In another gust of dysfunction underscoring Marineland’s increasingly nonsensical status as a town, rookie Mayor Douglas “Dewey” Dew on Wednesday and Thursday attempted but failed to fire Town Manager Suzanne Dixon and Town Attorney Dennis Bayer, starting with an Aug. 20 email “request” that they resign immediately. He sent the email unilaterally, without the authority of the commission and outside of a public meeting. Jessica Finch, whom Dew unilaterally appointed to the commission in May, refused to go along with the firing and was critical of Dew’s methods.
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The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 22, 2025
Arend van Dam compares the president to Neville Chamberlain, Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center in The Hammock, the Friday Blue Forum, intimations of war and rancid patriotism from 1914 to 9/11 to 2025.
Palm Coast Man Involved in Fake Warrant Extortion Scheme Arrested
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man involved in an arrest warrant scam — a common scheme in which scammers pose as members of law enforcement agencies.
Flagler County Eyes Land Buy As Jacoby’s JDI Seeks to Offload 35 Acres Previously Slated for Development in Marineland
With Atlanta-based developer Jim Jacoby of JDI Marineland looking to offload properties in Marineland, Flagler County government and three state agencies are working to acquire 35 acres of JDI land in a joint purchase coordinated by the North Florida Land Trust. Flagler County would partner with three state agencies to buy the land, which is zoned for mixed use–housing or commercial. There’s long been rumors and speculation that JDI would build up the place, transforming the character of Marineland.
FPL ‘Settlement’ With Opponents Reduces Proposed Rate Hike from $2.5 Billion to $1.71 Billion Over 2 Years
But other parties in the case have not agreed to the proposed settlement, including the state Office of Public Counsel, which is designated by law to represent utility customers. The Public Service Commission is expected to hold a hearing this fall to determine if the proposal should be approved.
In a Plea, David Chenowith, 33, Is Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison, 20 on Probation for Sex Crimes Involving Minor
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols on Wednesday sentenced David Chenowith, a 33-year-old former resident of Langdon Drive in Palm Coast, to 14 years in prison followed by 20 years on sex-offender probation–an extremely restrictive sanction–following a guilty plea on eight charges related to the sexual abuse of children.
Former Assistant Public Defender Regina Nunnally Leads ‘Know Your Rights’ Workshop for Local Renters on Aug. 26
Former Assistant Public Defender Regina Nunnally, an inspirational speaker, author, preacher and lawyer with Community Legal Services, will lead a free “Know Your Rights” workshop for renters on Aug. 26 at Flagler Cares’ Flagler County Village at Palm Coast’s City Marketplace. The workshop will offer essential information for renters on their legal protections and responsibilities.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 21, 2025
‘Let’s Talk Palm Coast’ Town Halls with Council member Charles Gambaro, Model Yacht Club Races, the Marineland Commission meets, on being a Sullivan v. New York Times baby, and an interview with Anthony Lewis.
Ancient Greeks Did Not Share Your Love of the Beach
Beach vacations only became popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries as part of the lifestyle of the wealthy in Western countries. Early Europeans, and especially the ancient Greeks, thought the beach was a place of hardship and death. As a seafaring people, they mostly lived on the coastline, yet they feared the sea and thought that an agricultural lifestyle was safer and more respectable.
Canadians Not as Interested in Florida as They Used To Be Even as Overall Tourism Numbers Rise
U.S. travelers continue to bolster Florida’s tourism industry, while the state hopes to make up for a decline in Canadian visitors by drawing people from other countries. Visit Florida on Tuesday estimated 34.435 million people traveled to Florida from April 1 through June 30, up from 34.279 million people during the same period last year. The estimate for this year would be a second-quarter record, according to the state tourism-marketing agency.
