The tax bill on a $200,000 house will be $50, down from $62, but the district is laying off employees and reducing conservation, management and partnership projects in line with a new law approved by Gov. Rick Scott.
Tax Fears and $2 Million Gap Have Palm Coast Talking Firehouse Layoffs or End to EMS
The Palm Coast City Council clearly favored more cuts in services than tax increases during its first serious budget discussion of the year Monday, with the city’s fire department appearing to be the likeliest target.
Super-PACs and Dark Money: The New World of Corruption-Ripe Campaign Finance
Super-PACs, anonymous donors, foreign donors, unlimited corporate donations, political fronts masked as non-profit charities: the new world of campaign finance opens the way for scandal and corruption.
Another Budget Grilling By Commission Puts Clerk of Court Gail Wadsworth on Defensive
County Commissioners Alan Peterson and Barbara Revels questioned travel expenses that have “mushroomed” and wondered why there was no windfall from reduced retirement-compensation contributions. Wadswroth wasn’t happy.
Flagler Lifts Burn Ban in Effect for Most of The Last 6 Months as Wildfire Emergency Ends
There are still two active wildfires in Flagler County–Espanola and Opossum–but they’ve lost their bite, and rains have dropped the drought index closer to normal for the rainy season. Still, it was a costly few months.
Two Brothers Accused of Armed Robbery at Palm Harbor’s Hancock Bank Are in Jail
Michael Cona, 28, and his brother Shawn, 30, of 48 Fischer Lane in Palm Coast, were charged with the June 22 armed robbery, which was witnessed by 14 people, including an 82-year-old woman.
Cold-Weather Shelter’s Carla Traister and 1st United Methodist Win Points of Light Award
The Point of Lights award vindicates a particularly difficult year when the cold-weather shelter sustained some bitter, often inaccurate criticism from a few Bunnell businesses even as its needs proved more critical.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter, July 1-7, 2011
A pasta and sauce theft, a fight over a cup of coffee, a fire demolishes an empty Bunnell house, a brazen heist at a public works yard, thefts, burglaries and more.
Approaching His 8th Birthday, Nate Truelove Continues Remarkable Wreck Recovery
Nate Truelove was 7 when he almost died in a debilitating wreck on Old Kings Road last September. His recovery has been long, difficult and remarkable. An update from his great-grandmother Charlene.
Introducing Google+: Why Facebook’s Monopoly and Twitter’s Heyday May Be Over
Kyle Russell walks you through Google’s latest Big Thing, how it beats Facebook, and why it may put Twitter and LinkedIn out of business. Your invitation is in Gmail.
Cell Phone and Texting While Driving Bans: Laws in the 50 States
Texting while driving bans, hand held cell phone while driving bans: laws state by state with age breakdowns, school zones, teens and novices.
Obama Veers Right, Murdoch Veers Down, Bachmann Promises No Porn: The Live Wire
Michelle Bachmann signs the marriage pledge, Baba Brinkman raps on evolution, Google+ takes on Facebook, Rupert Murdoch’s vileness uncovered (again), Obama loses his way, and more.
A Quartet’s Steely Encore at Hollingsworth, a Summer Sale at the Flagler County Art League
Joe Thompson’s balancing acts of whimsy and rule-breaking anchor Hollingsworth Gallery’s encore with Jean Banas, Betty Parker and Karin Stover, while the Flagler County Art League holds a two-month art sale of 120 works at very reasonable prices.
BP Calls Gulf Recovered and Looks To Quit Payments to Businesses Over Economic Losses
BP paid more than $4.6 billion to private citizens and businesses since the Deepwater Horizon spill. The Gulf economy is on the mend, the oil company claims, justifying a cut-off, though it still faces billions in civil and criminal penalties.
City Marketplace in Receivership; Public Sale of the Palm Coast Development Set for August
City Market Place, where Palm Coast has its municipal offices, has been mired in foreclosure proceedings since 2009. The changes aren’t expected to affect tenants except, perhaps, for the better.
Flagler Sheriff’s Office Offers Free Web App To File Reports Or Glimpse Incidents
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Department web application creates mobile-friendly access to its website’s most popular features, including real-time 911 calls and search of jail inmate bookings.
Flagler Beach Bids Last Shuttle a Wistful Farewell as It Soars Invisibly Beyond Clouds
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off on schedule, but no one could see it on Flagler’s beaches or at the pier, though imagination was enough to sense the end of a 30-year journey.
Space Shuttle Launch Schedule: Atlantis’s Last Voyage
Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center at 11:26 Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, July 8. Weather may delay it. Watch video of the countdown.
Unemployment Rises Again, to 9.2%, as Job Creation Disappears and Recession Looms
More bad news for the Obama administration as job creation in June fell to a statistically insignificant 18,000 and the unemployment rate rose again, raising fears of another recession ahead.
It’s Not Just Flagler: Across Florida, Schools Contend With $1 Billion Less for Education
From Broward’s elimination of 1,400 teaching positions to Marion’s reduction to a 4-day week to Duval’s cuts in sports programs, school districts have been finding various ways to make shriveled ends meet.
Liquor Store in Town Center, Near Publix, Is Robbed
Suggesting he had a gun, the young robber took $200 in cash from the owner of Star Liquor Wednesday evening, after the owner wouldn’t let him buy liquor without an ID.
“Colors of the Sea,” A New Cannizzaro Show, Opening at Ocean Publishing July 14
Rick Cannizzaro, Ocean Publishing’s commissioned artist, exhibits paintings of loggerhead turtles while the publishing house showcases a new book on the Southeast National Marine Sanctuaries and Jean-Michel Cousteau.
USA Today’s Dirty Mind, Tour de Palm Coast, Plutocratic Scott: The Live Wire
Rick Scott’s plutocratic brotherhood of governors, why exercise beats depression,debt limit hypocrites, USA Today’s suggestive graphics, 14th amendment memories, and more.
Carver Center Lands $10,000 Grant from Bank of America, Tripling Private Fund-Raising Goal
For Barbara Revels and the Carver Center, the grant—equal to the amount the school board or the Bunnell city government are contributing—is one more vindication of a concerted effort to bring the gym back from the brink of extinction.
Adagio for Scott: Governor’s Net Worth Drops by Half, to $102 Million
Scott reported 2010 income of $11.5 million, up 46 percent from the $7.9 million he posted in 2009, and almost all investment income. His wealth topped that of all other Cabinet officials combined.
Kerouac’s Original Dharma Bums, Sovereign Brass and Snow White: Culture Worth the Miles
Kerouac’s Dharma Bums manuscript on exhibit at the Orange County History Center, the Orlando Shakespeare Festival’s version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Sovereign Brass in the Orlando Philharmonic’s Sounds of Summer Series, and more.
Involuntary Tows: Flagler’s Wreckers Get 25% Rate Increase, Their First in 8 Years
The county’s three wrecking companies–John’s Towing, Roger’s Towing and Saxon’s Wrecker–are significantly regulated, in this case by the Flagler County Commission, which raised the base rate 25 percent for most tows.
Flagler-Based Organized Crime Ring Ended As 6 Men Face Racketeering Charges
The six suspect, allegedly led by Grant Morse, had been robbing ATMs, pharmacies, cars and homes for almost three years. A multi-agency investigation started by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office helped end the spree.
Bunnell’s Challenges: Lawsuits, Layoffs, Deficits, and That $900,000 Police Department
Bunnell entered this year’s budget season facing a $900,000 deficit (about the cost of its police department) and the potential loss of a $1.3 million state contract, among other steep challenges.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter
Car windows smashed in for purses at Matanzas High School, child neglect in a Publix parking lot, arson in the Z section, the city of Palm Coast defrauded for a pair of shoes.
Energy-Wasting TV-Top Boxes, Stephen Fry on Unbelief, Frida Kahlo’s Birthday: The Live Wire
David McCullough on today’s version of patriotism, Frida Kahlo’s birthday, Nudist Recreation Week, your energy-wasting TV-set-top boxes, Stephen Fry on God and religion, and more.
From Wildfires to Ocean Breakers: Flagler Launches Sea Rescue Unit
The Flagler County Fire Department’s ocean rescue unit will be on the beaches during special events, adding a rapid-response capability that hadn’t been available north of the Flagler Beach pier.
Why Help at Your Nursing Home Will Be More Scarce, and Other Elderly Care Retreats
Florida just rejected a federal grant that would have allowed elderly patients to get care at home instead of in nursing homes, where staffing levels may begin to drop this month, thanks to a new Florida law.
Fireworks Blaze Over Flagler Beach In a Thundering Display of Color and Pomp
Anticipation gave way to an explosive display of colors and sounds as Flagler Beach’s July 4th celebration culminated with its traditional fireworks show.
When the New York Philharmonic Played the Star Spangled Banner in North Korea
In February 2008, the New York Philharmonic was invited to play in the North Korean capital. It was a remarkable concert. The rendition of the American national Anthem was one of its most moving moments.
Parades of Radiance From Heroes Park To Flagler Beach on America’s 235th
Solemnity and celebration at Heroes Park was followed by Flagler Beach’s July 4th parade at the start of a day and evening of revelry. A full image gallery of the celebrations.
When Casey Anthony Pre-Empts Wimbledon
Anthony’s isn’t murder-trial coverage. It’s voyeurism on a bimbo scale. If Anthony had been middle aged, crinkled, overweight, if she’d not been white, this level of media fixation would have been unthinkable.
Drawing Widespread Criticism, Rick Scott Discovers the Joys of SunRail, and CSX
Gov. Rick Scott’s approval of SunRail triggered criticism from Republicans and Scott’s tea party base while sharpening a contrast with his earlier rejection of a federally funded high-speed rail initiative.
How CSX Bought Mica, Funerals for Space and Symphonies, Internet Dating: The Live Wire
The Times’ John Mica-SunRail expose, the best TV ad ever, John Lennon as a Reagan fan, teabagger etymology, Gmail’s new G-spots, a history of the English language in 10 minutes, and more.
They’re On: County Repeals Ban On Flagler Beach Fireworks in 4-1 Vote
Eleven days after cancelling the county’s Independence Day fireworks shows, the Flagler County Commission this afternoon voted to allow the Flagler Beach show to go on.
Unveiling “Flagler Beach First!”: A Common Market for an Uncommon Island City
The idea of Flagler Beach First!, its founders say, is to enable Flagler Beach businesses to promote each other and educate residents and visitors about the importance of buying products and services from Flagler Beach businesses.
3% Pension Contributions by Public Employees Begins as Judge Rejects an Injunction
The state’s teachers union is suing over the 3 percent requirement, and was hoping to delay its implementation until the case is settled. That case is still going forward, but 3 percent contributions begin today.
First Fridays in Flagler Beach: The Halifax Country Band
This month’s edition of Flagler Beach’s First Fridays also features tie-dye t-shirt making, corn hole game face painting and balloon sculptures.
County Likely to Reverse Fireworks Ban in Flagler Beach In Special Meeting Friday
A majority of county commissioners are now in favor of overturning the ban on Flagler Beach’s Independence Day fireworks. They’ll decide at a special meeting 4 p.m. Friday.
With an Extra $15,000 Grant Secured, Carver Foundation Board Gets Down to Business
The governance board, joining key leaders from across the county, will set the direction and provide oversight of the revived Carver Community Center, opening as a full-fledged youth center for Bunnell by August.
Flagler School District Maintains A for 4th Year in a Row As Elementaries Shine
The A rating was powered by substantial improvements at Rymfire Elementary and other schools maintaining their high achievements. Charter schools didn’t do as well.
Hospital Donation Helps Campers Find Adventure at Palm Coast Summer Camp
Palm Coast summer camp for elementary and middle school children runs through August 12, at $75 a week. Scholarships are available. Children may attend as many (or as few) weeks as they choose.
July 4 Celebrations in Art, Song and Fireworks: Culture Worth the Miles
The evolution of video games, July 4 fireworks with Hot Chelle Rae, Paper Tongues, Shontelle and Cody Simpson at Altamonte’s Cranes Roost Park, free admission at Winter Park’s Morse Museum, Medieval Times tournaments and laser shows at the Orlando Science Center.
Executive Overreach? Supreme Court
Considers Rick Scott’s Rule-Making Powers
In oral arguments today, justices seemed unconvinced by the case of a blind woman on food stamps. The case speaks to Scott’s rule-making power–and where the Legislature’s power ends.
Shrinking Flagler Health Department Looks to Community Care As Neediest Alternative
The $700,000-a-year federal grant would open a community health center focused on the uninsured and providing the sort of care people seek out more expensively in emergency rooms.