Three years in arrears on taxes and delinquent on $4.5 million it owes the county for a golf course it never built, Hunter’s Ridge now wants to almost double its density to 2,657 homes. Commissioners are puzzled.
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The Live Wire, Nov. 2: Election Guideposts, Florida Dreaming and William Faulkner
What to watch on election night, a look at non-voters, Southwest Florida’s big no to black coaches, fear and loathing in Manhattan, Florida’s collapse seen from Germany, and more.
Conklin Triggers Mockingbird Appeals Committee, Likely Enabling Play’s Revival
Unearthing a district policy on “the appropriateness of books or materials,” School Board member Colleen Conklin appealed the decision to cancel the play. A committee will be appointed to handle the appeal.
Before School Censors: When Mockingbird‘s Harper Lee Spoke Proudly of Flagler County
In 2002, Harper Lee addressed Flagler County proudly when her book was the centerpiece of county-wide events. The school district’s censoring of the play this month contrasts sharply with that progressive history.
In Florida, Endangered Democrats Will Approach Extinction Status on Election Day
The map is set to go redder in Florida Tuesday evening as one-term Democrats like Kosmas and Grayson lose and the Legislature edges further right. Sink-Scott is the only drama.
The Live Wire, Monday, Nov. 1: Homeless in Flagler, Obama Besting Reagan, and Charter School Myths
An eyewitness story of a homeless man in Flagler, Bill Delbrugge’s doggy Halloween in Cairo, why government doesn’t suck, wondering whether civilization can survive without god, the scariest Halloween, and more.
Cultural Development Richer Than Economic: How to Grow Palm Coast Into a City With Soul
There’s more to a city than commerce, argues Hollingsworth Gallery’s JJ Graham in a column. Without cultural development and the youthful force that makes it possible, Palm Coast would be a city without soul.
Daviana’s Excellent Adventure: Halloween Bash Fills Carts and Kitty for the Hungry
Little Miss Flagler Daviana Campbell raised $900 and filled four shopping carts full of canned goods for a local food pantry through a Halloween dance that drew some 300 participants.
Dracula Brings Fangs, Foes and a Costume Contest to the Flagler Auditorium
If Stephenie Meyer could turn teen sighs and stares into a 2,000-page epic, why not make a ballet of Bram Stoker’s Dracula? Gainsville’s Dance Alive National Ballet brings that production to the Flagler Auditorium for a Halloween special.
Live Wire Weekend, Oct. 29-31: NPR’s Deserved Black Eyes, Privatization Follies and AA’s Bummer
Florida’s worst campaign offenses, BP dispersants’ ill effects, the privatization-industrial complex, energy bracelets’ bullshit watch, John Candy and more.
Lowe’s Ups Drywall Settlement to $100,000 Per Victim, Closing Gap With Lawyer Payouts
The home-improvement Lowe’s chain had previously offered no more than $4,500 in cash and gift cards to victims whose health or homes were hurt by defective drywalls bought from Lowe’s stores, and much more to lawyers. The new agreement evens out the potential payments.
Marineland’s John Hankinson Appointed Director of Obama’s Gulf Recovery Task Force
John Hankinson, chairman of Florida Audubon, has an environmental consulting office in Marineland and was the Southern Region’s EPA administrator during the Clinton administration.
Feared Weapon Never Made It Onto Indian Trails Campus; School Has Normal Friday
A report of a student planning to bring a weapon to Indian Trails Middle School surfaced Thursday evening. The school administration and law enforcement intervened, the family of the student cooperated, and the weapon never appeared.
The Live Wire, Oct. 28: Clinton Gives Meek the Best Advice of the Year
Bill Clinton gives Kendrick Meek advice he could do something with, Obama makes a defensive appearance on the Daily Show, woman to woman in Afghanistan, and more.
Stalemated Flagler Beach Opts for Bruce Campbell As Acting Manager Beginning Jan. 2
In yet another raucous meeting, the Flagler Beach city commission couldn’t muster the votes to hire Bruce Campbell outright, so it settled for hiring him as acting manager beginning in January.
Campaign Notes: Dwyer Backs Craig, Sword and Fischer Vie for Teachers’ Attention
Craig and Horrox in the circuit court race and Sword and Fischer in the school board race make their final pitches with radio appearances and a television ad from Sword, while others continue to press for the ballot measure on continuing the .25-mill school tax.
