To include your event in the Briefing and Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
Weather: Partly cloudy. Highs around 80. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.
- 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:
In court: Docket sounding is scheduled in the case of Derrius Bauer at 8:30 a.m. (See: “For Derrius Bauer, Co-Defendant in Circle K Murder, a Choice Between Risking Life in Prison and a Grim Deal“), and of Michael Jennelle at 1:30 p.m. Jennelle, 53, of Palm Coast, who is currently scheduled for trial in mid-February. Jennelle faces a capital felony, three life felonies and a second degree felony, all related to the alleged abuse of a girl–his granddaughter, whom he adopted as his daughter–from the time she was 7 to when she was about 10. The prosecution is not seeking the death penalty. See: “As Trial Is Set for Man on Charges of Raping His Granddaughter, Judge Asks: “You Want To Put Her Through That?’”
The Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets at 10 a.m. every first Wednesday of the month at City Hall. For agendas, minutes, and audio access to the meetings, go here. For details about the city’s code enforcement regulations, go here.
Palm Coast City Council and administration meeting with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s Central Florida District Director Barry Cotton, 10:30 a.m. to noon at 2 Utility Drive in Palm Coast, the city’s utilities headquarters. The meeting is intended to brief Cotton on the state of the city’s utilities, particularly the needed and costly upgrades at Wate Water Treatment I off Utility Drive. Several council members may be in attendance. The meeting is open to the public.
Flagler County Land Acquisition Committee meeting, 3:30 p.m. in the 3rd floor administration conference room at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
Joint workshop of local governments: Flagler County, Flagler Beach, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Beverly Beach governments hold their quarterly meeting, 5:30 p.m. in board chambers of the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell. Discussion points include homelessness and marketing.
The Flagler Beach Parks Ad Hoc Committee meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 105 S 2nd St, Flagler Beach. The Committee’s six members, appointed by the City Commission, provide recommendations related to the maintenance of existing parks and equipment and recommendations for new or replacement equipment and other duties as assigned by the City Commission.
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 childrens@flaglercounty.gov
Separation Chat, Open Discussion: The Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State hosts an open, freewheeling discussion on the topic here in our community, around Florida and throughout the United States, noon to 1 p.m. at Pine Lakes Golf Club Clubhouse Pub & Grillroom (no purchase is necessary), 400 Pine Lakes Pkwy, Palm Coast (0.7 miles from Belle Terre Parkway). Call (386) 445-0852 for best directions. All are welcome! Everyone’s voice is important. For further information email atlanticcoastau@gmail.com or call Merrill at 804-914-4460.
The Flagler Beach Library Book Club meets at 1 p.m. at the library, 315 South Seventh Street, Flagler Beach.
The Circle of Light Course in Miracles study group meets at a private residence in Palm Coast 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 CAT9201@aol.com for location and information.
The Flagler County Republican Club holds its monthly meeting starting with a social hour at 5 and the business meeting at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 55 Town Center Blvd., Palm Coast. The club is the social arm of the Republican Party of Flagler County, which represents over 40,000 registered Republicans. Meetings are open to Republicans only.
Notably: Flagler Beach hosted a retirement party for Fire Chief Bobby Pace last week at Santa Maria del Mar’s fellowship hall. He retired Feb. 1. Pace had written on Dec. 20: “Serving as the Fire Chief for the City of Flagler Beach over the past twelve years has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career. This role allowed me to be at the forefront of protecting our community and ensuring the safety and well-being of its residents. Leading a dedicated team of firefighters, I witnessed their unwavering commitment to service, teamwork, and professionalism, which continually inspired me. Each day brought new challenges, whether responding to emergencies, implementing innovative fire safety measures, or building relationships with other local agencies. It was a privilege to play such a critical role in safeguarding a city I care so deeply about. […] The Fire Department is currently fully staffed, maintaining three rotating three-member crews. Recruiting, training, and retaining new firefighters is another challenge: since professional growth opportunities can be somewhat limited in a small department such as Flagler Beach, it is often other amenities that contribute to keeping firefighters here. Often mentioned are the community quality of life and the camaraderie of fellow firefighters. The current staff of firefighters have been remarkably stable, and that speaks highly of the current political and professional environment in Flagler Beach. I am sure that other unforeseen challenges will arise, but I have confidence that those challenges can be successfully overcome. Being the Fire Chief has been more than just a job; it has been an honor and a calling. I will always cherish the memories and lessons learned during this chapter of my life, and I am excited to see how the department continues to thrive in the future.”
View this profile on Instagram
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.
