The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening voted 4-1 to approve a settlement with Flagler Golf Management, the company that took over management of the nine-hole Ocean Palms golf club at the south end of town in 2015 after years of disuse. The city filed suit to evict the company last year, and the company also sued the city.
Local Business
Crumbl Cookies Set to Open in Palm Coast With Its Giant Repertoire of Sweet-Spot Marketing
As Crumbl Cookies opens its first store in Palm Coast Friday, and the first in the Flagler-Putnam-St. Johns market, the marketing machine that has made the dessert chain the fastest-growing in the nation–800 stores and growing–will be on full display, along with its rotating cast of 250 cookie flavors.
Marketing 2 Go’s Cindy Dalecki Leads Series on AI and Content Creation for Businesses
VMA is excited to announce the launch of an upcoming two-part social media series designed to help not only manufacturers, but any business learn the fundamentals of content creation, analyzing your efforts, and how AI can help increase efficiency, effectiveness and ROI.
Palm Coast’s Ed Danko Publicly Undercuts City’s Legal Row With Waste Pro Over Recycling Bins
The Palm Coast City Council’s Ed Danko and a subsequent council discussion on Tuesday seemed to have briefly jackknifed its own administration’s and legal team’s negotiations in the ongoing dispute with Waste Pro, the garbage hauler.
Palm Coast and County Snub Role in EV Charging Stations In Shocking Rebuff to a Green Energy Grant
Partisanship, misinformation, false assumptions and free-market ideology all played a role in Palm Coast and county government rejecting a partnership in what would have been a potential $15 million federal grant to build electric vehicle charging stations at various public locations in cities and the county.
Resident of Palm Coast Assisted Living Facility Stabs Roommate
Wilbert Vreen, a 67-year-old resident of Gentle Care Assisted Living in Palm Coast, was arrested early Tuesday morning on allegations that he stabbed his roommate there. The roommate was treated and released from AdventHealth Palm Coast with non-life-threatening injuries, and returned to the facility.
AdventHealth Dedicates New Medical Office Building on Palm Coast Parkway, Ahead of Hospital
AdventHealth Palm Coast hosted a prelude-like opening this afternoon as the medical office building next to the hospital was blessed and dedicated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by physicians, hospital executives and others.
Behind the Divorce, a Bitter, Threat-Ridden Clash Between Waste Pro and Palm Coast Over Recycling Bins
An examination of the communications between Waste Pro and Palm Coast illustrates the scope and depth of the two sides’ dispute over recycling bins, with Palm Coast essentially considering their removal a form of theft, and Waste Pro standing by its decision to take back thousands of them. The two sides may be heading to court.
Flagler’s Property Values Still Rose Robustly, Continuing Potential Windfall For Local Governments
Property values didn’t rise as sharply this year as they did in 2022. But the increase is still the second-highest in 16 years, generating substantial new revenue for local government budgets.
Palm Coast’s Belk Converted Into One of 16 Outlet Stores as Company Struggles
Belk has converted its Palm Coast location on Cypress Edge Drive into an off-price outlet store and will host a grand opening on June 3. The outlet has been opened as such since May 16. The retailer itself has been struggling.
Captain’s BBQ Trial Delayed to February as Both Sides Ask for More Time
The two sides asked for the delay jointly, but not necessarily because a resolution is pending. Rather, each side still has adversarial motions that have yet to be heard in court. Captain’s is also attempting to bring the county back to the mediation table. The county had been resisting. A trial would have been premature, the two sides agreed. The judge granted the delay two weeks ago.
A Tattoo Studio Is Approved Off Old Kings Road in Palm Coast, But Outdated Stigmas Endure
The fact that Supreme Custom Tattoo on Old Kings Road required a special exception and planning board approval reflects enduring stigmas and stereotypes that still attach to tattoo and body piercing studios, though in studios’ cases, the city is far more accommodating than landlords, who often arbitrarily discriminate against them.
Palm Coast’s Population at 98,411 in Latest Census Estimate, 18th-Fastest Growing in U.S.
Palm Coast grew 10.3 percent between 2020 and 2022, to 98,411 people, according to the Census Bureau’s latest estimate, released today. The city is on pace to cross well past the 100,000 threshold this year, and based on the last two years’ trend, likely did so in February or March.
