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Weather: Sunny, with a high near 78. East wind 3 to 7 mph. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 59.
- 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 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.
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.
Women United Flagler Grant Awards: Women United Flagler awards $11,000 in grants to six local non-profits during a meet and greet at 6 p.m. at The Shape of Water Restaurant, 5047 N. Ocean Shore Drive in Palm Coast. The six nonprofit recipients will be announced at the event, with each organization receiving funding to support programs that benefit Flagler County residents in need.
The Flagler Beach Library Book Club meets at 1 p.m. at the library, 315 South Seventh Street, Flagler Beach.
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]
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.
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.
Footnotes: Architectural smut shadows history since the earliest cave paintings. One only has to look at one of the smuttiest structures in Paris, the Arc de Triomphe Napoleon wanted for himself, with the names of his battles–emblems of mass deaths–friezed along the top of the arch or engraved on its walls. Borodino and Waterloo excepted, naturally. It was finished 15 years after his death, in time for his nephew’s reign of crass between 1850 and 1870, blessedly ended at Sedan. At least there was Flaubert, Zola and Jules Verne. But for pitiful pedants like me we might overlook the fact that St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, almost as universally recognizable as the White House, had its own Trump in the form of Pope Paul V of the Borghese family in the early 17th century. Michelangelo had been the architect of the St. Peter Basilica. He died before finishing. His plans were clear. Paul V junked them and hired a nobody to build bigger and gaudier. The result was terribly mishmashed with Michelangelo’s original design, hiding the dome with that cultish assortment of colossal marble saints, “this too evident appeal to the passions of the mob,” as historian Hendrick van Loon described it, until the horror was softened by the architect and sculptor Bernini under Pope Urban VIII. We can only hope for our own Sedan to end the Trump era: that a future president, if there is one, will demolish the ballroom and rebuild something more balanced, recalling James Hoban’s original design of the White House.
—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
Nar-Anon Family Group
Bunnell City Commission Meeting
Palm Coast City Council Workshop
Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry
Flagler County School Board Information Workshop
Flagler County Affordable Housing Committee Meeting
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 10-18, at the Flagler County Public Library
Book Dragons, the Kids’ Book Club, at Flagler Beach Public Library
Budgeting by Values: A Virtual Class to Learn Budgeting Skills
NAACP Flagler Branch General Membership Meeting
Flagler County School Board Meeting
Random Acts of Insanity Standup Comedy
For the full calendar, go here.
In 1851, when President Millard Fillmore reputedly installed the first permanent bath and water closet in the White House, he was criticized for doing something that was “both unsanitary and undemocratic.
–From .
Ed P says
The government shut down was 100% avoidable.
The pain inflicted on the most vulnerable is unacceptable and unnecessary.
End the shutdown now.
The economic damage isn’t immediately calculable but as the shut down drags on, it could prove suffocating to GDP.
Enough already. People are and will suffer long after the shut down ends. Where is the outcry and protests?
Instead of no kings day rallies, maybe demanding an end to the shut down would have been more productive.
Dennis C Rathsam says
The GOP & TRUMP….Will not cave to the SCHUMER SHUTDOWN! No healthcare to illegals! They never paid into the system! Americans did & deserve the BENIFITS. Now Obama care needs help…. WHY????? Obama said it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, I think not. With out government money, it does not work! Why should we continue with a failed program? It makes no sense. Biden knew it was falling apart, too bad he fell apart before Obamacare.
Jim says
Ed P: I think the reason we had “No Kings” rallies was to protest against such trivial things as the sitting president accepting a “free” airplane that the taxpayers will convert into “Air Force One “ so Trump can take that airplane and use it for his personal use after he leaves office. Also, the fact that he seems to think there is a path to a third term may be another reason. Also, pardoning a crypto billionaire after that billionaire invested in his son’s cryptocurrency despite the guy being found guilty of causing harm to our national security might contribute. (On that one, in all fairness to Trump, he did say he knew nothing about the guy he pardoned. I guess he just wanted to issue a pardon and this guy’s name just popped up.)
Or maybe it was because with the government shut down, SNAP benefits exhausted, rates on health care skyrocketing, prices up on almost everything and other minor nuances, Trump threw a big “Great Gatsby” party at Mar a Lago. (Look up that novel if you’re unfamiliar with the theme).
Maybe it was because he tore down the East Wing of the White House after saying it wouldn’t be touched for construction of the new Trump Ballroom. (And it will be named by him and for him – count on it). Of course only Trump has any say in this minor modification.
Maybe it’s because the USA has $40billlion for Argentina but no money for air controllers (not to imply we’re bailing out some hedge fund buddies).
Maybe it’s because Trump wants the US government to pay him $230 million for the prosecutions after his first term. He really deserves it since what few lawyers he had that did get paid were paid by donations, not by Trump. But that’s just a minor detail that shouldn’t be an issue, right?
I don’t know; maybe people just came out for the free money George Soros paid them. (By the way, I still haven’t been paid…)
Anyway, on other topics, how about those election results yesterday? I think every one of those elections was rigged, don’t you? After all, with Trump getting the highest approval ratings of his presidency (according to him), the only way the Dems could possibly win is by cheating! Right?? (Right??)
Ed P says
Jim,
Nonsense
Deflection and whataboutery.
Keep inflicting maximum pain on people. Zero justification. None,
Sherry says
“Thank You Jim”. . . I noticed the pathetically lame response. LOL! Well Done!
Ray W. says
On October 1, 2025, researchers with the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory Department of Physics published a paper titled “New organic molecule set to transform solar energy harvesting”.
The paper begins:
“In a discovery that bridges a century of physics, scientists have observed a phenomenon, once thought to be the domain of inorganic metal oxides, thriving within a glowing organic semiconductor molecule. This breakthrough, led by the University of Cambridge, reveals a powerful new mechanism for harvesting light and turning it into electricity. This could redefine the future of solar energy and electronics, and lead to lighter, cheaper, and simpler solar panels made from a single material.”
Hugo Bronstein, a chemistry professor at the Cavendish Laboratory, said:
“We are not just improving old designs. We are writing a new chapter in the textbook, showing that organic materials are able to generate charges all by themselves.”
I do not claim to understand the physics behind this claimed breakthrough, but I can read.
There is a “spin-radical organic semiconductor molecule called P3TTM.” At the center of the molecule is a “single, unpaired electron”, which configuration gives the molecule “unique magnetic and electronic properties.”
According to Biwen Li, lead lab team researcher:
“In most organic materials, electrons are paired up and down and don’t interact with the neighbours. But in our system, when the molecules pack together the interaction between the unpaired electrons on neighbouring sites encourages them to align themselves alternatively up and down, a hallmark of Mott-Hubbard behaviour. Upon absorbing light one of these electrons hops onto its nearest neighbour creating positive and negative charges which can be extracted to give a photocurrent (electricity).”
The team created a solar cell from P3TTM film. When exposed to light, the film reached a state of “near unity”, “meaning almost every photon of light was converted into a usable electrical charge.”
There is more to the article, but what this means, at least as I understand it, is that the P3TTM film is roughly four times more efficient at converting sunlight into electricity, compared to today’s most efficient solar panels.
Dr. Petri Murto, with the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, “developed molecular structures that allow tuning of the molecule to molecule contact and the energy balance governed by Mott-Hubbard physics. Sir Neville Mott, of Mott-Hubbard physics, “laid the groundwork for modern condensed matter physics.”
As described in the report, the breakthrough by Dr. Murti “means that it might be possible to fabricate solar cells from a single, low-cost lightweight material.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
Current utility-scale solar panel efficiency straddles the 20% conversion mark. A solar film that reliably converts over decades nearly 100% of sunlight striking the panel into electricity would be an extraordinary leap in electricity generating efficiency.
Yes, bridging the gap between lab experiments and commercially viable manufacturing at scale is a huge step. On the other hand, the researchers made it work, so one of the bigger steps is behind them.
What follows is one of the simplest ideas in physics.
There is only so much energy contained in a standard measure of natural gas – 1 million British thermal units. No matter whether the natural gas is liquefied for transport or compressed, when it is injected into a gas turbine and combusted, only so much of that chemical energy is converted into usable electricity.
As of recently, the most efficient combined-cycle natural gas turbine plant converts 66% of the chemical energy contained in the natural gas into usable electricity, and this occurs only under perfect operating conditions. Most of the remaining chemical energy is lost to friction or lost out the exhaust as waste heat. Some of the natural gas doesn’t burn at all.
Because a natural gas plant requires the expense of purchasing natural gas for the lifespan of the plant, and because the cost of solar panels dropped by more than 90% between 2015 and 2025, and the cost per panel is expected to continually drop, solar electricity generation is now much cheaper than natural gas can ever be. Once a solar farm is built, no money need be spent purchasing fuel.
Should solar electricity efficiency per panel quadruple as predicted by this new molecular-level breakthrough, any company that risks investing sums in new natural gas-powered electricity plant risks losing their entire investment.
Right now, investors refuse to invest in coal-fired power plants because no utility company will enter into a long-term contract to buy electricity from from coal-fired plant owners. If there comes a time when investors begin refusing to invest in natural gas-fired plants because the electricity the plants generate is too expensive compared to solar, we will see the decline of natural gas, just as we have been watching the decline of coal for the past 20 years.
Yes, some FlaglerLive commenters write that China is building coal-fired plants. And it is. But China has announced its intent to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Chinese leaders have seen how the West cut economic ties with Russia after the country invaded the Ukraine.
If I were a Chinese leader, I would be diversifying and decentralizing my electricity grid as widely as possible. China has some of the world’s largest coal deposits and a well-connected rail grid to get its coal to wherever it needs to be. In a wartime economy, coal-fired electricity generation is a hedge against demand for natural gas-powered electricity generation, natural gas being something China lacks in large quantities right now.
I would be building solar arrays in the Gobi Desert, even where there are no homes, in order to decentralize the grid and make my country sanction-proof. I would be building windmills all over the country.
I would be building crude oil tank farms at sea ports and in remote areas to enlarge my reserve oil capacity, even though my country’s reliance on crude is dropping. I would be filling to the brim all of my underground caverns that can hold crude oil, like the American strategic petroleum reserve system.
I would be subsidizing the EV industry, because widespread EV adoption would protect my country against reliance on foreign sources of carbon-based fuels.
If my goal was to cripple the economies of my perceived enemies, I would build dozens and dozens of diesel-electric submarines, because they are cheap and easy to make. Yes, they would be vulnerable to foreign naval and air attack, but when the goal is to use the submarines to cut off commerce and not to attack naval vessels, the use of diesel-electric submarines to attack freighters and tankers far away from the ships of my enemies reduces their vulnerabilities.
China is doing all these things right now, and has been doing all these things for quite some time, and more.
Ray W. says
Speaking of decency in government, on July 1, 1930, the Smoot-Hawley tariff act came into being. By October, not having learned its lesson from the last time it based a government policy on raising tariff rates (1905), the Conservative Party in Great Britain decided to make retaliatory tariffs the formal policy position of the government.
Here is how the issue was framed in Martin Gilbert’s biography of Winston Churchill:
“At the beginning of October, [Prime Minister Stanley] Baldwin decided to accept Neville Chamberlain’s demand for a specific Conservative pledge on Tariffs at the next election. His decision was set out in a public letter to Chamberlain on October 14, and constituted a formal pledge which could not be reversed. Churchill’s immediate reaction was to dissociate himself publicly from the new policy. This he did in a draft letter to Baldwin that same day; a letter which, on reflection, he decided not to issue to the Press, but which expressed his total opposition to Tariffs. ‘I refuse categorically’, he wrote, ‘to seek a mandate from the electorate to impose taxes upon the staple foods of this overcrowded island. There are perhaps twenty million people alive in Great Britain to-day who would not be in existence but for their power to purchase at world prices world wheat and meat, with neither of which they can ever adequately supply themselves.’ Churchill’s letter continued:
“The electorate has been recently enlarged by the addition of many new millions of consumers. A profound uneasiness will be created throughout the whole mass of the people by vague general declarations of an intention to tax their staple foods. This uneasiness may well rob the Conservative Party of an effective victory at the polls at a time when the installation of a strong and stable government is the first condition of prosperity.
“But I by no means base my objections upon mere electioneering, though that is certainly not to be disdained. I hold, as I have held for the last quarter-century, that it would be a disastrous error in Imperial statecraft to try to base the unity of the British Empire upon the protective taxation of staple foods or raw materials. Experience shows that all commodities dependent upon climatic conditions are subject to great variations in price. The imposition of even a small tax on such commodities would be violently resented by the nation as soon as prices began to rise. Prices are now abnormally low; they are bound to rise in future years, and these taxes upon which it is sought to found treaties with the Dominions, will rightly or wrongly be saddled with the whole blame. Not only should we lessen and perhaps destroy our chance of securing a Conservative or non-Socialist government, but we should expose the newly-forged links of Imperial union to the most perilous strains. …
“Instead of issuing the letter to the Press as he had originally intended, Churchill took it with him when he spoke with Baldwin in person on the morning of October 14, when he declared that he would be unable to support the Conservatives at the next election on a Tariff platform. That same night, Baldwin wrote to Churchill:
“My dear Winston,
“I cannot go to bed to-night without sending you a line, to assure you that if you adhere to what you said this morning there will be no feeling on my part that you have in any way let me down, nothing but profound regret that there is a real parting of the ways and a friendship towards you which has grown up through six years of loyal and strenuous work together. Six years ago, we knew little of each other. We have had good times and bad times and have come through them side by side and the memory of them will abide.
“To what your further reflections may lead you, I cannot tell.
“But for to-night I still cherish the hope that you may yet see your way to stay with us. Bob Cecil is the only colleague I have lost in seven and a half years: I cannot have many more years before me, and it would be a joy to feel that I had kept the leaders of our party together until the end.
“But whatever happens, I am your sincere friend Stanley Baldwin”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
Twice in 25 years, Winston Churchill split away from the Conservative Party over its insistence of issuing a formal policy position of raising tariffs as a policy of protection. The first time he actually left the party to join the Liberal Party, which soon gained control of the government after the electorate threw the Conservative Party out of government. The second split over tariff policy effectively cast Churchill out of the Cabinet (he actually left the Cabinet in 1929 but was not asked to rejoin until September 1939) for nearly nine years, years that he considered the “Wilderness” years.
I commonly argue that tariffs, when used sparingly and for narrowly defined purposes, can be a positive economic policy position. Wielding tariffs as a sledgehammer to bludgeon one’s allies and friends, not so much.
Mark says
Jim, you are dead on right. Anyone who thinks otherwise is blind to American value. And how others can turn a blind eye to this reality is eating at the core of America. It’s disgusting at best and bigly stupid at worst.
Laurel says
If we had no kings, or currently, a king, we would not be in this mess now. After all, it was Trump who stated we would be having some pain. We should expect some pain, he said. Remember? It wasn’t that long ago.
More and more people are beginning to comment how they believe Trump is trying to crush the middle class, while catering to the billionaires. He doesn’t even bother to hide it anymore. He goes off and plays golf while kids may not get a meal. He throws parties for his rich friends, while Americans don’t get a paycheck.
So, not only do we not have “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!” the Republicans cried for the whole of President Biden’s term, more and more people are being laid off. Trump and Musk were joyous about it. More and more tech jobs are being cut back. More and more corporations are cutting jobs. More and more people need food. More and more people are upset with the groceries that Trump was going to reduce the costs on his first day. More and more people are unhappy with the failure of the “repeal and replace” and “the concept of a [healthcare] plan.” That’s never going to happen. Instead, people will drop the healthcare they have now.
More and more people are starting to get it. Thank goodness!
Skibum says
The convicted felon sex abuser pedo protecting prez spread more disinformation this morning about the economy and grocery prices, falsely claiming that republicans have lowered the cost of food since the end of Biden’s term in office. He threw out the information from Walmart’s statement about how the cost of a typical Thanksgiving dinner will be lower at Walmart this year. Sounds great, huh?
Of course, Walmart’s press release actually pointed to the REAL reason why they are able to make such a claim in the first place, with the price of groceries higher in every category than last year. Walmart stated that instead of 21 food items for this year’s Thanksgiving meal, they calculated the cost of only 15, with more in-house Walmart brands than last year.
Well, DUH! Obviously if you went to ANY grocery store and bought 21 food items a year ago, saving the receipt, then went into the same store today and said, you know what, let’s trim down due to the high cost of food and we’ll only buy 15 food items for Thanksgiving dinner this year and also try to save even more money by selecting MORE store brands than last year… yes, of course you can expect to have some costs savings if you are very careful.
That is not what the idiot in the WH told the American public. He lies like he always does. When his lips are moving… you all know the rest of the truth about the orange whackadoodle. But he thinks the American public are stupid. Maybe those who adhere to the fake infotainment nuze vomit are that stupid, I won’t argue against that.
But you and I know better than to believe this nonsense, don’t we? Drumph has a very, very bad habit of open mouth, spout forth more bullshit to the maga mush brains who continue to worship him no matter what. Very sad.