Some candidates were worried that they’d be expected to create 200 jobs in their first year, though candidates have also been raising concerns over the checkered political history of economic development in Flagler County.
Two Hammock Teens Faked Their Abduction, Triggering an Amber Alert Overnight
Danielle Annis, 17, and Amanda Hunt, 15, residents of a home on Ocean Crest Drive in the Hammock in Palm Coast, faked their own abduction and stole their parents’ car Wednesday evening. Charges against them may be pending.
Florida Utilities Fume as EPA Tells Dirty Coal Power Plants To Clean Up Or Clam Up
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday released controversial new air-pollution standards that could force expensive upgrades at some Florida power plants — but have been long-sought by environmental and health advocates.
Light at the End of the Catacombs: Home Sales Up Significantly in Flagler and Florida
Palm Coast’s and Flagler County’s real estate market can take heart: for the first time in half a decade, the home-buying industry is looking a lot less grim than it’s been, even if prices have yet to catch up to the uptick in sales.
A Fight Over a Cat Escalates Into Violence, Police Chases and a 6th Jailing 3 Days Later
Gregory Wright, a resident of the Mondex, didn’t want a cat sharing his bed with his girlfriend because of dander, though that was only one pretext leading to an alleged series of violent outbursts, threats and a case of false imprisonment.
A Most Common Palm Coast Tale: A Burglary, But With a Christmas Sting
Rhiannon Gross lives in a modest house in Palm Coast’s R Section with her two-and-a-half-year-old son. She came home earlier this month to a house robbed of presents under the Christmas tree and of all her electronics and jewelry.
Downturn Be Damned: Florida Crosses 19 Million Mark as Population Grows By 256,000
The population growth in Florida was driven mostly by migrants into the state, while the nation’s growth of less than 1 percent between April 2010 and July 2011, was the lowest since the mid-1940s.
Borrowing Judge’s Words, Attorney General Bondi Rewrites Religious Aid Amendment
The proposed constitutional amendment language was judged vague and inadmissible in a circuit court ruling earlier this month. In an unusual intervention tinged with implications, Attorney General Pam Bondi rewrote the proposed amendment, which opponents still consider unconstitutional.
Timeline: Hammock Dunes DRI, 1982-2011
Timeline of the Hammock Dunes development DRI from its Admiral-ITT origins through its Ginn-Luber Adler ownership and disputes with the Flagler County Commission.
Palm Coast Seethes as Flagler Ends Hammock Dunes DRI’s Obligations to County and City
The Flagler County Commission closed the books on the 28-year-old Hammock Dunes “development of regional impact,” angering Palm Coast over developer dollars the city contends should still be paid for widening Palm Harbor Parkway.
“Celico Way” Will Have Only Second Billing as Palm Coast Resists Full Name Change
The name will appear below “Kings Way,” in smaller letters. Friends and supporters of the late Sgt. Frank Celico, the Flagler deputy who died in September at 33, wanted to rename the street near the Dunkin Donut where Celico spent many of his waking hours.
Florida Legislator Wants $1 Cigarette Tax Increase In Exchange for Lower Driver Fees
South Florida’s Jim Waldman, a Democrat from Coconut Creek, wants to roll back unpopular driver’s license and registration fees, paying for it with a $1 increase in Florida’s cigarette tax, now at $1.34.
News-Journal Owner Halifax Media Buying New York Times’s 16 Regional Papers
The New York Times confirmed today that Halifax Media Group, owner of the Daytona Beach News-Journal since 2010, is buying the 16 newspapers in The New York Times Regional Group in what would represent a significant cultural and ideological shift away from centrism and liberalism for those 14 papers.
Of Art and Soul: Erin Walker’s Pottery Studio For All Creators Coils Into Palm Coast
The Art and Soul Studio at 25 Pine Cone Drive in Palm Coast is recreational paint-your-own-pottery shop for all ages and many occasions, including birthday parties and Wednesdays’ Wine-d Down, a bring-your-own-wine ladies night.
Ammons Stays at FAMU, Defying Gov. Scott’s Muscling Into Hazing Homicide Controversy
The Florida A&M University Board of Trustees will meet by phone Monday to decide the fate of President James Ammons in the wake of the hazing death of a drum major on Nov. 19 and the hazing-related brutalization of another student in the band two weeks earlier.
The 10 Greediest Americans of 2011
Whether they manage football pageants or Ford Motor Co., these guys, from Walmart’s Michael Duke to ex-Massey Energy’s Don Blankenship, remind us how much needs to change, economically and politically, in 2012 and beyond.
Citing Health and Other Priorities, Bunnell Police Chief Arthur Jones Will Resign in April
Bunnell Police Chief Arthur Jones will leave his post at the end of April after three years as a tempering force in a small but tumultuous department, and as the city’s first black police chief.
Flagler’s Unemployment Rate Remains Stubbornly At 14% As Florida’s Improves
Flagler County’s unemployment rate remains Florida’s second highest, after Hendry’s 15.1 percent, while job creation in the state, while slow, continues. Gov. Rick Scott took credit for the job creation.
Florida Hospital Flagler Santa-Sleighs Bunnell’s Child Development Center
Employees and volunteers at Florida Hospital Flagler presented Christmas presents to children enrolled at the Flagler Child Development Center in Bunnell.
Farewell to Christopher Hitchens, Newt Ginrich’s G Spot and Andy Kaufman: The Live Wire
How Christopher Hitchens could fly-swat Sean Hannity in five words flat, the end of YouTube as we knew it, newspapers’ deaths within five years, the shame of McDowell County, West Virginia, and more.
As Autopsies Dwindle, Hospitals Bury Their Mistakes Instead of Learning From Them
Autopsies are conducted on just 5 percent of patients who die in hospitals, letting common diagnostic errors go undiscovered, allowing physicians to practice on other patients with a false sense of security, and short-shrifting understanding of the effectiveness of medical treatments and the progression of diseases.
Palm Coast Accepts Garbage Hauling Bids But Doesn’t Open Them Publicly
The method continues a pattern that’s been less than transparent since fall when the city manager recommended renewing the contract with Waste Pro and skipping the bidding process.
Behind the Scenes at Universal, Candlelight Scrooge and Lasers: Cultural Holidays Worth the Miles
Art behind the scenes at theme parks, holidays in space by way of the Kennedy Space Center, laser light shows, Scrooge by candlelight, and more.
Elderly Palm Coast Man Is Killed in St. Johns Wreck, His Wife Is in Critical Condition
Richard Mayor, an 83-year-old resident of Palm Coast, was killed Thursday evening in a single-car wreck on U.S. 1 in St. Johns County. His wife, Carol, 78, is in critical condition at Shands Hospital in Jacksonville.
Palm Coast Heating and Air Now Offering Insulation With Owens Corning
Palm Coast Heating & Air Conditioning announces the company is now offering insulation services with Owens Corning.
Speeder’s Stop on I-95 Nets 1.7 lb of Cocaine and Trafficker’s Arrest on $150,000 Bond
Edward La Troy, a 34-year-old resident of Miami, had been ticketed for speeding less than three hours earlier by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper when the Flagler County Sheriff’s Carmine Celico stopped him and summoned a K9 that sniffed out the drugs.
Testing Industrial Complex Descends on Florida To Fight Over $35 Million Contract
McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are in a battle over the right to provide testing items to the Florida Department of Education under a Race to the Top contract worth tens of millions of dollars.
Only Partial Victory for Palm Coast’s Merrill Shapiro in Fight Against Religious Aid Bid
Circuit Judge Terry Lewis struck down only part of a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow taxpayer money to go to religious institutions, leaving the door wide open for a fix in time for the 2012 ballot. The case was brought by Palm Coast Rabbi Merrill Shapiro and public education advocates.
Warned Of Animal Filth Months Ago, a Mondex Woman Is Jailed on Child Neglect Charges
The house where four young children lived was strewn with dog waste and infested with roaches. Deputies had first investigated the scene in late July.
“Between Us Girls”: Jobs Council Hears Drones, Stunners and Enthusiasm in 7 CEO Interviews
Flagler County’s economic development council conducted seven phone interviews over four hours this afternoon, hoping to pare down its list to three or four candidates who’d be interviewed in person.
Total Cell Phone Ban for Drivers: Not Likely in Florida
The National Transportation Safety Board is urging states to ban all cell phone use while driving, even hands-free uses, the first such call by a federal agency. Florida is still struggling to impose a hands-free requirement.
Room for Debate: Should Florida Restrict Cell Use and Texting While Driving?
Despite mounting evidence that cell and texting use while driving increases the chances of a crash, Florida continues to resist regulation. A proposed law has yet again been filed to ban drivers’ use of electronic devices.
Flagler’s 7 Governments Gather to Hear How Well Their Economic Development Is Doing
Despite enduringly high unemployment and a year of fraying rather than unity among local governments, the county hosted an intergovernmental summit Tuesday that piled back-patting on exclamation marks.
Palm Coast Would Underwrite Small Business Loans With Tax Dollars as New Incentive
The city’s loan-guarantee program would set aside $55,000 for existing, for-profit businesses looking to expand–or survive. The program is part of a series of economic development initiatives centered around the seven-month-old Business Assistance Center.
