Flagler Beach city commissioners decided the rebuilt concrete pier will be free for public access when it reopens, dropping what had previously been a $1.50 access fee, and $6 for anglers. The city will eliminate the bait shop, replacing it with a lifeguard station.
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Daily Cartoon and Briefing
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 29, 2026
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
On Heels of Lawsuit Challenging Registrations, Flagler Sheriff Arrests 40 Sex Offenders In Compliance Sweep
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested 40 registered sex offenders in a three-day sweep this week called Operation Offenders Endgame. Detectives discovered 168 felony violations among the targeted group for failing to properly update basic registration details including social media handles and motor vehicle and address registrations.
Bunnell’s New $10 Million City Hall Plagued by Leaks and Mold Since Day 1. Manager Hid Problems From Commission.
Bunnell Vice Mayor John Rogers was incensed to learn that the newly built $10 million City Hall and Police Department has been leaking since it opened a year ago. Black mold is growing as well. City Manager Alvin Jackson hid the construction defects from the Bunnell City Commission even as the city is considering a lawsuit against the contractors to ensure necessary repairs.
Palm Coast and County Officials Raise Alarms Over Bunnell’s Secrecy on Zoning Change
Bunnell government is withholding all details regarding a special zoning exception for a confidential economic development effort dubbed Project Butterfly. The city’s planning board plans to vote on the special exception on Sept. 1 without disclosing the applicant, the location, the purpose or the land use. Palm Coast and Flagler County elected officials are formally objecting to what Mayor Norris calls “gangsta” methods, and demanding a legal review.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
Flagler County Hesitant As Palm Coast Suddenly Wants To Hand Over Animal Control Services
Palm Coast and Flagler County are discussing a complete reversal of their animal control consolidation plans as the city seeks to get out of the service and let the county assume full responsibility for it following significant staff resignations and shifting cost estimates. County commissioners remain skeptical about the financial viability of the proposal. A door was opened for the Sheriff’s Office to considers taking over enforcement, too.
Palm Coast And County Edge Closer to New Joint Animal Shelter as Humane Society Advocates Protest
The Palm Coast City Council and Flagler County Commission are planning a joint animal shelter on U.S. 1 to be run by the nonprofit Smart. Officials discussed the proposal at a divided public meeting as funding, design and other details remain unresolved. Elected officials spoke of frustration with the Flagler Humane Society and welcomed a competing service provider.
Convicted Murderer Jermaine Williams Avoids Accountability In Oblivious Letter Ahead Of Death Sentence
Jermaine Williams Sr. submitted an oblivious, handwritten letter to the court that avoided all accountability during his Spencer hearing instead of testifying today in what was to be his last chance at appealing for mercy before his sentencing in six weeks. He faces the death penalty for murdering his wife outside their Bunnell home. The document was an elegy to self-justification.
Flagler County School Board Expands Participation Rights For Student Representatives After February Dispute
The Flagler County School Board revised its policy to ensure that student representatives have greater participation during public meetings. Two board members previously attempted to restrict student voices to limited comments. The new guidelines reassert students’ authority to engage fully in discussions alongside elected members.
Palm Coast Will Borrow Millions and Draw Down Reserves Sharply to Pay for Lawsuit Settlement Land
The Palm Coast City Council will borrow millions and use millions from its reserves to purchase land and settle a lawsuit with Allete, the Town Center developer, though there is some division among council members on the risks ahead. The council today also decisively ruled out hiring any new deputies this year.
Two Men Are Dead in Murder-Suicide on Bronson Lane in Palm Coast
Two men are dead following a murder-suicide by gun on Bronson Lane in Palm Coast’s B-Section. The shooting took place after one of the men entered–or intruded–on the occupants. He was not a stranger to the occupants, or to the man he shot.
Michael Steele Caps Off Flagler Tiger Bay Fall Schedule Amid Board Changes And Awards
Flagler Tiger Bay announced its fall speaker lineup and elected new board members during its annual meeting, also awarding Bill Verhagen the Alice E. Stewart Civility Award for fostering respectful dialogue. The nonpartisan group plans to expand its successful student scholarship program next year beyond $20,000.
In Another Shock at City Hall, Palm Coast Development Director John Zobler Resigns Amid Slew of Initiatives
Palm Coast Community Development Director John Zobler abruptly resigned on Monday after serving one year. His sudden departure leaves the city without a key official to manage critical ongoing projects. Deputy Director Phong Nguyen will likely serve as the interim department director.
Palm Coast Woman Arrested On Felony Neglect Charges After Deputies Find Father In Deplorable Conditions
Jenette Zisman of Palm Coast faces a felony elderly neglect charge after paramedics visited her home eight times in two days and sheriff’s deputies discovered her elderly father helpless on the floor amid deplorable conditions. Zisman allegedly ignored him and stayed in her room. Authorities set her bond at $50,000 and ordered no contact with her father.
Flagler Beach Manager Dale Martin Secures Another Satisfactory Evaluation Despite Cunningham’s Cold Shoulder
Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin received a satisfactory performance evaluation for his third year in a row as a majority of commissioners praised his fiscal responsibility and accessibility. Commissioner John Cunningham again submitted a harshly negative review and continues to meet with Martin, prompting another admonishment from Commissioner Scott Spradley.
Flagler County Is Not As Red As You Think
Last Tuesday’s primary in Flagler County clearly demonstrated that voters are exhausted by toxic political demagoguery, reactionary extremism and political theater. THat’s especially so on the School Board, where Will Furry was dispatched, Jill Woolbright was stopped from returning, and Christy Chong is hanging by a mumble.
The Conversation
Lake Ontario? Lake America? Seriously?
President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America during a trade war with Canada. The United States maintains a strict formal process for changing geographic designations. The federal geographic board manages these mapping modifications domestically. International borders complicate matters because no global authority dictates official map names across countries.
Florida and Beyond
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 28, 2026
Trump’s Lake Ontario idiocy, the Friday Blue Forum, the Scenic A1A Pride Committee, Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock, Free For All Fridays discusses taxes.
The Mounting Problems with US Military Readiness
The question is not whether we should ask hard things of people who volunteered for hard things. It is whether what the Department of Defense asked them to do was necessary and worth the military readiness – the ability to complete missions and respond to threats – it has consumed.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 27, 2026
The Flagler Beach City Commission evaluates Manager Dale Martin, drug court, the meaning of Dolly Parton in an era of bile, Parton’s Playboy Interview in 1978, Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond.
More Florida and Beyond
The Great Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton built a legendary career by embracing the contradiction between her artificial appearance and authentic artistry and died at 80, leaving a lasting legacy across multiple generations. She cleverly used her glamorous styling and quick wit to subvert expectations and let her natural talent easily overshadow early superficial judgments.
Like 4 Other Florida Universities, UNF Gets to Pick from a List of One for President
One finalist, University of North Georgia President Michael Shannon, has emerged for the University of North Florida presidency, following a trend of state institutions relying on an “exceptional circumstances” carveout to state policy that otherwise requires three or more finalists. The university received 152 applications.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 26, 2026
The Palm Coast City Council and the County Commission hold a joint meeting to discuss animal control, Conversations in Democracy takes on the western expansion’s road to nowhere, your own Hollywood.
The Collapse of American Human Rights Practices
The U.S. lags behind most other high-income democracies in human rights practices. The U.S.’s poor performance spans civil and political rights, such as the right to be free from torture and the right to political participation, as well as economic and social rights, including the rights to health and food.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 25, 2026
The Palm Coast City Council has its final budget workshop, the post-Furry Flagler County School Board holds a pair of meetings, the Flagler Beach Library Writers’ Group meets, V.S. Pritchett on England.
Henry David Thoreau, Scientist
A nearly invisible Thoreau – the compulsively quantitative and analytically rigorous physical scientist – emerged from research as a geologist interested in the history of 19th-century science. This less well-known Thoreau is featured in Robert M. Thorson’s “The Walden Experiments: The Science of Henry David Thoreau.”
Florida Wants To Abolish 4 Vaccine Requirements for Schoolchildren
The state of Florida wants to remove four immunizations from entry requirements for PreK-12 public and private schools. The Florida Department of Health is proposing a rule to remove Hepatitis B, varicella (chicken pox), Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines for public school attendance, a move that has been in play for almost a year after Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced his intent to get rid of all vaccine mandates in the state.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 24, 2026
Heat index values as high as 106 today, the Bunnell City Commission meets, who you do not get to define the right and wrong American, Kamel Daoud on old age.
Anyone Can Fake a Scientific Image with AI, Tricking Journals and Undermining Trust in Science
The proliferation of AI-generated science images in public spaces is not simply a misinformation problem. A researcher who studies visual science communication and public trust argues it also contributes to a crisis of trust in science in the age of AI, and the tools scientists have long relied on to establish visual credibility are losing their grip.
Angie Nixon Dismisses Demonization by Ashley Moody Over DSA Ties
Angie Nixon’s reputation as one of the most liberal members of the Florida House far preceded any association with DSA, which she did join this summer. When asked if her link to the biggest socialist organization in the United States makes it harder to defeat Moody, she said it didn’t really matter.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 23, 2026
Raydient’s big screw you to Palm Coast, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, how the school shootings led to a $3 billion exploitative industry of “hardening.”
Whopping Increase In Starlink Satellites Risks Catastrophic Atmospheric Pollution And Orbital Collision Dangers
SpaceX proposes launching one million satellites as orbital data centers for artificial intelligence processing. This massive expansion threatens to outnumber visible stars across the global night sky. Current international regulations lack the strength to prevent such environmental degradation. Beyond light pollution, these satellites increase collision risks and atmospheric debris during re-entry. Orbital heat management remains an unsolved technical obstacle for this ambitious global plan.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 22, 2026
Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin drops in at Commissioner Spradley’s town hall, Gamble Jam, Rachel Yoder talks about motherhood.
Commentary
Jason Arday and the Politics of Plagiarism
British academic scholar Jason Arday was found dead at his London home on Aug. 14. The controversy over Arday’s work reflects an ongoing trend of ideological opponents levying plagiarism accusations to undermine one another.
The Lasting Appeal of Homeschooling
Recent data indicates that homeschooling enrollment remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels across the United States. Research from Mississippi State University suggests the pandemic acted as an unplanned trial period for many families as parents discovered benefits like schedule flexibility and customized learning environments.
AI’s Next Frontier: The Courtroom
Artificial intelligence tools increasingly assist legal research and bail assessments but these calculative systems lack the capacity for moral judgment. Human jurors provide trials with legitimacy because they wrestle with doubt and the emotional weight of punishment. AI prioritizes predictive patterns over ethical ideals while justice requires human deliberation and collective accountability. Society must protect these uniquely human activities to maintain a responsible legal system.