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Defense Rests in Miller Murder Trial After Laying Down Further Markers of Self-Defense

| May 23, 2013

Paul Miller’s defense team rested its case just past noon today, but closing arguments will take place Friday morning. Only then will the jury deliberate. A verdict is likely sometime Friday.

Taking Stand in His Defense in Murder Trial, Miller Projects More Surliness Than Sympathy

| May 22, 2013

If it was sympathy that Paul Miller was trying to elicit from the jury Wednesday afternoon, his nearly two-hour performance was not a model. He may have hurt his case more than he helped it when he elected to take the stand in his defense in his trial for the killing of Dana Mulhall in March 2012.

Ken Mattison Named Florida Hospital Flagler CEO, Switching With Ottati in Swift Succession

| May 20, 2013

Ken Mattison, for 16 years the CEO at Adventist Health’s Florida Hospital Waterman, has been named to take over for David Ottati at Florida Hospital Flagler, a $156 million business with 1,017 employees in 2011. Ottati will assume Mattison’s position at Waterman, a $205 million hospital with 1,879 employees.

Closing Flagler’s Alternative School: When The Classmate Next to Your Child Is a Felon

| May 19, 2013

The Flagler County school, district may close Everest alternative school (formerly Pathways) if the June 7 referendum for a modest property tax increase fails. Jo Ann Nahirny, a teacher at Matanzas High School, describes the disruptions of managing a classroom with felons and sex offenders in seats alongside other students.

The IRS’ Nonprofit Dysfunctions: A Problem Deeper Than Conservative Targeting

| May 19, 2013

The IRS division responsible for flagging Tea Party groups has long been an agency afterthought, beset by mismanagement, financial constraints and an unwillingness to spell out just what it expects from social welfare nonprofits, former officials and experts say.

With Medieval Wit and Drama, “Lion in Winter” Ends City Repertory’s Second Season

| May 17, 2013

James Goldman’s “Lion in Winter”–opening at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre this weekend–may be set in a Medieval Christmas, but the themes are as contemporary as family love, quarrels, mistresses and jealousies, and the action blazes with humor and passion.

Speculative Bust: How Widening Old Kings Road Left Palm Coast on Hook for $6.7 Million

| May 16, 2013

Palm Coast borrowed millions from its own utility fund to complete the Old Kings Road widening on the assumption that the economy would pick up and enable the city to re-finance with bonds. That never happened. Now the city is looking to recoup its money from property owners along the road, who’d agreed to a special taxing district but with optimistic assumptions of their own that never panned out.

Blacks Charge Cop Harassment and Bullying As County Cancels Block Party in Bunnell

| May 15, 2013

When Bunnell police alerted the county of a large block party for South Bunnell’s black community the county had previously permitted–as a “picnic/party”–to take place on county land near Carver Gym, the county cancelled it. Monday evening, several members of Bunnell’s black community complained to the city commission of chronic harassment and bullying by Bunnell police.

Fast-Track Kill Bill Aside, Scott Speeds Death Warrants, Slating 3 Executions in 26 Days

| May 14, 2013

Gov. Rick Scott is not waiting to sign a bill that would accelerate the pace of capital-punishment executions in Florida. The death warrants he’s signed since April lead to the fastest-paced series of executions since four inmates were killed in March 1998, when Lawton Chiles was governor.

School Board Chairman’s Q&A on Flagler District’s 0.5-Mil Tax Referendum on June 7

| May 14, 2013

Flagler County School Board Chairman Andy Dance has been taking and answering questions on the referendum, on June 7, proposing to raise property taxes modestly to ensure the continuation of certain academic programs. The full Q&A is published here.

Pink Ladies in a Mud Run, On the Other Side of Flagler’s Beaches

| May 10, 2013

Mud runs in Flagler County–such as Saturday’s FL.ROC Mud Run on Cemetery Road in Bunnell–are a mostly unknown sub-specialty of Flagler County special events. Casey Ryan takes you into the mud on her October run, as she prepares for Saturday’s.

Nine Surprises You May Not Know Are in Florida’s New Budget

| May 8, 2013

The Florida Legislature’s $74 billion budget contains, as always, innumerable surprises in the fine print, from $240,000 to be spent on orange juice served visitors at highway stops to $500,000 to advertise stay-in-state vacations to Floridians.

As Closing a School Emerges as an Option, District Calls for Emergency Meeting Thursday

| May 7, 2013

Despite some confusion about budget numbers described as a “moving target,” the Flagler school board was spending a day-long workshop to find some $1.7 million in cuts, many of them affecting educational programs directly.

Airport Auto Sales
State Road 100 & Midway Drive, Palm Coast, (386) 437-2403

| May 5, 2013

Airport Auto Upholstery has the best local selection of used cars in Flagler County. Airport Auto Upholstery provides quality upholstery work on your car interior, airplanes, boat, furniture and convertible tops. Located on State Road 100 and Midway Drive in Palm Coast, call (386) 437-2403.

Red-Light Camera Fines May Go Up to $408 and Be Harder to Fight Under Newest Rules

| May 4, 2013

A new law awaiting Gov. Scott’s signature returns hearings to the control of local governments that have red-light cameras, such as Palm Coast, and allows them to impose an additional fee of $250 on top of $158 tickets, when contested, among other changes.

