Staring with FPC’s courageous thespians, the visual and performing arts had a fabulous Saturday in Flagler, with two gallery openings and two local theater productions. That’s what the county’s unbound cultural scene should be about.
Economy
Harping on “Christmas Come True” Charity Ball at Hammock Beach Saturday
Nadine King had the idea of a Christmas charity ball back in the 1980s. She revived it in Palm Coast last year, helping 54 families better realize their Christmas. King hopes to double that number this year.
Dueling Seafoods and Surfers: Video and Photo Gallery
The dueling festivals are over and the images are in: a video report from the 2010 Tommy Tant Classic and a photo gallery from Tommy Tant and Palm Coast’s Seafood Festival.
Tommy Tant Legacies: 3 Decades of Surfing Flagler Beach’s Sands, Surf and Streets
Ben Lacy, who grew up surfing with Tommy Tant in Flagler Beach, recalls three decades of the town town’s surfing culture and how it has managed to maintain its charms through the changes, even on the waves.
Festival Filibuster: How Palm Coast Plays Hardball With Flagler Beach
If Palm Coast is serious about playing nice with its neighboring cities and not competing for “special event” visitors, why is it doing exactly that with signs greeting visitors exiting the Interstate?
Private Sector Leads Surge as Economy Adds 151,000 Jobs; Unemployment Stuck at 9.6%
The unexpectedly large job increase was also accompanied by revised and much smaller job losses in August and September, suggesting a stronger turn-around for the economy as a whole.
Swelled by Supermajority, Florida GOP Signals First Assault Victim: Medicaid
A quick special session in Tallahassee would provide $9.7 million for Gainesville’s Shands teaching hospital and lay down markers on overhauling medicaid, the health care program for the poor. One idea: forcing all beneficiaries to enroll in managed care.
Time to Get Involved: Feed Flagler Challenges County’s Thanksgiving Compassion and Beyond
Led by Commissioner Milissa Holland and the county administration, Feed Flagler aims to provide meals for 2,000 people at Thanksgiving, raise thousands of dollars and stock up food pantries and family pantries for many weeks’ worth.
Tommy Tant Classic Surfing the Weekend As Palm Coast Crashes In With Its Own Festival
Now in its 11th year, the Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic will be a three-day event, including a food festival by the sea, a concert and two days of amateur and professional surfing competition.
Delinquent on Taxes and Other Dues, Hunter’s Ridge Development Wants More Favors
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.
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.
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.
FPC’s Top Student Makes the Case
For the .25-Mill School Tax Referendum
Kyle Russell, the top-ranked senior at Flagler Palm Coast High School, argues that students need every competitive advantage they can get if they’re to have a chance against others in the state and the nation.
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.
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.
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.
John Mica’s Politbureau: How the Chamber Endorses While Pretending Not to Endorse
Flagler County’s Whigs and wigged coupled and clapped at the Palm Coast Yacht Club as John Mica accepted tributes and dispensed charismatic prepositions on his way to a 10th term in Congress.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It’s Drescher’s Tower Now: Year-Long Quest Ends With Town’s Name in Its Place
The job was finished Sunday, but it took Stan Drescher, a newcomer to Flagler Beach, almost a year and perseverance through slamming doors to have the town’s water tower named after it.
Governing Divide: Nurses Are for Sink, Doctors Are for Scott, Voters Still on Mars
The GOP’s Rick Scott snubbed the Florida Nurses Association, Democrat Sink visited in person. For doctors, Scott would take a hatchet to malpractice lawsuits–doctors’ overriding wish.
Election Primer: Amendment 2 Loop-Holes a Tax Exemption for Soldiers in War Zones
Amendment 2 would give soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan (or future war zones) a property tax exemption but only if they own homesteaded property. The amendment is more controversial than you’d expect.
Superintendent Janet Valentine: Why You Should Vote For the .25 Mill School Tax Levy
School Superintendent Janet Valentine makes the case for the 25-cent-per-$1,000 property tax levy on November’s ballot, the continuation of a tax homeowners have been paying all along.
School Board Members Talking to Empty Benches at Town Halls on Tax Levy
School officials think most people have already made up their minds about Flagler’s .25 mills school tax levy. They just can’t tell which way they’ll vote.
Dry, Cool Creekside Festival Packs Them In Under the Pines, With Sunday To Go
In a matter of a few years (this is its sixth) the Creekside Festival has grown into the county’s largest attraction of its kind. It’s benefiting from good weather and more recognition this year.
