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Weather: Widespread frost in the morning. Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Wind chill values in the mid 20s in the morning.
Wednesday Night: Clear. Lows in the mid 30s. West 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.
Notably: A Willa Cather story called “Consequences” includes the line, “On New Year’s eve Eastman dined at the University Club at six o’clock and hurried home before the usual manifestations of insanity had begun in the streets.” We have no plans to go to the Palm Coast University Club tonight, Cheryl and I. We’ve had a bit too much of that place anyway (I mean, who does it think it is?) so we’ll be doing what we usually do on New Year’s eve: we’ll soak in nostalgia, we’ll soak in the occasional song that reminds us of our parents, we’ll soak in a Belgian beer or two, we’ll hunker against the nearby insanity of fireworks that traumatize our cats and remind me why I left Beirut, though in truth Beirut these days is much, much safer than Florida, and not just because there are more loose guns and looser ideologues in Florida. And we’ll disillusion ourselves that there’ll be much new this new year. “Britain,” an old Salon article by Burt Wolf tells us, “celebrated New Year’s Day on December 25th until William the Conqueror had himself crowned on January 1, 1067, and thought it would be nice to move New Year’s to that date.” Can the day be that far when our current King Ubu decides that, if he can desecrate John Kennedy’s memorial with his own trumped up name, he could also move New Year’s Day to his own? Would he really want to be one-upped by William the Conqueror? So many Hastings yet ahead. Nevertheless, Happy New Year.
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.
January 2026
Free For All Fridays With Host David Ayres on WNZF
Scenic A1A Pride Meeting
Friday Blue Forum
Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock
Flagler Beach Farmers Market
Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
Gamble Jam at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area
Stetson University Concert Choir in Concert with Orlando Philharmonic
For the full calendar, go here.
It would be superfluous to say this, were we not living through a time when, for many people, matters of opinion alone matter, or at least take precedence over all other considerations. But even in this time when unity is so necessary, let us be convinced that nothing would be less worthy of France and more detrimental to its future than to seek to achieve this unity in the manner of totalitarian states, by subjugating minds and leveling thought.
[The original French: Il serait superflu de le dire, si nous ne traversions un temps où, pour beaucoup de gens, les questions d’opinions seules importent ou, du moins, l’emportent sur toutes autres considérations. Mais, même en ce temps ou l’union est si nécessaire, persuadons-nous que ren ne serait moins digne de la France et plus prejudiciable a son avenir que de chercher à l’obtenir, cette union, à la manière des États totalitaires, par la mise au pas des intelligences, par le nivellement de la pensée.]
–From André Gide’s homage to Saint-Exupéry upon his death, 1945.
Jim says
For those of you who think the sun sets in DeSantis’ ass….
“A joint investigation by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times revealed that Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration is alleged to have diverted over $35 million in taxpayer funds intended for vulnerable Floridians to a political campaign opposing two 2024 ballot amendments.
Key Findings of the Investigation
The investigation, published in December 2025, found that state funds potentially meant for social services and healthcare were reportedly used for political consultants, lawyers, and advertising against Amendment 3 (legalizing recreational marijuana) and Amendment 4 (protecting abortion access).
Key details include:
Fund Diversion: The administration is accused of diverting funds, including nearly $10 million from a Medicaid settlement, opioid settlement trusts, and the Department of Children and Families budget.
Political Use: The money was allegedly transferred through various nonprofits, including the Hope Florida Foundation, eventually reaching political committees controlled by the Governor’s Chief of Staff.
Ads and Influence: Advertisements that ran before the election defended Florida’s six-week abortion ban and made claims about the dangers of marijuana without directly mentioning the ballot initiatives. Both amendments failed to pass. ”
Nothing will happen while DeSantis is governor but I think he’s developed enough haters in the past few years to assure there will be an investigation by the next governor’s administration. I hope there is enough democracy left in Florida to assure that happens. If it does, I wouldn’t be surprised to see DeSantis, his wife and several of his key cronies get roasted – hopefully in a court of law.
Happy New Year!
Laurel says
A cover-up will be on its way.
Pogo says
@One and all
… Happy New Year
Laurel says
Sweet! My favorite cat videos are of men “who didn’t want a cat” who end up being cat lovers. Men who love cats are sooooo attractive! 😻💕
Laurel says
Now, regarding New Year’s Eve: I watched “When Harry Met Sally,” which I haven’t seen since it first came out. It was really good!
Then, we stayed up and watched the ball drop in Times Square. What a disappointment. Ads all over the place! An otherwise fun Holliday overrun with commercialism, ad nauseam. Not a square inch left uncovered.
We changed the channel, and watched the fireworks in Sydney, Australia. Those folks don’t fool around! It was probably the most spectacular fireworks show we’ve ever seen, and it went on, for what seemed like forever! They put us to shame. Those people know how to party!