People release balloons during celebrations and other occasions. People also use balloons locally to help with fishing, which Morley described as intentional littering.
But what some might not realize is that creatures get caught in the string or eat the balloons or balloon fragments, which can injure or kill them. Balloons contribute to the hefty amount of garbage on beaches and in the ocean or rivers.
In response to the issue, the city of St. Augustine is looking to join other local governments in banning the release of balloons.
St. Augustine Commissioner Barbara Blonder proposed the ordinance, which passed on first reading one more reading is required to enact the ordinance.
Vaccines are readily available in St. Johns County and, for the most part, everyone who wants a vaccine has been vaccinated or has access to vaccines, he said. I think we re protecting people who have chosen not to get vaccines. … I think it s time to move forward, Upchurch said.
But St. Augustine Commissioner Barbara Blonder, who supported mask-wearing at meetings, had a different opinion.
Blonder said Friday that the governor s order goes against science and pointed to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. The CDC says that fully vaccinated people should still wear masks indoors in public settings and when gathering indoors with unvaccinated people from more than one other household, among other guidance.
Flagler College President Joseph Joyner, Ed.D., presided over his last Flagler College graduation Monday at an open-air ceremony at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre.
The occasion also marked the first time the private St. Augustine college has had an in-person spring commencement since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joyner took the helm in July 2017, and said he felt especially close to the Flagler s Class of 2021 with whom I came up with, as he said.
Before being tapped for the top leadership position with Flagler College, Joyner previously served as superintendent of schools for the St. Johns County School District, a role he held from 2003 to 2017, a pivotal time of growth and achievement for the public school system.