Four superintendents advising lawmakers say Gov. DeSantis’s proposed $603 million teacher-compensation plan should go into the “base student allocation” — a pot of money districts can use with more flexibility.
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From Boutique Owner to HR Boss: Palm Coast Government’s Debbie Streichsbier
For Palm Coast government human resources director Debbie Streichsbier, joining the city nearly five years ago as a Compensation Analyst marked the beginning of her journey in local government.
As Florida Grows, Low-Impact Development Could Offer Protection for Waterways
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension is working with local communities to educate and encourage sustainable water runoff solutions amidst Florida’s rapid growth. Low-impact development (LID) is a design approach for real estate developers to manage future stormwater runoff needs. When used effectively, rain gardens, permeable pavement, rain harvesting […]
Jury Finds Victor Williams, 43, Guilty of Lesser Charge In Case of Sex and Drugs With Boy, 16
Victor Williams of Palm Coast faces up to 15 years in prison. He would have faced life in prison on the more serious charge. The five-day trial hinged on whether Williams had impaired the boy with alcohol and Xanax when they had sex.
Ethics Commission Blisters McDonald’s “Complete Disregard for Law,” Imposing $4,000 Fine and Public Reprimand
The Florida Ethics Commission voted 4-3 to impose a $4,000 fine on former Flagler Commission candidate Dennis McDonald, $6,000 less than the ethics commission advocate had recommended.
How Dredging 550,000 Cubic Yards of Ocean Sand Will Change Flagler Beach’s Dunes
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project will dump darker dredged sand on 2.6 miles of beach to rebuild Flagler Beach’s dunes starting next spring, and stretching to the end of the year.
Weekend Briefing: “Spring Awakening,” Ethics Commission, Holler-Ween, FPC’s One-Act Plays, Turtle Sculpture
City Repertory’s “Spring Awakening,” Blues Night in Town Center, Halloween events at the Agricultural Museum and the public library, FPC’s one-act plays, a new turtle sculpture unveiling.
DeSantis Backs Letting College Athletes Cash In on Endorsements as Bills Are Filed to Scrap Prohibitions
Four bills have been filed for the 2020 session, two by Republicans and two by Democrats that seek to allow college athletes to be compensated through endorsement deals that use their names, images and likenesses.
Victor Williams’s Odd Defense: The 16-Year-Old Boy Was Drugged When They Had Sex, But Not Impaired
Victor Williams, 43, says he never drugged the 16-year-old boy he had sex with at his house, and that all acts were consensual. The boy’s account differs, but a pharmacologist says there was little evidence of impairment.
Teen Spirit and Lust Defy Conventions in City Rep’s “Spring Awakening,” the Tony Award Musical
“Spring Awakening,” a tale of adolescent sexual angst and libido-denial at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre starting this weekend, became a rock musical in 2006 by folkie rocker Duncan Sheik and won eight Tony Awards.
Flagler Beach Commission Set to Impose Steep Increase in Water and Sewer Rates for 5th Year in a Row
The city is proposing a 12.5 percent increase for water and sewer rates and a 12.8 percent increase in the stormwater fee. That’s after water and sewer rates went up 25 percent this year, 34 percent the previous year, 20 percent in 2017 and 13 percent in 2016.
Mark Heinemann, 75, Found Dead: Second Suicide by Gunshot in Two Days in Flagler
Mark Heinemann’s ex-wife told Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies he had been very ill from a lung disease. He was having difficulties breathing and was in a lot of pain.
Thursday Briefing: Judge Graham’s Power, Victor Williams Trial, Sea Rise, Utility Rates in Flagler Beach
The Flagler Beach City Commission again considers aggressive panhandling, the Volusia County Bar hosts cocktails and a dinner honoring Hon. Richard S. Graham, The Free Quit Smoking Now program meets.
Florida Senate Removes Broward Sheriff Scott Israel from Office
Special Master Dudley Goodlette, a former Republican state representative from Naples, recommended last month that Israel be reinstated, finding that DeSantis’ lawyers failed to present evidence to support the suspension.
China Plays the NBA
The obvious prioritization of commercial ties with a government that’s attacking demonstrators in Hong Kong and putting millions of ethnic Uyghurs in concentration camps is a damning statement about what the league — and the economic system it operates in — truly values.
Accused Rapist of a 16-Year-Old Boy, and Jury, Witness Mother’s Wrath and Anguish as Trial Takes a Turn
The defense of Victor Williams, 43, will have a difficult time recovering from the testimony of the mother of the boy he is accused of raping, and a from a key detail the prosecution showed the jury through a picture today, and that goes to the heart of the trial’s questions.
Palm Coast Yacht Club Raises $4,500 For Children in Foster Care
The Palm Coast Yacht Club’s fifth annual community fundraiser on October 20, 2019, raised $4,500 for The GAL7 (Guardian ad Litem) Foundation, advocating for the needs of children in foster care within Florida’s Judicial Circuit Seven. Since The GAL7 Foundation was incorporated in 2014, it has disbursed an average of $27,000 per year for children […]
Behind Collapse of Furniture Company Deal With Flagler Government, Disarray, Misrepresentations and Premature Boasts
The collapse of a deal between a furniture-assembling company and Flagler County government is the latest setback for an economic development department with a checkered eight-year history and signal failures.
Wednesday Briefing: Free Legal Clinic on Landlord-Tenant Law, Johnston Raises $1,500 for FYO, Transgender in Military
The Flagler Bar and the Clerk of Court concludes their free legal clinics with a focus on landlord-tenant law, Tax Collector Suzanne Johnson and her staff raise $1,500 for the Flagler Youth Orchestra, Sheriff Israel’s fate is decided by the Florida Senate.
Senate Panel’s Republican Majority Backs Ouster of Democratic Sheriff Scott Israel
Ignoring the conclusions of a Senate special master, a key committee voted along party lines Monday night to uphold Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ouster of Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.
Harold Rusty Bourgeois, 51, Is Found Dead by Suicide in the Hammock
Harold Rusty Bourgeois, 51, a long-time resident of Palm Coast and the Hammock, was found dead Sunday at his home, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Bourgeois had been living at 6024 North Oceanshore Boulevard in the Hammock.
Now 17, Boy Recalls From the Stand Night of Alleged Rape By 42-Year-Old Man Who Says It Was all Consensual
Victor Williams faces life in prison unless he convinces the jury that, while he concedes having had sex with a 16-year-old boy, the act was not non-consensual, and drugs did not impair the alleged victim. Williams will have difficulties overcoming the boy’s testimony.
Space Study for Sheriff’s Palm Coast Operation Comes In at More Than $30 Million; County Will Scale Back
Flagler County government is not prepared to build a structure larger than 50,000 square feet, at a cost of $15 million at most. That design will take place over the next six months, with groundbreaking expected in the spring of 2020.
Where Is Line Worker Barbie?
Mattel rolled out an extensive line of “Career Dolls,” including Barbie pilots, firefighters, and robotic engineers, to inspire its young patrons. But there’s one career you won’t find in this line: the typical working woman on the Mattel payroll.
In Public Survey, Flagler Schools, Teachers and Safety Get High Marks, the Board a Bit Lower Ones
A community survey by the Flagler County school district finds strong support for its teachers and programs and a strong sense of safety, though the survey drew around 400 responses and the questions were limited and leading.
Deputies Shut Down Under-Age Homecoming “BYOB” Party Of Rolling Sands Drive
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office had been tipped off to the party and had several deputies observing the scene near Russo Drive before midnight.
Palm Coast Man, 31, Accused of Armed Burglary After Allegedly Ordering Woman to “Leave Bunnell”
Michael Anthony London, 31, of 32 Slumber Meadow Trail in Palm Coast, is accused of hitting a woman with a gun and ordering her to leave Bunnell after entering her home.
Monday Briefing: Scott Israel Special Session, Victor Williams Trial, Cutting Bus Drivers, Mosquito Board
The Florida Senate convenes a special session to decide the fate of Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, the Victor Williams trial begins, the county commission approves a series of social services grants.
Judge Says Florida May Not Deny Felons Right to Vote if “Genuinely Unable” to Pay Obligations
The federal court ruling was only a partial victory for voting-rights and civil-rights groups that challenged the constitutionality of a new state law designed to carry out a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to felons who have served their sentence.
Veracity at Issue After a Cyclist Is Seriously Hurt in Crash With Flagler Beach Commissioner Belhumeur’s Truck
Flagler Beach City Commissioner Rick Belhumeur is raising questions about the accuracy of the crash report he was involved in, but the commissioner himself was not entirely truthful about the circumstances of the crash, which sent Garey R. Sharpe, 60, to the hospital more than a week ago.
County Fires Tourism Director Matt Dunn After 4-Month Suspension, Citing New Direction Under Amy Lukasik
Flagler County Tourism Director Matt Dunn had been placed on paid administrative leave in April after coming under criminal investigation. The county says the tourism bureau is turning away from Dunn’s sports-oriented tourism, and was not firing him for any wrongdoing.
Stetson University’s Monumental Man John B. Stetson Honored with Campus Sculpture
Installed in Palm Court in August, the larger-than-life statue and bench weighs approximately 1,600 pounds and features a relaxed Stetson sitting on the bench while tipping one of his famous hats and beckoning folks to grab a seat or strike a selfie pose.
For Victor Williams, Context of 16 Year Old’s Rape Will Decide Whether He Spends Life in Prison, Or a Few Years
In his trial starting Monday, Palm Coast’s Victor Williams, 43, admits to sex with a 16-year-old -boy, but not to drugging him and raping him. The difference is the difference between 15 years in prison or a life term.
Tobacco Use by Flagler and Florida Youth at All-Time Low, But Vaping Spikes to All-Time High
In Flagler, 15.1 percent of students in middle and high school reported using a vaping product in the past 30 days, up from 13.8 percent in 2016 and 7.8 percent in 2014.
Weekend Briefing: Elijah Cummings, Holler-Ween, Recovery Symposium, Sergei Babayan, Hoe-Down, Daniel Greene
Sue Hecht on Elijah Cummings, Halloween celebrations at the Agricultural Museum, an addiction recovery symposium, the Colored Pencil Society meets, Flagler County Democrats have a hoe-down, and many concerts everywhere.
Two Palm Coast Teens Face Child Abuse Charges Following Video-Captured Attack Near Flagler Beach Pier
Sierra R. McRoberts and Jocelyn Miley, both 18 and from Palm Coast, face child abuse and other charges–including aggravated child abuse for Miley–following a violent confrontation near the Flagler Beach pier on Sunday with a 14-year-old girl.
Sheriff’s Domestic Violence Initiative Points to Some Gains as Offenders Are More Closely Tracked
Domestic violence arrests have edged down this year and 40 GPS monitors have been issued to offenders, who are violating their release conditions less–or ending up in jail again when they do.
Think ‘Medicare For All’ Is The Only Democratic Health Plan? Think Again
If you tuned in for the first five nights of the Democratic presidential debates, you might think “Medicare for All” and providing universal care are the only health care ideas Democrats have. They’re not.
Thursday Briefing: Domestic Violence Summit, Quit Tobacco, Inspired Mic, Chef Lance Cook
The sheriff’s latest domestic violence summit is at 10 a.m., the Hammock’s Dunes Club’s Executive Chef Lance Cook is a winner, the Inspired Mic’s various acts take the stage at Hidden Treasures.
For Milissa Holland, Latest Challenge of a Lifetime Is at Daughter Tori’s Bedside as Community Rallies
Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s colleagues and friends have rallied as her daughter Tori had a liver transplant 17 days ago but remains critical in a Miami hospital, where her mother has been at her bedside for weeks.
3 Incidents Involving Students from 2 Schools in 5 Hours Result in 2 Arrests and an Injury
School resource deputies were kept unusually busy by a spate of incidents at Flagler Palm Coast High School and Old Kings Elementary Tuesday over the course of five hours.
DeSantis Says Soviet-Born Businessman Arrested on Campaign-Finance Charges Was “Just Like Any Other Donor”
DeSantis was among Florida Republican candidates who received contributions during the 2018 election cycle from Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were arrested on campaign-finance charges involving the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.
Kiwanis Recognizes Armando Castaneda, Patrick Juliano and Jamal Prince as 2019 Firefighters of the Year
The Flagler-Palm Coast Kiwanis Club honored a firefighter from each of the county’s three departments: the Palm Coast Fire Department’s Patrick Juliano, Flagler County Fire Rescue’s Armando Castaneda, and the Flagler Beach Fire Department’s Jamal Prince.
Wednesday Briefing: Free Legal Clinic on Debts and Credit, FHP’s Derek Barrs at Tiger Bay, Moonshiners
The Flagler Bar presents a free legal clinic on debtors and creditors, FHP’s Dereck Barrs discusses autonomous vehicles and technology’s impact on transportation and safety on Florida’s roadways.
Case of Student Arrested and Released After Allegedly Planning School Shooting Worries Safety Commission
In early September, law enforcement officers arrested a 15-year-old student who they say scribbled in a notebook six pages of specific and well-researched strategies to carry out a mass shooting at Baker County High School.
“White Power” Or “I’ve Got the Power”? A Flagler School Deputy’s Words to Children Triggers Investigation
Flagler County Sheriff’s Cpl. William Lowe, a 13-year veteran with a reputation for coarse and unfiltered humor, was investigated and cleared over allegations that he’d used the words “white power” in front of children at a summer camp, but was disciplined for a lesser statement.
Gov. DeSantis Appoints Prosecutor and Local Resident Andrea Totten Flagler County Judge
Gov. Ron DeSantis today appointed Andrea Totten, a 40-year-old Palm Coast resident and an assistant attorney general, Flagler County judge, filling a seat newly created by the Legislature to relieve the overburdened docket of County Judge Melissa Distler.
Flagler School Board Adopts Process Broadly Inclusive of Community in Choosing Next Superintendent
The Flagler school board will involve an internal, staff focus group, a community advisory committee, a community survey and a community forum as it decides what sort of superintendent to hire by next March.
Tuesday Briefing: Superintendent Search, No Bullies, Safety Commission, Food Truck Tuesday
The Flagler County School Board discusses its next superintendent, rezoning and a community survey, it’s Food Truck Tuesday in Central Park, the school safety commission meets, Jefferson on differences of opinion.
What Life On the Margin Feels Like
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, is in an uproar over a video to promote the school’s homecoming that features no students of color. Here’s how young people of color feel at being treated like “others.”