Longer processing times and the backlash against banks’ speed-dialed foreclosures have more to do with the brighter number than an actual recovery in the housing market.
Fallen Officers Are Commemorated as Sheriff Declares: “This Is Unacceptable.”
The annual, solemn ceremony at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office recalled the four officers killed in the line of duty in this county, and the nearly 70 killed so far this year across the country.
Thelma and Louise of Geometric Abstractions Ride Into Hollingsworth Gallery
Louise Lieber, a sculptor and painter, and Antoinette Slick, a painter, are paired in a beguiling new show at the Hollingsworth Gallery. Their art is a journey into the possibilities and beauties of geometry.
The Taste of 100 Wines, Henry Patrick Raleigh, Shrek & Fringe: Culture Worth the Miles
All Florida art at the Mennello Museum, American illustrator Henry Patrick Raleigh at the Maitland Art Center, the science of wine-tasting at the Orlando Science Center, Shrek at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center, violinist Joshua Bell, and more.
Fallout from Sylvan Learning Center Closures: Benefit for Palm Coast, Word War Elsewhere
When three Sylvan Learning Centers closed abruptly in Volusia County, Palm Coast’s center offered to take in students left out. Meanwhile, the Volusia franchise owners and Sylvan’s home office are in a war of words.
Mondex Man Faces 2 Attempted Murder Charges After Chasing and Tipping Ex’s SUV
William Jordan, a resident of Bunnell’s Mondex, was upset that his ex-wife, whom he divorced nine years ago, was with another man in another car. He chased and tipped the car over before crashing his own.
Making It Right in New Orleans, 6 Years After Katrina: The Grit of Pitt and Green
From Brad Pitt’s Make It Right program to a broad-based spirit of enterprise, Flagler Beach’s Frank Gromling has been tracking New Orleans’ rebirth every year by attending the city’s annual jazz festival.
Florida Home Sales Rise in 1Q, Home Values Tumble Again
Florida home sales rose 13 percent in the 1st quarter, led by a glut of bank-owned homes on the market, but housing prices continued to fall, dampening hopes that property values have bottomed out.
Reserves and Stratagems All Spent, Palm Coast Faces Up to Higher Taxes and More Cuts
Palm Coast lost $3 million in revenue last year by refusing to raise taxes. It’s about to lose close to $2 million more. The administration and the council are preparing taxpayers for a tax increase–or crippling cuts.
Flagler Commissioner Nate McLaughlin Settles Ethics Violation With $600 Fine
The Florida Ethics Commission had offered a $1,000 settlement, which McLaughlin negotiated down to $600, with no admission of intentionally failing to disclose financial information.
Strong-Armed Hard Drive Robbery at Palm Coast Target Lands Kiev Native in Flagler Jail
Yuli Ilchenko, a 22-year-old resident of Prescott Lane in Palm Coast, knew he was under surveillance at Target when he allegedly swiped the 500-GB hard drive and pocketed it on his way out. He tried to flee.
From Nursing Homes to Medicaid to Pill Mills, Florida Re-Writes Austere Health Rules
Health care reform opt-out, broad abortion restrictions, managed care for 2.8 million Floridians, less care for patients in nursing homes, Healthy Start slashed: Florida redrew the state’s health care map in the 2011 legislative session.
Loan Modifications: How Banks Require Struggling Homeowners to Waive Rights
Mortgage loan modification scams: Regulators ban the practice, but banks are forcing homeowners struggling to save their home to sign away their right to sue.
Wicked Transition to Stage Magic as FPC Goes Emerald With “Wizard of Oz” This Weekend
“The Wizard of Oz” at the Flagler Auditorium is the biggest FPC stage production to date, with a live orchestra and a cast and crew of 75. The production gelled in a mere six weeks under a new director, after the previous one quit.
Weather and Climate Extremes Punctuate a Very Warm, Very Wet April Across the U.S.
The average temperature was almost 1 full degree above the 100-year average, and Florida’s drought aside, April was the 7th wettest month on record, triggering historic flooding.
Florida’s FHSAA Slaps $2,500 Fine on FPC Lacrosse Team; Questions Arise About Payment
The $2,500 fine was the result of the lacrosse coach mingling school athletic funds with funds for a separate lacrosse club team not officially associated with FPC. The case led to a district-wide policy revamp on teams and fund-raising.
Per-Student Funding Dropping $572, or 8%; Flagler District Poised for Severe Cuts
As state lawmakers cut school budgets by $1.3 billion, the Flagler school district already has plans to cut its budget by 3.5 percent through teacher layoffs and other means. It’ll make up the difference by using more than a third of its $9 million reserves.
