The declines in passing rates in the regular schools were slight but consistent, and more dramatic at two charter schools. Also, 107 of the 990 students tested failed, jeopardizing promotion to 4th grade pending summer school results.
Palm Coast Water Tower Free of Contaminants After Break-In, Tests Reveal; Questions Remain
The 500,00-gallon water tank along I-95 was broken into on May 17 by unknown vandals. It was isolated from the rest of the system. It’ll remain isolated pending a week’s worth of maintenance.
Spotlight on Flagler Youth, the Annual Talent Show, Raises $1,000 for Carver Gym
Krystene Maceda’s solo performance of Chopin’s Waltz in C-sharp minor for piano won her the Entertainer of the Year award in the senior division, while Kayla Byrne won the honor in the junior division. Complete list of performers and winners.
Palm Coast Redistricting Plan Disqualifies Dennis Cross From City Council Election
Meeting quietly for the first time on Thursday, Palm Coast’s redistricting commission voted 5-0 to adopt a plan that redraws the city’s voting-district boundaries. The city council must ratify the plan in public hearings.
Killing Bounce: Obama Back in Favor in Florida; Sen. Nelson Heading for Re-Election
Obama’s approval is at 51 percent, against 44 percent disapproval, a reversal from April 7, when he was disapproved by 52 percent of the electorate and approved by just 44 percent.
Lessons Against Drowning: Tom Gillin’s Water Tutorials Before Schools Let Out for Summer
Tom Gillen, Flagler Beach’s parks and recreation director and its life-guard-in-chief, has taken his junior-lifeguard lecture on the road to local schools to prepare children for summer break’s biggest attraction.
Poll Dumps Rick Scott Approval to 29%, Worst of Any Governor Quinnipiac Tracks
Gov. Rick Scott’s disapproval rating continues to rise, to 57 percent at last count, up almost 10 points in six weeks. Even Republicans have curbed their enthusiasm.
Flagler Beach Eyes Reserves and
More Taxes to Make Up Latest Revenue Loss
Flagler Beach has raised taxes for three successive years to make up for falling revenue from collapsing property values. It has a relatively large $3 million reserve, which it will likely use in combination with another tax hike to balance next year’s budget.
Gut Choke: State Eliminates 780 Jobs at Department of Children and Families
DCF Secretary David Wilkins claims front-line workers won’t be affected, but the cut represents a serious set-back in an agency responsible for children’s welfare and oversight.
Palestinian Prof. Jamil Khader Earns Hand Award at Stetson, Second in 5 Years
American Studies and History professor Paul Croce and Associate Professor of Geography J. Anthony Abbott also won Hand awards; Harry Price, an associate professor of chemistry, got the John Hague Teaching Award.
William Parsons Succeeds David Walsh as Chief Judge for 7th Judicial District
The two-year term, the second for Parsons, entails administrative supervision of all courts in the 7th Judicial District, which includes Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties.
Jack Hardin, Only Basketball Coach to Take Bulldogs to Final Four (Twice), Dies
Jack Hardin, who taught social science at Bunnell and FPC from the 1960s to the 1980s, had also been a Bunnell city commissioner and ran for school board against Herschel King in 1982.
Long Records for Suspects Arrested in String of B-Section Burglaries in Palm Coast
The four suspects–two of them 19, two of them 20–all have prior records in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Bond was set between $200,000 and $400,000, depending on the suspect.
Darius Giddens, Bunnell Son With Troubled Past, Dies After a Fight in Daytona
Darius Giddens, 21, was involved in a fight at Daytona Beach’s Coliseum Wednesday night, where he suffered a head injury. He died at 2 p.m. on Monday.
Pride of a Principal, Pride of a Thousand Parents As FPC Class of 2011 Graduates
Flagler Palm Coast High School Class of 2011’s 509 graduates will, in their principal’s words, be “competing for jobs that haven’t been invented yet.” But not yet: Monday evening was for jubilation at the Ocean Center.
Facing $6 Million Hit, County Begins Long Budget Season as Tax Hike Appears Inevitable
County commissioners are unlikely to elicit sympathy from taxpayers—or from employees facing a 3 percent pay cut from new retirement-contribution requirements, and a third year without raises.
Carver Gym Auction Update, Banks’ Foreclosed Hostages, Sadness at Fox: The Live Wire
Not much time left for the Carver Gym auction, unconstitutional prison-jamming, Florida’s war on watchdogs, questioning cheerleading as a sport, Nate Silver’s advice to the next generation of journalists, and more.
In a Shift, and Despite Glut, State Approves 5,000-Home Palm Coast Development
Old Brick Township to Palm Coast’s northwest is just one of several planned developments and existing lots that would add 40,000 new homes and 9 million square feet of commercial and industrial zones, more than doubling Flagler’s and Palm Coast’s populations.
$150,000 for New Fields at Indian Trails Complex as Tourism and Sports Merge
Palm Coast is looking to expand the Indian Trails Sports Complex to attract more lacrosse and soccer tournaments to the area, and with them more visitors.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter, May 8-15, 2011
A series of bicycle robberies, champagne and tequila shoplifting at Sharps Discount Liquors, a theft at the Italian-American club, two elderly brothers fighting over their 93-year-old mother, who ends up in the hospital, and more larcenies.
How School-Voucher Lobbyist John Kirtley Buys Florida Lawmakers’ Votes
John Kirtley successfully lobbied in 2001 to get the corporate tax credit scholarship program approved, and has since, with generous contributions, shifted numerous lawmakers to his crusade.
Rapture On: God Is Great, Beer Is Good, People Are Crazy
Judgment Day came and went and we’re still here. Most of us, anyway. A few thoughts about the book of Revelation and the greatest country song since “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”
Suspect in Thursday’s Leidel Drive Shooting Arrested by Marshal Service in Volusia
William Copeland, 20, was wanted in the shooting of Accursio Venezia at his two-level home in northwest Palm Coast around midnight last Thursday. He is recovering.
In Frying Heat and Sacks of Spuds, Bunnell Sculpts Itself Another Potato Festival
Mardy Gilyard was having a field day at Carver Gym, the french fires were the very best this side of Belgium, and potatoes of all sorts and in all shapes were the star of the day at Bunnell’s third annual Potato Festival.
GOP Alarm Bells Over Democrat Alvin Brown’s Historic Victory in Conservative Jacksonville
With a presidential election in little more than a year, the first Democratic win in Jacksonville in 20 years quickly stirred questions about whether the reliably red county might be taking on a more purple hue.
Flagler Unemployment at 13.8%, Lowest Since 2008; Florida’s Improves to 10.8%
Flagler County’s labor force has shrunk by 2.5 over the past 12 months, a significant drop, while the number of employed residents has fallen by 1.5 percent, suggesting that job creation isn’t yet as evident as out-migration.
Star Wars Returns, Symphonic Fireworks, Psychedelic Art: Culture Worth the Miles
Theatrical madness of Orlando’s uncensored Fringe Festival, return of Disney’s Star Tours at Hollywood Studios, the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s Annual Statewide Conference, the Maitland Symphony’s soundtracks, and more.
Man Shot In His Palm Coast Home, Allegedly By Daughter’s Boyfriend; Search On
The victim, Accursio Venezia, was shot in the chest in his home at 49 Leidel Drive in northwest Palm Coast, apparently through a back glass door, allegedly by his daughter’s boyfriend–and father to the man’s toddler grand-daughter.
Bunnell Manager’s “God’s City Day” Proposal Yields to Tamer Prayer Proclamation
City Manager Armando Martinez wanted to declare every first Thursday of May “God’s City Day” in Bunnell. A proclamation on next Monday’s city commission agenda ties Bunnell to the National Day of Prayer every first Thursday in May.
Palm Coast Imposes 6-Month Moratorium on Gambling Halls Proliferating as “Internet Cafes”
Palm Coast has six months to figure out how and whether to regulate the gambling joints, seven of which are open in the city, with four more allowed in soon. The city has no data that the joints are causing crime.
Flagler Ranks Low in Latest Florida Forever Priorities, But Money Is Elusive Anyway
Only one project–the 4,200-acre Flagler County Blueway–made the list of the state Florida Forever priorities for preservation this year, and at a low ranking–with little to no money in the state fund anyway.
John Russell Tucker, 76, Killed, Another Man Injured in 2 Separate Harley Wrecks in Palm Coast
John Russell Tucker, 76, of Jacksonville, was riding his new three-wheel Harley-Davidson motorcycle north on I-95 when he lost control and struck a guardrail. Keith C. Evans, 51, of Palm Coast, was injured on US1 in an accident with a pregnant driver.
Ethics Commission Round-Up: Rick Scott Cleared, Nate McLaughlin Pending
Gov. Rick Scott’s investments show no conflicts of interest under circumstances and facts presented to the Florida Ethics Commission. Flagler County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin’s case is still pending. A full round-up of the ethics commission’s May findings across the state.
Long Before the Potato Festival, Long Before Bunnell, Flagler Bred the Mighty Potato
Ahead of this weekend’s Potato Festival in Bunnell, Sisco Deen, the archive curator for the Flagler County Historical Society, traces the history of the potato’s evolution in Flagler County going back to the 19th century.
Flagler Whacks Proposed Speed Zones on Intracoastal as Manatee Advocates Protest
Tuesday’s public hearing was the latest step in months of wrangles between Flagler County and the Fish and Wildlife Commission over manatee-protecting speed zones on about a third of Flagler’s 18 miles of Intracoastal.
Palm Coast Water Tower Isolated From System After Break-In; Security Questions Pending
The break-in at the 500,000-gallon water tower was discovered Tuesday morning. City officials say they have no reason to think the water was compromised, but are conducting batteries of tests. Police is investigating.
Texbooks in All Florida School Districts Required to Go Digital By 2015-16
The new law requires Florida public schools to adopt digital-only textbooks by the 2015-16 school year, and spend at least 50 percent of their textbook budget on digital materials by that time.
Flagler School Board Defends Its Own Budget Cutting, Batting Down Most Alternatives
The county’s teacher and service employee unions and the tea party all questioned the way the district went about preparing next year’s budget, but without changing the district’s direction.
Florida Hospital Flagler Expanding Again With Clinic and Offices Near Walmart by June 2012
Saying the hospital was looking for a presence on Palm Coast Parkway, FHF CEO David Ottati said the 34,000-square-foot building will add up to 25 jobs and an urgent-care clinic, among other services.
Mechanical Trouble Briefly Grounds County’s Fire Flight Copter As 12 Brush Fires Burn
Flagler County’s Fire Flight helicopter has been vital in spotting fires early to prevent them from growing. Fire fighters depend on it particularly when they’re stretched thin, as they are this week.
Donald Trump Joins Mike Huckabee On Obama’s Re-Election Sidelines
Donald Trump won’t run for president, though he still claims he could have won. Firing people on the Apprentice was a bigger priority: NBC forced him to make a choice.
Endeavour Arcs Beyond Flagler Beach and Into History As Throngs Squint Goodbye
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off for the last time Monday morning as the ritual throngs of launch enthusiasts lined Flagler Beach’s boardwalk, pier and beaches.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter, April 27-May 8, 2011
A car stolen almost by invitation, an underage drinking party on Royal Palm Lane, Oxycodone for the taking, vandalism at Linear Park and Buddy Taylor Middle School, domestic battery in the shadow of an AK-47, and more.
Conklin: Time to End the Legislature’s
Betrayal of Florida’s Promise to Our Children
Describing relentless attacks on education and a state of fear in Tallahassee that cost her her own job recently, Flagler County School Board member Colleen Conklin explains why local school boards must take a stand against the state’s erosion of public education.
Gov. Rick Scott’s Ex HCA Suing Florida Over $757,000 in Unpaid Interest on Late Taxes
Hospital giant HCA is suing the Florida Department of Revenue in a tax dispute that stems from the turbulent era when Gov. Rick Scott ran the company.
Coulter’s Godless, A Night at Ikea, the Book on Mormons, Yo-Yo Ma’s Spiked Swan: The Live Wire
Erin McCaskill’s first art sale, atheists in the military, talking philosophy with children, next-generation digital books, Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma, Ann Coulter’s godless church of liberalism, and more.
An Eye for a Lens: Art League’s Photography Show Brings Out Simpler Pleasures
The Flagler County Art League’s 2nd Annual Photography Show pays homage to Photoshop, landscapes and animal pictures, with 75 works from 33 artists from Flagler, St. Johns and Volusia counties.
3-Hour Stand Off Ends in the Woodlands As Man Gives Himself Up to SWAT Team
A tense, 3-hour stand-off ended just after 5 p.m. today in Palm Coast’s Woodlands, after a man threatened to harm himself or others. The SWAT team and mobile command center were called in.
Solidarity Against Cancer As Survivors Relay For Life in Overnight Trek at Town Center
Some 57 teams of walkers turned out for Relay for Life at Palm Coast’s Town Center, the annual, overnight walk against cancer and the culmination of a fund-raising effort expected to net more than $100,000. See the photo gallery.
Brush Fire in Residential Area of Bunnell’s Mondex Flirts With Clothing Ministry
The fire in a residential area, believed to have been triggered by a lightning strike, was near a house and God’s Clothing Ministry, which hands out free clothes and shoes twice a week. No evacuations were necessary.