Palm Coast Charter Review Committee’s 1st Meeting Set for Monday
The City of Palm Coast’s newly-established Charter Review Committee is set to hold its inaugural meeting on Monday, August 25 at 6 p.m., at the Jon Netts Community Wing at Palm Coast City Hall, 160 Lake Ave. The committee, which consists of five Palm Coast residents selected by the City Council last month, was designated to collectively review the current city charter and propose potential amendments to the charter. The five members are Patrick Miller, Ramon Marrero, Perry Mitrano, Michael Martin and Donald O’Brien.
Feral Hogs, A Recurring Flagler Scourge, ‘Desecrate’ Cemetery
Feral hogs have been causing what one visitor called “desecration” of Craig-Flagler Palms’s cemetery grounds. It’s been a recurring problem in Palm Coast and Flagler County, and an increasing one, as development continues to diminish habitats. The cemetery has taken concerted action to bait the hogs off the grounds, but neither Palm Coast (the cemetery is outside the city’s jurisdiction) nor Flagler County will intervene.
House Rep. Sam Greco Sets Eyes on Palm Coast’s Needy Utility Infrastructure and Other Coming Asks
Florida House Rep. Sam Grego’s visit to Palm Coast’s Waste Water Treatment Plant 1 in the Woodlands this morning had two purposes. The junior House member who replaced Paul Renner got a chance to see where some of the $5 million appropriation he helped secure in the last session will go. And he was taken on a tour of other locations that are part of the city’s asks for the coming session, including the congestion-prone intersection of Town Center Boulevard and Old Kings Road, and drainage and capacity improvements for stormwater in the flood-prone Woodlands.
Ex-US Attorney Roger Handberg Returns and Oprah’s Stedman Headlines Flagler Tiger Bay’s New Speaker Series
A former U.S. attorney, a human space flight expert, a promoter of business with Israel, and Oprah Winfrey’s besty for the holiday event: that’s the lineup of speakers Flagler Tiger Bay announced Tuesday evening at its annual wine tasting and grand “reveal” evening at the Palm Coast Community Center. The lineup is part of the club’s seventh year.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 20, 2025
The Flagler County Contractor Review Board and Palm Coast’s planning board meet, Separation Chat, Open Discussion, how editorials might write the requiem of the current administration, and a little Gide on Wagner.
As US Folds on Climate, China’s Leadership Steps In
While it’s still too early to fully assess the long-term impact of the United States’ political shift when it comes to global cooperation on climate change, there are signs that a new set of leaders is rising to the occasion. China and the European Union issued a joint statement vowing to strengthen their climate targets and meet them. They alluded to the U.S., referring to “the fluid and turbulent international situation today” in saying that “the major economies … must step up efforts to address climate change.”
John Thrasher Remembered as ‘Building Block for a Generation of Conservative Governance’
Family, Florida legislative figures past and present, and Florida State University stakeholders honored the life of John Thrasher Tuesday in an ceremony representing his lifetime of service to the Sunshine State. Former Gov. Jeb Bush, Thrasher’s successor President Richard McCullough, and children and grandchildren were among those who eulogized the former Florida House Speaker and senator who died in May at the age of 81.
Commissioner Kim Carney Recasts Decisions in Response to Library Board Chair’s Criticism of Cutbacks
Recasting her decisions in a different light, Flagler County Commissioner Kim Carney Monday took issue with criticism by the chair of the county’s Library Board of Trustees of County Commission decisions about the library system, and about the absence of commission members from Library Board of Trustees meetings all year.
In a Reversal, Palm Coast Council Unanimously Rejects Hargrove Lane Rezoning That Would Have Allowed Concrete Plant
Reversing a vote two weeks ago, the Palm Coast City Council today unanimously rejected the rezoning of 37 acres on Hargrove Lane from light industrial to heavy industrial, requested by a concrete batch plant company. Council members did not want to set that precedent, or to jeopardize the thriving commercial businesses along Hargrove Grade and Hargrove Lane, which they said would far outnumber in jobs whatever jobs a concrete batch plant might bring.