Court Disputes Behind It, Community Cats of Palm Coast Set for Grand Re-Opening at City Marketplace
Community Cats of Palm Coast, which operates the City Marketplace adoption shelter at 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite B-110, and a thrift store there at Suite C-101 (upstairs and downstairs), has been in business for 10 years, helping rescue, trap and deal with feline problems in the area.
Beach Front Grill Owner Buying High Jackers Restaurant at County Airport Just As He Tees Off at Palm Harbor
Jamie Bourdeau, owner of Beach Front Grille in Flagler Beach and Loopers at Palm Harbor Golf Club in Palm Coast, is buying High Jackers Restaurant at the Flagler County airport from Gail Holt for $700,000 and assuming the lease at the county-owned property for the next eight years, with an option to renew for another 10. He is partnering with Joseph Wright, owner of Quantum Electrical Contractors and Anthony’s Pizza.
County Plan to Move Whispering Meadows Equine Therapy Ranch to Fairgrounds Collapses as State Says No
The state has rejected Flagler County government’s plan to move the Whispering Meadows Ranch–the equine therapy non-profit–to the county fairgrounds, saying it would privatize public land. The rejection is the latest setback in the ranch’s two-year effort to leave its John Anderson Highway property, where it has operated for 16 years, until neighbors started objecting to its presence.
With Travis Hutson Cheering, Bill Upending Flagler’s Vacation-Rental Controls Clears Last Hurdle Before Vote
The success of the vacation-rental bill sharply scaling back local regulation this year is a blow to Flagler County government, which was a leader in pushing for the 2014 regulations providing for local control, and has pushed back against attempts to weaken them since. The Flagler County Commission made preserving the 2014 law a legislative priority every year since.
Flagler Beach Re-Launching Limited Plastic Recycling Starting May 15
Beginning on May 15, Flagler Beach residents and businesses may recycle plastic bags and plastic film into several receptacles that will be placed around Flagler Beach. It’s not curbside recycling just yet. But it is City Sanitation Director Rob Smith’s latest effort gradually to bring back recycling of most materials the city had suspended in 2021.
Josef Ghosn Named AdventHealth University’s New President
Josef Ghosn, Ed.D., MBA will become AdventHealth University’s third president and CEO on May 1, 2023. The university’s Board of Trustees selected Ghosn after a months-long, national search.
FPC Graduate Christian Romero, 23, Is Killed in Crash By 15-Year-Old Red-Light Runner
Christian Romero, 23, a Flagler Palm Coast High School graduate and the son of Dawn and Miguel Romero, owners of Romero’s Tuscany By the Sea restaurant in Flagler Beach, died in a two-vehicle crash caused by a 15-year-old driver’s inattention in Orlando early Sunday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Coming YMCA Could Give Belle Terre Club a Few Years’ Reprieve. 2 School Board Members Won’t Hear of It.
After yet another round of hardened, inconclusive debate over the fate of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club during the school board’s workshop on Tuesday, the board agreed to vote on the matter one way or the other at its May 16 meeting. But this time a new element is in play, with the very strong possibility of a YMCA coming to town in a few years.
Marketing Lab Opens at Matanzas High School, Giving Classroom a Real-World Vibe of Office Energy
Matanzas High School’s Marketing Lab is the newest addition to its marketing and finance program, a hands-on immersive experience for students to get the full workplace experience from conceiving products to pitching their marketability to developing advertising campaigns to selling. Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt and Matanzas Principal Kristin Bozeman inaugurated the lab today.
Splitting from Palm Coast, Flagler County Stays With Waste Pro, at Rates 65% Higher Than 2017 Contract
After the County Commission signed on to a five-year contract valued at around $3 million annually, Waste Pro will remain unincorporated Flagler County’s trash hauler, but not Palm Coast’s, where FCC Environmental will be the trash hauler starting June 1. Waste Pro had picked up Palm Coast’s trash for the previous 16 years.
Volusia-Flagler YMCA and Mayor Alfin in Big Push to Open Y in Palm Coast in About 2 Years
The Volusia Flagler Family YMCA is working with Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin and a corps of local community members to bring a YMCA to Palm Coast, with a rough goal of having a local facility under construction or near completion in about two years.
Crumbl Cookies Opening Soon at Palm Coast’s Island Walk
Crumbl Cookies, the barely six-year-old company that started with one store in Utah and has since grown to over 600 bakeries in 49 states, is preparing to open its first store in Palm Coast, in the Island Walk shopping center.
Palm Coast Chamber’s Disinformation on Student Performance and Superintendent Draws Sharp Rebukes
Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt and School Board Vice Chair Colleen Conklin both issued sharply worded rebukes to rankly misinforming statements by the Flagler Palm Coast Chamber of Commerce regarding Mittelstadt’s performance in the last three years. A 3-2 majority of the school board fired Mittelstadt Tuesday, as of June 30.
AdventHealth Palm Coast COO Wally De Aquino Named President and CEO of New Hospital on Parkway
AdventHealth today named Wally De Aquino president and CEO for AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway. The 100-bed, four-story hospital on Palm Coast Parkway set to open in August, alongside a new medical office building. It will be a 158,000-square foot, $167 million facility.
Focusing on Student Use, Flagler School Board Nears Closer to Ending Belle Terre Swim Club’s Memberships
After a decade of hesitancy and inaction, the Flagler County School Board is wading closer to turning the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club into a student-focused facility, removing its use as a membership driven club, while still leaving the door open to public use on a leasing basis.
316-Unit Apartment Complex Off Whiteview Parkway Clears Hurdle, with Eyes on New Hospital
The Palm Coast Planning Board last week recommended approval of a 316-unit gated apartment complex on nearly 19 vacant acres on the West side of White Mill Drive and the north side of Whiteview Parkway, in the W-Section’s last remaining vast expanse of fallow land.
Tara Gugliara and John Aguiar Named Vice Presidents at Intracoastal Bank
Bruce Page, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, today announced the promotion of Tara Gugliara to Assistant Vice President/Assistant Manager, Volusia Banking Center for the Bank. Last week, Page announced the appointment of John Aguiar as Vice President/Business Relationship Manager for the Bank.
NASCAR’s Hailie Deegan and AdventHealth Partner to Mark Women’s History Month
AdventHealth is launching a platform in March during Women’s History Month to celebrate the women working in NASCAR, including women drivers and the business professionals who serve as the backbone of race teams, tracks, agencies and media organizations.
Belle Terre Swim Club’s Finances Are Not as Dire as Projected, Club Advocate Says
Doug Courtney, a member of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club’s advisory committee, questions the school district’s claims that closing the club to public use would be a financial benefit.
Fashion Show Fundraiser Raises $1,260 for Women United Flagler
Chez Jacqueline Boutique in Palm Coast hosted a charity fashion show on March 10 to benefit women and children in Flagler County via the Women United Flagler group. The sold-out event raised $1,260 for Women United Flagler.
Ky Ekinci, Champion of Small Businesses and Office Divvy Co-Owner, Dies at 53
Kayhan Ekinci, the co-owner of Office Divvy and former co-owner of the Humidor, who was known to most as Ky, died on Sunday afternoon after he collapsed while jogging near Water Tower Road in the Cypress Edge area of Palm Coast. He was 53.
How Cupcake Café’s TikTok of Mr Keith’s Surgical Cake Order Went Viral in Whirls of Good Wishes
TikTok clips by Theresa Tazewell, owner of Cupcake Cafe in Palm Coast, went viral as she documented customer Keith’s wish to pay for his wife’s birthday cake in advance for fear that he might die during surgery. He survived, and was lavished with millions of good wishes from a round the globe through Tazewell’s TikToks.
Palm Coast’s Curley Tail Design Celebrates 25 Years in Business
Since 1998 Curleytail Design’s Kim Fizgeraldand has created branding, logo design, business cards, brochures, direct mail campaigns and more for thousands of local businesses. The company is pleased to be celebrating 25 years in business this month.
Battle Over Vacation Rentals Resumes as Flagler Resists Lesser Regulation for 9th Year
For nine years, vacation-rental regulations in Flagler County have survived unscathed even as the short-term rental industry continues to grow in popularity and clout. Each year, local officials fear that era of local control may be over, as lawmakers attempt to pass de-regulation bills. This year is no different.
City Approves Two Developments Totaling 382 Homes, in Town Center and Off U.S. 1
As home sales in Flagler hit a four-year low in January, Spring Lake at Palm Coast, now Reverie, got the go-ahead for 272 homes off U.S. 1 north of Palm Coast Parkway, and Palm Coast Seascape in Town Center was cleared for 110 luxury homes.
Palm Coast Council Embraces Idea of $73 Million Events Venue in Town Center’s Arts District
The consultant Palm Coast government hired to map out how best to develop the city’s Arts District in Town Center is recommending building a $73 million (not including debt interest), 76,000 square foot multipurpose entertainment and conference center not focused exclusively on arts and culture. The venue would by far be the most expensive city facility ever built.
‘Now Is the Time’: Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin Looks West in State of the City Address
This evening’s State of the City Address by Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin highlights the challenges the city experienced in 2022, such as the hurricanes, celebrates various accomplishments and looks to 2023 with eyes on a westward expansion. as provided by the city. Here’s the full prepared text.
Palm Coast Council Surrenders Key Demands in 3-2 Approval of Controversial Harborside Development
Ending a six-month wrangle over the proposed Harborside redevelopment around the Palm Coast marina, the City Council Tuesday in a 3-2 vote surrendered on key demands, overriding some staff recommendations, and approved the addition of 300 apartments and town houses, a project that will remake the character of one of Palm Coast’s original neighborhoods.
Future BJ’s Wholesale Club Raises Traffic Concerns as Palm Coast Mulls Annexation
As it considers annexing the land where a BJ’s Wholesale Club will rise on State Road 100, the Palm Coast City Council is concerned about the amount of additional cars thronging an already busy road, and may condition annexation on the a analysis.
‘Absolutely No Excuse’: County Blasts Old Dixie Motel Owners and Will Again Seek Demolition
After trying for six years to have the derelict motel on Old Dixie Highway rehabilitated, Flagler County officials today again said they will seek to demolish the property as the latest owners have failed to live up to an agreement with the local government.
After Demise of Bull Creek Camp’s Restaurant, Commission’s Pennington Calls for Replacement Amenity
Saying Flagler County’s west side is losing its amenities, Flagler County Commissioner Leann Pennington implored her colleagues and the administration to focus on getting some form of replacement, even if not a restaurant, at Bull Creek Fishcamp, where the county will demolish the existing restaurant.
Ending Speculation, Flagler Health+ and UF Health Announce Plans to Merge
Ending months of speculation, Flagler Health+ and UF Health, the University of Florida’s academic health center, announced plans to merge, potentially changing the health care landscape in Flagler and surrounding counties.
AdventHealth Daytona Beach Breaks Ground on Medical Office Building and Surgery Center
The 3-floor, 60,000-square-foot AdventHealth medical building will contain four operating rooms and two catheterization labs, and will be the medical office home to the Cardiology Physicians Group and North Florida Surgeons specialty group. It is slated to open in January 2024.
‘We Have a Deal’: Dune Hold-Out in Flagler Beach Concedes, Clearing Path to Renourishment
A property owner’s three-year stand-off with Flagler County that has delayed a long-promised beach renourishment in Flagler Beach is over. Cynthia d’Angiolini through her lawyer today agreed to sign a pair of easements, clearing the way for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ dune-rebuilding project–and ensuring that the south side of the city will finally get a major new protective buffer against rising seas.
Visitor Center Location Shifting from A1A to SR100; Flagler Tourism Posts Strong Year
After two and a half years of hunting for a visitor center location on State Road A1A in Flagler Beach, Flagler County’s tourism bureau is shifting its focus for an eventual visitor center to State Road 100, on county land near the new pedestrian bridge.
Renner Proposal Would Allow Floridians to Carry Guns Without a Permit or Safety Class
Calling the proposal an effort to “remove the government permission slip,” House Speaker Paul Renner on Monday announced legislation that would allow people to carry concealed weapons without licenses or currently-required gun-safety classes.
Bull Creek Fish Camp Will Be Torn Down Against Lease-Holder’s Wishes, With No Plans for Rebuild
To the dismay of the current lease holder, County Administrator Heidi Petito said the 2,500 square foot restaurant building at Bull Creek Fish Camp will be torn down next month, after suffering what the county describes as irreparable damage from hurricane-related floods.