This Week in Flagler and Tallahassee: An Election and the Gun to Governments’ Heads

Note: all meetings are open to the public. You’re welcome to send tips or suggestions to editor@flaglerlive.com.

The Week’s Quick Links

• Palm Coast Primary Election for Mayor
• The Arts: Galleries, Theaters, Performing Arts
• Flagler County Commission
• Palm Coast City Council
• Flagler County Schools
• Flagler Beach City Commission
• Bunnell City Commission
• In Tallahassee
• Last Week’s Edition

Palm Coast Primary Election for Mayor

Click here to take the Palm Coast Mayor Poll

Jon Netts, Charlie Ericksen and Joe Cunnane are in the Sept. 13 primary election for Palm Coast mayor. Should one candidate win more than 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday, he’ll be the outright winner. Should any of the candidates fail to cross the 50 percent mark, the top two will be in a run-off on Nov. 8, when the two other council seats’ elections are also on the ballot.

Where to vote: Registered voters of either party and independents may cast a vote for any of the candidates at any of the following locations on Tuesday, Sept. 13:

Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Parkway N.W.
Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway
Belle Terre Elementary School, 5545 Belle Terre Parkway
Wadsworth Elementary School, 4550 Belle Terre Parkway
Flagler County Schools Building, 5400 E. Highway 100
Matanzas High School, 3535 Old Kings Road N.

For more on the municipal elections, see also:

• Jon Netts: The Live Interview
• Charlie Ericksen: The Live Interview
• As Voting for Palm Coast Mayor Begins, Netts and Ericksen Duel More Sharply
• Overflow Crowd at a Wonkish Forum for 7 Palm Coast City Council Candidates
• Uncertainty Over: Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts Makes His Re-Election Bid Official
• Challenging Jon Netts, Charlie Ericksen Runs for Palm Coast Mayor on a Pro-Business Agenda
• Palm Coast Mayor: Tea Party Straw Poll Has Ericksen Far Ahead of Netts, 59-36%
• Incumbents Jon Netts and Holsey Moorman Leading Money Race In Palm Coast Elections
• Paying Tribute to Tea Party Faithfuls, City Council Candidates Hear Tax-Me-Not Earfuls
• Citing Cost and Turnout, Palm Coast Approves Voting and Election-Cycle Changes
• Palm Coast Races: 3 for Mayor, 4 for Council, 2 Elections, No Partridge, No Pear Tree
• Campaign Notes: Defacing Moorman, Excluding Ericksen, Unseating Kim Weeks

The Arts This Week: Galleries, Theaters, Performing Arts

John Sbordone’s City Repertory Theatre begins its premier season in earnest Thursday, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m., at City Market Place, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, with “The Laramie Project.” The play is a recreation of the events and psychology surrounding the murder of Matthew Shephard, the gay University of Wyoming student, in 1998. “The compelling premise makes for great theater for it touches all of us and our ideas about homosexuality, sexual politics, education and the differences between tolerance and acceptance,” Sbordone told teh News-Journal’s Tom Iacuzio. “The play is absolutely riveting and has won awards all over the country, including at the Sundance Festival.”

The Laramie Project is scheduled for six performances: Sept. 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24, at Hollingsworth Gallery, all at 7:30 p.m.

Hollingsworth Gallery at City Market Place continues with its with its “All Hands In” exhibit, showcasing the gallery’s several instructors. And the Flagler County Art League continues with its “Blue on Blue” show, also at City Market Place.

Click On:

• Blue on Blue, the Flagler County Art League’s Homage to the Color of Imagination
• Sbordone’s Next Act: Ex-Playhouse Director Opens New Theater With Poetry Clash
• Kisses, Spoofs, Puns and Rap Run Wild in Repertory Theatre’s Shakespearean Vaudeville

Flagler County Commission

The commission is off this week: no public meetings scheduled. The county’s Citizens Academy’s newest class meets for the first time on Thursday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m., in the board chambers of the government services building. The academy gives residents a chance to systematically learn about local government: how it functions, who makes it function, and so on.

Palm Coast City Council

Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011, city council workshop at the city’s offices at City Market Place, 160 Cypress Point Pkwy. While his challenger is out collecting last-minute votes at the city’s six polling locations, Mayor Jon Netts will be chairing a routine council workshop, though you can be almost certain that he and City Manager Jim Landon (whose job security may well hinge on the election’s outcome) will keep it brief. Much of the agenda formalizes previous discussions anyway: How to regulate the city’s pain clinics, extending the moratorium on internet cafes (that is, low-stakes gambling halls) and–this one is relatively new–ensuring that Palm Coast’s gun ordinance is in compliance with the state’s rather fanatical law forbidding localities to have gun regulations that exceed the state’s.

Click On:

• With Pill Mills and “Internet Cafes” in Sight, Palm Coast Prepares Stricter Regulations
• The City Attorney’s Pain Clinics Memo
• Sheriff Fleming on Palm Coast and Bunnell Gambling Halls: “I Have Bigger Fish To Fry”
• Palm Coast Gun Ordinance: Proposal
• The Week in Review

Flagler County Schools

The school board has no meetings scheduled. It had scheduled a meeting for 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12, to approve its financial report for 2010-11, but that meeting has been moved to Sept. 26, at 9 a.m.

Many schools are holding open houses. You can see the full list and times here.

Flagler Beach

No meeting of the Flagler Beach City Commission, but Save Flagler Beach (or saveflaglerbeach.com) is hosting a public seminar on Thursday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. at the Flagler County Association of Realtors building (FCAR), at 4101 East Moody Blvd., to discuss its own alternatives to beach renourishing initiatives. The city commission will be holding its own town meeting on the matter next week, Sept. 20, at 5:30 p.m. at 208 South 6th Street in Flagler Beach.

Click On:

• It’s Not Enough to Say No to a Seawall in Flagler Beach: An Action Plan Past Opposition
• Save Flagler Beach
• Flagler Beach Against DOT’s Seawall: County Joins City’s Opposition, With Conditions

Bunnell City Commission

The Bunnell City Commission holds the first of two public hearings on the adoption of its 2011-12 budget at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12, in the board chambers of the Government Services Building. The meeting will be followed at 7 p.m. by the commission’s regular meeting, where commissioners will discuss a new ordinance controlling the review and permitting of special events in the city. The city will also review its garbage-collection fees. The fees aren’t going up, and for some, they may go down. The city wants to give business owners the option of having one-day pick-up service instead of two. “No change in residential, no change in commercial other than now we offer a lesser service for people that may need it,” says Perry Matrino, the city’s waste management director. It’s also an incentive to businesses to recycle more. The full agenda and back-up material is below.

In Tallahassee:

A week that starts on a somber note, with the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, is the last quiet one for a while in Florida government and politics.

The week – with a GOP presidential debate in Tampa on Monday night – leads into the first committee week starting Sept. 19 of the next legislative year and a busy political period with end-of-September events Presidency 5 and CPAC-Florida the week that fall officially starts and the summer doldrums appear to end.

There will be some fireworks this week, surrounding the proposal by Citizens Property Insurance to raise insurance premiums for sinkholes. Citizens board meets Monday, and the Office of Insurance Regulation will hold a hearing on it Tuesday.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 11, 2011

SCOTT’S 9/11 ITINERARY: Gov. Rick Scott will attend a handful of events to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The governor starts out the day at the Wounded Warrior Project 8K race at The Landing in Jacksonville. He will also attend a memorial service before visiting the Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans nursing home in St. Augustine.

MONDAY, SEPT. 12, 2011

JUDGE HEARS HMO FIGHT: An administrative law judge will start hearing arguments in a fight among HMOs and the Department of Management Services about changes to the state-employee health insurance program. The fight centers on DMS’ decision to choose only one HMO in each county to serve employees. (Monday, 9:30 a.m., DeSoto Building, 1230 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee.)

MISSING CHILDREN’S DAY: A formal ceremony Monday morning at the Capitol will mark the annual Missing Children’s Day. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey and Gov. Rick Scott are expected to speak. (Monday, 10 a.m., Capitol Courtyard, The Capitol.)

SHERIFFS TO UNVEIL SEXUAL PREDATOR EFFORTS: The Florida Sheriff’s Association will release the results of an 11 month initiative to track and apprehend sexual predators. The group will also announce a future statewide initiative. Speakers will include FSA President Sheriff Ben Johnson. (Monday, 11:30 a.m., 2nd Floor Rotunda, The Capitol.)

