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Weather: Mostly clear. Highs in the lower 70s. Tuesday 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:
Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry now including evening hours: Flagler Beach United Methodist Church‘s food pantry is open today from 9:30 a.m. to noon and again from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 1500 S. Daytona Ave, Flagler Beach. The church’s mission is to provide nourishment and support in a welcoming, respectful environment. To find us, please turn at the corner of 15 Street and S. Daytona Ave, pull into the grass parking area and enter the green door.
The Palm Coast City Council meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall. For agendas, minutes, and audio access to the meetings, go here. For meeting agendas, audio and video, go here.
Flagler Beach’s Planning and Architectural Review Board meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 105 S 2nd Street. The board takes up Veranda Bay’s latest proposal. For agendas and minutes, go here.
Sheriff Staly 50th Year Celebration: A celebration marking Sheriff Rick Staly’s 50 years in law enforcement is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Staly Law Enforcement Center, formerly the Sheriff’s Operations Center, at 61 Sheriff Johnston Drive.
The Bunnell Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board meets at 6 p.m. at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
The Flagler Beach Library Writers’ Club meets at 5 p.m. at the library, 315 South Seventh Street, Flagler Beach.
Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town,’ at Limelight Theatre in St. Augustine, 11 Old Mission Avenue, St. Augustine. 7:30 p.m. Thornton Wilder’s timeless masterpiece chat quietly and powerfully explores life, love, and loss in small-town America. A deeply human story that resonates with every audience.
Random Acts of Insanity Standup Comedy, 8 p.m. at Cinematique Theater, 242 South Beach Street, Daytona Beach. General admission is $8.50. Every Tuesday and on the first Saturday of every month the Random Acts of Insanity Comedy Improv Troupe specializes in performing fast-paced improvised comedy.
Notably: Must we turn to Charlie Hebdo to get a little high-power crackling clarity on those data centers devouring our landscapes faster than AI? “This energy ogre in the making brings with it its share of nuisances that these Americans don’t care about,” writes Etienne Le Page in the latest issue. “First of all, these server farms make a lot of noise, a problem since they are built next to homes. At issue: the fans supposed to cool the system, over hundreds or even thousands of hectares, and which operate 24 hours a day. Then, these large installations always require more electricity. In Wissous, ‘it will be necessary to run two new 220,000 volt high voltage lines to the factory’, explains Philippe de Fruyt. Add to this large tanks of fuel oil, essential in the event of a power outage but which can explode at any time. To make matters worse, these forests of computers take up thousands of square meters of land that local residents miss and could be used for something else. In return, all this only creates a few dozen maintenance and upkeep jobs. We better understand the annoyance of the neighbors of these big gray cubes. With their weapons, the opponents of these projects do not sit idly by. ‘We have initiated two litigation actions, in order to challenge the legality of prefectural decrees,’ explains Philippe De Fruyt. On October 8, the administrative court of Versailles rejected the first. Next January, this same court will have to render its decision on the second. The elected official is not very confident when he talks about the potential outcome of this administrative approach. In Wissous, a resigned fatalism sets in among residents far from being dupes: ‘What can we do: they are rich, they are powerful.'” Wissous is a suburd south of Paris. I don’t know if David Alfin got around to the necessary ceremonies to make it Palm Coast’s step-sister-city, after the USS Eisenhower (or was it the Enterprise? Or the Ronald Reagan?). But that data center is coming to Town Center, still as secret as an IDF assassination plan.
—P.T.
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.
November 2025
Flagler Beach Farmers Market
Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
Peps Art Walk Near Beachfront Grille
‘Around the World in 80 Days’ at City Rep 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
‘Around the World in 80 Days’ at City Rep Theatre
For the full calendar, go here.
Individuals and small business have been paying more for power in recent years, and their electricity rates may climb higher still. That’s because the cost of the power plants, transmission lines and other equipment that utilities need to serve data centers, factories and other large users of electricity is likely to be spread to everybody who uses electricity, according to a new report. Electricity demand is expected to grow substantially over the next several decades as technology companies build large data centers for their artificial intelligence businesses. Electricity demand in some parts of the United States is expected to increase as much as 15 percent over just the next four years after several decades of little or no growth. The rapid increase in data centers, which use electricity to power computer servers and keep them cool, has strained many utilities. Demand is also growing because of new factories and the greater use of electric cars and electric heating and cooling. […] American homes that use a typical 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month paid, on average, about $164 in February, according to the Energy Information Administration. That was up more than $30 from five years ago.”
–From “Data Centers’ Hunger for Energy Could Raise All Electric Bills,” The New York Times, May 16, 2025
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Laurel says
Trump is threatening American citizens on who they vote for.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-backs-cuomo-threatens-cut-231625740.html
Is this your America? Trump’s swamp is so blatantly corrupt and filthy. If this is what you support, to me, you are nothing more than traitors.
Ray W. says
This from a recent Car and Driver story about a Tokyo car show.
The reporter spoke with Takashi Uehara, Toyota’s “powertrain boss” about a Toyota Corolla concept car on display.
Mr. Uehara talked of an entirely new 94 horsepower 1.5-liter gas engine under development that will be one component of a hybrid-propulsion system. A 40 horsepower electric motor is to be the second component in the hybrid system. The new system will offer between 10 and 20 percent greater fuel efficiency and will be lighter than the system it replaces.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
Fuel efficiency is an amorphous figure. A carmaker can decide to use wheel bearings that offer lesser frictional losses, or it can reduce overall weight or improve the aerodynamics of the body. Any or all will increase fuel efficiency without change to the engine.
Many carmakers are designing transmissions that incorporate into the case an electric motor so that both the electric motor and the gas engine can propel the driveshaft(s), based on need. More efficient electric motors are coming out. And more efficient gas engines continue to be released. EV batteries are getting lighter and lighter and smaller and smaller.
Great changes are coming to the car industry. More to come.
Ray W. says
Here is an interesting March 26, 2025, “Issue Brief” released by the Rice University-affiliated Baker Institute’s Center for the US and Mexico department.
Perhaps many remember James A. Baker as a great friend of former President George H.W. Bush, though he was active in Democratic politics in Texas until 1970 before becoming a prominent Republican who helped President Bush for decades. As I recall the history, as Mr. Baker’s wife declined in health, Mr. Bush took the time to establish a personal relationship with Mr. Baker. Ultimately, Mr. Baker became Bush’s Secretary of State. As I recall from the 2000 election contest, Mr. Baker led the Florida Republican effort in the four-county recounts.
Here is language from the Issue Brief regarding the economic effect of the undocumented in the American economy, taken from a section titled, “Impact on the US workforce and Economy”:
“Immigrants, both documented and undocumented, play a vital role in the U.S. economy as workers, consumers, and taxpayers, yet Trump’s policies often overlook this contribution. Their participation in the U.S. labor market increased from 14.8% in 2005 to 18.6% in 2023, with notable representation in certain industries. In states like California and Texas, immigrants make up 40% of the construction workforce. Nationwide data for three key sectors reveals large numbers of foreign-born workers:
In agriculture, approximately 41% of workers are undocumented, while 23% hold H-2A visas.
In the food supply chain, an estimated 1.7 million workers are undocumented immigrants.
In construction and extraction, around 34% of the workforce was born outside the U.S.
“The U.S. economy has experienced a labor shortage in recent years. In 2023, approximately 3.2 million jobs remained unfilled, including positions in vital sectors such as agriculture, construction, hospitality, health care, and manufacturing. These shortages are primarily attributed to an aging workforce and declining national fertility rates. Immigrants have already played a significant role in addressing these labor shortages, bolstering the U.S. economy, but additional workers are still needed. Without immigration, the population is projected to shrink after 2033 and with it, it’s workforce — generating greater labor shortages.
“Over 8 million undocumented immigrants currently work in the U.S., contributing to the economy in key industries. Mass deportations could worsen labor shortages, with estimates suggesting a reduction of 1.5 in construction, 225,000 in agriculture, 1 million is hospitality, 870,000 in manufacturing, and 461,000 in transportation and warehousing. This would likely lead to higher costs, increased inflation, and slower economic growth, with states like California, Texas, and Florida facing the greatest impact.
“Economy — Estimates suggest that mass deportations could reduce the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.6% to 6.2% over the next decade. In Texas, deporting undocumented immigrants could shrink the state’s economy by 10%, using Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 as a baseline. It is also estimated that such deportations could increase prices by 9.1% by 2028.
“Revenue — Large-scale deportations would affect federal, state, and local government tax revenues. Notable, over their lifetime, immigrants contribute $237,000 more in taxes than they receive in government benefits.
“Effect on U.S.-born Workers — Previous mass deportations have not led to increased wages or job opportunities for U.S.-born workers. Instead, they have lowered wages and contributed to job losses — removing 500,000 immigrants from the labor market could result in 44,000 fewer jobs for U.S.-born workers.
“As a result, wages would experience downward pressure, tax revenues would decline, and U.S. resources would shift from economic growth to covering the costs of detention and deportation.”
Make of this what you will.
Ray W. says
This from a September 18, 2024 Brookings Institute “Commentary” titled “The labor market impact of deportations.”
At the conclusion of the Commentary segment titled “Increased deportation is associated with poorer economic outcomes for US-born workers” comes this language:
“Finally, deportations impact tax revenue and the fiscal health of the federal, state, and local governments. A comprehensive study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that, in a given year, each foreign-born person and their dependents pay on average $1,300 more in federal taxes than they receive in federal benefits, and, looking over a 75-year time horizon, immigrants are a net fiscal positive at all levels — they pay $237,000 more in taxes over their lifetime than they receive in benefits from federal, state, and local governments. While these estimates are not broken out by immigration status, the study indicates that the net fiscal impact of unauthorized immigrants are larger than authorized immigrants because unauthorized immigrants are more likely to be of working age. Thus, deportations reduce tax revenue both because of the reductions in taxes paid by unauthorized immigrants, and through a reduction in taxes paid by U.S.-born workers who lose their jobs. Unauthorized immigrants and their children also facilitate the solvency of the Social Security and Medicare systems by paying into these systems when they are not eligible to receive any benefits.”
Under the portion of the report titled “Implications for policy”, it reads:
“Immigration law has not been comprehensively updated for 34 years and as a result is designed for an outdated labor market and an outdated demographic reality. With so much political discussion about immigration this year, it’s important to understand the role of unauthorized immigrant workers in the U.S. economy. Recent economics research shows that unauthorized immigrant workers help create more jobs for U.S.-born workers. Large-scale deportation efforts would be very disruptive in some industries and would hamstring the current growth in employment, which has been driven in large part by increased immigration. Instead, Congress should set its sights on reform and expansions in legal immigration pathways.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
I have drawn from this Brookings Institute “Commentary” before, from a different perspective.
Ray W. says
The day after President Trump told a 60 Minutes reporter that “we have no inflation. We have no inflation”, a new Treasury Department “Economy Statement” was released, derived in part from data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and written for members of the Treasury Department’s Borrowing Advisory Committee, which committee members come from “non-partisan bond market executives from firms such as Citigroup, Pimco, JPMorgan and BlackRock.”
The Borrowing Advisory Committee’s role is to provide each quarter to the Treasury Department “… input on the overall strength of the U.S. economy and technical debt management issues.”
The Treasury Department statement, titled “Economy Statement for the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee” reads, in the category of “INFLATION”:
“Inflation remained above the target of 2 percent in the third quarter … As of September 2025, inflation — as measured by the headline consumer price index (CPI) — was 3.0 percent on a twelve-month basis. The elevated annual growth partly reflects the strong price pressures from September 2024 to January 2025, in which headline CPI rose by 4.1 percent at an annualized rate. From January 2025 to September 2025, CPI growth was more moderate at 2.5 percent at an annual rate.
– CPI inflation for energy goods and services picked up in the third quarter to an average of 0.4 percent per month, after rising an average off 0.2 percent per month in the second quarter. The increase in energy prices largely reflected higher gasoline prices.
– Food prices for both groceries (food at home) and food prices (food away from home) increased moderately in the third quarter. CPI for food at home rose 0.3 percent per month on average, while the CPI for food away from home increased an average of 0.2 percent per month.
“Monthly core CPI inflation averaged 0.3 percent in the third quarter. Over the twelve months through September 2025, the core inflation rate was 3.0 percent. So far this year, annual core inflation has ranged from between 2.8 percent and 3.1 percent, save for the 3.3 percent rating realized in January from when President Trump assumed office.
– Core goods increased 0.2 percent on average per month in the third quarter, ticking up 0.1 percentage points from the rates in the previous three quarters. Core goods prices began rising in September 2024, which has elevated core goods inflation to 1.5 percent over the year ending September 2025.
– Inflation for rent of housing services (rent of primary residence and owners’ equivalent rent) averaged 0.3 percent per month in the third quarter, where it has held for the previous three quarters. Over the year through September 2025, rent of housing inflation was 3.7 percent, the slowest annual pace since December 2021.
– Inflation for non-housing core services picked up 0.3 percent on average in the third quarter, with about half of the growth stemming from higher prices for airfares and lodging away from home. Over the year through September 2025, non-housing core services inflation was 3.8 percent, down from 5.2 percent over the year through September 2024.
“Inflation as measured by the PCE price index has notable differences in weights and methodologies versus the CPI. Over the past 20 years, twelve-month CPI inflation has exceeded PCE inflation by about 0.36 percentage points on average. Over the year through August 2025, headline PCE inflation was 2.7 percent, or 0.2 percentage points below headline CPI inflation for that month. Similarly, core PCE inflation was 2.9 percent, below the 3.1 percent inflation rate as measured by the CPI.”
Make of this what you will.
Ray W. says
This past Sunday, OPEC members voted once again to boost crude oil output figures, with the boost being implemented in December. On the other hand, OPEC voted to refrain from additional output increases for the months of January, February and March of next year.
December’s output increase will be 137,000 barrels per day.
Make of this what you will.
Ray W. says
This from the introduction of a 2024 Congressional study named “The Effects of Immigration on the United States’ Economy”:
“Today, the United States is home to the largest immigrant population in the world. Even though immigrants assimilate faster in the United States compared to developed European nations, immigration policy has become a highly contentious issue in America. While much of the debate centers on cultural issues, the economic effects of immigration are clear. Economic analysis finds little support for the view that inflows of foreign labor have reduced jobs or Americans’ wages. Economic theory predictions and the bulk of academic research confirms that wages are unaffected by immigration over the long-term and that the economic effects are mostly positive for natives and for the overall economy.”
Here is the report’s conclusion:
“Economists generally agree that the effects of immigration on the U.S. economy are broadly positive. Immigrants, whether high- or low-skilled, are unlikely to replace native-born workers or reduce their wages over the long-term, though they may cause some short-term dislocations in labor markets. Indeed, the experience of the last few decades suggests that immigration may actually have significant long-term benefits for the native-born, pushing them into higher-paying occupations and raising the overall pace of innovation and productivity growth. Moreover, as baby boomers have begun moving into retirement in advanced economies all around the world, immigration is helping to keep America comparatively young and reducing the burden of financing retirement benefits for a growing elderly population. While natives bear some upfront costs for the provision of public services to immigrants and their families, the evidence suggests a net positive return on the investment over the long term.”
Make of this what you will.