Flagler's Wild Tourism Spending, Fame, Between Trumpism and Islamism, Milan Kundera

petra iston art — A new work, still in progress, by Petra Iston, co-owner of Salvo Art Project, the Bunnell library. The work is a commission to be delivered to buyers in the Czech Republic soon. (© FlaglerLive)

Today:: Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of showers in the morning, then chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs around 80. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent. Tonight: Cloudy. Showers likely and chance of thunderstorms in the evening then chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms after midnight. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent. Details here.
Drought Index is at 391.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: andragogy, n..
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

First Light
In Flagler and Palm Coast
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
Local Road and Interstate Construction
Cultural Coda

“The male glance has often been described. It is commonly said to rest coldly on a woman, measuring, weighing, evaluating, selecting her–in other words, turning her into an object. What is less commonly known is that a woman is not completely defenseless against that glance. If it turns her into an object, then she looks back at the man with the eyes of an object. It is as though a hammer had suddenly grown eyes and stared up at the worker pounding a nail with it. When the worker sees the evil eye of the hammer, he loses his self-assurance and slams it on his thumb.” The worker may be the mahhemr’s master, but the hammer still prevails.”

–Milan Kundera, from The book of Laughter and Forgetting (1980).

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 Flagler County Commission meets at 9 a.m. in board chambers at the Government Services Building, Bunnell. The administration is asking commissioners to approve a $75,000-a-year appropriation that would enable the administration to contract with four different graphic design agencies to create marketing materials for the county’s tourism office. The arrangement would grant County Administrator Craig Coffey authority to approve any and all work authorizations within that $75,000 award, without it appearing before the county commission or the Tourist Development Council. A return of Barbara Revels? Commissioners may consider appointing Revels, who just lost her commission seat to Dave Sullivan, to the board of the troubled Florida Agriculture Museum, which is now being subsidized heavily by county government. The commission is expected to approve a $278,000 contract to P&S Paving to pave Lake Disston Drive, also known as County Road 2009.

County’s Tourism Office Seeks a Blank Check Of $150,000, and No-Bid Award of $130,000

Fame, the Musical, at the Flagler Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. Adults: $45.50, Youth $38.50.

In Florida and in State Government:

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

Associated Industries of Florida will hold its annual conference, with speakers expected to include Gov. Rick Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, state Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes. (9 a.m., Augustus B. Turnbull III Florida State Conference Center, 555 West Pensacola St., Tallahassee.)

Rodman Dam: A news conference will be held about a legal petition that alleges a permit has expired for the Rodman Dam in North Florida. The dam was built on the Ocklawaha River as part of the abandoned Cross-Florida Barge Canal project. Environmentalists contend the dam should be removed and the river restored, but local leaders in areas such as Putnam and Marion counties have long fought the removal. (11 a.m., Florida Press Center, 336 East College Ave., Tallahassee.)

Former Gov. Bob Martinez is scheduled to speak to the Economic Club of Tampa. (Noon, Jackson’s Bistro, 601 South Harbour Island Blvd., Tampa.)

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

♦ Dec. 6: The Palm Coast City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall in Town Center.
♦ Dec. 6: Animal Control hearing at Palm Coast City Hall, 1 p.m.
♦ Dec. 8: “Imagine,” an evening of live music and art celebrating John Lennon, at Salvo Art Gallery. Musicians performing John Lennon’s Beatles songs and solo hits include Bob Thames, Linda Epstein Flynn, Curt McKenzie and Mick Marino, Clayton Park, Rick de Yampert on sitar, the band Glass Onion (featuring Anthony Sica, Pat Floyd and Matthew Godwin), the Flagler Youth Orchestra, Joe Gibran, Jim Gear, Morris Sullivan and Fylo Zoet. Lennon and Beatles-inspired art by Andy Sovia and others will be on exhibit. Admission: $10, or $15 includes two raffle tickets for artwork and door prizes. All proceeds benefit Salvo Art and the Flagler Youth Orchestra. Where: Salvo Art Project, 313 Old Brick Road (in the Nature Scapes Landscape & Garden Center), Bunnell, Florida. Parking also is available in the southwest corner of Marvin Gardens, 4601 E. Moody Blvd. (S.R. 100), Bunnell. Admission: $10, or $15 includes two raffle tickets for artwork and door prizes. All proceeds benefit Salvo Art and the Flagler Youth Orchestra. Where: Salvo Art Project, 313 Old Brick Road (in the Nature Scapes Landscape & Garden Center), Bunnell, Florida. Parking also is available in the southwest corner of Marvin Gardens, 4601 E. Moody Blvd. (S.R. 100), Bunnell. Info: 386/334-2752.
♦ Dec. 8: The Flagler Beach City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
♦ Dec. 8: Tony Kenny Presents: Christmastime in Ireland, at the Flagler Auditorium 7:30 p.m., Adults, $29.50, Youth, $18.50.
♦ Dec. 10: Palm Coast Starlight Holiday Parade and Event: the Parade is at 7 p.m. with activities from 4-6 p.m. including visits/photos with Santa, music, children’s activities, food trucks and fun family entertainment. Night-time parade featuring lighted floats starts at 7 p.m., at Central Park in Town Center, 975 Central Ave., Palm Coast. More info: 386-986-2323 or www.palmcoastgov.com/events.
♦ Dec. 10: Handel’s classic, popular oratorio, “Messiah,” will bring musical magic, and will be performed by the First Church Choir for one performance only, at 4 p.m. Dr. Samuel Shingles, former Music and Fine Arts Director of the phenomenal Edward Waters Concert Choir, will conduct. Shingles is currently director of the Paxon Concert Choir and the Women’s Chorus at the Paxon School for Advanced Studies in Jacksonville. Both choirs are Triple Superior Choirs awarded by the Florida State MPA Competition. Admission is free, but a freewill offering will be requested. For further details, contact Jeroline D. McCarthy at 386/446-5759.
♦ Dec. 10: Daytona State College Enrollment Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wetherell Center (Bldg. 100), 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach. Students can take advantage of the one-stop events to complete everything from admission to registration and have a chance to win a $350 scholarship (Dec. 10 only) for a free class from the Daytona State Foundation. Students start by completing a Daytona State application, then meet with an Admissions Advisor and Financial Aid Counselor, take an assessment test (if applicable), meet with an Academic Advisor, and then lock in their schedule.

What's left of A1A south of 12th Street. It doesn't get better for many blocks. Click on the image for larger view. (c FlaglerLive) — (c FlaglerLive)

♦ Dec. 15: The Florida Department of Transportation hosts a public meeting on the long-term improvement strategies for the reconstruction of State Road A1A in Flagler Beach at the south end of town. The meeting is scheduled from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Flagler Beach City Hall, 105 S 2nd St, Flagler Beach. The meeting will be an open house with an ongoing loop presentation. The purpose of the public meeting is to present initial findings related to existing and future conditions and to receive input from interested stakeholders.
♦ Dec. 15: The Flagler County Historical Society is having a Holiday Open House from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Holden House, 204 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell. Author Sandra Thurlow who has complied a history of the US Life-Saving Service, Florida’s East Coast will be present. Refreshments will be served. The public is invited to attend. For information contact Susan Baird at 437-8414.
♦ Dec. 17: Annual Holiday Boat Parade at 6 p.m., presented by the Palm Coast Yacht Club. Boats will be lighted and begin departing the Cimmaron Basin, following this route: Cimmaron Basin to Intracoastal Waterway, turn south, passing Tidelands, Canopy Walk, St. Joe’s Walkway, Waterfront Park, Island Estates, then turning at Grand Haven Gazebo before heading back north to Clubhouse Waterway.
♦ Dec. 17: Starlight 5K at 6 p.m., in and around Central Park in Town Center, 975 Central Ave. The run is part of the Run Flagler P.A.L. Running Series. More info: www.triumphraces.com.
♦ Dec. 20: Learn about historic and interesting Flagler County sites with local author Bill Ryan as your guide. The bus leaves at 10 a.m. from the Holden House, 206 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell, and returns at 2:30 p.m. The cost is $20 per person which does not include lunch at Bull Creek Fish Camp. To make reservations or for more information call 386-439-5003.
♦ Dec. 22: The All Flagler Democratic Club meets at the Palm Coast Community Center, 7-8:30pm. The public is invited regardless of party registration. Questions: call 904/451-0301. (See background on the previous meeting here.)
♦ Jan. 7: Daytona State College Enrollment Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wetherell Center (Bldg. 100), 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach. Students can take advantage of the one-stop events to complete everything from admission to registration and have a chance to win a $350 scholarship (Dec. 10 only) for a free class from the Daytona State Foundation. Students start by completing a Daytona State application, then meet with an Admissions Advisor and Financial Aid Counselor, take an assessment test (if applicable), meet with an Academic Advisor, and then lock in their schedule.
♦ Feb. 6: The great violinist Itzhak Perlman opens the 2017 season of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival with a 7:30 p.m. performance at First Baptist Church, 1600 South 8th Street in Fernandina Beach. Tickets here.

The Day’s Best Reads:

Between the causes of Trumpism and Islamism there may be some similarities https://t.co/Ns0qWAFi5z

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 4, 2016

Trump is seriously thinking about doing something unprecedented next year…not submitting any budget to Congress. https://t.co/B01w6MsHmC

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 4, 2016

Repealing and replacing the ACA will be easier said than done, says @stuartmbutler https://t.co/WRhdW0X1LH pic.twitter.com/TQW1YrsTv7

— The Brookings Institution (@BrookingsInst) December 4, 2016

Do you need to get mentally stronger? Start with these 5 exercises. https://t.co/kX2gXeIDcQ

— Psychology Today (@PsychToday) December 4, 2016

On the dad-ification of language: https://t.co/eoZdszGl0r pic.twitter.com/h0t1aA3DCa

— Slate (@Slate) December 4, 2016

A Twitter List by PierreTristam

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports

The following is an update of ongoing permitting, construction and development projects in Palm Coast, through Nov. 10 (the city administration’s full week in review is here):

Click to access development-nov-10-20161.pdf

Road and Interstate Construction: