Fagler County’s five fallen deputies over the years were recognized Monday evening, and the sheriff’s tactical center was renamed after Sheriff Homer Brooks.
Backgrounders
Haspel, Spies and the Destruction of Evidence
The CIA official who ordered the destruction of videotapes that had documented the treatment of terror suspects, says he told Gina Haspel what he intended to do.
A Year Later, a Palm Coast Man Is Arrested in Hit and Run Crash That left Cyclist Critical On SR100
Michael Darryl Bailey, a 61-year-old resident of Palm Coast, was allegedly drunk when he struck cyclist Kerry Lee Milich on State Road 100 a year ago.
Flagler Palm Coast High Thespians Go Big With ‘Little Mermaid’ and Again Raise Bar
For Local Musicals
The $18,000 production of FPC “Little Mermaid” is, Like Matanzas’s “Sherk” last month, giving Flagler audiences a new look at high school musicals that have little to differentiate them from professional productions.
Rejecting Manager-Favored Secrecy, Mayor Calls For Open Interviews of Palm Coast Council Candidates For Nobile Replacement
Twice in recent years the Palm Coast Council held closed-door interviews for seat replacements, an approach favored by Manager Jim Landon and rejected by Mayor Milissa Holland.
Accusing Palm Coast of Making ‘Blatantly False’ Claims, County Talks Mediation and Litigation Over SR100 Development
A proposed commercial development on State Road 100 by the airport has county and Palm Coast government relations at their lowest ebb in years.
Ranks of Notorious Hate Group Include Active-Duty Military With Advanced Weapons Training
A Marine who took part in the violent assaults in Charlottesville last summer underscores involvement of current or former service members in white supremacist groups, long a concern.
Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Challenge to Red-Light Camera Enforcement
Justices said a local government could use a private contractor to review images — so long as a city officer makes the ultimate decision on whether to issue a ticket.
Jane Gentile-Youd for Flagler County Commission, District 4
Jane Gentile-Youd is running for Flagler County Commission District 4, 2018 election.
Thursday Briefing: Honoring FHF Volunteers, Shrek Opens, USA Gymnastics Regionals, Farm Swap and Music Jam, Sharpton March
Shrek the fabulous musical opens for general audiences at Matanzas’s Pirate Theatre, ROTC awards at the auditorium, Florida Hospital Flagler thanks its volunteers.
The Latest Assault on Food Stamps Holders
The draconian work requirement to receive food stamps could throw 1 million people off the rolls and cause more job losses than job gains.
AR-15s in Flagler Schools, Traffic Cops in Mustangs, New Marine Unit: Sheriff Staly’s State of Policing
Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly spoke to some 75 people Thursday on a re-energized state of policing in Palm Coast and the county, summing up initiatives and coming developments.
A Palm Coast Resident Says “School Shooting” In a Facebook Video That Has Nothing To Do with School Shootings. Cops Show Up.
Tony Lagano, 35, was upset over a family court issue and alluded to a school shooting in a sarcastic Facebook video last week, only to be visited by sheriff’s deputies.
Scott Wants To Cut Medicaid Application Window From 90 Days To 30; His Savings Claims Are Challenged
The Scott administration’s cost analyses sometimes have not made sense to Medicaid experts or health and social-service providers in the trenches.
In Praise of Pops: Jax Symphony’s Palm Coast Picnic Returns in Salute To Bracing Favorites
The Jacksonville Symphony’s 11th Picnics and Pops concert with the Palm Coast Arts Foundation is an exploration of the worlds of pop music’s Mozarts.
Water War Flares Again Between Palm Coast and County Over Planned Shops Near Airport
A proposed commercial development at the southeast corner of State Road 100 and the entrance to the county airport, opposite Bulldog Drive, is at the center of the latest water dispute between Palm Coast and the county.
Flagler Approves $14.8 Million Next-Gen Emergency Communication System, But Faces Bid Protest
Motorola won the $14.8 million contract to upgrade the emergency communications system every local first responder and other workers depend on, but Flagler faces a protest from CI, the other bidder and provider of the existing system.
