Just 10.6 percent of registered voters turned out on Tuesday, which means that just 4.7 percent of Palm Coast’s voting-age residents made the difference in electing Jon Netts. The turn-out was worse than Bunnell’s and Flagler Beach’s recent city elections.
Incomes at Their Worst Since 1996, Poverty At a 52-Year High, Inequality Deepening
Florida’s poverty rate rose to the highest level in 16 years, with 3 million residents—one in six—living under the poverty line in 2010. Nationally, most economic and health insurance indicators are worsening to historic levels.
Defying Polls and Tea Leaves, Jon Netts Is Re-Elected Palm Coast Mayor
Incumbent Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts held on by defeating Charlie Ericksen with 54 percent of the vote, making a run-off in November unnecessary.
Seawall and “Renourishment” Alternative: Saving the Beach Without Losing a Town’s Soul
Speaking on behalf of SaveFlaglersBeach.com, Terry Potter argues for an alternative to seawalls, dredging and revetments in Flagler Beach and invites the public to the organization’s seminar on the matter on Sept. 15.
Dim Futures: Florida’s Student-Loan Default Rate Rises to 10 Highest in the Nation
Students are defaulting on loans at higher rates, especially in Florida, because of a lousy job market, higher interest rates, and a rise in for-profit colleges that typically charge more than public colleges.
Yes, Virginia, There’s an Election in Palm Coast Today. Go Vote For One of These Two.
Incumbent Mayor Jon Netts and Charlie Ericksen, along with perennial but non-serious candidate Joe Cunnane, are in the race for mayor. The election is today. All Palm Coast registered voters of any party, or non-party, may vote.
Jon Netts: The Live Interview
Jon Netts, incumbent mayoral candidate in the Palm Coast election, answers 12 questions and a few follow-ups on a broad range of issues. He faces Charlie Ericksen and Joe Cunnane.
Charlie Ericksen: The Live Interview
Charlie Ericksen is challenging incumbent mayoral candidate Jon Netts in the Palm Coast election. He answers 12 questions and a few follow-ups on a broad range of issues.
Services Set for Sgt. Frank Celico, 11-Year Veteran of the Flagler Sheriff’s Office, Who Died Sept. 9
Viewing is Wednesday at Craig Flagler Palms, the Funeral is Thursday. Frank Celico started his law enforcement career with the Flagler County Sheriff’s office in 2000.
Anger, Alcohol and a Rifle Shot a Few Blocks from Wadsworth and Buddy Taylor Schools
Patrick Kilichowski, 64, was reportedly angry that his girlfriend was chatting with neighbors, and allegedly drunk, when he walked out of his house with a Winchester rifle–and eventually fired a shot, he says by accident. He was jailed on several aggravated assault charges.
As Florida Teachers’ Salaries Stagnate or Fall, Superintendent Pay Is Rising
In nine Florida school districts, superintendent salaries increased by 5 percent or more in the last four years. It had gone up 3 percent in Flagler before this year’s pay cut, making it a wash.
This Week in Flagler and Tallahassee: An Election and the Gun to Governments’ Heads
A relatively quiet week if not for the Palm Coast mayoral primary, which is shaping into quite a contest. “The Laramie Project” opens at the Repertory Theatre, and the Palm Coast City Council will talk guns.
Palm Coast Mayor Poll: Make Your Voice Heard
Who are you voting for in the Palm Coast mayoral election? Netts? Ericksen? Cunane? None of the above? Take the FlaglerLive poll. Also: do you approve of the job Netts is doing? Of your choices in this year’s election?
Back from the Dead, Carver Gym Is Rededicated By Those Who Nearly Killed It
Flagler’s governments gathered at South Bunnell’s Carver Gym Saturday to celebrate the rebirth of what, just 15 months ago, looked to be the end for the community center. Some of the applause was deserved, much of it was self-serving.
Blue on Blue, the Flagler County Art League’s Homage to the Color of Imagination
Blue on Blue, the Flagler County Art League’s newest show, opens Saturday, Sept. 10, with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. and runs through September at the league’s gallery at City Market Place.
Jets Cut Mardy Gilyard Five Days After Picking Him Up, Leaving His Future Uncertain
The St. Louis Rams cut Mardy Gilyard on Sept. 3, the New York Jets picked him up on the 4th, then cut him five days later. The former Flagler Palm Coast High School and University of Cincinnati star has had a checkered few years.
Judge Throws Out Challenge to Fair District Amendment, Panicking Motley Incumbents
Federal District Judge Ursula Ungaro rejected the argument that the anti-gerrymandering amendment allows voters to meddle in legislative redistricting. Weird alliances between incumbent Democrats and Republicans have formed to keep fighting the voter-approved amendment.
Flagler County Tentatively Adopts Highest Tax Rate in 12 Years at Subdued Hearing
Only one person, a tea party representative, addressed the Flagler County Commission as it adopted, in the first of two votes, a $65.3 million budget and a 12 percent increase in its tax rate, though most property owners will pay less in taxes.
Hammock Carvings: Paul Baliker, Sculptor of Nature’s Balance at Man’s Mercy
Paul Baliker has been sculpting wood and bronze for 35 years, working out of his studio in the Hammock, where he also maintains a gallery. A video report by Charlotte Marten.
When Cops Track Your Cell Calls and Location On Public Roads: No Expectation of Privacy
Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeals Wednesday ruled that tracking a drug dealer through his cell phone as he traveled across the state was legal as long as he did not go onto private property.
Black Communities Through a Camera Lens, Louis Armstrong and More Dance: Culture Worth the Miles
Black photographers’ eye on Jacksonville, Daytona Beach and Winter Park, Satchmo at the Waldorf at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Orlando’s Third Thursday exhibits, and more.
Palm Coast’s Joann Boardman, 48, Found Dead in Maine After Her Son’s Wedding
Joann Boardman, 48, had been attending her son’s wedding in Maine. She was found in her car, submerged, beyond a state road that ends at the water’s edge near Bar Harbor, Maine.
Federal Suit Filed Against Florida Law Requiring Drug Tests of Welfare Recipients
The new law requires recipients of temporary cash assistance to pay $35 to $45 for a drug test first. The ACLU charges the law stigmatizes low-income people and amounts to a suspicionless search.
Flagler Beach Touts Taut Budget With 14.6% Tax Rate Increase and 3% Employee Raise
Though Flagler Beach’s tax rate is again increasing, most property owners will see their tax bills decrease. For Acting City Manager Bruce Campbell, budget season closes a crucial part of his on-going job interview.
County Approves Tourist Council’s $800,000 Marketing Budget, Minus Raises for Staff
A proposal to raise TDC executive Peggy Heiser’s salary by 7.7 percent was pulled from consideration shortly before the meeting, eliminating what would have been a contentious debate over the council’s budget.
Mandatory Virtual Classes for High School Students Bugging Cash-Strapped Districts
A new state law that requires Florida high school students to take a class online is causing cash-strapped school districts to spend millions on new computers and exacerbating the digital divide.
Palm Coast Mayor: Tea Party Straw Poll Has Ericksen Far Ahead of Netts, 59-36%
The results, based on an internet poll conducted by the tea party, has its limitations, but nevertheless points to unexpectedly lopsided–and surprising–numbers. Jon Netts and Charlie Ericksen may be in a closer race than either expected as early voting continues.
Armed Robbery, Then Car, Foot and K-9 Chase Ends With Arrest of 3 in Seminole Woods
Three suspects who allegedly robbed an Ormond Beach pharmacy at gunpoint were caught by Bunnell police and sheriff’s deputies around noon after a car and foot chase that ended in the woods near Belle Terre and Citation Blvd.
Flagler Youth Orchestra, County’s Largest Arts Program, Launches 7th Season Open House
Parents and students are invited to the Flagler Youth Orchestra’s open house Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the Indian Trails Middle School cafeteria, at 5 p.m., to join the orchestra. All skill levels welcome, from 3rd grade and up.
This Week in Flagler and Tallahassee: Budget Hearing Galore, Saturday at the Galleries
Several local governments hold public hearings on their 2011-12 budgets, the county commission takes on economic development again, the Flagler Youth Orchestra kicks off again, Hollingsworth and the Art League galleries hold show openings, and Tallahassee talks online bookings.
Feared Dead, Man Overboard Washes Up Alive on Cinnamon Beach 9 Hours Later
He’s alive: Brian Oliver, the captain of a charter sailboat, fell in the water at 3 p.m. Sunday, held on to a cooler, and washed up on shore, in good health, at half past midnight Tuesday morning.
Light Up Palm Coast: Petitioning the City Council to Put Safety Before Beautification
In the wake of 15-year-old Kirt Smith’s death while biking on Seminole Woods, Dede Siebenaler argues that the Palm Coast City Council has focused too much on beautifying streets instead of lighting them up.
Federal COBRA Insurance Subsidies End, Aggravating Strains for the Unemployed
Federal COBRA subsidies for laid-off workers covered 65 percent of premium costs for 15 months, as part of the Obama administration’s 2009 stimulus package. GOP lawmakers blocked an extension.
Palm Coast Fire Department Is Presented A Flag That Flew at 9/11’s Three Sacred Sites
John Pickard, a member of Palm Coast’s fire police and a member of the 911 Foundation riders flew the flag at the Pentagon, at the Shanksville, Pa., United Flight 93 crash site, and at Ground Zero in Manhattan.
