Also, a Florida appeals court throws out a conviction against pill pushers, Shel Silverstein reads the Giving Tree, a Christmas rewind from the Flagler Fire Department and more.
From DuPont to ITT: A Century of Marketing Flagler County to Northern Chill Migrants
Marketing Flagler County: Sisco Deen tells the story of the DuPont Land Co.’s — and other development companies’ — marketing schemes to get northerners to buy in Flagler County, long before ITT industrialized the process.
Happy 2011! A Year-End Report from FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam
A summary of FlaglerLive’s first seven months: some explanation about how we grew to 3,200 visits a day and some speculation as to why, and a look back at the site’s highlights, accomplishments and limitations.
Bleeding Dangers: Has Your Dialysis Clinic Been Inspected Lately? Not Likely
The United States spends $20 billion a year to care for some 400,000 Americans who rely on chronic dialysis to live. Inspection rates vary from higher than 40 percent per year in some states to lower than 10 percent in others.
Your New Year’s Resolutions
–and How To Keep Them
Besides the week’s somewhat fiery highlights (a shooting and a couple of fires) Charlotte Marten asks a few people around town what their New Year resolutions are, and how they intend to keep them.
Flagler Lays Off Sex as Births Fall For First Time in 16 Years; Deaths Also Dip
Flagler County’s old norms keep dying. Used to be that property values never fell. And for more than two decades, they didn’t. They only increased. That changed in 2008, when they fell 8.5 percent, and kept falling more steeply the next two years. Values are set to fall again next year, if the last six […]
Floridians, Start Your Orwells: Rick Scott’s Buzzword-Assault on State Health Care
Judging from a 68-page transition team report, Rick Scott will seek to accelerate privatization of state health services. He has a willing audience among business-friendly Republican legislative leaders.
Christmas Eve Shooting Update: Victim, With Long Rap Sheet, Had Just Posted Bond
Christian Grasso, the 28-year-old victim of a shooting on a Flagler Beach street on Christmas eve, has been in and out of jail almost a dozen times in Flagler and Volusia counties since 2005.
Fire Demolishes Half a House on Forsythe; Oxygen Mask for 10-Year-Old Cat
The fire at 104 Forsythe Ln. off of Old Kings Road in North Palm Coast was called in by a neighbor. Neither owner was home. But two dogs and a cat were.
Shooting Shatters Christmas Eve Calm in Flagler Beach; Suspect Still at Large
One man was shot at 8:50 p.m. Friday, leaving a pool of blood in the middle of the street on South Central Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets. Police had no information regarding motives. The shooter got away.
Christmas Rescue: Flagler Beach Firemen Save Knocked-Out Veteran From Blazing Home
The Flagler Beach Fire Department’s Scott Jackson and Alex Wilhite pulled unconscious 44-year-old Roy Davis out of his burning home at The Village apartments Thursday morning. Includes photo gallery.
Negotiations Over New Pier Restaurant Lease Crawl Between Nods and Deal-Breakers
A marathon negotiating session over a new Pier Restaurant lease between the Flagler Beach City Commission and restaurateur Raymond Barshay left several issues unsettled.
The Week’s Highlights: FlaglerLive’s Video Recap
On Point reviews the week’s main events, including new and surprising Census numbers for Palm Coast and Flagler County, Flagler Beach’s attempt to find a new tenant for the Pier Restaurant, and more.
Open Field: Ron Vath and Joy McGrew Will Not Run Again for Flagler Beach Commission
Between them Vath and McGrew had 15 years’ experience on the city commission. McGrew was also the commission’s most influential swing voter. Their departure will likely invite a large field of candidates.
Florida Bulks Up, FCAT Hype, Adam Putnam’s Bosses, Eclipse Toons: The Live Wire, Dec. 22
Also, graphing your own Census, Medicare’s therapy fraud express, the Smithsonian’s new culture wars, buzzrords of 2010, F. Scott Fitzgerald reading Keats, and more.
Culture for the Visiting In-Laws
Arts columnist Josh Garrick saves the day with a list of suggestions, should you find yourself stuck with in-laws (or any extended family) and the perennial question: “What else is there to see?”
How Sheriff Fleming and FDLE Are Manipulating Press and Public Over Pill Mills
Sheriff Don Fleming on Tuesday led one of of three simultaneous news conferences on prescription-drug related arrests in 10 northeast Florida counties. It was more hype than news, much of it recycled.
