Today: high in low 80s, low in the–get ready for this–mid-60s. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is low. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 123.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: sciolist, n..
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.
Today’s Briefing: Quick Links
- In Flagler and Palm Coast
- Local News Recap
- In State Government
- In Coming Days in Flagler and Palm Coast
- Police, Fire and Emergency Notes
- PR Releases
- In the Press, In the News
- Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports
- Local Road and Interstate Construction
- Comment of the Day (From the Comment Section)
- Cultural Coda
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.
It is Banned Books Week. Honor the book, screw the censors and pick up a little Nabokov, Voltaire, Rushdie, even Harper Lee.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, “Godspell” at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre. It’s that vintage musical about the last seven days of Christ. Director John Sbordone isn’t sticking to many of the play’s traditions. He originally cast a woman as Jesus but, in a plot twist worthy of Kazantzakis, “she got pregnant,” Sbordone said with laughter. The role then landed with Andre Maybin, whose black skin and Mediterranean smile make him more authentically Jesus-of-Nazareth than most pasty-white versions plastered on the wishful re-imaginations of western pieties. See the preview here.
Friday: Sally’s Safe Haven board meeting, scheduled for 12:30 p.m., was cancelled.
Friday, Live at European Village’s Center Stage, Kool Vibes Reggae Band, 7 to 10 p.m.
Saturday: The Bulow Parks Historic Alliance will have an extra Trail Maintenance Day to prepare for the October 30 Candlelight Trail Walk. Workers are asked to meet at the Trail head at 9 a.m. wearing gloves, hats, appropriate clothing and carrying bug spray. Water will be provided.For information call 386-437-5338.
Saturday: Palm Coast’s International festival at Town Center, from noon to 9 p.m.
Saturday: Master Gardener Fall Festival and Plant Sale at the county fairground’s IFAS Extension Office, Sawgrass Road, 10 a.m.
Saturday, Live at European Village’s Center Stage, Kevon Re’mon’te Live, 7 to 10 p.m.
Standoff With Armed, Ex-Flagler Beach Cop at Heroes Park in Palm Coast Ends Peacefully: Tim Sturman, who left the Flagler Beach Police Department in early summer, was initially reportedly not threatening to do harm to anyone but himself, eliciting unnerving memories of the October suicide at Heroes Park of former Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Joseph Delarosby, who had recently retired from the sheriff’s office. The first-year anniversary of Delarosby’s death is in six days.
Flagler County Youth Center Marks 10 Years in Continuing County-School Board Partnership: A decade into its life, the center may not be drawing the 300 to 500 students a day that former School Board member Jim Guines had imagined when it first opened its doors (it’s more along the lines of a tenth of that), it has been quite a success nevertheless, by all accounts. Parents love that there’s a safe place for their children to hang out between 2:30 and 7 p.m. Students love it because they have somewhere to go besides the streets, such as streets are in a city without a center, and they can learn, socialize, play and decompress in a safe, nurturing environment.
Facing Cruelty Charge for Killing Puppy, He’s Jailed for Battering Ex and Threatening Cop: Kevin McClenithan, 46, got in an argument with his live-in girlfriend at her property off State Road 100 in western Bunnell. He accused her of cheating on him while he was in jail. According to her, he “grabbed her and pushed her over a bar stool,” grabbing her by the throat though to cause her to fear that she was about to pass out, if he were to hold on much longer. He then “slapped her across the face and then head-butted her in the forehead.”
Florida Senate Will Consider Removing Confederate Flag From Its Seal: The Senate Rules Committee will meet Oct. 8 to begin re-examining the current emblem of the chamber. Under Senate rules, the seal includes “a fan of the five flags which have flown over Florida” — those of the United States, Confederate States of America, France, Great Britain and Spain.
Note: Most proceedings below can be followed live on the Florida Channel.
No significant events scheduled.
–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive
In Coming Days in Palm Coast and Flagler:
Click on the links for more details:
- Oct. 11: Pink Army 5k Run/Walk for Breast Cancer, 7:45 am at Florida Hospital Flagler. Gather your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and run or walk in honor of those who have battled and continue their battle against breast cancer. Proceeds from the Pink Army Run/Walk go to the Florida Hospital Flagler Foundation to educate and support women of Flagler County.
- Oct. 6: The Flagler County School Board holds a town hall meeting at the Government Services Building.
