Old Kings Opening, Bimbo Campaigning, Zola on Reactionaries

dust storm bowl oklahoma 1936 — Dust storm. Oklahoma. Photograph by Arthur Rothstein, March 1936. See below for the larger collection.

Today: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning…then chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 90s inland… In the upper 80s coast. North winds 5 to 10 mph shifting to the east in the afternoon. Chance of rain 40 percent. Tonight: Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Lows in the mid 70s. Southwest winds around 5 mph.Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 207.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: off-off-off Broadway, adj., n., and adv..
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, Palm Coast and Beyond
The Day’s Best Reads
Fact-Checking the Knaves
Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports
Local Road and Interstate Construction
Cultural Coda

“The Republic is overrun by reactionaries of all sorts, they love it with a brutal and terrible love, they embrace it to choke it.”

–Zola, from his “Letter to France,” Jan. 7, 1898.

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 King’s Road Extension: The Flagler County Commission hosts a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. to mark the opening of Old King’s Road Extension. All are invited to attend. The new four lane roadway stretches 0.7 miles between Forest Grove Drive and Matanzas Woods Parkway, filling a gap in Old King’s and improving access to I-95 via the new interchange and to US1 beyond. Guests for the ribbon cutting will need to access Old King’s Road from Matanzas Woods Parkway, where staff will guide attendees to parking. The extension will remain closed for the event and open to traffic later in the day.

The Bunnell City Commission meets at City Hall, 201 West Moody Boulevard, 7 p.m. The commission considers adopting revisions to its special events and facilities rental ordinance. It will also consider new rates for garbage pick-up, but only with regard to the city’s contract with the Flagler County School Board, not with Bunnell customers.

Local News Recap:

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

jay gardner suzanne johnston — The last time Suzanne Johnston faced an opponent was in her very first race in 2004. Jay Gardner, for his part, has never faced an opponent in four consecutive elections. They were re-elected again today. (© FlaglerLive)

Qualifying Ends: Tax Collector Johnston and Property Appraiser Gardner Are Re-Elected; Supervisor’s Race Will Be a Universal Primary: As noon marked the end of qualifying, two major local elections were also decided: Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston and Property Appraiser Jay Gardner were again automatically re-elected, without opposition.

Entrepreneur Night and Salvo Gallery Exhibit the Art of Start-Up Resilience: “My journey in Palm Coast and Flagler County, as a co-founder of Office Divvy, has a lot of similarities to Salvo Art’s co-founder, JJ Graham’s journey,” writes Ky Ekinci.

Flagler Rotary Names Jim Troiano Its New President, Marlee Walsh-McDaniel Rotarian of the Year: The Rotary Club of Flagler County Wednesday evening held its installation banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn in Palm Coast, naming Dr. Marlee Walsh-McDaniel its Rotarian of the Year and Jim Troiano its 2016-17 president.

Rubio’s Re-Election Bid Remakes Senate Race as DeSantis Reverts to Congressional Run: DeSantis is one of three Republicans who have qualified to run for the district, along with four Democrats, with several others still listed as “active” by the state Division of Elections at midday today, the last day of qualifying.

Bowing to NRA, Scott Skips Over Court Pick Who’d Blocked “Stand Your Ground” Shift: In stand your ground cases, pre-trial evidentiary hearings are held to determine whether defendants should be immune from prosecution. The Florida Supreme Court ruled last year that defendants have the burden of proving during the hearings that they should be shielded from prosecution. The bill that died during this year’s legislative session would have shifted the burden of proof to prosecutors.

sheriff's forum 2016 — Nine more or less angry men (© FlaglerLive)

At Flagler Sheriff’s Forum, Eight More or Less Angry Men, Mostly at Incumbent Jim Manfre: All nine candidates for Flagler County Sheriff gathered Wednesday evening for what appears to be the only forum that will feature them all at the same table before the Aug. 30 primary. The forum drew some 200 people, at least a third of them friends, family and partisans of the candidates, at the Portuguese-American Club in Palm Coast.

Volusia and Flagler kids dive in for World’s Largest Swimming Lesson: “At Palm Coast’s Frieda Zamba Swimming Pool, 95 swimmers joined the effort to set a world record for number of participants in the event,” the News-Journal reports. “Most of the youngsters came from the city’s Fun in the Sun summer camp program, according to James Hirst, recreation supervisor for the city.” (Story paywall-protected).

https://twitter.com/tholt74/status/746819741738663936

In Florida and in State Government:

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

Qualifying: The formal qualifying period for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and legislative races will end at noon Friday.

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

In Coming Days in Palm Coast, Flagler and the Occasional Beyond:

♦ July 3: Independence Day fireworks at 9 p.m. in Palm Coast’s Town Center, with pre-fireworks activities by the Flagler Education Foundation beginning at 5 p.m.
♦ July 4: Palm Coast marks Independence Day with a ceremony at heroes Park on Palm Coast Parkway at 8 a.m.
♦ July 4: Flagler Beach marks Independence Day with its traditional parade at 10 a.m., whose theme this year is “Land of the Free” (though it may more accurately be termed Land of Candidates: expect the parade to be significantly more populous, as the year’s many innumerable political races is expected to bring out schools of candidates.) The parade entry form is accessible here. Flagler Beach will host its traditional day-long celebration of Independence Day, leading up to fireworks by the pier at 9 p.m.
♦ July 5: A pre-trial is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. before Circuit Judge Matthew Foxman in Courtroom 401 at the Flagler County Courthouse in the case of Joseph Bova II, the man accused of first-degree murder in the killing of Zuheily Roman Rosado in an execution-style shooting at the Mobil Mart on State Road 100 in Palm Coast in February 2013. Pre-trail hearings have been frequently continued, however. Bova has been held without bond at the Flagler County jail since May 11, 2015, when he returned from a state psychiatric hospital.
♦ July 7: Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre and the County Commission hold a ribbon-cutting at the expanded county jail at 10 a.m., 1002 Justice Lane, Bunnell. There will be limited tours.
♦ July 7: U.S. Senate candidate Carlos Beruff, a Republican running for Marco Rubion’s seat, is be the guest speaker at the Flagler County Young Republicans Club meeting, which is open to the public. 7 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn, Palm Coast. Beruff, 58, is a Manatee County developer and major contributor to more than 100 political candidates since 2002, including a few Democrats, according to the Miami Herald.
♦ July 8-9: Book Blowout: The Friends of the Library of Flagler County are holding a discounted book sale. The public is invited to attend and take advantage of these bargains. The sale is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. All books are 25 cents each – these two days only. No limit. Books will be continually replenished. Sale will be held at the Friends Book Shop, Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Pkwy NW. For questions, call 386/446-6763.
♦ July 14: The Flagler County Democrats host a candidate forum featuring all mayoral and Palm Coast City Council candidates , from 6 to 8 p.m. at the African-American Cultural Society, 4422 North U.S. 1 in Palm Coast. The event is free and open to all. For additional information, call 386/283-4883.
♦ July 16: North Florida Open Chess Championship, $1,000 total purse. Ramada Inn I-95 & 9150 Baymeadows Road, Jacksonville. Three Sections: Open, U1550 and U900. Prizes: $1000 (60% guaranteed) b/o 35 (paid entries). Cash prizes for best players U2000, U1800 & U1200. 5SS (5 rounds of games) 1st Round G/45;d5 all other rounds are G/55min + d5sec. $45 Walk-up Registration $35 Online price. Players in grades K-12 $25. Register here. Details here. The tournament director for this event will be our own Steve Lampkin.
♦ July 18: The trial of Anna Pehota, 77, who faces a second-degree murder charge over the alleged killing of her husband in the Hammock in September 2015, is scheduled to begin with jury selection.
♦ July 25: The Plantation Bay Utility Customers Community meets at 6 p.m. at Club de Bonmont, 300 Plantation Bay Drive, Ormond Beach.
♦ July 20: The Flagler League of Cities, a gathering of the county’s mayors, meets at noon at Flagler Beach City Hall.
♦ July 30: Solar Plunge to benefit the Flagler Beach National Flight Academy Scholarship. Registration will be $10 per person and includes a t-shirt and goody bag. Late registration will be from 7:30- 8:30 a.m. in Veterans Park followed by The Plunge at 8:45 a.m. After the Plunge enjoy music in the park and light refreshments.

The Day’s Best Reads:

.@guardian excellent 5-part series on gun violence in the U.S. shows possible solutions. https://t.co/oVvmPTAkG7 pic.twitter.com/T3vAoB2Xz1

— The Marshall Project (@MarshallProj) June 25, 2016

With Britain's E.U. exit, is postwar order unraveling, too? https://t.co/ScwVWZMyXJ pic.twitter.com/NRWIPpyi7a

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) June 25, 2016

From our blogs: what's the fuss about all the dust? See photos from the Dust Bowl of 1936. https://t.co/0835vVlXyG pic.twitter.com/mhftfASEsE

— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) June 25, 2016

Cynthia Ozick used to think it was wrong to live only for literature, to approach it with idolatry. https://t.co/9M8NZAGpWW

— Arts & Letters Daily (@aldaily) June 25, 2016

Heckled, hated and revered: the eye-opening life of an Obama impersonator https://t.co/VE7aTysx1j

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 25, 2016

Candidates at bottom of ballot must get clever to get noticed https://t.co/X1cpzWiQ3y pic.twitter.com/KH1ImiK3P6

— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) June 23, 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 June 15 (the city administration’s full week in review is here):

Click to access week-in-review-june-16-20161.pdf

Road and Interstate Construction: