Saying he wants to be “pro-active,” Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts wants to explore regulations of potential medical pot dispensaries, should medical marijuana be legalized by Amendment 2, similar to those Palm Coast imposed on pill mills and intenet cafes. But those regulations will be primarily in the Department of Health’s hands, possibly pre-empting cities from such regulatory powers.
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Flagler Sheriff’s Office Calling For Volunteers to Beef Up Its Citizens Observer Patrol (COP)
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre is looking to expand the Citizens Observer Patrol, known as COP, to increase its corps of 52 volunteers. The Sheriff’s Office is also looking for donations of boats to improve its marine patrol division.
Bright Spot in Florida’s Budget:
A Forward-Looking Agenda on Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s is the most costly disease to Medicare and Medicaid — and for a state like Florida with high ratios of older residents, this spells an impending crisis for state budgets. Gov. Rick Scott signed a record-sized state budget that included record-sized wins for the Alzheimer’s community.
Flagler Beach Fire Department Makes Pitch For $600,000 Fire Truck, Igniting Questions
City Commission Chairman Kim Carney has predicted last year that the fire department would soon be asking for a new fire truck, and is raising questions about its proposed financing, including taking more than $300,000 from the city’s infrastructure fund.
Accused Drunkard Driving Wrong Way on S.R. 100 Strikes Cruiser, Injures Deputy, and Flees
Frederick Sell, an 83-year-old resident of 70 Town Court in Palm, Coast, was jailed over the weekend on charges of driving drunk and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage after driving the wrong way on State Road 100 and crashing his car into Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy George Hristakopoulos’s cruiser.
Impasse Developing Between State and Counties Over Juvenile Detention Costs
A years-long dispute over how to split the costs of detaining youthful offenders appears no closer to being settled after the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice held a rule-making hearing Friday with representatives of more than three dozen Florida counties, including Flagler.
ACLU Sues Sarasota Police For Access To Records On Cell Phone “Stingray” Tracking Program
The ACLU of Florida has been seeking public records for several months now from about 30 police departments and sheriffs’ offices all over Florida in an effort to access whether or not police are not trampling on privacy rights.
In Memory of D-Day:
Walking Omaha Beach
Let me tell you about a very lucky trip I had a chance to take with my wife and child about a year ago, to Omaha Beach in Normandy. I’d been wanting to go there for 30 years. I consider it part of my transformation, as an immigrant, into an American, like traveling the 50 states and being a Yankee fan.
Flagler Students Post Wide Gains in State Rankings in FCAT Reading, Math and Science
Overall, Flagler students improved their rankings in Florida in 12 categories while dropping back in seven, providing many bright spots but also a few worrisome ones.
Stand-Up Comedian Skyler Wahl, Pianist Kayla Byrne and Singer Angel Brown Are Flagler Entertainers of the Year
The 2014 Spotlight started out with just over 50 acts auditioning in early May for a spot in this year’s show. When all was said and done, 27 act made the cut, and each one prepared for the chance to being named a Flagler County Youth Entertainer of the year.