The Flagler Health Department wants to offer free, voluntary HPV vaccines to 6th graders in Flagler schools, but three school board members are unwilling to agree without first seeing whether enough parents want the offer.
Backgrounders
HPV (Human Papillomavirus) Vaccine: What You Need to Know
The complete Centers for Disease Control’s Vaccine Information Statement regarding the HPV vaccine to prevent infection with human papillomavirus.
Disciplined Twice, Sued For Defamation, Trespassed, Arrested 5 Times, Builder Now Wants to Be on Contractor Review Board
Dan Priotti, a general contractor in Palm Coast, is seeking an appointment to the Contractor Review Board months after his licenses were suspended (and stayed) and he was fined $10,000 for violating contracting laws.
Two Late Candidates Increase Pool to 24 for Flagler’s County Judge Seat as Speed-Dating Interviews Are Scheduled
Palm Coast’s Lynette Callender and Jacksonville’s Monique Hawkins are late entrants in what will be speed-dating-like interviews for Flagler County judge on Aug. 24 at the Flagler County courthouse.
Of Course Guns Have Nothing To Do With It
Mountains of evidence link America’s mass killings to the massive amount of guns in circulation, but let’s go ahead and pretend that guns have nothing to do with it, nor the absence of sensible gun control.
Final Tally: Meet The 22 Lawyers Applying to Be Flagler’s Next Appointed County Judge
The 22 applicants are vying for the new Flagler County Court position just approved by the legislature. A commission will recommend a short list to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will make the appointment later this year.
Flagler County and Bunnell Governments Lose Their Finance Directors in Middle Of Budget Season
Bunnell lost virtually the entirety of its finance department when four employees resigned and the new finance chief was forced to resign in an unexpected shake-up, with the county sending in help.
For Parents’ Peace of Mind, It’s Time for Video and Audio Monitoring of Flagler’s Special Education Classrooms
An incident at Belle Terre Elementary School last school-year illustrates the need for more objective, independent oversight of what goes on in special education classrooms, where students may not have a voice of their own.
Judge Jim Manfre? Former Sheriff Among Applicants for New Flagler County Judge Seat
With two days to go before the application window closes, eight candidates have applied to be appointed Flagler County judge, the second county judge seat the Legislature approved in its last session to share the docket of County Judge Melissa Distler.
County Awards $76,000 in Tourism Grants to 24 Organizations But Rejects 8, Raising Questions
The Flagler County Commission on Monday approved 24 grants totaling $76,000 for mostly local organizations’ cultural and sports events, festivals and professional meetings, money to be drawn from the county’s tourist tax revenue.
Lethal Crisis: When Seniors Turn To Suicide
As suicide rates continue to climb, claiming more than 47,000 lives in 2017, a six-month investigation finds that older Americans are quietly killing themselves in nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult care homes.
School Supplies Sales Tax Holiday Through Tuesday, Back To School Jam Saturday at FPC
The 2019 back-to-school sales tax suspension, or holiday, began at a minute after midnight today (Aug. 2) and runs through Tuesday, Aug. 6. The Flagler County district’s annual Back to School Jam is on Saturday at Flagler Palm Coast High School, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Flagler Health Department Expands Hepatitis Clinic, Marking Hepatitis Day 2019
The Flagler Health Department in Bunnell has renewed its commitment to diagnosing and treating Hepatitis after receiving grant for Hepatitis C treatment and clinic expansion.
Florida Population Growing by 900 a Day, Equivalent to a City the Size of Orlando Every Year
In Flagler, the population is projected at 112,000 in 2020, rising to 124,000 in 2025, then 134,000 in 2030, and 152,000 by 2040. The figures are significantly lower than those the bureau projected right after the Great Recession.
So You Want To Be a Flagler County Judge: Nominating Commission Is Fielding Applicants
The Judicial Nominating Commission for the Seventh Judicial Circuit is taking applications for the newly created Flagler County Judge seat, leaving Gov. Ron DeSantis to make the appointment likely this fall.
Flagler School District Is Finally A-Rated Again, Ending 7-Year Drought With Broad Improvements
The drought ends seven straight years of Bs, after a four-year streak of As before that. Twenty-four of Florida’s 67 districts are A-rated, 54 are either A or B rated.
Reilly Opelka’s Wimbledon Run Ends in 3rd-Round Loss
Reilly Opelka saw his terrific Wimbledon run come to an abrupt end Friday in London, as he crashed out of the tournament in a straight-sets loss to No. 15 seed Milos Raonic, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-1.
New Leadership Called ‘Capricious’ as 2 More High-Level Resignations Strike Palm Coast Government
Interim Communications Manager Jason Giraulo called the new city manager and council “capricious” and described his own managerial abilities as “castrated” in a resignation letter the new manager strongly disputed. Chief Building Official Ricky Lee also resigned.
Flagler Beach Fireworks and “Fabulous Fourth” Parade on July 4
Flagler Beach this year hosts its traditional July 4 celebration, with its Fabulous Fourth parade at 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. fireworks. In Palm Coast, fireworks are on July 3 in Town Center. Both events will feature kid zones and games.
Marina del Palma Yacht Club
Marina del Palma Yacht Club residents will enjoy all the best that Florida offers – a naturally beautiful coastal city with small town charm, plus easy access to all the amenities of nearby towns and metropolitan areas.
Reilly Opelka Gets First Wimbledon Main-Draw Win and Faces Stan Wawrinka in 2nd Round
Reilly Opelka, who rose up to a career-high ranking of No. 52 earlier this year, took out German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe Monday morning at Wimbledon, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 .
The Gardens Project Off John Anderson Highway: The View From the Developers’ Perspective
The Gardens is an 825-acre, 3,966-unit mixed-use development proposed off John Anderson Highway by SunBelt Land Management as a successor to a Ginn proposal a decade ago. Ken Belshe, a member of the development group, describes the scope and intent of the project.
Palm Coast Cell Tower Update: 2 of 3 Monopoles Are Up, With Carriers On The Way
AT&T Wireless will be the first to have service on a new tower behind Palm Coast Parkway, with a tower also up in Palm Harbor and the tallest of the three going up near the tennis center.
How Palm Coast’s Rugrat Group and The Ned Brought a ‘Do It Together’ Vibe to the Local Music Scene
Palm Coast’s Rugrat Music Group began small as The Ned, a band, and turned into “full-service music community for the independent artist” that lists 21 area music makers under the “Rugrat Family” roster who continue to influence the the local music scene.
5 Palm Coast Residents, 4 of them Felons, Arrested on Drug Charges in R-Section House
Friday morning, several Flagler County Sheriff’s detectives and deputies, including a SWAT Team detachment and members of the federal secret service, served a warrant at 11 Raemoor Drive. Five individuals were in the house and arrested.
Just Fired in Volusia, Tom Russell Overcomes Deep Skepticism to Win FPC Principal’s Job
Tom Russell, Fired last week after a four and a half year tenure as Volusia’s superintendent, becomes the eighth principal in 15 years at FPC, but pledges to be there for up to seven years, and finish his career there.
Man Accused of Attempting to Kill His Wife By Electrocution Says Using a Gun Would’ve Been Easier, If That’s What He Intended
Michael Scott Wilson, 33, is accused of rigging up the entry door to his Palm Coast home in the W Section with electric current to shock his wife to death around Christmas 2017 as the couple was having serious marital difficulties.
To Sue or Not to Sue: County Wrestles With Sheriff’s Space Needs at Courthouse
Despite a county commission vote ordering its administration to find more space for the sheriff at the county courthouse, the county administrator and the county attorney have demurred.
Flagler About To Sign 50-Year, $100 Million Deal to Rebuild 2.6 Miles of Dunes in Flagler Beach. It Has Only a Fraction of the Money.
Flagler County is teaming with the federal government to split the $100 million cost of dune renourishment in Flagler Beach, but the deal is fraught with uncertainties, and Flagler can only pay its first phase.
Does Flagler Beach Have a Panhandling Problem? Not Exactly, But City Will Consider New Rules.
The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening will discuss adopting an ordinance against “aggressive” panhandling at the urging of City Commissioner Eric Cooley, a business owner in town.
Shake-Up at Palm Coast City Hall: 3 Directors and 2 Managers Resign, Yielding to New Manager Morton’s Headwind
Human Resources Director Wendy Cullen, Parks and Recreation Director Alex Boyer, IT Director Chuck Burkhart and managers Renee Shevlin and Cindi Lane all resigned between Thursday and today. Morton named new appointments, some interim, some permanent.
Captain’s BBQ Sues Flagler County, Alleging ‘Politically Motivated’ Breach of Contract
The owners of Captain’s BBQ at Bing’s Landing filed a four-count lawsuit against Flagler County government, alleging breach of contract and seeking damages in excess of $15,000.
The Crisis Formerly Known as Climate Change: Wrong Re-Branding
The Guardian announced it was re-branding climate change, encouraging its writers and contributors to use more urgent terms like “climate crisis.” Here’s why this is very wrong.
Green New Deal Me In
The Green New Deal may have a hoaky name but at least it’s a beginning, an attempt to push back against a republic of insects and grass, inviting debate in the face of indefensible Republican inaction.
Talk of Divorce Preceded Shooting that Resulted in Apparent Man’s Suicide and Woman’s Injury
Maureen Lockwood said she’d told her husband Ralph that she wanted a divorce before he shot her then turned the gun on himself. He died. She survived. The investigation is continuing.
Bunnell Rudely Tells Church’s Cold-Weather Shelter for Homeless to Get Out Of Town
Bunnell’s zoning board voted to disallow the Sheltering Tree, the county’s only cold-weather shelter, from operating out of the United Methodist Church, potentially ending 11 years of service by the non-profit. The Sheltering Tree intends to appeal to the city commission.
Flagler Braces for Hurricane Season as Florida Reels From 3-Year Streak of Landfalls
Flagler County is still paying the millions in bills from Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, and the state is recovering from a direct hit from a Cat 5 last year, costing $26 billion, as the 2019 hurricane season begins.
Police Train to Be ‘Social Workers of Last Resort’ as Mental Health Calls Multiply
Lacking proper mental health resources, families and community members across the country all too often call police to respond to someone having a mental health crisis.
2019 Flagler Jail Bookings, Sheriff’s, Bunnell and Flagler Beach Crime and Incident Reports (Archived)
Archived 2019 Flagler County jail bookings, commanders’ crime and incident reports, Flagler Beach and Bunnell police shift reports and archive.
Inmate at Flagler Jail Manages to Facebook Live, Breaching Security and Angering Sheriff Over County’s IT Protocols
A inmate Facebooked live during a GED class at the jail, the second such breach in two months after sheriff’s officials warned the county, which handles the sheriff’s IT, to address the issue. A county employee has been suspended.
Trump Against the First Amendment
Julian Assange and Wikileaks are giving Trump a chance to challenge First Amendment freedoms of the press and get a radical ruling from his new buddies on the Supreme Court.
Laws Restricting Abortion Betray a Judgment: Women’s Sexuality Is Not Equal to Men’s
Men regulating women’s bodies through restrictive abortion laws is the tip of an iceberg in which women’s sexuality is stigmatized, de-legitimized, silenced, controlled, and misunderstood, even by women themselves.
Aaron London, Long-Time Voice of Flagler News-Tribune, Among Latest News-Journal Cuts
Aaron London’s by-line appeared 6,000 times since 2001 before he became one of six journalists laid off, leaving just 34 in the News-Journal’s newsroom, and just two reporters covering Flagler County.
Voices from the Grave:
So Proudly We Fail
In “So Proudly We Fail,” James Agee looked at war films to explain the “unutterable dislocation” between soldiers and civilians, what he described–in 1943–as a destructive “chasm” that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan describe with equal anger today even as the nation goes through the motions of marking its Veteran and Memorial days.
Town Hall on Suicide Awareness in Flagler Will Feature Survivors and Mental Health Experts
Flagler Lifeline, a volunteer committee and Flagler Cares affiliate established to broaden conversation and awareness of suicide, will host the public town hall event at 6 p.m. May 23 at the Flagler County Association of Realtors building.
Medicaid Expansion in Florida Would Improve Maternal and Child Health and Reduce Racial Disparities
States like Florida that refuse to expand Medicaid are missing an opportunity to address racial disparities in maternal health and improve child health care, according to a report released Wednesday.
County Orders Space Reallocation For Sheriff at Courthouse; ‘We’re Going to Stand Our Ground,’ Bexley Says
The County Commission acting as landlord is directing its administrator to come up with the necessary additional space for the sheriff at the courthouse, where Clerk Tom Bexley says it’s useless to try.
Sheriff’s Beachside Substation Is Renamed in Honor of Grady Prather Jr., Who Started Marine Unit
The late Capt. Grady Prather Jr. had launched the Flagler sheriff’s marine unit, which was disbanded after his retirement in 2008, but was revived last year. Prather died in 2009.
Stabbing Involving 2 Buddy Taylor Middle School Students Just Off the Bus Leads to Charges
A Buddy Taylor Middle School student stabbed another during a fight immediately after the two students got off their school bus Wednesday afternoon near the corner of Chapel and Hope Streets in Bunnell.
Photographic Tour of Courthouse Illustrates Crunch and Tensions Between Sheriff and Clerk Staffs
Here’s the first detailed, photographic illustration of the space issues the sheriff, the clerk and county officials have been wrestling with over the past months at the county courthouse as the three sides try to reach an understanding on future space use.