Cheryl Massaro, for 11 years the director of the Flagler Youth Center, has served on the local and state juvenile justice advisory boards, and will now be responsible for representing Florida and other states for two years on the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice.
Florida’s GOP Sen. Keith Perry Defends Himself After Hitting Another Man Over Campaign Sign
Perry, a contractor first elected to the House in 2010, is going up against former state Sen. Rod Smith, D-Gainesville, for the open Senate District 8 seat. Smith is also a former Florida Democratic Party chairman and a former state attorney in the Gainesville area.
Flagler’s Unemployment Back Down to 5.4% After Brief Rise, Florida’s at 4.7% for 4th Month
When Florida’s under-employed and discouraged workers are included, the state’s unemployment rate zooms up to 10.6 percent, higher than the national rate of 9.6 percent.
Giving Charm a Chance, City Rep’s 6th Season Opens With “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”
“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” the musical opening at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre Friday, was written not by Schulz but by Clark Gesner, who of course based his “average day in the life of Charlie Brown” on the beloved comic strip characters.
Weekend Briefing: Peter Cerreta’s New Show at Salvo, “Mutable” at ZinkZank, Charlie Brown at CRT, Bergen’s Profanities
The great Peter Cerreta shows new work at Salvo Art Project, City Repertory Theatre presents another weekend of “Charlie Brown,” the musical, “Mutable: Temporality and the Fickle Nature of Art Making,” at ZinkZank Gallery, a fundraiser at the Flagler Auditorium, Benjamin Bergen on the scientific purposes of profanity.
10-Year-Old Girl Made Up Story of Man Suspiciously Photographing Children at F-Section Bus Stop
The 10-year-old girl’s report that a man was following her in an SUV and taking pictures and video of her at her bus stop touched off alerts, fears and an investigation, which concluded with the girl’s story being held to be false.
Flagler Residents Get 2-Week Amnesty From 40% Collection Fee on Traffic and Court Fines
Residents can save–for example– $82.40 on a $206 speeding ticket that’s gone to collection with the two-week amnesty, starting Sept. 19 and running through Sept. 30. There are no plans to renew the amnesty in the future.
Gov. Scott’s Office of Open Government Barricades Itself
Florida once had one of the toughest sunshine laws in the country, and people were proud of that. But it’s no longer the case. Transparency has given way to talk–and barricades.
Thursday Briefing: County Property Taxes, School Open Houses, Trump’s Hissy Fits, Filming Private Ryan
The Flagler County Commission holds the first of two public hearings on next year’s taxes, Trump’s hissy fits get less attention than Hillary’s caughing fits, how Saving Private Ryan’s battle scenes were filmed.
Eliminating Florida’s No-Fault Auto Insurance System Could Save $81 a Year Per Car
The findings in a $125,000 study come as critics contend the 2012 reform attempt has failed to meet expectations and that bodily-injury coverage, which most motorists in Florida already have, should be a replacement for no-fault coverage.
School Board’s Conklin “Willfully” Failed to File Disclosure, But Ethics Panel Stops Short of Removing Her From Office
Colleen Conklin took months to file a financial disclosure form and paid a $1,500 fine over it, but an ethics investigation found her failure had been “willful,” and the Florida Ethics Commission could have had grounds to remove Conklin from her Flagler County School Board seat.
In Latest Delay, Flagler’s Civil Citation Proposal for Pot Users Will Wait Until Late November
Though recommended for approval in Flagler County by a key law enforcement, judicial and government panel, the de-criminalization proposal and judicial panel, the proposal will wait until after the election because of expected changes at the county commission and on the Palm Coast City Council.
Man Suspiciously Taking Pictures and Video of Young Children at F-Section Bus Stop
A 10-year-old girl reported a man following her from her house to a bus stop in his SUV, where he then takes pictures and video of her and other children. The sheriff’s office is looking for the public’s help to identify the man.
Wednesday Briefing: Cultural Arts Grants, Joe Arpaio’s Posse, Elizabeth Ann Seton Canonization, Incomes Zoom, Finally
Ever wonder who on earth was Elizabeth Ann Seton? Today is the anniversary of her canonization, Americans’ incomes zoom up finally, Joe Arpaio’s posse may be in trouble, Ford’s self-driving car.
Palm Coast and Flagler County Compete on Soccer Fields Over Frank Meeker’s Memory
The late County Commissioner Frank Meeker, who died in July, had also served on the Palm Coast City Council, so both governments will have separate memorials to his memory on soccer fields at opposite ends of town.
In Florida, Citrus Nears Oblivion as Disease and Development Squeeze it to Economy’s Margins
The citrus industry lost 4 percent of its grove land, 21,275 acres, over the past year. Citrus greening disease, which is deadly to the crop, has infected nearly all of Florida’s commercial citrus groves.
Suspect in Greg Lynn Jewelers Heist Found Hanging in Florida Hospital Flagler Bathroom
Two days after checking into Floria Hospital Flagler, Craig Anthony Chavez, the 52-year-old Palm Coast resident arrested in late June for the alleged robbery of a jewelry store, was found dead in his hospital room’s bathroom of an apparent suicide.
Florida Hospitals in Flagler and Volusia Anchor 3-Year Project to Improve Lung Cancer Care
The ACCC Optimal Care Coordination Model for Lung Cancer Patients on Medicaid project will work to reduce barriers to care by developing a care coordination model to leverage effective partnerships among cancer programs and practices, community organizations, patients, and primary care and specialty providers.
Heavier Rains Than Hermine Expected In Next 24 Hours Over Flagler-Palm Coast
The unnamed tropical wave churning off the coast of Central Florida is expected to bring more rain and heavy thunderstorms over Flagler County in the next 24 hours than did Hurricane Hermine.
Tuesday Briefing: Crashing Players Club, Grading on a Curve, Renner Kick-Off, Cost of Incarceration
Three buildings at the old Players Club are demolished, ending the nuttiness of grading on a curve, Flagler Palm Coast High School meets Pine Ridge, Matanzas High School meets DeLand in Bowling, the staggering costs of incarceration.
In 3-1 Vote, County Enacts Special Taxing Districts for Two Hammock Subdivisions to Drain Flooding
Flagler County government is rolling out a long-awaited plan to contain drainage problems in Marineland Acres and the Malacompra Basin, with a new annual tax on property owners to help pay for the improvements. Some residents welcome the plan, others see it as costly and as jeopardizing the beachfront atmosphere.
Justice Perry Will Retire, Giving Gov. Scott 1st Chance to Appoint a Conservative to High Court
Perry is among five jurists who make up a liberal-leaning majority of the seven-member court, which has drawn the wrath of the Republican governor and the GOP-dominated Legislature.
Silver Alert for Palm Coast’s William Wheat, 79, Missing and Endangered
William Wheat was last seen Sunday at 3 p.m. at his home in Palm Coast’s LL Section. He is believed to be driving a 2015 blue Dodge Ram 1500 two-door truck with Florida tag 873-8HV.
Facing Prison for Threatening to Skin an In-Law, Bunnell Man Gets 6 Months’ Probation
Daniel Nickonovitz, a 38-year-old Bunnell resident and felon with a violent past, had threatened to skin his father-in-law and kill him over child-support payments he owed. He had made death threats in a previous arrest and conviction, but has never been sentenced to prison.
Monitoring the Vote in Real-Time With Electionland
Which voters are getting turned away (and why)? Where are lines so long that people are giving up? Is there actually any evidence of people casting fraudulent votes? Whether you’re a journalist or not, here’s your chance to be an effective monitor.
Monday Briefing: A Taxing District for Malacompra Basin, A Tax Hearing for Bunnell, Live Bombing, Salamander Update
The Malacompra and Marineland basin area residents get a new annual tax to pay for drainage problems, Bunnell sets its tax rate for next year, Jules Verne, garden club talks bees, and how to read sheet music in two minutes flat.
Why I Stand For The National Anthem
There is outrage on the anniversary of 9/11: the outrage should be directed at those who have taken for granted the liberty and privilege of being a professional athlete by showing disrespect to our National Anthem by way of protest.
Tourism Industry Puts On Happy Face Despite Massacre, Algae, Zika and Alligator Kill
In the past three months, there has been a mass shooting in an Orlando nightclub, a 2-year-old child killed by an alligator at Walt Disney World, toxic algae blooms choking East and West Coast waterways, and the continued spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
Ethics Commission Sends Flagler Petition for Attorneys’ Fees to Administrative Law Judge
Former Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks filed two of the five complaints, Mark Richter Jr. also filed two, and Dennis McDonald filed the fifth complaint. None attended the ethics commission hearing in Tallahassee this morning.
Travelers Continue to Bring Zika Into Florida
Florida has 744 reported cases of the Zika virus, with 12 new cases involving people who contracted the disease outside of the state, the Florida Department of Health reported Thursday. There were no new cases of locally transmitted Zika, with 56 previously reported.
FWC Honors Steve Wayne as 2016 Investigator of the Year
The annual award honors a Fish and Wildlife Conservation investigator whose efforts show outstanding performance and achievement among investigators, including captive wildlife cases, overt and covert investigations, surveillance, and wildlife trafficking.
Man Wounded By Gunshot Limps Into Hospital, But Cops Skeptical of Shooting Account
Alfred Wright arrived at Florida Hospital Flagler with a gunshot to the thigh and claimed he’d been shot by an assailant either in Palm Coast or Flagler Beach. His story unraveled from there, with his girlfriend providing a different account.
Weekend Briefing: 9/11, African Art, Senior Games, Beer Arising, Chess Jax, Women of Jazz, Intracoastal Clean-Up
A busy weekend with a new musical (Charlie Brown) opening at CRT, women of jazz at the African-American Center, lectures on African art by the Palm Coast Arts Foundation, the Senior Games all week, and quite a bit more.
Who’s Afraid of Gary Johnson? Let Him Join the Debates
The Libertarian Party is on the ballot in all 50 states. For that reason, Gary Johnson should be on that debate stage because he is an alternative available to the entire nation, argues Nancy Smith.
Trump and Clinton Are Tied in Florida in Latest Quinnipiac Poll
The two remain tied when the most prominent third-party candidates are thrown into the race, with Trump and Clinton drawing 43 percent apiece.
School Board Members Blister “Subleasing” of FPC Campus to Out-of-Town Car Dealer, Exposing Problems
This weekend, without the school board’s knowledge, the entire parking lot of Flagler Palm Coast High School will be turned over to Ritchey Auto of Daytona Beach in a giant car and boat sale that has angered local car dealers and school board members, exposing flaws in the district’s use-of-facilities policy.
6 Students Implicated in “Detailed Plan to Attack” Flagler Palm Coast High School, No Arrests
Six students were at Flagler Palm Coast High School were tied Wednesday to what a district spokesperson described as “a detailed plan to conduct a coordinated plot against Flagler Palm Coast High School.” The alleged plot was to have involved guns.
Thursday Briefing: Flagler Restaurant Week Kick-Off, Flagler Beach’s Taxi Update, Journalism’s Lost Generation
The third annual Restaurant Week kicks off at Marineland Dolphin Adventure, the Flagler Beach City Commission updates its taxi ordinance, what a journalism professor learned of the craft’s lost generation.
A Rape in Palm Coast, a Shooting in Flagler Beach, Yet Sheriff’s Office Suppresses All But Trickle of Information
In a 24-hour span on Sept. 6, a woman reported twice being raped and a man reported being shot in separate incidents, both ending up at Florida Hospital Flagler, yet the sheriff’s office is suppressing all but a trickle of information on either case.
At Rymfire Elementary, Response to a Child’s Scar Comes Unglued and Leads to a Lawsuit
A 1st-grader at Rymfire Elementary came home with a bleeding head from a scar that her mother claims was treated improperly by an unqualified staffer, while the school never called the parent to let her know her child was being treated.
Wednesday Briefing: Youth Orchestra Open House, Budget Hearings in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, Manfre’s Whereabouts
The Flagler Youth Orchestra’s open house at Indian Trails Middle School welcomes new enrollments and lays out the season ahead, at 5:30 p.m., Palm Coast and Flagler Beach governments hold the first of their budget hearings, setting next year’s tax rates.
Fitful Recovery in Florida, Lingering Power Cuts in Panhandle After Hurricane Hermine
More than 18,000 people in Florida were still without power Tuesday, including fewer than 10,000 in the state’s capital city, after the Category 1 storm made landfall Friday morning near St. Marks in Wakulla County.
Heralding Brief Majority of Beards, Robert Cuff Is Sworn In as Palm Coast’s Newest Councilman
Robert Cuff–the cerebral, witty and long-time Palm Coast resident and ITT man–took his seat at the city council this evening after winning his election last week. He takes up where Bill McGuire resigned.
Federal Appeals Court Rules Against ATS, Palm Coast and Cities in Red-Light Camera Case
The decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is a reminder that Palm Coast is still not clear of the legal shambles that have surrounded the cameras. That class-action suit can now go forward, with drivers claiming they’d been wrongly fined.
Flagler County Library Director Holly Albanese Elected to Northeast Florida Library Information Network Board
Albanese has been been instrumental in significantly increasing library revenue through the library’s passport-issuance service, which she started. She is also keeping a planned expansion of the library–through a new building in Bunnell and an expanded one in palm Coast–on the county commission’s agenda.
Flagler’s Combustible Reagan Republicans Disband as GOP Realigns Back to “Sensible”
The Ronald Reagan Republican Assemblies of Flagler County, the firebrand group whose members spent the last five years shaking up local governments—complaining, criticizing, suing and in several cases, winning elections—has disbanded.
That Dramatic Drop in Teen Births? Credit Easier Access to Contraceptives, Not Less Sex
The drop was especially steep for younger girls: in births to girls 17 or younger in Flagler, the drop went from 12 such births per 1,000 in the early 90s to 3.8 in 2013-15, and four in Florida.
Tuesday Briefing: Councilman Robert Cuff, School Taxes, FPC Sports, Trump’s Immigrants, Su Meng’s Guitar
Robert Cuff, who won election to the Palm Coast Council last week, is appointed to the seat early to fill the spot vacated by Bill McGuire, the school board adopts next year’s taxes and talks bathrooms at Indian Trails Sports Complex.
Obama Should Tell the Truth About the American Economy
The president and everybody in his administration really must stop talking about how much better off we are today than we were eight years ago. Here is the disastrous truth.
Container-Loaded Semi Jackknifes Over Deep Gully on I-95, Snarling Traffic
Labor Day weekend traffic came to a near standstill on both sides of I-95 just north of State Road 100 in Palm Coast late this afternoon after a tractor trailer jackknifed in the rain and ended up hanging over a deep gully, half its rear wheels off the ground. Somehow the metal guardrail and perhaps trees helped the truck from going over.