A Cardboard Castle Contest and Other First Friday Royalties in Flagler Beach
Flagler Beach’s May edition of First Fridays brought the most construction activity to the county in three years, and tastings from around the globe.
Il Scott, Il Duce, Whites Against Black Movies, Florida Against Watchdogs: The Live Wire
The what-ifs of capturing bin Laden, Obama’s Osama rap, Florida’s war on watchdogs, why whites don’t watch movies starring blacks, a girl is forced to cheer for her rapist, arts, education and Obama, David Hume at 300, and more.
2011 Session Under GOP Supermajority: Stingier, Looser, More Preferential Florida
The 2011 Session revamped Medicaid, teacher pay and pill-mill regulations, cut the budget and brooked favors with insurers, but culminated in corrosive revolts among Republicans as anti-union and anti-immigration bills failed.
Lawmakers Quietly and Hurriedly Approve $10 Million Statewide Boarding Charter School
The charter school, vehemently opposed by Ormond Beach Sen. Evelyn Lynn, who cited other education priorities, would focus on troubled youth but be paid for with public funds and run by a private concern.
Carver Gym’s Journey from Legacy to Ashes And Back–and How To Sustain It
Barbara Revels, the Flagler County commissioner, was chiefly instrumental in reviving Carver Gym’s fortunes, and setting it on course toward a sustainable future as a youth and community center. She sums up what’s been achieved and where to go from here.
Another Random Shooting in Palm Coast, Loaded on Alcohol, Leads to an Arrest
Pavel Bolotnikov was driving drunk and firing a .45 caliber gun Friday morning along Riverview Bend in the gated community of Tidelands in Palm Coast. He was arrested and jailed.
Class-Size Limits Lifted on Numerous Courses As Lawmakers Redefine Meaning of “Core”
Foreign language classes, Advanced Placement courses, and certain social studies courses would be exempt from constitutionally required class-size limits, while caps in other classes could be exceeded by three to five students.
Doubts, Debates, Debacles and New Details: The Bin Laden Follies Weekend Round-Up
In the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death, there’s no dearth of debates over torture’s merits, whether he’s really dead, what Pakistan knew and when it knew it, and the Obama administration’s ever-changing stories. A guide.
1-Year-Old Marketing 2 Go Adds Brandi Fowler As Social Media Manager
Marketing 2 Go, the marketing company Cindy Dalecki founded a little over a year ago with an emphasis on social media, is adding Brandi Fowler to its team.
“For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide”: Blunt Poetry Theater at AACC Saturday
Ntozake Shange’s play for seven women characters, staged at the African American Cultural Center, was a Broadway hit in 1976 and remains a classic of an entirely original style of American stage poetry and oral folk traditions.
Underage Sex Sting Nets 17 Men in St. Johns, Including Teacher and 2 in Military
“Operation Sheepdog” involved undercover detectives posing as juveniles between 8 and 15 years old or parents online to arrange for unknown suspects to meet with them at an undercover house.
Economy Adds 244,000 Jobs, an Unexpected Surge, But Unemployment Back Up to 9%
The 244,000 net new jobs defied economists’ expectations of a much weaker April, but the unemployment rate, obtained from a separate survey, rose for the first time in five months.
Prom Night Recklessness: FPC Rattles Students With Tombstones and Scary Statistics
Carrying pickets and tombstones to symbolize the dangers of recklessness on prom night, students and FPC Activities Director Cheryl Perry sent a cautionary message to fellow students who’ll be partying on prom night Friday.
Last-Minute Budget Deal Reduces Districts’ Dollars and Oversight of Charter Schools
Charter schools that have received an “A” or “B” rating in the last three years would be given the ability to expand enrollment or add new grades without having to wait for approval from the school district.
Violinist Joshua Bell with the Orlando Philharmonic and Other Virtuoso Acts: Culture Worth the Miles
Joshua Bell in two concerts with the Orlando Philharmonic, and the Orlando Philharmonic’s Concert at the Springs, Epcot’s annual Chef’s Gala to benefits Heart of Florida United Way, The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey’s “Baby Owl Shower” in Maitland, and more.
At Flagler Beach Commission’s Goal-Setting, Grim Numbers, Limited Possibilities
Flagler Beach is facing a 20 percent drop in revenue to its general fund, and other revenue losses elsewhere. Setting goals in that environment can be an exercise in exasperation.
County Property Values Fall Another 14%; Palm Coast: -12%; Tax Rates Heading Up
The declines, for the fourth year in a row, will define to what extent local governments must either raise taxes or cut services as they prepare next year’s budgets. Governments have little room to cut anymore, short of vitals services.
Select Flagler School Seniors Receive 239 Scholarships Worth $240,000 at Ceremony
The annual ceremony hosted by the Flagler County Education Foundation celebrated its 25th year Tuesday as 108 organizations’ scholarships were presented to 138 seniors. See the full list.
Bunnell Puts Its Stamp on Day of Prayer While Another Group Marks “Day of Inclusivity”
The Bunnell city administration coordinates an event with distinctly Christian overtones on its city hall’s steps Thursday afternoon while church-state separation group celebrates Inclusivity Day at heroes Park Thursday evening.
Splitting Florida Lawmakers, Arizona-Inspired Immigration-Law Rewrites Won’t Make It
The Florida House proposal would have turned cops into immigration officers and increased penalties on businesses. The Senate proposal would have been less harsh. The two sides couldn’t agree on a joint proposal.
Spectacular Survivor: Stalled Plane Crashes in Flagler Pines, 66-Year-Old Airman Unscathed
John Roderick, a 66-year-old retired Air Force pilot, was on his way back to St. Augustine when his D260 stalled over Western Flagler. He eased the plane into the pines.
FCAT Writing Results Are In: Big, and In Some Cases “Abnormal” Improvements
Almost every school’s 4th, 8th and 10th graders improved in Flagler County, some dramatically so. State improvements were also unusually steep. It’s not clear why, though the district is welcoming the results.
Kent State, Trump Foxed, Holocaust Tales, a Fawn Saved in Flagler Beach: The Live Wire
Remembering the 14 students shot by their own troops at Kent State in 1970, First Fridays in Flagler Beach, Rick Scott in Daytona, the super-rich’s tax hypocrisies, and the continuing stupidities of Donald trump, and more.
Brahms, Folk and Zeppelin as Youth Orchestra Bows in Season Finale at Flagler Auditorium
The concert, at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening, features some 250 musicians and five orchestras, showcasing students’ various skills. The concert includes a symphonic collaboration with members of the FPC band.
Room for Debate
Bin Laden Death Photos and Videos: Should They be Released?
A dead and bloodied photo or video of Osama bin Laden may be “gruesome,” as the White House claims, but why should the public not have a full accounting of the raid and of bin Laden’s burial?
Middle School Day Will End at 1:40pm as District’s New Bell Schedules Toll Backlash
Elementary start and end times change only a little, but high school students will start at 8 a.m. and finish at 2 p.m., and middle school students will start at 7:40 a.m. The shorted school day is designed to save money.
Circulation Still Declining at News-Journal, Rising at Sentinel and St. Augustine Record
The News-Journals losses over the past 12 months were not as steep as in previous years: a 1.2 percent decline on weekdays, 2.5 percent decline on Sundays, though other regional newspapers are seeing increases in circulation.
College Drop-Outs: Florida Lawmakers Cutting Bright Futures Scholarships a Further 20%
Once a scholarship that covered almost 100 percent of a student’s tuition and fees and half the cost of books, students entering UF next year will see their Bright Futures scholarship covering less than 50 percent of those costs.
Palm Coast Heating & Air Conditioning Wins Three Awards
In a first for Palm Coast Heating & Air Conditioning, the company earned three awards from TRANE, a world leader in air conditioning systems, services and solutions.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter, April 20-26, 2011
The strange tale of a Volvo allegedly stolen from Tire Kingdom, Arson in the U Section, an assault in Bunnell, a triangular fight on Fairbank Lane, the .22-caliber shooting of a Chevy truck, and more.
Jewish Polling Site Goes Lutheran: Palm Coast’s Precinct 9 to Merge Into Precinct 22
Temple Beth Shalom in Palm Coast decided against being a polling place after the 2010 elections. Its 2,000 registered voters will have to vote at the Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran Church at 101 Pine Lakes Parkway, home of Precinct 22’s more than 2,000 voters.
Property Tax Overhaul Passes House: Breaks For New Home Buyers, Business, Snowbirds
First-time home buyers would get a 50 percent property tax break on the value of their home. Voters would decide whether to cap property tax assessment increases for commercial properties at 5 percent.
Stetson Awarding Degrees to 570 Students at Saturday’s Commencement
Student speakers are Caitlin Peterson of Ocala, Jason Reese of Telford, Tenn., and Maxwell Grossman of Wellington, the latter, a conductor and pianist, representing the School of Music.