To include your event in the Briefing and Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
Weather: Sunny, with a high near 81. Calm wind becoming north around 6 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 64. Light and variable 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:
General Election Early Voting is available today in Bunnell, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at five locations. Any registered and qualified voter who is eligible to vote in a county-wide election may vote in person at any of the early voting site, regardless of assigned precinct. According to Florida law, every voter must present a Florida driver’s license, a Florida identification card or another form of acceptable picture and signature identification in order to vote. If you do not present the required identification or if your eligibility cannot be determined, you will only be permitted to vote a provisional ballot. Don’t forget your ID. A couple of secure drop boxes that Ron DeSantis and the GOP legislature haven’t yet banned (also known as Secure Ballot Intake Stations) are available at the entrance of the Elections Office and at any early voting site during voting hours. The locations are as follows:
- Flagler County Elections Supervisor’s Office, Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
- Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Pkwy NW, Palm Coast.
- Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE.
- Palm Coast’s Southern Recreation Center, 1290 Belle Terre Parkway.
- Flagler Beach United Methodist Church, 1520 South Daytona Avenue, Flagler Beach.
See a sample ballot here. See the Live Interviews with all local candidates below.
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.
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 Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 160 Lake Avenue, Palm Coast.
| In Coming Days: Oct. 30-31: The Halloween Hall of Terror is back at Palm Coast Fire Station 21, 9 Corporate Drive in Palm Coast. Monday, Oct. 30 and Tuesday, Oct.31 from 7 to 10 p.m. This year’s event promises to be better than ever with a ‘Greatest Slashers’ theme, incorporating some of the horror genres biggest icons of the past 50 years. And new for 2024, visitors can indulge in a variety of delicious offerings from food trucks as they await their turn to tour the spine-chilling haunted house. Parking is available in the lot adjacent to the firehouse on corporate drive, with overflow parking available in the Kohl’s parking lot. This year, the City of Palm Coast is offering a limited number of ‘RIP’ fast pass tickets again, giving winners front-of-the-line access. To enter, follow the City of Palm Coast’s Facebook page during the week of October 21-25 and answer daily horror film trivia questions. Winners will be announced each day, so don’t miss your chance to skip the line and dive straight into the horror. Last year’s Hall of Terror set a new attendance record with nearly 5,000 visitors over the two-day span, and this year is expected to draw an even larger crowd. As always, the event is free and open to all ages, though adult supervision is recommended for attendees under 13. Please note that the event features strobe lights, fog, and other special effects. Those with epilepsy or sensory sensitivities are invited to join us for a special sensory-friendly walkthrough of the Hall of Terror from 6-7pm on both nights of the event. |
Notably: Could it be that a letter to the editor, lost at the very bottom right of The New York Times on on a July day in 1915, gave rise to one of the first–if not the first–beach renourishment project in American history? “In the Summer months the poor people of the city are breathing the warm air day after day and cannot enjoy a day’s bathing at the seashore because the one municipal bath house at Coney Island is overcrowded, and the price demanded at the others is above their reach,” Harry B. Denner wrote the editor from New York, in a letter dated July 22. Note the capitalization of Summer (the letter appeared next to one titled, with that spelling: “Porto Rico’s Misery”). “There is nothing more beneficent that the city can do than build another bath house at Coney Island, remove the rocks, and enlarge the beach at City Island and construct a new bath house there, where many thousands more will be accommodated than at the present one.” A future engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must have caught the letter. Coney Island in 1923 turned into the island Mr. Denner wished for it, with sandy beaches created by the Corps. It celebrated its 100th anniversary last year.
—P.T.
Now this:
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.
October 2024
Wednesday, Oct 16
Tourist Development Council Meeting
Government Services Building
Thursday, Oct 24
General Election Early Voting in Flagler County
Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Office
Thursday, Oct 24
Flagler County Drug Court Convenes
Flagler County courthouse
Thursday, Oct 24
Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Central Park in Town Center
Thursday, Oct 24
Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee
Thursday, Oct 24
Flagler Beach City Commission Meeting
Friday, Oct 25
Scenic A1A Pride Meeting
Friday, Oct 25
Free For All Fridays With Host David Ayres on WNZF
Friday, Oct 25
General Election Early Voting in Flagler County
Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Office
Friday, Oct 25
Flagler County Canvassing Board Meeting
Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Office
Friday, Oct 25
Blue 24 Forum
Palm Coast Community Center
Friday, Oct 25
Flagler Outreach Brings Social Service Providers to Cattleman’s Hall
Cattleman’s Hall, Flagler County Fairgrounds
Friday, Oct 25
Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock
Friday, Oct 25
Maze Days at Cowart Ranch
Friday, Oct 25
Monstrous Masterpieces Class
Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens
No event found!
For the full calendar, go here.
In the late 19th Century, Coney Island was America’s biggest and most visited seaside resort and amusement park destinations, boasting some of the largest and most luxurious hotels in the country, fancy fish houses and racetracks. It was so internationally famous that it was compared to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Pyramids of Egypt. The destination attracted millions of visitors annually to its several competing amusement parks that included Steeplechase Park that had mechanical horses that carried guests around the grounds, Luna Park, that was considered a genuine fantasyland with large towers and camel and elephant rides, and Dreamland. In addition to many independent amusements. Some of the attractions were so large that immigrants arriving from Europe on ship could see them from the water during the years before the Statue of Liberty was built. Coney Island was also a place that showcased innovations. For example, it was the first place that many people experienced lightbulbs for the first time. In fact, Luna Park had 1,300,000 electric lights that enabled visitors to have fun for hours after dark. The public’s amazement of the park’s lights even continues today. Salim said of her first visit there, “In the evening, it got so bright from all of the lights from the amusement park. It felt so festive.” Coney Island is also where modern American amusement was invented and was the first place to have rides, including having the very first roller coaster in the United States named the Switchback Railway. In addition, Coney Island had the Wonder Wheel, a 150-foot-tall steel Ferris wheel, the Cyclone, a roller coaster with an 85-foot, 58-degree drop, and the 262-foot-high Parachute Jump. All of these attractions still exist today and are historic landmarks. At this time, the beach at Coney Island was owned by adjacent landowners, but in 1923 it officially became a public beach and was expanded. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation increased the size of the beach by pumping sand onto the shore to build up the existing bathing area. In addition, a boardwalk was constructed and named in honor of then Brooklyn borough president Edward Riegelmann. This was done by erecting concrete piles and pile caps out in the water and laying timber stringers and decking. This new boardwalk, as well as new subway service in the 1920’s helped to draw more visitors. During this time, the park started to feature many sideshows and entrepreneurs, such as Nathan Handwerker, started selling hot dogs for a nickel, which would eventually turn into the Nathan’s Famous hot dog chain known today.
—From “Preserving an iconic beach for future generations,” by JoAnne Castagna of the Army Corps’ New York District, June 2, 2023.
The Cartoon and Live Briefing Archive.
