Working at City Rep, Rachel Thompson at Salvo, Water Circus

atlantic city boys — Atlantic City Boys in performance at the Flagler Auditorium Friday evening at 7:30 p.m.

Weekend: Warmer, highs in the 70s, cooler on Sunday, lows in the mid-50s, and mid-40s Sunday night.Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 380.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: will-call, adj..
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

In Flagler and Palm Coast
Local News Recap
Flagler Jail Bookings and Sheriff’s Crime Reports
In State Government
In Coming Days in Flagler and Palm Coast
PR Releases
In the Press, In the News
Fact-Checking the Knaves
Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports
Local Road and Interstate Construction
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.

Friday: Former County Commissioner and Palm Coast Mayor candidate Milissa Holland and developer Jim Jacoby are the guests on Free For All Friday, hosted by David Ayres, on WNZF at 9 a.m.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Studs Terkel’s “Working” is staged at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, City Market Place, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students. Click here for tickets.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: The Third Annual Flagler Film Festival at the Palm Coast Hilton Garden Inn, all day each day. The festival will feature 47 films from Florida, California, New York and other states, as well as movies from Spain, Australia, Canada and a co-production from Uganda, Britain and the United States.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Cirque Italia, a water circus, in Palm Coast’s Town Center. Performances every evening at 7:30 p.m. across from Epic Theaters at 470 Bulldog Drive. Friday: 7:30 p.m., Saturday: 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., Sunday, 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Ticket costs range from $10 to $50 per ticket.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: the Florida Flag Football League hosts the Flag Football Championship at the Indian Trails Sports Complex.

Friday: Mokonzy Computer Club Hosts Facebook Training Workshop Jan. 15th With Cindy Dalecki, owner of Palm Coast’s Marketing 2 Go. Dalecki will discuss how businesses can maximize their exposure on social media.

Friday: “Atlantic City Boys” at the Flagler Auditorium: The performers lend their world class vocals to the rock-n-roll harmonies of the 60’s -singing the hits of The Drifters, The Beach Boys, and of course, Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. For Tickets Call the box office at 386/437-7547

Friday: J.T. Douglas, Live at Center Stage, European Village, 7 p.m.

Saturday: Flagler County Artist of the Year Rachel Thompson is honored with a show opening at Salvo Art Gallery Saturday at 6 p.m., at NatureScapes, 313 Old Brick Road, Bunnell. A $10 cover charge applies for adults. Rick de Yampert will be performing on the sitar.

Local News Recap:

Updated jail bookings and day and night shift incident summary reports are available here.

Worrisome Numbers for Black Students Behind Flagler School District’s “Touting” of Graduation Rates: The graduation rate for black students has taken a nosedive. Overall in Flagler 63.3 percent of African-American students are graduating, down 4.6 percentage points from three years ago. But at FPC, that number more than doubles. In 2012-13 71 percent of African-American students graduated. Two years later it was down to 61 percent.

Bunnell Mayor Robinson Again Re-Elected Unopposed; 3 Vie for 2 Commission Seats: Two city commission seats are up: those of Elbert Tucker and Bill Baxley. Both have qualified for the March election through petitions. Tucker was first elected in 2008, Baxley in 2013. But they will face one challenger: Jan Reeger, the Bunnell Realtor, who ran for the county commission in 2008 and currently serves on Bunnell’s Planning and Zoning Board.

second degree murder anna pehota — Anna Pehota was booked at the Flagler County jail on a second-degree murder charge.

76-year-old Palm Coast murder suspect Anna Marie Pehota accepts attorney after a fight: Pehota murdered her husband in September in the couple’s Hammock trailer and immediately confessed. She had resisted having an attorney because, she told a judge, according to the News-Journal, “He wanted to put me in a home with three or four crazy old ladies. That would make me look at my husband every day for the rest of my life.”

Flagler School District Earns Apple’s Distinguished Program Award: Apple looks at five areas: visionary leadership, innovative learning and teaching, ongoing professional learning and development, compelling evidence of success, and flexible learning environments.

Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy and SWAT Member Jonathon Duenas Escapes Blazing Patrol Car on CR35: He was able to get safely out of the car and quickly retrieved several high dollar items (computer, rifle, etc.) before the car was fully involved with flames.

Couple on Palm Coast Parkway Threatened With Handgun in Apparent Road Rage Incident: Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery charges are pending against the alleged perpetrators, who have not been found.

Demolition underway near Bunnell City Hall for new park: Perry Mitrano, Bunnell’s waste management director, is demolishing a building near city hall by himself, rather than hiring a contractor, to make room for a city park, channel 13 reports.

In State Government:

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

The House is scheduled to hold a floor session at 10:30 a.m., the Senate at 10 a.m.

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

In Coming Days in Palm Coast and Flagler:

Click on the links for more details:

