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Weather: Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds around 5 mph, becoming southeast in the afternoon. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear. Not as cool with lows in the lower 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:
Palm Coast Maintenance Facility Groundbreaking: The City of Palm Coast invites residents to attend a groundbreaking event for the Maintenance and Operations Center (MOC) on Wednesday, March 19, at 8:30 a.m. at the new facility’s site, 240 Peavey Grade, Palm Coast. After years of planning, this facility will provide essential enhancements to the city’s vital services, including operations for the Public Works, Stormwater, and Utility departments.
The Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
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 [email protected] or call Merrill at 804-914-4460.
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 [email protected] for location and information.
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]
Notably: “Changes in Tariff Bill,” ran the headline atop the New York Times. “Democrats’ Protest Ignored.” The article read in part: “A number of changes were made to-day in the bill. These were as follows: An addition was made to the paragraph relating to ochre and ochrey earths by making
‘aried or powdered earths,’ one-half of 1 cent per pound. China clay, Or kaolin, was increased from $2 to $8 per ton. Rockingham earthenware, at 40 per cent. ad valorem, was added to the earthenware schedule. An addition was made to Paragraph 125, relating to iron or steel anchors, as follows: Anti-friction ball forgings of iron or steel or of combined iron and steel, 45 per cent. ad valorem. Welded cylindrical furnaces made from plate metal, 2½ cents per pound, was added to Paragraph 119 of the metal schedule.” And so on. You’re beginning to get the impression that the style is a little off, the products are foreign, not just because they’re coming from overseas. The article is from this date in 1897, less than a month into William McKinley’s presidency, the William McKinley Il Duce is modeling himself after, and whose name he signed an order to have restored on Denali, North America’s tallest peak, in Alaska. McKinley loved tariffs, though the situation at the time was very different. American industry was on the rise, trade surpluses were booming. Tariffs spurred the trends. We’re all about deficits now. The February deficit was $14 billion, a relatively low figure caused by a $9 billion drop in imports. McKinley’s Republicans in the 55th Congress had a 46-34 majority in the Senate (there were 10 members of other parties or independents) and a 246-104 advantage in the House. Then as now Democrats were irrelevant, though now their tiny margin (they’re down by four) should not have made them so. In what passed for the opinion page at The Times in 1897, the editorialist in charge had written that the tariff bill “is not a revenue measure. It is a bill to perpetuate the deficit.” The Sun,a competing newspaper, had supported it. “We entreat our neighbor The Sun to turn its analytical mind upon the bill and give it the whacking it deserves.” And that was when the president pushed tariff bills through Congress, rather than enacted them unilaterally. Good days.
—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.
March 2025
Contractor Review Board Meeting
Palm Coast Maintenance Facility Groundbreaking
Flagler County’s Technical Review Committee Meeting
Separation Chat: Open Discussion
The Circle of Light A Course in Miracles Study Group
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library
Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board
Flagler County Drug Court Convenes
Story Time for Preschoolers at Flagler Beach Public Library
Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Town of Marineland Commission Meeting
The Bronx Wanderers at the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center
For the full calendar, go here.
The explosive growth of U.S. trade had already trampled earlier free-trade warnings about protection building fatal economic walls.
Between 1865 and 1900, U.S. merchandise exports had quintupled from $261 million to $1.53 billion, with the fastest growth coming in manufactures (now 35 percent of total) mostly metals, machinery, and transport equipment. In all of these, U.S. companies were becoming world leaders. During the low tariff era between 1846 and 1861, imports and exports had been roughly equal in value. However, by 1897 and 1898, as prosperity returned under high tariff protection, merchandise exports surged far beyond imports. In 1897, the surplus was $286 million, in 1898 a staggering $616 mil-lion. By 1899, the United States was exporting almost twice as much merchandise as came in, utterly unprecedented. On one hand, this was a triumph-Republicans reasonably boasted about tariffs’ effectiveness in nurturing such successful industries. Yet it was also a caution: selling so much abroad would be hard to sustain without taking more foreign goods in return, thus the need to shift from pure protection to an emphasis on reciprocity and bargaining.
–From Kevin Phillips’s William McKinley (2003).
Jim says
Casey DeSantis can run for governor but it’ll just be a waste of time.
Trump has designated Byron Donalds as the next governor of Florida so it’s already been decided who the Republicans will run. Is he qualified? Is he any good for Florida? Doesn’t matter. He’s Trump’s pick and MAGA will fall in line. We’re proving right now that you don’t have to be qualified to run a cabinet position in DC so it’s easy to see that can translate into a little ol’ governor’s office.
Also, just out of curiosity, I checked Mrs. DeSantis’ credentials to be governor. She’s been a talk show host and the governor’s wife. That’s about it. More than qualified to be governor.
What I find humorous about this is that it seems to me that Ron DeSantis may be desperate to see his wife become governor to keep him relevant to any political conversation after he leaves office. Here’s a guy with no personality, few friends and is rapidly losing “control” of politics in Florida. Without his wife as governor, what political future does he really have? And, as far as I’m concerned, it couldn’t happen to anyone more deserving. Here’s hoping the DeSantis name recedes from the news and neither is ever heard of again.