A Beverly Beach resident explains how protecting Flagler County’s beaches through the proposed county plan is similar to supporting communal responsibilities like roads, schools, parks and libraries: not everyone benefits from those services equally, but the services all play a crucial role in the local quality of life and the economy, and must be supported evenly. So it is with the beach.
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Daily Cartoon and Briefing

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 15, 2025
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local

Norman Mugford, Alarmpro Owner and Longtime Member of Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board, Dies at 76
The City of Palm Coast honors the memory and celebrates the life of Norman Mugford, who passed away on Monday, March 3, 2025, at the age of 76. Norman was a dedicated public servant whose tireless commitment significantly shaped Palm Coast, particularly through his extensive service on the Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board.

Five Apply for Ray Stevens’s Palm Coast Council Seat Amid Mounting Turmoil; Window Closes March 19
Just five candidates have applied for the District 3 seat on the Palm Coast City Council that Ray Stevens resigned at the end of February, including Mark Stancel, who lost a primary vote to Stevens by two votes. Whoever the council appoints will be joining a county and a city in turmoil. The council will make its choice in early to mid-April.

Jane Mealy Exits Flagler Beach Dais After 19 Years, Cunningham Is Sworn-In and Sherman Named Chair
Jane Mealy for 19 years had been the Flagler Beach City Commission’s unrivaled workhorse and its sharpest study long before successive commissioners mostly modeled themselves after her, whether they knew it or not. Thursday evening, Mealy cast her final vote and exited after her defeat by John Cunningham, and the re-election of James Sherman, who was elected chair. Rick Belhumeur was elected vice-chair, to his recurring chagrin.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local

In Startling Stand-Your-Ground Ruling, Judge Nichols Dismisses Charges Against Man Accused in Violent Attack at Circle K
In a stand your ground ruling that startled law enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office, Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols on Monday dismisses felony charges against 23-year-old Hunter Detherow, who was facing five to 20 years in prison for a fight at the Palm Harbor Circle K a year ago that left one man with four broken ribs and another with stab wounds, a collapsed lung and a black eye. Detherow, a former Marine, was not injured. The two men were twice his age, though one of them was nearly twice his weight.

Palm Coast Eases Stance on Beach-Saving Sales Tax as ‘Grow Some Balls’ Message Lifts Plan’s Chances, But More Talk Needed
In contrast with their joint meeting in February, representatives from Palm Coast, Beverly Beach, Bunnell, Flagler Beach, Marineland and the county were all more supportive of a proposed beach-management plan centered on raising the sales tax as they discussed it Wednesday evening. Palm Coast remains the crucial hold-out for now, if not an immovable one. But time is running out.

Michael Jennelle, 53, Guilty on All Charges of Raping Granddaughter; He Faces Life in Prison
At the end of a three-day trial and just 75 minutes of deliberations this afternoon, a jury found Michael Jennelle, 53, guilty on seven counts of raping and molesting his granddaughter when she was between 7 and 10, and whom he had adopted as his daughter. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.

City Council Cuts City Manager Candidates to 5, But with Sharp Disparities Regarding Most
Shortly before giving applicants yet more reasons to think twice about working here, the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday shortened its list of city manager candidates to five, with one clear front-runner–William Smith, a former county and city manager in Georgia and North Carolina, with vast experience in the field, and the first candidate to get across-the-board top scores from all four council members so far.

Palm Coast Council Agrees to Investigation of Mayor Norris After Allegation of ‘Blatant Violations of City Charter’
The Palm Coast City Council late Tuesday night called for an independent investigation of Mayor Mike Norris after Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston confirmed that he unilaterally demanded in a private meeting that she and Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo resign, what would be a “blatant violation of the city charter,” in Council member Ty Miller’s words. Norris is denying the charge.

12-Year-Old Testifies of Years of Sexual Abuse at Grandfather ‘Mike’ Jennelle’s Hands; He’ll Take Stand in His Own Defense
When Michael Jennelle takes the stand Wednesday, as he said he would, in his defense against charges that he raped and molested his pre-teen granddaughter for years, he will have to overcome the nearly flawless, withering day Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark marshaled against him today, leaving the defense flailing. It will take a lot more than “I didn’t do it” for Jennelle (as he told the judge in December) to convince the jury of his innocence.

