Flagler County’s unemployment in February fell sharply again, to 5.3 percent from 6 percent the previous month, even as the labor force in the county surged for the second month in a row, to just under 46,000–a record–as did the number of residents holding jobs.
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Bill Vastly Diminishing Separation of Church and School Passes Florida Senate, 23-13
The proposal would allow religious speakers and messaging at school-sponsored events, and would allow students to engage in organized prayer groups during the school day and with the participation–though not the sponsorship–of school personnel.
Weekend Briefing: Cracker Day, Renner Town Hall, Waltz of Toreadors, Ten Tenors Return, Surf Series, Motown Madness
City Repertory Theatre stages a new production of a great French farce of a play, Surf Series in Flagler Beach, Cracker Day at County Fairgrounds, Renner twon hall on vacation rentals in the Hammock, and Jack London on the Iron Heel.
Renner Seizes Reins for Flagler After Hutson’s Striking Disregard on Vacation Rentals
Rep. Paul Renner and County Commissioner Greg Hansen are organizing a town hall meeting in the Hammock Saturday, hoping to rally support against a proposed legislative retreat on vacation-rental regulations.
GOP Plan Scraps Individual Mandate Only to Create New, 30% Penalty For Laggards
The GOP approach is called a “continuous coverage” penalty. It increases premiums for people who buy insurance if they have gone 63 consecutive days without a policy during the past 12 months.
After 11 Years, Flagler Beach’s First Fridays Events Get Their First Written Policy
The proposed four-page policy formalizes what had been verbally agreed to, or assumed, over the years, but doesn’t change the focus on favoring local businesses while outlining documentation requirements.
Palm Coast’s Kory Jones, 22, Arrested on 1st-Degree Arson Charge Out of Pasco County
Kory Jones, a Matanzas High graduate, was arrested on Palm Coast’s Hargrove Grade in connection with an alleged attempt to explode a propane container in an occupied house in New Port Richie last August.
Thursday Briefing: New First Friday Policy, AAUW’s Successful Women, The Pencil
Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart and County Engineer Faith al-Khatib are among the panelists at an AAUW event at DSC, Flagler Beach codifies First Friday.
David Dalecki, 47, Dies In 2-Vehicle Crash On I-95 Near Palm Coast’s Weigh Station
Dalecki is the husband of Cindy Dalecki, the owner of Marketing 2 Go in Palm Coast, the president of the Flagler Beach Rotary, and one of Flagler County’s most prominent and dynamic personalities.
No, Attorney General Sessions, Pot Is Not “Only Slightly Less Awful” Than Heroin
Pot is a relatively mild and harmless drug compared to deadly, addictive heroin. Treating users like criminals is a threat to their safety — and so is perpetuating the lie that some drugs are no less harmful than others, writes Jill Richardson.
Lawmakers’ Letters to Constituents on Health Care Are Full of Lies and Misinformation
As the GOP tries to rewrite–or “repeal and replace–the Affordable Care Act, lawmakers in both parties are incorrectly citing statistics, making false claims and leaving out important context in letters to constituents.
In Courthouse Parking Lot, Sheriff’s Deputies Peacefully End Another Suicide-By-Cop Crisis
For the second time in 18 months, Flagler sheriff’s deputies peacefully defused a suicide-by-cop confrontation, this one involving 21-year-old Darnell Hyppolite at the Flagler County courthouse parking lot.
Wednesday Briefing: Bob Cuff, Scout’s Hero, Guns in the Courthouse, Kasparov on Trump, McCarthyism
Palm Coast City Councilman Bob Cuff is honored by the Boy Scout Council, the Legislature takes up a bill that would allow carrying guns in courthouses, McCarthyism explained.
7-3 Vote Loses Flagler Another Round on Vacation Rentals In Hurried Senate Hearing
Flagler County government’s attempt to protect its vacation-rental regulations took another turn for the worse as a Senate committee today voted to advance a bill that would wipe out those regulations.
Sheriff Staly Considering Relaxing Chase Policy After His Involvement in Weekend Incident
Sheriff Rick Staly had started to chase a Camaro on I-95 Friday but it blew past him too fast, so he ordered stop sticks deployed when it was trailed past Seminole Woods onto U.S. 1. The driver still got away.
Flagler Increases Tourism Tax to 5%, Benefiting Beach Fix, Then More Promotions
The first two years of new revenue will swell the beach-repair fund by $2.5 million, settling back down to $500,000 thereafter, when the promotions revenue will rise to $1.5 million a year.
Ousted In Cop Case, Prosecutor Who Won’t Seek Death Penalty Challenges Scott
State Attorney Aramis Ayala is accusing Gov. Scott of abusing his authority by ousting her as prosecutor in the case of alleged cop-killer Markeith Loyd.
Tuesday Briefing: Vacation Rentals, Superintendent Search, Food Truck Tuesday, Patriot Award, Philip Roth
Palm Coast Fire Chief Mike Beadle, Deputy Chief Jerry Forte, and Battalion Chief Ron Petrillo get a Patriot Award, the school board looks over applicants for superintendent, vacation rentals are up for another Senate hearing.
Jeanmarie Baker, 61, Is Killed By FEC Train Just South of White Eagle Off U.S. 1 in Suicide
Jeanmarie Baker, 61, was struck and killed by a southbound train on the Florida East Coast Railway early this evening in Korona, near the White Eagle Lounge just south of Palm Coast.
O’Brien Beach-Funding Proposal Prevails, And Flagler Beach Gets $2 Million Pledge
County Commissioner Donald O’Brien’s proposal to shift more money toward beach restoration prevailed today in a joint meeting of the County Commission and the county’s tourism board, and the county administrator pledged to allocate $2 million to Flagler Beach’s needs.
Superintendent’s Job Draws Just 41 Applicants, And A Few Stand-Outs After All
The district’s Vernon Orndorff is the only local applicant. He faces definite competition from Phyllis Edwards, a former assistant superintendent in Flagler, and Todd Sprager, the principal at Spruce Creek High School in Volusia.
Thousand-Acre Wildfire Started As Controlled Burn in Putnam, Spread To Flagler, Now 75% Contained
Residents in Northwest Flagler County breathed the effects of the fire all weekend, and residents in Palm Coast and the rest of the county could see the large columns of smoke rising over the western horizon Saturday and Sunday.
Flagler Tourism “Promotions” Slush Fund Jumps 76% in 3 Years, And We’re Counting Pennies For Beach Repairs?
Paying for critical repairs to Flagler County’s beaches is hostages to a tourism budget’s scandalous and unaccountable promotions spending, which the county administration wants to increase despite the emergency.
Monday Briefing: County Commission Triple-Header on Land-Swap and Tourism Tax, Unspoken STDs, Kolyma
The Flagler County Commission meets three times to discuss an increase in the tourism sales tax, a land swap to benefit building a new library, and numerous other issues, the trial of James Taylor, accused of molesting an 11-year-old girl, Henrik Ibsen’s birthday.
As 1st Brick In Wall Goes Up, An Accounting of the Cost of a Single Installment ($2.8 Billion) to U.S. Taxpayers
That first $2.6 billion will not go toward the permanent wall Trump has committed to (that’s forecast to be around 10 times the $2.6 billion) but to a bunch of smaller walls and patch holes in the assortment of fences that now exist.
In Palm Coast Survey of Residents, More Nuanced Views Past Happy-Faced Powerpoint
The city’s powerpoint summary of its 2017 survey presents a brighter if narrower picture of residents’ concerns, who, freed from multiple-choice questions, tell a different story of concerns and lacking services from streetlights to sidewalks to safety.
Weekend Briefing: Down Syndrome’s Buddy Walk, NCAA Sports Clinic, Art Show At Veterans Park, Judi Wormeck
It’s Down Syndrome Buddy Walk time, an NCAA Youth Sports Clinic at Indian Trails Sports Complex, Artist of the Year Judi Wormeck’s show opens in Flagler Beach, remembering John Updike and Rabbit Angstrom.
In Stunning Move, State Attorney Ayala Won’t Pursue Death Sentences in Orange and Osceola
Ayala’s decision infuriated Gov. Scott, Attorney General Bondi and police organizations, but drew praise from others who see the position more in line with a growing national trend by courts, some governors and legislatures.
Flagler’s Hutson Files Amendment to Vacation-Rental Bill That Would “Eviscerate” Regulations
Sen. Travis Hutson had supported the 2014 law enabling Flagler County to regulate vacation rentals. His amendment, which he calls a “compromise,” would scale that back even though he sees no problems with local regulations or short-term rentals.
Flagler Beach’s Mary Ann Dominessy Reese, Who’d Made Her Battle With ALS Unsparingly Public, Dies at 63
For more than two years Mary Ann Dominessy Reese, a retired teacher, had painstakingly chronicled her decline through ALS on a widely read Facebook page, organizing campaigns and fund-raisers, along the way.
Palm Coast’s Jerald Medders, 51, Held on $300,000 Bond Over Child Rape Charges
Jerald D. Medders, 51, of 6 Zelda Place in Palm Coast, faces three 1st-degree felony counts of raping a girl over three months. Medders blamed the girl, who was 15 when the alleged assaults began, for “provoking” him.
Thursday Briefing: St. Patrick’s Day, Cynical Lawyers, Picnics and Pops Tickets, the Great Yale Snowball Fight
A relatively quiet official day locally but not a quiet St. Patrick’s drinking day, the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s tickets for the Picnics and Pops concert on sale, the story of the great Yale snowball fight.
Fire Severely Damages Marine Veteran’s House on Palm Coast’s Folcroft Lane
Robert Detherow had just parked his motorcycle in the garage at 38 Folcroft Lane in Palm Coast when a fire enveloped the motorcycle and started attacking the house, about half of which was damaged.
At Ocean Art Gallery:
Judi Wormeck, Artist of the Year
Judi Wormeck, a retired art teacher and member of the Flagler County Art League, is the Gargiulo Art Foundation’s 2016 Flagler County Artist of the Year, with her first Florida exhibit opening Friday at Ocean Art Gallery in Flagler Beach.
Senate Approves Stand Your Ground Change To Make It Easier For Shooters To Use Defense
The bill would shift the burden from defendants to prosecutors in the pre-trial hearings, vastly strengthening defendants’ ability to use the defense, but at significant cost to prosecutors.
Gas Leak at Flagler’s New Jail Prompts 2-Hour Inmate Lockdown
The leak was pinpointed to a water heater in late morning Tuesday at the 54,000 square foot, $17.4 million new jail, though the precise nature of the problem was not discovered.
A Jazz Centennial Celebration: Linda Cole and Orlando Jazz Orchestra at Flagler Auditorium
The great jazz vocalist Linda Cole will celebrate the centennial of Ella Fitzgerald’s birth (and that of many other jazz greats) in a double-bill concert scheduled for April 2 at 3 p.m. at the Flagler Auditorium.
Stetson University Hosting Immigration Forum on April 1
In light of many recent convulsions in immigration law, Stetson University is hosting an open forum discussion with St. Petersburg immigration attorney Arturo R. Rios on recent changes in immigration actions and law.
Wednesday Briefing: Cue Democratic Social, Changing State Colleges, Islamophobes in Europe
Flagler Democrats gather for ma social with new leader Mike Cocchiola at Cue Note Billiards, pushing financial literacy in Tallahassee, Islamophobia’s comebacks, Beethoven’s genius through deafness.
Setback For Flagler as Bill Scrapping Vacation-Rental Regulations Advances on 9-6 Vote
A divided House Agriculture and Property Rights Subcommittee was not swayed by a presentation from Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed as it voted to scrap county authority to regulate short-term, vacation rentals. The bill has several additional hurdles to clear.
A Country Unbecoming In the Age of Trump
Immigrants targeted for prosecution or removal could be the people who built your house, picked the fruit for your breakfast, and tidied up the hotel room where you last stayed.
Prohibition on Liquor In Grocery Stores Approaching Repeal as Bill Advances
The contentious bill, sought by Wal-Mart and Target and opposed by Publix and ABC, needs to make it through one more committee in the House and awaits a floor vote in the Senate.
33-Year-Old Palm Coast Driver Crashes Mustang In Woods Off I-95
Chad R. Shiffler, a 33-year-old resident of Farmsworth Drive in Palm Coast, was seriously injured and flown to Halifax hospital after crashing his Mustang into the woods on I-95 near the State Road 100 intersection.
Senate Committee Kills Recovery Centers Palm Coast Opposes, But Approves Expanded Surgical Centers
A Senate committee today killed a proposal to create the sort of “recovery care centers” Palm Coast government and Florida Hospital Flagler oppose, but it agreed to expanded ambulatory care centers.
Tuesday Briefing: Recovery Centers, A Night In The 30s, Palm Coast Survey Results, Willoughby Brothers
The Palm Coast City Council hears the results of its citizens’ survey, involving thousands, the Willoughby Brothers are at the Flagler Auditorium, it’ll be in the 30s again tonight.
Florida’s Lethal Injections Ready to Stab Again As Gov. Scott Signs Death Penalty Bill
Florida is again poised to begin executions and prosecute death penalty cases after Gov. Rick Scott signed a law Monday aimed at fixing flaws in the state’s capital sentencing procedure.
Flagler May Lose Vacation Rental Regulations Just 2 Years After Regaining Authority
After a three-year battle, Flagler County government regained the right to regulate short-term rentals in the Hammock, which had become disruptive to local residents. Now the state is poised to take that authority away–again.
Unemployment Spikes to 6% in Flagler, Highest in 15 Months, But Labor Force Also Grows
While Flagler County’s number of unemployed grew by 11 percent month-over-month, the county also saw a very large increase of 600 people in its workforce, pointing to optimism about the county’s climate.
Monday Briefing: Flagler Budget Crunch, Ron Bolser, Bunnell’s Fire Chief, Josh Crews Writing Project
The Flagler County Commission gathers to take stock of its Hurricane Matthew-whacked budget situation, Bunnell set to appoint Ron Bolser fire chief, Josh Crews Writing Project at Princess Place.
An Outbreak of Anti-Semitism in an Angry and Fearful America Since Trump’s Election
“Documenting Hate,” an attempt to document hate crimes and bigotry from a divided America, has recorded more than 330 reports of anti-Semitic incidents during a three-month span from early November to early February.