Weather: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Friday Night: Mostly clear. Cold with lows around 30. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
- 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 Daytona Beach (a few minutes off from Flagler Beach) here.
- Tropical cyclone activity here, and even more details here.
Today at a Glance:
The Cold-Weather Shelter known as the Sheltering Tree will open tonight: The shelter opens at Church on the Rock at 2200 North State Street in Bunnell as the overnight temperature is expected to fall to 40 or below. It will open from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. The shelter is open to the homeless and to the nearly-homeless: anyone who is struggling to pay a utility bill or lacks heat or shelter and needs a safe, secure place for the night. The shelter will serve dinner and breakfast. Call 386-437-3258, extension 105 for more information. Flagler County Transportation offers free bus rides from pick up points in the county, starting at 3 p.m., at the following locations and times:
- Dollar General at Publix Town Center, 3:30 p.m.
- Near the McDonald’s at Old Kings Road South and State Road 100, 4 p.m.
- Dollar Tree by Carrabba’s and Walmart, 4:30 p.m.
- Palm Coast Main Branch Library, 4:45 p.m.
Also: - Dollar General at County Road 305 and Canal Avenue in Daytona North, 4 p.m.
- Bunnell Free Clinic, 4:30 p.m.
- First United Methodist Church in Bunnell, 4:30 p.m.
The shelter is run by volunteers of the Sheltering Tree, a non-profit under the umbrella of the Flagler County Family Assistance Center, is a non-denominational civic organization. The Sheltering Tree is in need of donations. See the most needed items here, and to contribute cash, donate here or go to the Donate button at this page.
Free For All Fridays with Host David Ayres, an hour-long public affairs radio show featuring local newsmakers, personalities, public health updates and the occasional surprise guest, starts a little after 9 a.m. after FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam’s Reality Check. See previous podcasts here. Today, the prodigal Dr. Bickel, the medical director at the Flagler County Health Department, returns to talk about vaccines and artificial intelligence’s medical breakthroughs–and misinformation about such breakthroughs. On WNZF at 94.9 FM and 1550 AM.
Flagler and Florida Unemployment Numbers Released: The state’s Commerce Department released the previous month’s preliminary unemployment numbers for Florida and its 67 counties, at 10 a.m. See the data releases page here.
The Scenic A1A Pride Committee meets at 9 a.m. at the Hammock Community Center, 79 Mala Compra Road, Palm Coast. The meetings are open to the public.
The Friday Blue Forum, a discussion group organized by local Democrats, meets at 12:15 p.m. at the Flagler Democratic Office at 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite C214 (above Cue Note) at City Marketplace. Come and add your voice to local, state and national political issues.
‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, 160 Cypress Point Parkway (City Marketplace, Suite B207), Palm Coast. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday. $25 for adults, $15 for students. Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan is a heart-wrenching yet hilarious story about a young child who creates a list of all the brilliant things in the world to help their struggling mother. From ice cream to construction cranes, this life-affirming play celebrates the beauty in everyday moments. Both touching and funny, it explores themes of hope, love, and resilience, making it an unforgettable theatrical experience. See Rick De Yampert’s preview here.
Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock, 2 to 5 p.m., Picnic Shelter behind the Hammock Community Center at 79 Mala Compra Road, Palm Coast. It’s a free event. Bring your Acoustic stringed Instrument (no amplifiers), and a folding chair and join other local amateur musicians for a jam session. Audiences and singers are also welcome. A “Jam Circle” format is where musicians sit around the circle. Each musician in turn gets to call out a song and musical key, and then lead the rest in singing/playing. Then it’s on to the next person in the circle. Depending upon the song, the musicians may take turns playing/improvising a verse and a chorus. It’s lots of Fun! Folks who just want to watch or sing generally sit on the periphery or next to their musician partner. This is a monthly event on the 4th Friday of every month.
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella: Youth Edition, at Athens Theatre, 124 North Florida Avenue, DeLand. Tickets range from $12 for students and children to $35 for preferred seating. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., with an extra 2 p.m. matinee on Feb. 1. Explore the enchanting world of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella: Youth Edition, where the magic isn’t just in the ball gown! This reimagined fairy tale is a magical musical filled with charm, laughter, and timeless life lessons. Follow the journey of a passionate Cinderella as she navigates the challenges of self-discovery, love, and unexpected adventures. With beloved characters, unforgettable tunes, and a plot that sparkles with warmth and hilarity, it’s a must-see for anyone seeking an escape into a world where dreams unfold, lessons are embraced, and enchantment reigns supreme. Brace yourself for a whirlwind of youthful exuberance and pure fun–Cinderella awaits with open arms, ready to cast its spell on hearts of all ages.
‘Crimes of the Heart’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, 11 Old Mission Avenue, St. Augustine. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $25. Book here. The three MaGrath sisters are back together in their hometown of Hazelhurst for the first time in a decade. Under the scorching heat of the Mississippi sun, past resentments bubble to the surface and each sister must come to terms with the consequences of her own “crimes of the heart.”
Notably: We all knew Dexter Romweber. Anyone living in Chapel Hill or Carrboro between the early 1980s and 1924 knew Dexter, or knew of him, or heard him and his rockabilly guitar and manic, hypnotizing performances. When I was in Chapel Hill between 1986 and 1989, and for the endless times I visited on weekends while I lived in West Virginia for the next five years, he seemed to be performing everywhere when he wasn’t disappearing for periods at a time, once performing with his Flat Duo Jets on letterman (in 1990). We never became friends exactly, but we hung out , or rather I helped him out, gave him rides, a few meals, stopped in at a few performances, he’d improvise a few musical moments for me, even played classical if he found a piano. Our encounters were always elusive, always urgent, always frenetic, always memorable. I was in Chapel Hill last weekend for another friend’s death. We stopped in at The Cave Cheryl and I, in an afternoon pilgrimage sort of way (The Cave is still there: it, too, is known by anyone and everyone who was ever in Chapel Hill and Carrboro). There was to be four bands that evening at The Cave. I asked the bartender about Dex. Dex? He died, the bartender told me. He passed. Heart attack on the steps of a Chapel Hill restaurant, either when he was leaving or getting there, in early 2024. Specifically, on Feb. 16, 2024. He was 57. “Singer, guitarist, artist and bon vivant, Dexter Romweber was one of the most acclaimed artists of the roots-rock underground, going back to his time with the Kamikazes,” his family posted on his Facebook page. “But the band that put him on the map was Flat Duo Jets, the guitar/drums duo he started in 1983 with Chris “Crow” Smith(and later with Tony Mayer on bass). While the Jets never broke through commercially, their fiery sturm and twang was a major influence on artists including the White Stripes, X, Cat Power and Neko Case. After the Jets broke up in the late 1990s, Dexter played in a variety of acts including The New Romans and Dex Romweber Duo with his sister Sara. He released more than a dozen group and solo albums over the years, playing everything from wild-eyed rockabilly to Rachmaninoff-styled classical piano. His most recent album was “Good Thing Goin’,” released in 2023.” Over 400 people commented, the words “heartbreak” and “great” recurring again and again, “great” describing his talent, his insane presence on stage, his energy. Longer tributes soak in similar emotions. He was always hanging by a string.
—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.
Flagler County Commission Workshop
Flagler County’s Cold-Weather Shelter Opens
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella: Youth Edition, at Athens Theatre
Free For All Fridays With Host David Ayres on WNZF
Scenic A1A Pride Meeting
Flagler and Florida Unemployment Numbers Released
Friday Blue Forum
Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock
Flagler County’s Cold-Weather Shelter Opens
‘Crimes of the Heart’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre
‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella: Youth Edition, at Athens Theatre
Flagler Beach Farmers Market
Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
For the full calendar, go here.
A brick crashed through my window last night. Cat Power had wrote to me; John Michael Dexter Romweber had passed away, passed on, bill past due. He wasn’t a Rock N’ Roll musician, he WAS Rock N’ Roll inside and out, without even having to try, he couldn’t help himself. People toss that around a lot, but in Dex’s case it was actually true. To call him Punk would be like calling the Great Pyramid a sand castle. He was the type that don’t get 3 course dinners, awards, gold records and statues made of them because they are too real, too much, too strange, too good. Dex was a true tortured romantic, unfairly treated and broken hearted at all times but still hopeful. He was an electrical outlet, an old soul, a vampire, a cave man in a modern age, a WWI trench soldier, a different kind of American, out of luck living on the outskirts of town, lonely even when in a room of thousands. He ate dinner with Van Gogh, loaned your friend his last ten dollars, and exuded innocent love and naivety. He stared at the moon, communicated with Gene Vincent from another plane, while reading George Gurdjieff by thrift store lamp and all out of cigarettes at 3 a.m. He was forever getting the short end of the deal but anyone who spoke with him could only want him to live in peace and love with no way to know how to truly help him get there. He was one of my favorite people I’ve ever known and one of my most cherished influences. He once finished the last chord of a song during a concert, threw his guitar down, jumped off the stage at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit, and ran straight up to me in a theater of ten people at the back of the room and immediately started talking to me. I had never met him before that. I was 18. Over time he passed on secrets I’ll never tell, and brought tears to my eyes when he told me how proud of me he was. But I was proud of him first, and always will be. He was an uncle that I would ride my bike across town to see. They don’t make them like Dex anymore, not till we get our act together as humans. I know your pain is over now Dex and you are living in true romantic bliss. You deserve it more than any of us.
–From Jack White’s tribute to Dexter Romweber, 2024.
Matt says
Because Ziggy is not blinded by extreme leftist political bias & a fundamental hatred for America.
Political Cartoonist, you are fired since you’ve earned it. You haven’t done this job in a fair, balanced & impartial way, so you’re being replaced, just like all the other crazy employees from the Obama-Biden era who allowed their political views to control how they did their jobs. For example FEMA not responding to Carolina flooding victims then claiming to be unable bc all funds were spent on illegal aliens. Or 51 high ranking managerial types trying to give credibility to the Russia-gate papers by signing a document that they all knew was untrue.
SO, it’s good riddance! You’re all FIRED, & some are loosing your security clearance, effectively taking the first bite out of the “deep state”
Making America Great Again!
Pierre Tristam says
Fairness, yes, but “balanced and impartial?” A cartoonist? Has Assad’s Syria moved to America? Does Matt know the meaning of opinion, irreverence, humor and satire? I guess if you have to ask the question answers itself.
Jim says
Pierre,
Please keep printing these wonderful missives from “Matt says”. Sometimes I like to think mankind is evolving but it’s good to see some input like Matts to remind us all that, in many ways, monkeys are doing much better than humans…..