FPC and Matanzas Graduation Ceremonies, McLaughlin Town Hall

fpc commencement — Graduation caps will be flying this afternoon and tonight at the Ocean Center where both Matanzas and FPC will hold their commencement exercises. (c FlaglerLive)

Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 60s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 135.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: ablow, adj.1.
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

First Light
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
The Day’s Best Reads
Fact-Checking the Knaves
Summer Camps for Children
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.

The Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall in Town Center. The committee will introduce Mary Giraulo, its newest member, and hear and update on the PTSD memorial at Heroes Park.

Graduation ceremonies for Flagler Palm Coast High School and Matanzas High School seniors are scheduled in the same venue this year, at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach. The Matanzas ceremony begins at 4:30 p.m. (doors open at 3:30 p.m.), the FPC ceremony at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.). The Ocean Center is at 101 N Atlantic Ave, Daytona Beach.

Flagler County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin hosts a town hall meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Hidden Trails Community Center, 6108 Mahogany Blvd. Bunnell.

Local News Recap:

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

Neighbor Dispute Over Bird Nesting in Palm Coast’s C-Section Escalates Into Lawsuit: A dispute between neighbors in Palm Coast’s C-Section over the copious presence of Purple Martin birds and involving a drone, a laser pointer, the daily Apocalypse Now-like broadcasting of loud predatory bird sounds and complaints to local authorities, has escalated into a lawsuit from one neighbor against another.

Failed Tag Light Leads to Convicted Felon Carrying Assault Rifle and Ammunition: A further search of the vehicle revealed “a Century Arms .223 caliber assault rifle,” the report states, along with a magazine and a dual drum magazine for the weapon, with ammunition in each. The firearm, which a subsequent sheriff’s report described as an “AR-15 style rifle,” was in the trunk of the car. Lucy Coriano told the cops that she had been unaware.

Colleen Fonte named National Teacher of the Year for Imagine Schools: Along with teaching 22 fourth-graders, Fonte serves as a team lead, the education director for the Intermediate Academy, and sponsors the Builders Club associated with the Kiwanis, the Observer reports.

In Latest Reversal, Sheriff Manfre Does Not Appeal Ethics Judgment as Deadline Passes: Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre has not appealed the Florida Ethics Commission’s latest judgment against him after all: that deadline passed on Friday. That means Manfre will concede to a $6,200 fine and a public reprimand and censure that the ethics commission approved on April 15.

Judge Rejects Sweeping Challenge to School System, But case May Head for Supreme Court: A Leon County judge Tuesday rejected a wide-ranging challenge to the state’s education system, saying lawmakers had met their constitutional obligation to provide a free, high-quality public education for Florida students.

Live Briefs:

In Florida and in State Government:

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

Gov. Rick Scott will continue hosting the “Degrees to Jobs Summit,” which will focus on higher-education and workforce issues. Among the other speakers will be Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Florida State University football coach Jimbo Fisher, University of Florida football coach Jim McElwain and University of Miami football coach Mark Richt. (9 a.m., Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, 5601 Universal Blvd., Orlando.)

The Florida Communities Trust Governing Board will meet and discuss the program, which helps local communities protect natural resources and preserve working waterfronts. (9 a.m., Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Douglas Building, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., Tallahassee.)

The Florida Supreme Court is expected to release its weekly opinions at 11 a.m.

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

In Coming Days in Palm Coast and Flagler:

