Increasingly troubled by a perceived if amorphous failure of communication between the city and residents, the Flagler Beach City Commission considered then rejected the possibility of contracting with a local Realtor to run a city-related website, then opted to develop a new Facebook page and launch a new app on Monday.
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Dad’s Alert Over His Son’s Gun Thefts Leads to Arrest of Boys, 15 and 16, Before Confrontation
A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old resident of Palm Coast were arrested on grand theft and other charges after allegedly stealing two firearms in a plan to intimidate or fight other juveniles at Holland Park in Palm Coast. The posturing preceding the boys’ arrests was similar to incidents that led to the shooting deaths of five teens in Palm Coast and Bunnell since 2019.
Mysterious Boom Reported Thursday Night Across Flagler Attributed to a Possible Meteorite
Palm Coast and Flagler County residents were abuzz with reports of a mysterious boom heard across parts of the county at 11:15 p.m. Thursday night. There were also unconfirmed reports of a fireball spotted in St. Johns County around the same time.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, January 20, 2023
‘Unbossed and Unbowed,’ a One-Woman Show About Shirley Chisholm at AACS, ‘Honky Tonk Angels’ at City Repertory Theatre, The Bronx Wanderers, at Flagler Auditorium, “Rent” at Flagler Playhouse, Mario Vargas Llosa on books.
‘You’re Killing My Husband,’ Flagler Beach City Manager Whitson’s Wife Tells Commission
Becky Whitson, Flagler Beach City Manager William Whitson’s wife, publicly accused the city commission of tormenting and killing her husband. She spoke late this evening during a workshop on the city administration’s communications with the public, and on meeting the commission’s priorities.
The Dispirited End of Jacinda Arden
Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s liberal prime minister who just announced her resignation, faced a constant barrage of online and in-person abuse – from anti-vaxxers, misogynists and sundry others who simply don’t like her.
Brother and Sister Face Several Felony Charges in Beating and Hit-and-Run at Wickline Park
Gabriella Hope Alo, 18, and her brother Nicholas Dean Alo, 21, face several felony charges stemming from an alleged beating of a teen-age boy, running over a 29-year-old woman and leaving the scene at Wickline Park in Flagler Beach last week.
‘Unbossed’ Spirit of Shirley Chisholm, Former Palm Coast Resident, Takes the Stage at AACS
“Unbought & Unbowed” is a one-woman show starring New York actor Ingrid Griffith in the role of Shirley Chisholm, who made history as the first woman to run for president from a major party, and who lived some of her last years in Palm Coast. The play is staged at the African American Cultural Society Saturday and Sunday.
Custodial Services’ Renee Berry and Matanzas Math Teacher Lee Winfree Win District’s Top Honors
Renee Berry, the Custodial Services department secretary, was named the Flagler County School District Employee of the Year, and Lee Winfree, a math teacher at Matanzas High School, was named the District Teacher of the Year at the annual celebration at Flagler Auditorium Wednesday evening.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 19, 2023
A patchy, foggy morning, Drug court, Albert W. Ketèlbey’s “In a Persian Market,” threatened species on the rise, Don DeLillo on being a tourist.
Ron DeSantis, ‘Injustice Denier’
DeSantis has explicitly denied that systemic racism exists – characterizing the notion as “a bunch of horse manure.” That makes him an “injustice denier.” Akin to climate change, there is no legitimate academic debate about the reality of systemic racism.
In a First in Flagler, Sheriff Goes Civil Route to Evict Repeat Drug Offenders in Mondex
For the first time in the county, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office invoked a civil nuisance abatement law to evict a homeowner from a homesteaded property that had been used “to facilitate criminal activity,” including drug use and sales, according to the judge’s order granting the eviction.
DeSantis Administration Wanted ‘Mental Examination’ of 12-Year-Olds Suing Over Trans Rights
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking a federal judge for permission to perform “mental examinations” on a pair of 12-year-olds who are plaintiffs in a challenge to a state rule preventing Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender people.
Cramped and Neglected Flagler Health Department Tells County Commission: ‘We Need Your Help’
The Flagler County Health Department is pleading with county commissioners for more money to improve an ageing facility and expand services that touch the lives of a third of the county’s population. The department hopes to open a facility in Palm Coast. While commissioners are not indifferent, finding a source of money will be a challenge.
In Bunnell, Rogers and Gordon and, Finally, Pete Young All Elected Without Opposition
Commissioner John Rogers was re-elected for his fifth term, uncontested for the first time. Incumbent Commissioner Tonya Gordon ran in the special election to fill the seat Bob Barnes vacated last year, what will be a two-year term.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, January 18, 2023
The Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board considers yet another self-storage facility, Jack Lemmon at length, George Wallace.
Israel’s Ben-Gvir Is Celebrating a Convicted Terrorist and Justifying Violence Against Palestinians
Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, hailed the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, a convicted terrorist, and is trying to make his anti-Palestinian movement seem less extremist and more appealing to Jews and the international community. A rewrite of American history could help him do it.
DeSantis Wants Freedom of Medical Disinformation and Bans on Safety Requirements
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, flanked by Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, unveiled an initiative to permanently ban mask requirements across Florida, permanently block Covid-19 vaccine requirements at schools and businesses, and provide protection of “medical freedom of speech”–that is, physicians who disagree with Covid science.
Flagler School District Will Ask Its Employees: Do You Want to Be Armed on Campus?
The Flagler County school district will survey its 1,600 employees to gauge whether there’s interest among them to be armed in the district’s nine campuses. The survey will not ask whether employees support or oppose such a program–only whether the individual taking the survey is himself or herself interested in being armed on campus, and providing security in case of an emergency.
Palm Coast Council Very Conditionally Approves Controversial Harborside Development
The Palm Coast City Council is looking for a compromise on the controversial 17-acre Harborside proposal that would total 432 apartments and housing units, mostly in a massive, U-shaped tower by the Palm Coast Marina. The number includes 72 units in an existing tower.
Jordan Munoz, 21, Faces Felony Charge After Firing a Gun During an Argument in Palm Coast’s Woodlands
Jordan Munoz, a 21-year-old resident of 20 Blackwell Place in Palm Coast, was booked at the Flagler County jail last week on a felony charge of aggravated assault and two lesser charges after allegedly firing his gun in the open air during an argument with his girlfriend outside the house on Blackwell, a heavily residential area in the Woodlands.
National Security Agency Redesignates DSC’s Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense
The National Security Agency (NSA) has redesignated Daytona State College as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense through 2028.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, January 17, 2023
The Flagler County School Board talks Narcan, social studies and arming civilians, the Flagler County Commission talks ambulance costs, the Palm Coast City Council takes on the proposed and controversial Harborside development, Muhammad Ali on drawing a crowd, Patrick Modiano on the moral function of books.
The Divisive Distortions of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Words
The consequences of the misuse of Martin Luther King Jr.’s words are playing out everywhere from the halls of Congress to corporate diversity training sessions to local school board meetings.
2022 Ends Home Sales Down Across The Daytona Beach Area
In another year of economic uncertainty marred by an ongoing pandemic, inflation, and 2 major hurricanes, prices continued to climb as home sales fell across the Daytona Beach area in 2022.
Florida Press Club Names FlaglerLive State’s Best Independent News Site, Among 3 Awards
FlaglerLive won the Florida Press Club’s top award as Florida’s best online independent news site in all divisions. FlaglerLive also won first place in education reporting, and FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam won second place in commentary.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, January 16, 2023
County Judge Joan Anthony is the keynote speaker at a celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., declawing cats, Ta-Nehisi Coates, James Baldwin.
How Basquiat Denounced Violence Against Blacks
At the time of the Black Lives Matter movement, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work is more relevant than ever. It highlights racial inequalities and the lack of representation of racialized people in the media, but also the violence suffered by African Americans.
Construction Begins on $2.5 Million Lehigh Trailhead in Palm Coast
Construction on the Lehigh Trailhead Project off of Belle Terre Parkway will start on January 23. The $2.5 million project enhances the popular path by providing disability-access paved parking with more than 60 parking spaces, a restroom, and a water fountain. The project also includes community gardens, a dog park, lighting, and pavilions.
DeSantis’ Attack on New College Is Latest Poisoning of Public Education
The governor has just appointed six new ultra-conservative trustees to the board of New College of Florida in Sarasota. They want to trash its tradition of intellectual freedom and transform it into an institution DeSantis’ base would love, a Bob Jones-style religious school funded with taxpayer money.
Jersey Mike’s Opens at Palm Coast’s Island Walk, Near Brass Tap, on Wednesday
Jersey Mike’s Subs will open its first location in Palm Coast or Flagler County on Wednesday at Island Walk, where it’ll be sandwiched between Brass Tap and Tropical Cafe on one side and Metro Diner on the other.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, January 15, 2023
The Sounds of Soul at Flagler Auditorium, ‘Honky Tonk Angels’ at City Repertory Theatre, Flagler County’s Cold-Weather Shelter opens tonight, the fragility of democracies.
Canada’s Answer to Affordable Home Crisis: Ban Foreign Homebuyers
As of Jan. 1, 2023, foreign buyers are banned from buying homes in Canada for two years under the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act. The ban is part of the federal government’s effort to ease Canadians’ struggle to afford homes.
Trump Is No Longer the Villain at the Border. Now It’s Biden.
Title 42 mixed with new White House immigration policy creates potentially illegal asylum restrictions. It’s time to treat this president, Joe Biden, as the same level of threat that Trump was to the rights of migrants.
Child Vaccination Rates, Already Down Because of Pandemic, Fall Again
Instead of recovering after schools reopened in 2021, historically low rates of child vaccination worsened, according to new data from the CDC. Experts fear that the skepticism of science and distrust of government that flared up during the pandemic are contributing to the decrease.
Artist Berdella ‘Birdie’ Gibbs’s One-Person Show and Talk at Pineapple Gallery
Artist Berdella Gibbs’s photography exhibit runs from Feb. 3 to 5 at Pineapple Gallery, 208 S. Central Avenue, across the street from the Flagler Beach Museum. The gallery will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gibbs will present an artist’s talk on the 4th at 5:30 p.m., as part of a free reception, open to all.
Dozier School for Boys Memorial Is Dedicated
Former students and state and local officials took part in a ceremony Friday to dedicate a memorial and honor victims who were abused and, in some cases, died at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Jackson County.
Emerging Romantics: The Rickman-Acree-Corporon Piano Trio Takes on 3 Giants Jan. 29
The Rickman-Acree-Corporon Piano Trio will play the music of Clara Schumann, Franz Schubert and Johann N. Hummel during its concert at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, at Lighthouse Christ Presbyterian Church, 1035 W. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach. The trio includes pianist Michael Rickman, violinist Susan Pitard Acree and cellist Joseph Corporon.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 14, 2023
‘Honky Tonk Angels’ at City Repertory Theatre, The Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine in Daytona Beach, Flagler County’s Cold-Weather Shelter Opens, Silver Lake Park Clean-Up, in your elements.
Sitting All Day Is Terrible for Your Health. Here’s a Remedy.
A five-minute light walk every half-hour was the only strategy that reduced blood sugar levels substantially compared with sitting all day. In particular, five-minute walks every half-hour reduced the blood sugar spike after eating by almost 60%.
3 FPC Student Athletes Among 5 Injured in T-Bone Crash at Pine Grove and Belle Terre Parkway
Five people were injured, at least three seriously, in a t-bone crash at the intersection of Pine Grove Drive and Belle Terre Parkway in Palm Coast minutes after 3 p.m. today.
Divided Flagler Beach Commission Will Require Inspections of Street Golf Carts Every 2 Years
A divided Flagler Beach City Commission agreed Thursday evening to change the frequency of required inspections of golf carts used as street vehicles from every year to every two years. Some commissioners and the mayor wanted only one inspection, and none after that. The city has a few hundred residents using golf carts as street vehicles.
Storied Ukrainian Orchestra Picks Flagler Auditorium as Rehearsal Venue Ahead of 37-City Tour, to FYO Thrills
The Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine and its conductor, Theodore Kuchar, a frequent visitor to Palm Coast, chose the Flagler Auditorium to rehearse Thursday ahead of a 37-concert, 20-state tour that begins this evening, and opened their doors to Flagler Youth Orchestra students for the unique experience of watching a professional orchestra at work.
Army Corps Must Redesign Entire Flagler Beach Dunes Project, ‘Substantially’ Delaying It Again
Because of years of delays and further erosion, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must redesign the entire project to rebuild 2.6 miles of dunes on the critically eroded shoreline south of the Flagler Beach pier, now that the current design is out of date. That will further delay for at least a year or more a project 20 years in the works. Meanwhile, the coast continues to erode, threatening or damaging A1A.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, January 13, 2023
The year in review on WNZF, “Honky Tonk Angels” at City Repertory Theatre, Stormy Daniels and the second anniversary of Trump’s impeachment, Anthony Burgess on Americans.
The Inflation Report’s Mixed Bag
The overall cost of goods and services decelerated to an annual pace of 6.5% in December, the slowest in over a year and down from 7.1% in November. But there’s bad news too, especially if you are an egg-munching renter fond of frequent regular haircuts. In quite a few categories, the cost of living rose at an even faster pace.
Jacob Perry, Who Shot Up His Grandfather’s House, Invokes Scriptures and Being ‘Chosen’
Jacob Perry, 24, faces five felony charges following his admitted shooting at his grandfather’s car and house on Tuesday in Palm Coast. He cited a chapter from Isaiah in the Old Testament, telling deputies they could understand a lot about him from it. That may raising questions about his competency.
Palm Coast Traffic Still a Long Way from Calming Its Discontents as Council Bumps Against Limitations
The Palm Coast City Council has been well aware of its traffic problem for years, and discussed it again at a workshop this week, but it faces the same limitations previous council have: traffic calming devices are unloved, data on speeding exists but isn’t made public, and the city’s layout presents its own challenges.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 12, 2023
The Flagler Beach City Commission talks communications, the Gerard Abate hearing is cancelled, Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series, a Bauhaus World Heritage site, Letterman v. Carson.
Florida Is Accused of Violating Federal Court Order and Restricting Race Education Anyway
Plaintiffs challenging a state law restricting how race-related concepts can be taught in higher education accused Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration Wednesday of violating a federal judge’s order that blocked parts of the law from being enforced.