In the past three months, there has been a mass shooting in an Orlando nightclub, a 2-year-old child killed by an alligator at Walt Disney World, toxic algae blooms choking East and West Coast waterways, and the continued spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
Ethics Commission Sends Flagler Petition for Attorneys’ Fees to Administrative Law Judge
Former Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks filed two of the five complaints, Mark Richter Jr. also filed two, and Dennis McDonald filed the fifth complaint. None attended the ethics commission hearing in Tallahassee this morning.
Travelers Continue to Bring Zika Into Florida
Florida has 744 reported cases of the Zika virus, with 12 new cases involving people who contracted the disease outside of the state, the Florida Department of Health reported Thursday. There were no new cases of locally transmitted Zika, with 56 previously reported.
FWC Honors Steve Wayne as 2016 Investigator of the Year
The annual award honors a Fish and Wildlife Conservation investigator whose efforts show outstanding performance and achievement among investigators, including captive wildlife cases, overt and covert investigations, surveillance, and wildlife trafficking.
Man Wounded By Gunshot Limps Into Hospital, But Cops Skeptical of Shooting Account
Alfred Wright arrived at Florida Hospital Flagler with a gunshot to the thigh and claimed he’d been shot by an assailant either in Palm Coast or Flagler Beach. His story unraveled from there, with his girlfriend providing a different account.
Weekend Briefing: 9/11, African Art, Senior Games, Beer Arising, Chess Jax, Women of Jazz, Intracoastal Clean-Up
A busy weekend with a new musical (Charlie Brown) opening at CRT, women of jazz at the African-American Center, lectures on African art by the Palm Coast Arts Foundation, the Senior Games all week, and quite a bit more.
Who’s Afraid of Gary Johnson? Let Him Join the Debates
The Libertarian Party is on the ballot in all 50 states. For that reason, Gary Johnson should be on that debate stage because he is an alternative available to the entire nation, argues Nancy Smith.
Trump and Clinton Are Tied in Florida in Latest Quinnipiac Poll
The two remain tied when the most prominent third-party candidates are thrown into the race, with Trump and Clinton drawing 43 percent apiece.
School Board Members Blister “Subleasing” of FPC Campus to Out-of-Town Car Dealer, Exposing Problems
This weekend, without the school board’s knowledge, the entire parking lot of Flagler Palm Coast High School will be turned over to Ritchey Auto of Daytona Beach in a giant car and boat sale that has angered local car dealers and school board members, exposing flaws in the district’s use-of-facilities policy.
6 Students Implicated in “Detailed Plan to Attack” Flagler Palm Coast High School, No Arrests
Six students were at Flagler Palm Coast High School were tied Wednesday to what a district spokesperson described as “a detailed plan to conduct a coordinated plot against Flagler Palm Coast High School.” The alleged plot was to have involved guns.
Thursday Briefing: Flagler Restaurant Week Kick-Off, Flagler Beach’s Taxi Update, Journalism’s Lost Generation
The third annual Restaurant Week kicks off at Marineland Dolphin Adventure, the Flagler Beach City Commission updates its taxi ordinance, what a journalism professor learned of the craft’s lost generation.
A Rape in Palm Coast, a Shooting in Flagler Beach, Yet Sheriff’s Office Suppresses All But Trickle of Information
In a 24-hour span on Sept. 6, a woman reported twice being raped and a man reported being shot in separate incidents, both ending up at Florida Hospital Flagler, yet the sheriff’s office is suppressing all but a trickle of information on either case.
At Rymfire Elementary, Response to a Child’s Scar Comes Unglued and Leads to a Lawsuit
A 1st-grader at Rymfire Elementary came home with a bleeding head from a scar that her mother claims was treated improperly by an unqualified staffer, while the school never called the parent to let her know her child was being treated.
Wednesday Briefing: Youth Orchestra Open House, Budget Hearings in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, Manfre’s Whereabouts
The Flagler Youth Orchestra’s open house at Indian Trails Middle School welcomes new enrollments and lays out the season ahead, at 5:30 p.m., Palm Coast and Flagler Beach governments hold the first of their budget hearings, setting next year’s tax rates.
Fitful Recovery in Florida, Lingering Power Cuts in Panhandle After Hurricane Hermine
More than 18,000 people in Florida were still without power Tuesday, including fewer than 10,000 in the state’s capital city, after the Category 1 storm made landfall Friday morning near St. Marks in Wakulla County.
Heralding Brief Majority of Beards, Robert Cuff Is Sworn In as Palm Coast’s Newest Councilman
Robert Cuff–the cerebral, witty and long-time Palm Coast resident and ITT man–took his seat at the city council this evening after winning his election last week. He takes up where Bill McGuire resigned.
