Jimaya Baker, 20, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the maximum prosecutors asked for, in her role as ringleader of two armed robberies in Palm Coast, in 2018 and 2019, one of them leaving an 18-year-old man half paralyzed and an invalid for the rest of his life. She was one of six co-conspirators in the two robberies. All have pleaded to prison time.
All Else
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, January 7, 2022
Deviaun Antriel Toler, whom a jury found guilty of first-degree felony charges of aggravated child abuse and two other charges in October, is scheduled for his sentencing. And W.E.B. DuBois asks: Your country? How came it yours?
See the Truth, America, Biden Urges as he Blasts Trump’s ‘Dagger at the Throat of Democracy’
Biden’s speech of Jan. 6, 2022, is of interest not only because of the circumstances that led to its being necessary, but also because of the visual language it employed. The speech expressed a powerful faith in the plain truth. It asked Americans to believe their own eyes. That reflects a long philosophical tradition in Western culture equating sight or light with the truth.
Flagler County Firefighters Jon Moscowitz and Jimmy Melady Deliver Baby on New Year’s (Not Theirs)
Flagler County Fire Rescue Lieutenant Jon Moscowitz and Firefighter/Paramedic Jimmy Melady started 2022 on a joyous, unplanned note this weekend, when they responded to mom-to-be Traci Kuehn’s call on New Year’s Day.
Native American Festival returns to Princess Place After a Covid Hiatus
The Native American Festival that is fast becoming a February tradition at Princess Place Preserve returns in 2022 after a hiatus last year because of COVID-19. It will be the seventh Pow Wow held since its inception in 2015.
Flagler Covid Deaths Increase by 8 Since Christmas as Omicron Surges and Health Experts Warn: It’s Not a Cold
The coronavirus’s omicron variant is far more infectious and less virulent than its predecessors, but it is not the common cold. The Flagler Health Department is reporting covid outbreaks in all sectors–schools, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and the Flagler County jail, and a significant increase in covid-attributed deaths in Flagler County since Christmas. As of Dec. 24, 277 Flagler County residents had died of Covid-19. As of today, 285 have.
Incumbents a Crowd as Qualifying Soon Closes in Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach for March Elections
For an off-year, 2022 will not be short of elections in Flagler County, starting with elections in Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach on March 8. A combined seven incumbents in the three municipalities are making a play to keep their seats, and absent additional candidates filing to run, Bunnell and Beverly Beach could end up with uncontested elections.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 6, 2022
James McIntire sentencing before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, recalling the Jan. 6 insurrection, hunting deer instead of hippies, a seminar on Ritchie Robertson’s “The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness.”
Why Omicron Transmission in Triple-Vaxxed Should Not Alarm You
On the surface, it appeared that the vaccines were not working. But this depends on how vaccine protection is defined. So far, the vaccines have proven to be very good at preventing severe disease. This protection is just as important, if not more so, as they keep the vast majority of infected people out of hospital and from dying.
School Board’s Woolbright Objects to Citing “Hate Groups” in Statement Denouncing Hate, and Blames “All Groups”
Flagler County School Board member on Tuesday objected to including the words “hate group” in a denunciation of hate against students, and in a stunning equivalence, said she witnessed “poor behavior” from “all groups,” in essence equating students protesting book bans in November with a group of adults who turned out to taunt, insult and hurl threats at them.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Flagler County students return to school for the spring semester amid a surge of omicron and a dearth of safety directives, the Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets, Linda Greenhouse on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s big mistake.
Not All Polarization Is Bad, But the US Could Be in Trouble
For the first time, the United States has been classified as a “backsliding democracy” in a global assessment of democratic societies by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, an intergovernmental research group. One key reason the report cites is the continuing popularity among Republicans of false allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Ex-Lake Helen Police Chief Michael Walker Takes Over a Bunnell Police Department in Turmoil After Rapid Search
Michael Anthony Walker, 57, Lake Helen’s police chief for 11 years, today was named Bunnell police chief, replacing Tom Foster in a department buffeted by low morale and the loss of its top three highest-ranked officers in a matter of weeks. Brannon Snead, the interim chief since Foster’s departure in early December, was not among the five applicants for the top job.
Town of Beverly Beach Makes Unprecedented $10,000 Donation to Flagler County Health Department
Beverly Beach, which brands itself a “small town with a good heart,” donated $10,000, or 5 percent of its American Rescue Plan allocation, to the Flagler Health Department, with Bob Snyder at the commission meeting to accept the donation Monday evening. The money will be spent on diabetes and other public health initiatives.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Happy birthday Jules Kwiatkowski. The Flagler County School Board discusses its own protocols, Bunnell Manager Alvin Jackson talks about changes at the city, the Palm Coast City Council meets this evening.
Sore Loser Effect: Rejecting Election Results Drives Terrorism and Hobbles Democracy
Acceptance of electoral defeat, something political scientists call “loser’s consent,” is essential for stability and order in democracies. It’s fragile. When it is broken–when losing politicians in democracies refuse to accept election results–citizens begin to see terrorism as more acceptable and domestic terrorism increases.