♦ May 28-29: Flagler Palm Coast High School Class of 1996’s 20-Year Reunion. The event combines a fundraising event for the Josh Crews Writing Project through the Education Foundation and two events, one for the graduates and a family picnic. A dinner for alumni and guests at Oceanside Country Club is planned for Saturday and a family picnic is planned for Sunday at Herschel King Park. Graduates are asked to provide gift certificates, goods and products or a donation to be part of a silent auction towards the Writing Project and to register for the celebrations. For more information go to www.fpc1996.com or call Magda at 386-986-9300 or Carl Laundrie III at 386/237-4845.
♦ May 30: Flagler County hosts a Memorial Day Ceremony at 10 a.m., in front of the Government Services Building at 1769 East Moody Blvd., Bunnell. The ceremony features Army Major Thomas K. Hall, the Senior Army Instructor and Rifle Team Coach at Matanzas High School. Major Hall served as the Secretary of the General Staff for the Assistant Commandant of the US Army Command and General Staff College. He was a Battery Commander in the 1st Battalion 77th Field Artillery which was in direct support of the 194th Armor Brigade.
♦ May 31: Entrepreneur Night at Sunsetters Riverfront, 115 Main St., Daytona Beach. Join over 150 entrepreneurs, startup founders, investors, and supporters of entrepreneurs. Expect a terrific atmosphere, complimentary appetizers, cash bar, fast pitched sessions, peer-to-peer connections, conversations, networking, entertainment, and surprises. 5:30 p.m.
♦ June 1: Flagler County Emergency Management makes a presentation at the inaugural “Hurricane Preparedness Breakfast” being hosted by Flagler Volunteer Services. The breakfast will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. June 1 at the Hilton Garden Inn.
♦ June 2: The Flagler County Young Republicans Club host a forum featuring the six Republican candidates running for sheriff in the Aug. 30 primary. The forum is at the Hilton garden Inn, 55 Town Center Blvd., Palm Coast, at 6 p.m. It features Don Fleming, John Lamb, Jerry O’Gara, Rick Staly, Mark Whisenant and Christopher Yates.
♦ June 4: Flagler County’s Democratic Executive Committee holds a potluck picnic at Hershel King Park at 1000 Grady Prather Jr. Cove in Palm Coast starting at noon, with honorary guest James Canfield, first mayor of Palm Coast. Plenty of children’s activities, a dunk tank, ice cream truck, and a chance to meet Democratic candidates. Free admission includes hot dogs, baked beans and coleslaw.
♦ June 7: A 1:30 p.m. hearing is scheduled in the case of Anna Pehota, accused of second-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband on Sept. 23, 2015, in the Hammock. Her trial was scheduled for April 18, but her attorney, Ray Warren, was granted a delay so he could explore Pehota’s memory issues, which could play a deciding role in the handling of her case. The results of that inquiry are to be the subject of this hearing.
♦ June 8: The Public Safety Coordinating Council meets at 8:45 a.m. at the Emergency Operations Center in the Government Services complex, behind the Government Services Building.
♦ June 14: Dr. Bill Mefford, Faith Outreach Specialist for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, leads a discussion entitled “Religion and Partisan Politics Don’t Mix,” hosted by the All Flagler Democratic Club at 7 p.m. at the African American Cultural Society, 4422 US 1 North, Palm Coast. Call 386-447-7030 for best directions. This program is free, open to the public, all are welcome, no advance arrangements are necessary.
♦ June 16: The fourth annual commemoration of the largest mass arrest of Rabbis in U.S. History, an event that took place in St. Augustine on June 18, 1964, will be held on Thursday, June 16, at 7 p.m. in the Gamache-Koger Theater in the Ringhaver Student Center at 48 Sevilla Street in St. Augustine on the campus of Flagler College. The 90-minute event will include the reading of the letter written by the Rabbis in the Flagler County Jail and a video of the forum held with the surviving rabbis who gathered in St. Augustine in June, 2014. This event is free, all are welcome, no advance arrangements are necessary. Call (904) 819-6365 for best directions.
♦ July 20: The Flagler League of Cities, a gathering of the county’s mayors, meets at noon at Flagler Beach City Hall.

The Day’s Best Reads:

Average CEO Raise Last Year Amounted to 10x What Most Workers Make in Total https://t.co/tpR3mk6X5w #inequality pic.twitter.com/sX7LObznS0

— Common Dreams (@commondreams) May 25, 2016

Most of the 5 million #SyrianRefugees in the Middle East do not live in camps: https://t.co/G3Ps4tjx3N pic.twitter.com/nZA9vLa6gB

— RAND (@RANDCorporation) May 26, 2016

Oberlin Students: Replace Midterms with Conversations and Erase Grades Below Cs https://t.co/pe6wwwiKyt pic.twitter.com/0ju9MKBK94

— National Review (@NRO) May 25, 2016

Muslim counts are growing at least twice as fast as any other major religion. Here's why: https://t.co/aLWh0ZHuXp pic.twitter.com/Oq2NA8gLoU

— Conrad Hackett (@conradhackett) May 25, 2016

Wittgenstein drove locksmiths and engineers to tears with his fanatical exactitude about his door handles https://t.co/papSUYgVG4

— The New York Review of Books (@nybooks) May 25, 2016

Fact-Checking the Knaves:

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports

The following is an update of ongoing permitting, construction and development projects in Palm Coast, through May 11:

Click to access week-in-review-may131.pdf

Summer Camps:

Florida Agricultural Museum Summer Camps: Become a junior farmer at the Florida Agricultural Museum this summer! Junior farmers will learn about farm life, forestry, and Florida history. Participate in arts & crafts, farm animal care, Florida fauna/flora education, fun and games. Sessions are all 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., $175 per session and are as follows:
1st) June 7-9
2nd) June 14-16
3rd) June 21-23
4th) June 28-30
5th) July 5-7
6th) July 12-14

Road and Interstate Construction:

Paving operations to begin Sunday May 22 on Interstate 4 near Deltona and DeBary: Paving operations will require nightly lane closures on Interstate 4 (I-4) near Deltona and DeBary beginning Sunday, May 22. Westbound single lane closures will occur from 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m., while eastbound single lane closures will occur between 7:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. The contractor may close two lanes at a time between 10 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. The contractor, Ranger Construction Industries, Inc. will begin with a deep milling operation in the westbound lanes near the Saxon Boulevard entrance ramps to I-4 westbound. That work will occur Sunday and Monday nights, May 22 and 23. Milling and resurfacing of the westbound lanes to the St. John’s River Bridge will continue the remainder of the week. Additionally, the contractor will close the entrance ramp from Dirksen Drive to I-4 westbound on Wednesday, May 25, from 11 p.m. – 6 a.m. to remove barrier wall. The work is part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) resurfacing project on I-4 from the east end of the St. John’s River Bridge to Saxon Boulevard.