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Weather: A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Light east wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Southeast wind 3 to 7 mph. Winds could gust as high as 15 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:
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 10-18, 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 Tuesday from 4:30 to 6 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]
Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry: Flagler Beach United Methodist Church‘s food pantry is open today from 9:30 a.m. to noon 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.
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.
Free Tax Preparation Services in Flagler County: The AARP Foundation’s Tax Aide provides free tax preparation services at six locations in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Flagler County through April 15, but you must make an appointment first and fill out paperwork. To do both, go here.
Notably: Maga über alles. “The German national anthem,” Germany’s website tells us, “consists only of the third stanza of the Deutschlandlied by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1841). The melody was written by Joseph Haydn in 1796-97.” It goes like this:
Unity and justice and freedom
For the German fatherland!
Let us strive for this together,
Brotherly with heart and hand!
And so on and so forth. Why start with the third? Because these are the first two stanzas, which used to be the national anthem (not the lyrics Haydn intended), starting with the Nazi-proud “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Über alles in der Welt”:
Germany, Germany above all,
Above all in the world,
When it always stands united
Brotherly in protection and defence.
[…]
German women, German loyalty,
German wine and German song
Shall retain in the world
Their old, beautiful sound,
Inspiring us to noble deeds
Throughout our entire lives –
German women, German loyalty,
German wine and German song!
Exactly how if “America” is substituted for Germany, is that not maga’s America first anthem now?
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.
April 2026
Free Tax Preparation Services in Flagler County
In Court: Anne Mae Demegillo Arraignment
Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 10-18, at the Flagler County Public Library
Flagler County Library Board of Trustees
Flagler Beach Library Writers’ Club
Flagler Beach Planning and Architectural Review Board
Palm Coast City Council Meeting
Bunnell Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board
Hammock Community Association Meeting
Random Acts of Insanity Standup Comedy
Free Tax Preparation Services in Flagler County
Public Safety Coordinating Council Meeting
River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting
Conversations in Democracy
For the full calendar, go here.
After England adopted a national anthem in the mid-eighteenth century, most European nations quickly followed suit. The results were sometimes curious. Denmark and Germany, for instance, simply set their own words to the English music. Switzerland still sings “Ruft die, mein Vaterland” to the strains of “God Save the King,” and until Congress adopted an official national anthem — in 1931 — Americans sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” to the same regal music. The “Marseillaise” is original, and authentic; it was written during the French Revolution. But Bastille Day was first celebrated in 1880, a hundred years after the actual event.
–From see Witold Rybczynski’s Home (1986).
Pogo says
Real Trump Anthem
Ray W. says
Marine insight.com, in part a shipping news portal, reported yesterday that talks between Pakistani and Iranian Foreign Ministers concluded with Iran agreeing to allow twenty Pakistan-flagged oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz in batches of two vessels per day.
Since February 28th, an estimated 150 commercial vessels have been allowed to exit the Strait, an average of five per day, according to the reporter. Vessels have to report to Iranian officials ship’s cargo, destination and crew manifest before moving through.
On average, prior to February 28th, 138 commercial vessels sailed the Strait of Hormuz each day.
2,000 commercial vessels on either side of the Strait await passage.
No language on whether American officials participated in the bi-lateral talks, except for a reference in the article that Pakistan is working toward becoming a mediating agency between Iran and the United States, inferring that Pakistan may have agreed with American officials prior to or during the talks to represent U.S. interests at the same time as it was negotiating its own interests.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
It might be most accurate for people to conclude that our current administration had little or nothing to do with Iran agreeing to let only two Pakistani-flagged oil tankers per day through the Strait to travel only to Iranian-approved destinations, but who really knows? Prior reporting has Iran allowing vessels carrying Iranian crude oil and other Iranian cargoes through the Strait, except for a few unapproved ships evading detection.
I have no idea when the Strait of Hormuz will revert to normal shipping movement, but if 2,000 ships east of the Strait await passage into the Persian Gulf, a queue will immediately form at the limited number of docking berths. Only so much cargo in the region can be loaded and offloaded at any given time and 30 days of normal freight quantity has been lost.
Dennis C Rathsam says
IRAN, funded Hezbola, IRAN funded Hamas, IRAN funded Houtis!!!!! OBAMA & BIDEN funded IRAN….HELLO
Ray W. says
On March 26th, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Census Bureau had released a report on international immigration and emigration figures, as well as on domestic migration numbers, for the first six months of 2025, among many other population figures. Because the story sometimes shifts from partial year figures to full year figures without explanation, I found parts of the story confusing.
Here are some bullet points from the story:
– Net migration, defined as the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants, rose by 1.3 million during the first six months of 2025, compared to a 2.7 million net migration figure rise over the first six months of 2024.
– Net migration during the first six months of 2026 is expected to rise by 321,000 people.
– A majority of U.S. counties gained in number of immigrants over the first six months of 2025, but nine out of 10 of those counties saw a lesser rate of increase in their immigrant populations than they did over the first six months of 2024.
– Through July 1, 2025, five states admitted “almost half of the U.S.’s net international migration.”
– Through July 1, 2025, 10 U.S. counties “accounted for almost a quarter of the national increase” in net international migration.
– “About two-thirds of U.S. counties saw more deaths than births last year – roughly the same level as 2024.”
– The fifty counties with populations of one million people or more had a “net domestic migration” loss of 637,634 people in 2025.
– Couties with populations between 50,000 and one million had a net domestic migration gain of 534,000 people in 2025.
– Domestic migration, according to an expert interviewed by the Bloomberg reporters, primarily involved people moving from more expensive urban areas to less expensive suburban areas.
Make of this what you will.
Ray W. says
Texas-based Midland Daily News recently ran a story headlined “Trump is forcing coal plants to stay open. It could cost customers billions.” I argue from the outset of this comment that FlaglerLive readers should keep in mind that Midland is in the heart of the Permian Basin, meaning the heart of America’s oil and natural gas country.
Here are some bullet points from the story:
– Early in his second administration, President Trump, via executive order, declared a national electricity generating emergency, thereby giving him increased executive powers over how to increase utility-scale electricity generation.
– According to the reporter, President Trump is using the newly-obtained emergency executive power to block buildout of already planned renewable energy projects, which is the opposite, in the reporter’s calculus, of working toward increasing generating capacity in order to solve a declared electricity energy shortage.
– President Trump, however, and members of his administration, have used the newly-claimed executive powers to block thus far the long-planned closure of five coal plants in four states, forcing their owners to keep them open.
– According to the story, as many as a total of 90 aging coal plants are slated for closure by the end of 2028.
– In the reporter’s description, grid operators, utility company executives and state agency officials say that “the aging plants are expensive, in bad repair and are no longer needed.”
– Three of the five coal plants thus far not permitted to close as planned have not produced any electricity since the date of the issuance of the respective individual executive orders “either because they need extensive repairs or because power demands have been met without them.”
– The reporter writes that Trump’s actions have forced some coal plant operators to invest in their facilities, potentially costing customers billions of dollars.
– For example, the earliest executive order forced a Michigan coal plant operator to invest in order to continue running the facility at a net loss of $135 million from May 2025 through to the end of December 2025. The coal plant’s owner is seeking permission from regulators in each of the 11 states comprising its grid to charge customers for the extra costs incurred by keeping the plant open.
– Another of the five coal plants ordered to stay open cannot operate due to a “failed” steam valve. The cost of keeping that plant open, according to the reporter, could reach $80 million per year, even if the plant never produces electricity.
– Another of the five, an Indiana-based coal plant, needs extensive repairs before it can generate electricity.
– The reporter referenced a 2025 Lazards cost study. Coal plants generate electricity, on average, at a cost of $122 per megawatt-hour, compared to $78 per megawatt-hour via natural gas and $61 per megawatt-hour from onshore wind. Utility-scale solar power costs on average? $58 per megawatt-hour.
– According to Grid Strategy LLC, should all 90 or so coal plants pending closure before the end of 2028 be ordered to stay open past planned retirement, the estimated additional cost to ratepayers will be between $3 and $6 billion. The report’s author told the reporter:
“What the Energy Department is doing is picking losers, the uneconomical plants that the utilities, the regulators, everybody involved need to retire and be replaced with something cheaper and more efficient.”
– The Colorado Energy Office’s executive director, Will Toor, also opined to the reporter:
“Rather than allowing the realities on the ground, the regulators and the utilities to make rational decisions about how to meet energy needs, we have the Trump administration trying to do Soviet-style central planning to push an ideological agenda that will drive costs to consumers.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
Some time ago, I began arguing that the climate argument is becoming less and less relevant in the area of utility-scale power plants. I am not arguing that the climate argument will ever fully go away. But renewable electricity generation no longer needs economic support to stand on its own. Today, the economic cost argument involves only the simple long-term costs of generating electricity. Wind and solar is undeniably less costly to build and operate than other options, and the gap is only going to continue to open wider and wider.
But the political value of pitching coal to the gullibly stupid among us remains enormous. An entire plank of one party’s platform requires members of the professional lying class that sits atop one of our two political parties to lie in hopes that others will launder the lies.
Pierre Tristam says
Ray, I sent you an email regarding the unveiling of Dan Warren’s portrait the other day, I’m hoping you saw the email and will respond. Thank you.
Jim says
Apparently, the cartoon author thinks the USA might go Democrat in the mid-term elections. I don’t understand why he would think that.
Saturday I paid $3.99/gallon for gas. Today, I paid $4.29/gallon for gas. I’m thinking that the oil companies significantly improved the gas over the weekend and that’s why is costs more. That’s okay, Trump said the other day that when oil prices go up, America makes money. Now, Trump’s a trustworthy guy. Since he said that, it’s my job to figure out how I’m now better off with gas prices going up. It has to be true since Trump said it.
Trump wisely pulled Jarod Kushner, the well known and experienced diplomat, to negotiate with Middle Eastern countries and Russia. Now, on the surface, Jarod is doing billions of dollars of business with these countries but, as Trump has shown, we do not have to worry about anyone in the Trump administration acting in such a way as to improve their financial situation at the USA’s expense. So there’s another positive about the Trump administration.
Trump is running a “special military operation” in Iran. As with Putin, the plan is for this to be a short (few weeks) event, victory to be declared and everybody goes back to business as normal – like it never even happened. But Trump did state that we would not stop until the Iran regime unconditionally surrenders. That doesn’t appear to be happening. And a few weeks have gone by and the USA has sent an additional 50,000 troops over there. And Trump said we wouldn’t put “boots on the ground”. Trump also said he’d bomb all Iran’s power capability to oblivion within 48 hours of that statement unless Iran opened the Straight of Hurmuz. I guess the Iranians can’t hear him due to all the bombing. They are keeping the Straight closed. But Trump, being a generous guy, has extended his deadline 2-3 times as negotiations go forward. (I’m really not sure what they are negotiating. If you have to comply with unconditional surrender, there’s nothing to negotiate, right???)
It’s a good thing that the USA is making more money on the higher oil prices. Hegseth wants Congress to appropriated $200 Billion to fund the war and/or start re-supplying all the expended munitions. I’m sure that $200 Billion won’t even be seen by the taxpayers, right? And let’s not get concerned about the national debt! The Treasury Department declared the USA “insolvent” last week with assets of $6 Trillion and liabilities of $48 Trillion. What’s $200B compared to that??!!!
Thank the Lord that the Big Beautiful Bill passed! No negative impact on the national debt there! Oh, and don’t forget DOGE last year. (But even Elon Musk admits DOGE didn’t save the taxpayer a dime, so there’s that….)
Actually, I guess the more I think about it, maybe a few people in the USA might get a little upset with things. But those are the few that can’t see Donald Trump is a fox and a genius with a proven record of running businesses successfully. If they could just see that, then they could just trot along the path with all the MAGA faithful until we reach the cliff….
Laurel says
He couldn’t sell f**king vodka.
Ray W. says
The monthly Bureau of Labor Services preliminary JOLTS report for February came out this morning. 6.882 million posted unfilled job openings. As the February number of unemployed non-farm workers has yet to issue, the January BLS figure is 7.571 million unemployed.
Economists accept as economically healthy a ratio of one posted unfilled job opening to every unemployed person. This means that an economically healthy number of available jobs should be roughly 7.5 million. Stray too far in either direction from that number and labor market imbalances begin to destabilize the economy.