Palestina Parish, Porta Bianca

Palestina Parish, officially the Parish of Palestina, is a parish in the Commonwealth of Porta Bianca. Located at the southern tip of the main island, Palestina Parish is known most notably for it's very large tourism industry, larger than even that of Amar, the state capital. It sees around 30 million visitors a year, which generates a large portion of the parish's revenue. Consequently, despite living in the 3rd-most densely populated parish in the commonwealth, residents of Palestina Parish have the lowest cost of living of the 32 parishes on the main island. It's parish seat, Kairi, is the state's second-largest city, with just under a million residents in its city limits.

History
Prior to Cartadania's arrival to the archipelago, Porta Bianca was inhabited by Taínean people groups, together known as Adosiel. The ancient history of the archipelago and its people is not very well known, a peculiarity amongst Cartadania's territories. Unlike other indigenous cultures of the occident which may have left behind archaeological and physical evidence of their societies, very few artifacts and little evidence remains of the indigenous population. Scarce archaeological findings and early Cartadanian accounts from the colonial era constitute much of what is known about them. Early Cartadanians (mostly from Veneza) did co-exist and even intermix with the indigenous, preserving their culture for many generations, but this exists solely in biological heritage. The society of these indigenous peoples is believed to have collapsed around 1731, about 120 years after Cartadanian arrival, which further confounds the lack of information on the indigenous. They spread across the entirety of the archipelago from the northerly Vadiz Parish down to the southern tip of the main island.

Palestina Parish's villages had a strong tie to the sea, as did many of the coastal villages. They had a strong appreciation for the sea and its qualities. They had a mostly seafood diet, consisting of things like, such as the , and many others. An early form of one of Porta Bianca's most popular dishes,, is believed to have originated here. Aside from food, marine objects like s and the shells of the are commonly found throughout the parish's imagery and culture.

Palestina Parish, along with all of the other present-day parishes, was created when Porta Bianca became a state in 1730. Not long after its establishment, the commonwealth focused on developing its economy strongly around tourism, a decision that was the result of and further exacerbated by the fact that the parish is the closest to the Cartadanian mainland, and commonly a point of first arrival for many traveling from the metropole. Consequently, the state and parish spend large sums of money on destinations and attractions like beaches, parks, restaurants, and casinos. Today, the economy is much more diverse, but tourism continues to be a large sector.

Government and politics
Under Porta Bianca's "home rule" provision, parish governments have free rein to legislate on all matters within the parish, provided that such legislation does not conflict with state or federal laws, or state or federal Constitutions.

Palestina Parish is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, which exercises both legislative and executive authority within the parish. The chairman of the board is elected parish-wide and serves full-time. The four other commissioners are elected from single-member districts and serve part-time positions. The board hires a parish administrator who oversees the daily operations of the parish's twelve executive departments. Palestina Parish has a police department that operates under the authority of the Board of Commissioners.

In addition to the Board of Commissioners, parish residents also elect persons to the following positions: Sheriff, District Attorney, Probate Court Judge, Clerk of State/Superior Court, Tax Commissioner, State Court Solicitor, Chief Magistrate Judge (who appoints other Magistrate Court judges), Chief Superior Court Judge and Superior Court Judges, and Chief State Court Judge and State Court Judges.

Palestina Parish has the largest public school system in the commonwealth of Porta Bianca, and members of the Board of Education are elected from special election districts in the parish. These tend to coincide with the school district's subdivisions and some may be coterminous with certain feeder zones.

Palestina Parish is one of the most reliably SDP counties and parishes in the entire nation. It has voted SDP in every presidential election since 1746 except those of 1846 and in 1904, when Coalition could not win a single parish in Porta Bianca. The demographic character of the SDP has changed over the years and as a result the character of the area has also adjusted. In Palestina Parish, SDPs are composed primarily of liberal urbanites of various ethnicities and a growing contingent of suburban voters. The entire county is represented by SDPs in the Cartadanian Chamber of Emissaries

Education
Palestina Parish's K12 education is handled by Palestina Parish Schools, educating a combined enrollment of 225,000 students through 271 schools.

The parish and its surrounding metro area is served by Suyara University in downtown Kairi.