Foreclosure Ahead: Judge Orfinger Maps Way for Flagler County Against Old Dixie Motel Owners
Senior Judge Rick Orfinger today directed the attorney representing Flagler County to draft an order that would grant the county’s motion for a final judgment in its favor nearly four years after an obscure partnership bought the property, made a string of empty promises to rebuild it, flouted a court order to put up a bond and ran up $115,000 in contempt fines.

Semi-Trailer Truck Driver Killed in Fiery Crash on I-95 Near Palm Coast Parkway
A semi-trailer truck driver was killed in a fiery crash on I-95 just before the Palm Coast Parkway exit in mid-afternoon Monday. No one else was involved. It was the fifth fatality on Flagler County roads in a 10-day span.

Jennelle’s Defense, Implying a Monstrous Conspiracy, Terms Charges of Child Rape the Fabrications of a Jilted Wife
In brief opening arguments in the trial of Michael Jennelle, 53, who faces life in prison if convicted, the prosecution told the jury that Jennelle started sexually abusing his granddaughter when she was 7 and continued to do so until she was about 10. The defense said it was a fabrication between the granddaughter and her grandmother at a time when Jennelle was divorcing her. The trial is expected to take most of the week.

Arrest of Alleged Campaign Worker for Theft in Palm Coast Complicates Uphill Congressional Race for Josh Weil
Arlecia Darnae Brown, a 25-year-old resident of Orlando who claimed to be a campaign worker in a special election locally, was arrested on six felonies, including a life felony charge of traveling to commit a burglary, after allegedly stealing a bike in an L-Section neighborhood in Palm Coast last week.

Read Across Flagler Event at Central Park Brings Out the District’s Own Student Novelists
The second annual Read Across Flagler at Palm Coast’s Central Park, an event organized by the school district’s media specialists, focused on the district’s own authors , including three high school students who have already published their first novel and are working on their second. There was a petting zoo, a balloon art station and two tables-full of books being given away, but the focus was on the writers.
The Conversation

In Red and Blue States, a Surge of Laws to Protect Teen on Social Media
In 2024, approximately half of all U.S. states passed at least 50 bills that make it harder for children and teens to spend time online without any supervision. Research shows that adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media have an increased risk of anxiety and depression. Almost half of teens have faced online bullying or harassment, with older teen girls most likely to have experienced this. Social media use has been linked to self-harm in some cases.
Florida and Beyond

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 14, 2025
Flagler Outreach Brings Social Service Providers to Cattleman’s Hall, ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, the misfortunes of the phrase “leader of the free world.”

Even Florida’s Naturalized Citizens Are Fearful of State’s New Anti-Immigrant Laws
Nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. citizens and one-third of U.S. citizens who responded to a survey, said they hesitated to seek medical care in the year after Florida’s anti-immigration law, SB 1718, was enacted. Laws like SB 1718 amplify preexisting racial and structural inequities. Structural inequities are systemic barriers within institutions — such as health care and employment — that restrict access to essential resources based on one’s race, legal or economic status.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, March 13, 2025
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, the Bunnell City Commission and its planning board hold a joint workshop on the 8,000-home development of the Reserve at Haw Creek, Christopher Lasch and tariffs.
Briefs and Releases
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Florida Ban on Under-21s Buying Long Guns
Stetson Survey Finds Puerto Rico and D.C. Get Statehood Support, Canada and Greenland Do Not
University of Chicago’s Tony Banout, Freedom of Expression Expert, Speaks at Stetson March 26
“Warbirds Over Flagler” Fly-In Returns to County Airport March 22-23
AdventHealth’s Creation Life Program Helps Palm Coast Pastor Lose 100 Pounds and Find a New Mission
More Florida and Beyond

Brain-Training to Stave Off Dementia Is Unproven. Here’s What Might Help.
People can make changes throughout adulthood that can help prevent or delay cognitive decline and even reduce their risk of dementia. These include quitting smoking and properly managing blood pressure. Brain-training games, which claim to optimize your brain’s efficiency and capacity at any age, are unproven.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Flagler County, Flagler Beach, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Beverly Beach governments hold a joint meeting to discuss a beach-management plan, Michael Jennelle’s trial, day 3, the risibility of Palestinian-Israeli prisoner exchanges.