Greg Hansen Will Not Run Again in 2026, Ending Decade of Pragmatism on Flagler County Commission
Flagler County Commissioner Greg Hansen had somewhat of a surprise for his colleagues and the public at the end of the commission meeting Monday evening: he announced that he will not run again. His term ends in 15 months, and he intends to fulfill it “with a bang.” Then-Gov. Rick Scott appointed him the seat in January 2017 following the death of Commissioner Frank Meeker the previous July. As the local political atmosphere got more polarized, Hansen over the years became more pragmatic and moderate.
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Lawsuit Over Migrants’ Legal Representation Moved to Orlando
Pointing to “prudence,” a federal judge late Monday ruled that a battle about legal representation for people at an immigrant-detention center in the Everglades should move to a different court. The judge declared moot the plaintiffs’ argument that the federal government had violated their rights by not identifying an immigration court that would handle their claims. That court has now been identified.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
The Palm Coast City Council meets, Food Truck Tuesdays in Palm Coast’s Central Park, Flagler Tiger Bay Club’s annual Wine Tasting Meet & Greet at the Palm Coast Community Center, the nostalgia for the College Mariste de Champville.
4 Years of Repressive Taliban Rule, But the World Looks Elsewhere
Despite promises of moderation and inclusion, four years later, the Taliban has established a repressive, exclusionary regime – one that has dismantled institutions of law, justice and civil rights with ruthless efficiency. As the Taliban regime has tightened its grip, international attention has waned. Crises elsewhere dominate the global agenda, pushing Afghanistan out of the spotlight. With the Taliban seeking to end its isolation and gain legitimacy, can the international community find the will now to exert real pressure?
Bradley McVay is Florida’s New Statewide Prosecutor
Brad McVay was sworn in as statewide prosecutor Monday by Attorney General James Uthmeier. It is one of the top positions in the Florida Department of Legal Affairs and takes the lead in investigations that cross multiple county and judicial circuit lines.
Israel’s Murderous Targeting of Journalists in Gaza
The Israeli government has denied international journalists access to Gaza. Its murders of Palestinian media workers fit a pattern of trying to eliminate witnesses to its heinous human rights violations. Nearly 270 journalists and media workers, the vast majority of them Palestinians, have been killed by Israel since October 7, 2023. They are not “collateral damage” — they’re being hunted.
Flagler Cares CEO Carrie Baird To Be Honored with News Service of Florida’s 2025 Above & Beyond Award
Carrie Baird, chief executive officer of Flagler Cares, is among this year’s honorees of the News Service of Florida Above & Beyond Award. The awards honor the “most influential and thought-provoking women in Florida who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in their field, combined with having made significant contributions to society.” Flagler Cares, a Palm Coast-based non-profit that just marked its 10th anniversary, connects people to benefits, direct services or resources through a “no-wrong-door” approach.
Palm Coast’s Michael Brick, 35, Killed in Collision at Crash-Prone US1 and Whiteview Parkway Intersection
Michael Brick, a 35-year-old Palm Coast business owner, was killed Friday evening when a car crashed into his motorcycle at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Whiteview Parkway. He is the fourth motorcyclist to die on Flagler County roads so far this year.
Flagler County’s and Palm Coast’s Unemployment Rates Hit 4-Year Highs, Housing Inventory at 15-Year High
Flagler County’s unemployment rate in July rose to 5 percent, from 4.8 percent the previous month, the highest jobless rate since July 2021, when it was still trending down from the Covid pandemic slowdown. Palm Coast’s unemployment rate of 4.9 percent also matches a four-year high. The housing inventory in the county–the number of houses available for sale–hit a 15-year high, according to the latest available figures.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 18, 2025
The Flagler County Commission meets, so does the Mosquito Control district board, the Library of America’s new volume of Hemingway, containing “A Farewell to Arms.”
‘People Are Really Good at Heart’: Anne Frank Beyond the Quote
The quote carries a universal message that good will eventually prevail. This has turned Anne’s legacy into an easily adoptable trope, serving activists and political agendas. But who, actually, was Anne Frank? And how did she differ from the “Anne Franks” that have emerged since the end of the war?
Felony Conviction for Osceola Man in Reptile Neglect Case
In November of 2023, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Captive Wildlife Investigations received a report of numerous abandoned reptiles found in an Osceola County storage unit. 41 of 111 African fat-tailed geckos were dead from neglect. The containers were filthy and none had food or water. Kelvin E. Soto, 48, pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty and will serve four years on probation.
Florida Cities and Counties Line Up to Defy New Pro-Developer State Law Known as SB 180
All over the state, local governments are pushing ahead on common-sense changes to their growth plans, wetlands protection, and impact fees. They’re doing so despite warnings from big, bad opponents that what they have in mind will violate a new pro-developer state law that limits city and county governments’ authority on new land-use or development regulations. It’s bad news for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 17, 2025
Clay Jones on the president’s military invasion of the nation’s capital, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, the fake DC crime wave, Vicki Gray on the militarization of language.
Alaska Summit Bust, and Possibilities
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who was excluded from the Alaska summit, has maintained that Kyiv will not agree to territorial concessions. Such a move would be illegal under Ukraine’s constitution, which requires a nationwide referendum to approve changes to the country’s territorial borders.
Idi Amin’s Phony Populism
Amin was the creator of a myth that was both manifestly untrue and extraordinarily compelling: that his violent, dysfunctional regime was actually engaged in freeing people from foreign oppressors. Even his cruelest policies were framed as if they were liberatory. In August 1972, Amin announced the summary expulsion of Uganda’s Asian community. Some 50,000 people, many of whom had lived in Uganda for generations, were given a bare three months to tie up their affairs and leave the country. Amin named this the “Economic War.”
State Leaders Claim Farmers Feeding Florida Program Will Stave Off Hunger
Farmers Feeding Florida expands Florida food bank infrastructure so that fresh produce, meat and other products from the Sunshine State can end up in food banks and help feed The state’s $38 million investment with the Farmers Feeding Florida initiative that began July 1 expands Florida food bank infrastructure so that fresh produce, meat and other products from the Sunshine State can end up in food banks and help feed hungry people, they said.
Scaffolding Record, DeSantis Signs 12th Death Warrant of Year: David Pittman, Polk Murderer of 3
In what could be the 12th execution this year in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for a man convicted of killing three members of his estranged wife’s family in 1990 in Polk County. David Pittman, 63, is scheduled to be executed Sept. 17 at Florida State Prison. Florida has already set a modern-era record this year with nine executions, and two more men are scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection this month.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 16, 2025
To include your event in the Briefing and Live Calendar, please fill out this form. Weather: Partly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely. Highs in the lower 90s. Lows in the mid 70s. Chance of rain 70 percent. Daily weather briefing from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville here. Drought conditions here. (What is the […]
Glacier Melts and Floods in Alaska Point to Catastrophes Ahead
The glacial flood risks that Juneau is now experiencing each summer are becoming a growing problem in communities around the world. These and other icy regions have provided freshwater for people living downstream for centuries – almost 2 billion people rely on glaciers today. But as glaciers melt faster, they also pose potentially lethal risks.
The Truth About Flagler’s Public Libraries: Doing Far More Than You Realize, with Far Less Than Necessary
The Flagler County Public Library system remains one of the most–if not the most–efficient divisions of county government. Even with the staffing necessary at the new Bunnell library come December, the system’s personnel will have grown by just 20 percent in 20 years, while county government grew 37 percent, Palm Coast government grew 49 percent, and the county population grew by 84 percent. For all that, the library system continues to be the target of criticism without context or evidence, when it should be championed.
Flagler Beach Rotary’s Awareness Walk to Promote 988 Crisis Lifeline Set for Sept. 25 Over SR100 Bridge
The Rotary Club of Flagler Beach will host an Awareness Walk to promote the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 5:30 pm on Thursday, September 25, 2025. All are invited and participants will walk from Wadsworth Park in Flagler Beach, over the SR 100 bridge to Veterans Park where they will gather for a brief ceremony.
Amid Legal Wrangles, DeSantis Is Reopening State Prison in Baker County as Second Lock-Up for Migrants
Amid legal wrangling over a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said the state plans to use a shuttered prison in North Florida to boost detention of people targeted for deportation. The conversion of Baker Correctional Institution, which state corrections officials mothballed four years ago because of staffing shortages, into a second detention center in Florida will scrap a plan to house immigrant detainees at Camp Blanding west of Jacksonville.
Palm Coast Fire Department’s Eventful Patrick Juliano Is Promoted to Battalion Chief
Patrick Juliano is one of the more recognizable faces–and forces–of the Palm Coast Fire Department, often managing, aside from his regular duties, to be the department’s spokesperson, to coordinate some of the city’s most solemn events, contribute to their soundtrack with or without other musicians and percussionists, and to perform his bagpipes on innumerable occasions.
A Taylor Swift Tribute Upstages Debby Boone, Gary Puckett and Many Others at Fitz’s 2025-26 Season
For all the great acts and big names filling this season’s lineup at Palm Coast’s Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center (previously, Flagler Auditorium), it’s “Blank Space – The Taylor Swift Tribute” that gets star billing on the Fitzgerald’s home page as the organization seeks to attract a younger crowd. This season’s lineup includes tributes to a number of classic rock bands and music artists from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 15, 2025
Free For All Fridays with David Ayres on WNZF, going one step beyond that boundary line, Lyle Lovett’s boat, what Casanova told Diderot about fate.
The Search for Sustainable Aviation Fuels Is on Chopping Block
The federal spending law passed in early July 2025, often called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, significantly reduces federal funding for efforts to create renewable or sustainable types of fuel that can power aircraft over long distances while decreasing the damage aviation does to the global climate.
Floridians May Hunt Bears Again for 1st Time in 10 Years
Bear hunts in Florida will resume following a unanimous vote Wednesday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The first hunt will be 23 days long during December, making it the first since 2015. The commission aims to “manage the bear population through a conservative, well-regulated bear hunt,” according to a summary on the day’s agenda.
Judge Rules Illegal a Florida Law Banning Trans Teachers’ Choice of Pronouns
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker sided with Hillsborough County teacher Katie Wood and a Lee County teacher, identified as Jane Doe, in finding that the state law discriminates in violation of what is known as Section VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That section bars employment discrimination because of a person’s “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” But the outcome of the issue might ultimately hinge on an appeals-court ruling in a Georgia case.
Palm Coast Mayor Norris Files Dismissal Notice of His Lawsuit Against the City, Scrapping Rehearing or Appeal
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris today filed notice in Circuit Court through his attorney that he was voluntarily dismissing his lawsuit against the city he represents and Council member Charles Gambaro, without prejudice–meaning that it cannot be refiled. Mt. Dora attorney Anthony Sabatini filed the notice early this afternoon, soon after being served a letter by the city’s attorney, warning that the city would pursue financial sanctions against Norris if the lawsuit remained active.
U.S. Rep. Randy Fine Raises County’s Hope to Federalize More Beaches and Secure $10 Million for Dune-Rebuild
If U.S. Rep. Randy Fine kept at arm’s length Palm Coast officials’ hopes for federal financial help with the city’s utility infrastructure on Wednesday, he left county officials much more hopeful that he will help them with beach-management and beach-funding possibilities. The county had two major asks. Fine said he’d help with both: clearing $10 million in FEMA money due from Hurricane Milton, and moving forward on a $4 million study, the first step in federalizing the rest of the county’s beaches.