Flagler County Airport is now Flagler Executive Airport, the fifth name the facility has had in its more than 70 years as the Flagler County Commission quietly approved the switch Monday.
Florida House Passes 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period, Adding to Increasing Curbs
The 24-year-old sponsor of the measure claims it “empowers” women, while opponents charged that it does the opposite, banning abortions for 24 hours.
4-Vehicle Wreck Involving Chlorine and Acids Shuts Down U.S. 1 Northbound in Bunnell
A four-vehicle wreck involving a pick-up truck that was carrying pool chemicals shut down both northbound lanes of U.S. 1 in Bunnell at 8:30 this morning. There were no injuries, but chemicals spilled, requiring the scene to be turned into a hazardous material scene.
Wednesday Briefing: Abortion Waiting Period, Special Session Ahead, Skywarn Storm Spotters
House members hold a secret session on medicaid as the governor finds a way to blame the federal government by way of ditching a promised tax cut.
Obama Comes to Everglades to Talk Climate Change. Gov. Scott Snubs Visit’s Theme.
Obama is set to appear at Everglades National Park Wednesday to address the economic impact of climate change, a topic and phrase that was not mentioned in a release from the governor’s office Tuesday.
Cage-Free Parenting: I Let My Boys Walk Home Alone. Go Ahead, Cuff Me.
Until she heard about parents getting arrested for letting their children roam free, Catherine Robinson had never let her children walk home alone. That just changed.
Tennessee and Kansas Also Get Fed Warning to Florida: Expand Medicaid Or Risk Hospital Funds
The federal government confirmed that it gave officials in those states the same message delivered to Texas and Florida about the risk to funding for so-called “uncompensated care pools” — Medicaid money that helps pay the cost of care for the uninsured.
Derelict Matanzas Golf Course Overrun By More Questions Than Answers, Angering Residents
The Matanzas gold course has been in disuse for almost a decade, it is overgrown and badly kept. The city is stepping up code enforcement, but also pledging to convene a discussion between property owners and gonvernent agencies, including the mysterious owners of the golf course.
Despite Pleading With State For Earlier Start Date, School Board Now Opts Against It
After lobbying the state to let it start school on Aug. 10 instead of Aug. 24, the Flagler school board on Tuesday stuck with the Aug. 24 date even though a new law would have allowed the district to move up the calendar.
Tuesday Briefing: School Administrators’ Pay, Google’s Mobile Switch, and Abortion Waiting Periods
The Flagler County School Board is in day-long meetings and will be part of this evening’s senior scholarship awards banquet at FPC and the Auditorium. Stetson offers Handel’s Messiah. Another black man dies in police custody.
Tuesday Briefing: School Administrators’ Pay, Google’s Mobile Switch, and Abortion Waiting Periods
The Flagler County School Board is in day-long meetings and will be part of this evening’s senior scholarship awards banquet at FPC and the Auditorium. Stetson offers Handel’s Messiah. Another black man dies in police custody.
The Inspired Mic: Two Years of Coaxing Out Flagler’s Talent, Six Minutes at a Time
The three-hour monthly open-mic event at Leroy’s 19th Hole in Palm Coast features vets, comics, poets, undefinable performers and occasional magic, all under the emceeing choreography of author Michael Ray King.
Gov. Scott Ends Worker Drug-Testing Crusade, Restricting Tests to Limited Job Classes
Monday’s agreement, which still requires court approval, identified more than 100 job classes that Scott can test for drug or alcohol use. Workers in most of the positions deal with vulnerable children or adults, handle heavy equipment or are already required to undergo medical tests for other reasons.
Three Hurt in 3 Bizarre Shootings in 32 Hours in Palm Coast and Bunnell This Weekend
Three unrelated shootings, once of them authorities described as an attempted murder, left three people injured and involved three police agencies, including in one case the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, though no arrests have been made.
Google Glass In The ER: Health Care Moves A Step Closer To Cheaper Telemedicine
For a fraction of the cost of current telemedicine technology, Google Glass may give patients and doctors quicker, more accurate referrals to specialists, improving efficiency and care.
Monday Briefing: Renaming Flagler County Airport, William Gregory Back in Court, Rubio’s Tricks
The county administration wants to rename Flagler County Airport to Flagler Executive Airport, Flagler Beach double-murderer William Gregory is back in court in Flagler Monday, lawmakers take up the adoption-discrimination bill, Marco Rubio’s math doesn’t add up.
Rev. Beth Gardner, Leading Voice For Flagler’s Homeless, Is Leaving Bunnell’s Methodist Church After 15 Years
Rev. Gardner, who will lead a parish in Lakeland starting in July, transformed the church into the county’s most progressive advocate for the homeless, housing a cold-weather shelter and keeping awareness about homelessness on the forefront of county and city agendas.