Color and Provocation Surf Through Hollingsworth Gallery’s Latest Show
The new show features eight local artists whose sensibilities range from explorations of the darkest human impulses to the brightest harmonies, with creative chaos in between.
Losses Accelerating As Economy Drops 95,000 Jobs Overall; Private Sector Adds 64,000
Economists had expected a loss of only a few thousand jobs. The September figures, led by government job declines, are in line with a continuing trend downward in Florida.
The City of Palm Coast’s Problem With Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Not Regulation.
Lenny Grocki, a Palm Coast utilities employee, was told to go home and take off his pink steel-toed boots. When he switched to pink laces and pink socks, he was told he’d face disciplinary action for those, too.
Leery of Landowners and Litigation, Palm Coast Council Kills Latest Stormwater Proposal
Property owners of large and vacant lands objected to paying a stormwater drainage fee in exchange for no discernible benefit. The two-year old attempt to rewrite the ordinance continues.
Why You Won’t Have to Leave Your Foreclosed House (If You have a Good Lawyer)
Some banks are still insisting that their errors are minor and foreclosures will continue, but what they say publicly and do privately are two different things.
“They Don’t Give a Damn”: Flagler Beach Wants Pier Restaurant Owners Who Do
A consultant’s report was as if tailor-made for Raymond Barshay, owner of River Grille on the Tomoka in Ormond Beach, to take over and remake the dilapidated Flagler Beach Pier Restaurant.
Flagler Harvests Poverty Warriors To Stalk Rising Hunger and Its Stigmas
Jacksonville’s Second Harvest and a local coalition of social and business agencies want to reach thousands of Flagler residents who need help but aren’t seeking it for various reasons.
Defeated Without a Vote, Economic Tax Talk Shifts Back Uncertainly to the County
A sales tax increase to fund economic development may still be discussed, but its chances of being enacted any time soon are slim to none. Governments want to talk.
The Live Wire, Oct. 4: Sink, Scott and Shuttle Layoffs, Plus the Long Liberal List
Enterprise Flagler begs off, the book on Sink and Scott, space shuttle layoffs begin, your elections for sale, the end of foreclosure (for now), media mistrust, famous liberals, and more.
Palm Coast Hispanic Festival Ramps It Up From Puerto Rican Power to Colombian Folklore
The fourth annual Hispanic festival, held at Town Center over three days, aimed to exceed last year’s attendance of 10,000 despite an eventful weekend in Flagler County.
Flagler Beach’s Great Bed Race: The Nuttiness, The Bed-Hopping, The Photo Gallery
Flagler Beach’s second annual Great Bed Race featured 14 contesting beds with five contestants each, and plenty of bed hopping. The full photo gallery.
All Maya All the Time: How the Government Building in Bunnell Became Archeology Central
The four-day Maya at the Playa Conference at the county and school building gathered the leading experts in Maya archeology and history from nine countries and 29 states, drawing some 160 participants.
Remember: 3 pm Today, The Great Bed Race in Flagler Beach
The bed race will be preceded by a parade of the beds, all part of Flagler Beach’s fall celebration. The event raises money for Flagler County’s neediest children.
Palm Coast Data’s Invitation-Only Picnic: Hot Dogs, Flattery and Suspended Disbelief
Half Palm Coast and the county’s elected officials and top administrators were invited to Palm Coast Data’s picnic. The public wasn’t. That’s not the main problem.
“Economic Development” Tax Dies: Enterprise Flagler Wants It Removed from the Ballot
Enterprise Flagler will ask the county commission to ensure that the voting on the troubled tax not be counted. Plan B: a sales tax proposal.
Blogger and South Florida Health Care Firm Battle Over Workers Compensation Drug Costs
Automated HealthCare Solutions, a growing and politically powerful private firm in Miramar, is suing a solo blogger who accused the company of being part of a workers’ compensation system that benefits from “rampant greed.”
Census: Flagler’s Population Stalls at 91,600; 28% of Housing Units Vacant; Poverty Rising
The 2009 population figures mean that Flagler will almost certainly not cross into six-figure territory when decennial census figures are announced. Figures on housing, income, poverty and insurance were also released.
Income, Employment and Labor Data for Flagler County and Palm Coast, 2009 Census Bureau Community Survey
Detailed, charted table of the Census Bureau’s employment, income and labor data for Flagler County and Palm Coast, 2009 American Community Survey.
From Beirut to Bulldog Drive: Palm Coast’s Uncivil War Over Gus Ajram’s Property Rights
From escaping Lebanon’s civil war to building automotive businesses in New York and Edgewater, Gus Ajram never expected his biggest battle to be over his property rights in Palm Coast.