PRE-DEBATE LUNCHEON: Ahead of the CNN-Tea Party presidential debate on Monday night in Tampa, the American Conservative Union hosts a luncheon and panel discussion of “Issues that Matter to Conservative Voters.” Moderator will be CNN’s John King, panelists are Mike Franc of the Heritage Foundation; Al Cardenas, of American Conservative Union; J. Robert McClure III, president of the James Madison Institute; and Billie Tucker of the First Coast Tea Party. (Monday, 12:30 p.m., Florida Center and Botanical Gardens, 4800 Hwy 301 N., Tampa.)

CITIZENS BOARD TO ADDRESS SINKHOLE PREMIUMS: The governing board of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will meet via conference call to discuss options as the state-run insurer looks to dampen the blow of sinkhole premium increases mandated by the Legislature. The board is looking to temper premium increases announced in July that could raise the annual sinkhole premiums by thousands of dollars, a politically unpopular, but, officials say, an actuarially prudent, move. (Monday, 3:30 p.m., Call in number 888-942-8686, Conference ID: 8419204389#)

CNN-TEA PARTY EXPRESS DEBATE: The eyes of the Republican Party will be on Tampa on Monday night as CNN and the Tea Party Express host a GOP primary debate. The two-hour debate at the Florida State Fairgrounds will be moderated by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and will include eight major GOP candidates. Audience members, made up of tea party activists, will also get to submit questions. The following Republican candidates will participate in the debate: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, businessman Herman Cain, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. (Monday, 8 p.m., Florida State Fairgrounds, Tampa.)

STATEWIDE MEDICAID WORKSHOP: The Agency for Health Care Administration takes its show on the road to get input from stakeholders on plans to expand the state’s Medicaid program through the use of managed care networks. Lawmakers earlier this year approved measures (HB 7107 and HB 7109) authorizing the expansion of managed care delivery of Medicaid services from pilot program to a statewide rollout. More information about the new laws is available at http://ahca.myflorida.com/Medicaid/statewide_mc/index.shtml
The agency repeats the meeting twice this week:
Schedule:
Monday 10 a.m., Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Hwy (mile marker 50) , Marathon.
Tuesday, 2:30 p.m., Field House, University of Miami, 1245 Dauer Drive, Coral Gables.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 13, 2011

HECC DISCUSS DRAFT OF HIGHER EDUCATION REPORT: A group dedicated to ensuring better coordination between Florida’s colleges and universities will discuss the first draft of a report it must issue to the Legislature and governor by December. Florida’s colleges and universities have different governing bodies and sometimes conflicting goals. The Higher Education Coordinating Council is designed to help address this conflict as well as focus the mission of Florida’s higher education systems. (Tuesday, 9 a.m. Turlington Building, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee.)

KRISEMAN TO DISCUSS DOCS AND GUNS REDUX: Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg, will discuss legislation he has filed to repeal a measure passed this year that limits the ability of health care providers to ask patients questions about gun ownership and storage. The bill (HB 4015) was filed in August. Kriseman will be joined by representatives from Doctors for America, which is backing his repealer bill. (Tuesday, 10 a.m., All Children’s Hospital Conference Center, 701 Fourth St. S, St. Petersburg.)

AHCA CONSUMER HEALTH INFO PANEL: The State Consumer Health Information and Policy Advisory Council conducts a regularly scheduled meeting of key health care stakeholders to discuss issues relating to implementing state laws promoting transparency in health care through public reporting of health care data. (Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. , ACHA Conference Room “C”, 2727 Mahan Drive, Tallahassee. Any person interested in participating may dial: (641)593-6241, Pass Code: 5384968#.)

OIR TO TAMPA FOR SINKHOLE RATES: The Office of Insurance Regulation travels to the lion’s den Tuesday as it holds a public hearing in Tampa on proposed Citizens Property Insurance Corp rate hikes. Policyholders in the region are slated to see significant sinkhole rate increases necessitated by legislation earlier this year that require the state-backed insurer to charge sinkhole rates that are actuarially sound. In response, the board met in July and voted to ask for sinkhole rate hikes that in some cases topped 2,000 percent. Citizens board members will meet Monday ahead of the OIR hearing to discuss a slate of options to cushion the blow. (Tuesday, 4 p.m., Tampa Convention Center, Ballroom D, 333 Franklin St., Tampa.)

