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VOLUME 8, NO. 8
10 issues for state legislators Abortion, the state budget, and education top the list. Also: elections, health care, immigration, redistricting. JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
The Florida Legislature’s 60-day session reached its halfway point Wednesday, Feb. 9. Here are snapshots of 10 big issues in the session: ABORTION
The Republican-controlled House and Senate are moving forward with a proposal that would prevent physicians from providing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The heavily debated proposal is similar to a Mississippi law that is being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court. BUDGET
Flush with cash from federal stimulus money and higher-than-expected state tax collections, lawmakers appear headed toward passing a record budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1. The Senate last week rolled out a $108.6 billion proposal, while the House proposed a $105.3 billion spending plan. EDUCATION
Some of the session’s fiercest debates are playing out on education bills, including House and Senate measures that involve how race-related issues are taught in schools an outgrowth of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to prevent teaching of critical race theory. Lawmakers also could address school discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity.
Hudson, 2, Amber, Holland, 4, Harper, 6, and Anthony Wagner
Helping Harper FPC teacher and coach Anthony Wagner was speechless when he was told his 6-year-old daughter has cancer.
BRENT WORONOFF STAFF WRITER
Amber and Anthony Wagner found out on Jan. 13 that their 6-year-old daughter, Harper, has a rare form of childhood cancer. The next night, Anthony, the girls basketball coach at Flagler Palm Coast, had his biggest game of the year against Matanzas. Of course, he wasn’t going to the game. But Harper wanted to go. “She likes going,” Anthony said. “She asked if she could
go to my game.” So, Anthony coached his team, and Harper watched from the stands. “Everybody understood. The team’s a family,” he said. “They’re kind of like more big sisters to our girls.” THINKING IT WAS AN INFECTION
Amber and Anthony have four daughters: Haley, 19; Harper, 6; Holland 4; and Hudson, 2. On Jan. 13, Anthony took Harper to the emergency room at Advent-Health Palm Coast because she had an
Photo by Brent Woronoff
unusual swelling on the right side of her face. First, he was told it could be an infection. Then, after a CT scan, the doctor said she thought Harper had embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. “I was kind of dumbfounded,” Anthony said. “I had no idea. That’s when she said it’s a type of cancer. So, at that point everything kind of changed.” The diagnosis was confirmed at Nemours Children’s Health in Jacksonville. At that point, their lives did change. Harper is their focus, while Amber and Anthony continue to give their other girls the attention they too deserve. And the Wagners discovered they’re not alone in their ordeal.
SUPPORT POURS IN
Support from the community and from other families that have gone through their trauma has been overwhelming, they said. “It’s amazing how many people have reached out to us,” said Anthony. “Everybody offers to help. We’re involved with a couple of churches in town — Palm Coast Community Church on Sundays and First Baptist on Wednesdays. They’ve offered meals. They’ve even offered to help get our two younger ones into the preschool. “Other parents in Palm Coast and Flagler County who have kids going through SEE HELPING PAGE 2
ELECTIONS
The House and Senate have started moving forward with proposals that include adding steps for voting by mail and creating a state office to investigate alleged election irregularities. Republicans contend the bills would help curb fraud, while Democrats say they would make it harder for people to vote. HEALTH CARE AND COVID-19
Senate Republicans approved the confirmation of state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who has drawn heavy opposition from Democrats because of his views on COVID-19. Lawmakers also are looking at issues such as staffing standards for nursing homes, which face worker shortages. IMMIGRATION
In a priority of DeSantis, Republican lawmakers are pursuing bills
The center would offer information about the local natural environment and history, plus events that support local businesses.
JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
Flagler County’s tourism office wants to create a local visitor center that would offer ecotourism packages, a gift shop, events that would bolster local businesses, and educational presentations on the local environment and history. “No matter where it is, you will walk in and be able to get a total feel of the entire county and everything that we offer,” county Tourism Director Amy Lukasik said at a Feb. 21 Coun-
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Tourism office proposes visitor center, likely in Flagler Beach
A video created by the Hammock Community Association and shown at the Feb. 21 County Commission meeting showcases the Hammock area’s ecotourism opportunities. View it at http://www.thehammock.org.
ty Commission meeting as she briefed commissioners on the proposed center. “We want to be able to offer ecotourism packages and experiences that are unlike any other. We want to be able to have food walking tours.” The visitor experience center would be funded by grants and tourism bed taxes and would most likely be sited in Flagler Beach. County Commissioner Joe Mullins said he liked the idea of having non-residents fund the proposed center. “I love the part where you’re talking about the local residents don’t pay for it,” he said. Flagler County has already set aside $1.1 million for a potential visitor center, and has an opportunity to pursue an 80%-20% matching grant that could fund its development, Lukasik said. Currently, she said, Flagler lacks the ability to coordinate tourist-focused services and events. “There’s a huge hole in our community for that,” Lukasik said. “We will never have huge attractions — we don’t want them; we don’t want the boardwalk with all the carny rides and games — we want packages and experiences that match the DNA of our community.” The facility would provide information on the county’s
natural resources, agriculture and history, she said. For instance, environmentally themed exhibits it might feature sea turtle nesting, the county’s coastal dune system and rip current safety. When locals bring visitors to town, she said, “You can come into the center and say, ‘This is everything about Flagler County,’ and you can experience things here for free, and then also you can purchase different packages and experiences that relate to ecotourism, culinary, agricultural — all those niches that we target.” Once the county finds an appropriate site for the center, the county would convene a community and industry task force to research best practices to determine what its interior would look like. That would likely include interactive digital kiosks, meeting spaces, event hosting spaces, a place to showcase work by local artists, and an aquarium to promote ecotourism and marine preservation. An outdoor exhibit area may include bee- and birdattracting flowers, erosionpreventing herbs and wild edible plants. Ideally, Lukasik said, the center would be in Flagler Beach south of State Road 100 and near a proposed hotel site
on the south side of S.R. 100 at South Daytona Avenue. “It makes no sense for us to be off I-95; people already know where they’re going,” she said. “They’re likely going east. ... We want to be where they’re already going. So it’s very important that we keep it logistically easy for them.” The downtown Flagler Beach area’s walkability also provides opportunities to lure in tourists, she said. “There’s also a lot of organic foot traffic that’s happening throughout the business district down there, and we need to be able to capture as much of that as possible to be successful,” she said. The next step, she said, it to find an appropriate site. “Land is quickly diminishing, and what is left, the prices are continuing to rise,” she said. “So we are looking to move quickly on this, but not without all the proper due diligence, because we want to be successful.” When county staff find an appropriate parcel for potential purchase, she said, the Tourist Development Council will review it. If the TDC votes in favor of the site, the proposal would go to the County Commission for approval. Email Jonathan Simmons at jonathan@palmcoastobserver.com.