Trump Expected to Loom Over Nelson-Scott Senate Battle as Governor Announces Run
The Senate contest between Bill nelson and Rick Scott is termed a “proxy battle” about Donald Trump and a referendum by Floridians on Trump’s presidency.
Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s State Of the City Address at Community Center
The full text of Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s State of the City Address at an event produced by the Observer Tuesday.
‘Aggressive’ New Advance Directive Would Let Dementia Patients Refuse Food
Do not resuscitate (DNR) orders are common. Do not feed orders, not so much, but New York may be opening the way to giving patients with dementia that option.
The Dangerous John Bolton: Skewing Intelligence, Silencing Input That Doesn’t Fit His Biases
Former colleagues say John Bolton, whose job is to marshal information and present it to the president fairly, resists input that doesn’t fit his biases and retaliates against people he disagrees with.
Unprecedented Flagler Forum With 7 Judges Has Some Make News and Others De-Mystify The Bench
Seven local judges appeared at the Flagler Palm Coast Forum Tuesday evening, the Ed Fuller group devoted to civic and electoral discussions featuring candidates running for office.
Monday Briefing: State of Bunnell’s Police, Renner Speaks to Realtors, Afro-American Entrepreneurs, Cameron
The Bunnell City Commission hears a presentation on its police department, it’s African-American entrepreneur night at AACS, Renner gives Realtors a legislative update, the Magnificat.
The Selling of Palm Coast:
Mayor’s State of the City Speech: $40 a Plate, Sponsors Sought, Profits Go To The Observer
Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland headlines a State of the City event at the city’s new community center in April, but for $40 a ticket. The for profit event is produced by the Observer, which will take all earnings.
Flagler-Palm Coast’s Population Grows 2.5% in a Year, to 110,510
Flagler County gained an estimated 2,705 residents in the last 12 months calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau, suggesting a need for more housing.
Are Drug Addicts Less Valuable Than Students? Florida Says Yes, Wrongly.
Politically there may be a big difference between students’ safety and drug addicts. Ethically, there is none, and financially, addicts are being lethally short-changed.
Broad-Ranging Gun Control Proposal Could End Up on November Ballot as an Amendment
A proposed constitutional amendment would a minimum age of 21 on all firearm purchases, a 3-day waiting period and a comprehensive background check.
Sheriff Credits “Fugitive Friday” Video For Re-Arrest of Palm Coast Man He’d Arrested In May
Sheriff Rick Staly last August pulled over James Christopher Raposa for speeding. He was later placed on probation on an impaired driving charge, but violated probation.
Post-Hurricane Initiatives Fall Short of Measures to Prevent Fuel Crises In Next Storms
A strategic fuel-reserve task force and using rail-tank cars to bring fuel into evacuation areas to avoid a repeat of runs on gas stations were among initiatives that failed at this year’s legislative session.
Florida Increases Per-Student Funding By $101, Much Of It For Security and Mental Health
The annual school funding formula would include a new category for mental-health funding with $69 million and increase the school-coop pot by $97 million, to $162 million.
Hammock Beach “Dragging Their Feet” Over Dunes-Repair Agreement, Vexing County
The agreement with Hammock Beach is the last piece of a mosaic of agreements framing the reconstruction of protective dunes along the beach. But hammock Beach has yet to sign.
Ding Dong! The Obamacare Tax Penalty Is(n’t) Dead–Not Until 2019
That means you still will owe an Obamacare tax penalty if you didn’t have health insurance or an exemption from the mandate in 2017. The same holds true for this year.
Does Palm Coast Have a Panhandling Problem? Council Member Thinks So, But Legal Options Are Limited
Palm Coast City Council member Heidi Shipley, citing “regulars” panhandling on Old Kings Road and Palm Coast Parkway, wants an anti-panhandling ordinance.
Bunnell’s Charles Cowart Jr. Arrested Again, For Allegedly Stealing 15 Flags in 3 Cities
Charles Cowart Jr. is accused of stealing enormous flags from Palm Coast Parkway and Indian Trails Sports Complex, among others. He’s been arrested many times for doing strange things.
Zambrano Orders Judge Scott DuPont to Clear Out of His Offices In Flagler and Putnam
Chief Judge Raul Zambrano’s order, delivered to DuPont by letter today, is as close to the firing of a judge short of a Supreme Court impeachment, and follows an investigation’s withering recommendation for removal.
Behind the Shooting On Seamanship Trail: Drugs, Underage Sex and Mom’s Warnings
Contents of Tristan George’s phone reveal incriminating texts and videos about underage sex and drugs, and warnings to the Palm Coast man from his mother about his behavior.
Flagler Sheriff and County Officials Worry That Prison Reforms Could Shift Inmates,
and Costs, to County
A spate of criminal-justice reform bills in the Florida Senate has Flagler’s sheriff and a county commissioner worried about what that could mean for the local jail population and budgets.
Thoughts and Prayers, As Pointless as Outrage
The ultimate, most pointless outrage is at lawmakers and gun freaks, one and the same, who stand in pools of blood as they tell us our gun epidemic has nothing to do with it.
Qualifications Commission Recommends Judge DuPont Removed, Calling Him “Reckless,” Untruthful and “Heavy Handed”
Judge Scott DuPont serves on Flagler’s and Putnam’s civil benches, and was facing a series of accusations that he’d acted wrongfully and recklessly as a judge and a candidate.
Weekend Briefing: Afro-American Heritage, Race the Runways, Dance Party, Nouvelle Trio, Sweetwater Birds
Flagler Beach Rotary’s runway run at the airport, the Annual Black Heritage Day Festival, birding at Sweetwater, Willie Nelson postpones to Feb 27, and a lot more.
Military Inferiority Complex:
Dear Leader Wants A Parade
The military doesn’t need parades. It needs to come home. Worshipping it in time of endlessly losing wars only locks and loads more cannon fodder.
Dunes Restoration Project Update At Week 3, With Video
Some 2,800 linear feet of dunes have been restored as of February 7, with the county’s goal being a mile a month. Chris Goodfellow’s videos have been documenting progress.
Thursday Briefing: Flagler Beach Library Reopening, George Wood Sentencing, Dr. Carter Wing, Vacation Rentals
Palm Coast’s George Wood faces a stiff sentence following convictions for the 12th time on felonies, Sheriff Staly renames a jail wing in honor of Dr. Morris Carter, who’s been the jail’s doctor for four decades, G.K. Chesterton on public opinion.
Pianist George Winston, a Stetson Alumni, Returns For a Benefit Concert Feb. 25
The intimate evening of music with George Winston supports Stetson’s School of Music Scholarship Fund. Stetson dropped out of studying sociology at Stetson in the 1960s, but got an honorary doctorate in 2004.
Wednesday Briefing: Meet School Board Candidates, Record Skywarn Class, Opioids and Hazing
The year’s first election forum features school board candidates at a Republican committee meeting, the Supreme Court hears a hazing case, legislators talk opioids.
Federal Judge Declares Florida’s Arbitrary and Governor-Controlled Method of Restoring Felons’ Voting Rights Unconstitutional
In a stinging blow to Gov. Rick Scott, a federal judge ruled that the governor’s near-exclusive authority to restore, and more often deny, voting rights to ex-felon is unconstitutional.
Grant Will Fund Vocational Help For More Than a Dozen Students at FPC and Matanzas
A legislatively chartered organization granted FPC and Matanzas $22,000 for the vocational program through the Flagler Education Foundation.
Four Local Governments Vying For Residents To Enroll In Their “Academies”
Local governments’ citizenship academies have been relatively popular, especially among potential political candidates or people who want to see the plumbing of government firsthand.
To Keep America Great, Legalize All Undocumented Immigrants
We have a choice: Keep our economy vibrant and enviable or demolish it by expelling and demonizing undocumented immigrants, as short-sighted nations have done in the false name of “purity” over the years.
Unusual Degree of Mayhem, But Also Success, Reflected in Sheriff’s Quarterly Awards
An award ceremony seemed to reflect the particular vigor and style of policing Rick Staly ushered in just over a year ago, when he became sheriff.