Tuesday Briefing: 2,000 Macbooks for Middle Schoolers, Billing Overgrown Lots, Amy Schumer Takes on NRA

Today: Cloudy, 50 percent chance of showers, high around 90, low in mid-70s. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 400.
The weather in Virgen, Austria: high 82, low 56. Details.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: omniana, n..
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

• In Flagler and Palm Coast
• Local News Recap
• In Court
• In State Government
• Beyond
• PR Releases
• In the Press, In the News
• Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports
• Local Road and Interstate Construction
• In Coming Days in Flagler and Palm Coast
• Comment of the Day (From the Comment Section)
• Cultural Coda

In Flagler and Palm Coast:

Note: all government meetings noticed below are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated. Many can be heard or seen live through each agency’s website.

Old Kings Road Extension Groundbreaking: Take Forest Grove Drive to Old Kings Road past Matanzas High School. Turn left onto Matanzas Woods Parkway and park near the blockade. (9.a.m.)

Palm Coast Animal Control hearing, 9 a.m. at city council meeting room, city offices, City Marketplace. Most of the 43 cases on the agenda have been withdrawn, leaving several cases of failure to vaccinate.

The Palm Coast City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Palm Coast Community Center. It’s expected to approve, on second reading, an ordinance that eases restrictions on cell towers in the city, and approve billing hundreds of property owners a total of $120,000 for cleaning up lots of overgrown shrubbery that owners themselves aren’t doing. Those bills can be seen here.

The Flagler County School Board meets at 6 p.m. A 4 p.m. workshop was cancelled. The board is expected to approve a $2 million purchase of 900 iPads and 2,000 Macbooks to extend the one-to-one technology initiative to middle school, where each student will have a Macbook this year. The money comes from the half-penny sales surtax voters approved.

Road Closure Note: The northbound lane of S. Old Kings Road from Town Center Boulevard going north approximately 2.5 miles will have a moving lane closure starting Monday, July 27. The lane closure will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and will continue for approximately three weeks. A flagman will direct traffic.

Local News Recap:

Commissioner Revels Saves 13 Jobs, Rejecting Privatization at Expense of Lowest-Paid Employees: Revels’s ability to win a reversal on the matter was especially notable as the item had been placed on the commission’s consent agenda–the repository of done deals that the commission votes on in bulk, without discussion. Revels asked that the item be pulled from the consent agenda, and initiated the discussion that led to the reversal.

County Seals Final Approval for Sea Ray Parking Plan, This Time With a Caution: The Flagler County Commission’s unanimous vote approving Sea Ray Boats’s request for a zoning change went through as expected this morning, on second reading of the land use ordinance. But in contrast with their silent applause two weeks ago, commissioners this time appended a note of caution to Sea Ray with their vote.

Peter Slusarz, a 35-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s B-Section, in Roll-Over on Belle Terre: Slusarz was seen weaving and speeding up Belle Terre shortly after Joe’s Pizza called 911 to let dispatchers know they suspected an intoxicated man whose keys they tried to take from him had left their premises. The car’s description to 911 matched the car Slusarz was driving. Slusarz had just been charged with battery.

The new county jail in Bunnell is getting 60 brand new cells installed this week: “The method of using prebuilt cells to build the new jail is considered more cost effective than building them on the site. The cells are prebuilt in Atlanta, then laid into the structure much like buiding with LEGOs,” The Observer reports.

In Court:

Circuit Judges Michael Orfinger and J. David Walsh are not in session today. County Judge Melissa Moore-Stens holds arraignments and pre-trials throughout the day in Courtroom 404.

In State Government:

Note: Most proceedings below can be followed live on the Florida Channel.

The Florida College System Council of Presidents meets. (8:30 a.m.)

The Social Services Estimating Conference will analyze issues related to Medicaid expenditures. (9:30 a.m.)

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

Beyond:

The first Republican debate: Today at 5 is the deadline for qualifying, based on an average of the last five polls.

President Obama turns 54 today, and meets with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Shafqat Hussain was hanged today in Pakistan for a murder he committed when he was 14–killing a 7-year-old boy.

PR Releases:

TV Show Featuring Palm Coast Real Estate Team to Air August 9th: Patricia “P.J.” Blackmon and Catriona “Cat” Duffy are pleased to announce that P.J. will be the featured realtor on an upcoming episode of Beachfront Bargain Hunt on August 9th. “We are excited about the opportunity to showcase the beauty of Palm Coast’s waterfront property on this national TV program,” said PJ. “It’s the perfect chance to share the uniqueness of our area with the world,” she added. The show was filmed over a four-day period in Flagler County with locations that include; The Funky Pelican and Marineland, as well as several shots of Flagler County’s pristine parks and beaches. Beachfront Bargain Hunt is a series that ‘documents the journeys of families who are dreaming of living in a sandy locale with palm trees and warm ocean breezes, but those dreams are accompanied by a firm budget. And by budget we mean substantially short of a million dollars. The house hunters tour three to four waterfront properties — each with surprisingly affordable price tags — before choosing the one that turns the beach lifestyle dreams into reality.’ The show has been on air since 2013 and the episode featuring a Palm Coast waterfront home is scheduled to air at 8:30 p.m. on August 9^th, 2015 on HGTV. The Flagler County office is located at 5505 North Oceanshore Blvd, in Palm Coast. PJ can be reached at 706-575-2402 or [email protected], and Cat at 386-449-9331, or online at www.fortunegroupproperties.com.

First Baptist Church of Bunnell hosts British High Tea fundraiser for children’s playground: The event is hosted by the Women of Worship (W.O.W) and will feature music performed by pianist Marvin Clegg. Guest speaker is Lady Marquis. Hats are welcome. $20 donation. Located at the church behind Wendy’s on Route 100 in Bunnell.

Daryl Tol to Address Estate Planning Council of the Fun Coast August 12th: The Estate Planning Council of the Fun Coast is pleased to announce that Daryl Tol, President/CEO East Florida Region and Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, is scheduled to speak at their social and networking event on August 12th. This event is open to the public and members and guests are encouraged to attend. The topic will be ‘Update on the State of Healthcare’ and how the 2016 election could affect the healthcare system. “Many people are concerned about healthcare, and what changes the next presidential election will bring,” said Tol. “I’m hoping to use my expertise about the medical industry to discuss the changes I have seen so far, and what could be coming next,” he added. The event will be held from 8:00 am to 10:00 am at the LPGA Holiday Inn located on LPGA Blvd at the LPGA exit of I-95 in Daytona Beach. Reservations are requested, and the cost is $20.00 payable at the door. Please note that persons making reservations and not canceling by noon on Tuesday, August 11th will be invoiced by the EPCFC for the program cost. Those interested in attending are asked to contact [email protected] or 386-453-5934 for reservations. The Estate Planning Council consists of professionals involved helping people organize their affairs to save taxes and expenses, The core members are Attorneys, Certified Public Accountants, Chartered Life Underwriters, Certified Financial Planners, and Bank Trust Officers. Others involved in related fields and planned giving officers with local charities are included among the members. The President is Atty. Scott A. Selis. For more information, visit http://www.epcfuncoast.org.

In the Press, In the News:

Is Amy Schumer About to Become the NRA’s Public Enemy No. 1? “The actress-comedian had been invited to join her cousin, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), at a press conference in Manhattan to throw her support behind a gun-control bill he is sponsoring that aims to strengthen background checks. “Schumer & Schumer: ‘Enough is Enough,’” the announcement was billed. […] Over the weekend, Schumer responded to an open letter by Sarah Clements, founder of the Junior Newtown Action Alliance and daughter of a survivor of the Sandy Hook massacre. “I know deep down that the tweet you sent after the shooting was not all that you’ve got,” Clements wrote. “Be a voice for our generation and for women—two groups who make up most of the victims of the gun violence in our country.” “Don’t worry I’m on it. You’ll see,” Schumer tweeted Saturday.” From The Daily Beast. Watch:

Charlie Hebdo’s Multi-Million-Dollar Pile of Tragedy Money: “In the space of a few months, a publication with a storied past but uncertain future, beset by dwindling revenues and readership, casting around for financial support, has been transformed into a cash cow. People who had scarcely heard of the paper now flaunt the ubiquitous “Je suis Charlie” badge. The post-massacre edition, No. 1178, sold some eight million copies, an increase of more than 13,000 percent over previous levels. Subscriptions have soared to more than 200,000 from about 10,000. Donations have multiplied, from Google, the French government, and sympathizers across the world. One Web site garnered close to $2 million through the contributions of 24,500 individuals. As a result, Charlie Hebdo, irreverent mocker of all forms of power, reportedly finds itself sitting on more than $33 million in cash, a once unthinkable sum. (The owners have put the figure lower, at roughly $18 million, from sales and donations.) […] Many Charlie staffers are unhappy at this tight concentration of newfound wealth. In an extraordinary manifesto published by the daily Le Monde in late March, they declared, “We refuse that a handful of individuals take control, either total or partial, in absolute contempt for those who make and support” the paper. The 15 signatories asked, “How are we to escape the poison of the millions that, through exceptional sales and also donations and subscriptions, have fallen into the pockets of Charlie? ” Money equals poison. The answer to the venom, they suggested, was to turn the paper into a cooperative “in line with the social economy of solidarity that Charlie backs.” From Vanity Fair.

Max Beerbohm’s cult of the diminutive: “Beerbohm’s writing tends to be treated by his critics, and even by his admirers, as being all of a piece; minor implies monotone. But it comes in three very distinct colors. There is a period of Pater- and Wilde-style aestheticism, which made him famous on his emergence from Oxford, in the eighteen-nineties, when, at the age of twenty-four, he cheekily published his collected “Works”—highly mannered and unreal and full of Pateresque turns and a purposeful superficiality, counselling cosmetics for women and symmetrical neckcloths for men. Then, there is the journalism, which he began when, in 1898, mostly for money, he succeeded Shaw as the drama critic of Frank Harris’s Saturday Review—a body of writing far more functional, intelligent, impatient, and, often, ill-mannered than his reputation might suggest, the outstanding instance of the form between Shaw and Tynan. Max was a fine critic of drama. But even better were his forays into dramatized criticism: close reading set in motion as narrative. This includes the stories in the 1919 “Seven Men,” about the dire effects of reading and storytelling on the human soul, along with occasional essays like “A Clergyman” and “Quia Imperfectum,” the first on Dr. Johnson and Boswell, the second on Goethe and German Romanticism. The parodies in “A Christmas Garland” (1912), generally thought to be the best such collection in English, are also criticism of a kind, less genial and more pointed. The tones tend to reappear as needed: “Zuleika Dobson” (1911) is, with its po-faced climax of mass suicide among the Oxford undergraduates in despair at Zuleika’s beauty, very much in the first, aesthetic manner. His BBC broadcasts from the Second World War are written in the style of his brisk, confiding drama criticism, popular journalism of a high order, simple narratives well related.” From The New Yorker.

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports:

The following is an update of ongoing construction and development projects in Palm Coast, through July 31:

Palm Coast Parkway Six-Laning is 85 percent done: Widening on the north side of the parkway almost complete. Landscape irrigation work continues. Signage installation is complete. Milling and Resurfacing of Roadway has begun. FPL completed installation of light poles and fixtures along the south side of the roadway.

Holland Park, 25 percent done: Installation of new underground sanitary piping and structures. Continuation of installation of new water main.

Palm Coast City Hall at Town Center, 80 percent done: Installation of drywall on interior walls, mechanical duct work
& VAV damper installation, electrical conduit rough-in and fire sprinkler piping are all 98% complete. Painting of interior and exterior walls continues. Floor tile in bathrooms continues. FP&L set meter. Mechanical system being prepped for startup next week. Exterior trellis and clock installed. 2 of the 4 glass entry door systems have been installed. See ongoing images of construction here.

Colechester Drive Bridge, 30 percent done: Bridge deck is being removed.

County’s I-95 Interchange Matanzas Woods Reclaim Water, 25 percent done: Contractor has installed approximately 1,000 ft. of reclaim water main total installed 5,000 ft. to date.

Palm Harbor Parkway Roadway Extension, 6 percent done: Contractor working on submittals and coordinating utility work with FPL & ATT.

Island Walk Shopping Center Phase 1, 90 percent done: An 8″ insert a valve was installed on the water main behind the north west corner of the old Bealls store to isolated water main and adjust where storm water conflicts with the 8″ water main location.

Shops at Pine Lakes Convenience Store, 90 percent done: The Pump Station panel has been set and is ready for startup testing.

Walmart Addition, project completed.

Old Kings Road Utilities Work, 85 percent done: Pressure testing of new water main has passed.

Old Kings Road Force Main – Master Pump Station, 4 percent done: Contractor clearing crew removing trees from site.

Road and Interstate Construction:

Palm Coast:

Lane closures to begin July 27 on South Old Kings Road in Palm Coast: The northbound lane of S. Old Kings Road from Town Center Boulevard going north approximately 2.5 miles will have a moving lane closure starting Monday, July 27. The lane closure will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and will continue for approximately three weeks. A flagman will direct traffic. This lane closure is needed to allow a City contractor to clear the right-of-way along the roadway in preparation for an upcoming wastewater system project.

Lane closure planned for Palm Coast Parkway July 26 through August 7: Beginning Sunday, July 26, motorists and other travelers should expect a lane closure along Palm Coast Parkway between Florida Park Drive to just west of Cypress Point Parkway. The lane closure will occur in two phases. From 7 p.m. Sunday, July 26 through 7 a.m. Friday, July 31 one eastbound lane will be closed, and one eastbound lane will remain open. From 7 p.m. Sunday, August 2 through 7 a.m. Friday, August 7 one westbound lane will be closed and one westbound lane will remain open. Motorists are encouraged to watch for flaggers and work zone signs. The lane closures are required in order for the contractor to perform milling and paving operations. Weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances could alter work schedules.

Matanzas Woods Parkway closed: Matanzas Woods Parkway is closed until early August for construction of the Interstate 95 interchange. The portion of Matanzas Woods Parkway that spans I-95 will be reconstructed to accommodate four single-lane ramps for on and off access to the interstate. Other improvements include the widening of the interstate to accommodate new acceleration and deceleration lanes, wet detention ponds adjacent to the roadway, sidewalks, lighting, overhead signs and landscaping. Project details are available and regularly updated at http://www.matanzas95interchange.com. The detour map is available here.

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.

Flagler County Road 302 is Closed to all but local traffic as repaving began on June 7 and the roadway will be closed to all but local traffic. Others will be required to detour around County Road 302 using State Road 100. The roadway will be closed for 90 days, or until early September.

Palm Coast’s Colechester Lane bridge to be closed July 7 through Sept. 4:  A detour will be established taking travelers over the Colorado Drive bridge instead. Signs will be posted directing motorists to the Colorado Drive bridge. The City of Palm Coast strives for safe construction zones. The City asks for the cooperation and patience of residents as this important bridge improvement project is completed. For more information, contact Palm Coast Customer Service at 386-986-2360.

Volusia: I-4 Widening from SR 44 to east of I-95, Monday and Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Eastbound/Westbound shoulder closing. Sunday through Thursday, Eastbound and Westbound lane closures as needed from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday, 9:00 p.m. – 5:30 a.m. EB road closure between Canal St./SR 44 and I-95 with detour at US 92 exit ramp.Motorists should be aware of traffic shifts near Canal St./SR 44.

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

In Coming Days:

Click on the links for more details:

• Flagler County is now accepting applications for the Fall 2015 Citizens Academy. Classes will be held on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m. beginning September 10 for nine weeks. For more information, click this link or go to flaglercounty.org/academy.
• Nominate Your Veteran of the Year: Flagler County government is taking nominations from Aug. 1 through Sept. 30 for the veteran of the year. Nominations must be mailed in to the county. Click here for details.
• Back to School Immunization, required by schools, available at the Flagler County Health Department from August 10 through August 21, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on a walk-in basis. For further information, please call: 386-437-7350 ext. 2224.
• All Summer: Free Breakfast and Lunch for All Flagler County Children Through Seamless Summer Freeding
• All Summer: Flagler Sheriff’s Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) Offers Free Summer Activities for Youth .
• All Summer: Swimming lessons and lifeguard classes available at Frieda Zamba Swimming Pool.
• Registration opens for 2015 Palm Coast & the Flagler Beaches Senior Games.
• August 5: The Palm Coast Area council hosts its monthly Palm Coast Meet-up for Palm Coast Chamber of Commerce members at Carrabba’s Italian Grill at noon. A city official or staff member will attend. This is a casual lunch designed for brainstorming and networking. All attendees are responsible for their own lunch tab.
• August 6: Fund-raiser for the Casey-Dixon family who suffered a house fire in May in the LL-section, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Dinner at Sonny’s Bar-B-Q in Palm Coast: portion of the proceeds made that night will be donated to the family.
• August 15-16: Softball tournament fund-raiser for the Casey-Dixon family who suffered a house fire in May in the LL-section. Games will begin at 8 a.m. at the Flagler Fairgrounds Softball Field.
• Saturday, Aug. 15: Daytona Beach’s 3rd Annual Community Unity Festival, from 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. This free event, which will include activities for all ages, will be held at Daisy Stocking Park, 555 Mary McLeod Bethune Blvd. in Daytona Beach.
• Sept. 28: Bunnell’s State of the Art Water Treatment Facility Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting at 100 Utility Drive (directly across the street from the Flagler County Government Services Building), from 4 to 6 p.m.

 

Comment of the Day (From the Comment Section):

Lost in Space, in “Rethinking Restrictions on Food Stamps and Welfare Benefits for Drug Felons“: “The Judicial system was setup to do exactly that. Ruin a persons life forever. Small time drug user caught with possession. Young men charged with assault for fighting with his drugged out girlfriend. Makes NO difference. Court just wants you DOWN. Take all you have and then take ALL you will every make. Its a criminal enterprise in itself. Business run prisons make $365 per inmate. The more they get in, the more PROFIT they make…..Use to be back in the old West, when a man committed murder he was hanged. When he got into a fight, he was thrown in jail over night to cool down…That was it OVER. He paid his dues. Well ever sense the police,judges,corrections, and prisons found out they can SUCK the blood out of a person FOREVER, it has continued to this day……One day that system WILL COLLAPSE !!!!!” Reply to Lost in Space here.

Cultural Coda:

Mildred Bailey’s Georgia on My Mind: