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Weather: Patchy fog in the morning. Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Northwest winds around 5 mph, becoming north in the afternoon. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s. Northeast winds around 5 mph.
- 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:
Tyrese Patterson Sentencing: Tyrese Patterson is scheduled to be sentenced on a count of second degree murder and possession of a weapon by a delinquent, a pleaded downgrade from his initial charge of first-degree murder in the shooting spree in January 2022 that killed 16-year-old Noah Smith in Bunnell. It is an open plea, meaning that it will be up to Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols to decide the sentence at 2:30 p.m. at the Flagler County Courthouse, Courtroom 401. Co-defendant Devandre Williams pleaded and was sentenced to 55 years. Co-defendant Stephen Monroe was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. (See also: “Jury Finds Stephen Monroe, 26, Guilty of Murder in Killing of Noah Smith, 16, and Is Sentenced to Life in Prison.”)
River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) meets at 9 a.m. at the Airline Room at the Daytona Beach International Airport. The TPO’s planning oversight includes all of Volusia County and the developed areas of eastern Flagler County including Beverly Beach and Flagler Beach as well as portions of the cities of Palm Coast and Bunnell, with board member representation from each of those jurisdictions. See the full agendas here. To join the meeting electronically, go here.
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library: Do you enjoy Chess, trying out new moves, or even like some friendly competition? Come visit the Flagler County Public Library at the Teen Spot every Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. for Chess Club. Everyone is welcome, for beginners who want to learn how to play all the way to advanced players. For more information contact the Youth Service department 386-446-6763 ext. 3714 or email us at [email protected]
Separation Chat, Open Discussion: The Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State hosts an open, freewheeling discussion on the topic here in our community, around Florida and throughout the United States, noon to 1 p.m. at Pine Lakes Golf Club Clubhouse Pub & Grillroom (no purchase is necessary), 400 Pine Lakes Pkwy, Palm Coast (0.7 miles from Belle Terre Parkway). Call (386) 445-0852 for best directions. All are welcome! Everyone’s voice is important. For further information email [email protected] or call Merrill at 804-914-4460.
The Circle of Light Course in Miracles study group meets at a private residence in Palm Coast every Wednesday at 1:20 PM. There is a $2 love donation that goes to the store for the use of their room. If you have your own book, please bring it. All students of the Course are welcome. There is also an introductory group at 1:00 PM. The group is facilitated by Aynne McAvoy, who can be reached at [email protected] for location and information.
Readings: I now humbly apologize to Hooters for having ridiculed it all these years. Though it appears to be headed for bankruptcy, the company deserves to survive and thrive more than, say, Talibanic-type cult swarms like Chick-fil-A. Peter Rothpletz in the March 23 Times recalls how when he was a young boy his grandfather did to him what so many misguided (and dickish) parents do to their boys when they think they’re gay, and when they think they can shove a little conversion therapy down their throat. They take them to Hooters. But the joke’s on the dickish ones: “Our waitress was a tall, brassy blonde — a caricature of the caricature that is a Hooters waitress. She was in her late 20s with a deep yet indistinct Southern accent, and I could tell she clocked me almost immediately. Who knows if it was how I held myself or how my voice quivered or how my eyes slid away from hers. But later in the meal, when my grandfather went to the restroom, she slipped into the booth across from me and leaned in close. “You’re perfect just the way you are, kid,” she said, or something near enough to it, her voice low, kind and certain. Consider the delicious irony that a chain restaurant famed for its cleavage and chicken wings somehow became a secret sanctuary for young gay men.” Rothpletz wasn’t alone, as he found out. “A host of Hooters employees echoed these accounts. Lucy Wilkinson, herself a queer woman, said she finds it “heartbreaking” when she watches fathers and grandfathers routinely drag in boys who didn’t fit their idea of masculinity, either because they were gay or simply not quite macho enough. Ms. Wilkinson says she focuses on young boys who might be gay, or simply uncomfortable, going out of her way to welcome the boys in the hopes of letting them feel that they were in on the joke. What explains the connection between Hooters waitresses and young gay men? Perhaps these women — so often stigmatized as almost sex workers, so accustomed to society’s sidelong glances — see kindred spirits in the boys who aren’t quite “right.” Or maybe it’s simpler: a waitress’s knack for reading a room, turned tender for those who need it most.” We need these small isolated epiphanies in these days of despair. They’re twinkles in the night. They’re little teardrops of hope.
—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.
March 2025
Wednesday, Mar 26
River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) Meeting
Airline Room, Daytona Beach International Airport
Wednesday, Mar 26
Separation Chat: Open Discussion
Wednesday, Mar 26
The Circle of Light A Course in Miracles Study Group
Wednesday, Mar 26
Tyrese Patterson Sentencing
Flagler County courthouse
Wednesday, Mar 26
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library
Flagler County Public Library
Thursday, Mar 27
Flagler County Drug Court Convenes
Flagler County courthouse
Thursday, Mar 27
Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Central Park in Town Center
Thursday, Mar 27
Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee
Thursday, Mar 27
Flagler Beach City Commission Meeting
Thursday, Mar 27
Town of Marineland Commission Meeting
GTM Research RESERVE Marineland Field Office
No event found!
For the full calendar, go here.
The Hooters Girls — a cadre of 10,000 worldwide — are possibly the most intensively trained waitresses anywhere. Each time a Hooters opens (one every 10 days worldwide), a dozen or so of the top U.S. Hooter Girls are flown in to help train the newcomers. Many studied at Hooters University (truly!) at a three-week course in Atlanta. Graduates get a certificate if they pass. And a Hooters University T-shirt. […] The Girls, if they come back after seeing the uniforms (and some don’t) undergo two interviews, five days of training, which includes lessons in Hooters etiquette, and write two tests. Rhonda, 23, from Clearwater, Fla., was flown in to help open this location. She’s also the 2000 Hooters Calender centrefold, which comes with a pair of 3-D glasses so you can see her pop out at you. […] There is no such thing as a male Hooters Girl. […] Rhonda says most Hooters Girls make up to $300 in one five-hour night. “We do very, very well.” […] The Girls are strictly hands-off. This is a family restaurant, after all, that rings up more in food sales than in booze sales. If you ask a Hooters Girl for her phone number, she’s been trained. “You want my number?” she’ll ask. “Okay.” And she’ll take a paper napkin, pick up a pen and write “My Number” on it. Hooters Girls look great. They are told repeatedly that they must always be camera-ready. They follow the appearance standards set out in their manuals: White or nude bras only (they must wear a bra), hair styled at all times; no ponytails, hats, headbands, clips or scrunchies, no visible tattoos. Nails must be well-groomed. Makeup is to be worn to best accentuate features. (“Remember,” says the manual, “you’re always on stage!”) But stereotypes die hard. Zoe, a 23-year-old Hooters Girl, is tall and dark-haired and Q-tip thin. She is small breasted. An A-size even. “My friends had different opinions when I told them I was starting to work here. Some asked; ‘Do you have to go topless?’ ” she says. “I’m fine with the uniform. When you see 12 to 15 girls around you wearing the same thing, all having fun and singing and running around, you feel fine. It’s like a sorority.”
–From “How to be a Hooters Girl,” The National Post (Canada), May 20, 2000.
The Cartoon and Live Briefing Archive.
