The cold-weather shelter opens again as temperatures dip into the 30s, Marineland and Flagler County workshop a new agreement over park land, ‘Exit Laughing,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Elvis’s Aloha from Hawaii.
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Panama to U.S. and China: Buzz Off
Panama is aware of the importance of its key geopolitical asset and keen to balance U.S. and Chinese interests with its own desire to run the canal without undue influence from either Washington or Beijing.
Flagler Cares Offers One-Stop Help Night on Range of Social, Medical and Legal Services
Join Flagler Cares and other community partners for this one-stop Help Night offering a range of social, medical, legal and other services from 3 to 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at Flagler County Village, City Marketplace, 160 Cypress Point Parkway in Palm Coast. Help Night is on the third floor of Building B, Suite 304.
It’s Not Your Imagination: Palm Coast Homes Used as Vacation Rentals Increase by 70% in 2 Years, to Over 500
It’s not your imagination. The number of single-family homes used as short-term vacation rentals has increased by 60 percent in two years across Flagler County, while the number of vacation rentals in Palm Coast alone, where most of the growth is concentrated, has surged by 70 percent, with the overwhelming share of those in single-family homes, condos or town houses.
Revamped Proposal to Legalize Recreational Pot in Florida Emerges, With Tweaks to Blunt Opposition
Two months after a similar measure failed to garner enough voter support to pass, a political committee bankrolled by the state’s largest medical-marijuana company has launched a new effort to allow recreational pot in Florida. The revamped proposal, filed Tuesday at the state Division of Elections by the Smart & Safe Florida committee, would go on the 2026 ballot. It seeks to address a number of issues raised by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who led a drive to defeat last year’s proposed constitutional amendment.
After Ragga Surf Cafe Exit, Flagler County and Marineland Seek to Win Back State’s Trust in Preserve Management
Flagler County government and the Town of Marineland administration have drafted a joint plan to reassure the state agency with oversight of the River to Sea Preserve that the two local governments are still capable of managing the Preserve, which had fallen out of compliance with state requirements and put both governments at risk of losing ownership. Meanwhile, Ragga Surf cafe has left Marineland and will reopen at a location in St. Augustine on Friday.
Jury in Minutes Finds Daniel Rodriguez, 27, Guilty on All Charges of Raping and Molesting Boy; Life In Prison Next
A jury of three men and three women found Daniel Rodriguez, 27, guilty on all charges of sexually assaulting and molesting a young boy he had groomed and befriended since he was 10, and started abusing when he was 11, until he was 13. The abuse took place in Palm Coast between 2020 and 2022. Rodriguez faces mandatory life in prison without parole when he is sentenced at a later date. The judge will have no discretion to lessen the sentence.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, January 15, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens tonight, the Tourist Development Council meets, the Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board hears the site plan application for Palm Coast’s future maintenance operations center, the hottest year on record.
Beware Snowbirds: The Far Right Is Growing in Canada, Too
A book on the far right in Canada, “The Great Right North,” shows that events like the Freedom Convoy are representative of where the far right is going, how it is recruiting, how it is communicating internally and with Canadians at large, and how it is progressing in the national political discourse, with similarities with the United State’s maga movement.
Ag Commissioner Sees No Harm to Florida Farms from Migrants’ Deportations
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson advocated for a more simplified agriculture working visa program Tuesday, but played down prospects that mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration would harm Florida farms.
Rebuffing Conservationists, Fed Officials Will Keep Manatee ‘Threatened,’ Not Endangered
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected today to publish a proposed rule that details its reasons for keeping the threatened classification. Meanwhile, the proposed rule would change the classification from threatened to endangered for what are known as Antillean manatees, which are found in Puerto Rico.
The Paints They Are A-Changin’: Palm Coast May Lift Most Restrictions on House Colors
The Palm Coast City Council appears on the verge of repealing most restrictions on house colors. As a consequence, homeowners would be allowed to paint houses in darker, less light-reflecting colors than allowed in the city’s 25-year history. But the move occurs in opposition to environmental trends that are encouraging lighter, whiter urban colors as a tool of fighting climate change, as darker colors absorb heat rather than reflect light and require homes to spend more energy on cooling.
On the Stand, Alleged Victim Describes Sex Assaults Since He Was 11 by ‘Father Figure’ and ‘Best Friend’
Daniel Revay Rodriguez, now 27, is accused of sexually assaulting a young boy over several years after grooming him and his family by making himself an essential father figure and by showering the boy with expensive gifts, food and at times pot. His trial began Monday. He faces mandatory life in prison if he is convicted.
Sheriff Staly Appoints Joseph Barile His Chief Deputy, Filling Post That Stood Empty for 6 Years
Sheriff Rick Staly announced today that he has appointed Commander Joseph Barile as the Chief Deputy of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. The Chief Deputy will be responsible for law enforcement and court and detention operations.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, January 14, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens, the Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop, the Community Traffic Safety Team meets, Matt Gaetz’s name is floating around the 2026 gubernatorial race.
Global Temperatures Passed Critical 1.5°C Milestone for First Time in 2024
2024 was the first year on record with a global average temperature exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. All continents except Australasia and Antarctica experienced their hottest year on record, with 11 months of the year exceeding the 1.5°C level. Global temperatures have been at record levels – and still rising – for several years now. The previous hottest year on record was 2023.
Vincent’s Clubhouse Enrichment Center Sets Grand Opening at European Village
The Vincent’s Clubhouse Enrichment Center will host the Grand Opening of its new location at 101 Palm Harbor Parkway, Unit B120, in European Village. The celebration will take place on Jan 21, from 4 to 7 p.m., with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m.
DeSantis Calls Special Session on Immigration, Condo Safety, Hurricane Relief and Petition-Gathering
Saying he expects a “sea change” in federal immigration policies from the incoming Trump administration, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday called the Florida Legislature into special session to deal with illegal immigration and three other issues. The session will begin on Jan. 27 and will include deliberations on condominium safety regulations, hurricane relief, and fraudulent signature-gathering petitions for constitutional amendments.
Flagler Beach Grants Final Approval for 22-Unit Apartment Complex Made to Look Like Single Family Homes
Ratifying the recommendation last month of its planning board, the Flagler Beach City Commission approved the final site plan for the 22-apartment complex called Legacy Pointe Cottages on 3 acres of currently wooded land at the end of Joyce Street, west of John Anderson Highway. The project is a scaled down version of a plan that first consisted of 39 apartments in two buildings, that the City Commission had approved last year.
Less Than a Year After Witnessing Friend’s Death By Overdose, She Causes One and Faces Manslaughter Charge
Less than a year after she was in the house when her friend Brian O’Shea died of a fatal fentanyl overdose, Stephanie Raimundo caused the death by overdose of Calvin Stull, who was about to mark his 22nd birthday. Stull was found dead at Belle Terre Park on jan. 3, 2024. Raimundo was charged with manslaughter and may face up to 30 years in prison if found guilty.
USTA and Palm Coast Play to New Courts, New Tournament and Possible Doubles Partnership
Less than an hour before qualifiers were to start for the inaugural Women’s USTA Pro Circuit tournament at the Southern Recreation Center this morning, Palm Coast officials, representatives of the USTA and players gathered at the newest court-side in town to cut the ribbon on four new clay courts.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, January 13, 2025
The Flagler County Commission holds a pair of meetings and discusses coming budgets, a ribbon-cutting at the new tennis courts at Palm Coast’s Southern Rec Center, when the military is fetishized into an end in itself at the expense of the freedoms and the people it defends.
Police More Likely to Make Domestic Violence Arrests When Pets Are Also Abused
Animal cruelty is weaponized when an intimate partner threatens to harm, or actually harms, a pet to control their partner. This tactic is powerful. Victims of intimate partner violence regularly cite fear for the safety of their pet as a primary reason they do not leave an abusive situation.
DeSantis Signs Death Warrant for James D. Ford, 64, Killer of Greg and Kimberly Malnory in 1997
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for a man convicted of brutally murdering a couple at a Charlotte County sod farm in 1997. James D. Ford, 64, is scheduled to be executed Feb. 13 at Florida State Prison in the murders of Greg and Kimberly Malnory. It would be the first execution this year in Florida and would come after one inmate was executed in 2024.
When Democracy Dies in Broad Daylight
While Trump openly bellows whatever imperial fever dreams about Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico visit him in the dark of night, once proud institutional bulwarks rush to prostrate themselves before him in advance of any demand that they do so. Alas, the mainstream media is not immune to this siren-call of cowardice.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, January 12, 2025
Democratic Party Congressional Candidates Meet and Greet, ‘Exit Laughing,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, remembering Dalida and Gigi l’amoroso.
How the U.S. Could Make Canada an American Territory
Every Canadian needs to pay attention to American history: In one treaty, the U.S. annexed the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming. It subsequently illegally invaded Indigenous territory in the west. Canada could be next — perhaps not immediately as the 51st state, but quite possibly as a U.S. territory that would deny Canadians any voting rights for Congress or the presidency. The constitutional architecture exists in the U.S. to make it happen.
Howard Holley Presses Legislators for Money for Florida Museum of Black History
Howard Holley, a board member of the Museum of Black History and member of the state task force establishing the museum, pressed the St. Johns County legislative delegation to fund the new Florida Museum of Black History.
Judge Scraps Biden’s LGBTQ Protections and Bans Requiring Teachers to Use Students’ Chosen Pronouns
A federal district court judge struck down President Joe Biden’s effort to protect transgender students and make other changes to Title IX, ruling the U.S. Department of Education violated teachers’ rights by requiring them to use transgender students’ names and pronouns. The ruling, which applies nationwide, came as a major blow to the Biden administration in its final days and to LGBTQ+ advocates. President-elect Donald Trump took aim at transgender people in a culture war-focused campaign.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 11, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens tonight, American Association of University Women meet, Gamble Jam in the cold, The Isaacs at the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center, Bernie Sanders gets a vote for Lebanese president.
Palm Coast Government Wins Regional Council Award for Its Imaginative Comprehensive Plan
The City of Palm Coast has been honored with a prestigious Regional Award for Excellence for Planning and Growth Management from the Northeast Florida Regional Council for its visionary work on the “Imagine 2050: City on the Rise” Comprehensive Plan Update. This recognition highlights the City’s commitment to proactive planning, innovative community engagement, and strategic initiatives to shape Palm Coast’s future.
University Board Nominee Calls Career Women ‘Medicated, Meddlesome and Quarrelsome.” DeSantis Defends Him.
Gov. Ron DeSantis defended his appointment to the University of West Florida Board of Trustees of a political scientist who claims that encouraging women to prioritize their careers has led to the decline of family life. In speeches, essays, articles, and interviews Scott Yenor details his views against same-sex relationships, including that LGBTQ+ practices bring “dreaded diseases,” and labeling career-oriented women as “medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome.”
Bunnell Board Tells City Commission: Shrink Haw Creek Reserve Mega Development By 2,500 Homes
On its third try since November, the Bunnell Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the rezoning and development agreement controlling the Reserve at Haw Creek–the largest single development proposal in Flagler County since Palm Coast was conceived in the 1960s–but not before issuing nearly a dozen proposed conditions to the Bunnell City Commission, which takes on the proposal next. Among those conditions: Lower the planned 8,000 home total to 5,500.
Veranda Bay Developer Pauses Annexation into Flagler Beach to Draft Litigation Threat Workaround
The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening agreed to pause indefinitely further annexation steps involving Veranda Bay, the large development along John Anderson Highway. The city did so at the developer’s request. The pause and its indefinite timeline look more dramatic than they are. In fact, the pause appears to be more of a strategic retreat allowing the developer to redraw annexation plans in light of the threat of a lawsuit by opponents of annexation, had the original plan gone forward.
Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra Opens 20th Concert Season Jan. 19 with ‘Baroque and Classical Gems’
The Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra will open their Winter Festival – the group’s 20th concert season – with “Baroque and Classical Gems,” featuring Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, a work by his youngest son Johann Christian Bach, and an original piece, based on a 17th-century Lutheran hymn, by Solisti principal cellist Joseph Corporon.
Trump’s Unconditional Discharge Explained
Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, and will be the first president of the United States with a felony conviction. The sentencing brings this phase of the case to an end. Once the sentence is officially entered in a final judgment, Trump can appeal the case, as he has a legal right to do so. Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, made clear during the sentencing that Trump intends to appeal.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, January 10, 2025
Free For All Fridays on WNZF recaps the top stories of 2024 with a roundtable of local reporters and editors, the Friday Blue Forum, reflections on Jimmy Carter’s funeral and the Burghers of Calais.
Christian Pressure Group Pushing Lawmakers to Ban Freedom of Personal Pronouns in Local Governments
John Labriola, a lobbyist for Christian Family Coalition Florida, told Marion County lawmakers Wednesday that his organization would like to see restrictions in the 2023 education law extended to city and county governments. Labriola said he hopes the issue will be considered during this year’s legislative session, which will start March 4.
How the Santa Ana Winds Fuel California’s Deadly Fires
Thousands of homes and other structures, including several schools, had burned by Jan. 9, and at least five people had died. Officials urged more than 180,000 residents to evacuate at the height of the fires. With the winds so strong, there was little firefighters could do to control the flames. Here’s what causes extreme winds like this in Southern California, and why they create such a dangerous fire risk.
Palm Coast Council Signals Willingness to Relax Commercial Vehicle Parking in Residential Driveways
The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday signaled its willingness to reconsider the city’s ban on the overnight parking of commercial vehicles in residential driveways without the vehicles’ signage being covered. The City Council considered repealing or amending the ban on commercial vehicles twice before, in 2010 and 2021, falling short each time.
Florida Legislators Cold to DeSantis Call for Special Session
Two days after Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wanted the Florida Legislature to call a special session to be “prepared to act” on immigration and tackle soaring condominium assessments lawmakers on both side of the aisle are questioning why the rush.
New Rules: Palm Coast Council Restores Extra Workshop Among Changes Reflective of New Crew and Law
The shiniest-new Palm Coast City Council since the city’s founding voted to restore a second monthly workshop to go along with the two monthly meetings it’s held nearly since the city’s creation in 1999. It’ll need it: the council, with just one member barely exceeding two years’ service and everyone else a rookie or close to it, collectively is the least experienced in the city’s history. The decision is part of a relatively modest rewriting of council procedures prompted by its members’ wish to be more accessible to the public.
Palm Coast Enacts Vacation Rental Regulations as 10-Guest Limit Survives, But Milestone May Be Sort-Termed
Ending a half-year slog, the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved the city’s first-ever short-term vacation rental regulations, with registration and inspection fees and penalties for violators. There are well over 200 such rentals in the city. The 10-guest cap per rental survived after a last-ditch attempt by two council members to raise it, but children exempt from counting against the cap may now be up to 3 years old. The previous exemption applied for children up to 1 year old.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 9, 2025
The cold-weather shelter opens again tonight, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets, China’s nuclear boom, a scene from “The China Syndrome,” Sarah Orne Jewett.
Matanzas High Senior Beats the Buzzer in a Game to Remember
Pirates Senior Haley Olson entered a varsity game for the first time ever. Although a foul by visiting Trinity Christian (Deltona, Florida) sent Haley to the line late, her first points ever would actually come moments later in buzzer-beater fashion.
How Jean-Marie Le Pen Mainstreamed Nationalist Bigotry
The death of Jean-Marie Le Pen, former leader of the party once known as the National Front, occurs at a time when the mainstreaming of far-right politics in France seems almost complete. Le Pen was, for most of his career, considered the devil in French politics. Yet today, his party, headed by his daughter and now called National Rally (Rassemblement National), is at the gates of power.
Florida Grand Jury Investigating Covid Vaccines Finds No Evidence of Crimes
The publication of the grand jury’s final report comes more than two years after Gov. Ron DeSantis asked the Supreme Court to assemble it to investigate wrongdoing related to the Covid vaccines. At the time, DeSantis eyed his unsuccessful bid for the presidency and explained his petition by saying that misrepresenting the efficacy of a drug was against Florida law.
Fired Palm Coast Utility Director’s ‘Whistleblower’ Action Details Grave Issues and Conflicts But No Smoking Gun
Former Palm Coast Utility Director Amanda Rees in a nine-page “whistleblower” letter to the City Council detailed dysfunction, personality clashes, discordant expectations, leadership issues and poor diplomacy, along with fearful or preemptive politicking among an administrative leadership clearly jarred by what had been an unpredictable and at times rash City Council. But anyone looking for corruption, malice, or a smoking gun in the letter would not find it. The city rejected its whistleblower claim.
Flagler’s New Legislative Delegation, Meager in Money and Seniority, Tells Locals: Don’t Expect Much
The much-diminished Flagler County Legislative Delegation took its seats this afternoon in Bunnell, cautioning local government and organization representatives seeking state aid for numerous projects that it’s a new, poorer day in Tallahassee, where federal Covid aid and legislative seniority are gone. Sen. Tom Leek and Rep. Sam Greco are each in his first term, though Leek brings eight years of service in the House, where he rose to the appropriations committee chairmanship before he was term-limited.
Palm Coast Fire Police’s Steven Brooks Critically Injured by Passing Car as He Worked Seminole Woods Crash
Palm Coast Fire Police member Steve Brooks was on duty, just beginning to secure a crash site in Seminole Woods late Tuesday afternoon when he was struck by a passing car and critically injured. He was flown to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach, where he remains in critical but stable condition, according to Pam Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill.