The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 30, 2021

Mass mask hysteria by Bruce Plante, PoliticalCartoons.com

Today at the Editor’s glance: On Free For All Fridays this morning on WNZF, host David Ayres welcomes David Alfin, the mayor-elect of Palm Coast, Bobby Bossardet and Paul Peacock, the school district’s de facto deputy superintendents, and Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director of the Flagler Health Department, starting a little after 9 a.m. with my commentary on Flagler County’s three Big Lies and its big liars. A Dangerous heat advisory is in effect today in Flagler-Palm Coast and likely the rest of the weekend, with the heat index expected to range between 108 and 112 in Northeast Florida. See the National Weather Service-Jacksonville’s latest briefing here. “A heat warning means that some people can be seriously affected by heat if precautions are not taken. Studies in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. have indicated that mortality begins to increase exponentially as the heat increases or stays above a heat index of 104°F,” NWS says. The Canvassing Board of the Palm Coast special election for mayor meets at 1 p.m. at the Elections Supervisor’s office at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell, to canvass vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots and announce official results of the election that saw David Alfin win with 36 percent of the vote and Alan Lowe come in second, with 27 percent. Lowe has not conceded (not that he has to). He announced on Thursday that he was “taking a little break from FB but not going anywhere,” but his followers have been grumbling about a stolen election and making noise about demanding a “forensic audit,” which does not exist. The Canvassing Board will itself conduct a legally-required audit, as opposed to the ninja kind (a concept that may be difficult to grasp for Trump-Lowe backers) on Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. at the Supervisor’s Office. The Canvassing Board consists of Palm Coast City Clerk Virginia Smith and members David Valinski, with Michael Martin as an alternate member. Bring back the state’s Cocid daily reports: via Florida Politics and Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel, “Florida Democrats want daily COVID-19 reports to return,” With coronavirus cases skyrocketing in the state, Democrats are calling for Florida to return to releasing daily COVID-19 reports instead of the weekly report the DeSantis administration put in place since June. “FL is the U.S. epicenter of resurgence, yet @GovRonDeSantis refuses to reinstate daily COVID reporting,” state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith wrote on Twitter. “So last week, I officially requested public records for local data so residents can make informed decisions to protect their families before school reopens. Still waiting.” With reports restricted to being released weekly, residents and lawmakers have to wait until Friday afternoons to learn how many new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19 have been reported. Keep in mind: A Celebration of Life for Paul Harrington, the two-time candidate for Flagler Beach City Commission who died on April 14, is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at 210 South Central Avenue in Flagler Beach. (Family members have a gathering at 11:30 a.m.) “We will be gathering to share our favorite memories, our stories, to laugh, to cry and remember a wonderful person who is greatly missed,” writes Maria Serrano, who organized the celebration.

paul harrington — Paul Harrington. (© FlaglerLive)

Vaccinations and Covid testing: Given the continued increase in COVID-19 cases in the community, the Flagler County Health Department (DOH-Flagler) will continue its COVID testing and vaccination sites for the upcoming week. Flagler County recorded nearly 400 new cases of Covid in the week ending Friday compared with 240 one week ago. If you have not done so already, please consider getting vaccinated at one of the following locations:

Mondays from 5 to 6PM, Santa Maria Del Mar Catholic Church, 915 N Central Ave, Flagler Beach.

Tuesdays from 4:30 to 6:30PM, Flagler County Health Department, 301 Dr. Carter Blvd, Bunnell.

Wednesdays from 5 to 6PM, First United Methodist Church, 205 N. Pine Street, Bunnell.

Fridays from 9AM to 11AM, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 4600 Belle Terre Pkwy, Palm Coast.

NOTE: There will be no COVID testing at the health department on Friday afternoons.

Vaccination appointments are preferred, but walk-ups will be accepted. Please call 386-437-7350 ext. 0 for scheduling or questions. Nearly all pharmacies in Flagler County offer COVID-19 vaccinations and testing, and 12 offer Pfizer, which is approved for individuals ages 12 and over.

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