There’s nothing terribly bad about the July unemployment report, released this morning. There’s nothing terribly good about it, either: the economy added just 162,000 jobs, and the 7.4 percent unemployment rate is the lowest since December 2008, but improvements are at a crawl.
Sold: County Commission Votes 4-1 To Buy $1.23 Million Hospital in Bunnell for Sheriff
After some anguish, a lot of analysis and, on Thursday, a pair of meetings adding up to nearly five hours, the Flagler County Commission approved buying the old 60,000 square foot Memorial hospital, ending four years of wrangling over where, when and how to move the sheriff to a more central location.
The NSA’s Total Recall, Detroit Matters Less Than Colombia, Cutting Off 5 Million Food Stamp Recipients
The NSA’s X-Keyscore program allows electronic snooping of anyone, anywhere, any time, the GOP plan to cut off more than 5 million food stamps recipients, Fox’s embarrassing interview with Reza Aslan, and Universal’s big investments in Orlando.
James McDevitt Pleads Not Guilty in Flagler Beach Rape Allegation and Gets Public Defender
James McDevitt, the 21-year-old Palm Coast resident accused of raping a 38-year-old woman in an empty lot on South 12th Street in Flagler Beach on June 18, pleaded not guilty to the first-degree felony charge in a brief appearance before Flagler County Circuit Court Judge J. David Walsh. He was assigned assistant public defender Bill Partington.
Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett Is Resigning Over Favoritism Scandal
Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett is announcing his resignation today a year to the day after his predecessor, Gerard Robinson, resigned amid another controversy over school grades. The two resignations underscore the flammability of school grades resulting from high-stakes testing–a flammability opponents of such testing say belie the credibility of the testing and system.
Palm Coast Council Again Warms to City Hall Scheme That Would Snub Voter Permission
City Manager Jim Landon is proposing a refurbished $6.8 million plan that would use general fund dollars to build a new city hall without raising taxes, even though $5.8 million of that–a repayment from the Town Center taxing district–could be used to lower property taxes or build other capital projects with broader public uses. Residents had roundly rejected a similar plan in 2010 and 2011, when the building would have cost $10 million.
We’re the Most Educated Young Adults in American History, Yet Many of Us Can’t Find Work
What happens when we can’t find work and can’t pay our loans, asks Colleen Teubner. We invest about four years of our lives and up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in our education, and then spend the next decade trying to get out of ever-increasing debt.
Ethics Commission Clears Palm Coast’s Tony Capela of Corruption or Favoritism in City Work
Ex-employee Terry Geigert had made six allegations against Tony Capella, Palm Coast’s public works superintendent, charging he favored RoadTek, a friend’s company, in no-bid contracts, sold his house for cash to the company owner, and fired Geigert in retaliation for whistleblowing.
Jesse Jackson Calls Capitol Sit-In “The Selma of Our Time.” Scott Calls It an “Insult” to Floridians.
Calling Florida “an apartheid state,” Jackson spoke ahead of an overnight visit with the Dream Defenders that has staged a sit-in at Scott’s office to demand a special legislative session to consider changes to the state’s self-defense laws, initiatives to end racial profiling and an end to zero-tolerance discipline policies in schools.
Meanwhile, Back in the Trenches: Flagler Beach Firefighter Saves Kitten From Deep In a 300-Foot Drain
Tuesday evening, Morgan Walden—one of three firefighters who answered a distress call, for a kitten, at the Flagler Beach Publix on State Road 100—crawled half-way into a narrow, suffocating stormwater drain and rescued an 8-week-old kitten that had been howling in there loud enough for a Publix customer to hear it.
Florida Education Commissioner Defends Grade Inflation as Bush Rallies to His Side
In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Bennett said it was “absurd” to believe he inflated grades to help a donor because of her political contributions to Bennett, but criticism of Florida’s education commissioner persisted.
Weiner Syndrome: When Men Are Boors and Their Fans Excuse Them
From Anthony Weiner to Geraldo Rivera to Bob Filner and Eliot Spitzer, the sad thing about all the exhibitionism and shameful behavior is that the protagonists really believe they can just apologize to us and move on. But who’s letting them?
Palm Coast’s Bike and Poetry Shows Slam Their Way Back On Gargiulo Foundation’s Wheels
The second and ongoing annual “Art of the Bicycle” livening up Palm Coast’s City Marketplace this month is all spokes: the Gargiulo Art Foundation, the Flagler County Art League, Hollingsworth Gallery and City Repertory Theatre are all in on it, minus last year’s training wheels, and adding momentum to the evolving cohesiveness of the small town art scene.
Again in Flagler, Gov. Scott Headlines Aveo Co.’s 300-Jobs Groundbreaking at Airport
If the 300 promised jobs are produced, landing Aveo Engineering in Flagler County will prove to be the largest single gain of private-employer jobs in memory, and an unqualified success for the county administration’s new economic development department under Helga van Eckert. But the company is getting generous incentives beyond the $150,000 in cash for jobs retained.
Into Their Second Week of Protest, Dream Defenders Plan Their Own Special Session
Scott, who is expected to spend the next couple of days back on the road, didn’t pop out for a chat with those who want him to call a special session on the state’s controversial “stand your ground” law.
NBC’s Olympic Blinders to Russia’s Gay-Bashing, Florida’s School-Voucher Crock, Spike Lee’s Essentials
NBC plays coy over Russia’s gay bashing as it prepares for the Sochi Olympics, Florida’s corporate-voucher-school scheme keeps growing, Malcolm X invents peanut butter, Spike Lee shows off his list of best films, and Finnegans Wake goes through the spell-checker.
Florida Education Commissioner Bennett Changed School Grading System in Indiana to Benefit a Donor
Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett and his then-Indiana employees “frantically overhauled” Indiana’s school-grading system last year (just as Florida’s was last year and this year) when it looked like one of his political contributors’ schools might get a “C,” the Associated Press reported.
Eight Palm Coast Businesses Targeted by Vandalism in Early-Morning Glass-Breaking Spree
Subway, Sharps Liquor and Lovely Nails at the Flagler Plaza shopping center, and Europa Salon and Spa, Scrapbook etc., Pet Spa, Colletti’s Italian Deli and Lilly Green Children’s Boutique on Utility Drive all had their glass doors or windows shattered within a short time span between 4 and 5 a.m. Monday morning.
Nielsen’s Aveo Engineering Taxies to Take Off at Flagler Airport in County’s Latest Jobs Coup
It’s been billed as a secret, jobs-producing company the county administration’s economic development team will unveil at the Flagler County Airport Tuesday morning, but there’s little secret about it: Aveo Engineering, a maker of LED light products in the aeronautic industry, is bringing some 300 jobs to the airport.
Massive Fire Demolishes a House on Palm Coast’s Woodhaven Dr., But 3 Dogs Are Saved
A massive fire engulfed a single-family house at 121 Woodhaven Drive, off of Pine Lakes Parkway, in Palm Coast at around 11:50 this morning. There were no occupants in the house at the time, but two dogs were rescued after the fire started.
Florida Snubs Millions in Federal Health Grants That Could Help Workers and the Poor
in a pattern of politically motivated rejections by Florida itself, the state got the lowest amount of health-care reform act grant funding per capita – behind all 50 states and the District of Columbia – in 2011. While state agencies received the bulk of federal health grants in other states, it was the reverse in Florida.
Eddie Johnson More Brawny Than Brilliant, But Helps US Win Gold Cup Anyway, 1-0
It was not a beautiful performance by either Eddie Johnson, who put in all 95 minutes, or the U.S. Team, and the last minutes were marred by a brawl Johnson triggered as he brought a little Bunnell to Soldier Field, but the U.S. won its fifth Gold Cup anyway.
Creal Won’t Be Chief After All as Flagler Beach Fire Department’s Troubles Mount
Within 24 hours of being named Acting Fire Chief of the very troubled Flagler Beach Fire Department, Robbie Creal said he declined the post because of health, while City Manager Bruce Campbell said he’ll himself assume all administrative duties at the department, and have three firefighters–David Kennedy Stephen Cox and Dustin Snyder–be shift commanders.
End of Florida Oranges, Stand Your Grim, Steve King’s Cantaloupe Brain and Separation of Church and Skin
Florida orange groves may be doomed as a disease ravages them, Florida’s security-industrial complex continues to freak out over schools, South Florida dumps millions of tons of sand on beaches, charter schools may be the new segregation, and Mick Jagger speaks about drugs.
Palm Coast’s Ivor Roberts, 61, Critically Injured in Bike Collision With Jeep on A1A
Ivor Roberts, 61, of Palm Coast, was on his motorcycle, traveling south on State Road A1A near Washington Gardens State Park Saturday afternoon when John Chamberlin, 37, of Palm Coast cut him off with his SUV, leaving Roberts in critical condition.
Ted Corless Against the Death Penalty, Ohio’s DeWine’s Gay Cruelty, Jews vs. Jaws, SNL Unleashed
Ohio AG DeWine finds a way to torture a dying gay man over his last wish, prison populations decline for the third straight year, the Jewish origins of Discovery’s Shark Week, and a revolting video on the skinning of exotic animals.
HPV Vaccine For Teen Girls Stalling as Parents Inject Misinformation and Doctors Stay Mum
Parents cite fears that the vaccine could have dangerous side effects. The fears are baseless, but have led to a significant drop in HPV vaccination for girls 14 to 17 that worries health officials. At the currently lower rates of immunization, an additional 4,400 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 1,400 cervical cancer-attributable deaths will occur in the future.
Harry Belafonte Joins Dream Defenders at Florida Capitol as Protest Enters 2nd Weekend
Backed by the arrival of supporters from throughout Florida and the East Coast, as well as singer and activist Harry Belafonte, protesters led by the Hialeah-based Dream Defenders maintained their request for a special legislative session amid rousing chants that filled an area outside the governor’s office.
Acting Flagler Beach Fire Chief’s Past Drug Issues Aside, Questions Arise Over Certification
City Manager Bruce Campbell and Commission Chairman Steve Settle say they were not aware of Acting Fire Chief Robbie Creal’s past marijuana use or the investigation that led to his resignation and retirement in 2002, and Campbell said he had not verified whether Creal has the certification to be an active fireman at fire scenes, in line with state law requirements that kicked in July 1.
52-Year-Old St. Johns Sexual Predator Arrested on Bestiality Charge After Suspected Rape of a Dog
The suspect, identified as James Lee Lyons, of 437 Gloria Street, is accused of having sex with a neighbor’s female dog. Lyons is a registered sexual predator who got out of prison in 2011 after a 13-year prison sentence for attempted child rape.
Most Flagler Schools’ Grades Drop, Following State Trend, As Tougher Standards Kick In
In Flagler County, not a single school saw its grade improve and five fell back a grade, though two maintained their A rating: Indian Trails Middle School and Belle Terre Elementary. Grades would have been worse had the state Board of Education not agreed to artificially prop them up, limiting grade drops to a maximum of one letter grade.
Appraisals for Old Hospital Place Value at $1.5 Million as County Moves Toward Acquisition
The county wants to buy the old hospital in Bunnell for $1.23 million and use it as an HQ for the sheriff. Two independent appraisers have placed the market value of the old 81-bed hospital at $1.5 million, and an engineering firm that surveyed the hulking 60,000 square-foot property found no overt issues with the building aside from asbestos. A private consortium bought the building for $750,000 in 2003.
Back-to-School Tax Holiday Now Includes Computers, Tablets and Electronic Gadgetry
Florida’s back-to-school tax holiday Aug. 2 through Aug. 4 for the first time includes high-tech computer and other electronics as long as each individual item is priced under $750. Retailers are preparing for the demand, in some cases lowering prices to match the benchmark.
State Attorney Files Obstruction Charge Against Robert Pace, Flagler Beach’s Acting Fire Chief
The State Attorney’s Office has filed an obstruction of justice charge against Bobby Pace, the acting fire chief in Flagler Beach, following an investigation into charges that Pace falsified the records of a probationer and destroyed evidence earlier this year.
A Woman Is Jailed on Accusation of Aggravated Battery on a Pregnant 19-Year-Old
Ashley Shelby, a 23-year-old resident of Old Haw Creek Road in Bunnell, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant woman Wednesday, a second-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of 15 years.
Tropical Storm Dorian Graying His Way West But Florida Not Yet in His Picture
Thursday morning Tropical Storm Dorian was closer to its nursery grounds in Africa than to either North or South America, but it was making a beeline west for the northern part of the Antilles, which it is forecast to reach by early next week. It’s too early to speculate about a threat to Florida.
Eddie Johnson’s Thunder, Emmett Till’s Witness, NSA Spying Victory and Manatee Milestones
Eddie Johnson powers US to Gold Cup final, Conservatives and liberals fall short in an attempt to rein in NSA spying, Emmett Till’s courageous trial witness is dead, Ted Nugent is brain-dead, “The Drowning Room” shows art’s vision of global warming, and Florida manatee stories: good and very bad.
Flagler District Approves $3.2 Million Plan for Free Macbook or iPad in Every Student’s Hands
Within three weeks starting on Sept. 16, every student at Flagler Palm Coast High School and Matanzas High School will have the latest-generation Macbook Air, free, on what amounts to a permanent loan from the school district. The district also plans to have an iPad for every fifth and sixth grader this year and next, and have every student in the district possess a device by the 2017-18 school year.
Dispelling Rumors, Bunnell’s Armando Martinez Says He’s Not Running for Sheriff Against Manfre
Both Flagler Sheriff Jim Manfre and Bunnell Manager Armando Martinez had heard the rumor that Martinez was preparing to run against Manfre, a friend, for sheriff come 2016. After a meeting with Manfre Wednesday, Martinez categorically said that will not happen.
Common Core Here to Stay Despite Heckles by Conservatives, But Testing Questions Remain
The decision by legislative leaders to call for Florida to withdraw from a group of states preparing new tests for student learning has set off a round of battles over the future of Florida’s involvement in the “common core” standards project. And it causes complications for Florida education officials, many of whom support common core.
Justin Boyles and Charles Massey Indicted on 1st Degree Murder; May Face Death Penalty
A St. Johns County grand jury indicted Justin Boyles, 24, and Charles Massey, 38, both of Palm Coast, murder and kidnapping charges in the killing of Edward Scott Mullener on June 13 or 14. Since Mullener’s charred boidy was found in St. Johns, that’s where the court proceedings are unfolding.
“Anybody But DCF”: Judge Wants Failing Agency Off Child Investigations After 5th Death
On Monday, the department released information about the weekend death of a Homestead child who had earlier come to the attention of child-welfare officials. The death was the fifth such case since May 16 and followed the resignation last week of DCF Secretary David Wilkins, who left amid controversy about his approach to child safety.
Board Members Balk at 7:25 a.m. Middle School Start Time, But Approve New Bell Schedule
Buddy Taylor and Indian Trails middle school students will have to wake up even earlier than last year when school resumes on Aug. 19, with first-bell at 7:25 a.m. and dismissal at 1:25 p.m. Most other schools’ schedules are unchanged, with high schools starting at 8 a.m. and elementaries around 9 a.m.
Obama in Jacksonville Thursday in Economy Tour as GOP Ridicules Visit
President Barack Obama plans an appearance Thursday in Jacksonville to talk about economic issues, and the Republican Party of Florida has already launched a counter-attack.
Pay an Issue as Flagler County Fire Chief Don Petito and Others Aim for Jobs Elsewhere
Flagler County Fire Chief Don Petito is one of a growing list of senior county staffers, especially in the fire department, who have left or are seeking to leave the department for neighboring departments where pay is significantly higher, a brain-drain issue County Administrator Craig Coffey has been warning county commissioners about this summer.
Bunnell’s Martinez Won’t Be Fired After All: Baxley Shifts Again, Agreeing to Contract Talks
On a 3-2 vote, the commission agreed to negotiate a new contract for the manager it fired six weeks ago as Baxley’s move to appoint an interim fell flat and Mayor Robinson took advantage of an opening that Baxley himself had given here.
Facing Mandatory Spending, County May Raise Taxes by Nearly $100 for Median Home
In previous years, tax rate increases didn’t mean much because they were either entirely or more than offset by decreases in property values. The end result was lower tax bills for most, even as tax rates went up. That’s over. And tax rates are set to go up in every city, too.
Dream Defenders’ Stand Your Ground Standoff at Scott’s Office Continues Into Second Week
Members of the Dream Defenders, a student-led group that has protested at the Capitol since last Tuesday, said they’re busy making plans for the rest of this week and beyond as Scott reiterated Monday, before leaving Tallahassee for an event in southeast Florida, that there will be no special session to review the state’s controversial “stand your ground” law.
A Year After Armed Robbery, Flagler Sheriff Nabs Dane McReynolds In Brief Stand-Off
Adam Giddens confessed to the robbery of numerous weapons at a home in Bunnell a year ago, and implicated Dane McReynolds, who had fled to Arkansas until his capture Saturday at a house on County Road 304 in Bunnell. Giddens was sentenced to three years in prison in May.
Flagler Homes’ Median Sale Price Up 28% Over Last Year as Investors Keep Buying
Sales closed on 200 single-family homes in June in Palm Coast and Flagler County, half those for cash as investors continue to buy homes. The median price of $144,500 is the best showing since February 2009. The median number of days those homes spent on the market was 71, an increase of eight days from last year.