Halifax Paving is set to reopen State Road A1A in Flagler Beach next week, some 30 days ahead of schedule, earning itself a $1 million bonus on top of the original $4 million emergency contract. Businesses and others are cheering.
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Clinton Holds Narrow Lead Over Trump in Florida, But Larger Leads in Early Votes
In Florida, Quinnipiac found that she is ahead by a substantial 48-42 lead among voters who have already cast ballots. That lead grows to double digits among Ohio and North Carolina early voters.
Woman At Center of Suicide-By-Cop Attempt in 2015 Kills Herself With a Gun Halloween Night
Palm Coast’s Stacy Culotta is the 37-year-old Palm Coast resident who 13 months ago had attempted suicide-by-cop as she pointed a gun at three Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies in her yard at 8 Pine Brook Drive.
Thomas Dougherty, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Thomas Dougherty is a non-party affiliated candidate for Flagler County Sheriff in the Nov. 8th general elections. He’s facing Republican Rick Staly and Democrat Larry Jones.
Wednesday Briefing: Live Bombing, Stagg Hearing II, Stetson Guitar Ensemble, Hulu on the Horizon, Palestrina Mass
Some live bombing is scheduled he Pinecastle Range Complex in the Ocala National Forest from 8 a.m. to noon, the second part of Emergency Mnagement’s Jennifer Stagg’s firing hearing takes place this morning, Hulu is coming for your TV.
Palm Coast Residents Will See 9% Garbage Rate Hike as City Approves New Waste Pro Contract
Palm Coast residents will see their garbage rates increase $1.74 a month, or 9 percent, starting June 1 and for the next five years. “Shoddy service” in the past year, the result of turn-over, is being addressed and the company may be fined if problems persist, the city manager said.
Palm Coast Mayor Netts To Be Recognized For “2,459 Years” Of Service Thursday at City Hall
Term-limited, Netts will end his 16 years of service for Palm Coast and cede his throne to Mayor-Elect and long-time protegee Milissa Holland on Nov. 15, when the new city council is sworn in.
Arson and Insurance Fraud Charges Over Blaze on Woodstone Lane Lead to Arrest–4 Years Later
Harold J. Pizzetta, now 58, was arrested on arson and insurance fraud charges Sunday night in Palm Coast, four years to the day when he allegedly set his opwn house aflame to keep it from benefiting his ex-wife.
Utilities Pour Millions Into Solar Amendment Clouded By Deceptive Intent and Opposed By Environmentalists
The latest contributions, $2 million on Oct. 24 from FPL and $999,998 last Tuesday from Duke, brought to nearly $20.2 million the amount the state’s four largest private utilities have spent on the amendment.
Tuesday Briefing: Mayors Fête Netts, Mock Election in Schools, Palm Coast’s Garbage, Trump’s Tax Evasions
Mock elections are held in Flagler schools in grades 4-8, the Palm Coast council adopts a new contract with Waste Pro for garbage disposal, the school board talks legislative priorities, Trump’s tax dodging.
At Flagler’s Emergency Operations, Key Employee’s Firing Exposes Broader Turmoil
The firing of Jennifer Stagg, for more than six years a senior preparedness planner at Flagler County Emergency Services, caused Kevin Guthrie, her former boss, to launch a campaign on her behalf, causing 31 people to turn up at her termination hearing this morning. The hearing will resume Wednesday.
In a Surprise Visit, Gov. Scott Tells Flagler Officials He’ll Expedite Regulatory Hold-Ups on Shore Repairs
Gov. Rick Scott held a 25-minute closed-door meeting with county and city officials in Bunnell today to assess the response to Hurricane Matthew and assure officials that he’ll help them through regulatory hurdles in continuing recovery efforts, especially on the barrier island.
Flagler’s Early Voting Only Slightly Ahead of 2008 Pace; Republicans Winning Turnout Race
The numbers in Flagler County look grim for Democrats looking for a strong turnout: it’s not happening for them as it is for Republicans, and what is taking place will only slightly exceed turnout in 2008.
Facebook Profiling: Its System Lets Advertisers Exclude Black, Hispanic, and Other “Ethnic Affinities” From Seeing Ads
Imagine if, during the Jim Crow era, a newspaper offered advertisers the option of placing ads only in copies that went to white readers. That’s basically what Facebook is doing nowadays.
Monday Briefing: Hall of Terror, Cheers for Mim Lique, Early Voting Week 2, Divided America In Pictures, Atheists and Elections
Mim Lique, 81, oldest competitor in Sunday’s Pink Army 5K, won her age division, the Hall of Terror culminates on Halloween Night, Early Voting begins Week 2 through Saturday, and a D.H. Lawrence poem.
Hillary Clinton May or May Not Have Raped a Child
The FBI director’s McCarthyist revelations of more Clinton emails will change the trajectory of the presidential race some even as it underscores the emptiness at the core of a manufactured scandal.
Florida’s Death Penalty On Hold: Supreme Court Halts Trial Pending Legislative Change
The Florida Supreme Court on Friday stopped a Clearwater judge from proceeding with a death penalty case, signaling that courts might not be able to move forward with capital trials until the Legislature changes a law that justices earlier this month struck down as unconstitutional.
Democratic Party Chairman Accuses Judge Moore-Stens of Short-Changing Canvassing Board Responsibility
Flagler DNC Chairman Ralph Lightfoot, in a stunning charge against Judge Mellissa Moore-Stens, told her she should “find somebody else” on the canvassing board if she can’t devote her full attention to it, a criticism the judge rejected and countered with equal force.
Ex-Palm Coast Soccer Academy Coach Arrested on Molestation Charges Involving Two Boys
Sean Stern, the former program director at the recently defunct Palm Coast’s Professional Sports Pathways, a specialized soccer academy for youths, was arrested Thursday on two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation charges.
Weekend Briefing: 2 Beach Clean-Ups, Hall of Terror, Pink Army Run and Walk, Public Option Solution
A weekend of beach cleanings in Flagler Beach and near Varn Park, of ghoulish Halloween terrors in Palm Coast, and more early voting, along with the wonderful S.L. Weiss and his lute.
Ballot Error Missing Mosquito Race Grows to 2,200 Voters in 6 Precincts; Board’s Solution Breaks With State Elections Recommendation
The Flagler Canvassing Board voted to provide a “supplemental ballot” to each of the 658 early voters and 1,548 mail-in voters affected by the error, countering a state recommendation to ignore the lost votes and issue a completely new and separate ballot to the voters by mail.
Pam Richardson, Palm Coast City Council Candidate: The Live Interview
Pam Richardson is a candidate for Palm Coast City Council, District 3. She faces Nick Klufas in the non-partisan runoff election culminating on Nov. 8. All registered voters may cast a ballot in that election regardless of party affiliation.
Rubio-Murphy’s 2nd Bout All About Trump, Kurdish Militias and Showing Up (Or Not)
The debate marked one of Murphy’s highest-profile chances to take on Rubio. Most polls have shown the incumbent with a modest edge, usually inside the margin of error, though one released Wednesday by Bloomberg Politics showed Rubio with a hefty 10-point lead.
A 5-Year-Old Cat Is Shot in the Face, Another Disappears as Owner Fears Malice
The cat was found motionless on the owner’s driveway on Laguna Trail, two weeks after another of the owner’s cats had disappeared. There is little question that the cats have been the target of cruelty.
Those Double-Digit Health Insurance Rate Hikes in Florida? Blame State GOP.
Sen. Bill Nelson, once Florida’s insurance commissioner, reminds residents that it was the Republican state Legislature that stripped the office of insurance regulation of the authority to approve, modify or reject rate hikes by health insurance companies, thus leading to current, unacceptable rate hikes.
Thursday Briefing: McLaughlin-Dance Town Hall, Meet the Managers, Crack’s Hold, Is the Race Tightening?
Commissioner Nate McLaughlin and School Board member Andy Dance hold a town hall, the county’s city managers talk at the Hilton Garden Inn, Leary Brock describes cocaine’s hold, fall festival at Rymfire.
Nick Klufas, Palm Coast City Council Candidate: The Live Interview
Nick Klufas is a candidate for Palm Coast City Council, District 3. He faces Pam Richardson in the non-partisan run-off election culminating on Nov. 8, in which all registered voters may cast a ballot.
Donald Trump Through the Eyes of a Survivor of Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse can be hard to pinpoint when you’re the one being abused. So Donald Trump has just provided us all with a valuable service by demonstrating before a live TV audience what emotional abuse looks like in action, writes Jill Richardson.
Biting Error: Flagler Mosquito Control Race Missing From Nearly 1,600 Ballots in Beachside Precincts
The mosquito control race was missing from 1,200 mail ballots, an error that was being fixed, but also from 363 early voting ballots already cast, creating a dilemma for the supervisor of elections. The error was caught Monday and stopped by the time voting resumed Tuesday.
FEMA Opens Disaster Recovery Center at County Library on Palm Coast Parkway
FEMA’s Flagler-Palm Coast Disaster Recover Center will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the library. It’s not expected to interfere with early voting there.
Clinton’s Lead in Florida Narrowing in Latest Poll, Rubio Up by 4 Over Murphy
Clinton leads Trump by a margin of 46 percent to 43 percent in the poll, which was conducted from Friday to Sunday. That is down from a six-point lead in an FAU poll released Oct. 13. Trump was up by 2 percentage points in an August poll.
Flagler’s Most Civilized Local Political Race in Years
The six candidates and incumbents for the Flagler County Commission stand out sharply from other local races for the collective civility and substance-oriented campaigns, and their impatience with partisanship. It’s a rarity worth taking note of in a year of slime.
Wednesday Briefing: State Road A1A Open House, Early Voting, Rubio-Murphy Debate, Trump and Marx
The open house at Flagler Beach’s City Hall will give the public a closer look at the A1A reconstruction project, Marco Rubio and Patrick Murphy have another televised debate, what Trump and Marx have in common.
Pam Bondi on Donald Trump: “An Excellent Role Model”
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday she remains firmly in the Republican presidential candidate’s corner despite some of his controversial remarks.
Hammock Man Who’d Attacked 2 Ex-Roommates With Rifle and Hammer Sentenced to 10 Years
Paul Hillman, 44, had attacked George Carnarius, 64, calling him “the devil,” and Linda Warrell, 55, in the Shady Lane house they’d all shared until July 2015. But Warrell had urged against sending him to prison, saying–as the court agreed–that he suffers from a mental illness.
In DUI Case that Killed Michelle Roberts on Belle Terre, an Unprecedented Offer to Avoid Prison Is Rejected
Richard Kelley, who was driving with Roberts and her daughter when they wrecked in January 2014 at Pine Grove, wants the offer further sweetened to a deal that would still let him eventually drive again. It was not his first DUI charge, and he was driving on a revoked license.
Tuesday Briefing: Palm Coast Talks Garbage, Suppressing a DUI Test, Entrepreneur Night at Channel Side, Commission Forum
Palm Coast prepares to approve the next five-year contract with Waste Pro, its garbage hauler, the man charged with killing Michelle Hunter Roberts on Belle Terre Parkway and Pine Grove wants his DUI test thrown out, pot legalization in California could blow open the door to more legalization.
U.S. Rep. John Mica’s Support of Trump Erodes Chance of Winning 14th Term as Murphy Gains
U.S. Rep. John Mica, Flagler County’s best friend in the House, faces an opponent in Democrat Stephanie Murphy, an energetic businesswoman for whom U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has pledged to spend some $4 million.
Donald O’Brien, Flagler County Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Donald O’Brien is a Republican candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 3. His opponents in the Nov. 8 election is six-term incumbent George Hanns, a Democrat.
39-Year-Old Man Punches and Knocks Down 16-Year-Old Disabled Girl at Epic Theater
A by-stander’s cellphone video that captured part of the confrontation on video shows the girl falling to the ground after C.J. Nelson, a 39-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s P-Section, allegedly punched her.
Work Begins on A1A Repairs as Transportation Department Sets Open House for Wednesday
Halifax Paving started re-construction today on the temporary fix of State Road A1A in Flagler Beach, with an open house scheduled for Wednesday for residents to find out more about what’s ahead.
Your Election Will Not Be “Rigged”
Flagler Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart Explains
Flagler County Elections Supervisor puts to rest any fear or claim that the Nov. 8 election may be rigged, that fraudulent votes may be cast, or that dead people will be voting locally.
Monday Briefing: Early Voting Begins, Judy Wormeck, 2016 Artist of the Year, Slow Death for Impact Fees in Bunnell
Early voting begins in Flagler and across Florida, at three locations locally, the Bunnell Commission considers indefinitely extending a moratorium on Police, Fire, Parks and Recreation, and Transportation Impact Fees, Trump is in Tampa.
Before You Celebrate Clinton’s Win: The Democrats’ Bad Downballot Map
Hillary Clinton looks increasingly likely to win the White House, but her party faces a big obstacle to success in congressional races — Democrats are sorting themselves into geographic clusters where many of their votes have been rendered all but superfluous.
George Hanns, Flagler County Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Six-term incumbent George Hanns is the Democratic candidate for the Flagler County Commission, District 5 seat, facing Republican Donald O’Brien in the Nov. 8 election.
The Best and Worst Presidents on Taxes
Ronald Reagan was among the worst–and the best–when it came to tax fairness, Teddy Roosevelt isn’t given enough credit, but a majority of American presidents did little by way of making the tax code fairer. It’s often been the opposite, argues Sarah Anderson.
Citing Secular Protocol, Florida Athletic Association Rejects Schools’ Claim That Prayer Was Muzzled
Florida law does not require, and for good and valid reason does not permit, the FHSAA to promote prayer through state-run public address systems, the athletic association argues.
Fully-Loaded Car Carrier Overturns on Old Kings Road, 3 People Involved, None Hurt
Palm Coast physician Lydia Kefalidou narrowly missed getting crushed by the trailer as she managed to veer off the road, crashing her car against a guard rail to avoid colliding with the auto transport.
Myra Middleton-Valentine, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Myra Middleton-Valentine is a candidate for the Flagler County School Board, running against Paul Anderson, Maria Barbosa, and Sharon Demers. All registered Flagler County voters may cast a ballot in the Aug. 30 primary in this non-partisan race regardless of party affiliation. The winner will be decided on Aug. 30.
Flagler County Agrees to Bail Out Ag Museum Despite $150,000 Deficit and Barnful of Unanswered Questions
After a vote failed to take-over the failing museum entirely, Flagler County commissioners agreed to a generous 90-day bailout, pending a more detailed agreement that would enable the county to absorb the 460-acre property yet leave the museum board at least nominally in place.