An emergency meeting of the Flagler County Commission and some silly jockeying prefaced the certification of the county’s voting equipment.
Flagler District Scores an A for 3rd Year in a Row as 3 Schools Maintain A, 3 Drop Back
Belle Terre Elementary, Buddy Taylor and Indian Trails middle repeat their A rating. High School scores will be released in late fall.
Word on the Street: Palm Coast Data Adding 100+ Jobs
The Flagler Chamber of Commerce is hoping that the job announcement will buttress arguments for an “economic development” tax, though the connection is tenuous.
US Economy Loses 131,000 Jobs, Unemployment Rate Stalls at 9.5%
The economy is losing far more jobs than it is adding as more temporary census workers lose work.
A More Settled Flagler Beach Commission Makes Up and Nearly Kisses Over Fracture
The dispute between commissioners Jane Mealy and Steve Settle was channeled into a more constructive discussion of the limits of commissioners’ administrative meddling.
Scammed Into a Lease and Facing Eviction While the Accused Realtor Lives Nearby
A renter faces her fourth foreclosure-driven eviction in a year as local Realtors are struck with what appears to be a rogue Realtor’s rental scam in Palm Coast’s R Section.
It’s Raining Taxes: Despite Rising Revenue, County Considers Increase in Bed Tax to 4%
The increase to 4 percent would fuel the backlash against other local tax proposals and increases.
Laying Off Employees, Palm Coast Is Set to Pay at Least $83,000 for One School Deputy
The school deputy Palm Coast is paying for is a way to get four other extra deputies on Palm Coast’s streets for large portions of the year–at the schools’ expense.
In a Shift, Andy Dance Joins Unanimous Vote for School Tax Referendum in November
Andy Dance’s switch improves the school district’s case for a tax proposal while hurting that of an “economic development” levy.
United Healthcare Pledges 75-Day Extension for Flagler Clients Despite Hospital Dispute
United Healthcare’s pledge lessens thousands of Flagler residents’ anxiety over getting care at Florida Hospital Flagler, but only temporarily.
Merchants of Greed: How Florida Hospital and United Healthcare Bargain Over Your Body
On Aug. 15, half a million central Floridians, and thousands in Flagler County covered by United Healthcare, including children on medicaid, will be denied insured coverage at Florida Hospital’s facilities, including Florida Hospital Flagler.
This Year: 5 School Deputies for $300,000; Four Years Ago: 9 Deputies for $222,000
The sheriff has virtually eliminated his department’s share of the cost of keeping deputies in schools, forcing the district to pick up most of the costs.
Bankruptcy Boys: County Commission Candidates Claim “Fiscal Responsibility” Despite Dismal Finances
Both county commission incumbent Bob Abbott and challenger Nate McLaughlin have bankruptcies and foreclosures in their recent past even though they’re running on fiscal sanity.
This Week in Orlando: Celery, Macbeth and Culture Worth the Miles
A family musical featuring Adam, Eve, Noah, Cain and Abel, watercolor wonders in Daytona Beach, “Celery Soup” in Sanford, and more.
Bunnell City Administration Will Occupy County Offices Rent-Free Through 2012
Bunnell will continue occupying a suite of county offices valued at $3,000 a month even though the old city hall is livable.
Free Backpacks and School Supplies, Free Immunization and Bike Helmets. Jam It Up Aug. 7.
The annual Back to School Jam offers 2,600 free backpacks and school supplies to children who need them, at Flagler Palm Coast High School on Saturday, Aug. 7., beginning at 10 a.m.
Taking Stockman: How Nixon, Reagan, Bush and their GOP Demolished the Economy
David Stockman, Reagan’s former budget director, sums up how his GOP destroyed the American economy through a bogus faith in markets and false promises of fiscal discipline.
Decreasing Rains, Dropping Aquifer: Hydrologic Summary for January-June
Every six months, by Florida law, the state’s water management districts must produce a report on water conditions in the region. Here’s the St. Johns River district report, which includes Flagler County.
Weekly Crime Reports, July 19-25, 2010
Hit-and-run sprees against mailboxes, a deputy draws a gun on a suspect, a boyfriend allegedly threatens to put out a cigarette in a woman’s eye, a deputy hits a pole, and more.
How Palm Coast Got Tagged in the Jessi Slaughter Cyberbullying Affair
A Florida girls tries out for fame and becomes a poster-child of cyberbullying instead. If her story were a flag on Iwo Jima, it’d be all red.
What You Always Wanted to Know About Mills & Millage Rates
Even John Quincy Adams complained almost 200 years ago that few people could figure out the meaning of “mills,” and he wasn’t even talking about millage rates. Here’s an explanation and some history of the most commonly incomprehensible word at tax time.
The Judge Behind the Decision Striking Down Parts of Arizona’s Anti-Immigration Law
Judge Susan Bolton, responsible for seven suits filed against Arizona’s immigration law, was recommended for the federal bench by a Republican senator, nominated by Bill Clinton and confirmed unanimously in 2000.
Florida 1 of 3 States With Top-Rated Medicare Advantage Plan. But You Can’t Enroll in Flagler.
Top-rated Capital Health Plan, a non-profit, is available only in the four-county Tallahassee area, so local Medicare members are denied enrollment.
Medicare Advantage: How Florida Rates
Florida doesn’t rate so high in a state-by-state chart showing the percentage of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries enrolled in quality plans.
County Tax Rate Going Up 15.4% Even as Revenue and Government Services Stall
The proposed 2011 property tax rate would be the highest in at least 10 years, yet collapsing property values mean government revenue will not rise at all compared with this year.
Mia Bella’s Dancers: From Non-Existent to National Champions in Seven Months
Brie Valenti opened her Mia Bella dance studio last January at City Walk, and returned from a competition in Tennessee with two national trophies this week for her students and her choreography.
Dull and Duller: County Commission Candidates Out-Trivial Each Other at Forum
Bob Abbott and Nate McLaughlin were not convincing candidates in an hour-long chance to shine before a large audience. And one of them is supposed to be the incumbent.
After 11 Years and Feeling “Unwelcome,” Boys & Girls Club Is Quitting Carver Gym
A day after securing a least to run its program at Rymfire Elementary, the Boys & Girls Club voted to leave Carver Gym, where it says it’s unwanted and unappreciated.
Andy Dance’s Two Masters: Voting for a Tax at the Chamber, Against One at the School Board
Dance says a perceived conflict between his positions on two tax proposals is unfortunate, but he’s still exploring the school option.
School Board Candidates Tread Gulf Between Ideal and Reality in Chamber Forum
The five candidates fielded relatively straight-forward questions but with key exceptions answered in generalities that revealed more of what they didn’t know than what they did.
News-Journal Dealer and 71-Year-Old Who “Had 2 Beers, Maybe 3,” in US1 Smash-Up
The News-Journal dealer was driving north when an elderly man who’d just been at the White Eagle Lounge pulled out of the driveway, causing the wreck. Neither was seriously injured.
In Shifty Budget, Palm Coast Projects Peter Pots Paying Paul Pots and 12-15 Lay-Offs
Next year’s city budget is heavy on shifts, cuts and one pot of money subsidizing another while keeping the tax rate where it’s been.
Speaking of Sex In (and Out of) Flagler Schools: Butterfly Project Shows Adults How It’s Done
Teens educating teens about sex, the pitfalls of young romance, and the eternity of sexually transmitted diseases, while the school district explores how to go beyond abstinence only.
Arrested for Trying to Take a Child While Impersonating Police
One of the two men is the father of a child barely a few months old, whom the two men tried to take away from her grandmother.
This Week in Orlando: Godot and Culture Worth the Miles
Mark Twain and Henry James works are still happily haunting Orlando stages, while “Waiting for Godot” is coming to the Lowndes Shakespeare Center. Plus something about a boat show? Really? Plus Haydn, Dvorak and more.
Party On: District Opens Schools to
Political Events, With Some Limits
The school board’s revised policy on school-building uses means almost any political group is welcome in off hours, as long as the superintendent approves.
More Incitement to Violence Against Florida’s Alan Grayson
A $100 reward is put out to punch Florida Congressman Alan Grayson. A death threat follows, not for the first time.
Tax-Free Days: Aug. 13-15, But Applicable Items Are Limited
Everything you need to know about the back-to-school tax-free days this year. But don’t expect to get the tax break at Disney.
Florida Tax-Free Days: The Fine Print
The tax-free holiday in all its details: what’s tax-free, what’s not, according to Florida’s tax revenue department.
Under Threat of Lawsuit from Universal®, City Walk in Palm Coast Will Change Its Name
City Walk, the beleaguered strip mall and home to Palm Coast city offices, will change its name to get away from Universal’s trademark strips in Orlando and Hollywood.
Don’t Fall For It: The “Obama Mom” College Grant Scam
Obama mom ads are everywhere. But there’s no such thing as an Obama grant for moms, who are eligible for Pell Grants, student loans and other aid like anybody else.
Coming Soon: A Rickshaw Service for Flagler Beach
It’s zero emission. It’s available in many big cities. And it’ll be offered in Flagler Beach in August.
Palm Coast Goals: No Tax Hike, 8-10% Cuts, 10-15 Jobs Gone; City Hall Plans Unscathed
The Palm Coast City Council wants to keep property taxes the same, compensating for revenue with fees, fines, loans and reserves, and still build a new city hall.
Ormond’s River Grille Owner Closer to Taking Over Flagler Beach’s Pier Restaurant
The iconic Pier Restaurant’s lease is up in two years. The city owns it. The city will negotiate with a new owner immediately, to the displeasure of locally owned Flagler Fish Company.
Battling Referendums: School Tax Will Compete With Building Tax in November
In the wost of times, voters will be asked to approve a tax levy to continue existing funding on top of a new tax favored by the chamber of commerce for building commercial properties.
Move Over, Delbrugge: How Janet Valentine Shifted the School Board on a Tax Levy
New School Superintendent Janet Valentine quietly showed her political and parliamentary skills when she turned the board from opposing to approving a school tax referendum.
About That Shooting at Sheriff’s Capt. Mark Carman’s Palm Coast House
In an incident never publicly reported, Jane Carman, the Palm Coast Sheriff’s Captain’s wife, fired two shots at their home while intoxicated and turned on a patrol car’s sirens.
Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s Methods Assailed Again–Unjustly, Its President Says
“They didn’t come up with any substantial numbers, or at least verifiable numbers,” a tourist council member said of the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s plans for a banquet center.
This Week in Orlando: Culture Worth The Miles
The British Invasion’s Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone, Henry James’ “Washington Square” on stage, Ntozake Shange, play, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide,” violinists Olga Feroni, and Julia Gessinger in “Strings of Passion,” and much more.
Palm Coast Data Parent Revenue Drops 21% in 2010, Accelerating to 24% in Last 3 Months
Palm Coast Data, largest of its parent companies’ operations, lost close to $24 million in revenue this year.