County Attorney Al Hadeed announced his retirement come August. He had been the county attorney for nearly a decade until the commission in a dubious move ended his contract in 1998. A different commission re-hired him in 2007. His retirement will remove the single-most important store of institutional memory from county government, though his signature achievements would fill volumes.
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Daily Cartoon and Briefing
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
Measure Deporting Gulf of Mexico Name from State Law Moves to Florida House Floor
While a public opinion poll conducted last month shows that a majority of Floridians do not support updating changes in the state from the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America,” that was of little concern to the House State Affairs Committee on Thursday. The committee voted along party lines to advance two proposals making that change into both state law and state agencies. Both measures will now head to the entire House for floor votes.
No Outright Indications of Mechanical Failures in Plane Crash That Claimed Pilot’s Life in West Flagler
A preliminary investigation of the Feb. 14 plane crash that took the life of pilot 75-year-old Thomas Harvey in western Flagler County reveals that the plane had followed a normal flight path until it suddenly began to drop rapidly, at more than 200 feet per second before impact. There was no evidence of a fire on board and “no indications of a flight control anomaly were discovered,” according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report, suggesting that Harvey may have suffered a medical episode.
City Repertory Theatre Takes Trip to Matters of Faith and Race with ‘Violet’ Musical
In “Violet,” a musical that opens Friday at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, it’s 1964, and Violet is about to travel by bus from her North Carolina home to Tulsa, Okla. The play’s themes are reflected in music that spans gospel, Memphis blues, bluegrass and jazz, with the cast singing to recorded backing tracks. Christian faith is an ongoing theme, as is race, judgment and life’s scars, visible and invisible.
More Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local
13 Applicants, Including Several Familiar Names, Apply to Fill Palm Coast Council Seat Vacated by Stevens
Thirteen candidates have filed for the District 3 seat on the Palm Coast City Council that Ray Stevens resigned at the end of February. The list includes several familiar names, among them Dave Ferguson, a former appointee to the council, Dave Sullivan, who just ended two terms on the County Commission, Cornelia Manfre, who has had three unsuccessful runs for a council seat or the mayorship, Mark Stancel, who lost a primary vote to Stevens by two votes, and Andrew Werner, who lost to Stevens.
44-Year-Old C-Section Dad Arrested When 2-Year-Old Is Found Wandering the Street, and Dog Is Near Death
Ross Judy, a 44-year-old resident of Collins Lane in Palm Coast, was arrested Sunday on felony child neglect and a misdemeanor charge of abandoning an animal to neglect after his 2-year-old child was found wandering alone in the middle of a street in pajamas and a soiled diaper and a dog was found barely alive.
County’s Kim Carney, Crucial Vote on Sales Tax Proposal, Appears to Waver, Putting Beach Plan at Risk
County Commissioner Kim Carney’s support for the county-wide beach-management plan she endorsed just weeks ago appeared to waver when she raised questions about it at last Monday’s commission meeting, potentially putting the entire plan in jeopardy, especially with an undecided Palm Coast looking on.
10 Years on, Palm Coast Finally Breaks Ground on Nerve-Center Maintenance Facility’s $12 Million 1st Phase
Palm Coast hosted a groundbreaking for what will eventually be a nearly 100-acre maintenance facility gathering public works, stormwater and utility departments in one location off U.S. 1, to the northwest of the city. The $12 million phase is the first of three. The City Council in 2016 set the project in motion, but funding has been a challenge, as has the criticism of the project.
Man Who Threatened to Jump Off SR100 Bridge on I-95 Is Rescued After Hour of Negotiations
A man threatening to jump off the I-95 bridge over State Road 100 was rescued after snarling traffic for nearly an hour. The same man had attempted to jump off the Palm Coast Parkway bridge over I-95 last August. He was Baker Acted then, as he was today.
Palm Coast Adopts 31% Water and Sewer Rate Increase Over 3 Years, Scaling Back Spending to $512 Million
The Palm Coast City Council today in a 3-1 vote approved a 31 percent water and sewer rate increase to be phased in five increments through October 2028, and to finance a half-billion-dollar spending plan to improve the city’s utility infrastructure, some of which is overcapacity and outdated. The plan scales back an earlier proposal that would have increased rates 36 percent. The new plan calls for one bond issue of $292 million.
Palm Coast Mayor’s Motion for Construction Moratorium Fails in Face of Builders’ Bulky Show of Force
Mayor Mike Norris’s motion for a residential building moratorium this morning, made after nearly an hour of zealous speeches for or against, but mostly for, quickly failed for lack of a second, and applause resounded across the standing-room-only chamber. Some of it was consolation for Norris by his supporters. Most of it was from builders and their supporters.
Mayor Norris In Pattern of Offensive Behavior Toward Staff Since November, Internal Complaints Show
Several city employees and directors have filed a series of complaints and memos to Human Resources documenting behavior by Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris they considered rude, demeaning, offensive, abusive, harassing and inappropriately interfering with administrative duties, in violation of the city charter. The complaints were filed well before three City Council members called for an independent investigation of Norris over his overstepping his authority.
Patient Attack of 2 Staffers at AdventHealth Palm Coast Highlights Dangers Facing Health Care Workers
Rolfe A. Troup, 33, of Palm Coast, who two years ago completed a probation sentence for assaulting his stepfather, was arrested again on Friday after allegedly assaulting two staffers at AdventhHealth Palm Coast Parkway, where Troup had been taken under a Baker Act. He faces two first-degree felony counts, each with a maximum penalty of 30 years. The assault highlights the generally little known reality that health care workers suffer some of the highest rates of workplace violence and injuries of any profession.
After a Protest, Flagler Beach Again Changes Rule for Large Annexations, Requiring Supermajority Vote
A year after removing the requirement that annexations of 5 percent or more of its land mass would require a referendum, the Flagler Beach City Commission again changed the rule, now to require at least a supermajority of the commission before such annexations may be approved. The change is the result of a protest lodged about the original amendment by the attorney representing a non-profit group that has opposed Veranda Bay, the large development seeking annexation into the city.
Florida Lawmakers Are About to Roll Back Rural Protections in Favor Of Developers. Don’t Let Them.
The Florida Legislature is once again trying to push through legislation that would take away the rights of area citizens and local government to have any voice in the management of rural and agricultural lands. It is crucial that citizens contact their legislative members and demand that these egregious measures be stopped immediately.
The Conversation
Israeli Politics Kill Gaza Ceasefire
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to blame Hamas for the resumption of fighting that killed more than 400 Palestinians on March 18 – “only the beginning,” Netanyahu warned – the truth is the seeds of the renewed violence are to be found in Israeli domestic politics.
Florida and Beyond
Flu Deaths Near 7-Year High As Anti-Vaccine Disinformation Spreads
Flu-related deaths hit a seven-year high in January and February, the two months that usually account for the height of flu season, according to a Stateline analysis of preliminary federal statistics. There were about 9,800 deaths across the country, up from 5,000 in the same period last year and the most since 2018, when there were about 10,800.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
The Palm Coast Planning Board meets, the Palm Coast administration and members of the council break ground on a new maintenance facility, the William McKinley tariffs in a very different era.
Anti-DEI Rules Are Gutting Educators’ Free Speech Rights
The Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion have continued in the form of a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Education to educational institutions – from preschools through colleges and universities.. The directive the letter infringes on free speech, misunderstands the law and undermines education.
More Florida and Beyond
Florida Attorney General Threatens Removal of City Council Members Who Blocked Cooperation with ICE
Attorney General James Uthmeier is threatening three Fort Myers city council members with removal from office after they refused Monday to deputize police officers to participate in immigration enforcement. Uthmeier, who became the attorney general a month ago, warned the council that Gov. Ron DeSantis could remove them from office if they didn’t allow the city police to question people about their immigration status and detain those subject to deportation.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
The Palm Coast City Council meets at 9 a.m., with an expected pro-Mayor Norris rally preceding it, Random Acts of Insanity at Cinematique, how the Washington Post is dying at Jeff Bezos’s hands.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, March 17, 2025
The Flagler County Commission meets in the evening, the East Flagler Mosquito Control District meets in the morning, and the histories and pleasures of Calvados, drink of the gods on Mont-Saint-Michel.
Corporations Are DEI’s Great Hope
Whether the many attacks on DEI – first from right-wing bloggers, then from the Supreme Court, and then from the president – will affect the makeup of Fortune-level boards in 2025 and beyond remains to be seen. But so far, these boards are diversifying and seeing the value in DEI.
The Sun Is Setting on Government Transparency in Florida
Florida, the “Sunshine State,” once known as a beacon of government transparency, is growing ever darker, and the clouds are spreading throughout the United States. Legislators have passed more than 1,100 exemptions to the Florida Sunshine Law, and growing.
Florida Law Banning Kids off Some Social Media Prevails as Judge Refuses to Block It
A federal judge has rejected a request to block a 2024 Florida law aimed at keeping children off some social-media platforms, ruling that industry groups did not show they had legal standing to challenge the measure.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, March 16, 2025
‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, Farmer’s market at European Village, the pandemic of backing in, how parking lots have ruined the urban landscape.
The Women Behind the Babylonian Captivity
The church may not have seen women as equals, but nevertheless, their work was key to the workings and finances of the papal court and its surroundings. The fact is made obvious in the archives by simply following the money. It was hardly glamorous work but necessary for the functioning of the papal court.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 15, 2025
The Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Democratic Women’s Club of Flagler County meeting, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre.
In Red and Blue States, a Surge of Laws to Protect Teen on Social Media
In 2024, approximately half of all U.S. states passed at least 50 bills that make it harder for children and teens to spend time online without any supervision. Research shows that adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media have an increased risk of anxiety and depression. Almost half of teens have faced online bullying or harassment, with older teen girls most likely to have experienced this. Social media use has been linked to self-harm in some cases.
Norman Mugford, Alarmpro Owner and Longtime Member of Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board, Dies at 76
The City of Palm Coast honors the memory and celebrates the life of Norman Mugford, who passed away on Monday, March 3, 2025, at the age of 76. Norman was a dedicated public servant whose tireless commitment significantly shaped Palm Coast, particularly through his extensive service on the Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 14, 2025
Flagler Outreach Brings Social Service Providers to Cattleman’s Hall, ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, the misfortunes of the phrase “leader of the free world.”
Even Florida’s Naturalized Citizens Are Fearful of State’s New Anti-Immigrant Laws
Nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. citizens and one-third of U.S. citizens who responded to a survey, said they hesitated to seek medical care in the year after Florida’s anti-immigration law, SB 1718, was enacted. Laws like SB 1718 amplify preexisting racial and structural inequities. Structural inequities are systemic barriers within institutions — such as health care and employment — that restrict access to essential resources based on one’s race, legal or economic status.
Commentary
Saving Our Beaches Is a Collective Responsibility Like Roads and Parks. Let’s Each Do Our Part.
A Beverly Beach resident explains how protecting Flagler County’s beaches through the proposed county plan is similar to supporting communal responsibilities like roads, schools, parks and libraries: not everyone benefits from those services equally, but the services all play a crucial role in the local quality of life and the economy, and must be supported evenly. So it is with the beach.
Brain-Training to Stave Off Dementia Is Unproven. Here’s What Might Help.
People can make changes throughout adulthood that can help prevent or delay cognitive decline and even reduce their risk of dementia. These include quitting smoking and properly managing blood pressure. Brain-training games, which claim to optimize your brain’s efficiency and capacity at any age, are unproven.
American Imperialism Is Back
Embracing traditional U.S. imperialism would upend the rules that have kept the globe relatively stable since World War II. That would unleash fear, chaos – and possibly nuclear war.