- Oct. 6: Palm Coast Wood Carvers plan ‘Open House and Art Show,’ an Open House to showcase their work from 5-7 p.m. in Room 109 of the Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Pkwy. NE.
- USA Today’s Alan Gomez to discuss immigration and its role in 2016 presidential election at Flagler College Forum: USA Today immigration reporter Alan Gomez will discuss recent attempts to change the nation’s immigration laws, why they failed and how immigration has become a central issue in the 2016 presidential debate at the Flagler College Forum on Oct. 6. His presentation, titled “Immigration in the 2016 Elections and Beyond,” takes place at 7 p.m. in the Lewis Auditorium and is part of the Forum on Government and Public Policy’s “Road to the White House” theme leading up to next year’s presidential election.
- Oct. 10: The Women’s Missionary Society of First Church has scheduled the monthly food giveaway for Oct. 10, 1-3 p.m., at 91 Old Kings Road North, Palm Coast. For more information, call Jeroline D. McCarthy, 386-446-5759.
- Oct. 10: Saturday Evening with the Artists at the Flagler County Art League: This is the League’s signature event, an open-themed art show where Flagler artists show off their best work, their newest work, their most recent forays into other mediums or their latest artistic exuberances. The exhibit’s popularity has a traditionally high rate of artist participation and creativity. Judge for the show is artist/sculptor Harry Messersmith. City Marketplace, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite 207C, Palm Coast. 386-986-4668.
- Oct. 14: The Bulow Park Historic Alliance meets at 6 p.m. in the Recreation Hall of the Tomoka State Park. Plans for the October 30 Candlelight Trail Walk and other events will be discussed. For information call 386-437-5338.
- Oct. 17: The Bulow Parks Historic Alliance’s monthly Trail Maintenance Day, to prepare for the October 30 Candlelight Trail Walk. Workers are asked to meet at the Trail head at 9 a.m. wearing gloves, hats, appropriate clothing and carrying bug spray. Water will be provided.For information call 386-437-5338.
Police, Fire and Emergency Notes:
Hurricane Joaquin is moving further east into the Atlantic Ocean, lessening earlier fears that it was heading for the New York Metropolitan area. As far as Flagler and Florida are concerned, NOAA has this advisory: Large ocean swells will build and impact the local Atlantic waters. The building waves will elevate the rip current risk at local beaches this afternoon, and the rip current risk will remain elevated through the weekend as Joaquin tracks east and north of the local area. A high risk of rip currents has been issued. Minor flooding around the times of high tide will continue to impact interests along the St. Johns River basin and the Atlantic coast through Friday, and a Coastal Flood Advisory remains in effect. By Friday afternoon, large breakers of 6-8 feet are expected to impact the local coast. A High Surf Advisory has been issued, starting Friday afternoon.
NOAA’s latest report on Joaquin itself, at 8 a.m. Friday: The center of Hurricane Joaquin was located near latitude 23.4 North, longitude 74.8 West. Joaquin is drifting toward the northwest near 3 mph (6 km/h). A faster northward motion is expected to begin later today, followed by a turn toward the northeast and an increase in forward speed tonight and Saturday. On the forecast track, the core of the strongest winds of Joaquin will continue moving over portions of the central and northwestern Bahamas today. Joaquin will begin to move away from the Bahamas tonight and Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are near 130 mph (215 km/h) with higher gusts. Joaquin is a dangerous category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-
Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are possible during the next 24 hours. Slow weakening is expected to begin on Saturday. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 205 miles (335 km).
DAV 86 Launches Free Community Seminars for the General Public: Jim Booe Chapter 86 of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) today announced their newest community information service initiative to help both veterans and the general public. Starting in October, the DAV will hold free, bimonthly seminars on topics of interest and importance to all local residents. “For the 2015-16 season, we have planned four seminars that we are confident will help attendees to live healthier, happier and more productive lives,” comments DAV 86 Commander Ray Parker. “Our seminars, to take place in October and December of 2015, and February and April of 2016, have been carefully selected to fill distinct informational voids we’ve found among the general public. Topics in our Community Seminar Series will be presented by professionals experienced in the areas being discussed and, unless otherwise noted, will take place at the Palm Coast Community Center.” The first in the series of DAV seminars will help attendees avoid financial mistakes that can, among other problems: cause your assets to plummet; allow the IRS to collect the major portion of your wealth; leave your grandchildren disinherited; and create excessive income taxes for your heirs. Entitled “Defending Against the Deadly Dozen”, you learn how to protect your retirement assets and avoid 12 costly mistakes with IRA and other monies you intend to use in retirement and leave to your heirs. Our trained and certified professionals will show you — in black and white — how poor planning can lead to poor performance, and how protecting your retirement assets can ensure your and your heirs’ financial future. The free seminar takes place from 7 to 8 PM on Monday, October 12, with a follow-up date of Wednesday, October 14 for those who are unable to attend on Monday the 12th. This and all seminars in the series are a free community service provided by the DAV. These seminars are not sales programs. Reservations are not necessary for the seminar, but are appreciated. (Please call 386-439-2122 or eMail [email protected]) This is a community-oriented program and the general public is encouraged to attend.
$500 grant final step to transform brownfield to green garden: Seeds and wheelbarrows are on order following the award of a $500 grant through the UF/IFAS Farm to School program that will transform a brownfield into a green garden for the residents in south Bunnell. This grant, as well as the $600,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant, was awarded to the Flagler Economic Enhancement District (FEED) Coalition – a collaborative effort between Flagler County, Palm Coast and Bunnell. The project was developed to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Katrina Austin, project manager for the Flagler County Department of Economic Opportunity, oversees the project and the grants that are funding it. “I was so excited to learn that we got this grant,” Austin said. “This $500 grant from the UF/IFAS Extension Services is enough to pay for the seeds, wheelbarrows and more. We are on track with this program.” Raised boxes are currently under construction in the former propane tank storage lot on Bacher Street that supports the 132 units owned by the Housing Authority. Environmental Land Services donated the time and equipment to remove the 22 concrete cradles and footers in August to allow for the plant boxes. Once delivered, the seeds will be distributed to agronomy students at Buddy Taylor Middle School germinated for planting.
“Our community has been supportive of this project too,” Austin said. Dennis Ross, of Ross Excavating Inc., has committed to donate the top soil that will be used to fill the boxes. The agriculture students of Bunnell Elementary are donating plants and volunteering to help construct and plant the garden. Students of the i3 Tech Academy have designed a planting schematic for placement of the plants. “The project still needs volunteers and donations of gardening tools, mulch and fertilizer,” Austin said. Anyone who would like to contribute time or materials should contact either Mia Gerber or Susan Gipson at the Housing Authority, 386-437-3221.
Stewart Marchman-Act Foundation Teams up with Hendrick Honda Daytona for a fundraiser in October: In an effort to support the community while growing the Hendrick Honda Facebook page, the local dealership will donate $1 per Facebook ‘like’ in October (up to $2,000) to the SMA’s Huger Adolescent Campus Project. “We are thrilled to partner with Hendrick Honda, a company that is not only an important part of our local commerce but one that is also focused on giving back to the community,” said Carolyn Sentelik, Stewart Marchman-Act Foundation executive director. “Through this fundraiser, we have the opportunity to raise funds for the Huger Adolescent Campus Project while helping Hendrick Honda build their social media presence.” Huger Adolescent Campus Project funds will be used to provide a full-service adolescent campus for youth in Volusia and surrounding counties. The program will provide behavioral health services, including residential treatment for substance abuse, and respite from dangerous or unhealthy home situations. The campus also will provide shelter for runaways. To participate in this fundraiser, Facebook users must first visit https://www.facebook.com/StewartMarchmanActFoundation and click a link to Hendrick Honda Daytona’s page and then click ‘like’ on Hendrick Honda Daytona’s Facebook page. With this partnership, Hendrick Honda becomes an honorary Corporate Member of the SMA Foundation. Other companies interested in developing a similar partnership are encouraged to call the SMA Foundation at (386) 254-1136.
Guns Kill An Average Of 36 People Every Day, And The Nation Doesn’t Even Blink “The nation was once again confronted with the horror of a deadly school shooting on Thursday, this time a massacre at a community college in Roseburg, Oregon. A gunman killed at least 10 people and wounded seven before police fatally shot him. It marked the 45th shooting on a school campus this year, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a group pushing for legislative reforms to reduce gun violence. It was the 142nd shooting at a school since the December 2012 rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Those numbers alone may come as a surprise, because we typically don’t talk about school shootings unless they inflict a level of devastation that makes them impossible to ignore. Most people are familiar with Columbine and Sandy Hook. When we look at the bigger picture, however, those mass shootings are revealed as tragic outliers in the overall trend of gun violence that has infiltrated American schools. On-campus shootings are themselves just a small part of U.S. gun violence. School shootings and even mass shootings — of which there have already been hundreds in 2015, according to some counts — are overshadowed, at least statistically, by the hail of bullets that rip through the nation each day, claiming an average of 36 lives.” From Huffington Post.
Voodoo Economics Never Dies: “So Donald Trump has unveiled his tax plan. It would, it turns out, lavish huge cuts on the wealthy while blowing up the deficit. This is in contrast to Jeb Bush’s plan, which would lavish huge cuts on the wealthy while blowing up the deficit, and Marco Rubio’s plan, which would lavish huge cuts on the wealthy while blowing up the deficit. For what it’s worth, it looks as if Trump’s plan would make an even bigger hole in the budget than Jeb’s. Jeb justifies his plan by claiming that it would double America’s rate of growth; The Donald, ahem, trumps this by claiming that he would triple the rate of growth. But really, why sweat the details? It’s all voodoo. The interesting question is why every Republican candidate feels compelled to go down this path. You might think that there was a defensible economic case for the obsession with cutting taxes on the rich. That is, you might think that if you’d spent the past 20 years in a cave (or a conservative think tank). Otherwise, you’d be aware that tax-cut enthusiasts have a remarkable track record: They’ve been wrong about everything, year after year.” Paul Krugman in The Times.
Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports
The following is an update of ongoing construction and development projects in Palm Coast, through Sept. 23:
Palm Coast Parkway Six-Laning is 93 percent done: No change from last week: Contractor has placed the new 6″ reuse main into service and has prepared the old line to grout filled. Work in median continues and landscape along project continues.
Holland Park, 32 percent done: Began dewatering and removal of wetland muck in roadway area through former wetland. Excavation for lighting and fiber conduits began. Excavation continues for sidewalks in the ball field areas.
Palm Coast City Hall at Town Center, 94 percent done: Contractor has placed concrete around valve collars and identifying tabs. Wire testing has been completed. Carpet and Tile in (Phase 1) of the project is 95% complete. Furniture installation in Phase 1 first floor 80% complete.
Colechester Drive Bridge, 43 percent done: Seawall Caps being formed, work has begun on the bridge deck, South traffic barrier poured, North traffic barrier being formed, demolition of slope pavement continues.
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, 25 percent done: Clearing and fill work thru low areas continues.
North Old Kings Road Extension to Matanzas Woods Parkway, 12 percent done: Site clearing continues at 85 percent.
Island Walk Shopping Center Phase 1, 93 percent done: Final Utility Inspection was issued 9/21/15 for the first state on the west end of project.
Old Kings Road Force Main – Master Pump Station, 22 percent done: Jack and Bore casing has been placed under Old Kings Road at south entrance to spray field. The 16″ Force main piping installation has started.
Grand Haven Sales Center on Colbert Lane, 35 percent done: Water and Sewer services have been installed on site.
Road and Interstate Construction:
Palm Coast:
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
Comment of the Day (From the Comment Section):
Algernon, in “City Manager Jim landon as Control Freak“: Two things: First, if the $9,000 pay rate for council was set in 1999 when the city incorporated, an inflation calculater with US Consumer Price Index data says the average inflation rate since then has been 2.36%. That means that it has gone up about 45%, and that it would take $13,078 to purchase what $9,000 bought in goods and services back in 1999. I wouldn’t be against building some kind of reasonable inflation formula in city council salaries. It might take a charter review to open up that subject. Secondly, whether or not a council member has outside employment, I’d venture that the amount of time spent by a conscientious council member has increased over the years, just to keep up with changes and new issues that have evolved. If everyone says council pay should stay low – then all you’ll get will be retirees and those with independent means. To allow a wider cross section of our community to be able to serve (if elected) I think higher pay makes sense. Again, a charter review might have to happen to look at that. I think a study of other cities’ council pay might open some eyes. I’m not suggesting an amount. A current council voting on a raise could delay implementation too, to avoid benefiting themselves, say for 2 years. By doing that, then after the next election, new (or reelected) council members would get the higher pay, and sitting members too would get the higher pay for their last 2 years in office, to avoid two members being paid much higher than the other two at the same time. That’s just a thought. My question is, may a particular section of the charter be opened up for review without opening the whole thing?” Reply to Algernon here.
Joaquin Turina (1882-1949): Danzas Gitanas op. 84 for Piano, Nikita Volov
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