Obama’s speech and Wednesday’s memorial for the Tucson massacre victims, Sarah Palin’s “blood libel,” a barbaric cop in Florida, Terry Jones puts the Koran on trial, product placement fanaticism, and more.
The Sheltering Tree, Flagler’s Cold-Weather Homeless Shelter, Calls for Your Help
The Sheltering Tree in Bunnell has already had to open 22 nights this cold season, with many more to come, taxing volunteers and their resources. Here’s how you can help.
Elderly Driver Loses Control in South Bunnell, Knocks Motorbike, Smashes Into a House
The 68-year-old Palm Coast resident was driving north on US1 when he lost control over several blocks, driving against traffic, onto a shopping center’s lot and, finally, smashing against an occupied house. He survived.
Fake Marijuana, Fake Glock, Alleged Kidnapping, Real Charges and Jail for 3 “Losers”
Michael Vieira wanted to buy Marijuana from Jordan Marrero. Marrero sold him and Vieira’s friend grass clippings for $100. There was a chase. An alleged beating and alleged kidnapping. All three ended up in jail.
Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy With Past Blemish Is Jailed on Cash Evidence Theft and Misconduct
Matthew Koenig, with the Sheriff’s Office since 1998, was accused of burglary in 2008. That charge was dropped. He was jailed Wednesday on a charge of stealing almost $5,000 from evidence envelopes.
Postcard-Size Economic Development: Palm Coast’s Plea to Absentee Property Owners
The city administration is planning to send postcards to owners of some 18,000 empty lots and 5,400 empty homes as a step to reviving the real estate market, though the city’s development policy is at cross-purposes with filling those empty lots.
News-Journal Pounds 71-Year-Old Palm Coast Man’s Door Over $3.97 Bill; Gun and Cop Follow
Robert Leard of Palm Coast’s R section dropped his subscription last year. A salesman showed up and pounded on his door Saturday night. Frightened, Leard told him to “get the hell away from my door.” All over $3.97.
There But For the Grace of Glock Goes Florida: Arizona’s Vigilante Gun Culture
Arizona’s gun laws are either the weakest or among the weakest in the nation. As with immigration law, Florida is looking to Arizona as a model for its own gun laws. An analysis of both states’ gun laws.
Animal Kingdom Hippos, the Parthenon, and a Candlelight Vigil: Culture Worth the Miles
Wild Africa Trek, a unique 3-hour new African-wildlife inspired experience at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Josh Garrick’s photographic Parthenon retrospective, honoring MLK and swimming in watercolors at Maitland’s Watercolor Society.
Palm Coast Appears to Retreat from Airport Annexation, But It’s No County Victory
A proposed agreement between the city and the county over the Flagler County Airport gives in to the county’s ownership rights, but with so many caveats that the airport zone would be a quasi city neighborhood.
Florida Schools’ B-, Homelessness in Our Midst, Gun Cultures and Great Composers: The Live Wire, Jan. 11
Florida schools rank high in an Education Week survey, another oil leak in Alaska, Arizona’s gun culture, the 10 greatest composers of all time, more on Joseph Brodsky, and more else.
Ten Flagler Churches, Almost as Many Denominations, One Big Unity Celebration Jan. 22
Following up on last year’s celebration across denomination, the Second Flagler Churches Together in Prayer and Song brings together 10 congregations at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on Jan. 22.
Palm Coast “Joy Ride” Draws Far Fewer Participants Than Anticipated
Palm Coast’s “joy ride,” rescheduled to Saturday after its December cancellation, drew about 80 biking enthusiasts, and interviews for a potential BMX reality show drew a dozen or two prospective local actors.
Flagler Road Fatalities Rise in 2010 Following Holiday Surge; Florida’s Lowest Since 1978
In Flagler County, 23 people lost their lives in wrecks in 2010, more than the 16 in 2009 but less than the 31 deaths recorded in 2008. Florida had its seemingly safest road year since 1978, according to preliminary numbers.
FPL’s Bogus $1.25 Billion Rate Increase: Ex-PSC Commissioner Nathan Skop Tells All
The Florida Public Service Commission was right to turn down all but million of FPL’s rate-increase request last year, former commissioner Nathan Skop says
Tuscon Shooting Rhetoric, Internet’s Gains on TV & Print, Barkley vs. Carlson: The Live Wire, Jan. 10
In defense of inflamed rhetoric following the Gabrielle Gifford assassination attempt, the craziness of the Crazy Horse monument in South Dakota, Earth’s 10 billion souls, a short film inspired by Kafka, and more.
23 Panthers Killed in Florida in 2010, 16 of Them by Vehicles
The endangered Florida panther numbers less than 200 animals in South Florida. Every year, in rising numbers, 12 to 17 panthers are killed on Florida roads. Yet the panther population may be increasing.
Craving Art? Garren, Graham, Cerreta and More Dish It Out: 3 Local Galleries, 3 New Shows
No lack of art: Beth Garren, JJ Graham, Peter Cerreta and some 40 other artists show new work at Hollingsworth Gallery and the Flagler County Art League in Palm Coast, and at the Gallery of Local Art (GOLA) in Flagler Beach.
Bunnell’s Armando Martinez: Cop or City Manager? Constitution Says Choose One
Martinez is city manager and public safety director, at an extra cost of $11,000 to taxpayers. Yet the state constitution is clear: “No person shall hold at the same time more than one office under the government of the state and the counties and municipalities therein.”
County Commissioners Trip Into “Inadvertent” Sunshine Violations Through Emails
County administrator Craig Coffey solicited feedback from commissioners on an economic development document he was preparing. Two commissioners copied their replies to fellow-commissioners, a violation of the sunshine law.
Silver Alert for Walter Thomas Fults, 81, Driving a White Nissan Sentra
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has issued a Silver Alert for Thomas Fuilts, 81, of Palm Coast, driving a white, four-door Nissan Sentra, tag number L382SZ.
U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls to 9.4%, But Underlying Improvement Is Limited
The economy added 103,000 jobs in December, but the falling unemployment rate masks persistently bad numbers for the long-term unemployed, including 2.6 million workers no longer counted in the unemployment rate.
Flagler Sheriff Bans Inmates From Writing Or Receiving Personal Mail Other Than Postcards
Citing savings and security, the sheriff is banning non-postcard correspondence beginning Jan. 15. The ban costs inmates money and chills their speech, a federal lawsuit filed over a similar policy in Santa Rosa County charges.
On Point: Color Splash from Hollingsworth To the Art League
On Point with Charlotte Marten recaps the week’s main events and in a special report, previews two new shows opening at Palm Coast’s art galleries: Daytona Beach artist Beth Garren at Hollingsworth Gallery, where Garren’s work will be shown with that of JJ Graham, and “Color Splash” at the Flagler County Art League.
9.5-Inch Rain Deficit at Year’s End, Falling Aquifer: Hydrologic Summary for July-December
The latest bi-annual report on water conditions in the region: a severe drought netting a 9.52-inch deficit at year’s end, lower flows on the St. Johns, and a still-declining aquifer.
Nine Ways Health Care Reform
May Affect You in 2011 BB (Before Boehner)
Lower prescription costs for seniors, calorie counters in restaurant menus, higher Medicare premiums, more restrictions on health savings accounts: some of the changes you can expect this year, and more.
FPC Bulldogs’ Big Win, Foreclosure Bandits, John McCain’s Crankiness: The Live Wire, Jan. 6
The FPC Bulldogs basketball team beats Mainland at Mainland, how the recession smashed up state budgets, the war on journalists, Facebook vs. Twitter, a look at Damascus and Jerusalem in 1938, and more.
FPC Graduate Kristen Hadeed’s Student Maid Co. Tapped for ABC TV’s “Extreme Makeover”
Kristen Hadeed, a 2006 FPC graduate, built Student Maid, a Gainesville-based cleaning service, from scratch in the last two years. A crew of 30 will donate its time to ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” shoot in Clay County later this month.
Edouard Manet: “Olympia” (1863)
Edouart Manet’s “Olympia” (1863)
Between Authority and Authoritarianism: Conklin and Pryor Clash Over Principal Power
The school board is debating a new policy and procedure controlling the staging of controversial plays. Matanzas Principal Chris Pryor doesn’t want to be “second-guessed.” Board member Conklin doesn’t want unilateral decision-making.
Rick Scott’s Forgettable Inaugural, a GOP Welcome, JailinG girls for Men’s Crimes: The Live Wire, Jan. 5
Also, David Brooks as the Babbitt of Bobos, Oprah’s fake love of Dickens, the wussification of America, the importance of analytical reporting, and more.
A Cabaret in Winter Park, Bryce Hammond Returns to New Smyrna: Culture Worth the Miles
Artist Bryce Hammond returns to his native New Smyrna’s Arts on Douglas Gallery, Heather Alexander is Born to Entertain at the Winter Park Playhouse, brash talent at the he Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park and the Toronto Symphony.
For Jobless Flagler, 3 Economic Development Plans But Little Direction or Unity
As joblessness persists in Flagler County, local governments want to increase their role in economic development, but there’s no agreement about who would lead, and how.
News-Journal Circulation Plummets 10% in First 6 Months Under New Ownership
The News-Journal circulation has fallen by more than 41,000 copies, or 39 percent since 2005 though its recent, accelerating decline is far steeper than losses the newspaper industry is experiencing across the country.
Florida Corruptions, Grayson’s Farewell, Disney’s Mammoth: The Live Wire, Jan. 4
Florida’s foreclosure mediation is less than advertised, Scalia has weird ideas on equal protection, Chinese breast stimulators are very funny, going from birth to 10 in a time-lapse video, and more.
Georgia Aquarium Buys Marineland’s Dolphin Attraction and Takes It Off the Tax Rolls
The $9.1 million acquisition from Jim Jacoby–who bought the Marineland attraction in 2001 for $1.9 million–took place just before the New Year. It’ll be run as a non-profit, so Marineland as a town will lose a third of its tax revenue.
Revels Plan Would Resurrect Carver Gym—If It Can Surmount Buck-Passing
The county and the school board appear ready to commit their recurring share of Carver Gym’s annual bill. Bunnell, where the gym is located, and other groups are either less committed or less certain about their capabilities.
Extreme Drought Conditions Prompt Flagler To Extend State of Emergency Indefinitely
Flagler County is among a handful of regions in the United States facing extreme drought conditions. The burn ban is designed to stem what could be an active and dangerous wildfire season, starting much earlier than normal.
School Uniforms in Alachua, Rick Scott’s 70s Nostalgia, Junk-Touching Diagrammed: The Live Wire, Jan. 3
Also, a Florida appeals court throws out a conviction against pill pushers, Shel Silverstein reads the Giving Tree, a Christmas rewind from the Flagler Fire Department and more.
From DuPont to ITT: A Century of Marketing Flagler County to Northern Chill Migrants
Marketing Flagler County: Sisco Deen tells the story of the DuPont Land Co.’s — and other development companies’ — marketing schemes to get northerners to buy in Flagler County, long before ITT industrialized the process.
Happy 2011! A Year-End Report from FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam
A summary of FlaglerLive’s first seven months: some explanation about how we grew to 3,200 visits a day and some speculation as to why, and a look back at the site’s highlights, accomplishments and limitations.
Bleeding Dangers: Has Your Dialysis Clinic Been Inspected Lately? Not Likely
The United States spends $20 billion a year to care for some 400,000 Americans who rely on chronic dialysis to live. Inspection rates vary from higher than 40 percent per year in some states to lower than 10 percent in others.
Your New Year’s Resolutions
–and How To Keep Them
Besides the week’s somewhat fiery highlights (a shooting and a couple of fires) Charlotte Marten asks a few people around town what their New Year resolutions are, and how they intend to keep them.
Flagler Lays Off Sex as Births Fall For First Time in 16 Years; Deaths Also Dip
Flagler County’s old norms keep dying. Used to be that property values never fell. And for more than two decades, they didn’t. They only increased. That changed in 2008, when they fell 8.5 percent, and kept falling more steeply the next two years. Values are set to fall again next year, if the last six […]
Floridians, Start Your Orwells: Rick Scott’s Buzzword-Assault on State Health Care
Judging from a 68-page transition team report, Rick Scott will seek to accelerate privatization of state health services. He has a willing audience among business-friendly Republican legislative leaders.
Christmas Eve Shooting Update: Victim, With Long Rap Sheet, Had Just Posted Bond
Christian Grasso, the 28-year-old victim of a shooting on a Flagler Beach street on Christmas eve, has been in and out of jail almost a dozen times in Flagler and Volusia counties since 2005.
Fire Demolishes Half a House on Forsythe; Oxygen Mask for 10-Year-Old Cat
The fire at 104 Forsythe Ln. off of Old Kings Road in North Palm Coast was called in by a neighbor. Neither owner was home. But two dogs and a cat were.
Shooting Shatters Christmas Eve Calm in Flagler Beach; Suspect Still at Large
One man was shot at 8:50 p.m. Friday, leaving a pool of blood in the middle of the street on South Central Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets. Police had no information regarding motives. The shooter got away.
Christmas Rescue: Flagler Beach Firemen Save Knocked-Out Veteran From Blazing Home
The Flagler Beach Fire Department’s Scott Jackson and Alex Wilhite pulled unconscious 44-year-old Roy Davis out of his burning home at The Village apartments Thursday morning. Includes photo gallery.
Negotiations Over New Pier Restaurant Lease Crawl Between Nods and Deal-Breakers
A marathon negotiating session over a new Pier Restaurant lease between the Flagler Beach City Commission and restaurateur Raymond Barshay left several issues unsettled.