7-Year-Old Nate Truelove, Old Kings Wreck Victim, Is Going Home
Nate’s rehabilitation at Brooks Rehab in Jacksonville did not produce the desired results. He is still mostly unresponsive, though awake. His family hopes that back home in DeLand, he will begin to progress better.
Florida State Intervenes As More Soldiers Die from Risky Behavior than Combat
In 2009, more soldiers died from suicide and high-risk behavior than in combat. The Pentagon is drafting Florida State to fight the epidemic.
Bowing to Pressure, Transportation Department Scraps Plans for a Weigh Station on U.S. 1
Every local government had opposed a proposed $11 million weigh station that would have taken up the median of U.S. 1 at Royal Palms Parkway, at the intersection of Palm Coast and Bunnell. Opposition worked.
A Halloween Concert of Myth and Poetry and a Neanderthal Friend-Raiser: Culture Worth the Miles
The Orlando Philharmonic’s Halloween concert, Edward Gorey at the Orlando Museum of Art, ‘Girls Night: The Musical,’ and the Neanderthal Ball friend-raiser at the Orlando Science Center, plus plenty more.
The Live Wire, Oct. 26: Depression Polling and Normal Mailer on Dan Quayle
A Depression Gallup Poll from 1935 with familiar results, Norman Mailer diagnoses the GOP in 1992, Trotsky’s assassination remembered, an iphone editorial, and more.
Night Waves Smash 50-ft Fishing Vessel To Shore Just North of Flagler Beach
The two fishermen on board the 50-year-old “Satisfaction,” registered to a company in Port Orange, swam safely to shore around 1:30 a.m., and their catch was salvaged.
Holland Walks Out on Palm Coast Council As It “Rewrites History” Over Annexation
Commissioner Milissa Holland had enough once Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon took credit for bringing in the National Guard to a Flagler County airport site, which is at the heart of an annexation controversy.
The Live Wire, Oct. 25: Rove’s Warrior Nation, Tea Parties and Renoir
Why we love war, the tea party goes up against Karl Rove, Scalia takes Kagan to the gun range, the best don’t ask don’t tell moments, and more.
Jail Riot, Diving Accident, Hostages and Wrecks Jam Flagler’s Paramedic Competition
Organized by the Flagler County Fire Department, the nearly 24-hour paramedic competition put 10 teams through 10 scenarios across the county in grueling, unpredictable drills.
How Republicans Became America’s Arabs
That’s the strength behind the Republican No, as it is behind the Arab No, the Islamist No in particular: it appeals to some mythical, mass-marketable golden age. No proof necessary.
Leveraging Little Miss Flagler Into a Halloween Campaign to Feed the Hungry, and More
Daviana Campbell, the 11-year-old winner of Little Miss Flagler 2010, is throwing a 5th and 6th grade Halloween dance Oct. 29 to raise money and food for the hungry. That’s just for starters.
With Verve and Survivors, Bunnell Pinks Up In 4-Mile Breast Cancer Awareness Walk
Bunnell’s first annual “Going the Extra Mile” walk for breast cancer awareness Saturday morning drew some 160 people and raised $2,500.
Live Wire Weekend, Oct. 22-24: Wikileaks Hell, Beirut’s Marines, Orlando’s Palin
Sarah Palin brings her bonkers act to Orlando, Wikileaks honors the truth, massive oil is spotted in the Gulf of Mexico, American religion isn’t that bad, and more.
Singing Its Signal Achievements, Flagler Education Foundation Celebrates 20 Years
The gala dinner at the Hammock Dunes Club drew a sold-out audience of 175, and was highlighted by testimonials about the foundation’s works and rousing performances by Amy Fulmer’s Formality Ensemble.
Builders on Amendment 4: Bad for Jobs, Economic Growth and Democracy
Charles Rinek, president of the Flagler Home Builders Association, outlines the many reasons why Amendment 4 — the so-called “Hometown Democracy” amendment — will undermine the state’s economy and democratic process.
Palm Coast Is Fighting Firefighters’ Union on Forming a Single Bargaining Unit
The hearing Friday will decide whether lieutenants and rank and file firefighters can form a single bargaining unit, which the city–which objects to unionization–is opposing.
September Unemployment Almost Unchanged: 16.3% in Flagler, 11.9% in Florida
With 1.1 million people out of work, unemployment in Florida inched up by a decimal point, and down by a decimal point in Flagler. Some 11,100 jobs were lost in the state in September.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” Launches Flagler Playhouse’s 32nd Season
The play and the movie of the “rock opera” were charged up with controversy in 1971 and 1973. These days, “Jesus Christ Superstar” is a nostalgic bath of 70s music and only quaint hints of subversion.
Health Care Deformed: Florida’s Incoming House Speaker Defies Federal Law
With no apparent authority from the Legislature or the courts, incoming Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon is aiming to scuttle state agencies’ enactment of federal health care reform laws and regulations.
The Live Wire, Oct. 21: Miss Flagler County’s Latest, Sink and Scott’s Loudest, Palin’s Diva Act
Amanda Dack gives us a Miss Flagler County update, St. Augustine wins best place to retire, Sink and Scott fang up, Dizzy Gillespie makes a birthday appearance on the Muppet Show, and more.
In School Board Race, a Clash of Clarity And Fact Between Fischer and Sword
John Fischer makes wild, often incoherent claims and exaggerations, betting, correctly, that his audiences won’t verify what he says. Sword is about clarity and rational analysis.
And Then There Were One and a Half: Flagler Beach Manager Pick Slims to Default
Edward Sealover has taken a job in Georgia, Gary Word is negotiating terms with Green Cove Springs, leaving Bruce Campbell the choice by default. The question is: will the Flagler Beach City Commission take it?
The Live Wire, Oct. 20: Debt Dummies, Lolita, George Carlin and EE Cummings
How not to pay your credit card bills, Confederate fallacies, reading “Lolita” at 12, Calgary’s new Muslim mayor, George Carlin on Religion, and more.
Flagler Sheriff’s Jail Guards Apologize To Lisa Tanner Over 2005 Brutality Case
Lisa Tanner, the daughter of then-State Attorney John Tanner, was arrested on bogus charges in March 2005, and was then violently restrained and abused by guards at the Flagler County jail.
Bold and Bolder: County Commission Bashes Landon and Coffey Over Annexation Proposal
County administrator Craig Coffey and City Manager Jim Landon worked out an annexation deal for the 55 acres to be filled by a National Guard center near the airport. That was news to the county commission.
A Bench, a Homeless Man, A Cop’s Brutal Judgment: Poverty as a Presumption of Guilt
The man was sleeping on a bench in Sarastoa. The cop noticed a duffel bag and decided to invoke the city’s anti-camping ordinance. The result: felony charges for the man, and neither justice nor common sense served.
In Palm Coast, Another Dud Turnout At School Tax Town Hall
School officials had thought (and feared) that the tea party throngs would turn up at Monday’s town hall on the proposed $0.25 mill school tax referendum. They didn’t. What those tea leaves say is not clear.
The Live Wire, Oct. 19: Florida Apartheid, Rick Scott’s Fuzziness and an Unsavory Duke List
Arizona’s war on undocumented immigrants migrates to Florida, in a whiter worse version, Rick Scott has memory problems under oath, the “Duke Screw List” surfaces, and more.
Holden House and the Old Courthouse: A Grateful Historical Society and an Update
Flagler County Historical Society President Mary Ann Clark thanks the county commission for the $23,400 renovation, and Sisco Deen relates the latest fixings.
County Raises Bed Tax to 4%, a Victory for Milissa Holland’s Tourism Marketing Thrust
The higher tax, Milissa Holland argued, will broaden Flagler County’s marketing power, drawing more visitors and creating more jobs for local, small businesses.
Calvary Christian’s Bus Ministry: Treasuring the Homeless, One Sunday at a Time
Every Sunday, Calvary’s school buses pick up some 120 homeless men, women and children to clean, feed and clothe them while ministering to them without illusions.
In Race to Replace Judge Hammond in Flagler, Craig and Horrox Scrape for Distinctions
In the race for the 7th judicial district’s court seat Judge Hammond is vacating, Dennis Craig and Joe Horrox are two competent, unexciting choices, though Craig’s experience is more varied.
The Live Wire, Oct. 18: Mica’s Night Terrors, the Davidsons’ Park and Tea Party Writ
The ex-News-Journal’s Davidsons get a pasturage, John Mica wants you to be scared of Heather Beaven, tea partiers think the Constitution is a biblical excerpt, and Facebook is betraying your privacy.
Teen White Out: White T-Shirts to Blank Out Traffic Crashes
The Department asks Floridians to show support by wearing a white shirt on Oct. 19 to help white out teen crashes, the leading cause of death for teenagers. This is National Teen Driver Safety Week.