VILLAGE SQUARE, FSU TAKE ON 9-11 DECADE RETROSPECTIVE: The Village Square and the Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights hold a forum on “Ten Years Time: 9/11, The Heart of America, The Shadow of the Middle East.” Barry Richard, a partner at the Greenberg Traurig law firm will address “Security, Pseudo-Patriotism, And the Erosion of American Liberties” in a keynote presentation for the forum. Following that, Mark Schlakman, senior program director for the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights will moderate two panel discussions. The first panel will focus on domestic security imperatives with panelists Thomas Battles, regional director for U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service; Rob Davis, first assistant to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida; and Robert LeFiles, director of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Fusion Center. The second panel, “American and the Islamic World: Clash or Convergence,” will feature Parvez Ahmed, an associate professor of finance at the University of North Florida and a frequent commentator on the American Muslim experience; Adam Gaiser, an assistant professor and Islamic-studies scholar in FSU’s Department of Religion; Mildred Duprey De Robles of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service; Rabbi Jack Romberg of Tallahassee’s Temple Israel; and radio talk show host Preston Scott of WFLA’s “The Morning Show with Preston Scott.” (Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., St. John’s Episcopal Church, 211 N. Monroe St., Tallahassee.)

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 14, 2011

MEDICAID AND PUBLIC ASSISTANCE FRAUD STRIKE FORCE: A panel aimed at investigating Medicaid and other public assistance fraud will meet on Wednesday, and will be briefed on existing efforts in that regard, as well as reviewing a draft of a report that the group is expected to deliver to the Legislature by Oct. 1. The strike force is chaired by Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and the vice chairwoman is Attorney General Pam Bondi. The full agenda for the meeting is at www.myfloridacfo.com/StrikeForce. (Wednesday, 10 a.m., Miami Office of the State Attorney, 1350 N.W. 12 Ave., Miami.)

AHCA PANEL MEETS WITH INSURERS, PROVIDERS: The Agency for Health Care Administration holds a meeting to review and discuss strategies to develop health care information exchanges service between health plans and healthcare providers. (Wednesday, 10 a.m., Blue Cross Blue Shield Campus Conference Center, 4800 Deerwood Campus Parkway, Jacksonville.)

LOW INCOME POOL MEETING: AHCA will hold a meeting regarding the state’s Low Income Pool, which provides Medicaid services to qualified recipients. Discussion will include legislative updates, funding methodology, policies and procedures in accordance with the approved Medicaid Reform Section 1115 Demonstration. (Wednesday, 10 a.m., AHCA Conference Center A, 2727 Mahan Drive, Building 3, Tallahassee.)

BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETS: The State University System Board of Governors meets to discuss turf war regulations designed to prevent universities from offering competing programs, proposals to start new dental schools at Florida A&M University and the University of Central Florida, and hear from USF Polytechnic on an effort for the university to become an independent university. The first day of the two-day meeting will be committee meetings, with the full board meeting on the second day. Also on the agenda is a presentation on a possible pilot program in the for “adult learner completers,” those who have completed about some college work, but did not finish their four-year degrees. (Wednesday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Ballroom, Graham Center, Modesto A. Maidique Campus, Florida International University, Miami.)

THURSDAY, SEPT. 15, 2011

SUPREME COURT OPINIONS: The Florida Supreme Court releases its regular opinions. (11 a.m.)

BITNER MEMORIAL: The family of Republican Party Chairman Dave Bitner, who died this past week, will hold a memorial service and celebration of Bitner’s life on Thursday at a farm just north of Tallahassee. (Thursday, 3 p.m., WC Dover Farms, 534 Dover Rd., Havana.)

FRIDAY, SEPT. 16, 2011

MEDICAID THERAPY SERVICE FORUM: Florida Medicaid is holding a public forum to discuss subjects related to the Therapy Services program. The Agency will discuss proposed and recent changes to the program. (Friday, 9am, 2727 Mahan Drive, Building 2, Conference Room F, Tallahassee.)

CAMPAIGNS

JON HUNTSMAN
9-11 memorial ceremony. (Sunday, Sept. 11, 9:30 a.m., Tampa Firefighters Museum, 720 E. Zack St., Tampa.)

JACK LATVALA
A fundraiser kicking off Sen. Jack Latvala’s re-election campaign. (Wednesday, Sept. 14, 5:30 p.m., St. Petersburg Marriott, 12600 Roosevelt Blvd., St. Petersburg.)

–Tallahassee calendar Compiled by the News Service of Florida.