American Imperialism Is Back
Embracing traditional U.S. imperialism would upend the rules that have kept the globe relatively stable since World War II. That would unleash fear, chaos – and possibly nuclear war.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 11, 2025
The Flagler School Board holds a trio of meetings, two of them open, the Palm Coast City Council discusses its comprehensive plan, the Flagler County Planning Board meets, on the imminent dissolution of the world.

Severe Prison Sentences and ‘Truth-in-Sentencing’ Laws Don’t Work
Tough-on-crime policies are surging again, despite research showing they do little to reduce crime, particularly violent offenses. Research highlights the inefficacy and unintended consequences of these laws. There is no compelling evidence that punitive sentencing policies discourage individuals from engaging in criminal activity. And states without truth-in-sentencing laws have seen their crime rates fall to roughly the same degree as states that have the laws.

Lawmakers Scheme Toward Paying Less Than Minimum Wage to Workers in ‘Job Training’
The Republican-controlled Commerce and Tourism Committee voted 5-3 along party lines to approve the measure (SB 676), which would provide an exemption to the voter-approved minimum wage when employees are involved in “a structured work-study, internship, pre-apprenticeship program, apprenticeship program or other similar work-based learning opportunity.” The proposal is aimed at helping people gain skills through entry-level work experience, even though the minimum wage is intended for entry-level workers.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, March 10, 2025
The trial of Michael Wayne Jennelle on a capital felony charge and three life felonies begins, the library board meets, the Bunnell City Commission is asked to approve a $7 million change order for its sewer plant, the benefits of vaccines.

How Map-Makers Shape the Middle East’s Conflicts
Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, different governmental and nongovernmental organizations and political interest groups have engaged in what can best be described as “map wars.” Maps of the region use the naming of places, the position of borders and the inclusion or omission of certain territories to present contrasting geopolitical visions. To this day, Israel or the Palestinian territories may fall off some maps, depending on the politics of their makers.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, March 9, 2025
‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, Gavin Newsom’s turnaround on transgender athletes, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, a trsangenderish scene from Alexandre Dumas.

USAID’s History of Good Works
USAID is a government agency that, for more than 63 years, has led the United States’ foreign aid work on disaster recovery, poverty reduction and democratic reforms in many developing and middle-income countries. A yearlong pause in USAID’s work on health, food and agriculture in the world’s poorest countries would raise malaria deaths by 40%. It would also result in an increase of between 28% and 32% in tuberculosis cases, among other negative effects.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 8, 2025
“The Ten Foods of Florida,” by Dr. Gary Mormino, Gamble Jam, part of the 2025 History Academy Talk Presented by the Palm Coast Historical Society, American Association of University Women (AAUW) Monthly Meeting, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

English, Official US Language? Piénsalo Otra Vez
In halting its Spanish-language communications, the White House is ignoring the demographic reality of the U.S. and rejecting a long-standing tradition in American government of making key civic information accessible to the public. These changes, while mostly symbolic, signal the Trump administration’s unwelcoming stance toward Spanish specifically and multilingualism in general.

The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 7, 2025
First Friday in Flagler Beach, First Friday Garden Walks at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, Frank Wedekind’s Spring’s Awakening, remembering Dr. Ruth, ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre.
Commentary

Lawmakers’ Circus Returns to Tallahassee
The circus is coming to town. Y’all might know it as the regular session of the Florida Legislature. Don’t even begin to think this year can’t possibly be worse than last year, when lawmakers passed a dumpster full of bills to make Florida worse.

Firing Squads and the Disturbing History of Executions in the U.S.
The resumption of death by firing squad is part of a morbid search for “better” execution methods. It comes amid concern over botched lethal injection attempts and a scarcity of the drugs needed to carry out such executions. In 2020, the first Trump administration expanded how federal execution can be carried out to include ghoulish methods such as hanging, the electric chair, gas chamber and, indeed, the firing squad.

State of the Monarch
If there are any limits to a president’s power, it wasn’t evident from Donald Trump’s speech before a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025. When the Constitution was written, many people – from those who drafted the document to those who read it – believed that endowing the president with such powers was dangerous. The danger is here.