According to independent research, the county welcomed 948,800 total visitors and generated $4,321,126 in tourist development tax in Fiscal Year 2024, down from the $4,587,725 collected in 2023.
Flagler County Historical Society Prepares Inaugural Bunnell History Day as Accelerant for City’s Renaissance
With a $5,000 state grant and local sponsorships, the Flagler County Historical Society is organizing Bunnell History Day, with the inaugural all-day event scheduled for June 7. Society members outlined the plan to the Bunnell City Commission as an effort to use history to focus attention on the city’s identity and enduring impact on the county.
26-Year-Old Palm Coast Woman Charged with Molesting 13-Year-Old Boy During Family Christmas
Angel Marie Sexton, a 26-year-old resident of Royal Oak Drive in Palm Coast, was charged with molesting a 13-year-old boy whose family was visiting Sexton’s family over Christmas in Palm Coast. The child’s mother uncovered the alleged assault when she found romantic texts between Sexton and the boy on a family phone the boy had taken for himself. The older woman, according to the texts, was telling the boy that he could be emancipated at 16 and that she would leave her husband and marry him when he was 18.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 30, 2025
Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Central Park, ‘Crimes of the Heart’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, a conjunction between a Swiss cartoon and Laure Federiconi’s new novel.
RFK’s Nomination and the New Era of Anti-Intellectualism in US Politics
The many controversial people appointed to the Trump administration, from Elon Musk to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have at least one thing in common: They dislike and distrust experts. While anti-intellectualism and populism are nothing new in American life, there has hardly been an administration as seemingly committed to these worldviews.
Insults and the Power of Taboo Language
“Off limits” words – a category ranging from insults and swear words through to racial slurs and hate speech – have extraordinary power. They elicit strong emotional responses, and reveal a massive amount about a society’s values, cultural norms, and psychological processes.
DeSantis Ramps Up Feud with Legislature, Pledging to Veto Bill Targeting Undocumented Immigrants
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday pledged to veto an immigration bill passed during a special legislative session Tuesday, triggering a potential showdown with Republican House and Senate leaders in a tug-of-war over efforts to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda. The governor’s latest criticism ramped up what has become a brutal — and public — feud between the Republican legislative leaders and DeSantis, who repeatedly called the bill “weak” and “pathetic” and lobbed personal attacks at his foes.
Two FPC Students Arrested for Texting Joking Death Threats Against Each Oher
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two students at Flagler Palm Coast High School for sending threats toward each other in a text group chat. The threats were not meant seriously. The felony charges are.
How Judge Nichols Talked 2 Defendants Off Ledge of Risking Life in Prison at Trial and Accepting Plea Deals Instead
Stephanie Raimundo, 48, and Jeba Johnson, 22, were both facing life in prison on stacks of charges if convicted at the trials they wanted: Raimundo for trafficking drugs and for manslaughter in the death by overdose of 22-year-old Calvin Stull, Johnson for armed burglary and other acts of violence. In a remarkable 75-minute hearing for both before Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols this afternoon at the Flagler County courthouse, the judge talked both of them out of going to trial and accepting plea deals that will result in less than 13 years for Raimundo, once gain time is counted, and 25 years for Johnson.
Bunnell Rubber-Stamping Development Agreement for 8,000-Home Haw Creek Reserve, Residents Complain
The Bunnell City Commission devoted just 60 minutes to a workshop its own planning board had requested to review the 65-page development agreement with the Reserve at Haw Creek, the 8,000-home development west and south of the city that will change the complexion of Bunnell. Residents complained that 60 minutes wasn’t enough, and raised numerous issues that have been raised over the past few months, to a non-reactive commission. But the commission subsequently agreed to set a future workshop.
Indian Trails’ Brandy Anderson Is Teacher of the Year, Wadsworth’s Brande Martz Is Employee of the Year
Flagler Schools congratulates Ms. Brandy Anderson of Indian Trails Middle School as the 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year and Ms. Brande Martz of Wadsworth Elementary School as the 2024-2025 Employee of the Year. Both will represent Flagler Schools in the Florida Department of Education State Competition later this year.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Help Night at Flagler Cares, when total expenses for 24 hours at the hospital only cost $105. Now it’s approaching $3,000 a day in Florida. Separation Chat, Open Discussion, Weekly Chess Club for Teens at the library.
Behind Bishop’s Plea to President to ‘Show Mercy’
Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon on Jan. 21, 2025, in which she appealed to President Donald Trump to have mercy toward groups frightened by his position on immigrants and LGBTQ+ people – especially children – drew reactions from both sides of the aisle. In a post on his social networking site, Truth Social, Trump called her comments “nasty in tone” and remarked that she “brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way.” Christian history is full of examples of people who have spoken out, unafraid to risk official censure, or even death.
GOP’s Randy Fine and Democrats’ Josh Weil Win Placid Primary for Waltz Congressional Seat
In one of the dreariest elections in recent memory, Randy Fine, the Brevard County state Senator, today won the Republican primary in the race to fill the congressional seat vacated by Mike Waltz, whom President Trump named his national security adviser. Josh Weil won the Democratic primary. Fine and Weill will face off in the general election on April 1.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Calls Undocumented Immigrants ‘Dirtbags’
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, was in New York City, accompanying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in arrests across the city. In a video posted to social media, Noem — clad in a vest labeled POLICE/ICE — said she was in the city “to get the dirt bags off our streets.”
14-Year-Old Palm Coast Girl Arrested After Sending Hate-Filled Video Targeting Trans and Other Students
L.H., a 14-year-old resident of Seminole Woods in Palm Coast was arrested last Friday (Jan. 24) on a felony charge of written threats to kill after she allegedly sent a racism-laced rant and threats directed at a transgender student through Snapchat, on a “story” connected to the Ohio high school L.H. attended last year.
Selling Palm Harbor Golf Course Draws Strong Opposition as Council Meanders Over Purpose of City ‘Amenities’
The Palm Coast City Council found little support for any suggestion of selling the city-owned Palm Harbor golf course even as council members agreed it could not keep bleeding losses. At the same time, council members differed over the meaning of city amenities like parks and the golf course, which a different council agreed several years ago are not intended to, or expected to, make money. Council member Charles Gambaro wants a fuller analysis of all amenities profit and loss statements, raising questions about the meaning and purpose of city functions.
Unhappy with Choices, Palm Coast Reopens City Manager Search for ‘Unicorn’ Even as It Culls Second-Best Shortlist
It’s not exactly what the short-listed candidates want to hear: you’re OK, but we’d rather not settle for you. We’re still looking. That was, putting it kindly, the message the Palm Coast City Council sent the six candidates it short-listed, out of a shallow pool of 37, as it seeks to hire a permanent city manager. The more precise message is that a majority of council members aren’t happy with the candidate pool it got, and that it’s re-opening the search for at least a month.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, January 28, 2025
A busy day of meetings at the Palm Coast City Council, the School Board and the NAACP, so take a break with ‘Crimes of the Heart’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, and the wiliness of John Marshall and judicial review.
Remember Scalia’s Ruling: Threatening Local Officials to Cooperate with Immigration Orders Is Illegal
In a 1997 opinion, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that the Constitution barred the federal government from impressing into its service…the police officers of the 50 States.’
Diane Rado Appointed Executive Editor of Florida Trident, Barbara Petersen Will Serve as Publisher
Statewide investigative news outlet, The Florida Trident, published by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, announced today two significant changes. Co-founder and CEO, Barbara Petersen will now serve as Publisher and Diane Rado has joined the team as Executive Editor. Rado is an award-winning journalist who has covered government, education, policy and politics for over 30 years.
Sharply Rebuking DeSantis, Lawmakers Opt for Special Session on Their Own Terms, and Override Budget Veto
The House and Senate started and quickly ended a special legislative session that DeSantis called — and then immediately opened their own special session and released proposed immigration legislation. The moves came after DeSantis angered House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, by calling a special session that they said was premature.
Panel Recommends Renaming City Hall’s Community Wing for Late Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts
Two months after the Palm Coast City Council rejected naming the city’s flagship community center for Jon Netts, the late mayor and councilman, an advisory committee voted unanimously to recommend renaming City Hall’s Community Wing, where meetings and workshops are held, for Netts. The city’s Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee, where all renaming proposals are vetted, also recommended renaming the new show tennis court at the Southern Recreation Center for the Friends of Tennis–what will be called the Friends Stadium Court.
Aiden Barnett, 20, Arrested on Aggravated Child Abuse Charge Days After Telling Judge He’s a ‘Changed Man’
Three weeks ago 20-year-old Aiden Barnett of Palm Coast’s B-Section wrote a judge that he was a “a completely changed person” since he fled from a cop at 115 miles per hour. On probation, he was asking for a waiver on his anger-management class and community service hours. On Friday, he was arrested on a first-degree felony charge of aggravated child abuse after allegedly punching a 17-year-old girl so hard that she had a concussion and was hospitalized.
