Fred Griffith, Flagler Beach’s city engineer since 2017, said he was retiring “under duress” after getting a written reprimand, following a complaint by City Commissioner Rick Belhumeur that Griffith had directed “contempt” at him. Griffith was not known to have easy public relations.
As Covid Deaths Reach 46 in Flagler, Local Officials Detail Vaccination Plans and Refute Anti-Vaxxers’ Disinformation
Dr. Stephen Bickel and Bob Snyder of the Flagler Health Department outlined the logistics of vaccinating all residents and refuted disinformation about the dangers of vaccines, describing how individuals may feel after getting vaccinated and what the chances are of having adverse reactions.
Jacksonville University Plans Major Campus Expansion in Palm Coast in City’s 2nd Higher-Ed Partnership
Jacksonville University and Palm Coast announced a joint partnership that will open a JU campus in town–the university’s first-ever expansion beyond Jacksonville in its 86-year history–and enroll 150 to 200 full-time students within 24 months. The focus will be health-care education, and more specifically, nursing.
Flagler Beach Commission Unanimously Clears a Step Toward Flagler Beach Hotel Construction in Center of Town
The vote was unanimous. The discussion–what there was of it–took all of eight minutes. There was no discussion among commissioners, no controversy, and aside from one public voice opposed, no dissent, clearing yet another hurdle for the planned hotel.
Fitch Ratings Upgrades Palm Coast’s Utility System Bond Rating to AA
Fitch Ratings announced on Monday (Dec. 7) it’s upgrade of the City of Palm Coast’s utility outstanding obligations bond rating from A+ to AA, which represents an extremely strong rating.
Project Share, Flagler Beach Rotary’s Christmas Gift-Giving to 1,000 Children, Needs Your Help in a Difficult Year
Rotary Club of Flagler Beach Project Share is now in its 22nd year of providing toys, clothing and bicycles to families in need at Christmas. But Covid-19 has impacted just about everything this year, and Project Share’s ability to raise funds for the annual Christmas toy drive is no exception.
Democrats Attack DeSantis Handling of Covid as Unemployment Claims, Cases and Deaths Rise
Democratic senators renewed pleas for the governor’s office to provide more data about the impact of the virus on the state’s health-care industry and to lift a limitation on the ability of local governments to enforce coronavirus regulations such as mask mandates.
Jessica Paugh Selected as DSC’s New School of Emergency Services Director
Over the last five decades, the DSC School of Emergency Services has produced thousands of law enforcement officers and first responders, and graduates who pass the State Officer Certification Exam qualify for employment anywhere in the State of Florida.
Advisers Recommend Checkered Shortlist of 7 for Flagler Beach City Manager, Out of Motley Field of 57 Applicants
An advisory group of retired city managers has recommended a short-list of seven candidates for Flagler Beach city manager, but city commissioners are free to decide for themselves who they will choose to interview when they discuss the pool of 57 candidates Thursday evening. The candidate will replace the late Larry Newsom.
Florida Joins 45 States in Lawsuit Accusing Facebook of Exploiting Its Dominance
The states’ lawsuit, also joined by Guam and the District of Columbia, focuses in part on Facebook’s acquisitions of message-sharing app WhatsApp and photo-sharing app Instagram, transactions the lawsuit alleges were predatory because the apps “each posed a unique and dire threat to Facebook’s monopoly” in the social-networking sphere.