Bunnell Candidate Forum, Early Primary Voting, Louis CK On Trump

bunnell commission forum — A candidate forum will feature the three candidates for the Bunnell City Commission this evening. See below. (© FlaglerLive)

Today: Partly cloudy. Highs in the lower 70s. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 107.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: nephology, n..
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.

Early Voting is on in Flagler for the presidential primary election in Florida. Only Democrats and Republicans may cast ballots in their respective parties’ primaries. Independents and minor-party voters may not vote, Florida being a closed-primary state. Early voting runs through March 12 at the Supervisor of Elections’ office in Bunnell (at the Government Services Building), the Flagler County Public Library on Palm Coast Parkway, and at the Palm Coast Community Center. Every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click here for early voting details.

The Flagler County Commission meets at 9 a.m. at the Government Services Building. The commission is expected to approve an ordinance opposing fracking, though this year’s attempt in the Legislature to ease the way for fracking failed. Health Department administrator Robert Snyder will give an update. Pam Walker and Ryan Crabb look to be re-appointed to the Tourist Development Board for four-year terms. The commission is expected to ratify another slew of TDC taxpayer subsidies for various events, including $5,000 for the Florida Flag Football League State Championships June 9-11 and $5,000 for WNZF’s parent company, Flagler Broadcasting, to subsidize Rock’n RibFest April 7-10, 2016.

Bunnell Candidate Forum and Town Hall Meeting, 6:30 p.m.: The Flagler County Chamber of Commerce, the Flagler County Association of Realtors and the Flagler Home Builders Association are partnering to host a voter education opportunity prior to the Bunnell City Commission election. The Flagler Votes Bunnell Candidate Forum and Town Hall Meeting will take place Monday, March 7 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Bunnell’s Old City Hall, 200 S. Church Street. The purpose of the forum is to bring the three city commission candidates together — Bill Baxley, Jan Reeger and Elbert Tucker — so residents and business owners can hear from them before the election and learn where they stand on local issues. Unlike the Bunnell forum the group hosted in 2014, the evening’s format will include some questions submitted by Bunnell area businesses before opening it up to audience questions. The event is free and open to the public.

In court: Circuit Judge Mathhew Foxman hears a possible plea in the case of Duane Weeks, the son of ex-Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks, who faces a third-degree felomny battery charge dating back to June 2015, when his then-25-year-old live-in girlfriend told police that they’d been at Bimini bar and got into an argument in the car as they were idling outside the Country Store. According to the victim, Weeks “physically grabbed her by her neck with one hand and demanded for her to go buy cigarettes,” his arrest report states. Weeks then told the woman to drive him to Hollar and Green. Once there, the arrest report states, Weeks “was grabbing her against her will and smashing her head into the wall several times.” (9 a.m., Courtroom 401)

Caution: It’s Bike Week. Look both ways three times.

Local News Recap:

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

SWAT Team Serves Search Warrant at House of Man at Center of Puppy-Shooting Controversy: A day after the completion of a necropsy of the puppy found dead with apparent bullet wounds in Palm Coast’s W Section last week, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office this afternoon served a search warrant at the house of Miles Smith, at 31 Lago Vista Place.

Flagler’s Athletic Directors Concerned By Proposed Law Facilitating Student-Athletes’ Transfers: The bill, SB 684, is sponsored by Senators Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and Senator Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and in addition to allowing smaller private schools to join the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) on a per-sport basis, as opposed to the current method of having to pay for membership for all sports, the bill would ease the path for student-athletes looking to transfer.

Troubled Florida Department of Corrections Asks for 734 More Positions for Security. Lawmakers Say No.: A deal on the state’s public-safety budget that lawmakers reached late Friday would not give the Department of Corrections the 734 additional positions that the agency says are necessary to make Florida’s prisons more secure.

Florida House Overwhelmingly Approves Use of Full-Strength Pot for Terminally Ill, 99-16: The plan (HB 307 and HB 1313) also would revamp the 2014 law, which has been bogged down in legal challenges over the selection of nurseries to get potentially lucrative contracts. Many House members pointed during a debate Thursday to how medical marijuana could help suffering patients.

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 a.m.

Uber: The app-based transportation service Uber, which has been locked in a battle about legislation dealing with the ride-sharing industry, will hold an event with the Florida Police Chiefs Association to discuss DUI reduction efforts. (8 a.m., Governor’s Club, 202 South Adams St., Tallahassee.)

PSC and Food Bank: Florida Public Service Commission Chairwoman Julie Brown will join local officials and America’s Second Harvest of the Big Bend to discuss information related to food and telephone services for low-income people. (10:30 a.m.)

Solar amendment: The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments about a proposed constitutional amendment backed by a group known as “Consumers for Smart Solar.” Justices will determine whether the proposed ballot wording meets legal tests to go before voters in November. (11 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:

March 9: Flagler Reads Together program: Graham Swamp Preserve Trail Walk, starting at 10 a.m.. Meet at the Colbert Lane trail head for approximately a two-mile hike.
Flagler Reads Together Program: Walking the Appalachian Trail with Denise Bevan. The Palm Coast city government administration coordinator will share her own experience of walking the trail, 2 p.m. at the Palm Coast City Hall Community Room, in Town Center.
March 11: Flagler County Job Fair, at the Palm Coast campus of Daytona State College, 3000 Palm Coast Pkwy, SE Bldg 3. The job fair will offer businesses and job seekers opportunities to connect on March 11, 2016 from noon to 6 p.m.
March 15: Presidential Primary Election in Flagler and all of Florida, and Bunnell city election.
March 15: The Flagler County Historical Society resumes its bus trips to historic and interesting county sites with Bill Ryan as your guide on Tuesday, March 15. The bus leaves from the Holden House, 204 East Moody Boulevard in Bunnell, at 10 a.m. and returns at 2:30 p.m. The cost is $15 per person and does not include lunch at the Bull Creek Fish Camp. To make reservations or for information call 386-439-5003.
March 30-April 2: Florida Future Problem Solvers State Competition, to be attended by four to five Flagler County schools, at Doubletree Orlando Seaworld, 10100 International Drive, Orlando.
March 5: Christian Women’s Conference: “Unexpected Detours,” Featuring Carol Kent, an inspiring Christian speaker and best-selling author. First Baptist Church of Bunnell, 2301 Commerce Parkway, Bunnell. $25 to attend. Price includes lunch. Contact Marge Ankrom for information, 386-931-2784
April 2: Cheer at the Pier, a fund-raiser for the Flagler Beach Historical Museum, from 3 to 6 p.m. Call Virginia Giaramita for information at 386/299-8892.
April 12: Anjali Anabel Tomerlin, a third grader at Imagine School at Town Center in Palm Coast who’s written and illustrated her first book, will hold a book-signing at the Flagler Beach Public library from 4 to 6 p.m.
April 15: The Florida Ethics Commission will take up an administrative law judge’s recommendation in the ethics case against Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre. 9 a.m.

PR Releases:

Click on the link for more details.

In the Press, In the News:

"The guy is Hitler. And by that I mean that we are being Germany in the 30s." https://t.co/jUyaOAMiA9 pic.twitter.com/I0sIcFVsHR

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) March 7, 2016

Even Glenn Beck is comparing Donald Trump to Hitler https://t.co/FNjNutlzJN pic.twitter.com/FHNDmxdMU7

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) March 6, 2016

Donald Trump vows to legalize torture. https://t.co/oZ8XolS6Os pic.twitter.com/3jYTtaUaEX

— Slate (@Slate) March 7, 2016

The Buzz: Lawmakers agree on $75 million each in capital aid for traditional schools, charter schools https://t.co/rppr8xREtc

— Buzz on Politics by Tampa Bay Times (@PoliticsTBTimes) March 7, 2016

#NancyReagan's death occurred at a moment of major upheaval for the GOP https://t.co/Dg7MgkGypV pic.twitter.com/xjtvKs3DHz

— Truthdig (@Truthdig) March 6, 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 Feb. 17:

Seminole Woods Multi Use Path design, 75 percent done: Survey continues, shot horizontal and vertical features for path design.

Holland Park, 54 percent done: Grading and installation of sidewalks continues. Restroom block cells poured and trusses installed. Installation of street and pathway light poles and fixtures.

County’s I-95 Interchange Matanzas Woods Reclaim Water, 83 percent done: Approximately 1,600 ft. of 16″ HDPE piping was air tested February 11, 2016. On February 12, 2016 the 16″ HDPE reuse main was installed under the southbound ramp.

Palm Harbor Parkway Roadway Extension, 50 percent done: Work continues on the stormwater structure at the intersection of Palm Harbor Parkway and Forest Grove.

Colechester Bridge, 94 percent done: Sea walls have been completed and forming of the western abutment almost complete.

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 96 percent done:: February 11, 2016 night work with lane closure and tank trucking for the south end force main tie-in to the 12″ pipe from the South and the 12″ pipe from Town Center. The new
16″ force main and the 8″ old main were connected to the old Pump Station north of Lehigh Canal.

Island Walk Shopping Center Phase 2, 26 percent done: February 15, 2016 a 10″ core was made into the existing manhole for the sewer lateral for the 2 lots facing Palm Coast Parkway. (GoToby has a construction permitting progress report here.)

Road and Interstate Construction:

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].