Palm Harbor Golf Course Lost $3.4 Million in Operating Costs Alone, Far More in Capital Since Palm Coast Took Ownership
Since it opened in 2009 as a city-owned facility, and with one meager exception in 2022, Palm Coast’s Palm Harbor golf course has been a drain on city coffers. The course has run combined losses of $3.44 million in the last 16 years, or an average of $215,000 a year. The figure increases sharply when depreciation and capital losses are included. Taxpayers have been subsidizing the golf course all those years. Palm Coast City Council members are tiring of the losses.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, January 27, 2025
The East Flagler Mosquito Control District Board meets, the Bunnell City Commission meets, the Beekeepers Association meets, the Library of America’s new “Black Writers of the Founding Era.”
Paris’s Iconic Centre Pompidou, a Cultural Superstar, Faces Telling Challenges
Whether known as the Centre Pompidou or simply Beaubourg, this Parisian landmark is set to close its doors from 2025 to 2030 for extensive renovations. Criticised and even mocked at its opening, the Centre Pompidou has since earned its place as an iconic fixture in the Parisian landscape and a major player on the international museum scene.
Palm Coast Connect, City’s Customer Service Portal, Adds New Features Allowing Residents to Manage Cases
The City of Palm Coast has enhanced its customer service portal, Palm Coast Connect, by introducing new features designed to deliver a more streamlined and efficient user experience. The system, utilized by nearly 32,000 residents, aims to improve creating and managing cases.
Imagine What Will be Left of Florida After Our Leaders Are Done With It
This is the country we’re now living in: dictatorial, unrepresentative, and deeply unkind. What will be left of Florida in four years? What will be left of America?
Pioneered in Palm Coast: A Decade of Robotics at AdventHealth
A decade ago, AdventHealth introduced the area’s first surgical robot in Palm Coast. Today, this program has grown to include a fleet of 17 robotic surgery devices across the AdventHealth East Florida Division, offering patients robotic surgical procedures in multiple specialties.
Sheriff Grady Judd Opposes Trump Pardons of Jan. 6 Insurrectionists and Tells Deputies: I Have Your Back
Grady Judd, one of the most well-known sheriffs in Florida is letting his officers know that he has their backs against people recently pardoned by President Donald Trump. And furthermore, he thinks the President messed up by getting them released from lockdown.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, January 26, 2025
‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, ‘Crimes of the Heart’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, the mystery of that one Willa Cather letter, and a few more thoughts on the writer from Nebraska.
U.S. News Ranks Daytona State’s Online Bachelor’s Programs Among Best in U.S. for 13th Straight Year
U.S. News & World Report has ranked Daytona State College’s online Bachelor’s programs among the best in the nation for the 13th straight year. And DSC is again the top-ranked non-university college in the United States.
Saltwater Flooding a Serious Threat to Electric Vehicles’ Batteries
Particularly when these batteries are soaked in saltwater, they can become “ticking time bombs,” in the words of Florida State Fire Marshall Jimmy Patronis. That’s because the fire doesn’t always occur immediately when the battery is flooded. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 36 EVs flooded by Hurricane Ian in Florida in 2022 caught fire, including several that were being towed after the storm on flatbed trailers.
Joan Dupray McReynolds, 1934-2025
Joan Dupray McReynolds was born August 10th, 1934, in Vista, California to Donald and Emma Dupray. Joan met and married the love of her life James “Jim” Newton McReynolds while he was stationed in California, and they remained together for 46 years until his passing. She was a proud military wife and lived in Germany through three separate deployments, with her husband and three boys while Jim was on active duty.
Should Public Money Fund Religious Charter Schools? Supreme Court Will Decide Constitutionality.
In Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond, the Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed with the state’s attorney general, Gentner Drummond, that the charter school board violated state law, the Oklahoma Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution when it allowed St. Isidore, a Catholic online school, to become a charter school.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 25, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens, coffee with Commissioner Spradley, ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, Gamble Jam, Cinderella: Youth Edition, at Athens Theatre, pining for the days when reading the press didn’t induce vomiting.
The Good and Bad of Ozempic
Today, GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, have become household names and key tools in the fight against obesity. GLP-1 drugs could help treat dozens of other ailments as well. But there are risks. GLP-1 drugs come with significant side effects and increase the risk of 19 health conditions, such as gastrointestinal issues, kidney stones and acute pancreatitis, in which the pancreas becomes inflamed and dysfunctional.
DeSantis Cant Wait to Get His Hands on ‘Illegal Immigration’ Legislation
Gov. Ron DeSantis used the power of his bully pulpit on Thursday to once again lean on the Florida Legislature to come together for a special legislative session next week to further restrict illegal immigration, vowing to fight like a “junkyard dog” that just won’t stop until he sees results. The governor has said repeatedly over the past couple of weeks that the Legislature must not wait until the regular session opens in March to address the newly implemented executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on reducing the number of the undocumented in Florida.
Republicans Hold Huge Registration Advantage in Special Elections, But Turnout Is Tepid
Heading into special elections to replace former U.S. House members Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz, Republicans hold major voter-registration advantages in the two districts, according to newly released numbers. But turnout has been tepid. Republicans are holding a two-to-one advantage over Democrats turning up at the polls in Flagler County, with 4,859 registered Republicans casting a ballot, to just 2,592 Democrats doing so.
Tuscan Reserve Apartments Handyman Accused of Using His Access to Units to Steal Thousands in Jewelry
Joshua Raymond Powell, a 44-year-old resident of Satsuma employed as a handyman at Tuscan Reserve, the apartment complex in Palm Coast’s Town Center, was arrested last week on nine felony charges of burglary, fraud and dealing in stolen property following a Flagler County Sheriff’s investigation that determined that Powell allegedly entered homes where he was needed for repairs, only to steal the residents’ jewelry and other valuables.
Flagler Beach Pier Construction Delayed to Spring as City Commission Approves $14.1 Million Construction Contract
After a relatively brief discussion that belies nearly nine years of anguish, delays, debates, financing and design of a new pier, the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening unanimously approved a $14.1 million contract with Beckley, W.Va.-based Vecellio and Grogan to build a 714-ft. concrete pier in place of the existing, 97-year-old wooden relic, which has been closed to public or any use since the fall of 2022. Construction was previously set to start last December. It may not start until late spring, and it’ll be a challenge to complete it by July 4, 2026.
Flagler Unemployment Falls Slightly to 3.8% but Labor Force Continues to Decline; Home Sales Rebound a Little
Flagler County’s unemployment rate edged back below 4 percent for the first time in six months, at 3.8 percent, as a couple hundred people gained jobs and the number of unemployed residents fell by 300. But Flagler County’s labor force again shrank, as it has most months for more than a year, to 50,849. The labor force is at its lowest level since February 2023, when it was 50,773 and rising.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, January 24, 2025
Remembering Dexter Romweber, the cold-weather shelter opens, Flagler and Florida unemployment numbers released, ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, Cinderella at Athens Theatre.
Palm Coast’s Disc Golf Course in W-Section Wins Private Public Partnership Award
The City of Palm Coast was awarded the “Outstanding Private and Public Partnership” award by the Florida Planning and Zoning Association (FPZA) Surfcoast Chapter. This award recognizes the City’s collaborative work with Mesa Capital Group to bring the Palm Coast Disc Golf Course to life.
Charlie Hebdo 10 Years On: Conversations About Free Speech Are Still Too Black and White
Communities’ reactions to satire are deeply influenced by factors such as religious marginalization, political exclusion and cultural tensions. The Charlie Hebdo attack was a horrific act of violence that cannot be justified. However, the discussions that followed often overlooked the ways in which the magazine’s caricatures perpetuated racist stereotypes – particularly against Muslims.
Behind Daniel Fish Losing Head Football Coach Job at FPC: Major Fumbles in Classroom, and 2nd Reprimand in 14 Months
Following an internal investigation that ended in December, Daniel Fish, who was fired last week as head football coach at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was the subject of a letter of reprimand for a series of grave failures in his teaching and administrative duties. It was the second disciplinary write-up for Fish in 14 months. He had been the subject of a “letter of caution” in October 2023 following a violent incident that had started among student-athletes in the football team’s unsupervised locker room. He retains his teaching job.
Old Dixie Motel Owners Have 5 Months To Secure Building Permits or Face Demolition by County’s Order
A special magistrate gave the owners of the neglected Old Dixie hotel five months to secure four permits from Flagler County or face demolition of the property. The decision by the magistrate, Sean McDermott, amounts to a further life extension for the hotel property, yet again frustrating the county’s attempts since last March to demolish a building it considers to be a nuisance and a danger to public health.
Protesters Disheartened and Disbelieving at an Abortion-Rights Rally in St. Pete: ‘Florida Is Gone’
Two months after a proposal to repeal Florida’s six-week abortion law and enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution failed to gather the 60% required for passage, more than 100 people gathered Wednesday on four street corners in downtown St. Petersburg to advocate for the cause. But it was a dispirited and disbelieving protest.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 23, 2025
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets and awards a contract to start demolition and construction of the pier, Lee Greenwood at the Fitz, a Palm Coast committee considers requests to rename two city venues, Alice Munro considered and reconsidered.