Two Wrecks in 18-Hour Span on Flagler Roads Send 3 to Hospital in Critical Condition
Jessica Vides, a 2005 FPC graduate, and–separately–Joseph Edward O’Guin and Cacilia Carter of Bunnell, were critically injured victims of the wrecks–one on US1 and CR13, one on Colbert Lane in Palm Coast.
Greasy Spoon No More? Flagler Beach Ready to Negotiate New Lease for Pier Restaurant
A year of indecision later, Flagler Beach city commissioners will discuss a 31-year lease with Ormond Beach restaurant owner Raymond Barshay at a special meeting of the commission on Dec. 22.
Ready for Prime Time: Back Home at FPC, IB Conquerors Claim Their Diplomas
A majority of Flagler Palm Coast High School’s IB class of 2010–32 students, all of them now in college–returned on Monday afternoon for their diploma ceremony, an occasion small in numbers but oversize in achievements.
FPC at EPCOT, George Hanns as Burt Reynolds, a Lunar Eclipse and Tiger’s Sex: The Live Wire, Dec. 20
Your police state (and local police agencies) on steroids, how Facebook is more dangerous to soldiers than Wikileaks, WNZF soars higher, when China overtakes America, and more.
Julian Assange’s Greatest Leak: Americans Prefer Their Government Mostly Masked
The case against Julian Assange and Wikileaks is nonexistent, Darrell Smith argues in a column. What case has been built against him unravels the false claim that Americans prefer their government to be transparent.
All Eyes on Pensacola Federal Judge Roger Vinson as Health Reform Faces Its Next Bug
Pensacola-based federal District Judge Roger Vinson will be ruling soon on the constitutionality of Obama’s health care reform. He’s likely to rule it unconstitutional, further weakening the law’s legitimacy as it moves toward the U.S. Supreme Court.
Messy Proposal: Scenic A1A Group’s $15,000 Beach-Cleanup Request Turned Down Again
Friends of Scenic A1A are seeking the $15,000 to conduct monthly cleanups of beaches along Flagler. The Tourist Development Council has been unimpressed with the proposal’s lack of clarity and accountability.
How Tallahassee’s Addiction to Cost-Benefit Analyses Delays Pill Mills Crackdown
Why are pill mills still proliferating despite new rules? More than 600 regulatory rules are on hold throughout state government because a new law requires every single one of them to be analyzed for jobs gained or lost.
Flagler Unemployment Spikes Back Up to 16.6% and Florida’s Back Up to 12%
Just as Congress sent an $801 billion tax cut package that includes $57 billion in extended unemployment benefits, Florida’s and Flagler’s unemployment rates resume their climb. That climb should be brief, however.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter, Dec. 10-14, 2010
Must be Christmas: a slew of shoplifting–wine and cheese at Publix, shoes at Bealls, beer at target, some toy at Walmart–plus an angry dog, an unlucky jailbird, and more.
A.J. Neste and Hollingsworth Gallery Frame Young Photographers’ Voices in 1-Night Show
The 15 photographers in the Florida Endowment Foundation’s “Voice” program learned to frame, shoot and market their work all the way to Palm Coast’s premier gallery, where they had a brush with the feel of an art show opening.
Saluting FPC’s Student Government, Developers’ Psyche, USB’s New Dress Code: The Live Wire, Dec. 16
BP’s other blow-outs, are developers greedy or misunderstood?, your answers if you want to be a journalist, debating Islam, how relationships die, and more.
Break-In at Leah’s Jewelry and Pawn Shop on Old Kings Road
The robber was still at the shop when deputies arrived. He fled, jumping a chain link fence, and disappeared into the woods. A search with K-9 units and a helicopter did not locate him.
Fact Check: How Forbes Got Palm Coast’s “Fastest-Growing City” Distinction Wrong
Forbes listed Palm Coast as the 4th-fastest growing small metropolitan town in the nation. The numbers are based on a Census Bureau quirk that confuses Palm Coast with Flagler County. The actual numbers are quite different.
Bunnell Bull Run: Which Is Better, The North or the South? Answer: a Stabbing
Four men were riding in a car around Palm Coast and Bunnell. Two of them started arguing about the North and the South. It escalated. One of them then stabbed the other.
Toxic Bosses: When Supervisors Inflict the 7 Deadly Sins of Business on Their Employees
When it comes to anger, greed, laziness, pride, lust, jealousy and, of course, gluttony, there’s no beating the boss: Florida State University researchers are documenting the toxic effects of lousy supervisors on their workers.
Half of Flagler’s Legislative Delegation Listens to Local Pleas Without Quite Hearing Them
Sen. John Thrasher and State Rep. Fred Costello listened to 90 minutes of pleas and policy suggestions from Flagler County officials Wednesday in Bunnell. Whether they heard anything is debatable. And two of Flagler’s legislators didn’t show up.
The Week’s Highlights: FlaglerLive’s Video Recap, Dec. 9-15, 2010
On Point reviews the week’s main events, including Palm Coast’s park construction past and future, the city’s half-marathon promoter’s troubles, a mess of wrecks, and more.
Rick Scott’s School Bashing, Florida’s $3.5 Billion Deficit, Jesus as Left-Wing Pinko: The Live Wire, Dec. 15
Not to mention a Nate Truelove update, James Baldwin On Malcolm X, Time’s Man of the Year, Congress’ lowest approval ever, dinner with Santa, and more.
Palm Coast’s Population Drops to 69,000 in Latest Census Estimate, Flagler’s to 85,600
While those aren’t yet the final 2010 Census figures, the 5-year community survey numbers are the next-most precise set of data, with startling results for Flagler County, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell.
Trial May Settle Ginn-County Dispute Over Towering Condo at Hammock Dunes
Neighbors and the county strenuously objected to Ginn-Lubert-Adler’s proposal to build a massive, 561-unit condo-hotel on the beach at the end of 16th Road, even after the developer scaled back the proposal to 289 units.
More Trouble for Palm Coast Marathon Promoter Dean Reinke: Sued in Federal Court
A Missouri city last week filed a motion for an injunction against Dean Reinke of Reinke Sports Group, who faces a copyright-infringement suit in Indiana and a string of setbacks in other cities where he staged half-marathons.
End of the Trail for New Palm Coast Parks As Money and Visionary Plans Dry Up
Despite a deficit of park acreage in the city, Palm Coast doesn’t plan to build another park for several years. In a concession to homebuilders, nor doesn’t it plan to change the fees levied on new construction to ensure more robust park financing in future.
Health Care Reform Ruled Unconstitutional; Florida Judge’s Decision Up Next
Monday’s ruling doesn’t stop the roll-out of federal health care reform. Two federal judges have previously ruled the law constitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court will settle the issue by 2012 or 2013.
Florida Loves Polluters, Girl Crushes of 2010, and Madonna vs. Lady Gaga: The Live Wire, Dec. 13
The Florida Legislature’s coming war on civil liberties, Florida’s new muscle in DC, the state of giving in the US, Madonna takes on lady Gaga, Palm Coast’s holiday joy ride, and more.
Palm Coast’s Chrysler Dealership Burglarized, Jacksonville Thieves Descend on the City
The burglar at the Chrysler dealership on S.R. 100 tried but fail to drive a car out of the service department. Deputies in unrelated incidents arrested three alleged retail thieves in Palm Coast, all of them from Jacksonville.
The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol and Beguiling Genders: Culture Worth the Miles
Three actors portray all of the characters in Dickens’ Christmas Carol at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center, Michael Andrew at the Plaza Theater, The Nutcracker (of course) by the Orlando Ballet, and more.
Palm Coast Data Parent’s Headaches: Diving Revenue and $22.5 Million Loan Due
At Palm Coast Data, revenue declined $10.9 million in the six months ending Oct. 31, a 22 percent decline from the same period last year. Palm Coast Data parent AMREP Corp.’s Southwest subsidiary owes a $22.5 million loan to be repaid on Dec. 16.
A Man and a Boy Are Injured as Their Truck Smashes Into a Canal in The Mondex
Billy Dunson, a resident of the Mondex in his late 20s or early 30s, and 10-year-old Kyle, were taken to Halifax Hospital after the crash just before 9 p.m. Sunday evening.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 8-hr 38mn Speech on Obama’s Deal With the GOP
On Dec. 10, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent, held the floor of the Senate for eight hours and 38 minutes in a remarkable filibuster-like speech opposing Obama’s tax deal with the GOP. Here’s the full speech.
Video: Christmas Parade in Town Center
What was once a modest affair that took place in various spots around town this time drew some 85 floats and other entrants along a parade route in Palm Coast’s Town Center.
Robert Hodoba, 85-Year-Old Involved in Dec. 7 Wreck at SR100, Dies from His Injuries
Robert Hodoba was a long-time resident of Flagler Beach. He was involved in a two-vehicle crash under the I-95 bridge on SR100.
Encore: Flagler County Artist of the Year Edson Beckett at Hollingsworth Gallery
Edson Beckett, a ceramics, photography and graphic design teacher at Flagler Palm Coast High School for 22 years, is the Gargiulo Art Foundation’s 11th Artist of the Year since the award’s inaugural in 2000.