Federal Appeals Court Rules Against ATS, Palm Coast and Cities in Red-Light Camera Case
The decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is a reminder that Palm Coast is still not clear of the legal shambles that have surrounded the cameras. That class-action suit can now go forward, with drivers claiming they’d been wrongly fined.
Flagler County Library Director Holly Albanese Elected to Northeast Florida Library Information Network Board
Albanese has been been instrumental in significantly increasing library revenue through the library’s passport-issuance service, which she started. She is also keeping a planned expansion of the library–through a new building in Bunnell and an expanded one in palm Coast–on the county commission’s agenda.
Flagler’s Combustible Reagan Republicans Disband as GOP Realigns Back to “Sensible”
The Ronald Reagan Republican Assemblies of Flagler County, the firebrand group whose members spent the last five years shaking up local governments—complaining, criticizing, suing and in several cases, winning elections—has disbanded.
That Dramatic Drop in Teen Births? Credit Easier Access to Contraceptives, Not Less Sex
The drop was especially steep for younger girls: in births to girls 17 or younger in Flagler, the drop went from 12 such births per 1,000 in the early 90s to 3.8 in 2013-15, and four in Florida.
Tuesday Briefing: Councilman Robert Cuff, School Taxes, FPC Sports, Trump’s Immigrants, Su Meng’s Guitar
Robert Cuff, who won election to the Palm Coast Council last week, is appointed to the seat early to fill the spot vacated by Bill McGuire, the school board adopts next year’s taxes and talks bathrooms at Indian Trails Sports Complex.
Obama Should Tell the Truth About the American Economy
The president and everybody in his administration really must stop talking about how much better off we are today than we were eight years ago. Here is the disastrous truth.
Container-Loaded Semi Jackknifes Over Deep Gully on I-95, Snarling Traffic
Labor Day weekend traffic came to a near standstill on both sides of I-95 just north of State Road 100 in Palm Coast late this afternoon after a tractor trailer jackknifed in the rain and ended up hanging over a deep gully, half its rear wheels off the ground. Somehow the metal guardrail and perhaps trees helped the truck from going over.
America’s Other Doping Problem: Drugging Up the Elderly in Hospitals
An increasing number of elderly patients are on multiple medications, raising chances of dangerous drug interactions. Often the drugs are prescribed by different specialists who don’t communicate, and hospital doctors add to the list of drugs, sometimes unnecessarily or unsuitably.
1st Hurricane Hits Florida in 11 Years; Flagler Spared, Tropical Storm Warning Cancelled
Hurricane Hermine was mostly a non-event in Flagler County, with limited rain and a bit of wind. Most government offices remained open Friday. The story was uglier in Florida’s Big Bend, where the hurricane made landfall.
An Evening of Bardic Folk With Guitarist Mama Gina, Plus Rick de Yampert’s East-West Sitar Fusion
Gina LaMonte, whose stage name is Mama Gina, will sing the saga of Nine Toes when she performs Saturday Sept. 3 during a concert at Salvo Art Project in Bunnell. Palm Coast sitar player Rick de Yampert will open the show.
Cypress Knoll Golf and Country Club, Under New Ownership, Re-Opens Sept. 10
New owners Doug Brown and Janice Reid re-open Palm Coast’s Cypress Knoll Golf and Country Club on Sept. in in the E Section, with a concert the following day, just two months after the course closed.
Labor Day Weekend Briefing: Schools Close For Hermine, Political Correctness on Campus, Pentatonic Scale
Flagler County schools get a four-day weekend compliments of Hermine and Labor Day, a case of political correctness on campus, Plein air artist William Lurcott at Ocean Art, Bobby McFerrin and more.
Several Shots Fired Near Midnight at House on Palm Coast’s Bronson Lane
Bullets were found in the front of the house and in the garage door. The resident and his wife, both in their 40s, were the only occupants in the house at 65 Bronson Lane in Palm Coast. Neither was injured.
2016 Flagler Jail Bookings and Sheriff’s Crime and Incident Reports (Archived)
Archived 2016 Flagler County jail bookings, day and night shift commanders’ crime and incident reports investigated by Sheriff’s deputies and archive.
Embittered Palm Coast Fires Holland Park Contractor and Takes Over Project Months Behind Schedule
City officials, sensitive to the criticism directed at them over the delays, recast the problem as entirely the fault of the contractor, and themselves as heroes looking out for the city’s budget and local contractors, thus effectively changing the subject: it’s no longer a project behind schedule as much as a city wronged and aggrieved.
Tropical Storm Hermine: Flagler Included in State of Emergency, But No Major Threat Expected
Tropical Storm Hermine has moved north, Flagler is not in a tropical storm watch, school’s open Thursday, but some wind and rain are expected and authorities are taking a few precautions.
One Solar Amendment Passed, Backers and Opponents of November Measure Square Off
The November proposal is more controversial than the one voters approved Tuesday, drawing opposition from groups such as the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy that argue the measure is intended to benefit utilities.
Thursday Briefing: Hermine Visits, Pot Forum, Marineland Acres Special Taxing District, Corporal Punishment
The Flagler County Young Republicans host a forum on Amendment 2, the proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana, end of the Daily Tar Heel’s daily schedule, Marineland Acres taxing district.
Flagler’s Primary Results: Shocks, Coronations and Probabilities
There were one or two shocks in the Flagler primary election results, not least of them another dismal turnout, but for the most part the numebrs produced expected winners and losers. Here’s a full analysis.
Man Hurt, 200 Lose Power After Car Crashes Into Utility Pole on Old Kings Road
A driver was seriously hurt–and had to wait for rescuers to get to him until his car was “de-energized,” as live electric lines were on top of it–and 200 customers lost power after a vehicle crash took down a utility pole at Kings Colony Court and Old Kings Road at 6:45 this evening.
Holland Is Palm Coast’s New Mayor, Lenhart Wins Supervisor, Conklin Wins School Board, Manfre Is Out, Staly Beats Lamb
Primary election results for Flagler County races including school board, sheriff, county commission, Palm Coast City Council, supervisor of elections, judges, and state congressional races.
Motorcycle Masturbator Sought in String of Incidents Involving Women in R, P and W Sections
The man, described as young, black and fit, scopes out a woman walking her dog or sitting in her garage, pulls up next to her, takes out his penis and starts masturbating.
The Reek of Hypocrisy Behind Federal Marijuana Laws
In most cases, our laws treat chemicals as safe until proven dangerous. Marijuana, on the other hand, is being held to a higher standard. It’s not even that it’s considered dangerous until proven safe. The government says that they won’t lift regulations on it until it’s proven beneficial.
Capping 2 Weeks of Record-Breaking Early Voting, Final Day of Primary Ends at 7pm
Some 18 percent of registered voters had already cast a ballot in early voting or by mail by the time polls opened at 7 this morning. But that means 82 percent of registered voters had not cast a ballot. Go vote.
Election Day Briefing: It’s Primary Day, Tyler Harrison’s Status, Palm Coast Tax Rate, 10,000 Syrians, Vaping
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Palm Coast City Council will decide where to set next year’s property tax rate, the United States gets its 10,000th Syrian refugee, vaping is as bad as smoking.
Appeals Court Sides With Florida Prisons in Public Records Dispute With Miami Herald
The Florida prisons department was required to provide item-by-item legal explanations for its decisions to black out information on public records requested by the Herald — a process known as redacting the information.
Palm Coast Prepares for 9th Annual Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup
Community volunteers will remove trash in and along the Intracoastal Waterway, its walkways and canals starting at 8 a.m. Sept. 10 at the Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE, where supplies will be distributed to commence the morning activities.
Florida Adds 15 Travel-Related Zika Cases for Total of 42
Fifteen new cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus were reported Friday in Florida, all tied to people who brought the disease into the state after getting infected elsewhere.
Retired Palm Coast Nurse Accused of Suffocating Husband, a Cop, in Hospital Bed
Henry Soschalski, 64, and his wife Jan Sochalski, 61, had lived in their Palm Coast home 13 years. She faces a second-degree murder charge over his death in a hospital bed. He had been in a coma for weeks.
In Palm Coast’s F-Section, a Man Stabs Another in the Back Then Stabs Himself in the Throat
Two men, 19 and 18, were involved in an argument and had been drinking at 17 Felshire Lane when one of them stabbed the other in the back then stabbed himself in the neck. Both were hospitalized.
Monday Briefing: Last Day to Vote by Mail, Bunnell Budget, HPV Vaccine, Chomsky, Unambiguously Great Guitar Duo
You can still pick up a vote-by-mail ballot today, Bunnell wraps up its budget workshops, the HPV vaccine protects against cancer but not enough parents are vaccinating their children, João Luiz e Douglas Lora guitar duo.
Does Diversifying Police Forces
Reduce Tensions? Not Necessarily.
Beyond diversity, hiring officers who know and understand the community, asking officers to build better relationships with neighborhoods they serve, reducing officers’ use of aggressive arrest tactics and increasing officer training is shown to be more effective than changing the color of the ranks.
Movement to Opt-Out of Standardized Testing Bolstered By Judge’s Ruling
A Leon County judge Friday declined to immediately order that students in a potentially precedent-setting lawsuit be promoted from third to fourth grade, but her rejection of several state arguments could fuel a movement that seeks to allow children to “opt out” of a standardized test.
In a First, Blind High School Student Is Matanzas-FPC Football Game’s Radio Commentator
Trent Ferguson, 18, a student at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, will be the color commentator on WNZF Radio of the Matanzas-FPC match at 7 p.m. Friday, a unique experiment for the radio station that may not end there.