Monday Briefing: Jeb Bush vs. Scott Walker, Rubio’s Guns vs. Butter, Quiet Flagler

Sunny, mild, high of 77, low in mid-50s. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is Moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 211
The weather in San Estanislao, Paraguay: partly cloudy, hot, mid-80s, low in low 60s. Details.
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

In Flagler and Palm Coast:

Spring Break: Flagler County schools reopen Tuesday. Today (March 30) is a teacher planning day.

Flagler County government, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach have no official meetings today.

In Court:

Some 43 felony arraignments and 23 probation violation hearings are scheduled before Circuit Judge J. David Walsh at 8:30 a.m. (Courtroom 401). At 2:30, Walsh will hear a motion to end probation for William Roach and Stephen M. Holt, both accused in 2006 of attempted lewd or lascivious battery, computer pornography and child exploitation and transmission of harmful material to minors. Various hearings are scheduled before Circuit Judge Michael Orfinger (Courtroom 301) and County Judge Melissa Moore-Stens (Courtroom 404).

Culture and the Arts:Atlanta Pops at the Flagler Auditorium, scheduled for Tuesday evening, has been cancelled due to a change in their schedule.

At the Legislature:

Juvenile citations: The House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee considers House Bill 99, filed by Rep. Gwyn Clarke-Reed, D-Deerfield Beach, and Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, that could lead to fewer juveniles being arrested for misdemeanors. The bill, in part, would allow police officers to issue warnings or inform parents when juveniles admit committing misdemeanor crimes. If officers do not issue warnings or inform parents, they would issue civil citations or require participation in diversion programs. The approach has previously been supported by the Flagler County Juvenile Justice council. (12:30 p.m.)

Drones: The Senate Criminal Justice Committee considers SB 282, filed by Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, that would bar the use of aerial drones to track people without their consent. (4 p.m.)

–Compiled in part by the News Service of Florida

Keep in Mind:

Traffic Ticket Collections Free Amnesty on Friday, April 17: Operation Green Light is a one-day amnesty giving drivers the chance to pay overdue fines, without having to pay the 40 percent collection feel. Hours at the Flagler County Courthouse will be extended for the occasion, stretching between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Clerk of Court Gail Wadsworth says her office has tabulated 7,793 cases that have gone to a collection agency. Of those, 4,507 are civil traffic cases. The total amount in collections for Flagler County is—to be precise–$1,872,973.91. Most people with such cases are driving on suspended driver’s licenses. You may get your driver’s license restored if you pay the overdue fine. (April 17)

Flagler County Job Fair on April 24: A limited number of spaces are still open for businesses interested in reserving a free booth at the second annual Flagler County Job Fair. The event will take place on Friday, April 24, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Palm Coast Campus of Daytona State College, 3000 Palm Coast Pkwy SE, Building 3. Last year nearly 400 jobseekers attended the inaugural fair, which was hosted by the Flagler County Department of Economic Opportunity and CareerSource Flagler Volusia. This year Daytona State College and the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce joined the effort to positively impact Flagler County’s economic vitality. Among the businesses that have already registered are CoastalCloud, Edwards Jones Financial Service, Beutlich Pharmaceuticals and Target. A complete list of attending companies is available here. Businesses wishing to secure a place at the fair and job seekers interested in registering for preparation workshops should visit the job fair website. For additional information about the fair, please contact Casey Scott at 386-313-4098 or by email here.

Road and Interstate Construction:

Flagler County: County Road 305 between CR 2006 and Tangerine. IMPACTS: Closure in force 3/17/2015 for the 2nd box culvert replacement. Detours detour via CR 110 to CR 95 to CR 2006. Truck Detour via Bunnell (SR 100 – SR 11)

Palm Coast: Palm Coast Parkway between Cypress Point Parkway and Florida Park Drive. IMPACTS: Lane shifts and closures will occur and this may cause traffic congestion on this already busy roadway. Most construction work will occur between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. though weather and unforeseen issues may adjust the schedules. This project will be complete by December 2015.

I-4, Volusia County: I-4 Widening from SR 44 to east of I-95, Sunday through Friday, 9 9 p.m. – 6 a.m. Eastbound lane closures between SR 44 to I-95.

I-95, Volusia: I-95 widening from SR 406 to SR 44, Sunday through Friday, 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., Southbound and Northbound double-lane closures on I-95 mainline; Monday thrpough Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Eastbound/Westbound single lane closures at I-95 overpass on Maytown Road, Indian River Blvd./SR 442.