Other People’s Money: How Flagler County Is Closing on a Raw Deal at Taxpayers’ Expense

| May 3, 2013

The proposed $1.23 million county acquisition of the old Memorial Hospital property in Bunnell reveals, especially in its fine print, its secrecy until now and gun-to-the-head May 6 deadline for commissioners to sign off on it, hurried deal-making that profits the sellers while exposing taxpayers to huge uncertainty and costs.

Attempt to Rein In FPL and Progress Energy’s Ghost Construction Fees Evaporates

| May 2, 2013

The changes in the nuclear cost bill establish a series of benchmarks for a utility seeking to build a nuclear power plant to follow in order to impose pre-construction fees. But the amendment also removed a provision that would have required the companies to refund money if they halted their plans.

Can’t Say It’s Not Producing: Flagler’s Economic Arm Lands 4th Firm in 11 Months

| May 1, 2013

Gioia Sails South, a supplier of boat interiors for Sea Ray Boats, will move 30 jobs to Palm Coast and create 10 more in the coming year, the latest success for the county’s Economic Development Council.

Stop-and-Frisk in Bunnell Turns Into Brawl With Officers, and Threats of a “Hit”

| April 30, 2013

Theodore Moore, 25, was observed by a Bunnell cop allegedly trespassing–near Moore’s home. The cop briefly pursued Moore and handcuffed him, finding a gun and contraceptive pills on him as Moore resisted his arrest and dared cops to Tase him as a crowd gathered in South Bunnell.

From Jackie Robinson to Jason Collins: Still Telling It On the Mountain

| April 29, 2013

It will be Jason Collins’s misfortune to be labeled the “gay Jackie Robinson.” Like Robinson, he may have to endure a painful personal burden. But, argues Steve Robinson, history is less likely to view him as a pioneer than ask instead: “what took so long?”

East Coast Premier Properties
(386) 503-0973
Beach Haven, Oceanside Neighborhood Living

| April 29, 2013

East Coast Premier Properties’ Beach Haven, Oceanside Neighborhood Living is located on an inspirational stretch of beach between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, in Flagler County north of Palm Coast, a neighborhood of just 190 single-family homes and abundant natural beauty.

Florida House Rejects $50 Billion in Federal Medicaid Help, Opting for Stingy Alternative

| April 28, 2013

Florida’s rejection of federal aid for the expansion of Medicaid leaves the state with a bare-bones alternative to provide health care for the poor and uninsured while setting a defining marker against Obamacare and the federal vision of health care reform.

Militarizing the Border: Where Those Billions for More “Security” Will Go

| April 27, 2013

The U.S. spent nearly $18 billion dollars on immigration enforcement agencies last fiscal year, more than all other law enforcement agencies combined. Where would another $4.5 billion go? Here’s a closer look at what is being proposed, and how the government has spent (and often wasted) border money in recent years.

Flagler Beach Snuffs Out Discussion of Combining Fire Department With County

| April 26, 2013

Flagler Beach City Commissioner had placed a discussion of consolidating fire departments on the agenda of Thursday’s meeting, only to have City Manager Bruce Campbell pull the item. Carney put the commission on notice that she wasn’t done.

Flagler County’s Budget Outlook Adds Up To $8 Million Gap and Likely Tax Increase

| April 24, 2013

It’s difficult to see how Flagler commissioners will emerge from the budget process in September without either a substantial tax increase of one type or another or vast cuts in county services, though they began taking on sacred cows, such as consolidating fire departments.

France Becomes 14th Nation to Legalize Gay Marriage and Adoption in Historic Vote

| April 23, 2013

The National Assembly voted today (April 23) 331-225, with 10 abstentions, to legalize gay marriage and gay adoption in France, making it the 14th nation in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, which remains prohibited in all but nine American states.

Publix’s Profitable Accommodation With Poverty: Not a Penny More for Tomato Pickers

| April 23, 2013

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been trying for years to get Publix to join the Fair Food Coalition, in which suppliers and purchasers agree to pay the workers a penny more per pound of tomatoes picked. Publix won’t even meet with the workers.

In an Explosive Meeting, Bunnell’s Martinez Survives, 3-2, a Rogers Motion to Fire Him

| April 22, 2013

Bunnell City Manager Armando Martinez survived getting fired on a 3-2 vote, with the unexpected support of one of his harshest former critics: Commissioner Bill Baxley, who was sworn in earlier this month on a promise of change.

Flagler School District Hones Its Sales Pitch for New Tax Ahead of June 7 Referendum

| April 22, 2013

The Flagler school district is campaigning for the June 7 referendum on a new property tax for schools with a “You Decide” approach that emphasizes restoring time to the school day and reinforcing school security in spite of cuts in state funding.

Boston’s Home-Grown Terrorism: Echoes of London and Madrid

| April 21, 2013

While hundreds of police officers pursued the 19-year-old during a nationally-televised rampage across Boston Friday, a former classmate recounted memories of the refugee who, according to counterterror officials, became a U.S. citizen on an ironic date: Sept. 11, 2012.

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