At 8 this morning, Palm Coast’s Wawa, with its hoagies, its coffees, its interiors lit brighter than the set of a sitcom, and of course its plexiglass and social distancing markers, opened to the public after a four-year wait.
Local Business
Wawa: Behind the Name, a Rich Etymology from Around the World
The Wawa name has come to be almost synonymous with the company, as if it were its origin. In fact, the word–the sound, the name–has innumerably rich applications around the world.
Short-Term Vacation Rental Regulations Vary Unpredictably From County to County
Some counties are mandating a 24-hour wait between bookings, while others are requiring “sufficient” or “adequate” time for cleaning and disinfecting.
Economy Rebounds, Adding 2.5 Million Jobs as Reopenings Bring Unemployment Down to 13.3%
Some 2.5 million people returned to work in May, lowering the unemployment rate to 13.3 percent, from 14.7 percent, and allaying fears of a depression-like contraction ahead.
206,000 Unemployment Claims Filed in Florida Last Week, On Eve of Phase 2 Reopening
Phase 2 reopening includes allowing bars, movie theaters and other entertainment venues to partially operate in all but three South Florida counties.
Florida’s Government Revenue Takes a Nearly $1 Billion Hit in April
State revenue was off $878.1 million in April from an earlier estimate as tourism and hospitality-related industries, along with car sales, were grounded by the coronavirus, according to economists.
Palm Coast’s Crystal Clear Pool Owners Carlos and Romina Longo Arrested on 12 Counts of Fraud
Carlos Hernan Longo and his wife Romina Campanella De Longo, who together have owned Crystal Clear Pool of Central Florida since 2010, were arrested today and each charged on 11 counts of fraud and a count of organized scheme to defraud, a first-degree felony.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Vaults to 15.4%, 6th Worst in Florida, With Record 7,000 Jobless
In April, the number of jobless Flagler County residents was at 6,795, a number never seen in Flagler’s or Palm Coast’s history. The figure is an undercount: many more have filed for unemployment since, according to weekly initial claims.
Palm Coast Data Laying Off 150, Closing Shop on Commerce Blvd. and Looking For New Home in the City
A combination of legal wrangles and financial difficulties led to Palm Coast Data’s eviction from its Commerce Boulevard location and layoffs of 40 percent of its workforce as it outsources core services. The company pledges to remain in Palm Coast.
County Ready to Settle Lawsuit With Captain’s BBQ at Bing’s Landing, With Concessions From Both Sides
The county would make numerous financial and building concessions to Captain’s. In exchange, Captain’s agrees to remain at the current location, end its litigation, and pay a somewhat higher rent over time.
Shuttered Almost Two Months, Vacation Rentals May Reopen, With County and State Approval
Counties can submit vacation-rental reopening plans to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which will have to sign off on the proposals.
AdventHealth Acknowledges 25,000 Covid-19 Tests Were Unreliable, Putting Recent Results In Doubt
AdventHealth blamed the unreliability of some 25,000 tests, including over 1,000 provided in Palm Coast, on Orlando-based MicroGenDX, a company that won emergency FDA approval to provide spit tests on the promise of accuracy and quick turn-arounds.
Gyms Reopen Monday at 50% Capacity, Restaurants and Shops Expand to 50%, Theaters Remain Dark
Gov. Ron DeSantis today announced what he described as a “full Phase 1” reopening of society and the economy even as the state recorded more than 40 deaths from Covid-19 for the fourth straight day, and an average of 600 daily infections in the past two weeks.
Superwash Express Now Offering Interior Fogging Sanitizer
The fogging technique kills germs and disinfects the air in your car, as well as sanitizes the door panels, the dashboard and the seats. The service team then sanitizes all the touch points in the automobile – steering wheel, door handle, gear shifter, and the key fob.
DeSantis Signals Restaurant Seating Capacity Will Expand and Gyms Will Reopen
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will announce Friday additional “phase one” measures to reopen the state’s economy, with the moves expected to include allowing more people to be seated in restaurants and allowing gyms to operate.
Flagler Beach Faces Decision Over Golf Course as Terry McManus Turns Himself In Over Fraud Charge
The felony charge against Terry McManus raises questions for Flagler Beach government, which owns the golf course he manages, regarding the future of that relationship. The relationship has been rocky from the start.
Mask-Wearing Is Not About Personal Liberty but Communal Health, Palm Coast Town Hall Experts Say
Is wearing a mask in public too much to ask for as Palm Coast and Flagler reopen? Does it infringe on individuals’ liberties? Two physicians, the Flagler Health Department’s chief and Palm Coast’s fire chief give an unequivocal No.
Verdego Donates $32,000 to Grace Community Pantry after Diverting 5 Days’ Revenue
Verdego’s donation, more money than any amount Grace Community Food Pantry receives in a year, will translate into more than 236,000 pounds of food.
Palm Coast’s Grand Oaks Rehab Rejects Health Department’s Testing of Patients and Staff, Then Relents
After its corporate office overrode local resistance, Grand Oaks Rehab in Palm Coast agreed to have its 100 patients and 100 staff members tested for Covid-19 next week. The Flagler Health Department’s strike teams conducted 200 tests today at two other large nursing home facilities.
Florida’s Hair and Nail Salons and Barber Shops Reopen Monday, But Guidelines Are Scant
The reopening will follow what the governor called “enhanced safety protocols,” but the governor and state agencies had not issued guidelines for hair salons and barber shops as of Friday.
Economy Loses 20.5 Million Jobs in April, Unemployment Rate at 14.7%, Worst Since 1939
The April figures are an undercount, as they represent only a partial survey of actual job losses in April. Those losses are closer to 30 million or more, according to the cumulative total of first-time unemployment claims filed over the past few weeks.
Hair Salons, Barber Shops, Bars, Gyms and Theaters Will Remain Closed for Now
The governor said more consideration of employee and customer safety is needed before he can give the go-ahead for salons and barber shops to turn on the lights again.
Palm Coast Plan Will Allow Restaurant Use of Sidewalks and Parking Lots For Less Restricted Outdoor Seating
Palm Coast government is devising a plan that, in its broad outlines issued late this afternoon, would significantly relax rules on restaurant use of sidewalks and even parking lots, enabling restaurants to place tables there and compensate for the loss of business they would otherwise continue to suffer if they were limited to the 25 percent rule.
Brave New Covid World at AdventHealth: Your Car as Waiting Room, Phone Check-Ins, Mandatory Tests and Masks
AdventHealth physicians outlined how the system’s hospitals, including AdventHealth Palm Coast, will operate from here on, with significantly new procedures for patients, visitors, staff and physicians and a heavy emphasis on technology, social distancing and the isolation of anything Covid-19, including air.
More than a Fifth of Americans Unemployed as 1st Time Claims Keep Surging and Checks Keep Lagging
The total number of first-time claims filed in Florida since the start of the coronavirus emergency totals 1.6 million in a civilian labor force of 10.5 million, placing the state’s unemployment rate at over 15 percent.
Facing Bankruptcy, Flagler County Chamber of Commerce Prepares to Dissolve, Ending 60-Year Run
The Flagler County Chamber of Commerce board is meeting this afternoon to dissolve the 60-year-old organization as the coronavirus crisis tipped it into bankruptcy. The move follows several years of struggles, downsizing, and layoffs as recent as early February, before the crisis struck.
Flagler Beach and County Reopen Beaches 24 Hours Sunday Morning, Maintaining Limits on Activities
Flagler County and Flagler Beach have agreed to reopen all 18 miles of beach in the county 24 hours starting Sunday at 7 a.m., while maintaining restrictions only on certain activities on the beach: “for leisure, no, for exercise, yes,” as Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney put it this afternoon.
“We’re Not Opening Up The County,” Commission Chairman Cautions as Beaches Partially Reopen
The Flagler County Commission and Flagler Beach reopened their beaches partially starting Wednesday, but officials’ cautions against a premature, broader reopening are not all on the same page.
Flagler County Will Sell Moldy Sears Building at $170,000 Loss and Indemnify Realtor in Settlement
The county will sell the building for $1 million, and will settle out of court with one of the three parties it threatened to sue–Realtor Margaret Sheehan-Jones–following the debacle of the original purchase a year ago.
Florida Task Force Looks for Answers on Reviving Economy and Making Testing More Widespread
The push to get businesses back open comes as public-health experts have warned social distancing restrictions should not be lifted until the numbers of new infections have slowed or stopped and there is widespread immunity.
5.2 Million More Initial Claims Push Unemployment Rate Past 13%, Nearing Great Depression Figures
In Florida, the last four weeks of claims totals 652,000 which, combined with 291,000 unemployed Floridians before the crisis–a five-decade low–approaches 1 million unemployed, placing the state’s current unemployment rate at around 9 percent and doubling Flagler’s unemployment rolls, past 4,000.
Luxury Pet Grooming Spa Opens in Palm Coast
Shawn Crosby is pleased to announce that he has opened Bubble Pup Grooming Spa, a luxury pet spa, in Palm Coast along with his mother and father – David Crosby and Vicky Crosby, and sister Ashton Shoemaker.
Florida Food Stamps Recipients Cleared to Order Online
Low-income people in the state’s major food-assistance program will be able to make online grocery purchases to help protect them from the spread of COVID-19.
How Do We Exit The Shutdown? Hire An Army Of Public Health Workers
The pandemic has exposed massive cracks in the foundations of the U.S. public health system. Getting the country back to normal, experts say, will require a major investment in Public Health 101: training a corps of workers who can track people with the virus and prevent them from passing it to others.
Ex-Employee and “Family Friend” of Sally’s Ice Cream in Flagler Beach Charged With Burglarizing the Business
Jason Charles Mesagaes Jr., a 19-year-old resident of Faith Lane in Palm Coast, had left drops of blood at the Sally’s Ice Cream window he’d allegedly broken to get in, enabling police to trace back the burglary to him.
As Florida’s Unemployment Compensation System Collapses, DeSantis Tries to Focus on Improvements
Hundreds of call center operators are being rushed through training, paper applications are being made available and dozens of computer servers were brought from Orlando over the weekend to boost the online system’s capacity.
Flagler Donors Show Their Love For Hospital “Heroes” as AdventHealth Opens Hubs for Covid-19 Contributions
Flagler Beach’s Wanda Dearth is among those organizing drives for cash, food, masks and other items for front-line health workers and others, while AdventHealth has launched a hub facilitating contributions.
Coronavirus Kills Longest Economic Expansion On Record With 701,000 Job Loss in March, Much Worse to Come
The longest economic expansion on record, a 113-month streak that netted 22 million jobs between October 2010 and February 2020, is over. The economy shed 701,000 jobs in March and the number of unemployed persons grew by 1.4 million.
Flagler’s 1st Covid-19 Fatality: Flagler Beach’s Dorothy Strickland Dies at Halifax Hospital; Was Denied Test Locally
Dorothy Strickland, 70, died Wednesday afternoon of Coronavirus at Daytona Beach’s Halifax hospital after she had been told she didn’t meet testing criteria in Flagler County. Her last two weeks were an ordeal.
Palm Coast Data Battles Eviction Lawsuit and Calls “Fraud” on Landlord and Former Owners, Casting Pall on 600 Jobs
Both the lawsuit and Palm Coast Data’s answers combine to paint a grim picture for one of Palm Coast’s largest employers, months after losing a major account and now facing yet another major blow from the coming economic consequences of the public health emergency.
Concerns About Hammock Beach Resort’s Activity as Governor Orders Air Travelers From ‘Hot Spot’ Quarantined
Hammock Beach residents have written the Palm Coast mayor and called into the city, claiming visitors and groups at the resort are still gathering and potentially placing local residents at risk. The resort says the claims are inaccurate, and that it is taking all precautions in line with rules and recommendations.
AdventHealth Palm Coast Disallows Almost All Visitors Starting Monday and Limits Surgeries and Procedures
In response to the coronavirus, visitation at AdventHealth Palm Coast hospital will be allowed only for special circumstances, such as if the visitor is the power-of-attorney or medical decision-maker. Visitation will also be permitted in end-of-life situations and a few other exceptions.
All Restaurants Ordered Closed Except for Take-out, Palm Coast and State Agencies Shut Down All In-Person Offices
It is the latest in a series of sweeping measures gradually closing down much of the state’s economic, political, social and cultural activities as the coronavirus has caused 520 confirmed Florida cases so far, with a colossal wave of new cases expected ahead.
Close the Damn Beach Already
By keeping the beaches open, Flagler and Flagler Beach officials are wanting it both ways. They’re sending contradictory messages and enabling irresponsibility. They’re issuing visas to the virus.
Flagler’s Businesses Bristle as Bars Are Ordered Closed for 30 Days, Restaurants Restricted and Beach Crowds Urged Limited
Restaurant-bars like the Brown Dog and Moonrise Brewing in Palm Coast are facing difficult choices even as they’re allowed to remain open, while business on the beach has been brisk, but for a scarier reason, according to a business owner and commissioner there.
Palm Coast Broadens and Extends Cancellations of Activities Through End of April as Florida Cases Rise to 155
Palm Coast was taking a more aggressive coronavirus-mitigation approach as measures against “community spread” of the virus were affecting all levels of local governments even as cases of Covid-19 remained, for now, at bay.
Showing No Signs of Infection Yet, U.S. Economy Adds 273,000 Jobs, Unemployment at 3.5%
Not yet showing signs of disruption from the coronavirus, the national economy in February added 273,000 jobs, leaving the unemployment rate where it’s hovered, at 3.5 percent, for the past four months.
Once Again, Vacation Rental Plan to End Local Regulation Falters Over Committee Hurdles
The Senate Rules Committee was scheduled to hear the bill (SB 1128) Monday, but bill sponsor Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, said the measure was postponed because he lacked the support necessary to get it out of the committee.
Grand Living Realty Now Representing American Village in Palm Coast
Grand Living Realty is now representing The American Village community, a luxurious, 55+ gated active adult living community located at Pritchard Drive off Belle Terre, Palm Coast. The community offers 45 premium homes and 96 condominiums.
Debate Over Restricting Dollar-Type Stores Divides Palm Coast Planning Board as Moratorium Advances
Palm Coast government is moving toward a 120-day moratorium on permitting new dollar-type stores out of concern that the stores’ proliferation may damage the availability of quality grocery stores.