Matanzas Graduation Rate at 90%, FPC at 83% As Charter School Drags Flagler’s Down
When the numbers from heritage Academy, a charter school, are excluded, the Flagler school district’s graduation rate improves to 84.4 percent. The district’s single-year drop-out rate was 1.7 percent.
Christmas Shopping With a Cop: Children and Deputies on Target Thursday
Thanks to generous donations, some 40 Flagler County children will be holiday shopping with Sheriff’s deputies the evening of Dec, 15 at the Target store on State Road 100, where children will be arriving with cop cars blaring sirens and whirling their lights.
Supreme Court’s Ruling on Immigrants Will Redefine Policing and State Powers
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Arizona’s law is due by the end of June, at the same time as its ruling on Obama’s health care reform law, making this court term one of the most consequential in years, and with big reverberations in Florida.
Despite 4 to 7 Inches of Rain, Palm Coast And Flagler Are Still Facing Drought
An area of Bunnell saw the most rain in the last 24 hours, at just over 7 inches, parts of A1A, Palm Coast and the Mondex saw water-covered roads, but no property damage or home flooding. This rain event aside, the drought persists.
Florida Charter Schools: A Go-Go Industry Awash in Tax Money and Little Oversight
Florida lawmakers have been more concerned about promoting rather than regulating charter schools, so bad charter schools operate with impunity. A Miami Herald investigation uncovers the charter school bandwagon.
Another Road Fatality as Hurt Motorcyclist Flagging Help on CR302 Is Struck and Killed
Gary Skelton, 67, of Bunnell, a motorcyclist, is the seventh road fatality in four weeks in Flagler. This wreck appears to have been the result of a tragic set of circumstances in the pitch darkness of County Road 302 on a rainy night.
As Florida Eyes Resort Casinos As Cash Cows, Economists Warn Against Too High a Bet
Faced with a series of unanswered questions, economists say they cannot not pinpoint how much money the state would rake in if Florida lawmakers approve a plan for three resort casinos.
From Digital Furies to Everyman Frames in Art League’s First Juried Photography Show
The Flagler County Art League’s first juried photography show netted 63 works by 23 photographers in seven categories, with digital photography drawing the most entries and judge Rafael Torres lending a critical eye.
Bleak Houses: Hiring Discrimination and Distress Darkening Holidays for Millions
A report documents the boiling frustration, despair, and economic uncertainty that unemployed and under-employed Americans face this holiday season, which could get worse if Congress doesn’t extend federal unemployment aid by month’s end.
Ghosts of Flagler Playhouse Pasts Enliven Production of “A Christmas Carol”
The Flagler Playhouse production of “A Christmas Carol” is rendered as Charles Dickens intended it: a sort of Christmas-time thanksgiving, a booster shot of themes playing roles as important as his characters—the conquest of greed, the capacity for redemption, the dividends of generosity.
Two Men Caught in Bunnell After Smashing Their Speeding Car and Fleeing Cops
Two men driving east at a recklessly dangerous speed on SR100 this morning smashed their car then triggered a foot and air chase before being caught by Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies.
“More Teaching, Less Yelling”: A New Spring Flag Football League for Palm Coast
Developed by former NFL linebacker Sam Sword in conjunction with Palm Harbor Academy and Palm Coast, the $40-per-studen spring league is intended to be an affordable alternative for children intersested in playing. Palm Coast already has another, well-developed flag football league.
Cop Escapee Michael Testa Turns Himself In
Michael Testa, 21, who escaped from a cop car where he’d been held after being stopped on suspicions of dealing in stolen property, had just finished writing a statement and was complaining that his bond amount would keep him in jail forever.
Obama’s Speech on the Economy in Osawatomie, Kansas: Video and Text
Full text and video of Barack Obama’s speech on inequality, fairness and the economy in Osawatomie, Kansas, on Dec. 6, 2011.
Horse-Powered Trio of Neo-Expressionists Bring Their Brash to Hollingsworth Gallery
Artists Pat Zalisko, Karlene McConnell and Melissa Mason, who share a reformed barn of a studio in New Smyrna Beach, exhibit all new work–energetic, serene and spontaneous–in a month-long exhibit at Palm Coast’s Hollingsworth Gallery, opening Saturday.
A Suicide in Walmart’s Parking Lot; Victim, 28, Was Connected to Tuesday’s Cop Escapee
Mike Saunders, 28, was found dead in his car in the Walmart parking lot Wednesday, of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. He had been at the wheel of the same car, with Mochael Testa, when Testa was arrested near Marvin’s Gardens the day before–and escaped from a cop car.