Flagler’s Omicron-Led Covid Infections Surge Toward Record as DeSantis Sees Schools and Business as Usual
Infection numbers are surging across Florida, but in a 50-minute news conference this morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo not only projected a business-as-usual approach, but said testing protocols will be revised toward less testing, with testing and treatment focused on higher-risk patients, while schools are to remain open and operating under previously relaxed guidelines that de-emphasize quarantines, masking and distancing.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, January 3, 2022
The grind returns. Court is back in session with arraignments, and the sentencing of former Seaman Isaac Julio Becker, the social virus of nationalism, remembering Arsenio’s first.
Could Omicron Be the Last Variant of Concern?
Omicron may not be the final variant, but it may be the final variant of concern. If we are lucky, and the course of this pandemic is hard to predict, Covid will probably become an endemic virus that slowly mutates over time. The disease might very likely be mild as some past exposure creates immunity that reduces the likelihood of hospitalisation and death.
Americanisms: Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street and Babbitt
Today we read the Sinclair Lewis of “Main Street,” “Babbitt,” “Elmer Gantry” and “It Can’t Happen Here” not for literary value but the way Margaret Mead studied the Balinese character–for ethnographic insights. Lewis’s novels are a window into an America not nearly as dated as his reputation.
At the Flagler County Public Library: Florida History Through the Amazing Illustrations of Harper’s Weekly
The Friends of the Library at the Flagler County Public Library host a history presentations by Zach Zacharias, Senior Curator of Education and History at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach at 2 p.m. on Jan. 28, on Florida seen through the illustrations of Harper’s Illustrated Weekly.
Is the CDC Inflating Vaccination Rates?
The CDC as of Dec. 5 has recorded more seniors at least partly vaccinated — 55.4 million — than there are people in that age group — 54.1 million, according to the latest census data from 2019. The CDC’s vaccination rate for residents 65 and older is also significantly higher than the 89% vaccination rate found in a poll conducted in November.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, January 2, 2022
The great John Hope Franklin through the ages, LBJ’s “To Fulfill These Rights” address at Howard University, and a remembrance of the miserable Palmer Raids of 1920.
A Disastrous 2021: Half the Country Is Too Dry, Half Is Too Wet
In the U.S. alone, damage from the biggest climate and weather disasters is expected to total well over US$100 billion in 2021. Many of these extreme weather events have been linked to human-caused climate change, and they offer a glimpse of what to expect in a rapidly warming world.
Eulogy for Nature: Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire
Edward Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire,” published in January 1968, worthy of any top-100 list of the best books of the last hundred years and an essential read–and re-read-today, is a meditation, a polemic, a manifesto, a provocation, a valentine and an elegy to the red desert and to American wilderness.
Time to Treat Environmental Crime as a Crime Against Humanity
Environmental crime is still regarded a “white collar crime,” subject mostly to civil charges and accompanied by fines, when the reality on the state of the planet mandates that environmental destruction be conceptualized as a crime against humanity.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 1, 2022
This is Be Kind to Food Servers Month, started by Memphis waitress Sybil Presley in 2008. A few words from Sandra Bullock on the subject, and C. Vann Woodward on the strange career of Jim Crow.
How to Make Dry January a Success
Whether this is your first attempt at a Dry January or you are a seasoned participant, there are ways you can maximise your likelihood of getting to the end of January without drinking alcohol. Behavioral science offers some insights.
God’s Plagues: Philip Roth’s Nemesis
Philip Roth’s “Nemesis” is the story of an unsuspecting Everyman who becomes a polio superspreader and turns on his fiancee, God and life. Written in 2010, the novel can be read in the age of the coronavirus as a study in grief and loss and the limits of personal, or divine, responsibility.
Adieu, 2021: Sadness, Anger and Gratitude in a Year of Miscarriages
“I am awash with emotions today–everything from sadness to anger to gratitude at this year end,” writes Chris Goodfellow as he bids farewell to 2021. “We have learned nothing in terms of our choices, behaviors and most critically our capacity for unity in face of a threat.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, December 31, 2021
Government offices and courts are closed, fireworks are still banned in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, Wesley Morris on Black music’s miracle of sound, and Bach on the miracle of Cantata BWV 170, closing out the year on a plea for the delights of the soul.
Ghislaine Maxwell Guilty in Epstein Sex Trafficking Trial: What the Case Revealed About Female Sex Offenders
The majority of sex offenders are believed to be male. Charges lodged against women may include sexual abuse of children but often involve grooming or trafficking girls without engaging in the act of sexually abusing the child.
Trump Troll Chronicles: Bob Woodward’s Peril
Bob Woodward’s and Robert Costa’s “Peril,” third in the trilogy of Woodward’s books on the Trump administration, isn’t history. It’s most revealing in what it does not say. It’s tragicomedy. It’s a chronicle of trash foretold. And it’s prediction. The worst is ahead.
