Tuesday Briefing: Great Kids, Flagler Beach, Bunnell, Beverly Beach Elections, Matanzas Riverkeeper, State of the State

Today: Mostly cloudy with showers likely in the morning, then partly cloudy with slight chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent. Tonight: Colder, clear. Lows in the upper 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Details here.
Today’s document from the National Archives and the Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Drought Index: 163
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: sentient.
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

First Light
In Flagler and Palm Coast
Flagler Jail Bookings and Last 24 Hours of Incident Reports
Flagler Beach A1A Construction Updates
US 1-Old Dixie Highway Roundabout Construction Updates
Announcements
In State Government
In Coming Days in Flagler, Palm Coast and Beyond
Fact-Checking the Knaves
Palm Coast Construction and Development
Cultural Coda

“What was special about France is that everybody recognized themselves in literature. Now, you’ve got to write for the university, or this group, or that group. It’s deplorable. People read more, yes, but what they read are idiocies. The academy is a boat adrift in a dry sea.”

–Jean-Marie Rouart pon the French Academy, in the Times article, “The Guardians of the French Language Are Deadlocked, Just Like Their Country,” March 4, 2019.

Previously:

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 Sheriff’s daily incident reports and jail bookings are posted here.

The Flagler County School Board meets in workshop at 3 p.m. in room 3 on the third floor of the Government Services Building, Bunnell. Board members will discuss a new job description for the Flagler Auditorium director, as the board seeks to replace the late Lisa McDevitt. See the description here. The board will also discuss approving out of county travel for students who would be presenting a plan to the state’s safety commission in Sunrise, Fla., at a cost of $1,335, using a county van. Mr. Damian Kelly and Jacob Oliva have invited a group of Community Problem Solvers, FPS Bulldog Patrol from Flagler Palm Coast High School, to present their safety plan to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Commission. Six student and one teacher, and safety consultant will attend. Ms. Winnie Oden, Safety Consultant; Diane Tomko, teacher; William Patin, Nicholas Blumengarten, Abby Carver, Sydni Leon, Gabby Jackson and Katia Martynuk, students.

Flagler Beach and Bunnell Elections: The two cities, along with Beverly Beach, hold their municipal elections. Polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Palm Coast City Council meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall in Town Center. The council is expected to discuss and approve various land use matters.

The Hammock Community Association meets at 7:30 p.m. at the Hammock Community Center, 79 Mala Compra Rd., with guest speaker Jen Lomberk, Matanzas Riverkeeper, who will explain what the organization is all about, and how residents can help.

The Rymfire Elementary School Advisory Council meets at 5:30 p.m. at the school’s media center.

Flagler Sportfishing Club Monthly Meeting, 7 p.m. at the VFW, VFW, 47 Old Kings Rd N, Palm Coast. Learn how to catch fish with one of the most popular artificial baits on the market today, Fishbites. This is an introduction to the product Fishbites but also how to fish with the various products they offer. Also, The Year Long Tournament Winners will be awarded at this meeting.

The Daytona State College Foundation’s Wisdom in Senior Education (WISE) program: Advanced Technology College (ATC), 1770 Technology Blvd, Daytona Beach, Multipurpose Room (Rm. 109), Allergies and Arthritis. Dr. Michael Kohen is an allergy and immunology specialist in Daytona Beach and has been practicing for 46 years. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1967. His presentation will cover prevention and treatment of symptoms caused by allergies, and arthritis. The Foundation created the WISE program to provide continuing education and cultural enrichment activities to senior members of the community. WISE is open to anyone age 50 or older, for $30 for an individual or $50 per couple per year. Find a complete list of spring presenters at DaytonaState.edu/wise. For more information, contact Suzette Cameron (386) 506-4506, or [email protected].

COMMUNITY INPUT SOUGHT ON HEALTH ISSUES (closes March 15): Flagler county residents are being asked to speak up and voice their opinion on a variety of health-related topics through an online survey. The input from the community will be used to create health improvement plans to address community concerns and improve quality of life. The survey is online here countyhealthsurvey.com and is available in English and Spanish. Results of the survey provide the foundation of Community Health Needs Assessments, which are a collection of data used to inform communities and develop goals to improve health outcomes. Once the assessments are complete, they will be used to create three-year Community Health Improvement Plans for both Volusia and Flagler counties. The assessments are being conducted in collaboration with the Florida Department of Health in Flagler and Volusia counties, Flagler Cares, local hospitals and Volusia and Flagler county government. Residents, employers and community partners are encouraged to share this link and ask others to take the survey as well. The survey will close February 28, 2019. Please take the survey here.

Blood Donations: The Big Red Bus will be at the following locations this week (schedule your donation by going to the website and entering a Palm Coast zip code, then locating one of the venues below):

Monday: Plantation Bay Golf and Country Club, 200 Plantation Bay Drive, Ormond Beach, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tuesday: AT&T Store at Target Shopping Center on SR100, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Aldi, 5095 SR100, Palm Coast, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Palm Coast Data Building 3, 2 Commerce Boulevard, Palm Coast, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Building 1 from 12:30 to 3 p.m.
Thursday: Portuguese Club, 1200 Palm Harbor Parkway, Palm Coast, 1 to 6 p.m.
Sunday: Two Camino Office Complex, Hammock Dunes, 85 Avenue de la Mer, Palm Coast, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday: Epic Theaters, 1185 Central Avenue, Palm Coast, 1 to 6 p.m.

Jail Bookings and Last 24 Hours' Incidents in Flagler, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell


Jail Bookings, June 19-22 Sheriff's night shift incident reports, June 21 Sheriff's day shift incident reports, June 21 Flagler Beach's night shift incident reports, June 21 Flagler Beach's day shift incident reports, June 21 Bunnell police's night shift incident reports, June 21 Bunnell police's day shift incident reports, June 21
Previous and archived reports

Sources: Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Flagler Beach Police Department, Bunnell Police Department. This is Flagler County's only comprehensive, one-stop compilation of all local law enforcement's daily day and night shift commanders' reports.

Flagler Beach Is Open For Business: A1A Construction Update:

FlaglerLive is providing weekly updates to year-long construction on and near State Road A1A in Flagler Beach as the Florida Department of Transportation rebuilds a 1.5-mile segment from South 9th Street to South 22nd Street, and builds a sea wall at the north end of town. These updates are provided through DOT or local officials. If you have any relevant information or images, you’re welcome to email them to the editor here.

Segment 2: South 22nd to South 9th Street: A significant detour on State Road (S.R.) A1A in Flagler Beach is set to start Tuesday, Feb 26, as construction continues on a project to protect the road from erosion and future storm events. The work is part of a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) project to construct improvements along three sections of S.R. A1A in Flagler County. A temporary traffic repair has been in place since the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in late 2016.

Fast Facts:

Southbound traffic on S.R. A1A will be detoured onto a local road, South Central Avenue, between South 7^th Street and South 23^rd Street.
Northbound traffic will remain on S.R. A1A.
The detour will be in place throughout the reconstruction.
Access to all businesses and homes will be maintained.
Access will also be available using side streets.
For those with driveways only on S.R. A1A, access will be available from northbound S.R. A1A.

Since this is a popular destination for tourists and visitors, drivers are asked to obey the posted speed limits on both S.R. A1A and Central Avenue, and to be alert for pedestrians and bicyclists in the area. Due to safety concerns, bicyclists and foot traffic are urged to stay in designated, safe areas throughout the project.

Segment 3: North 18th Street to Osprey Drive: The contractor continues to bring in sand and prepare for installation of the new buried seawall. Residents may have noticed the contractor installing forms near North 18th Street. This is not the seawall itself. These forms will be used to guide the drill and form the new concrete shafts of the wall. These shafts will be about 36 feet deep. The contractor is expected to move its drilling equipment onto the work site this week. This movement is likely to require short stoppages of traffic using flagging operations along A1A.

Dune Walkovers:

The contractor will continue to remove dune walkovers as needed to accommodate construction of the buried seawall. The affected dune walkovers include both public and private walkovers between North 18^th Street and Osprey Drive. By contract, all affected dune walkovers will be reconstructed once work is complete to their pre-construction condition. The contractor is carefully removing and storing separately the existing materials for each walkover. Photographs also are being taken to document existing conditions and will be used to assist with reconstruction.

Please note that the walkovers must remain closed during construction for safety reasons.

The project team has announced that reconstruction of the walkovers is tentatively scheduled to begin in fall 2019. This timeframe is based on the current work schedule. Please note the schedule may be affected by weather or unforeseen circumstances.

The contractor has 300 days to complete the work.

Caution! Flagler Beach police and and Sherriff’s deputies are actively monitoring speed and writing tickets. “I got a warning on north section of A1A before construction actually began so I keep to the 25 limit, but still getting tailgated by cars wanting to go faster,” a reader tells us.

See Also:

The proposed roundabout at the intersection of Old Dixie Highway and U.S. 1 is intended to drastically reduce the number of severe crashes at one of the county's most dangerous intersections. Two other such roundabouts are proposed for other dangerous intersections in Flagler. Click on the image for larger view. (DOT) — The proposed roundabout at the intersection of Old Dixie Highway and U.S. 1 is intended to drastically reduce the number of severe crashes at one of the county’s most dangerous intersections. Two other such roundabouts are proposed for other dangerous intersections in Flagler. Click on the image for larger view.
(DOT)

U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway Roundabout Construction Updates:

FlaglerLive is providing weekly updates to the planned 15-month, $4.1 million construction of a roundabout at U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway. The project started in late January and is scheduled for completion by spring 2020.

The Florida Department of Transportation will be closing Old Dixie Highway and C.R. 325 at U.S. 1 on Monday night, March 4, from about 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The closure is needed to allow the contractor to make improvements to the crossover at the temporary intersection. U.S. 1 will remain open in both directions.

More details here.

See Also:

Announcements:

None.

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.

SENATE KICKS OFF SESSION: The Senate will meet before moving to the House chamber to hear Gov. Ron DeSantis’ State of the State address. (Tuesday, 9:30 a.m., Senate chamber, the Capitol.)

HOUSE GOES INTO SESSION: The House will meet before holding a joint session with the Senate to hear Gov. Ron DeSantis’ State of the State address. (Tuesday, 10 a.m., House chamber, the Capitol.)

DESANTIS GIVES STATE OF STATE: Gov. Ron DeSantis, who took office Jan. 8, will give his first State of the State address to formally start the 2019 legislative session. (Tuesday, 11 a.m., House chamber, the Capitol.)

BEACH PROJECTS CONSIDERED: The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee will take up a bill (HB 325), filed by Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, that would revise criteria used by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in ranking beach-management projects for funding. (Tuesday, 1 p.m., Morris Hall, House Office Building, the Capitol.)

LOCAL SALES TAXES TARGETED: The House Local, Federal & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, will take up a bill (HB 5), filed by Rep. Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, that would make it harder to raise local sales taxes. The bill would require sales-tax referendums to be held at the time of general elections and would require two-thirds approval from voters. (Tuesday, 1 p.m., 12 House Office Building, the Capitol.)

IMPACT FEES AT ISSUE: The House Commerce Committee will consider a proposal (HB 207), filed by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, that would place additional restrictions on local impact fees. (Tuesday, 4:30 p.m., 212 Knott Building, the Capitol.)

—-Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

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

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A Twitter List by PierreTristam

Keep Up with Donald Trump’s attacks on the press through the ACLU’s running tab here.

Keep Up with mass shootings in a running database here.

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports

Here’s a summary of the latest city developments as of March 1, 2019, with a link to the full week in review here.

Click to access week-in-review-march-1-2019-developments.pdf

Cultural Coda

Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A major, K.201, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra