Absent a miracle with the old Flagler County Courthouse, the Bunnell city administration may have no home it can call its own for a few more years yet.
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Commission Approves Chamber’s Tax Referendum for November Ballot
The Flagler County Commission voted unanimously to include the referendum on the November ballot after raising some questions and making slight amendments to the proposal.
Holland Fails in Move to Fire County Administrator Coffey; He Gets 1 More Year
County Commissioner Milissa Holland leveled a withering attack on Administrator Craig Coffey’s record, but she got little support from a majority of commissioners.
County Administrator Craig Coffey’s Consent Problem
Against commission direction, County administrator Craig Coffee placed his contract renegotiation on a portion of the agenda that doesn’t usually get discussed.
How the Chamber’s Tax Proposal Undermines Schools, Cities and the County
Ignoring leery voters and a building bust, the Flagler chamber’s tax for commercial construction is jeopardizing local governments’ own urgent tax referendums in 2011 and 2012.
Marineland Mobilizes Against BP Oil Spill — and Beyond
Florida has no contingency plan if dolphins, turtles and manatees begin showing up coated in oil. Marineland’s Jim Jacoby wants to fix a blind spot in planning dating back to two Jeb Bush vetoes in 2000 and 2001.
Steeling It Up at the Caribbean Festival (Parking Grinches Aside)
The two-day festival, running through Sunday, is a celebration of the senses in music, food and dance. Bring empty stomachs and open ears.
What’s the State of Ecumenism in Flagler (And What on Earth is Ecumenism Anyway)?
Saturday evening’s music and fellowship program at Santa Maria del Mar brings together six churches and five denominations in a historic display of unity in Flagler County.
Flagler Paramedics Take 2nd and 14th Place in Czech Competition
Flagler’s paramedics competed against 10 countries and 23 teams. Photo gallery included.
Job Creation Soars by 431,000, Almost All Census-Driven; Unemployment Down to 9.7%
Despite the surge in employment, signs are grim for sustained job recovery as private-sector and construction jobs lag.
Hanging With Manatees
It’s not just seeing manatees upclose alone that moves you. It’s seeing their injuries, and their utter helplessness.
Palm Coast Replaces Tired Fire Truck With $374,000 Model
The new fire truck, part of the city fire department’s fleet of 14 vehicles, will burn fuel more cleanly and replaces a model that had logged 169,000 miles since 1995.
Class-Size Limits: How Flagler Schools Are Scrambling to Fit in Costly Strait-Jacket
The Flagler school district will spend upwards of $600,000 (to start) to comply with constitutionally required class-size reductions that have no appreciable effect on quality education.
Feds, Not Florida, Will Pay for Medicaid’s 1 Million New Beneficiaries
Attorney General Bill McCollum’s claim that health reform forces Florida to shell out too much money for Medicaid is demonstrably false.
Palm Coast: Best Place to Retire Or
Real Estate Hell? Take Your Pick
One publication declares Palm Coast real estate gold for retirees, another declares Palm Coast a lost cause for home prices.
Attention Flagler Beach: The County Isn’t Looking to Devour Your Fire Department
Sometime over the weekend a rumor started spreading like fog around Flagler Beach that the county was going to take over the Flagler Beach Fire Department. It was false.
County Administrator Craig Coffey Wants More Job Security
Flagler County Administrator Craig Coffey fears being fired without severance when his contract runs out this fall.
Tax-Averse Parents Send Per-Student Spending Tumbling in Flagler Schools
Per-student funding has risen and fallen over the year, but today it’s identical to what it was in 1996, even as the student population, academic expectations and administrative burdens have multiplied.
Taxable Property Values Plummet a Record 20%; Dire Numbers for Local Governments
The drop is the steepest of the last three years. Some $5 billion in taxable values have been wiped out since 2007.
Brain Drain: School Board Retires 36 (and 745 Years of Experience)
Some of the school district’s most familiar names took their last bows Tuesday, including Michele Crosby, Hanneke Jevons, Myra Middleton and Rebecca Dunn.
Rachael Kopec Withdraws from School Board Race
Kopec says she was not ready for the glare, the politics and the time commitment away from her family.
FPC Does ESPN: Sports’ Video Year in Review
Three FPC students distilled a year’s worth of 19 school sports into a 30-minute highlight video. Here it is.
Ego and Egoer
Two of Volusia’s giant egos, Daytona State’s Kent Sharples and ICI Homes’ Mori Hosseini, have turned the college board into their own little Khe Sanh. The NJ puts in some worthy war reporting.
Graduations from God to America
Graduation speeches are part of the American habit of reinvention. They should be provocative and revealing, even if we don’t all agree with the message.
Pryor to Class of 2010: “Take Your Chance, Make Your Choice, Make Your Move”
Citing William Jennings Bryan, Robert Frost and David Wilcox, Matanzas High School Principal Chris Pryor mixed anecdotes and metaphor in his last words of advice to the Class of 2010.
Matanzas’ 318 Senior Pirates Sail Past Commencement
A first for hundreds, and end for a few: The 2010 graduation ceremony in St. Augustine was a blend of heat, Frost and overwhelming emotions.
Photo Gallery: Matanzas High School Class of 2010
A 38-image gallery of Matanzas’s third graduating class, with the full David Sequence.
Mentors
Marking successes over struggles, 54 students and 30 mentors were honored at the 3rd annual African American Mentor Program’s banquet Friday.
Ten Things You Should Know About the $70.4 Billion Budget Crist Is About To Sign
Undermining Bright Futures, imposing ultrasounds on pregnant women, studying school funding, favoring bikers, and more curiosities from the state budget.
Old Courthouse Plans Collapse; Holland Charges County Administrator “Railroaded” Her
A meeting on what to do with the old Flagler County Courthouse turned into a bitter clash between Commissioner Milissa Holland and County Administrator Craig Coffey.
3rd Grade FCAT Scores Well Above State Average; 11% Fail; Charter School Lags
The district’s overall score dropped 3 points in reading and improved one point in math. Heritage Academy is a drag.
Table: Complete 2010 FCAT Scores By School, Flagler 3rd Graders
School-by-school achievements in math and reading by proficiency level, including 2009 comparisons.
Who has Dibs on This Old Thing?
(Hint: Sheriff Not Too Interested)
Three years on, the Flagler County Commission is still trying to decide what to do with the old courthouse, with Bunnell and the Sheriff at the top of the list of possibilities.
Florida Legislature’s Spending Misleadingly Labeled as Pork
Most of the spending called “pork” (or “turkeys” by Florida TaxWatch is of immediate and necessary benefit to senior health, care for the poor and transportation.
Youth Orchestra’s 200 Take a Bow in Year’s Final Concert
The Flagler Youth Orchestra’s musicians, under the new direction of Caren Umbarger, dedicate the final concert to Superintendent Bill Delbrugge.
Loner Palm Coast Drips Desal to Fraction of Original Plan; Water Costs Would Rise Sharply
The city is reducing its desal ambitions to a sixth the original size, but 1,000 gallons would cost five to six times more than current water.
What You Should Know Before You Buy Your Usher, Rihanna and Bieber Tickets in Daytona
Manuel Bornia, head of Daytona’s International Festival, has a growing trail of exaggerations, self-promotion, and outright inventions to his credit–on other people’s dime.
Bloody Head and Assault Charge Following Bowling Alley Fight
A verbal scuffle degenerated into a physical and bloody assault early the morning of May 26 at the bowling alley bar in Palm Coast.
Palm Coast Council Strains to Live Within Its Means at Goal-Setting
The flush years over, the council is looking to set measurable goals that don’t cost too much money but still provide services residents are looking for.
Night-Stick, Taser and Punches in Foot-Chase Through P Section
Following a traffic stop, a sheriff’s deputy chased after Anthony Capitola on foot through the P section before subduing him with Taser shots.
Bunnell Approves Bypass Study as Part of Broader City Planning
Looking to capitalize on developers’ dollars funding the study, the Bunnell City Commission approved a broader look at the city’s road needs in the future.
FPC Commencement Stirs Tassels and Circumstance at Daytona’s Ocean Center
Anthony DeAugustino, Taylor Tofal and Brandon Dean headline Flagler Palm Coast High School’s Class of 2010’s commencement.
Revenue Crunch Not Yet Sobering
Palm Coast City Council’s Ambitions
Palm Coast’s flush years are over, yet City Manager Jim Landon and the council are still high on a new city hall and a water desalination plant.
Provincialism and Its Confessors
If Flagler news falls in the forest and there’s no one there to pulp it into newsprint, has it really happened? Further tales and tails from the provinces of journalism.
From Times Square to Jacksonville:
When Terrorism Is a Double-Standard
When the target of terrorism is recognizably American, it’s a national crisis. When the target of terrorism is a mosque in Jacksonville, nobody cares. Why is that?
Why Tea Parties Are More Bunkers than Bunker Hill
The tea party’s booting out of Utah Sen. Robert Bennett from his state’s GOP primary, despite Bennett’s extreme conservative credentials, is emblematic of a movement in the grip of its own delusions.
Monique Forte, Rising Star at Stetson’s
Business School, Dies at 43
Monique Forte had just been awarded Stetson’s 2010 McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching, and skydived with her graduating students. She was 43.
How Flagler County Is Preparing for the BP Oil Slick–If It Hits (And What You Need to Know)
Flagler County’s emergency response to the oil slick hitting Flagler Beaches is similar to hurricane preparation. It’s happening now.
Secret Video Surveillance Around Palm Coast’s Ralph Carter Park
The Sheriff’s Office confirms that secret video surveillance took place around Ralph Carter Park. Fixed surveillance video cameras are on their way.
2 SUVs Wreck on Matanzas Woods & Bird of Paradise
Jennifer Parks of Palm Coast was T-boned on Matanzas Woods at noon Friday by Colin Taschler, who failed to negotiate a curve. Both were taken to Halifax Hospital.