Tuesday was proving to be a day of mixed signals, with resilience and fortitude competing with challenges and more dispiriting numbers as various segments of society were rapidly adapting to life under different degrees of restrictions and still often unclear expectations.
Rights & Liberties
Flagler Beach and Flagler County Will Close 18 Miles of Beaches Monday Morning As Florida Infections Soar
Flagler Beach and Flagler County are closing their beaches to the public starting at 6 a.m. Monday, joining a growing list of coastal communities and counties, in Florida and elsewhere, doing likewise in an increasingly strict response to the coronavirus.
Close the Damn Beach Already
By keeping the beaches open, Flagler and Flagler Beach officials are wanting it both ways. They’re sending contradictory messages and enabling irresponsibility. They’re issuing visas to the virus.
Flagler Circuit’s Chief Judge Issues Order With Potentially Extraordinary Measures as Florida Covid-19 Cases Double in 2 Days to 319
The court system’s new restrictions reveal the potential for extraordinary, court-ordered measures in answer to the coronavirus emergency, pointing to the sort of unprecedented role the courts and law enforcement may be taking on in the weeks and months ahead.
Why Flagler’s Covid-19 Cases May Not Be What They Are: Infected Non-County Residents Are Not Reported Locally
Flagler County may well have one, two or three confirmed cases of coronavirus. If those cases were confirmed in non-Flagler County residents who happened to be in Flagler County, you will not know about them locally, according to Florida Department of Health rules.
In Stunning Reversal, Florida Supreme Court Rules Juvenile Prison Sentences May Exceed 20 Years
The 4-1 decision stunned public defenders, who expressed concern not only about its implications for juvenile sentencing but also about a reshaped court emboldened to revisit issues the legal community had considered settled.
Volusia/Flagler Chapter Marks ACLU’s Centennial With “Future Voters Essay Contest” and $500 Prize
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ‘s Volusia/Flagler chapter is celebrating the ACLU’s 100th birthday with an essay contest open to all students, with a $500 prize and publication of the winning essay in FlaglerLive.
Florida House Speeding Toward Proposal to Allow Stadium-Wide Prayers at High School Games
Amid a long-running legal battle, the Florida House on Friday moved forward with a proposal that could allow schools to offer prayers over public-address systems before events such as high-school championship football games.
DeSantis Favors Senate Bill That Would Require All Public and Many Private Employers to E-Verify
All public employers including school districts, state agencies and public universities and private employers with at least 50 employees would have to use the federal system, or one that the state Department of Economic Opportunity deems is “substantially equivalent” to E-Verify.
School Board Superintendent Interviews: Cathy Mittelstadt
Cathy Mittelstadt, an assistant superintendent for operations in St. Johns County for the past three years, spent the majority of her professional years, almost all of them in leadership positions, in Florida’s top-ranked school district.