Flagler is the 6th-highest taxed district in the state, by legislative formula, yet gets back the 65th lowest dollars per student. A governor proposal to increase education funding could make that worse for the district.
Thursday Briefing: International Day of Tolerance, Palm Coast Model Yacht Club, Corinne Brown Sentencing
Former U.S. Rep. Corinn e Brown is sentenced on her corruption conviction, the Palm Coast Model Yacht Club is in Town Center, Paychecks for Patriots, and today is the International Day of Tolerance.
Five New Towers Part of County’s Plan to Replace $11 Million Emergency Communications System
Flagler government unveiled vast new plan to replace the aging emergency communications system starting next year, keeping mum on final cost estimates, which will be steep.
Samantha Posella, 17, Missing Three Weeks From Her Llama Trail Home
Samantha Lynn Posella, a 17-year-old resident of 45 Llama Trail in Palm Coast, walked out of her house on Oct. 25 and hasn’t been seen since.
Indian Trails’ Katherine Crooke Replaces Ben Osypian as Principal at Old Kings Elementary
Katherine Crooke, assistant principal at Indian Trails Middle School, will replace Ben Osypian as principal at Old Kings Elementary on Nov. 27.
Armed Robbery at Taco Bell Leads to Chase and 2 Arrests, But Flagler Deputy Injured In Crash
Craig Rossi, a 10-year veteran of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, was injured when his car collided with the fleeing vehicle,w hose two suspects were arrested soon afterward.
Wednesday Briefing: Youth Orchestra Concert at Auditorium, Car Safety Checks, McMurtry on Hemingway
The Flagler Youth Orchestra holds its first full concert of the season at the Flagler Auditorium, the Palm Coast Fire Department offers car safety checks, Larry McMurtry judges Hemingway.
The Last Weeks of Savannah Deangelis, 23, Who Died Monday From an Opioid Overdose
Savannah Deangelis of Palm Coast, a Matanzas High graduate, overdosed in late October after being expelled from a recovery program in dubious circumstances after the hurricane.
Joy McGrew Makes It Official: She Will End Dozen Years on Flagler Beach Commission
McGrew, the most forthright and colorful member of the commission, said it’s time for a new generation of leaders. She all but endorsed Eric Cooley as her successor.
Arresting Speakers at a Government Meeting: Supreme Court Takes Up Florida 1st Amendment Case
Fane Lozman alleges that a south Florida city violated his First Amendment rights by retaliating against him for his outspoken criticism during his public comment period.
Tuesday Briefing: Cell Towers, FPC Band Concert, Road Impact Fees, Sportsfishing Club, Being Under Arrest
The Flagler Palm Coast High School Band is in concert under the direction of John Seth, the Flagler Planning Board hears a slew of applications for special uses of communication towers, natural gas may be a danger.
7-Eleven Owner Eric Cooley Will Run for Joy McGrew’s Flagler Beach Commission Seat
Eric Cooley, 43, serves on three Flagler Beach advisory boards and has been a near-permanent presence at city commission meetings, speaking for business and echoing McGrew, who may not run again.
Evidence Was Illegally Obtained, But Judge Rules It Admissible In Dykes Child-Sex Case
The defense’s attempt to suppress illegally obtained evidence against Paul Dykes, the Palm Coast man accused of raping a child, fell to an exception to the Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate oneself.
2 Men Shot on Seamanship Trail in Seminole Woods; Sheriff Looking For Woman of Interest
Two men were critically wounded in a shooting involving “a lot” of gunshots after midnight this morning outside 28 Seamaship Trail, Sheriff Rick Staly said from the scene.
Monday Briefing: Paul Dykes Trial, Staly-McDonald-Hansen Town Hall, Emergency Radios, Fantastique
Sheriff Staly, Commissioner Hansen and School Board member McDonald jointly appear in a town hall, Paul Dykes goes on trial on child-rape charges, the county commission talks emergency communications.
Where Buying Marijuana is Legal, But There’s Nowhere to Smoke It
Even where it’s legal to sell it, it’s typically illegal to smoke or ingest the drug in dispensaries, bars, restaurants, city parks and public streets. Why?
The 34th Annual Palm Coast Yacht Club Holiday Boat Parade Set For Dec. 16
Mayor Milissa Holland will serve as Grand Marshall for this year’s Holiday Boat Parade, which in 2016 drew a record 33 boats along the Intracoastal.
A Man For All Seasons, Sisco Deen Is Flagler County Veteran Of the Year
Recognized at today’s county ceremony marking Veterans Day, Sisco Deen served two decades in various branches of the military, including during the Vietnam War, and is the long-time archivist of the Flagler County Historical Society.
Veterans Weekend Briefing: Other Desert Cities, Plaza Suite, Creekside Festival, Veterans’ Time, Bolton, Berlioz and Roth
It’s Veterans Weekend, with Creekside Festival at Princess Place, two great plays, John Bolton at GOP’s dinner, a fundraiser foir the Flagler Beach Museum, Berlioz and Faure and Philip Roth.
Flagler Beach And Troubled Golf Course Aim For Reset But Still At Odds Over “Bad Business”
The president of the troubled Ocean Palms Golf Course promised city government to be more hands-on, but the two sides remain at odds over how much compensation is owed.
Matanzas High Student Fabricates Gun Incident, But School’s “Security Status” Was Not Changed
A Matanzas High School student’s fabrication of a gun sighting on campus around noon today led to a localized lockdown in the school’s parking lot, car searches and a lot of police activity on campus.
In City Rep Theatre’s “Other Desert Cities,” A Recognizable Family At War With Itself
The Jon Robin Baitz play opening Friday at Palm Coast’s City Rep Theatre explores in darkly comic tenors a family’s reverberations through Vietnam, the Iraq war and the present.
Florida’s Opioid Crisis: Thousands of Babies Born to Addicts or Removed From Users’ Homes
More than 4,000 babies were born addicted to opioids in Florida last year, with a 38 percent increase in the number of children under 5 removed from homes because of drugs.
Thursday Briefing: Flagler Beach’s Troubled Golf Club, Sailing Central Park, Evening at Whitney, Nabokov’s Trains
The Flagler Beach City Commission tries to break an impasse over troubled management of Ocean Palm golf course, a new club has mini-cail boats in Palm Coast’s Central Park, Nabokov on trains.
Hidden Lakes Opposition Muted as Palm Coast Council Approves Rezoning For Potential Apartments
The rezoning opens the way for what could be a 136-unit apartment complex off Old Kings Road near State Road 100, with a gas station also slated the nearby corner.
A Bit Soggy Still, Princess Place Re-Opens Segments In Time For Creekside Festival
The majority of the trails will remain closed until further notice due to flooding, but the two-day Creekside Festival is on with live music, food, crafts and play zones.
Appeals Court Rejects Patrick Hannon Stay, Will Be 26th Executed On Gov. Scott’s Watch
A federal appeals court rejected Hannon’s claim that a new state death-penalty requirements relating to the unanimity of juries should be applied to his case. He murdered two men in 1991.
Palm Coast Opioid Dealer’s Arrest Points Only To Fractional, Street-Level Source of Crisis
Palm Coast’s Joseph Colon, 34, has been in and out of jail and prison over drug dealing for years, but his arrest on heroin and fentanyl trafficking charges masks the much broader, more legal source of the crisis.
Wednesday Briefing: Chief Bovino Goes FBI, Giving Store Luncheon, Public Safety Council, Property Taxes
The Sheriff’s Office’s Paul Bovino will go to the FBI Academy, Flagler County Volunteer Services host a lunch for the Giving Store, mass shootings need not be inevitable.
Waste Pro Falls Down On the Job In Palm Coast And Flagler But Refuses To Say Why
After winning a contract renewal in Palm Coast last year fines against Waste Pro have been piling up to the thousands of dollars every month since spring.
Flagler County Walks Away From $35 Million In Beach-Repair Money: “It’s Them Abandoning Us”
Flagler county officials put the blame squarely on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when they explain why they walked away from $35 million, and why county and state dollars must step in as replacement.
Tuesday Briefing: Apartments on Old Kings, $1.2 Million Auditorium Renovation, Don O’Brien Is 58, Sanctuary Cities
The Palm Coast council considers rezoning a segment along Old Kings Road for apartments, the Flagler Auditorium finally looks ready to move with a $1.2 million renovation of bathrooms and office space, the Legislature takes on sanctuary cities.
KKK Fliers Targeting Jews Dropped in Front of Flagler Beach Homes, Latest in Multi-City
Rash From Same Hate Group
The KKK flier attacks Jews and warns of “white extinction,” and is from the same group that’s been dropping fliers in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia since the Charlottesville rally of white supremacists.
Suspect In Custody After Pursuit Shuts Down Portions of Belle Terre and Disrupting School Busing
A high-speed chase that went into Quail Hollow turned into an extensive search on foot and by air in Palm Coast’s Z-Section as a suspected car thief ran into the woods this afternoon just before 3 p.m.
