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Weather: Highs in the lower 60s. Thursday Night: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers. Lows in the lower 50s. See the daily weather briefing from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville here.
Today at a Glance:
Drug Court convenes before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 401 at the Flagler County courthouse, Kim C. Hammond Justice Center 1769 E Moody Blvd, Bldg 1, Bunnell. Drug Court is open to the public. See the Drug Court handbook here and the participation agreement here.
The Value Adjustment Board meets at 10 a.m. at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
Qualifying period for Flagler Beach and Bunnell municipal elections: The qualifying period for both municipal elections, to be held on March 19, is this week, from Monday, Jan. 8 at 9 a.m. to Friday, Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. in Flagler Beach, noon in Bunnell. In Flagler Beach, the mayor’s seat and one commission seat, that of Eric Cooley, are up. One candidate has filed so far for the mayor’s seat (Patricia Louise King), two have filed for the commission seat (Robert Cunningham and Doug Bruno O’Connor).
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 105 South 2nd Street in Flagler Beach. City Attorney Drew Smith will present a new development on the city’s golf course, which it has leased, with numerous problems over the years, to Flagler Golf Management. Watch the meeting at the city’s YouTube channel here. Access meeting agenda and materials here. See a list of commission members and their email addresses here.
Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience at 6 p.m. (Note the new time.) Tonight: “Battle for the Bats: Development of Treatments for White Nose Syndrome.” Christine Salomon, PhD, Associate Professor, Center for Drug Design, University of Minnesota, will be the speaker. White nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease of hibernating bats that is rapidly spreading across North America and causing devastating losses of bat populations. WNS is caused by a fungal pathogen called Pseudogymnoascus destructans which is readily spread between bats and persists in hibernation environments. The Salomon Lab’s work is focused on identifying microbes associated with bats and on surfaces in caves and mines that can inhibit the growth of the pathogen. They are studying the chemistry of the active microbes, and working to translate promising laboratory results into complex field conditions. Their ultimate goal is to develop a safe, effective, live biological control product to treat hibernacula surfaces to slow the spread and development of disease. In this talk, Dr. Salomon will present some of their latest findings and discuss the challenges of working with fungi and bats. This free lecture will be presented in person at the UF Whitney Laboratory Lohman Auditorium, 9505 Ocean Shore Boulevard, in St. Augustine. Those interested also have the option of registering to watch via Zoom live the night of the lecture. Go here to register or to watch online for this month’s lecture.
The Palm Coast Democratic Club holds its monthly meeting at 6 p.m. at the African American Cultural Society, 4422 North U.S. Highway 1, Palm Coast (just north of Whiteview Parkway). The “Gathering,” as the club prefers to call it, is open to all like-minded people, so please come join us. If you like what you hear, become a dues paying member. For the best directions, contact the African American Cultural Society at (386) 447-7030. The evening begins with a half hour social time at 6 PM. At 6:30 PM a brief business meeting will take place followed by a discussion or a guest speaker. For further information, please contact Palm Coast Democratic Club’s President Donna Harkins at (561) 235-2065, visit the website or Facebook page.
In Coming Days:
Saturday, January 13: Keep Palm Coast Clean: It’s a Litter-ALL Effort: You can make a difference and be part of the collective effort to keep our city litter-free. Join the City of Palm Coast for the “Keep Palm Coast Clean” litter pick-up event on Saturday, January13th, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers will meet at the Public Works Department located at 1 Wellfield Grade, just off US-1. Multiple roadways are designated as focus areas for the event. See the list here. There will be awards. The city will provide: Litter-Ready Gloves, Eco-Friendly Trash Bags, Refreshments to Fuel Your Effort, Safety Measures for a Litter-Free Day. The schedule:
8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Briefing & introduction along with location assignments
9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. On-site cleanup
12 p.m. – Closing Ceremony to Celebrate a Litter-Free Victory
The event is FREE to participate in and we’re actively seeking volunteers, like you, who want to make a difference in our community! Individuals or groups interested in volunteering can send an email to Solidwastedivision@palmcoastgov.com.
Notably: I don’t know if Verlaine, Valery, Rimbaud or Baudelaire ever wrote about the baguette. You’d think they would. It’s a poetic food in a free verse sort of way. It’s seductive (I am not referring to its phallic shape, though it may have that effect on certain people), it’s delicious and deadly: one could live on baguettes alone, or double the danger by buttering them up with Danish butter. I am glad we have to drive quite a distance, Palm Coast being a baguette desert, to find the authentic kind. I was surprised to learn that the baguette is not that old of an invention: it’s contemporary with Beaudelaire, with some origins predating the 19th century, and the word itself emerging only in the early part of the 20th century. The OED doesn’t have a quote using the word before 1958. One of the quotes is from a Guardian article in 1970: “By law it must weigh 250 grammes.” The French are too damn lucky sometimes. Sure, there was Agincourt, there was Waterloo, there was Sedan, Verdun, Dunkirk. But they still have the baguette.
—P.T.
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Although the French have tried to standardize the baguette, they have not succeeded. There are too many shapes, forms, flours and customs throughout France to get everyone to comply. For example, the Parisian baguette weighs 250 grams but the baguette sold in Marseilles weighs just 200 grams. The French are well aware that the bread that’s revered around the world is not what it used to be, and beginning this fall, a group of millers and independent bakers will launch a nationwide movement to bring back good bread, to encourage both the artisanal baker and his clients to distinguish the good loaf from the bad. […] The romantic notion of the frail French baker slaving through the night to provide breakfast fare is just about a fairy tale these days, though there are still a few diligent souls who do work through the night. A large number of baguettes are, in fact, mixed and formed in the evening, refrigerated overnight, then baked the next morning, a practice that, according to the experts, doesn’t necessarily make for bad bread. […] The good baguette – sold in a number of forms and by a variety of names – is made using old-fashioned methods, the way the French did during the 1930’s. The good loaf contains nothing but high quality wheat flour, water and sea salt. […] The bad baguette is a horror. Limp, flabby, lily white, often oversalted and tasteless. Why? Bakers are in a hurry, they’re not concerned about quality and, often, neither are their customers. […] The habit of breaking off a chunk from the heel of the baguette before you’re out of the shop is not only satisfying, it’s perfectly acceptable etiquette and a great compliment to the baker. When hunger strikes, I can easily finish off a quarter of a baguette while I do my daily marketing. (If you see a whole, untouched, baguette going down the street, there’s something wrong with the bread or the consumer.)”
–From “Vive La Baguette,” Patricia Wells, The New York Times, Oct. 9, 1983.
Pogo says
@P.T.
Everyone is fortunate compared to those who have to eat the bread of haste. BTW, toasted, or untoasted, a bagel can be a wonderful dunker (not to be confused with a Baptist, please) in coffee or other hot drink.
I’ll have what she’s having
https://www.google.com/search?q=humor+is+good