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Weather: Highs in the upper 80s. Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 60s.
- Daily weather briefing from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville here.
- Drought conditions here. (What is the Keetch-Byram drought index?).
- Check today’s tides in Flagler Beach here.
- tropical cyclone activity here, and even more details here.
Today at a Glance:
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village: The city’s only farmers’ market is open every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at European Village, 101 Palm Harbor Pkwy, Palm Coast. With fruit, veggies, other goodies and live music. For Vendor Information email [email protected]
Celebrate Recovery: 4-6 p.m., First Baptist Church of Palm Coast, 6050 Palm Coast Parkway. Come join this first celebration of Palm Coast Celebrate Recovery. DJ, Food trucks, speakers and more.
Grace Community Food Pantry, 245 Education Way, Bunnell, drive-thru open today from noon to 3 p.m. The food pantry is organized by Pastor Charles Silano and Grace Community Food Pantry, a Disaster Relief Agency in Flagler County. Feeding Northeast Florida helps local children and families, seniors and active and retired military members who struggle to put food on the table. Working with local grocery stores, manufacturers, and farms we rescue high-quality food that would normally be wasted and transform it into meals for those in need. The Flagler County School District provides space for much of the food pantry storage and operations. Call 386-586-2653 to help, volunteer or donate.
Al-Anon Family Groups: Help and hope for families and friends of alcoholics. Meetings are every Sunday at Silver Dollar II Club, Suite 707, 2729 E Moody Blvd., Bunnell, and on zoom. More local meetings available and online too. Call 904-315-0233 or see the list of Flagler, Volusia, Putnam and St. Johns County meetings here.
 Keep Their Lights On Over the Holidays: Flagler Cares, the social service non-profit celebrating its 10th anniversary, is marking the occasion with a fund-raiser to "Keep the Holiday Lights On" by encouraging people to sponsor one or more struggling household's electric bill for a month over the Christmas season. Each sponsorship amounts to $100 donation, with every cent going toward payment of a local power bill. See the donation page here. Every time another household is sponsored, a light goes on on top of a house at Flagler Cares' fundraising page. The goal of the fun-raiser, which Flagler Cares would happily exceed, is to support at least 100 families (10 households for each of the 10 years that Flagler Cares has been in existence). Flagler Cares will start taking applications for the utility fund later this month. Because of its existing programs, the organization already has procedures in place to vet people for this type of assistance, ensuring that only the needy qualify. |
Editorial Notebook: We learned soon after the verdict finding Donald Trump a felon 34 times over that American flags went upside down across the land and, judging from an email I received yesterday, in Palm Coast as well. I would have been surprised had Palm Coast–of Flagler County, those binary red stars in Florida’s firmament of reactionary zealotry–not been part of the trend. That said, I am not alarmed, but relieved. As I noted to my correspondent, if that’s the extent of the reaction, I’m glad: I was fearing something more violent. If some of us disagree with the reaction–objectively, rationally, morally, who wouldn’t disagree with the upside-down-flag reaction? No one can argue that the trial, whose full transcripts are available for all to see and read, was not fair. That the defense put on a terrible case is not the prosecution’s fault. But much as most of us would disagree with the flip of the flag, it is at least a peaceful if dramatic way to protest (better that than finger flips or Brandon euphemisms), and should be, if not admired (would we not have admired those doing the same during Vietnam, George Floyd, Gaza?) then at least protected and even applauded as the essence of the American way of protest. That doesn’t mean we have to agree with the message. But it means nothing to invoke Voltaire’s apocryphal declaration and not live up to it when it matters (I may not agree with what you say but I’ll defend to the death you right to say it: apocryphal, but had he not said it, it would have had to be invented). A caveat, Justice Alito: when a Supreme Court justice indulges in such displays, it doesn’t lessen our freedom to question—not his right to protest, but his partiality, which, as a judge on the nation’s most powerful court, trumps his self-indulgence, unless he recuses.
—P.T.
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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.
Free For All Fridays With Host David Ayres on WNZF
Scenic A1A Pride Meeting
Blue 24 Forum
Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock
Flagler County’s Cold-Weather Shelter Opens
Flagler Beach Farmers Market
Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
Gamble Jam at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area
ESL Bible Studies for Intermediate and Advanced Students
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village
Al-Anon Family Groups
For the full calendar, go here.
Rancor, pestilence, want, and fury: These are the Four Horsemen comprising our own homemade Apocalypse.
–From Andrew Bacevich’s After the Apocalypse: America’s Role in a World Transformed (2021).
Laurel says
Yes, thank goodness those jurists stood up to people who will no doubt threaten them and their families. God knows why people would vote for people who behave like Mafioso bullies.
Jim says
Pierre, regarding your comments about flying the flag upside down, I’m always glad to see the Trumper’s do that. As I walk around my neighborhood or drive somewhere, it helps identify those within the community that will never let any fact or event dissuade them from blindly following the orange Jesus down the road to dictatorship and fascism. I like to know where the weak-minded zombies live.
As for the trial and it’s outcome, I am glad that – at least for now – we live in a country where you must follow the law of the land and, if you don’t, you can be held accountable for your actions. I applaud the jurors, the court, the police, prosecutors and the entire legal system (in New York, not so much in Aileen Cannon’s Florida) for seeing this through.
Why this country continues to allow Donald Trump and his sycophants to spout the vile, anti-America, anti-democracy garbage with no consequences. I guess this will continue until Trump gets someone killed – and even that may not be enough.
And, voters, this November not only can you vote against the orange Jesus but you should be voting against our illustrious “senator” Rick Scott who has his lips so tightly sealed on DJT’s buttocks that you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.
I really hope the country realizes just how fragile our democracy is right now and votes these anti-American “elected officials” out.
Laurel says
Trump did get people killed at the Jan 6th insurrection.
MAGAs don’t care. The worse he is, the more they like him. He has done, or will do nothing to stop civil violence. He encourages it for his own ego. His supporters post comments on far right websites about killing the the jurors, the judge, prosecutors, vote watchers and all aforementioned people’s children, not to mention the former Vice President I find it sad and disturbing that people are willing to vote such a disgrace of a man for President of the United States. It’s shameful of the American public. I always thought we were better than that, and a population the rest of the world could look up to. Not so much because of this failure of a man.
Ray W. says
This is a general interest comment.
Apparently, many smaller oil tankers receive crude oil in Houston for export to other countries, docking alongside larger oil tankers. The long-existing port facilities in Houston do not adequately handle all of the larger, more efficient Panamax-style supertankers that were made possible when a deeper and wider Panama Canal opened several years ago. Record amounts of American crude oil are being exported, with Houston as the biggest export facility, but the record amounts of crude oil overwhelm existing infrastructure in the Port of Houston. The smaller tankers do not actually travel to other countries; they meet up with Panamax-style supertankers in federal waters to transfer the crude oil ship-to-ship while floating side-by-side. The industry term for the ship-to-ship transfers is called “reverse lightering.” The transfer process carries significant environmental risks, mainly with the possibility for oil spillage and the possibility of explosions due to vapors that escape during the many ship-to-ship transfers that occur far from shore.
In 2022, the Biden administration issued federal permits (licenses) to build a deepwater port (112′ deep) some 46 miles off the Texas coast, stating that the project would “benefit employment, economic growth and domestic energy infrastructure resilience.” Two undersea pipelines from Houston to the offshore port will have a capacity to transfer 2 million barrels of crude oil per day. Court challenges delayed the project until this past April.
The Biden administration argued in court that it was in the national interest to rule against environmental groups that opposed the project, stating that the new port would reduce oil spillage during transfers and make the process safer. When operational in 2027, there will be far fewer oil transfers from port to ship and the current 900 annual transfers from ship-to-ship will drop to zero. Export costs to American energy companies will drop due to increased efficiencies in transfers.
Senator Ted Cruz, on receiving the news of the federal permit being issued, claimed full credit for the action, even though senators don’t issue permits or represent the government’s position in court.
I remain confused by the several FlaglerLive commenters who repeatedly claim that the Biden administration is anti-energy or that it is destroying America. The deepwater port will more safely handle the oil we are already exporting and will reduce spillage into the sea. It will create good-paying jobs and reduce export costs. Win, win, win.
I agree that because of the pandemic, Trudenflation exists for us all today. I agree that because of actions taken by both the Trump and Biden administrations in response to the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic, Trudenflation took place. I agree the Trudenonomics may lead us to avoid recession because of actions taken by both the Trump and Biden administrations. I agree that the Biden administration should have cancelled the northern leg of the XL pipeline. Had the 1100-mile pipeline been built, some 600,000 more barrels of oil per day would be overwhelming the Houston port facility. Even more ship-to-ship transfers would be occurring far offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead, the Canadian oil company built an 800-mile pipeline to Vancouver and its crude oil is being exported to other nations from that seaport.
Again, I advocate for clean energy. But one of our current political parties has been obstructing our transition to cleaner renewable energy sources for decades. We are where we are. If we are going to export oil to meet worldwide energy demands and to improve our overall economy, we might as well do it more safely with less risk for oil spills.
Vlad says
What goes around comes around. Buckle up.
FlaglerLive says
Just plain, blatant threats now?
Sherry says
Well, well, well. . . trump’s Banana Republic, Mafioso cowardly bullies continue to try and intimidate the good and brave citizens who uphold our constitution and our rule of law. What’s the plan here? Are they going to continue to turn away from facts and laws. . . towards fear and brutality? Really? Just how does one carry that out from under their bed? LOL! LOL! LOL!
Yes, the Democrats may be too consensus driven and lack strong leadership. . . but, when the chips are down our courage comes forth. We will continue to quietly do our civic duty. We will serve on juries. We will vote. We will continue to uphold the rule of law. We will always try to “do the civilized thing” by following a strong moral compass. We are courageous the “Moral Majority”!