University System Officials Urge Vaccinations and Return to Masking As Spring Semester Nears
Saying it is “clear the pandemic is not over,” top university system officials are asking students and employees to wear masks on campus and get booster shots to protect against Covid-19 as the spring semester prepares to start.
Two Men Are Shot in Confrontation on Regent Lane in Palm Coast, One of Them Just Out of Prison
A shootout at 8 Regent Lane in Palm Coast Wednesday evening sent two men to the hospital, one of them airlifted, and triggered an elaborate and ongoing investigation by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. No one is in custody for now. One of the men is 23, the other is 20. Others, possibly several others, may have been involved.
Proposal Would Lead to Surveillance Cameras in Every Classroom, and Teachers to Wear Microphones
School districts could adopt policies that lead to installing cameras in classrooms and requiring teachers in the classrooms to wear microphones, under a Florida House proposal filed this week. Local school boards would have to vote on the proposal–and pay for it.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, December 30, 2021
Nixon, Kissinger and the great war crime of Christmas 1972, the Everglades crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401, Mary McCarthy disappoints her confessional priest when he asks her what kind of impurities she’d committed.
It’s After Christmas. Here’s Why It Sucks.
The holiday season is usually a joyous occasion, but many people feel “blah” soon after the celebrations. What is it about Christmas that makes people feel this way? Here are a few answers.
Call DCF: Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s The Discomfort of Evening
Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, who now goes by the pronouns they/them, won the International Booker Prize for “The Discomfort of Evening,” an autobiographical novel about a 10-year-old girl who thinks she willed the death of her brother, and who watches her family and her bearings collapse after his death. The book caused a controversy due to themes of adolescent sexuality and animal torture.
19-Year-Old Palm Coast Man Arrested in Bunnell Shooting Spree That Included Ex-Sheriff Sgt. Larry Jones’s Car
Josiah Aaron Feimster, 19, faces four felony charges, the result of an shooting spree in South Bunnell. Two parked and vacant vehicles were struck, including that of retired Flagler County Sheriff’s Sgt. Larry Jones, a two-time candidate for sheriff. Jones, a Palm Coast resident, was not in town at the time. He was not hurt.
Registration Ongoing for Palm Coast Mayor’s 30/30 Fitness Challenge
Palm Coast residents wishing to participate in the Mayor’s 30/30 Fitness Challenge can still register by visiting palmcoast.gov/mayors-challenge using their city of Palm Coast account login information. Residents without an account can easily create one at the sign-in screen.
Flagler Access Mental Health Center Will Have Its Ceremonial Opening on Jan. 11
Flagler County and its partners SMA Healthcare and Flagler Health+ are hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Flagler Access Center, which will provide an open door for education, screening, and connection to behavioral healthcare services in the area. The event will be held at 10 a.m. January 11, 2022 at the center located at 103 E. Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, December 29, 2021
The funniest pandemic video you’ll see this holiday season, Frederick Douglass remembers his encounter with Andrew Johnson at the Lincoln inaugural, the novice who likes to watch women rub clothes on the stones.
Desmond Tutu, Father of South Africa’s ‘Rainbow Nation’
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu has died at the age of 90. He earned the respect and love of millions of South Africans and the world. He carved out a permanent place in their hearts and minds, becoming known affectionately as “The Arch.”
Liberal Flagellant: George Packer’s Last Best Hope
George Packer’s “The Last best Hope,” published in June, attempts to explain how the United States devolved into the furies of Donald Trump’s last year–the pandemic, the BLM marches, the Jan. 6 insurrection–by diagnosing four separate Americas that no longer communicate. It’s a dour, guilt-ridden book by a liberal looking for penance in all the wrong places.
Sheriff’s Real Time Crime Center Supervisor Nichole North Graduates from FDLE Analyst Academy
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Real Time Crime Center Supervisor, Nichole North graduated from the Florida Law Enforcement Analyst Academy. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced the graduation of 21 law enforcement analysts from 10 criminal justice agencies throughout the state who all serve in crime intelligence analyst roles.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, December 28, 2021
On the death of E.O. Wilson, the great biologist and advocate of the Enlightenment. Today marks the 48th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, which Nixon signed into law while on vacation in California.
Why E.O. Wilson Was One of the Greatest Minds of the Last 100 Years
Each of Edward O. Wilson’s seminal contributions fundamentally changed the way scientists approached these disciplines, and explained why E.O. – as he was fondly known – was an academic god for many young scientists. This astonishing record of achievement may have been due to his phenomenal ability to piece together new ideas using information garnered from disparate fields of study.
A Bit Less Normal: Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You
The young, argumentative and Irish Sally Rooney is among the rising lights of English-language literature. She’s giving the novel of ideas a boost. The impulse her works command reminds me of the old E.F. Hutton commercials: “When EF Hutton talks, people listen.” Her third novel, “Beautiful World, Where Are You,” is her most ambitious and least accomplished.
A Few Magnificent Things That Happened in 2021
It would be easy to survey the end of 2021 and see another year in wreckage. There’s the pandemic that won’t end. Rising inflation. Climate disasters. A democracy that looks creakier by the day. But there’s unusual comfort out there.