Enough Abuse: Close Seaworld
Nothing justifies Seaworld’s confinement of killer whales and Seaworld’s abusive treatment of the animals by way of exploitative shows and inhumane conditions. To treat orcas that way for human entertainment should elicit repugnance, not the buying of $75 tickets.
Gov. Bizarre: Scott Suing Federal Government Over One Pot of Money Even As He Rejects Another
The lawsuit plays into a heated battle over a Senate plan to use $2.8 billion in Medicaid expansion funding to help lower-income Floridians purchase private health insurance. But the House and Scott — who once favored straight-up Medicaid expansion — oppose that idea.
Flagler Clerk’s 1-Day Amnesty on Overdue Fines Nets $25,000 and Restores 20 Licenses
The amnesty, dubbed Operation Green Light, affected 7,000 cases in Flagler, totaling $1.9 million in overdue fines. The experiment was tried in most of the state’s counties for the first time this year.
Jim Davis, Ex-Cop With Ormond and Flagler Beach, Pleads to Lesser Charge in Child Molestation Case
Davis pleaded guilty to a count of battery against a child and was sentenced to a year’s probation. His record reveals a long history of domestic violence and conduct against policy while he was with the Ormond Beach Police Department.
Online Voter Registration May Get Lawmakers’ Approval, But Scott Administration Is Opposed
Secretary State Ken Detzner, who told the committee he knows what a “train wreck is and they’re not pretty,” expressed unease about having a deadline to implement the program before a plan is in place.
Rain Forces Palm Coast Arts Foundation to Move Jax Symphony Pops Concert to Destination Daytona at I-95 and US1
The concert venue for the April 19 Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra Picnic and Pops event is the Coca-Cola Pavilion at Rossemeyer’s Destination Daytona, Exit 273 off I-95 at U.S. 1, a few miles south of Palm Coast.
Flagler-Palm Coast Added 12,300 Jobs in Last 5 Years, Powering Unemployment Down to 6.5%
Unemployment figures released Friday show the solid, continued improvement of Flagler-Palm Coast’s economy, especially when compared to where the county was five years ago.
Weekend Briefing: Beatles Tribute at the Auditorium, Picnics and Pops Moved, DeSantis at Ocean Art Gallery
Busy weekend all around with the Beatles tribute at the auditorium, Ron Desantis appearing at Ocean Art Gallery in Flagler Beach, a soccer tournament and the Picnics and Pops concert, moved to Destination Daytona at I-95 and US1.
Obama Doctrines, Bland Rhetoric, and the Mealy-Mouthed West
From President Barack Obama’s oxymoronic first-term mantra “leading from behind” to the recent German variant “leading from the center,” empty phrases have become the currency of Western governments, writes Ana Palacio.
School Officials Tamp Down Credibility of Threatening Message on Matanzas High School Wall
The message–“I am going To shoot up the School Tomorrow Happy Friday” is believed to be a hoax spreading on social media, and made to appear as if it had been scrawled on a bathroom wall at Matanzas High School.
James McDevitt Pleads Guilty as Charged of Rape, May Face Up to Life in Prison for Flagler Beach Attack
By pleading guilty, James McDevitt hopes to avoid life in prison had the case gone to trial. He’ll be sentenced in late May. The June 2013 incident took place in an isolated lot in Flagler Beach, but was witnessed by a neighbor.
Proposal Allowing Concealed Guns in Schools, Largely Opposed By Flagler Board, Dies
Bills that would lead to guns at schools have traditionally faced an uphill challenge in the Senate, which is more moderate on such issues than the House.
You May Soon Shoot Black Bears: FWC Will Set One Week in October For Hunting
Hunting up to 200 black bears in Flagler and other parts of Florida would be allowed as part of a management plan as the state’s bear population of 2,500 is in increasing contact with its human population of nearly 20 million.
Thursday Briefing: Rape Suspect James McDevitt in Court, Jobs Council in Session, Apollo 16 in Memory
James McDevitt, accused of raping a woman in Flagler Beach in 2013, appears before a judge today for a final docket sounding before a scheduled trial next week. With more on Pope Francis, Magna Carta and Apollo 16.
Special Session Ahead for Legislature as Lawmakers Fail To Resolve Budget Clash
Gov. Rick Scott’s administration, federal officials and House and Senate leaders have waged a public war over health dollars, which President Obama’s administration declared Tuesday are tied to an expansion of Medicaid.
Supreme Court Turns Down Red-Light Camera Appeal, Leaving In Place Restrictions On Who May Issue Tickets
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal on a red-light camera case with a direct bearing on Palm Coast’s traffic-enforcement program. Five justices concurred in turning down the appeal, without explanation, as is customary when the court turns down a case.
Candor, Humor and a Few Sharp Jabs from Jim Landon in a State of the City Overview
Addressing Walmart’s renewed interest in its potential second store in Palm Coast, golf courses, construction and economic activity, Palm Coast City Manager spoke for almost two hours Monday morning to some 90 residents about the state of the city and its near future.
27-Year-Old Woman Accused of Robbing and Assaulting 67-Year-Old For Prescription Pills
Tara Lynn Davis, a 27-year-old resident of Espanola Road in Bunnell, was booked at the Flagler County jail on three felony charges: robbery, battery on a person 65 or older, and grand theft.
Rep. Ron DeSantis Makes It Semi-Official: He’s Considering a Run for Rubio’s Senate Seat
DeSantis’s quick rise after his election to the House in 2012, his frequent presence on conservative talk shows and relentless criticism of the Obama administration has made him a favorite of tea party conservatives and some further to the right.
Bunnell Joins County in Big-Debt Refinancing Trend, Saving Large Amounts
By cutting its financing costs by almost half, Bunnell will save $600,000 on two loans dating back to the 1990s. County government similarly saved millions by refinancing loans for the courthouse and the Government Services Building.
Wednesday Briefing: Landon’s Futurism, Shakespeare’s New Rape Play, Goodbye Percy
Jim Landon’s “Making Our Future Together” Lunch ‘n Learn lecture today is sold out, three Flagler middle school girls are named to a prestigious STEM conference, Shakespeare’s new authenticated play is making students uncomfortable, and it’s Take a Wild Guess Day.
For Palm Coast’s Money-Losing Golf Course, Grass Is Always Greener On Other Side of Promises
An update on the city’s golf course did not go well this morning at city council. Instead of projecting when the golf course and tennis center would stop losing money, City Manager Jim Landon directed the company managing the operations to simply stop making projections to the city council.
Sheriff’s Awards Go To Deputy Pedersen, Detention Deputy Ward and Volunteer Ramos
Deputy Erik Pedersen was recognized for going beyond the call of duty in helping a 94-year-old woman reconnect to the world, and Detention Deputy Ronald Ward stopped an inmate from committing suicide.
Rep. Jason Brodeur: My Religious Freedom Bill Will Encourage More Adoptions
Rep. Jason Brodeur, the Sanford Republican, sponsored the controversial bill that would allow adoption agencies to discriminate in their decisions on whom to place where, even on behalf of the state’s foster system. Brodeur defends his bill.
Last Patrol: Undersheriff Rick Staly Looks Back On 40 Years as a “Cop’s Cop,” and Forward
Undersheriff Rick Staly, who retires this week, took his last road patrol last Friday, an unusually quiet evening he spent driving and reflecting on his career and how law enforcement has changed since his first days as a cop in 1974.
Florida Lawmakers Float Measure to Regulate Drones Amid Buzz of Privacy Concerns
The proposals prohibit the use of aerial drones to capture images that could infringe on the privacy of property owners or occupants but also give police some authority to use drones.
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast’s Golf Dreams, VPK and Kindergarten Round-Up, Anchors’ Demise
The Palm Coast City Council again hears from the management company trying to keep the city’s golf course and tennis center from soaking in the red, VPK and kindergarten registration is today, Frank Rich tells us why the anchorman’s job is the dumbest.
Rubio Joins Growing List of Presidential Hopefuls, Setting Up Showdown With Bush
A primary showdown between Rubio and Bush could cause friction in Tallahassee, where the GOP dominates state government, and a scramble is expected for Rubio’s senate seat.
Sheriff’s Deputy Under Investigation After He’s Found at “Young Adults” Drinking Party
The deputy, Jonathan Kuleski, 22, was in the company of about 15 people in a wooded area behind houses along Wood Aspen Drive and Wood Acre Lane in Palm Coast.
Police Badge More Than “Just a Trinket Or Souvenir”: Sheriff and Bunnell Deny Ex-Cop
When David Barbee, who’d worked with the Flagler sheriff’s office and the Bunnell Police Department for a badge and retirement ID–though he did not retire from either agency–he was denied from both agencies. He is protesting the decision to the Bunnell commission tonight.
Geography as Destiny: Hospitals Leave Downtowns For More Prosperous Digs
By moving to wealthier areas, hospitals can reduce the percent of uninsured and lower-paying Medicaid patients, but relocations often spark anger from those left behind, who worry about loss of jobs and of access to care, particularly for the poor.
Monday Briefing: Gunter Grass Is Dead, Desalination in California, Rubio Announces
The great German writer Gunter Grass, author “The Tin Drum,” is dead, Marco Rubio announces his plans for the 2016 presidential election this evening.
Ron DeSantis Considering Run For Rubio’s Senate Seat as Jeff Atwater Looks To 2018
Ron DeSantis, the congressman representing the district that includes all of Flagler County, is “strongly considering” a Senate run, according to Politico, while Atwater’s decision not to run opens the way for many others.