FEMA Impostors Reported in Nearby Communities
Flagler County Emergency Management is warning residents that individuals misrepresenting themselves as FEMA staff have been reported in neighboring communities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires all of its employees to wear a lanyard with their FEMA badges prominently displayed when making formal contact with the public. “It has come to my attention that individuals […]
Car Reported Stolen By Inmate Leads to 4 Arrests at Suspected Drug House on Palm Coast’s Ft. Caroline Ln.
The house at 21 Fort Caroline Lane in Palm Coast had been under sheriff’s deputies surveillance for a while because of suspected drug activity there.
House Tax Bill: Penalty For No Health Coverage Stays, Medical-Cost Deduction Goes
The medical deduction, originally created in World War II, is available only to taxpayers whose expenses are above 10 percent of their adjusted gross income.
Monday Briefing: 8 New Jobs at County Public Works, ACLU Meeting, Florida Forever, Child Marriages
Flagler County government’s public works division is adding many jobs, the tourism division continues its drunken-sailor sprees, child marriages in Florida.
Truck Terror Attacks May Be a Sign of ISIS Weakness, But They’re Very Hard to Stop
As ISIS loses territory on the battlefield, lone-actor assaults are expected to increase. The question for cities is what more can be done to protect against such attacks.
L’Darius Smith, 21, Acquitted of Molesting 2 Step-Sisters; Jury Finds Guilt on Minor Charge
Palm Coast’s L’Darius Smith could have faced 15 years in prison on accusations he molested girls age 8 and 9 but was essentially acquitted.
A New, Not Much Improved A1A in Flagler Beach: Median, 30MPH, Drainage, But No Added Protection
The state transportation department presented details of the summer construction of A1A from South 9th to South 22nd streets. The project got mixed reviews from Flagler Beach residents.
Weekend Briefing: FreedomFest At County Airport, Plaza Suite, First Friday in Flagler Beach, Intracoastal Cleanup
It’s FreedomFest with military planes, a jet-truck and other displays at the county airport, FPC thespians stage one act-plays, cyclists all over Flagler, cleaning up the Intracoastal.
Gary R. St. Peter, 67, Is Killed, Another Man Injured As Their Mustang Overturns Off A1A Near Surf Club
Gary Robert St. Peter was killed and David Zlokas, 64, injured when their car careened off State Road A1A, within a few feet of the Surf Club condominiums, at 10 p.m. tonight.
Can Gov. Scott Appoint 3 Justices On Last Days in Office? Supreme Court Takes On Potential Constitutional Crisis
The three justices, who face a mandatory retirement age, are part of what is widely considered a liberal bloc, which now holds a slim 4-3 majority.
Accused of Molesting 2 Girls When He Was 15 and 16, a 21-Year-Old Winks and Plays To Camera
Now 21, L’Darius Smith was 15 or 16 when he allegedly molested two girls, 8 and 9, he was living with as siblings in Palm Coast five years ago. He did not act as if he were on trial today.
New RaceTrac Gas Station Coming To Old Kings and SR100, Apartment Complex Eyed
Hidden Lakes residents spoke in opposition to a zoning change allowing a 136-unit apartment complex at Old Kings Road just north of Kings Pointe.
Thursday Briefing: A1A Reconstruction Open House, FPC Thespians, Nancy Soderberg, Palm Coast Yacht Club
The State Transportation Department unveils its plan for rebuilding SRA1A in Flagler Beach, Democratic hopeful Nancy Soderberg speaks in Palm Coast, plays staged at FPC and Flagler Playhouse.
Potential Ballot Proposals Include Older Retirement Age For Judges, Ending Death Penalty, Restoring Bright Futures
the Florida Constitution Revision Commission have filed 64 proposals, but a measure needs support from 22 of the 37 commission members to make it to the 2018 election ballot.
Accused of Brutalizing Pregnant Ex, Palm Coast Man Sought Voodoo To Induce Miscarriage
Patrick Leroy, a 29-year-old resident of Shady Lane in Palm Coast, faces nine charges stemming from incidents in which he allegedly threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and harm her 4-year-old son.
How 2nd Grader at Old Kings Got Whole School District and 2 Other Counties To Go Green
Students boycotted the use of plastic trays on the way to convincing the administration to adopt more eco-friendly, biodegradable paperboard lunch trays that don’t harm oceans, as plastics do.