The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, February 8, 2023

To include your event in the Briefing and Live Calendar, please fill out this form.

Weather: Patchy fog in the morning. Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows in the upper 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Today at the Editor’s Glance:

Palm Coast Open: A USTA Pro Circuit Event, at the Palm Coast Tennis Center, 1290 Belle Terre Parkway, runs through February 12: In its 12th year, the Palm Coast Open features elite men’s tennis played on our hometown stage. Competitors worldwide travel to Palm Coast for a chance at winning a total of $15,000 in prize money and points toward their ATP ranking, a merit-based method to determine tournament entry and seeding based on men’s tennis rankings. 

Starting at 10 a.m.

(1) Francisco COMESANA (ARG) vs. Ozan BARIS (USA)
Justin ROBERTS (BAH) vs. Jiri JENICEK (CZE)
Nicolas BUITRAGO (COL) vs. (6) Gonzalo BUENO (PER)
Jacob BRUMM (USA) vs. LUCIANO EMANUEL AMBROGI (ARG)

 Not before 11:30 a.m.

Federico Agustin GOMEZ (ARG) vs. (4) Sekou BANGOURA (USA)
(3) Ignacio MONZON (ARG) vs. Alejandro HOYOS FRANCO (COL)
Victor LILOV (USA) vs. Juan Carlos PRADO ANGELO (BOL)
Elijah STRODE (USA) vs. Gabi Adrian BOITAN (ROU)

 Not before 1 p.m.

Isaiah STRODE (USA) vs. (2) Christian LANGMO (USA)
Arthur BONNAUD (FRA) vs. Matthew SEGURA (USA)
Jaycer LYEONS (USA) vs. Christian LAKOSELJAC (CAN)
Alvaro GUILLEN MEZA (ECU) vs. Toby KODAT (USA)

Not before 3 p.m.

Francisco COMESANA (ARG) / (1) Ignacio MONZON (ARG) vs. Alfredo CASSO (MEX) / Federico Agustin GOMEZ (ARG)
Patrick DACIEK (USA) / Leonardo VEGA (USA) vs. Sekou BANGOURA (USA) / Roy STEPANOV (CAN)
Nicolas BUITRAGO (COL) / Victor LILOV (USA) vs. Jiri JENICEK (CZE) / Daniel PATY (CZE)
Jacob BRUMM (USA) / Matias SOTO (CHI) vs. (2) George GOLDHOFF (USA) / Mac KIGER (USA)

Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library: Do you enjoy Chess, trying out new moves, or even like some friendly competition? Come visit the Flagler County Public Library at the Teen Spot every Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. for Chess Club. Everyone is welcome, for beginners who want to learn how to play all the way to advanced players. For more information contact the Youth Service department 386-446-6763 ext. 3714 or email us at [email protected]

The Circle of Light Course in Miracles study group meets at Vedic Moons, 4984 Palm Coast Parkway NW, Palm Coast, Fl every Wednesday at 1:20 PM. There is a $2 love donation that goes to the store for the use of their room. If you have your own book, please bring it. All students of the Course are welcome. There is also an introductory group at 1:00 PM. The group is facilitated by Aynne McAvoy, who can be reached at [email protected].

In Coming Days:

The Annual Jazz Brunch and fund-raiser at the African American Cultural Society is scheduled for Feb. 11, 11 a.m. (doors open at 10:45) at AACS, 4422 North U.S. Highway 1, Palm Coast (just north of Whiteview Parkway). Brunch at 11, music starting at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $50. Call 386/597-5786 or 386/627-1174 for tickets.




Book bans: The Palm Coast Democratic Club will host a panel discussion with the Atlantic Coast Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State on book banning, Thursday evening, Feb. 9, at the African American Cultural Society, 4422 N. US HWY 1, Palm Coast. The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a social hour. At 7 p.m., a brief business meeting will be followed by the panel discussion and conclude with questions and answers. Politicians and school officials restricting and removing books from schools and censoring history is an increasing concern. The meeting is open to all. There is no charge and advance arrangements are not necessary. For further information call Merrill Shapiro at 804-914-4460.

The Flagler Youth Orchestra Concert Celebrates Black Composers, Thursday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m. at Flagler Auditorium, 5500 State Road 100, Palm Coast. The Flagler Youth Orchestra performs its second concert of the 2022-23 season. Conductor Joe Corporon and fellow associate conductors of the FYO will lead five orchestras with more than 350 string musicians — a cross-section of public, private and homeschooled students.  Tickets are available at the Flagler Auditorium box office, online or by calling (386) 437-7547. Adult tickets are $10 with $1 from each ticket going to the Auditorium’s Arts in Education Fund. Children 17 and under are $4. Prices include ticketing fee.

The Near Disaster of Jasper and Casper, at City Repertory Theatre: Feb. 16-19, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15-$30. Book tickets here. Award-winning actor Jason Woods brings his  Off Broadway show to CRT, taking his audience “on a  magical journey before leaving them at the end, changed for it.” His solo show tells the story of a man, Jasper, while seeking his true family, runs into a blunt witch, a mysterious, talking dragon, and a purpose he never thought he’d find.As Jasper gets closer to the answers he seeks, he must face his fears, an evil queen, his brother Casper’s self obsession, and a heartbreaking path to his own destiny. Written by Woods, who performs all roles himself.

Notably: I wouldn’t be much without him: it is Jules Verne’s birthday (1828). His A Floating City was the first book of his I read, when I was 9 or 10, the first book my brother bought me from a collection I had always associated with grown-up books, making me feel as if I’d crossed a milestone. (The novel is one of his lesser known and poorer efforts, but I’ve read it four or five times: you never forget your first. It’s a thinly fictionalized account of his only transatlantic crossing, on the Great Eastern, and his train trip to Niagara Falls, before hurrying back to France. New York City? Barely any impression on the writer who gave us the moon, the center of the earth and the depths of the sea. Jules Verne was, above all, a homebody. It remains one of the great Verne ironies.) I couldn’t stop from there on. I asked for title after title, read title after title, using Verne to drown out the war’s anxieties. He saved me twice. When I was exiled to boarding school in England as a pimpled 13 year old without my mother or country for the first time, the arrival of the big box containing my collection sent me soaring after weeks of depression. I still have the books, all of them, still open them just for the scent they carry, though I now re-read him in the relatively new edition of many of his best works in the French Pleiade edition (the collection that inspired the Library of America). I picked up 20,000 leagues, reading it slower than Nemo’s travels. He doesn’t get old, and should not be relegated to the sci-fi shelf: that’s probably a misnomer. 

Now this: James Spader turned 63 yesterday.

The Live Calendar is a compendium of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.

For the full calendar, go here.