May 2025
Flagler Beach Farmers Market
Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
Second Saturday Plant Sale at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
American Association of University Women (AAUW) Meeting
Peps Art Walk Near Beachfront Grille
Murder at Shivering Timbers Murder Mystery Dinner Show Fundraiser
RockabillieWillie At City Repertory Theatre
ESL Bible Studies for Intermediate and Advanced Students
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village
Gamble Jam at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area
Al-Anon Family Groups
RockabillieWillie At City Repertory Theatre
For the full calendar, go here.
This is well enough, but nevertheless I cannot, I confess, incline towards the Shakers; view them with much favour, or extend towards them any very lenient construction. I so abhor, and from my soul detest that bad spirit, no matter by what class or sect it may be entertained, which would strip life of its healthful graces, rob youth of its innocent pleasures, pluck from maturity and age their pleasant ornaments, and make existence but a narrow path towards the grave: that odious spirit which, if it could have had full scope and sway upon the earth, must have blasted and made barren the imaginations of the greatest men, and left them, in their power of raising up enduring images before their fellow-creatures yet unborn, no better than the beasts: that, in these very broad-brimmed hats and very sombre coats—in stiff-necked, solemn-visaged piety, in short, no matter what its garb, whether it have cropped hair as in a Shaker village, or long nails as in a Hindoo temple—I recognise the worst among the enemies of Heaven and Earth, who turn the water at the marriage feasts of this poor world, not into wine, but gall. And if there must be people vowed to crush the harmless fancies and the love of innocent delights and gaieties, which are a part of human nature: as much a part of it as any other love or hope that is our common portion: let them, for me, stand openly revealed among the ribald and licentious; the very idiots know that they are not on the Immortal road, and will despise them, and avoid them readily.
–From Charles Dickens’s American Notes (1942).
Ed P says
Eh?
Dennis C Rathsam says
MORE TRUMP LIES!!!!!S/S & MEDICARE WILL NOT BE TOUCHED!
Pogo says
@Anything else happen yesterday?
Pogo says
@All hail, Orange Caligula
https://www.google.com/search?q=caligula
Sherry says
Ways in which the trump administration is already implementing Project 2025. . . you know, the project he claims to know nothing about. . . and, Maga fools, you believed him! BTW, how are your grocery prices? Take a good read:
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2025/trump-executive-orders-project-2025/
Jackson says
Does anyone feel like every day of Trump’s presidency he says something that seems so outrageous, illegal, and detrimental to our economy and security, that the next day he has to say something else that is outrageous, illegal, and detrimental to our economy and security that we will “forget” what he said the day before? It’s almost like a nightmare version of Groundhog Day: repetitive slashes to our Constitution. Between firing tens of thousands of people, threatening deportations of even legal people, crazy ideas of Canada being 51st state, using military force to take Greenland, using military force to take Panama Canal, using military force to take Gaza, to allow a non-government person to have access to the Treasury and make decisions to cut Medicaid, children’s breakfasts and lunches, children’s education, many non-profits (like food bank I volunteer at every week), hire a man who thinks vaccines are racist and unnecessary to be in charge of our health system (while still living in the shadow of covid and bird flu is escalating), bringing race and gender to anything that goes wrong, and soooo much more, how could things get even crazier? Well, there’s always tomorrow… and the next day… and the next….
Joe D says
When I first started reading the article, I was SURE it was a SARCASTIC reflection of our current REPRESSIVE times written by our favorite female guest SATIRIST contributing writer.
I couldn’t stop laughing when the article was CREDITED to Charles Dickens (remember him…from Merry Ole England)…from a 1942 American notes article!
As they say:
The more things change, the more they stay the same!
PS: I had to go over the article twice…my Shakespearean “OLD ENGLISH” is rusty! 😆
Flood the zone with $hit says
The United States is a dead. Call in nazi murica or golf of murica but the country you knew rotted and died. Now ran by billionaires and felons with no oversight. Pray you and your family don’t end up in the concentration camps before it’s all over. Last time this happened 75 million people died before the fascist were stopped. This time there are way more people and way better weapons. Buckle up!!
Sherry says
“Unelected/No Security Clearance” Musk now has access to your Social Security number!!!
With Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gaining control of the Treasury Department’s payment system, consumer advocates and Democratic lawmakers are raising alarms about the group’s access to the federal government’s financial spigot, as well as sensitive data such as the Social Security numbers of most taxpayers.
DOGE, a Trump administration task force assigned to find ways to reduce federal spending, now has access to a Treasury unit called the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which disburses trillions in payments each year, including Social Security checks and federal salaries, according to the Associated Press.