Door-to-Door Salesmen, Peddlers, Solicitors:
The Palm Coast Ordinance
The Palm Coast ordinance setting forth the regulations and penalties regarding solicitors, peddlers, door-to-door salesmen, solicitations and hawkers. From Chapter 35 of the Code of Ordinance, under “Nuisances, Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions,” Article III.
Palm Coast Code Enforcement Declares War On Door-to-Door Salesmen. Arrests Follow.
Four door-to-door solicitors were arrested in August, two more, selling meat, were jailed on Thursday as the sheriff’s office has been following through on a complaint by Code Enforcement Board member Norman Mugford that the city’s ordinance was not being enforced.
Snooping Security: “If You See Something, Say Something” Campaign Comes to Florida
Gov. Rick Scott is welcoming the “If You See Something, Say Something Campaign,” which encourages callers to use a statewide toll-free telephone number to report suspicious activity. The program raises spying, profiling and other civil liberties concerns.
Zero Job Creation in August as Economy, Recession-Bound, Posts Year’s Worst Showing
Even as the unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent, job creation stalled in August, and was revised downward in June and July, signaling a recession.
23-Year-old Woman Survives Fiery US1 Wreck That Shears Off Toyota’s Engine
Amanda Sieber, 23, was driving north on U.S.1 Thursday evening when, 1.6 miles south of the White Eagle, she lost control of her Toyota Scion, which rolled, on fire, into the wood-line, leaving its engine behind.
Moving to Palm Coast, a Parent Asks: What Schools and Sections Are Best for My Kids?
Kristen Jordan is moving from Gainesville to Palm Coast with her 5th grade daughter and 4th grade son, who has Asperger’s Syndrome. She asks readers to guide her in her next-most important decisions: what schools and neighborhoods to choose.
2 Days from Drop-Dead Date, Flagler Beach’s Pier Restaurant Lease Is Signed By New Owner
Raymond Barshay, owner of Ormond Beacjh’s River Grille and South Daytona’s Sloppy Joe’s, signed a 10-year lease on Tuesday with Flagler Beach, his landlord, to remake and run the Pier Restaurant, ending a succession saga stretching almost two years.
Texas-Size Holes in Gov. Rick Scott’s Boast Of Florida Job Creation as 2nd to Texas
Rick Scott called the rest of the nation’s job numbers “pathetic” compared to Florida’s, yet Florida ranks near the bottom in the nation on Gallup’s index of job creation, while its 70,000 new jobs in the past year proportionally rank the state below the national average.
Florida Gun Nuts, Evils of Going Green, Blacks and Marriage, Allen West’s Idiocy: The Live Wire
Florida law as a gun to local governments’ heads, when GIs executed children in Iraq, a sickness beyond Fox, Is Marriage for White People?, homeland security sex, Allen West’s stupid comments on the Arab Spring, and more.
Banning Near-Shore Oil Drilling for Good in Florida: Proposed Constitutional Amendment Is Filed
The proposed amendment, filed Tuesday by Sen. Arthenia Joyner, matches a House version filed earlier this year by Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg. It would ask voters to put into the constitution a ban on exploration, drilling, extraction or production of oil in Florida waters.
As Voting for Palm Coast Mayor Begins, Netts and Ericksen Duel More Sharply
Mayoral candidate and challenger Charlie Ericksen and incumbent Jon Netts accentuated their differences in the Palm Coast Civic Association forum: Ericksen for change, Netts for staying the course.
So You Think You Can Dance in Orlando, Wild Art in Sanford: Culture Worth the Miles
Robert Mier’s wild Florida at Gallery First, So You Think You Can Dance comes to the Amway Center in Orlando, Disney on Ice, the Musical of Musicals at the Winter Park Playhouse, and more.
Despite Raises, Average Teacher Pay Is Eroding Significantly in Flagler and Florida
Average teacher pay at the end of last year in Flagler was $48,067. Adjusted for inflation, it represents an 8.5 percent decline compared with pay in 2006. Take-home pay declined further this fall.
Pointing to Recession, Floridians’ Consumer Confidence Crashes Again to Near-Record Low
The dramatic decline in consumer confidence is just three points shy of 59, the mark set in June 2008, when the nation was in the midst of the Great Recession. Figures released by the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
With Pill Mills and “Internet Cafes” in Sight, Palm Coast Prepares Stricter Regulations
The Palm Coast City Council holds little hope for state law to crack down on gambling posing as Internet cafes, which are proliferating in the city, so it’ll regulate them through zoning laws. It’s doing the same for pain clinics, once moratoriums on both types of businesses expire.
Small Government’s Price: No Sidewalk Money, City Says in Wake of Boy’s Death on Seminole
Just as the county cut out a helicopter pilot to save money, Palm Coast has been delaying planned sidewalk projects, including sidewalks along Seminole Woods Boulevard, for lack of money.