The $15,000 subsidy to Palm Coast will be split over fireworks shows on Labor Day and the two evenings of the city’s seafood festival in early November.
Update: Two Children in Critical Condition Following Seminole Woods Wreck Near Integra Woods
A severe two-vehicle accident took place at around 11 p.m. Saturday night at the intersection of Seminole Woods Boulevard and Integra Woods Boulevard, near the Integra Woods apartment complex, triggering trauma alerts for four victims.
Public Employees Retire in Droves as Florida Pension System Narrows Incentives to Work
About 10,100 people chose to enter retirement or exited the state’s deferred retirement plan ahead of new laws kicking in on July 1, an increase of more than 900 people from the same time last year.
The Week Ahead in Tallahassee: Florida Cabinet, School Financing and Nukes
The Florida Cabinet meets for the first time since June 2, the Village Square takes on Florida’s post-Fukushima nuclear energy future, the State Board of Education takes on school financing. The week’s full line-up.
Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin and Tea Parties: The Gipper’s NAACP Warning to Extremists
“You are the ones who are out of step with our society,” Ronald Reagan said of extremists in a 1981 speech to the NAACP, a speech that resonates in tea party America today, Zach Roberts argues.
GMAC Mortgage Machination: Don’t Have Document to Foreclose? Make It Up
When GMAC, one of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers, sought to foreclose on a homeowner last year and lacked a crucial document, the company just made one up, pointing to a pattern of deceptive filings to foreclose on homeowners.
Capital Punishment As a Crime More Dreadful Than Murder: Dostoyevsky on the Guillotine
The death penalty, in this passage from Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot,” is seen as a punishment mostly for what precedes it–and an indictment of those who impose capital punishment.
Two-Day Kidnapping Lands 3 in Jail After SWAT Team Descends on South Bunnell
The two Bunnell men were charged with kidnapping and held without bail. Two additional men were jailed on more minor charges. One victim, a woman, was involved.
Ethics Commission Ratifies $600 Settlement With Flagler Commissioner Nate McLaughlin
The settlement now goes before Gov. Rick Scott, who’ll issue an executive order requiring McLaughlin to pay the fine. McLaughlin’s attorney still contends that the Supervisor of Elections could have prevented the problem.
With or Without Palm Coast, County Would Lead New Economic Development Council
The county’s proposal would mean the end of Enterprise Flagler and the creation of a 9-member council chaired by the county, with cities and private-sector membership overseeing a $410,000 budget. Palm Coast’s buy in is a question mark.
Students as Customers, Universities as Businesses: Scott’s Plan To Texify Higher Ed
Gov. Rick Scott is following Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s lead in higher ed: merit pay for professors, tenure reform, and generally a greater emphasis on business-like measurement of whether professors are turning out students that meet certain goals.
George W. Bush’s Debt, Thrasher’s $1.3 Million Home, Unnecessary Censorship: The Live Wire
What $15 trillion in $100 dollar bills would look like, Jason Alexander on the Netflix Relief Fund, Florida’s water problems–solved, When Lady Gaga is great, the Muppets’s tribute to Jim Henson, and more.
Soaring Corporate Tax Credit Voucher Program Costing Flagler Schools Half a Million Dollars
A new law passed by the Legislature last year increased the amount of taxpayer dollars available for private-school vouchers, from $118 million to $140 million-money denied the public school system. Some 33,000 students, including 86 in Flagler, are enrolled.
Bunnell PD Seizes Ex-Cop’s Lost Flash Drive, Deleting Files Against His Consent
Roosevelt James, formerly of the Bunnell Police Department, lost his drive on June 21. The police department held it for 26 days “under review,” deleting files along the way, according to James, who’s calling for an investigation.
Health Reform Won’t Slow Costs as Spending on U.S. Care Nearly Doubles by 2020
U.S. Health spending will grow by an average of 5.8 percent a year through 2020, compared to 5.7 percent without the health overhaul. With that growth, the nation is expected to spend $4.6 trillion on health care in 2020, nearly double the $2.6 trillion spent last year.
Auditions Set for Flagler Playhouse’s “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”
The Flagler Playhouse will hold open auditions for their upcoming production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” on July 31 and Aug. 1 at 6 pm at the Flagler Playhouse in Bunnell.
Flagler Fish Company’s Pet-Friendly Patio Expands Outdoor Dining
The Flagler Fish Company in Flagler Beach completed an expansion of their pet-friendly outdoor dining area.
Attorney General Bondi’s Motive Questioned in Firing of Mortgage Fraud Investigators
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi fired two assistant attorneys general who were heavily involved in investigating alleged mortgage fraud, including focusing on one firm that had contributed to Bondi’s campaign. Bondi says they had “shortcomings.”
Tony Robbin, Philharmonic Horns, the Art of Trash: Culture Worth the Miles
A Tony Robbin retrospective at the Orlando Museum of Art, Theresa Rebeck’s “The Understudy” at the Mad Cow Theater, Parker Sketch and M Scott Morgan at Gallery Q, and more.
Fire at Bunnell’s Palm Terrace Claims A Home and Burns One Victim
The mobile-home fire started just after 5 p.m. The owner, a man in his mid-20s, said he’d fallen asleep. His 5-year-old son was not in the house at the time.
Would-Be Assailants on Palm Coast’s Pine Crest Lane Flee After Being Shot At
Three men were prowling about a house on Pine Crest Lane in Palm Coast Wednesday morning when a resident there confronted them and took out his Glock 27, firing one shot at one of them.
Gov. Rick Scott on Impending Federal Government Shutdown: What, Me, Worry?
Rick Scott is unconcerned about the federal shut-down, saying its impact on Florida will be “minimal.” Much of the evidence says otherwise as millions of Floridians’ including Social Security and food stamps recipients, may be affected.
Mia Bella Dance Academy’s Team of 21 Sweeps National Showdown in Gatlinburg
Mia Bella Dance Academy’s competition team of 20 dancers more than doubled their national awards tally from last year in a competition in Gatlinburg, Tenn., this month. Charlotte Marten’s video report.
Mystery Midnight “Fireball” Serves Up Barroom Speculation, and Vain Search, In Flagler Beach
Patrons at an oceanfront Flagler Beach bar reported seeing a fireball over the ocean around midnight Tuesday, triggering speculation about a plane crash. It turned out to be no more than speculation.
School Board Rejects Administrators’ 2% Raise, Awards It to Lesser-Paid Professionals
The proposed raise for the 50-some administrators in the county, who make between $50,000 and $100,000, had triggered a political wildfire. Board members were more willing to give the raise to supervisors paid, for the most part, less than teachers.
Lightning Sets Off 10 New Wildfires, Not Counting a Half Dozen Quickly Put Out
The fires signal the danger of somewhat dry conditions as lightning-rich storms keep rolling through. There are no plans to re-institute a burn ban in Flagler for now.
Palm Coast Sets Intial Tax Rate 14% Higher With Goal of Whittling It Down By September
Palm Coast City Council members are trying desperately to hold the line on property tax increases, but will likely not succeed entirely. The final tax rate will still not translate into a tax increase for most.
Resuming Eastward March, Palm Coast Will Annex Graham Swamp’s 3,300 Acres
Palm Coast will annex the Graham Swamp area to better control its assets, which include the new Graham Swamp trail, but the annexation is also a beachhead on attractive property along Colbert Lane.
Boehner-Obama Debt-Ceiling Follies: Your Hair-Pulling Guide on Stats and What Ifs
How dire could the consequences of not raising the debt ceiling be? What are the possible solutions? Here’s a reading list to help you keep up as the clock ticks to next week’s deadline.
Slow-Cooked Success: Palm Coast’s Woody’s Bar•B•Q Marks 13th Year
Owned by Flagler County natives, Woody’s BarBQ on State Road 100 in Palm Coast has, like any business, weathered its share of difficulties in the past three years. “We’re not going anywhere,” its owner says.
Flagler County Tax Rates Will Go Up 12%, But Tax Bills Are More Likely to Go Down
Flagler County’s tax rate is going up for the fourth year in a row to make up for collapsing valuations, but the rise will still not translate into a tax increase for most. The contrary may be true.
Paging All Parents: Flagler Schools Launch “Graduate One” Campaign on Aug. 4
Flagler schools want parents better informed and more involved as graduation requirements increase. The district is hosting a countywide orientation session at nine locations on Aug. 4 under the banner of its “Graduate One Everyone” campaign.
Florida Graduation Requirements for Students Entering 9th Grade, 2011-2017
Florida high school graduation requirements for entering 9th graders from 2011-12 to 2016-17: a year-by-year guide including FCAT, end-of-year-course assessments and science requirements.
Pilot Falls Asleep Aboard Shark-Fishing Boat, Sending It Aground in Flagler Beach
The Lady Maritza, registered to Clearwater-based Demar Fishing Inc., was shark-fishing when its pilot fell asleep, sending the boat aground just before dawn. It was freed by early afternoon.
Florida Supreme Court Stubs Out Big Tobacco Appeals of Multi-Million Dollar Verdicts
The Florida Supreme Court this week rejected four appeals by tobacco companies fighting verdicts ranging from $3.35 million in Escambia t $1575 million in Alachua, each including R.J. Reynolds. The companies plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ayn Rand as Adolescent Sap, Private Prison Scams, Patraeus Rewrites Vietnam: The Live Wire
Ayn Rand’s success: she was a children’s writer, circumcisions of the world unite, music as a way to slow down aging, Steve Carrell, Lucian Freud and Google’s top 20 key words, and more.
Sbordone’s Next Act: Ex-Playhouse Director Opens New Theater With Poetry Clash
Palm Coast’s theater scene is about to get much richer as John Sbordone launches his City Repertory Theatre with a “poetry clash” at Hollingsworth Gallery, where the theater will have its home for the coming season.
Murdoch’s US Hacking Scandals: 9/11 Victims, Bribes and “Anti-Competitive Behavior”
It’s not just in England: federal investigators are probing claims that Ruper Murdoch’s News Corp hacked into a competitor’s computers, that Murdoch papers attempted to hack into the phones of 9/11 victims and allegedly paid bribes to British police.
Florida Hospital Flagler One of Just 3 Hospitals in the State to Achieve IT Milestone
Florida Hospital Flagler won HIMSS Analytics’s Stage 6 designation, on a scale of eight IT-related stages, signaling advantages over competitors for patient safety, clinician support, clinician recruitment and competitive marketing.
Paying Tribute to Tea Party Faithfuls, City Council Candidates Hear Tax-Me-Not Earfuls
Opposition to tax increases in whatever form topped the list of concerns of several hundred people at a tea party-hosted encounter Palm Coast mayor and city council candidates.
Possible Suicide Victim Washes Up on Gamble Rogers Recreation Sands in Flagler Beach
The body of the victim, a man believed to be in his 40s, washed up before 11 Friday morning, with lacerations on the wrist. Portions of the beach were closed.
Unemployment Again Rises in Flagler, To 14.6%, and Stalls in Florida at 10.6%
The number of unemployed people in Flagler County jumped from 4,526 in May to 4,779 in June, a 5.3 percent increase, while the county workforce has decline by 2.3 percent over the year.
Palm Coast Data Revenue Drops 20% in 2011; Parent Company Posts $7.6 Million Loss
Revenue at Palm Coast’s largest private-sector employer declined to $73.6 million, from $92 million the previous year. The company’s revenue has dropped 40 percent in four years.
End of “Medicaid Tax Gimmick,” a Deficit Drag, Would Cost Florida Nursing Homes Millions
Medicaid payments to nursing homes were cut by $187.5 million this year. The end of the Medicaid “gimmick” would reduce nursing home budgets further, but help balance the federal budget deficit.
Bunnell Commission Says Nyet To Reducing $1 Million Police Force, Whatever the Savings
Bunnell City Commissioner Elbert Tucker proposed reducing the police department’s ranks to cut back its $1 million burden on a $4 million general fund budget. The rest of the commission smacked him down.
Hairspray, Sounds of Summer and Orlando’s Looming Boom: Culture Worth the Miles
Doug Bloodworth at the Gallery at Avalon Island, a youthful “Hairspray” at the Orlando Repertory, the Orlando Philharmonic’s Sounds of Summer Series, Orlando as the next boom town, and more.
To Save Tax Dollars, Consolidate Palm Coast and County Fire Departments Into One
In a year of cutbacks and falling revenue, the presidents of the Palm Coast and Flagler County firefighter unions are proposing to consolidate the two fire departments into one as a way to save taxpayer money and become more efficient.
“Unsustainable” Florida Retirement System (Says Gov. Scott) Has Best Gains in 25 Years
The Florida Retirement System pension plan gained $19 billion in the fiscal year that ended on June 30. The 22 percent gain is the biggest in 25 years. The total value of the pension plan has soared to $128.4 billion, among the best in the nation.
Palm Coast’s Rabbi Shapiro and Education Trio Sue Over “Religious Freedom” Amendment
Florida’s so-called “Religious Freedom” amendment is misleading, the lawsuit argues, as it would reopen the way for religious, private school vouchers at public expense and turn the state into an arbiter of public dollars for religious organizations.
Citing Deception, Council Rejects Reinke’s $10,000 Request for Palm Coast Half-Marathon
Adding to the Reinke Sports Group’s troubled history, it is the third time in two years that the Flagler Tourist Development Council rejects a request for subsidies for the Palm half-marathon. The Flagler Auditorium had an easier time with its $10,000 request.