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Weather: Sunny, with a high near 85. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 65. Calm wind.
- 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:
Palm Coast’s Loop Road Groundbreaking: Palm Coast government hosts a groundbreaking for for the Matanzas Woods Parkway Loop Road project that will cut into the city’s expansion on some 22,000 acres west of U.S. 1. The groundbreaking for the $126 million segment the legislature funded (the whole road is not yet funded) is at 10 a.m. at Parkgate Boulevard West of the Matanzas Woods Parkway roundabout, near U.S. 1. Parking will be available on the roadway with additional overflow parking available at the Space Shop Self Storage at 105 Matanzas Woods Parkway.
Drug Court convenes before Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 401 at the Flagler County courthouse, Kim C. Hammond Justice Center 1769 E Moody Blvd, Bldg 1, Bunnell. Drug Court is open to the public. See the Drug Court handbook here and the participation agreement here.
‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ an FPC Production of the musical, 7 p.m. (with an additional 2 p.m. matinee May 16) at the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center (Flagler Auditorium), 5500 State Road 100, Palm Coast. Call the box office at (386) 437-7547 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., or book online here.
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.
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 105 South 2nd Street in Flagler Beach. Watch the meeting at the city’s YouTube channel here. Access meeting agenda and materials here. See a list of commission members and their email addresses here.
Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Central Park, from noon to 2 p.m. in Central Park in Town Center, 975 Central Ave. Join Bill Wells, Bob Rupp and other members of the Palm Coast Model Yacht Club, watch them race or join the races with your own model yacht. No dues to join the club, which meets at the pond in Central Park every Thursday.
‘The Curious Savage” at Daytona Playhouse, 100 Jessamine Blvd., Daytona Beach. Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., with an extra Saturday matinee on May 16 at 2 p.m. A recent widow has hidden $10 million in bonds and her grown-up stepchildren want to get their hands on it. They commit her to a sanatorium hoping to “bring her to her senses.” Tickets $15-$25. Box office: (386) 255-2431.
Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience at 6 p.m. This free lecture will be presented in person at the UF Whitney Laboratory Lohman Auditorium, 9505 Ocean Shore Boulevard, in St. Augustine. Those interested also have the option of registering to watch via Zoom live the night of the lecture. Go here to register for this month’s lecture. See previous lectures here.
“Once on This Island,” a musical, at Limelight Theatre, 11 Old Mission Avenue, St. Augustine. Book tickets here. 7:30 p.m. except on Sunday, 2 p.m. Once on This Island is a vibrant Caribbean-inspired musical that tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl who rescues and falls in love with a wealthy boy from the other side of her divided island. Guided by watchful island gods, her journey explores love, class, sacrifice, and destiny. Blending folklore, rhythmic music, and heartfelt storytelling, the show celebrates resilience, community, and the transformative power of hope.
The Palm Coast Democratic Club holds its monthly business meeting at noon at the Flagler Democratic Party Headquarters in City Marketplace, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite C214, Palm Coast. This gathering is open to the public at no charge. No advance arrangements are necessary. Call (386) 283-4883 for best directions or (561)-235-2065 for more information. For further information, please contact Palm Coast Democratic Club’s President Donna Harkins at (561) 235-2065, visit our website at http://palmcoastdemocraticclub.org/ or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/palmcoastdemclub/permalink
Notably: Maupassant wrote a story called “Châli” in 1884, about which I may have more to say on another day when I’m in a surlier mood to talk about colonialism and Aimé Césaire. “Châli” is about a Frenchman, de la Vallée, who travels to India on a work assignment, where he is reecived the rajah Maddan, a local king. Maddan wants de la Vallée to attend a human fight with him. Maupassant writes: “At his command two naked men appeared, their hands covered with steel claws. They immediately began to attack each other, trying to strike one another with these sharp weapons, which left long cuts, from which the blood flowed freely down their dark skins. It lasted for a long time, till their bodies were a mass of wounds, and the combatants were tearing each other’s flesh with these pointed blades. One of them had his jaw smashed, while the ear of the other was split into three pieces. The prince looked on with ferocious pleasure, uttered grunts of delight, and imitated all their movements with careless gestures, crying out constantly: “ ‘Strike, strike hard!’ One fell down unconscious and had to be carried out of the arena, covered with blood, while the rajah uttered a sigh of regret because it was over so soon.” The scene reminded me of the April 11 article by The New York Times’s Katie Rogers (a younger, equally sharp Maureen Dowd): “On Saturday evening, as Vice President JD Vance took a podium in Pakistan and said no deal had been reached to end the war in Iran, President Trump was in Miami watching a mixed martial arts fight. Mr. Trump spent several hours orbited by Secretary of State Marco Rubio; a few of his children; some Ultimate Fighting Championship officials; Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador to India; the recording artist Vanilla Ice; Dan Bongino, the former deputy director of the F.B.I.; and the manosphere shepherd Joe Rogan.” Did you catch that ambassador to India bit? Priceless serendipity. The article is accompanied by a picture of Trump leering with that sadistic look of his at the legs of one of the fighters, through the cage, that look of succulence for violence in his eyes. “Round after round, fight after fight, Mr. Trump watched as pairs of competitors sparred in a cage covered in ads for Monster energy drinks, assorted crypto and betting sites, and Bud Light beer. The floor was stained with splotches of dried blood from the first match of the evening, when a fighter took a hard hit to the forehead. […] At the moment Mr. Vance began briefing the news media in Pakistan, Mr. Trump was standing still at the side of the cage with his hands at his sides as a winning fighter cheered. He and Mr. Rubio were looking up toward a large screen and watching a video montage of the fighter’s greatest hits as Mr. Vance said, “the bad news is that we have not reached an agreement.” […] As the night grew late on Saturday and the war once again seemed poised to spin out of Mr. Trump’s control, the vice president departed Pakistan without an agreement. The president stayed seated in Miami, his eyes trained on the men punching and kicking each other in a bloodstained cage.” It was Philip Roth who wrote in 1961 that “actuality is continually outdoing our talents, and the culture tosses up figures almost daily that are the envy of any novelist.” Maupassant, Balzac, Flaubert, and especially Dostoevsky and Thomas Mann would have agreed, had they known Donald Trump.
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 United Methodist Church Food Pantry
Flagler County Drug Court Convenes
Palm Coast’s Loop Road Groundbreaking
Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Palm Coast Democratic Club Meeting
Community Preparedness Workshop
Flagler Beach City Commission Meeting
Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series
‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ an FPC Production
‘The Curious Savage” at Daytona Playhouse
“Once on This Island,” At Limelight Theatre
Free For All Fridays With Host David Ayres on WNZF
Disaster Preparedness Expo
Flagler County Cultural Council (FC3) Meeting
Friday Blue Forum
For the full calendar, go here.
The level of everyday violence—deaths in alehouse brawls, during bouts with slaves, or even in playing football or wrestling—was shocking. Tournaments were very different from the romantic descriptions in Malory, Scott, and Conan Doyle. They were vicious sham battles by large bands of armed knights, ostensibly gatherings for enjoyment and exercise but really occasions for abduction and mayhem. As late as the year 1240, in a tourney near Düsseldorf, sixty knights were hacked to death. Despite their bloodthirstiness—a taste which may have been acquired from the Huns, Goths, Franks, and Saxons—all were devout Christians.
–From William Manchester, A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age (1992).
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