Anna Pehota Trial, Canvassing Board Pick, Backing the Blue, D.C. Denied, Heat Waves

Today: Partly cloudy. Chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning…then slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 90s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent. Heat index readings 98 to 102. Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 70s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 378.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: comix, n..
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

“A society which reverences the attainment of riches as the supreme felicity will naturally be disposed to regard the poor as damned in the next world, if only to justify making their life hell in this.”

–R.D. Tawney, from “Religion and the Rise of Capitalism” (1926).

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 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.

The Flagler County Commission meets at 5 p.m. at the Government Services Building in Bunnell, board chambers. The commission will be appointing an alternate member to the canvassing board, as Commissioner Frank meeker resigned in light of his filing an ethics commission complaint against Dennis McDonald, who is running for Palm Coast City Council.

Backing the Blue, a fund-raising event for the families of the five police officers murdered in Dallas on July 7, will start at 6 p.m. with food and music at European Village in Palm Coast.

Local News Recap:

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

jon hardison black lives matter march — Ras Nico, center, organized the march. Sims Jones is to her right. Click on the image for larger view. (© Jon Hardison for FlaglerLive)

In Bunnell, 100 Black Marchers Chant for “All Lives,” For Unity, But Also For Looking Inward: There was no question about the message, adorning numerous colorful signs—“Black Lives Matter,” “All Lives Matter,” “Please Don’t Shoot Me,” “No One Is Above the Law Stop Police Violence” and several signs calling for justice for Corey Tanner, the young black man, allegedly a fugitive, gunned down by U.S. Marshals in Espanola two years ago even though he was unarmed. Participants amplified the message with chants to unity and harmony across all colors, and for responsibility within the black community.

“We Don’t Need Vigilantes”: P-Section Man Shoots at Teen Pokémon Go Hunters: A 16-year-old P-Section resident in Palm Coast and his 19-year-old friend were doing what hundreds of thousands of people have been doing recently across the world: they were out and about, playing Pokémon Go. The free interactive game allows players to use their phone to hunt, capture and “train” Pokémon creatures that virtually appear in their physical surroundings through their phone. It’s inoffensive, if occasionally hazardous when players get too absorbed in the game and forget to pay attention to traffic around them.

2016 Election Interviews

Supervisor of Elections

Kaiti Lenhart
Kimble Medley
Abra Seay

Sheriff

Jim Manfre (D)
Don Fleming (R)
Larry Jones (D)
John Lamb (R)
Jerry O'Gara(R)
Rick Staly (R)
Mark Whisenant (R)
Chris Yates (R)
Thomas Dougherty (I)

Palm Coast City Council

Robert Cuff (Dist. 1)
Troy DuBose (Dist. 1)
Sims Jones (Dist. 1)
Art McGovern Jr. (Dist. 1)
Nick Klufas (Dist. 3)
Anita Moeder (Dist. 3)
Pam Richardson (Dist. 3)
John Brady (Mayor)
Milissa Holland (Mayor)
Dennis McDonald (Mayor)
Ron Radford (Mayor)

Flagler School Board

Colleen Conklin (Dist. 3)
Jason Sands (Dist. 3)
Paul Anderson (Dist. 5)
Maria Barbosa (Dist. 5)
Sharon Demers (Dist. 5)
Myra Middleton-Valentine (Dist. 5)

Flagler County Commission

Charlie Ericksen (Dist. 1)
Ken Mazzie (Dist. 1)
Daniel Potter (Dist. 1)
Jason France (Dist. 3)
Dave Sullivan (Dist. 3)
Denise Calderwood (Dis. 5)
Donald O'Brien (Dist. 5)

At European Village and in Bunnell, Separate Events For Fallen Cops and Black Lives as Reactions Multiply: They are the latest in a spate of local initiatives that have sought to respond to shootings, by or of police, in various ways: the NAACP held a town hall meeting to address black concerns Tuesday, the Elks Lodge in Palm Coast held a candlelight vigil Thursday evening for the Dallas officers gunned down last week, and the sheriff’s office led the fourth of its One Common Ground meetings Thursday with school and police officials and community members.

In Newest Poll, Clinton Leads Trump in Florida, Rubio Narrowly Ahead of Murphy: An NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll released Friday showed Clinton leading Trump by a margin of 44 percent to 37 percent in a head-to-head matchup in Florida, one of the most closely watched states in the country. Clinton leads the Republican by a margin of 41 percent to 36 percent when Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are added.

Flagler Judge Gives Pot Plan a Lift, But Council And Whiff of Politics Again Delay Adoption: It will be at least another month, likely longer, before the Flagler County Commission and the county’s cities get a chance to vote for or against a proposed ordinance that would reduce the penalty for first-time possession of pot to a $250 fine. That’s assuming the proposal makes it that far.

In Florida and in State Government:

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

No events of note.

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

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

♦ July 20: The Flagler League of Cities, a gathering of the county’s mayors, meets at noon at Flagler Beach City Hall.
♦ July 22: The latest pre-trial hearing in the case of Florida v. Kimberle Weeks is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. before Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson in Courtroom 401 at the Flagler County Courthouse. Weeks now faces nine third-degree felony counts, down from 12, stemming from allegations that she illegally recorded various individuals in her capacity as supervisor of elections and in her private life. Weeks resigned that post in January 2015.
♦ July 23: The annual Back to School Jam, where families can get $5 backpacks, find their bus routes and location, help with access to the district’s computerized records-keeping system, meet with innumerable coordinators and directors of after-school activities and programs and a lot more, is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Flagler Palm Coast High School, in the gym.
♦ July 23: Midnight fishing on the Flagler Beach pier, from midnight Saturday to 6 a.m. $6 per person. Register at the pier.
♦ July 25: The Plantation Bay Utility Customers Community meets at 6 p.m. at Club de Bonmont, 300 Plantation Bay Drive, Ormond Beach.
♦ July 27: Heritage Crossroads: Miles of History meet at 3 p.m. in the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Building 2, Bunnell, in the 3rd Floor Conference Room. Sisco Deen of the Flagler County Historical Society will speak. The public is invited. For information call 386/439-5003.
♦ July 28: Flagler County School Board’s District Strategic Plan Steering Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. in the third-floor main conference room of the Government Services Building in Bunnell.
♦ 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.
♦ Aug. 10: School resumes for all students in the Flagler County School District, two weeks earlier than last year, but with a new calendar that enables students to complete their coursework ahead of high-stakes exams, that ends quarters more logically with holidays, and that restores a full week’s holiday around Thanksgiving, Nov. 21-25. See details here.
♦ Aug. 11: Flagler Votes Hob Nob, the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce’s pre-election event for voters to meet candidates, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Flagler County Association of Realtors’ building, 4101 E Moody Blvd in Bunnell. Participating candidates must pay $150 a table for their space, but it’s otherwise free to attend. As part of their free admission, attendees will enjoy light snacks, great conversation and a ticket to vote in an electronic “straw poll,” the results of which will be revealed at the end of the evening. Beer, wine and water will be available for nominal cash donations.
♦ Sept. 7: The Flagler Youth Orchestra holds its open house for all new or prospective students who’d like to join the county’s largest (and free) music program. The open house is at the Indian Trails Middle School cafeteria at 5:30 p.m. Any Flagler student, including homes chooled students, in grades 3-12, are eligible to enroll (must be 8 years old by Sept. 1, 2016.) Students may elect to play violin, viola, cello or doublebass. One-hour classes are held at Indian Trails Middle School Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3 to 6 p.m., with students enrolled in the hour block appropriate to their skill level and schedule. The first class for first-time students is Sept. 19. (Auditions for returning students start on Aug. 22, the first class for returning students is Aug. 31.)

The Day’s Best Reads:

https://twitter.com/michikokakutani/status/754853606919139328

A Harvard study found that racial bias is present in all police cases—except shootings https://t.co/x1hLCM2QaT pic.twitter.com/sclakjl412

— The Economist US (@EconUS) July 17, 2016

As a reporter, some stories just haunt you. For me, today's column about Elena is one https://t.co/AzInJzgHuG pic.twitter.com/i7pQHjNlGQ

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) July 17, 2016

No democracy on earth besides the US denies self-government to the residents of its capital: https://t.co/lbZjabLckL pic.twitter.com/cAQRXmDsUB

— The Brookings Institution (@BrookingsInst) July 17, 2016

Climate change is real and so are the consequences – – and it's past time the news media treated it that way: pic.twitter.com/3b2sbcLC9R

— Media Matters (@mmfa) July 17, 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: