Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director at the Flagler and Volusia health departments, criticized “covid minimizers” for seizing on rogue data to diminish the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic, hurting efforts to fight it.
Union Calls for Online Classes Only at Florida’s Colleges and Universities
The push to keep university and college campuses closed during the fall semester, amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, adds another pressure point on the Republican governor, who is increasingly facing criticism for how he has reopened the state.
Not Much More Than Wind or Rain Event Expected in Flagler from Tropical Cyclone Heading for Gulf
A tropical cyclone moving over the Caribbean is not expected to bring more than wind and rain by Saturday evening or Sunday morning to the Flagler region, and current forecasts don’t see it developing into a hurricane.
Dave Sullivan, Flagler County Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Dave Sullivan is an incumbent candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 3, facing Kim Carney in the Aug. 18 primary. All registered Flagler County voters may cast a ballot in the race regardless of address or party affiliation.
Flagler’s Free Clinic Extends Hours to Accommodate Unemployed or Uninsured due to Covid
The Flagler Free Clinic has extended operating hours to assist anyone who has become unemployed or lost their medical insurance due to the covid-19 pandemic.
When Is a Coronavirus Test Not a Coronavirus Test?
Coronavirus testing in the United States has been bungled in every way imaginable. Tests are now widely available in many places, but results are often taking so long to come back that it is more or less pointless to get tested.
School Board Approves 2-Week Delay and Revised Calendar, But McDonald Again Peddles Bogus Claims
The special meeting ended in a whirl of unanswered questions about the threshold that would trigger more delays or remote-only instruction, and in yet more outright false information spoken by Chairman Janet McDonald, who cited as factual bogus claims in a viral video that’s been banned from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Kimberle Weeks, a Convicted Felon 5 Times Over, Is Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail and 18 Months of Probation
The five-year old case against Kimberle Weeks ended today as a circuit judge sentenced the former Flagler County Elections Supervisor to 30 days in jail and 18 months of probation on each of five felony counts of illegally recording and transmitting phone conversations when she was a supervisor.
Palm Coast Council Will Interview 3 Candidates to Fill Howell’s Seat Until November, Including Ex-Mayor Netts
The council will interview Jon Netts, the former mayor, Hung Hilton and William Schreiber. The interviews will take place in a public meeting on Aug. 4. Jack Howell resigned earlier this month for health reasons.
Flagler Adds 2 More Covid Deaths, for Total of 12; Flagler Children’s Overall Positivity Rate at 10%
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 55 Flagler County children ages 17 or younger have tested positive out of 545 tested, yielding a positivity rate of 10.1 percent–a rate higher than commonly assumed.
2.7-Pound Brick of Cocaine Washes Up Before Family Vacationing in the Hammock
The cocaine brick washed up in the area of 505 Cinnamon Beach Lane, where a 54-year-old man vacationing locally with his family, from near Bradenton, found it bobbing in the surf.
Palm Coast’s Joshua Gabriel McHugh, 22, Dies in Suicide
Joshua Gabriel McHugh, a 22-year-old resident of 2 Sled Court in Palm Coast, was found dead of suicide on July 23 at his home, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office incident report.
Board Set to Approve Flagler Schools Calendar With Shorter Thanksgiving, Winter and Spring Breaks
Flagler County public school students may be enjoying an extra two weeks of summer, but a proposed revised calendar will have them make up every lost day through shorter Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks. Faculty members are losing teacher work days.
Florida Regulators Looking for Ideas on Reopening Bars to Stem Business Losses
Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears said he will begin setting aside time to discuss his June 26 order that banned on-site consumption at bars to try to help stem the spread of covid-19.
Underfunded and Under Threat: Hollowed-Out Public Health System Faces More Cuts Amid Virus
The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources to confront the worst health crisis in a century. In Florida, 2% of state spending goes to public health. Spending by local health departments in the state fell 39%, from a high of $57 in inflation-adjusted dollars per person in the late 1990s to $35 per person last year.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: On Misogyny, Impunity and Decency
“In using that language in front of the press,” U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said of Rep. Ted Yoho’s misogynistic insult, “he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community, and I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable.
Florida Cops in Use-of-Force Incidents Are Not Shielded by Victims’ Rights Law, Judge Rules
Two Tallahassee police officers contended that the amendment should shield the release of their names because they had been victims in incidents that required the use of force — including a high-profile incident in which an officer shot and killed a transgender man.
Flagler Covid Cases Set New Record for the Week, Including 6 Children 14 Or Younger; 22 in Treatment at AdventHealth
The latest Flagler County residents to test positive include girls age 2, 5 and 8 and boys age 8, 9 and 14, which raises concern for school and health officials looking at the reopening of local schools.
My Son Is the Student-Athlete at Matanzas Who Tested Positive. Here’s My Advice to the District.
The mother of the Matanzas High School student-athlete who tested positive for Covid-19 describes the experience and provides suggestions to the school district, and the community, on how to handle school athletics this coming year. In short, don’t cancel them.
Bowing to Pressure and Sheriff, Trump Cancels Plans for Jacksonville Convention, Citing Covid ‘Flare-Up’
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams this week expressed concern about a lack of preparedness for the event, which had long been planned for Charlotte, N.C., but was moved to Jacksonville last month. Mayor Lenny Curry agreed with Williams’ comments.
5th Covid Death in Eight Days in Flagler; 9 Year Old Dies in Putnam; Florida Reports Record 173 Deaths
The latest person to die locally is a 73-year-old man, bringing the total number of Covid-related deaths in the county to at least 10. Flagler has recorded 112 new cases in five days this week, with a rising positivity rate.
As Long Waits for Results Render Covid Tests ‘Useless,’ Florida Among States Seeking Workarounds
Quest announced that turnaround times had slowed to a week or more, up from three or four days in June. It also said some patients may face wait times of up to two weeks. Quest officials warned this week that could get worse as flu season starts this fall.
29 Year Old Man Visiting Palm Coast Accused of Sexually Assaulting Disabled Relative, a Minor
Jonathan Xavier Santiago, 29, a resident of Miami Gardens, is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old disabled family member while Santiago was visiting Palm Coast and staying with the family here.
Alan Lowe, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Alan Lowe is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Flagler Reports Another Covid Death; School District Postpones All Fall Sports Indefinitely
The Health Department said a 92-year-old woman who’d been hospitalized with Covid died in hospice. The school district announced that all fall sports, including football and volleyball, are postponed until further notice.
Chastened Over Outbursts, Flagler Beach Manager Newsom Apologizes But Also Draws Warm Support
City Manager Larry Newsom survived a humiliating and one-sided dressing down by rookie Commissioner Deborah Phillips as other commissioners and the mayor rallied around him and he apologized repeatedly for a recent outburst at a public meeting.
Parents End Up Jailed Over Disciplining Two Children Battling Over Soda Can
A 42-year-old mother is facing felony child abuse charge and a charge of battery on the elderly, while her husband is facing a battery charge. The sheriff says domestic violence has been up since the pandemic.
Jacksonville Sheriff Warns He Can’t Keep GOP Convention Safe. Republicans Move Ahead Anyway.
“Where we are today is we can’t support this plan,” Sheriff Mike Williams, a Republican, said. “Where do we go from here is a good question. But where we are today, we can’t support it.”
How to Understand Covid-19 Numbers
Viewed in isolation or presented without context, coronavirus numbers don’t always give an accurate picture of how the pandemic is being handled. Here, two journalists offer insight on how to navigate the figures.
Flagler School Board Supports Pushing Back Opening to Aug. 24; Up to 40% May Opt for Remote Learning
The Flagler School Board supports its superintendent’s request to delay school’s opening to Aug. 28 for students, and at least to Aug. 10 for faculty, to give staff more time to prepare for a radically different school-campus landscape that may be missing up to 40 percent of in-person students.
Michael Schottey, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Michael Schottey is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Student Athlete Tests Positive at Matanzas High as FHSAA Opts for Regular-Season Schedule Against Advice
Athletes in several school sports have been preparing for the fall season, which is set to resume at the same time as school’s resumption on Aug. 10, though Covid-19 cases are surging in Flagler and Florida.
Teachers Unions Sue Gov. DeSantis and Corcoran Over “Unsafe” Reopening of Schools as Virus Surges
Florida’s teacher unions have sued Gov. Rick DeSantis today, calling a state order to open schools to in-person instruction as the coronavirus surges “unsafe” and in violation of the state Constitution’s requirement that schools are operated safely.
For Covid Tests, the Question of Who Pays Comes Down to Interpretation
Who pays when all employees are required to have a negative Covid test in order to return to work? Or if a factory tests workers every two weeks? Or just because someone wants to know for their own peace of mind?
Milissa Holland, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Milissa Holland is the Palm Coast mayor, running for re-election. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Settlement in Vote-By-Mail Lawsuit Calls on Supervisors to ‘Maximize’ Convenience
The legal wrangling over mail-in ballots in Florida has come amid a national furor over absentee voting, with the man at the top of the Republican ticket in November railing about vote-by-mail for months.
Flagler Covid Cases Jump By 38 In a Day; Positive Staffers at 2 Assisted Livings; Older Children Just as Infectious, Study Finds
Flagler has seen 157 new cases in the last seven days, a quarter of its total since March and by far the most accelerated pace of new infections since the pandemic began, with a positivity rate of 10.6 percent. The largest study to date on the subject finds that older school-children are just as likely to be infectious as adults.
Conspiracy Theories Aside, Here’s What Contact Tracers Really Do
Contact tracing is the public health practice of informing people when they’ve been exposed to a contagious disease. As it has become more widely employed across the country, it has also become mired in modern political polarization and conspiracy theories.
Behind Mason Brown’s Death: Flagler Drug Court Loses One of Its Own for 3rd Time in 4 Years
Mason Dillon Brown, 28, found dead of an apparent overdose in a pond off Belle Terre Boulevard Thursday, had just been thrown out of a rehab program and was facing getting thrown out of drug court, the revocation of his probation and a prison term.
‘We’re Getting Clobbered’: Woman, 50, Is 3rd Covid Death in 3 Days in Flagler as Local Cases Break Records
Flagler County reported 26 new cases today, a record, in a week that also broke a record, with 126 cases, and 16 hospitalizations for Covid-19 at AdventHealth Palm Coast.
Bernie Sanders Is Right. Free College. Now.
Youth unemployment is sky-high, reaching over 20 percent for people aged 16 to 24 this June. Student loans are at historic highs. It’s even more important now to eliminate the financial barriers to continuing education.
Flagler’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.7% in June as 2,200 Reclaim Jobs, Just Before Covid Resurgence
The number of unemployed fell from 6,100 in May to 4,371 in June in Flagler, pointing to a substantial rebound, though the surge in Covid-19 cases statewide and in Flagler since the June 5 Phase 2 reopening is casting doubt on the extent of the recovery.
Supreme Court Refuses to Clear the Way for Felon Voting Rights in Florida
Hundreds of thousands of Florida felons won’t be able to cast ballots in next month’s primary elections, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to vacate an appellate court’s order in a closely watched legal battle over voting rights.
15 Years On, $25 Million In, Flagler Beach Dunes Project Near ‘Dead In the Water’ as 13 Property Owners Hold Out
Just 13 property owners are essentially holding hostage a fully funded beach and dune-rebuilding plan Flagler Beach and the county have worked toward for 15 years, a resistance based on what the county considers extortionist motives for money that doesn’t exist.
Man Found Dead in Lake Off Belle Terre Boulevard
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a man found in a lake or retention pond off Belle Terre Boulevard shortly after noon today.
50-Year-Old Man Is Flagler’s 2nd Covid Death in 2 Days as Florida Sets Another Single-Day Fatality Record: 156
Flagler County has seen a surge of 102 cases in the last five days in tandem with a continuing surge in the state, with local residents complaining of long delays in getting Covid-19 test results.
Education Commissioner Corcoran’s Call to Reopen Schools Sparks Criticism from State Board
More than a week after Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran ordered schools to reopen in August, members of the State Board of Education on Wednesday said his order has sparked confusion, fear and angst.
Don Greene, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Don Greene is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Facing Ultimatum from County Administrator, Petito Is Out as Flagler County Fire Chief After 15 Years
Employees have been aware of Petito’s departure since last week. County Administrator Jerry Cameron gave Petito an ultimatum: retire, resign or be fired. Petito chose to retire. He leaves a department in disarray.
6th Covid Death in Flagler; Florida’s Fatalities Surge and Cases Exceed 300,000; School District Announces Remote Option
Flagler County is coming to terms with a situation more serious than some officials–more particularly, a few county elected officials–have acknowledged, with the school district on Tuesday announcing what amounts to a return to remote instruction for all those who want it come Aug. 10.