Wednesday Briefing: Humane Society Expansion, Public Safety Council talks Jail Inspection, Bad Journalism

The Flagler Humane Society will have a bigger space. See the ribbon-cutting information below. (Flagler Humane Society)

Today: Partly cloudy. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs in the lower 70s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Details here.
Drought Index is at 347.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: ofuro, 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

“Part of it has to do with social class. A student survey found that over 95 percent of Yale Law’s students qualified as upper-middle-class or higher, and most of them qualified as outright wealthy. Obviously, I was neither upper-middle-class nor wealthy. Very few people at Yale Law School are like me. They may look like me, but for all of the Ivy League’s obsession with diversity, virtually everyone—black, white, Jewish, Muslim, whatever—comes from intact families who never worry about money. Early during my first year, after a late night of drinking with my classmates, we all decided to stop at a New Haven chicken joint. Our large group left an awful mess: dirty plates, chicken bones, ranch dressing and soda splattered on the tables, and so on. I couldn’t imagine leaving it all for some poor guy to clean up, so I stayed behind. Of a dozen classmates, only one person helped me: my buddy Jamil, who also came from a poorer background. Afterward, I told Jamil that we were probably the only people in the school who’d ever had to clean up someone else’s mess. He just nodded his head in silent agreement.”

–J.D. Vance, from Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

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 Public Safety Coordinating Council meets for the first time under its new chairmanship, that of County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin, who replaced Barbara Revels. It is also the first meeting of the council with Rick Staly as sheriff. Aside from routine reviews of monthly reports by the region’s public safety and social service agencies, the council will hear a report on the annual jail inspection from Chief Steve Cole, the new jail director. 8:45 a.m. at the Emergency Operations Center in Bunnell. The agenda and background materials are here.

Judge Scott DuPont case: 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.

The Palm Coast Leisure Services Advisory Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall in Town Center. The coummittee will discuss remaining funds from the city’s cultural arts grants.

Ribbon Cutting to mark the expansion of the Flagler Humane Society, 4 p.m. at 1 Shelter Drive in Palm Coast.

In Florida and in State Government:

Note: Some proceedings below can be followed live on the Florida Channel. Most legislative proceedings can be followed through the Senate or House websites.

Death penalty: The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee will take up a series of issues, including recent legal decisions about the state’s death-penalty sentencing system. (9 a.m.)

Medical marijuana: The House Health Quality Subcommittee will hear presentations about medical marijuana. (9 a.m.)

Citrus greening: The House Agriculture & Property Rights Subcommittee will host a discussion about citrus greening, a disease plaguing the citrus industry. (1 p.m.)

Red light cameras: The House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee will receive an overview of a report on red-light cameras. (1 p.m.)

Higher education: The House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee will receive an overview of its base budget. (3:30 p.m.)

Candidates to replace outgoing Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant are expected to take part in a forum in Broward County. (6 p.m., Communications Workers of America Local 3104, 3121 S.W. 15th St., Pompano Beach.)

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

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

♦ Jan. 12: The Flagler Beach City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
♦ 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.
♦ Jan. 23: Doughnuts with Doughney: Similar to “Coffee with a Cop,” Doughnuts with provides the public an opportunity to meet and speak openly with Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney about issues or concerns in Flagler Beach. The location of the meeting provides citizens easy access to both the 7-ELEVEN and Chief Doughney, in a relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere. From 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Flagler Beach 7-ELEVEN convenience store, 408 South Oceanshore Boulevard.
♦ 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.
♦ March 22: The boy Scouts Council holds its Golden Eagle Dinner at 6 p.m. at Hammock Beach Resort, honoring Bob Cuff, now a Palm coast City council member.

The Day’s Best Reads:

Left out of most critiques of fake news is mainstream outlets’ own role in misinforming the public https://t.co/KX7nPeLyhH pic.twitter.com/tbHyw85tRY

— CJR (@CJR) January 10, 2017

The irony of expanding the FIFA World Cup https://t.co/IXs29tosZ5

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) January 11, 2017

.@realDonaldTrump’s Obamacare remedy spurs more confusion https://t.co/WnOUOjzkxH via @jenhab & @adamcancryn pic.twitter.com/WHCYLslB4S

— POLITICO (@politico) January 11, 2017

IRS to delay tax refunds for millions of low-income families. https://t.co/zMjw0v4x77 pic.twitter.com/M0oxoRlwiB

— Florida Times-Union (@jaxdotcom) January 11, 2017

President Obama's many accomplishments and the strong economy he's leaving Trump. From my year in charts piece: https://t.co/SMvjBvcThJ pic.twitter.com/kzO4yDK538

— Steven Rattner (@SteveRattner) January 4, 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: