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Weather: A 20 percent chance of showers before 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Sunday: A slight chance of showers between 8am and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- 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 Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at South 2nd Street, right in front of City Hall, featuring prepared food, fruit, vegetables , handmade products and local arts from more than 30 local merchants. The market is hosted by Flagler Strong, a non-profit.
Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley: Flagler Beach Commission Chairman Scott Spradley hosts his weekly informal town hall with coffee and doughnuts at 9 a.m. at his law office at 301 South Central Avenue, Flagler Beach. All subjects, all interested residents or non-residents welcome. The gatherings usually feature a special guest.
Gamble Jam: Join us from 2 to 4 p.m. for the Gamble Jam—a laid-back, toe-tappin’ tribute to the legendary Florida folk singer and storyteller, James Gamble Rogers IV! Musicians of all skill levels are welcome to bring their acoustic instruments and join the jam. Whether you’re strumming, picking, singing, or just soaking in the sounds, come be part of the magic at the Gamble Jam pavilion! The program is free with park admission! Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach, 3100 S. Oceanshore Blvd., Flagler Beach, FL. Call the Ranger Station at (386) 517-2086 for more information. The park hosts this acoustic jam session at one of the pavilions along the river to honor the memory of James Gamble Rogers IV, the Florida folk musician who lost his life in 1991 while trying to rescue a swimmer in the rough surf.
Grace Community Food Pantry, 245 Education Way, Bunnell, drive-thru open today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The food pantry is organized by Pastor Charles Silano and Grace Community Food Pantry, a Disaster Relief Agency in Flagler County. Feeding Northeast Florida helps local children and families, seniors and active and retired military members who struggle to put food on the table. Working with local grocery stores, manufacturers, and farms we rescue high-quality food that would normally be wasted and transform it into meals for those in need. The Flagler County School District provides space for much of the food pantry storage and operations. Call 386-586-2653 to help, volunteer or donate.
‘Line’ and ‘All In the Timing’ At City Rep Theatre, 160 Cypress Point Parkway (City Marketplace, Suite B207), Palm Coast, 7:30 p.m. except Sunday, 3 p.m. Tickets: $25 for adults $15 for students. Book here. Get ready for an unforgettable night of sharp humor and surreal storytelling! Line, Israel Horovitz’s longest-running Off-Broadway play, explores human nature through a mysterious line where everyone wants to be first—no matter what it takes. Paired with David Ives’ All in the Timing, a fast-paced collection of one-act comedies, this double feature delivers clever dialogue, quirky scenarios, and laugh-out-loud moments. It’s a must-see showcase of theatrical brilliance and biting satire.
Dead Men Tell No Tales…. Or Do They? Murder Mystery Dinner Show, Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE, 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday, tickets $60 a person. The fundraiser is for foster children. Book here. Join the Seawolf Privateers for a night of swashbuckling fun you won’t want to miss! Step into a rowdy tavern in Tortuga where pirates, rum, music, and mischief fill the air. Dead Men Tell No Tales… Or Do They? is a laugh-out-loud pirate murder mystery dinner show packed with slapstick comedy, outrageous characters, and a twisty mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. Feast on a hearty dinner while the tale unfolds around you, with surprises, laughs, and plenty of pirate mayhem along the way. Best of all, every ticket helps make a difference—all proceeds support local foster and displaced children in our community. Come for the laughs, stay for the adventure, and help us do some good along the way!
“The Sound of Music” at Athens Theatre, 7:30 p.m. except Sunday, 2:30 p.m., 124 North Florida Avenue, DeLand, (386) 736-1500. Cost: Adult $37, Senior $33, Student/Child $17, groups of 8 or more $30 per ticket, all including processing charge. Book here. As the world begins to change, one woman brings something the von Trapp family hasn’t known in a long time—joy. When Maria steps into their lives, she brings laughter, music, and a renewed sense of connection—just as the world outside their home begins to shift in dangerous ways. In a time of rising fear and uncertainty, their bond becomes an anchor—and their courage, a quiet form of resistance. The Sound of Music is a timeless story of love, family, and standing up for what truly matters, brought to life with one of the most beloved scores in musical theatre history. Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Run time: 2 hours and 45 minutes with a 15-minute intermission
Notably: I don’t think we listen to Beethoven’s 4th Symphony often enough. Or at all. I have a hard time listening to Beethoven for more than 15 minutes at a time, most times. A bit too Byronish for me. But the First, Second and Fourth symphonies are little gems of post-Mozart declamping from classical constraints. So full of exuberance not yet saddled by torpid angst, the anti-Napoleonic vengefulness of the Seventh (however well deserved and satisfying), the Hegseth-like bombast of the Third and Fifth, and of course the Mahler-before-Mahler Ninth. Give the Fourth a whirl, let those opening cadences of the first movement lull you into those deceptive openings Haydn pulled off with so many of his symphonies’ first movements, only to then catapult you into that gravity-free precipice of joy.
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.
May 2026
Flagler Beach Farmers Market
Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley
Democratic Women’s Club
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
Touch-a-Truck in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Unity in the Community
Chess Meet-Up At the Flagler Beach Public Library
‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ an FPC Production
‘The Curious Savage” at Daytona Playhouse
‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ an FPC Production
‘The Curious Savage” at Daytona Playhouse
“Once on This Island,” At Limelight Theatre
Random Acts of Insanity’s Roundup of Standups from Around Central Florida
ESL Bible Studies for Intermediate and Advanced Students
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
For the full calendar, go here.
Not all Europeans remained as enamored of Napoleon for as long as the genius of Weimar. In Vienna, Beethoven composed a symphony, the Eroica, for Napoleon-then, disillusioned with the worldly arrogance of his hero as demonstrated by the coronation of 1804, canceled his dedication. “Is he then also nothing more than an ordinary human being?” he lamented to his friend Ferdinand Ries. “Now he too will trample on all the rights of men and indulge only in his ambition. He will exalt himself above all the others and be-come a tyrant.” A remarkable prediction; Beethoven then went to the table, took hold of the title page of the Eroica by the top, tore it in two, and threw it on the floor. . What he really felt about the new emperor was perhaps better demonstrated in his impassioned one-and-only opera, Fidelio. A hymn to freedom, fidelity, hope, and courage under imprisonment, it first played to empty houses in Vienna, in November 1805, then occupied by the French. Was a disillusioned Beethoven thinking of Napoleon, and possibly of the brutal execution of d’Enghien that March? Meanwhile, in France that same year, one of Napoleon’s chief supporters among the intelligent-sia, Chateaubriand, had also resigned in anger after the murder of the duke-then emigrated, and joined forces with Ma-dame de Staël in opposition to Napoleon. In consequence, Napoleon would never bewitch liberal intellectuals at home with anything like the same degree of success that he had had with their counterparts abroad.
–From Alistair Horn’s The Age of Napoleon (2006).
Dennis C Rathsam says
As the greatest country in the world gets ready to celebrate our 250th birthday, remember how we got here! Screw the GOP, screw the democrats!!! We are mostly all Americans (except for Bidens invaders) proud of our country, & the way we evolved. There were some tuff patches along the way, but Americas spirit will never die! I want to thank all those folks who gave their lives for all of us to be free. When things get tuff, America is at its best…Rest assured we will servive. America will be stronger in the long run, without a nuclear Iran. The world is also a safer place now! Soon gas will come down, food along with it, yeah it was tuff, yeah we struggled, but we here in America are winners. We ve always been winners, & we wont stop now! Put our flag outside your home, show some spirit, show some pride…. Remember, we are the new kids on the block at 250. But we are the greatest! The USA has been a leader, & we will continue to lead. Jesus has blessed us with promise & hope since our inception , we thank him for all his help, & thank the founding fathers whose wisdom & fortitude made America the greats place on earth.
Ray W. says
This from a recent Intellinews article.
After closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and after Iranian strikes on a number of its natural gas liquefaction trains, Qatar Energy declared “force majeure”, a process that permits the company to forego honoring existing contracts to deliver future cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which declaration prevents legal claims against the company for economic damages.
Initially, Qatar Energy’s declaration of force majeure extended to avoidance of contracts for export cargoes from April through mid-June. The Intellinews reporter writes that intervening events may mean that the mid-June end-date may have to be extended.
As example, the reporter then focuses on Edison, an Italian energy importer, though not the biggest in that country. Edison imports roughly 10% of Italy’s natural gas needs.
When Qatar Energy declared force majeure, Edison lost 10 contracted LNG cargoes, with individual cargo delivery dates from April to mid-June. Edison pivoted to American LNG exporters, purchasing seven cargoes.
Price per cargo was not included in the story.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
Right now, America is by significant measure the world’s biggest exporter of LNG by volume.
Prior to 2016, the year that Cheniere Energy exported its first LNG cargo from its Sabine Pass, Louisiana plant, America simply lacked any working LNG export infrastructure, save a long-closed LNG export plant built on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.
Since 2016, another eight LNG plants have opened, with one shipping its first LNG cargo earlier this month. Two more LNG plants should open by 2027. From what I read, four more LNG plants are in their early planning stages, permitted but not yet near completion. All told, by 2030, fifteen American LNG plants should be exporting product.
Right now, America has a glut of natural gas, with gas transport from well to coast hampered by insufficient pipeline capacity and later constrained by too little LNG export capacity. Some remote Permian Basin natural gas companies are having to pay pipeline companies to accept excess natural gas coproduced from more profitable oil wells.
As worldwide supplies of natural gas change due to the Iran War, American companies will almost certainly be called upon to export any extra natural gas that becomes available. It has to be thought fortuitous that the newest American LNG export plant opened right when constrictions on worldwide supply emerged.
But what will happen to the American glut of natural gas when all 15 LNG export plants open for business? How expensive will be the electricity produced by American natural gas rise?
Right now, Henry Hub spot prices for American natural gas hover around $3 per unit of a million BTU’s of energy potential. I use the phrase energy potential because there are many different types of natural gas power plant turbines. The newest of natural gas power plants can convert nearly two-thirds of the energy contained in incoming natural gas into usable power. 40-year-old natural gas power plants are much less efficient and far more costly to maintain.
Right now, on the Asian spot market, natural gas futures command prices in excess of $18.00 per million BTU’s, six times what American natural gas producers are getting.
Thus, the question? If bottlenecks to the transport of natural gas by pipeline were removed, either by increasing existing pipeline carrying capacity or by building new capacity, or both, and if bottlenecks to the export of American LNG were removed by the opening of new LNG plants, what would the laws of supply and demand do to the current disparity in natural gas prices?
And a second related question? If the existing supply glut of American natural gas allows American natural gas power plants to produce electricity at prices Americans have grown accustomed to paying, what happens to domestic electricity pricing if more and more natural gas can be transported from inland wells to LNG exporters and more and more LNG can be exported around the world, i.e., what is the potential of the current American natural gas glut turning into a future natural gas scarcity? We all know intuitively that Permian Basin natural gas extractors will sell their product to the highest bidder.
Ray W. says
UPI News reports that South Korea, home to refineries that produce nearly 30% of the world’s supply of jet fuel, has no domestic crude oil production capacity.
Of the jet fuel America imports, 70% of it originates in South Korean refineries.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
It’s been seven weeks since war broke out. Disrupted energy transport accumulates. Some 500 million accumulated barrels of crude oil are missing from the international crude oil marketplace, perhaps more.
Oil tank farms all over the world are draining. National reserves are shrinking. Absent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, how will the supply demand imbalance be restored to normal?
If China were to come to need imported jet fuel, would it send crude oil siphoned from its own reserves to South Korea to obtain what it needed? What if Vietnam has no crude oil reserve to speak of? What happens if refineries are forced by scarcity to reduce capacity or even shut down?
Ray W. says
The Tampa Free Press reports that American peace negotiators have been ordered to stand down. The Iranian lead negotiator was spotted leaving Pakistan via an airport.
President Trump claims that Iran, if it wants, can approach his negotiators. America still holds all the cards, he says.
Make of this what you will.
Ray W. says
In May, BYD releases the flagship luxury version of its full-sized seven-seat SUV, the Great Tang. Price for the one-motor base model will start at an estimated $36,200 at today’s exchange rate. The all-wheel- drive dual-motor version tops out at $46,400.
Interesting Engineering reports that the Great Tang model’s next-generation Blade 2 EV battery provides an expected range of 560 miles and a 10C charge rate. 1C charge rate means one hour to full recharge. 10C means six minutes to full charge. 0-62 mph for the dual-motor SUV comes in 3.9 seconds.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
The Great Tang is no bargain-basement, bare-bones vehicle; it was planned as BYD’s aspirational face to the world. No range anxiety. No underpowered highway chicane.
Competition for market share among Chinese EV makers is intense. The Chinese government recently discontinued certain popular EV subsidies. Companies are looking beyond China’s shores for lucrative export markets. Some are already manufacturing or assembling their EV’s in new foreign factories.
Some Chinese EV companies continue to grow and thrive. Some take losses as they struggle to emerge as major players. Others fade or are swallowed up. Seems like the creative destruction inhering in a hopefully healthy free-market sector.
But BYD has bet billions of dollars of its near-term future on its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry. If Ford’s and GM’s multi-billion dollar gambles on lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) EV batteries pay off, both of their new battery chemistries will leap-frog past BYD’s best in energy density and volume density and manufacturing cost per kilowatt-hour of energy storage.
Pogo says
Make what you will of this
Before Dec 7, 1941, the US cut off 80% of Japan’s oil imports and an incident occurred in Hawaii…
Smoke em if you got em, cancer ain’t gonna be what killed ya.