Tuesday Briefing: Inaugurating a New Sheriff, Flagler Beach and County Talk A1A, Crist Goes to Washington

charlie crist congress — Who, me? Charlie Crist is sworn in as one of Florida’s new members of Congress today in Washington. (Facebook)

Today: Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers. Lows in the lower 60s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Details here.
Drought Index is at 439.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: piroot, v..
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

“It was thus that, strolling west along River Street on which were a number of other kinds of factories, and then north through a few other streets that held more factories— tinware, wickwire, a big vacuum carpet cleaning plant, a rug manufacturing company, and the like— that he came finally upon a miserable slum, the like of which, small as it was, he had not seen outside of Chicago or Kansas City. He was so irritated and depressed by the poverty and social angularity and crudeness of it— all spelling but one thing, social misery, to him— that he at once retraced his steps and recrossing the Mohawk by a bridge farther west soon found himself in an area which was very different indeed— a region once more of just such homes as he had been admiring before he left for the factory. And walking still farther south, he came upon that same wide and tree-lined avenue— which he had seen before— the exterior appearance of which alone identified it as the principal residence thoroughfare of Lycurgus. It was so very broad and well-paved and lined by such an arresting company of houses.”

–Theodore Dreiser, from “An American Tragedy” (1925)

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.

Flagler County Schools are closed for students and teachers this week.

The Flagler Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meets at 8:30 a.m. in the Government Services Building’s Financial Services Conference Room, Third Floor, to review several disaster-assistance grants of $4,000 each. The committee will also nominate a chair and vice chair for 2017. See the agenda.

Rick Staly is sworn-in as Flagler County Sheriff in an 11 a.m. ceremony at the Sheriff’s Operations Center, 901 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell. Details here.

The Flagler Beach City Commission meets at 4 p.m. at Flagler Beach City Hall to approve a resolution urging the state Department of Transportation and other governments not to build a seawall along State Road A1A as a permanent fix is sought for the road.

The Flagler County Commission and the Flagler Beach City Commission hold a joint workshop to discuss a “unified community solution” to the permanent reconstruction of State Road A1A, at 5:30 p.m. at the Emergency Operations Center in Bunnell.

The Flagler Beach Planning and Architecture Review Board meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall to review two ordinances, including a proposed moratorium on permitting medical marijuana businesses in the city. See the agenda here.

The Flagler County Centennial Committee meets at 1:30 p.m. at the Emergency Operations Center in Bunnell.

In Florida and in State Government:

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

The 115th Congress will start its two-year term, with ceremonies including the swearing-in of new members. New U.S. House members from Florida are Republicans Matt Gaetz, Neal Dunn, John Rutherford, Brian Mast and Francis Rooney and Democrats Al Lawson, Stephanie Murphy, Darren Soto, Val Demings and Charlie Crist.

Injection wells: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will hold a public meeting about a permit application by the city of St. Petersburg for an injection-well system. (1:30 p.m., St. Petersburg Water Resource Department, 1650 Third Ave. North, St. Petersburg.)

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

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

♦ 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.
♦ Jan. 9: The Flagler County/Palm Coast Disabled American Veterans hold a flag-raising ceremony and dedication of the organization’s new facility at 27 Florida Park Drive. A luncheon will follow. The event is scheduled for 11 a.m.
♦ Jan. 11: A status conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., by phone, in the Judicial Qualification Commission’s case against Flagler County Circuit Judge Scott DuPont, who faces five charges of unethical conduct during his reelection run last year.
♦ Jan. 13-15: The 4th Annual Flagler Film Festival features 60 films (shorts and features) from several local Flagler County filmmakers and films from around the world. Films from first time filmmakers, students and multi-award winning filmmakers will be screened. Hilton Garden Inn, 55 Town Center Blvd., Palm Coast. Tickets available at the door and on the festival’s website soon (www.flaglerfilmfestival.com) or by calling the box office 386-597-0260. Advance ticket prices are $5 in advance for one block of films, $10 for one day of films or $25 for the entire weekend of films.

♦ Jan. 17: Learn about historic and interesting Flagler County sites with local author Bill Ryan as your guide on this latest Historic Flagler County Bus Tour. The bus leaves at 10 a.m. from the Holden House, 204 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell, and returns at 2:30 p.m. The cost is $20, which does not include lunch at Bull Creek Fish Camp. To make reservations or for more information call 386-439-5003.
♦ Jan. 21 and 22: Flagler County Home and Lifestyle Show, the annual event and fund-raiser for Flagler Technical Institute, the adult education division of the school district, takes place at Flagler Palm Coast High School.
♦ 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.
♦ Feb. 8: Jonathan Canales, the man accused of shooting his girlfriend in the neck and leaving her to bleed in a bathtub for hours in their Mondex trailer in Nov. 2014, is scheduled for a pre-trial at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 401 at the Flagler County Courthouse. Canales had been judged incompetent to stand trial previously.
♦ March 7: Bunnell and Flagler Beach hold their municipal elections.

The Day’s Best Reads:

Could Trumpism be an actual ideology? There's a movement of conservative intellectuals that genuinely believes so: https://t.co/XfSEzIPfbW pic.twitter.com/KRF8if1JEF

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) January 3, 2017

In 2016, America was forced to face the reality of sexual assault: https://t.co/kCPBzngo0r pic.twitter.com/7wIFYf33sF

— Slate (@Slate) January 3, 2017

Obamacare has real issues. But it has increased insurance coverage everywhere. https://t.co/tkeXy0eVgm pic.twitter.com/NysikqAWvN

— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) January 3, 2017

Trump receives low marks for his initial cabinet choices and other high level appointments https://t.co/Ls5ELMEuuG pic.twitter.com/gb7k9Dnzdk

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) January 2, 2017

Children consume half of daily sugar quota at breakfast alone – study https://t.co/qcPEl5LII9

— The Guardian (@guardian) January 3, 2017

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 Dec. 22 (the city administration’s full week in review is here):

Click to access development-palm-coast-dec-2.pdf

Road and Interstate Construction:

Florida Department of Transportation Road Project List

Cultural Coda:

Watch a Performance of a Scarlatti Sonata on the Oldest Surviving Piano

From YouTube: Dongsok Shin performs the Sonata in d minor, K.9 by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) on the earliest known surviving piano, made by the instrument’s inventor, Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731), in Florence, 1720. Scarlatti’s keyboard compositions were performed on both the harpsichord and the early piano.