Roth on Trump, Homeless Census, Flagler Beach Talks Dunes, Pot and Tourism

Portrait of a homelss man by Mike Halsall. Today the Volusia Flagler Coalition for the Homeless is conducting a census of homeless persons in Flagler.

Today: Areas of fog in the morning. Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers. Highs in the upper 70s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Tonight: Cooler. Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 40s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Details here.
Drought Index is at 398.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: lovanenty, int..
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 is easier to comprehend the election of an imaginary President like Charles Lindbergh than an actual President like Donald Trump. Lindbergh, despite his Nazi sympathies and racist proclivities, was a great aviation hero who had displayed tremendous physical courage and aeronautical genius in crossing the Atlantic in 1927. He had character and he had substance and, along with Henry Ford, was, worldwide, the most famous American of his day. Trump is just a con artist. The relevant book about Trump’s American forebear is Herman Melville’s ‘The Confidence-Man,’ the darkly pessimistic, daringly inventive novel—Melville’s last—that could just as well have been called ‘The Art of the Scam.’ ””

–Philip Roth, from “Philip Roth E-mails on Trump,” in the Jan. 30, 2017 New Yorker.

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 Beach City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall to discuss a range of issues, including how to move forward with the county on beach management and repairs in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, an issue of contention between the county and the city. Commissioners are especially concerned about the county’s depletion of tourist development tax dollars, to which Flagler Beach contributes. City Manager Larry Newsom is expected to update the commission on a key recent meeting with Florida Department of Transportation officials, including a discussion of what state money may be available (or not) ahead. Commissioners are also expected to adopt a six-month moratorium on medical pot businesses, following in the steps of Bunnell, the county and Palm Coast.

Flagler Palm Coast High School‘s Oscar Night, at the Flagler Auditorium, 7 p.m.

The Volusia-Flagler Homeless Coalition‘s volunteers today and Friday conduct the annual census of the county’s homeless population. The census is conducted through a live count of actual homeless individual spotted through a scouring of the county.

USTA Pro Circuit Men’s Futures Wild Card Tournament through Thursday at the Palm Coast Tennis Center, 1290 Belle Terre Parkway. Men’s singles champion of this Wild Card Tournament wins a main draw entry into the Pro Circuit Men’s Futures Tournament.

Annual festival honoring writer Zora Neale Hurston, ongoing through Jan. 31 in Eatonville: “In celebration of the 125th anniversary of the birth of one of the most beloved African-American writers and folklorists of the 20th century, the annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities (aka Zora! Festival, zorafestival.org) presents cultural programming that honors the historic heritage of Eatonville, the Central Florida town the pre-eminent writer once called home.” Details here.

Mostly useless information about this date: It’s Australia Day, marking the day in 1788 when a shipload of convicts from Britain established the first prison colony there, supposedly to relieve British prisons’ overcrowding. The Dominican Republic celebrates its own national holiday, and in 1943 on this day, the Hitler Youth, that band of young Nazi thugs, were first deployed. Ellen DeGeneres, the antidote to Trump, is 59 today. Paul Newman would have been 92.

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.

Refugees in Florida: The House Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee will receive presentations about refugee services programs and resettlement. (9 a.m., 12 House Office Building, the Capitol.)

Judicial “timelines”: The House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee will receive a presentation by the State Courts System about judicial “timeliness.” (9 a.m.)

Civics education: The House Post-Secondary Education Subcommittee will receive presentations on postsecondary civics education. (9 a.m.)

star liquor palm coast — (© FlaglerLive)

Stand-alone liquor stores: The Senate Regulated Industries Committee will take up a proposal (SB 106), filed by Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, that would repeal a decades-old law that requires liquor stores to be stand-alone facilities. Similar measures, backed by companies such as Target and Walmart, have drawn opposition in the past from independent liquor stores and companies such as Publix Supermarkets. (10 a.m.)

Tourism incentives: The Senate Appropriations Committee will receive presentations on tourism marketing and economic-incentive programs. Gov. Rick Scott supports providing tax dollars to the tourism-marketing agency Visit Florida and to the business-recruitment agency Enterprise Florida but faces stiff opposition from House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, and other House Republican leaders. (1:30 p.m.)

Political strategists: Political strategists Kevin Cate, David Johnson, Steve Schale and Rick Wilson will take part in a panel discussion during a meeting of the Florida Public Relations Association’s Capital Chapter. The discussion, moderated by Christina Johnson, will focus on the topic, “Political Communications — The New Norm.” (8 a.m., Aloft Hotel, 200 North Monroe St., Tallahassee.)

The Florida Supreme Court is expected to release its weekly opinions at 11 a.m.

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

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

♦ Jan. 26-27: Volunteers conduct the annual in-person census of the homeless population in Flagler County.
♦ Jan. 27: The Florida Ethics Commission considers a final action in the ethics case against former County Commissioner Barbara Revels, who has agreed to a settlement and a fine of $4,500 over several issues brought forth by complainant John Ruffalo. The ethics commission board, however, must approve the settlement. 8:30 a.m. Third Floor Courtroom, First District Court of Appeal, 2000 Drayton Drive, Tallahassee.
♦ Jan. 27-29: City Repertory Theatre’s award winning, ground breaking musical, “Next to Normal,” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. Sunday, at CRT’s intimate 50 seat theater at City Market Place, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite B207 in Palm Coast. Julia Davidson Truilo headlines a star studded cast featuring Chelsea Jo Conard, Everett Clark, Max Wolf, Sara Humbert and Beau Wade. John Sbordone directs with Musical Direction by Ben Beck. “Next to Normal” is a rock musical that won the Tony for Best Score in 2009 and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama the following year. It creates something phenomenal out of an unconventional subject. Tickets are available by calling CRT’s Box Office at 386/585-9415 or, even easier, by clicking here for immediate ticketing.
♦ Jan. 27: Man Up, with former NBA Player and current pastor Keith Tower, at Palm Coast Community Church, 1 Pine Lakes Pkwy North, Palm Coast, in partnership with Parkview Baptist Church, Epic Church, Lifecoast Church, First Baptist Church of Palm Coast, and Palm Coast Bible Church. 4:30 to 10 p.m.
♦ Jan. 27: National Fun at Work Day.

♦ Jan. 28: Flagler County officials are dedicating the Wadsworth Park soccer fields to the late Commissioner Frank Meeker, and will unveil the monument that memorializes his many contributions the county at 10 a.m. in a garden created near the flagpole. Debbie, Joshua and Jason Meeker will speak, as well as Becky Mitchell, Flagler County Youth Soccer League Administrator.
♦ Jan. 30: Suicide Prevention Training: Take part in a free community outreach training program to learn three steps to help save a life, in a three-hour workshop at the Emergency Operatiosn Center, behind the Government Services Building in Bunnell, from 9 a.m. to noon. Contact Ashleigh Husbands, Regional Suicide Prevention Specialist, 301/928.7448 or by email, [email protected].
♦ Jan. 31: Vienna Boys’ Choir at Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach, 7 p.m., one performance only. The Palm Coast Arts Foundation is organizing a bus trip, leaving from the Staples Parking Lot the evening of the concert, with some light food and drinks included on the bus ride, $80 for Arts Foundation members, $90 for others, call 386-225-4379.
♦ Feb. 1: The Flagler County School Board holds its first workshop in its search for a new superintendent, at 6 p.m., in Room 3B, third floor of the Government Services Building–where the meeting is neither broadcast on television nor available by audio, though the board claims it is seeking public participation.
♦ Feb. 3: In the state’s felony case against former Elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks, a motion to dismiss the case is scheduled for hearing before Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 301 at the Flagler County Courthouse.
♦ Feb. 6: Ground Breaking for the relocation and extension of Runway 11-29 at the Flagler County Airport, 1:30 p.m. at the airport.
♦ 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:

The reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule will probably lead to more abortions, not fewer. https://t.co/wDxArN6ep1

— The Nation (@thenation) January 25, 2017

It is now the Trump administration’s official policy to politicize science. https://t.co/1th5xfRWrx pic.twitter.com/4oT15QGDou

— The New Republic (@newrepublic) January 25, 2017

Pipeline protesters: 'It's going to be war' https://t.co/UMZQzCDCWJ

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 26, 2017

As every smoker knows but few admit, nicotine is easy enough to kick. It is the least of any smoker's problems https://t.co/c5JNGoinZe

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) January 26, 2017

Will physical book endure? https://t.co/il4QoBNEAu

— Arts & Letters Daily (@aldaily) January 25, 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 Jan. 13 (the city administration’s full week in review is here):

Click to access developments-jan-2017.pdf

Road and Interstate Construction: