Ending a cascade of events that saw Marineland Dolphin Adventure all but sold to a commercial developer, a federal bankruptcy judge in Wilmington, Del., this morning approved the sale of Marineland Dolphin Adventure for $7.135 million to Apex Associates, a Green Cove Springs company owned by a philanthropic couple who pledge to preserve and broaden Marineland’s mission as an oceanarium. The bidders, Barbara and Jon Rubel, are backing Jack Kassewitz, a dolphin expert who is returning Felicia Cook to her former role as the general manager at Marineland.
Local Business
Jeff Gray, Activist Wrongfully Arrested Outside Funky Pelican, Demands $200,000 in Pre-Suit Offer
Jeff Gray, the 55-year-old St. Augustine activist wrongfully arrested outside the Funky Pelican restaurant in Flagler Beach on a trespassing charge last March, is seeking $200,000 in compensation from the city, or he said he will sue. The $200,000 claim may not be all that Gray will seek.
Flagler County Appropriates $50,000 in Emergency Aid to Local Food Pantries to Help Counter SNAP Cut
Flagler County government will be appropriating $50,000 from its reserves to be split among the county’s food banks, based on the volume of clients they serve, county officials announced this morning on Flagler Broadcasting’s Food-A-Thon. County Commissioner Kim Carney made the announcement alongside County Administrator Heidi Petito and Deputy County Administrator Percy Sayles. The appropriation follows in the wake of the St. Johns County Commission on Tuesday voting to appropriate $200,000 in emergency funds.
Chick-Fil-A Opening 2nd Palm Coast Location Next Tuesday Near BJ’s, But No More ‘First 100’ Giveaway
Ten years after the fanatically popular brand’s first local restaurant opened off Palm Coast Parkway, Chick-fil-A is set to open its second restaurant next Tuesday–Veterans Day, curiously, but at half past the sixth, rather than the 11th, hour–off State Road 100, in the BJ’s Wholesale shopping center. Glenn Efford, an old hand with the company who opened the previous Palm Coast Chick-fil-A (and has been opening restaurants for two decades), is the owner-operator of the new one as well.
For WNZF and Grace Community Pantry, a Food-A-Thon with Urgency as Food Stamps Vanish For Thousands of Families
With the government shutdown, there’s obviously something very different about this year’s Food-A-Thon, the fourth organized by Flagler Broadcasting’s David Ayres since 2022. There’s a food crisis in the country as the Trump administration, defying a judge’s order, has stopped providing food stamps benefits known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, compounding a decrease in food aid from the USDA even before the shutdown. The Food-A-Thon is broadcasting Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on WNZF and three other local radion stations.
Home Builders Association’s Lawsuit Over Impact Fees is ‘Legally Insufficient,’ Palm Coast Argues in Response
Palm Coast government has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit the Flagler Home Builders Association filed against the city in October, arguing that the lawsuit is legally insufficient. The association is challenging the city’s new schedule of steeply higher development impact fees. Motions to dismiss are often filed as a first step in response to a civil action. Barring terribly flawed arguments and legal grounding by the party filing the suit, motions to dismiss are just as often denied. But they block out the grounds where the battle will be fought. and signal where a settlement may take shape.
Not Just Yet: Palm Coast Tables Ordinance Relaxing Commercial Vehicles Allowance in Driveways for Further Tweaks
The proposed change allows for pickup trucks and vehicles like the typical work van to park for more than work calls or for lunch in residential driveways even if the vehicles have commercial markings and advertising. The hang-up this time is the length and height of vehicles. The proposed ordinance would allow vehicles of up to 18 feet in length and 10 feet in height to park in driveways, which Mayor Norris coonsiders too short and too high.
Serenity Falls: 18-Hole Mini Golf Course Coming to Palm Coast’s Town Center Opposite Epic Theatres
Serenity Falls Mini Golf, owned by Roland Delbois of Palm Coast, is to be located on 2 rectangular acres at 1208 Central Avenue, almost directly opposite Epic Theatres, closer to Brookhaven Way. Delbois’ Serenity Falls corporation, established in January, bought the parcel from Palm Coast Holdings/Allete in mid-April for $523,000. The 18-golf course’s design will have a tropical look, will serve beer and wine, and will have a party pavilion.
Chiumento Law’s Diane Vidal and Vincent Sullivan Land Honors
Chiumento Law announced that Diane A. Vidal has been recognized as one of Florida Trend’s Legal Elite Notable – Women Leaders in Law in the 2025 statewide publication. Chiumento Law also announced that Partner Vincent Sullivan has been named the recipient of the Kathy Para Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award.
Free the Food Trucks: Palm Coast Will End Strict Regulations on Popular Roving, Popup Businesses
Palm Coast is ready to make it easier for food trucks to sell in the city–at public parks, in commercial parking lots, on private property–with basic permitting. Council members don’t yet agree on the details. But they all agree that regulations must be loosened, that food trucks be more accessible on public and private grounds, that the city control them with a much lighter hand, and that local food trucks be given preference.
Marketing 2 Go Offers Hands-On AI Training Course for Business Leaders Nov. 6 and 12
Marketing 2 Go, a full-service marketing agency serving Flagler and Volusia County and beyond since 2010, will host a four-hour hands-on artificial intelligence training program designed specifically for business leaders on November 6 and 12 for $199 per person.
‘There Will be Some Changes’ to SB180, Sen. Tom Leek Says of Law Favoring Developers At Home Rule’s Expense
State legislators are discussing the possibility of revising a new law that has drawn legal challenges because it blocks cities and counties from approving “more restrictive or burdensome” changes to growth plans. Senate Majority Leader Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, said Monday during a Manatee County legislative delegation meeting that he has talked with sponsors of the 2025 legislation and that “tweaks” are being discussed.
Concrete Company Looking to Open Batch Plant on Hargrove Lane in Palm Coast Gets Approved for One in Bunnell
In January a split Bunnell City Commission rejected a request by Hard Rock Materials to rezone 1.4 acres at the end of Hibiscus Avenue for a concrete batch plant. Neighborhood residents had objected, fearing noise and raising safety concerns. On Monday, the commission unanimously reversed itself, saying the conditions Hard Rock is willing to abide by are sufficient to warrant a change of heart.
2.9 Million Floridians Will Lose Food Stamps Benefits Saturday if Shutdown Doesn’t End
Nearly 3 million Floridians who rely on federal food assistance will see their benefits end in November due to the federal government shutdown. Florida has the fourth largest SNAP enrollment nationwide with 2.94 million relying on the assistance for their food security, behind California, Texas, and New York. Nationwide, 41.7 million people rely on SNAP benefits, August 2025 data show.
Bankruptcy Judge Rejects Marineland Sale for Now, Ordering Community Bidder to Be Considered
Displeased with the way a community bidder was locked out of the process and concerned about the fate of the historic treasure and its animals, a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware this afternoon refused to approve the $7.1 million sale of the Marineland Dolphin Adventure property to a developer and ordered the debtors’ attorney to have discussions with the lower bidder, Jack Kassewitz, a dolphin specialist proposing to save the facility as an oceanarium.
Homeward Bound Program Helps Promote Commercial Truck Driving Training at FTC
Now in its fifth year, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) Homeward Bound program at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility is helping Flagler Technical College (FTC) put a “face” on workforce training in Flagler County.
Flagler OARS Hosts Peer-Based Recovery Support Training
Flagler OARS (Open Arms Recovery Services) will host a comprehensive two-day training focused on supervision of peer-based recovery support services Feb. 11-12, 2026, at SMA Healthcare in Bunnell.
With Grave Concerns About Traffic, Palm Coast Approves Shopping Rezoning That’ll Add 1,000s of Cars to SR100
With grave concerns about its traffic impacts on already-congested State Road 100, the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved on first reading the rezoning to commercial uses of a 39-acre parcel just west of the BJ’s Wholesale shopping center. The rezoning is ahead of the development of that tract into a companion shopping center called Flagler Landing, with a “170,000 square foot big-box discount superstore,” in the description of the developer’s attorney–that is, very likely Walmart–and a half dozen satellite businesses.
You May Soon Park Your Commercial Vehicle in Residential Driveways as Palm Coast Votes to Relax Restrictions
For the first time since the founding of the city a quarter century ago, commercial vehicles are on the verge of being allowed to park in Palm Coast’s residential driveways for more than a lunch hour, or to make service calls. A divided Palm Coast City Council voted 3-2 to approve on first reading the change to what had been one of the more vexing restrictions for trades workers and for the council, which has wrestled with the restriction on several occasions since 2010, always stopping short of altering it–until now.
2 Months After One Was Rejected, Another Concrete Plant Proposed on Hargrove Grade Runs Into Familiar Objections
It was a grind of déjà vu at the Palm Coast Planning Board Wednesday evening as yet another company seeking to rezone land and build a concrete batch plant on Hargrove Grade ran into a crush of public opposition and questions from the board, which proved unwilling to make a decision just yet.
Mystery Development Company Buys Marineland Dolphin Adventure for $7.1 Million, Outbidding Hutson
Marineland Dolphin Adventure, the world’s first oceanarium and for most of its 87 years a Florida tourist destination with a storied past, was sold at auction on Monday for $7.1 million to an apparent shell company that goes by the name of Delightful Development LLC. If the name augurs its future intentions for the 5.1-acre property, the site’s days as an oceanarium are approaching their end, and the 17 dolphins there, six of them born in Marineland, will have to find new homes.
Palm Coast’s Message to Flagler Humane Society: Help Us Help You
After a year of wrangles with the non-profit and a few pending questions ahead, the Palm Coast City Council has approved its annual contract with the Flagler Humane Society, increasing it to $125,000, from $90,000. But the city is pressing the society to be more forthcoming with its data and future plans for potential expansion.
Flagler Cares’ Carrie Baird Is Among ‘Women Shaping Florida’s Future’ at State Awards, a First for Flagler County
Close to 200 people gathered at Tallahassee’s DoubleTree Hotel Wednesday evening to honor “women who are shaping Florida’s future, who are leading, innovating and lifting others up as they rise,” as Shevaun Harris, Secretary, Agency for Health Care Administration, a keynote speaker and one of the honorees, told the audience. One of the women was Carrie Baird, Chief Executive Officer of Flagler Cares, the 10-year-old, Palm Coast-based nonprofit. It was the first time that the leader of an organization in Flagler County was the recipient of the News Service of Florida’s annual Above and Beyond Award.
Flagler Beach Commission Votes 3-2 to Sell Ocean Palm Golf Course at a Loss, for $801,000, Citing ‘Painful’ Years
The Flagler Beach City Commission voted 3-2 Thursday to sell the nine-hole Ocean Palm Golf Club it bought in 2008. The sale price would be $801,000, or $100,000 less than what the city paid for it, when it acquired an additional 3 acres a decade ago. The course has been a perennial loss for the city even with the two golf management companies that have run the course since 2015. The buyer is the current lease holder, Ocean Palms Golf Club, owned by Jeff Ryan.
Flagler Beach Planning Board Rejects Veranda Bay/Summertown Annexation in Striking Reversal of Former Welcome
In a striking reversal from its unanimous recommendation approving Veranda Bay’s annexation into Flagler Beach last year, before the threat of a lawsuit suspended further regulatory steps, the Flagler Beach Planning Board Tuesday denied recommending approval on a series of 4-1 votes. For Veranda Bay, it is the latest blow in a six-year slog through sustained public opposition, litigation, official courtship, second thoughts and now uncertainty.
Flagler County’s Development Authority Board Wants to Wade Into Economic Development, Conjuring Grim History
Some of the members of Flagler County’s newly appointed Industrial Development Authority wants to be more than just an industrial development authority. They want to be the county’s economic advisory council–reviving the sort of council the county killed in 2020 after years of meager results. Just as IDA members have mixed feelings about that, so did the Flagler County commissioners who appointed them.
More Skepticism and Vagueness than Hard Data to Support Mammoth $110 Million Sports Complex in Palm Coast
A company pitching a proposed $110 million sports complex for west Palm Coast claims it could attract up to 400,000 a year even though the county as a whole doesn’t attract more than 100,000 total visitors a year, including those who flock to its beaches. Yet the Flagler County Commission, with some strong skepticism from one member and questions from others, continues to encourage its tourism office to further explore the possibility of just such a complex, which would require a $6 million a year “rent” payment from taxpayers.
Hearings Begin Over FPL’s Proposed Rate Increase
FPL’s originally proposed base rate hike in February would have allowed it to collect $9.8 billion in revenue over the next four years — the highest in U.S. history. Since then, that has been negotiated down by approximately $2.9 billion — still far too high, energy advocates argue.
Every Flagler/Palm Coast Development Past, Present and Future Now Mapped Out and Accessible Thanks to Toby Tobin
Imagine an interactive site where every housing development in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Flagler County, past, present, and future, is mapped out and available at a click. Every development’s details–number of homes, apartment units, commercial or industrial square footage–is listed, often with illustrations and links. Developers are listed. So are construction dates or projected buildouts. That map is now public and free to use, if not quite as free to its creator, who’s paying for it.
Bunnell Maid on Probation for Theft Accused of Defrauding and Stealing from Clients in C-Section
Kayla Conner, 38, of Bunnell, was on probation for a 2024 conviction for felony theft when she was arrested again last week on accusations that, as a housekeeper, she defrauded her employer of $776 for cash, or to pay her wireless fees, or to pay for pet supplies, and stole a Pandora bracelet worth up to $800, and pawned off numerous jewelry items for cash.
Three Months Later, Flagler Beach Commissioners Finally Agree on Design of $2.6 Million ‘Beachwalk’ by Pier
After twice rejecting the design for the rebuilding of the Flagler Beach boardwalk and the structures under the A-frame at the pier, the Flagler Beach City Commission approved the preliminary drawings for both in what will be a $2.6 million reconstruction, with new concrete pilings beneath and a large deck and breezeway above. If the cost remains close to $2.6 million, it will be a surprise.
Snubbing Near-Unanimous Public Opposition, Bunnell Commission Approves Rezoning 1,259 Acres to Industrial
Snubbing near-unanimous public opposition just as it had snubbed it when approving a mammoth 6,100-home development last month, the Bunnell City Commission on Monday approved on a 4-1 vote the first reading of an ordinance that will rezone 1,259 acres just east and south of the city’s core from agricultural to industrial, including heavy industrial, in what could potentially change the complexion of the city. Commissioner John Rogers was the lone dissenter.
Palm Coast Council Rejects Call to Cancel City’s Advertising Contract with FlaglerLive Over Charlie Kirk Articles
The Palm Coast City Council today rejected a call by a former council candidate to cancel the city’s long-standing advertising contract with FlaglerLive in retaliation for a news article published soon after the shooting, and a subsequent opinion column that denounced activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, but also many of his views. A majority of council members cited the site’s vast readership, its advertising reach for the city and its ROI, or return on a relatively modest investment to reject the call to cancel–at least not before an update on the numbers.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate Rises Again, to 5.4%, Highest Level in 4 Years; Florida’s Ticks Up to 3.8%
Flagler County’s unemployment rate rose for the third straight month and hasn’t declined since March, reaching 5.4 percent in August, the highest unemployment rate since June 2021, when it was 5.4 percent. Palm Coast’s unemployment was also 5.4 percent in August, according to figures released by the state’s Commerce Department Friday.
Hell No: Boston Whaler Should Not Be Allowed to Exit Without a Fight from Flagler County’s Leadership
We cheered when Brunswick returned after closing once before, investing taxpayer resources and community goodwill in welcoming them back. Now, once again, we are faced with the prospect of a shuttered plant and broken promises. At what point do we as a community stand behind our leaders and say hell no, you can’t go?
Commissioners Dismayed Over County’s Impotence as They Write Off $10 Million in Seemingly Unpaid Ambulance Bills
Since 2018, the county has accrued on average $1.7 million a year in what the county considers to be uncollected bills, or $10.3 million through February 2024. It’s happened for years, if not quite by those amounts. For years, the County Commission has periodically written off the loss. But it’s not all unpaid bills: the majority of that “loss” is the difference between what Medicaid and Medicare reimburse, as opposed to what the county bills.
Four Years After Reopening, Boston Whaler Will Close Palm Coast Plant by Next Year, Affecting 300 Workers
The Brunswick Corporation announced late this afternoon that it was shutting down the Boston Whaler boat manufacturing plant it had reopened in Palm Coast/Flagler Beach just four years ago, dealing a severe blow to the city’s and county’s largest manufacturer and their local economy. Brunswick is consolidating the Palm Coast plant with the manufacturing facility in Edgewater by next February.
Tech Industry Groups Want Appeals Court to Uphold Ruling that Blocked Florida’s Restrictive Social Media Law
Pointing to what they called “draconian restrictions,” tech industry groups are urging a federal appeals court to uphold a decision that blocked a Florida law aimed at preventing children from having access to certain social-media platforms. Attorneys for the groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association filed a 78-page brief Friday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, contending the 2024 law violates First Amendment rights.
Man, 68, Accused of Wielding Knife and Chasing 2 Juveniles and 18-Year-Old at Palm Coast Walmart
Thomas Edward Ohl, a 68-year-old resident of Wellington Drive in Palm Coast, faces four felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and child abuse following an incident Saturday night at Walmart, where he allegedly chased two juveniles and an 18-year-old with a knife picked out of a shelf, after he said they’d made fun of his disability.
State Regulators Reject Counter-Proposal by Customer Representative to Limit FPL Rate Increases
As they consider a proposed settlement that would increase Florida Power & Light’s base electric rates, state regulators will not take up a “counter proposal” offered by opponents. FPL wants base-rate increases of $945 million in 2026 and $766 million in 2027. The counter proposal would have resulted in increases of $867 million in 2026 and $403 million in 2027.
Family of 4 In Flagler County Set to See 75% Premium Increase for Obamacare; 4 Million Floridians Will See Sharp Jump
Health insurance rates will increase sharply for the 4 million-plus Floridians who rely on so-called Obamacare plans or small employer health insurance coverage in the coming weeks, according to data released by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. For a family of four with a household income of $85,000 in Flagler County, the monthly premium for an average silver plan will rise to 1,192, from $680, a 75 percent increase.
Bunnell Gives Final Approval to 6,100-Home Haw Creek Development That Will Dwarf City’s 1,000 Households
What Bunnell Vice Mayor John Rogers is calling a “city within a city” with “no compatibility with the size, the character or the infrastructure” of the city will start taking shape west and south of Bunnell as a divided City Commission on Monday gave final approval to the 6,100-home development known as the Reserve at Haw Creek. As was the case two weeks ago, when the commission approved a series of regulatory steps, it did so with the same 3-2 split. Commissioners Pete Young, Dean Sechrist and Mayor Catherine Robinson voted in the majority, Rogers and Commissioner David Atkinson were opposed.
Flagler Tiger Bay Re-Elects Jay Scherr, Marc Dwyer and Joe Saviak to Leadership
The Flagler Tiger Bay Club, the county’s non-partisan and unique forum for ideas and discussions, Friday announced the election and re-election of the following board officers to serve four-year terms, among them Jay Scherr, Marc Dwyer and Joe Saviak.
Armed Burglar Wrecks Sharps Liquors in Flagler Plaza After Being Denied Drinks, and Faces Life Felonies
A 38-year-old man whose recorded behavior at the time of his arrest suggests questionable mental competence is at the Flagler County jail on 12 felony charges, two of them punishable by life in prison, following an alleged armed burglary and a trashing rampage through Sharps Discount Liquors in Palm Coast. He is being held on $236,000 bond. The trashing left the area behind the counter entirely covered in broken bottles shoved off the shelves, along with a whole other segment of the store where the man had systematically upended, broken or wrecked everything in his way.
Lease-Holder Offers Flagler Beach $801,000 to Buy Ocean Palm Golf Club as 2nd Company Shows Interest
The operators of the city-owned Ocean Palm Golf Club at the south end of Flagler Beach are offering the city $801,333 to buy the 37-acre, nine-hole course the city has owned since 2013. Meanwhile, John Patrick Capital, the investment firm, told the city last week that it was interested in making its own offer on the property, implying that it would do a better job running it than the current lease-holder.
Delayed a Month, Work on Flagler Beach Pier Demolition Resumes After Erin’s Waves Wash Out Turtle Nest
It took a bit of a cataclysmic tragedy for what may have been up to a hundred eggs, but demolition work on the Flagler Beach pier resumed today after a turtle nest that had stopped the work cold at the end of July washed out to sea as Hurricane Erin’s waves battered the shore. The storm never got close to the beach. But swells carved out a significant swath of sand, and with it the loggerhead nest.
Palm Coast’s Epic Theatres Marks Reopening After $1 Million Renovation as Industry Battles Slump
As movie theaters and the movie industry struggle to regain pre-pandemic audiences (and revenue), Palm Coast marked the grand reopening of Epic Theatres of Palm Coast Wednesday following a major renovation at the 15-year-old theater. The ribbon-cutting event was held on Wednesday evening. The more than $1 million renovation upgraded all 14 auditoriums with luxury electric recliners, enhanced lighting, new flooring, and advanced acoustical improvements. Movie theaters have been struggling to regain audiences lost during the Covid pandemic.
Council Kills Talk of Selling Palm Harbor Golf Course But Sets Ultimatum to City Management If It Doesn’t Break Even
A decisive 4-1 majority of the Palm Coast City Council is opposed to selling the Palm Harbor Golf Club, but not to seeking to outsource its management next year if it doesn’t break even under city management. In essence, city staff at Palm Harbor faces an ultimatum. The council’s history was not as clear-eyed. The course was under the private management of Kemper Sports from its opening in 2009 until 2017. It was an unhappy history.
Teens-In-Flight President Ricky Carson ‘Ric’ Lehman Dies at 69
Teens-In-Flight, the Palm Coast non-profit, announced today the unexpected death of its president, Ricky Carson “Ric” Lehman, on Aug. 22 at his home in Palm Coast. He had been recovering from an appendectomy. He was 69.
Flagler Home Builders Association Will Sue Palm Coast Over Parks, Fire and Road Impact Fee Increases
The Flagler Home Builders Association is preparing to sue Palm Coast government over the City Council’s approval in June of sharply higher development impact fees for fire, parks and roads. The new fees don’t apply until Oct. 1. The suit would be filed on behalf of HBA, five construction companies and two private city residents. The pending action argues that the city’s new schedule violated the law by raising fees too sharply and too quickly, without a substantiated showing of “extraordinary circumstances” that would justify the sharper increase, among other alleged violations.