Jan. 20: Ballroom With a Twist, at the Flagler Auditorium. Featuring Chris Soules from Dancing with the Stars and ABC’s The Bachelor, and Mirror Ball Trophy-winner Whitney Carson from Dancing with the Stars in a rare reunion on stage. Watching the cha-cha rattle on the television screen is one thing, but getting up close and live beneath the fringe, sequins, and booming sounds of Rumba bass is a whole other ballgame. Ballroom With A Twist brings a frenzy of sizzling dance moves by professional international dancers spanning the hot moves of Samba, Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, and Jive. Click here for tickets or call the box office at 386-437-7547.
Jan. 23: Golden Isles Scholastic Chess Association Grand Prix K-12 tournament, Glynn Middle School, 635 Lanier Blvd, Brunswick, Ga., onsite registration starting at 8:30 a.m. Click on the link for details.
Jan. 28: Flagler County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin holds a town hall meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Hidden Trails Community Center in western Flagler County.
Bravo Amici, at the Flagler Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.: Bravo Amici’s mix of handsome tenors and stunning divas perform an uplifting collection of well-known classical and contemporary arias. Click here for tickets or call the box office at 386-437-7547.
Jan. 29: Live From Nashville, at the Flagler Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.: Twelve musicians, singers, and dancers will take you on an extraordinary trip through America’s greatest music – from the roots of the Country genre all the way to the hits of the present, including Bluegrass, Gospel, and Country Rock. Click here for tickets or call the box office at 386-437-7547.
Jan. 30: The City of Palm Coast’s Town Center Park will host the Color Vibe 5K – the first-ever “colorful” walk-run in Palm Coast. The Palm Coast Color Vibe 5K will be held Saturday, Jan. 30, at Central Park in Town Center, 975 Central Ave.
Feb. 13: Winter Scholastic Series Chess Tournament (K-12) and Winter Open (G/45;d5), Jacksonville Chess Club, at San Jose Church of Christ, 6233 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, registration onsite starts at 9 a.m. Click on the link for more details.

PR Releases:

Click on the link for more details.

In the Press, In the News:

About those seismic waves from the #NorthKorea test https://t.co/D2kDHmYm2g #nukes pic.twitter.com/KG2Ltf6nWc

— Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (@BulletinAtomic) January 14, 2016

Why self-driving cars are still being driven by humans https://t.co/J6PNXjkmeZ @maxlewontin pic.twitter.com/drDqYF0fYz

— The Christian Science Monitor (@csmonitor) January 15, 2016

Cracking the literary codes of the celebrated Finnish author Leena Krohn: https://t.co/sWIhLhRHgu pic.twitter.com/C3fa3LEsCn

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) January 14, 2016

Global Journalist profiles Rea Hederman, publisher of The New York Review for the past 31 years https://t.co/rGKiBBYfNf

— The New York Review of Books (@nybooks) January 12, 2016

Reading Augustine’s Mind (by Garry Wills, in blistering form) https://t.co/5RTNgQKpDR

— The New York Review of Books (@nybooks) January 11, 2016

Fact-Checking the Knaves:

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports

The following is an update of ongoing construction and development projects in Palm Coast, through Dec. 15:

Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, 1 percent done: Located at 5625 North US Highway 1, the school received a Development Order for a new 13,794 sq. ft. early learning center to be located on the south side of their 8.6-acre site. The architecture of the new one-story building will be very similar to the existing church and school facilities that are located just north of the proposed new building.

Holland Park, 48 percent done: Grading and installation of perimeter sidewalk continues. Electrical conduits being installed to new restroom. Restroom plot has been cleared and graded. Water service has been installed at restroom site. Surveying for basketball court and roadway has begun..

County’s I-95 Interchange Matanzas Woods Reclaim Water, 76 percent done: Retention ponds are being excavated and fill continues for the ramps. (Not in the Dec. 15 update.)

Palm Harbor Parkway Roadway Extension, 38 percent done: The headwall for the double barrel stormwater pipe has been installed and tied in. The water main and reuse main have been extended towards Forest Grove Drive waiting on the
closure of the road next week to make the road crossing.

Colechester Bridge, 93 percent done: Seawall has been completed on the east side, slope pavement has begun.

North Old Kings Road Extension to Matanzas Woods Parkway, 19 percent done: Asphalt was installed on the new section of roadway adjacent to the old roadway at the intersection of Old Kings Road and Forest Grove. (Not in the Dec. 4 update.)

Old Kings Road Force Main 83 percent done:: Contractor has completed the Force main up to the pig launch points and restored the site and trail. The area for the pig flush was completed and flushing has started. (Not in the Dec. 15 update.)

Road and Interstate Construction:

Matanzas Woods Parkway to close temporarily Jan. 16 and 17: Florida Power & Light has requested a temporary closure of Matanzas Woods Parkway to install new street lights. The roadway will be closed between Bird of Paradise Drive and Old Kings Road at Matanzas High School from the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on January 16 and 17 – a Saturday and Sunday – to provide ample time for the installation. “FP&L requested the road closure so they can complete this portion of the work,” said County Engineer Faith Alkhatib. “It is scheduled for a time when school is not in session.” Road work for the Interstate 95 interchange at Matanzas Woods Parkway will cause intermittent lane closures as the ramp construction is not slated for completion until April 2016. Project details are available and regularly updated at matanzas95interchange.com. Links are available on the Flagler County website flaglercounty.org.

Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway to be closed starting Dec. 18: Effective Friday, Dec. 18, the City of Palm Coast will be closing the Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway. This road closure is required as part of construction operations for the Palm Harbor Parkway extension, which is currently under construction. Palm Harbor is being realigned and extended to connect directly with Matanzas Woods Parkway where it intersects with Old Kings Road. Message boards will be placed to advise motorists and other travelers of the upcoming change, and a public meeting has already been held for residents living in that area. Both the Palm Harbor extension and a separate extension of Old Kings Road are being built in preparation for the new Interstate 95 interchange to open next June at Matanzas Woods Parkway. As part of the projects, traffic patterns around Matanzas High School will be changing. One goal is to turn Forest Grove Drive back into a residential street as it was originally intended to be. The upcoming road closure of the Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway is part of that project. Forest Grove will be turned into a cul de sac on that end. Once the separate Old Kings Road extension is completed, in June 2016, the Forest Grove Drive access to the high school will be closed because it will no longer be needed. Instead, motorists and other travelers will get to Matanzas High School via the new signalized intersection at Matanzas Woods, Palm Harbor and Old Kings. For more information, please contact Palm Coast Communications Manager Cindi Lane at 386-986-3708 or [email protected].