• Palm Coast Parkway Project Website
• Florida Department of Transportation Road Project List
• County Road 304 Project Map and Description

In the Press:

Jeb Bush and Scott Walker’s Contrary Paths: “The first votes of the primary season will not be cast until the Iowa caucuses next February, but Mr. Bush, the former Florida governor, and Mr. Walker are fast becoming the most prominent exponents of two dueling visions of how the Republican Party can retake the White House in 2016 — by extending its reach, or by energizing more of the sorts of people who have sided with Republicans in the past. The two men share many policy positions, but offer strikingly divergent messages and are pursuing very different electoral strategies. And their political approaches seem inextricably linked to their biographies. Mr. Bush, a privileged scion who married a Mexican woman and boasts of being bicultural, reflects his polyglot adopted hometown, Miami, and state. He is telling Republicans, in effect, that they must accept a changing country: that the path to the presidency will be found through appealing to voters who may not look like them, and with a standard-bearer whose state and immediate family resemble tomorrow’s America. Mr. Walker, a small-town minister’s son who met his wife, a Milwaukee native, at a Wisconsin barbecue joint, is a product of one of the most politically and racially polarized regions of the country, metropolitan Milwaukee. He has succeeded by confronting his adversaries and by generating soaring levels of support from his fellow Republicans in a state they have failed to carry in a presidential race for more than three decades. The party’s way forward, by Mr. Walker’s lights, lies in demonstrating toughness in the face of intense opposition from the left and mobilizing those who are already inclined to support conservatism.” From The Times.

Rubio wants more guns, less butter: “Rubio, a potential 2016 presidential contender, said [his budget] amendment would swap out the fiscal year 2016 defense budget numbers with the projected fiscal year 2016 numbers included in former Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ fiscal year 2012 defense budget. […] The Pentagon’s 2012 budget projected the department would need $661 billion in fiscal year 2016, according to a summary of the budget released by the department. That includes a $611 base budget, and a $50 billion Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) budget. […] Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee bolstered OCO by $38 billion. Rubio said that while he respects the committee’s work, he believes senators need to debate defense spending.” From The Hill.

The Real-World Success of Obamacare: “Notwithstanding its bumpy rollout, the law has accomplished its goal of expanding coverage — at a significantly lower cost than expected. […] Certainly, some individuals, particularly younger and healthier customers, find themselves paying more; again, such winners and losers were an inevitable consequence of the individual mandate and minimum-coverage rules. Meantime, the scariest warnings — of employers rushing to drop coverage and insurance markets ensnared in death spirals of ever-rising premiums — have not come to pass. […] More than 16 million Americans have gained insurance. […] The increase would be even greater had the Supreme Court not made the Medicaid expansion optional for states; 27 of them have accepted generous federal funding to cover those earning up to 138 percent of the poverty level. Still, the share of uninsured among the nonelderly (those age 65 and older obtain health care through Medicare) is at its lowest level ever recorded. […] Health-care costs and premiums for employer-sponsored insurance (the way most of us obtain coverage) have been rising at their lowest levels in years. […] Relatedly, slower growth in health spending has saved the government money. According to the CBO, the net cost of coverage provisions for the five years ending in 2019 will be 20 percent ($139 billion) less than originally projected. That’s a snapshot of the reality of reform. Not that it’s apt to make much of a dent in the overheated rhetoric.” Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post.

PR Releases:

Palm Coast Chiropractic Center Adds Massage Therapist: Dr. Jennifer Thornton Ascone is pleased to announce the addition of massage therapist Natalie Ayres, LMT, to the practice. “Natalie offers a wide array of massage therapy, including medical massage,” said Ascone. “She is excellent with our patients and we are so grateful to have her on board.” The practice has treated more patients this month than ever before. Ayres–who is the daughter of Flagler Broadcasting and WNZF General Manager David Ayres–graduated from massage therapy school in Sarasota in 2002 and has worked in the medical and health field since graduation. She treats patients of all ages and abilities including prenatal, infants and those seeking relief from chronic pain, high stress, or ailments from an injury. In addition to medical massage, she offers many different modalities including reflexology. She said she enjoys the rewarding feeling she gets from helping people feel better. Natalie and her family recently moved from Port Charlotte to Palm Coast to be closer to her family. Palm Coast Chiropractic Center offers Chiropractic care for children and adults. They also offer Massage Therapy, Cox Flexion Distraction Therapy and nutritional guidance. They can be reached at 386-437-7111, or online at www.PCChiropracticCenter.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Palm.Coast.Chiropractic.Center.