept clear of signs at all times. The only exception is government signs. (© FlaglerLive)

Nine years after its attorney said it would have to change its sign ordinance to comply with a new Supreme Court ruling, the Palm Coast City Council appears ready to adopt those new rules and maintain a long-standing ban on Realtor or other signs in rights-of-way, except for government signs.

Legal Or Not, Only Immigrants Can Save America

March 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

Mexico, across from the Rio Grande, seen from near McAllen, Texas. (© FlaglerLive)

The United States avoided a recession largely because of a surge in immigration, and its economic output is expected to be $7 trillion higher over the next 10 years largely because of immigration–legal or not: the Congressional Budget Office doesn’t distinguish between the two. As native-born fertility declines and Americans age, the country cannot afford to close its borders. Those immigrants at the border aren’t an invasion. They’re not a crisis. They’re a lifeline: theirs and ours.

Defamation Revamp, Flag Bans, Limits on Local Tax Authority, ‘Unborn Child’ Bill All Dead Issues for Now

March 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

dead issues of 2024 florida legislative session

When Florida lawmakers went home after ending the 2024 legislative session Friday, they left behind hundreds of bills that did not pass, including a bill that would have allowed public figures easily to sue journalists, one that would have banned the flying of certain flags on public property, a proposal to lower the minimum age to buy rifles, and one that would have made it harder for local governments to raise property taxes.

To An Increasingly Hysterical Right, Women and Their Bodies Are a Danger To the Republic

March 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

women's rights in regression

What’s America’s biggest problem? Not catastrophic climate change; not income inequality; not systemic racism. It’s women. OK, also communists. They’re everywhere, but the Florida Legislature means to nip that in the bud. But even the threat of a worker’s revolt pales in comparison to the Woman Problem. To the increasingly hysterical Right, women — and their unruly bodies — are a danger to the Republic.

As Supreme Court Takes on Florida Law Forcing Social Media’s Hand, Maybe It’s Time to Reinterpret the First Amendment

March 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

marketplace of ideas first amendment magritte golconde

Florida is in the middle of an epic legal battle over concepts of free speech, press freedom and unimpeded commerce. It’s a clash between internet publishers, who want the government to leave them alone, and Republican leaders who insist that social media platforms are too powerful to be run by giant, faceless corporations that can — and do — impose their tastes on all of us.

After DeSantis Veto, Lawmakers Pass Watered-Down Social Media Ban Awash in Loopholes

March 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

social media ban bill renner

The bill, in part, would prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 could not open accounts, but the revamped plan does not include age-verification requirements, making the ban moot but for the state’s vague threat of lawsuits.

Senate Approves Ban on Homeless Sleeping in Public, Sending Bill to Gov. DeSantis for Signature

March 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Off limits, says Florida's sleep police. (© FlaglerLive)

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 27-12 along party lines to pass the bill (HB 1365), which would bar cities and counties from allowing people to sleep at places such as public buildings and in public rights of way. The House approved the bill last week, and DeSantis has voiced support for it. But Democrats argued the state would provide limited resources to local governments to carry out the measure, potentially exposing the local governments to lawsuits.

Sally Hunt and Christy Chong Suggest Locking School Board Meeting Doors for Security and ‘Buzzing’ In People

March 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

What board members attended in person Tuesday--Cheryl Massaro, Christy Chon, Will Furry--listen to Sally Hunt by phone as Hunt speaks of her security concerns at workshops. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools Youtube)

Sally Hunt made her evasive comment during a workshop after Board member Cheryl Massaro proposed that the board reevaluate the need for a $48-an-hour school resource deputy at each of its workshops. Hunt and Board member Christy Chong suggested locking the board room door during meetings, until they were told the meetings had to be kept accessible to the public at all times.

Federal Appeals Court Stops DeSantis’s ‘Stop Woke’ Restrictions on Workplace Training Against Bigotry

March 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The 'Stop Woke Act' could make it difficult to discuss Bull Connor's response to civil rights. (© FlaglerLive)

The workplace-training part of the law listed eight race-related concepts and said that a required training program or other activity that “espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels such individual (an employee) to believe any of the following concepts constitutes discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.”

Tom Joad, the Voice of a Better America, Has Been Silenced

March 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

I’ll be all around in the dark. I’ll be everywhere--wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beating’ up a guy, I’ll be there.

From the Book of Ruth to Eugene Debs to Tom Joad in Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath,” the voice of solidarity spoke a communion with needs and pains greater than one’s own, a willingness not only to walk in the other’s shoes, but to be the shoes–to be the soles–when the other has none. It was once the voice of America. We have lost that voice as blame and judgment have replaced solidarity and grievances about what we think we’re losing snuff out protest on behalf of those not lucky enough to have something to lose. 

Texas Prosecutor Disciplined for Allowing Murder Charge Against Woman who Self-Managed an Abortion

March 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

The Starr County Courthouse in Rio Grande City, Texas. (Wikimedia Commons)

The State Bar of Texas has fined and suspended Starr County’s district attorney for pursuing a murder indictment against 26-year-old woman after she self-managed an abortion.

State Attorney Dismisses Charges Against Virgilio Mendez, 18, Migrant Accused of Manslaughter in Deputy’s Death

March 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

Attorneys Jose Baez, at the lectern, and Phil Arroyo this afternoon during a press conference streamed on Instagram. (© FlaglerLive via Instagram)

The State Attorney’s Office today dropped the charges against Virgilio Mendez, the 18-year-old migrant arrested last May in St. Augustine over a dubious encounter with sheriff’s deputies prompted by nothing apparent, then charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of one of the deputies, who had died of a heart attack the medical examiner ruled was of natural causes from heart disease. The charges drew widespread public outrage.

Florida House Passes Ban on Homeless Sleeping In Public Despite Added Burdens to Local Governments

March 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

homeless ban florida

The Florida House on Friday approved a controversial proposal that would prevent homeless people from sleeping in public, despite concerns about increased costs for local governments. The Republican-controlled House voted 82-26 along almost-straight party lines to pass the bill (HB 1365), which is backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. It also would make it easier for residents and business owners to challenge local officials over how homelessness is addressed.

Renner and DeSantis Trying to Ward Off Veto Over Social Media Ban for Children Under-16

February 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

renner desantis faceboook ban

With a Friday deadline looming, House Speaker Paul Renner said Wednesday that he and Gov. Ron DeSantis are trying to work out differences on a bill aimed at keeping children under age 16 off social-media platforms. Renner is keeping silent on alternatives.

Florida Lawmakers Back Modest Reparations for Dozier School’s Black Victims of Rampant Abuse

February 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, was a high risk residential commitment facility operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice for male youth 13 to 21 years of age who were committed by the Court. The school originally opened in 1900 as the Florida State Reform School. It was later known as the Florida Industrial School for Boys (1914-1957), the Florida School for Boys (1957-1967), and finally the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. The school closed in 2011.

The Florida Senate measure would create a $20 million “Dozier School for Boys and Okeechobee School Victim Compensation Program” to compensate “living persons who were confined” to Dozier or the Okeechobee School, another reform school, between 1940 and 1975 and “who were subjected to mental, physical, or sexual abuse perpetrated by school personnel.”

Palm Coast Searches for Its New Attorney In the Open. School Board Chooses Secrecy.

February 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

The School Board met on Jan. 23 to discuss its potential choice for new attorney representation. The meeting was not streamed, as meetings usually are. IKt was open to the public, but all documents that were part of the discussion were kept secret. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council and the Flagler County School Board are searching for new attorneys to represent them in two very different ways. The council is conducting its search entirely in the open, ensuring that all related documents are public, providing them on request, and interviewing the firms in open forum. The school board, in contrast with its own precedents and with all other local governments, possibly in violation of law, is not.

GOP Lawmakers Recommend Co-Founder of Moms for Liberty, an Extremist Group, for Ethics Job

February 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich at a rally in front of the state Capitol on Feb. 2, 2024 (Mitch Perry)

Republican lawmakers in a Senate hearing Monday recommended Tina Descovich, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, cited by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-government extremist group, for an appointment for the Florida Commission on Ethics. The full Senate must approve the executive appointment.

The Controversial Concept of ‘Fetal Personhood’ Is Creeping Up on Florida

February 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

Chief Justice Carlos Muniz. (Florida Supreme Court)

If fetuses have legal personhood, abortion-rights activists argue it would infringe the rights of pregnant women and have serious implications for medical procedures like in vitro fertilization and the treatment of ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages. For all practical matters, the Florida Constitution is silent on the issue of fetal personhood, despite Chief Justice Muniz’s suggestion that fetal personhood rights might already exist.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 47
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • Edgar Williams on Palm Coast City Attorney Calls Mayor Norris ‘Unprofessional and Inappropriate’ 3 Weeks After Censure for Similar Behavior
  • Kennan on Israel’s Catastrophic Starvation of Gaza’s Millions
  • Jane Gentile-Youd on Dog Surfing Hilarity Conquers Flagler Beach as Chi-weenie, Corgis and Costumes Thrill to 4th Hang 8 Extravaganza
  • anonymous on An Ugly Town Meeting in Marineland as Questions Hang Over Legality of Mayor’s Unilateral Appointment of a Commissioner
  • The truth on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • PeachesMcGee on Palm Coast’s Golden Chopsticks Buffet Open Again 2 Days After Sanitation Inspection Ordered It Closed
  • Roy on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • PDE on Palm Coast’s Golden Chopsticks Buffet Open Again 2 Days After Sanitation Inspection Ordered It Closed
  • Ryan Jones on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • Flagler Beach Resident on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • Dusty on An Ugly Town Meeting in Marineland as Questions Hang Over Legality of Mayor’s Unilateral Appointment of a Commissioner
  • Nephew Of Uncle Sam on An Ugly Town Meeting in Marineland as Questions Hang Over Legality of Mayor’s Unilateral Appointment of a Commissioner
  • Pete on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • Tony Mack on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, May 22, 2025
  • Joseph on Maga’s Fearful War on Universities
  • bruces on Palm Coast Mayor Norris Sues Palm Coast, Seeking Councilman Gambaro Booted and Special Election Held

Log in