Pogo says
@FWIW
I was sure 1942 was a typo; anyway, IMO — more is better:
As stated
https://www.google.com/search?q=Charles+Dickens’s+American+Notes
Also
https://www.google.com/search?q=timeline+19th+century+english+history
And
https://www.google.com/search?q=de+tocqueville+visits+america
And too
https://www.google.com/search?q=timeline+19th+century+french+history
MAGA is aiming more toward Shakespeare and Elizabeth’s era — on its way to the Dark Ages.
Jim says
I hope we all don’t get distracted by the price of eggs….
Clearly, the biggest risk to our country right now is Elon Musk and DOGE. We all need to be paying attention. Currently, a bunch of kids, 18-24 years old are ransacking the government with no oversight and no credentials or credibility. I have no doubt these guys are super smart. I also remember when I was that age and thought I knew everything. These are not the people to be deciding what needs to be “deleted” from the government.
Let me say right now that I am all for improving the efficiency of the government. Let me also say I’m all for the government surviving and serving the people of this country.
There have been no facts provided by anyone associated with DOGE to explain or justify a single action taken to date. Elon Musk saying USAID is “full of worms” and had to be dismantled is total BS. What has Elon Musk done to establish he has any credibility in deciding what programs and activities the US government should be carrying out? None. Where is his security clearance (and those of the kids he’s using) and how was he vetted? Was this like Trump’s secret documents at Mar a Lago? Did Trump magically grant him a security clearance?
If this is such a noble effort, then why are there no facts being provided to support what DOGE is doing? Why are websites being deleted? And where is Congress? I see the Republicans are “supporting” this effort although you can clearly tell they really don’t have any idea what Musk has done or is doing. All I hear is he’s “saving money” and “cutting waste”. Fine, show us the facts that support those statements.
The fact is that the government is being severely damaged, perhaps irreparably, and it seems all that is going to happen is that we’ll all watch it happen.
So I say to all you Trumpers who are cheering this on like it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened, when/if we come out of the other side, you’ll see that this is no longer a free country but a right-wing dictatorship. And you should remember that 50% of the country clearly is not aligned with Trump or his policies so the whole country is ripe for civil unrest unlike anything we’ve ever seen. I don’t say this because I expect any of them to change their minds; I don’t. Exactly like the Nazis in Germany in the 1930’s, the MAGA base is blind to facts and reason. And, I hope, exactly like the Nazis before, the MAGA movement goes down in flames. I just hope the whole country doesn’t go down with them but I’m beginning to believe we’re going to follow the German’s path to destruction.
Ray W, says
Here’s an interesting side point that might soon be relevant to any conversation about the recent attention paid by President Trump, re: developing the Gaza Strip.
I recently came across an article describing a successful exploration for pockets of natural gas off the southeast coast of Cyprus. The drilling occurred at the northwestern edge of what is known as the Levant Basin, a roughly triangular region bordering northern Syria down to southeastern Israel, then northwest into the Mediterranean toward Cyprus and then back to northern Syria; it comprises some 83,000 square kilometers and holds an estimated 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas with a value of perhaps as much as $500 billion.
On the coast near the southern edge of the Levant Basin is a region called “Gaza Marine” fields. This field, directly off the coast of Gaza, is considered a prime drilling site because of its relatively shallow waters and the ability to connect a short pipeline from the field to a shore facility. A 2018 study assessed the potential value of the natural gas in the Gaza Marine field at roughly $4.6 billion.
Here’s a chronology of the issue:
In 1994, as a subset of the Oslo Accords, Israel granted to the Palestinian Authority the right to exercise sovereignty over its maritime territory off the coast of Gaza. At the time, no one at time knew of the potential value of the entire Levant Basin, including what soon became known as the Gaza Marine field.
In 1999, exploratory drilling rigs located natural gas in two locations within the boundaries of the Gaza Marine. The Palestinian Authority issued a 25-year license to develop the field and to install infrastructure. Isreal immediately began blocking BG from any exploration of the Gaza Marine.
In 2002, the Palestinian Authority agreed to BG’s plan to pipe natural gas from the offshore field to a processing facility in Gaza. Isreal delayed the plan, insisting that the pipeline never enter Gaza. Instead, Israel said the natural gas pipeline had to enter at an Israeli-controlled port and the Palestinian Authority had to agree that any quantity of natural gas in excess of Gaza’s needs had to be sold to Israel at rates far below market price.
After Hamas defeated the Palestinian Authority in a 2007 election, Isreal established a naval blockade around the field, prohibiting any further Gaza Marine development.
In December 2010, Isreal unilaterally declared sovereignty over the Gaza Marine field. BG soon sold its Palestinian Authority-granted interest in the field to Royal Dutch Shell, and ten years later Royal Dutch Shell backed out of the project.
The entire Levant Basin has seen little development over the past 25 years, as cheap and readily available Russian natural gas to Europe was a cost barrier to development. When Russia invaded the Ukraine in February 2022, things changed. Israel, Egypt, Jordan and American officials soon met with the Palestinian Authority to discuss future development plans.
On June 18, 2023, Israeli authorities gave “preliminary” approval to development of the Gaza Marine. Progress in coordination with Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, per Netanyahu, would “preserve Israel’s security and diplomatic needs.” Hamas refused to agree, stating that the people of Gaza hold the right to all natural resources.
On October 29, 2023, Isreal awarded licenses to 12 companies, including BP and Eni, to explore other offshore sites for natural gas.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
In 1999, two exploratory drillings led to an estimate that the Gaza Marine held 1 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. In 2019, that amount of natural gas was worth an estimated $4.6 billion. And here we are.
No one had done much of anything in the ensuing 25 years.
No one seems to know the true extent and value of the Gaza Marine field.
3-D imaging capabilities are far superior after years of development in the American shale oil industry. Horizontal drilling is far more effective now than it was 25 years ago. Israel has a need for cheap domestic supplies of natural gas.
What if the Gazans were to be removed from their ancient lands?
What would that mean for Gazan territorial rights as guaranteed in the Oslo Accords?
Ray W, says
Yesterday, as reported by InsideEVs, Ford announced its intent to begin releasing in 2027 a lineup of extended-range EVs, or EREVs.
No specifications, yet, but its SUV, crossover, and Super Duty models will come with a plug-in battery pack, plus a gasoline engine that will start only when the battery pack reaches a set level of discharge. The gas engine generates electricity. There is no transmission. Electric motors drive the wheels.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
This is the first announcement out of Ford’s new “skunk works” programs that is tasked with a crash-course duty to compete with lower cost EVs coming out of China and some European manufacturers.
More to come.
Ray W, says
According to a State Department release, Panama just agreed to permit U.S. government ships to cross Panama without charge. The State Department says the agreement will save the U.S. government millions of dollars.
According to a Panamanian news site, from 1998 to 2024, 994 U.S. warships and submarines traversed the canal, or less than forty per year. There have to be other definitions of a U.S. government ship, say a research vessel or other similar type vessel, but I haven’t found one.
I am all for anything that saves some money.
Lady Liberty says
Outrage if the day. Netanyahu bombs Gaza to smithereens. Trump is ready to forcefully evict all the Gaza residents and take Gaza over as a United States territory. Gaza, all structures flattened by bombs, vacant of humanity, and owned by the United States is ready for Trump to erect waterfront Trump towers and golf courses.
Laurel says
Trump is successfully keeping the American public overwhelmed. By doing this, he can continuously erode the very system we have lived under since the beginning of this country, and he, and the Project 2025 people, are doing it as fast as they can.
I think this will continue, until Republican voters get hit personally. When their benefits get hit, when their rights get hit, then, individually, they will understand. That has already started. All the government people being fired, illegally, are Democrats, Republicans and Independents. I’m counting on them to fight back, and to realized they have been duped. People like Dennis do not believe anything negative can happen to them, but he is getting upset. Many Democrats have been duped to, by saying “Well, let’s just see what happens first.” Independents are just getting caught up in the chaos.
Now we are seeing. The legal battles have begun. Americans need to pull together and stand up to this takeover.
Laurel says
Yes, Dennis, Trump does lie a lot.
Pogo says
@Ray W,
Apparently, constructing hundreds of miles of underground military facilities, weapons manufacturing and storage, and training of kidnappers and murderers — was more urgent.
Laurel says
Well, that would explain Trump’s desire to have America remove all Gazans from their homelands, stealing their land, and why Netanyahu is smiling so big. Trump puts boots on the ground, our military, our money, helping Netanyahu who cannot otherwise win the war, gets us in the middle of a centuries old battle, redevelops the ocean side retreat (with taxpayers money?) and builds a new Trump hotel and spa. Netanyahu gets his cheap fuel, and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, and Americans become the shitheads of the world.
So much to be proud of in just a couple of weeks (Sarcasm for Dummies).
Pogo says
@Ray W, re the Panama Canal (Reply Out Of Order Again?)
More grist for the mill:
As stated
https://www.google.com/search?q=panama+canal+is+running+dry
Sherry says
Thank you again Jim! Hopefully there are many good citizens out there who are now rethinking their vote. We must stand strongly together against this horrific tyranny!