Lawmakers approved legislation (HB 91) to rechristen all 340 miles of State Road A1A as “Jimmy Buffett Highway” from its tip in Ferdinand Beach to Mile Marker 0 in Key West. The change affects signs in 13 counties, including Flagler County. It won’t be chap: a legislative analysis puts the cost to the Department of Transportation at $1,800 for each pair of signs at any given location ($900 for each sign in each direction).
Economy
Embry-Riddle Graduate and Frontier Airline Recruit Freud Jeantilus Is Teens in Flight’s Newest Flight Instructor
Originally from Haiti, Freud Jeantilus was 8 when he moved to the United States with his mother to reunite with his father, who was in New Jersey. A recent graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) with a degree in Aeronautical Science and a minor in Business Administration, Freud is currently enrolled in a cadet program with Frontier Airlines.
Seniority Pork: Hutson Filed Staggering $475 Million in Requests for Flagler, Including $309 Million for Palm Coast
Outdoing last year’s requests by far, Hutson filed 34 special funding requests on behalf of Flagler County governments and agencies, totaling a staggering $475.8 million–or 0.4 percent of the size of the current state budget. Seven of the requests are for Flagler County government, totaling $92.5 million. Fourteen requests were for Palm Coast, totaling a third of a billion dollars.
County Issues Demolition Order for Old Dixie Motel as Attorney Describes ‘Dilatory Tactics in Bad Faith
The Flagler County chief building official has issued a demolition order for the long disused Old Dixie Highway motel that, through a succession of opaque owners who promised the moon but delivered only low-orbit cosmetics, has gone from an eyesore to a hazard to a haze of hope and back to an infuriating thorn in the side of Flagler County government.
DeSantis Thinks He’s Abolishing the Homeless by Banning Them from Sight. He’s Wrong.
DeSantis and lawmakers are likely reacting to a shift in the way communities across the U.S. view homelessness from compassion to penalties and restrictions. Unfortunately, but true to form, DeSantis didn’t offer a palette of humane solutions to the homelessness problem. Instead, he spoke of the issue in stark, unsympathetic, self-absorbed terms characterizing homelessness in purely negative terms, blaming them for contributing to the erosion of the quality of life of others lucky to not be sleeping on the street.
InvisaCook, the Bunnell Manufacturer, Is Highlighted at JaxUSA State of the Region
As part of its continued strategic focus on increasing exposure for Flagler County businesses, the Flagler County Economic Development Office spotlighted local appliance company, InvisaCook, LLC during a panel presentation at the annual JAXUSA Partnership’s State of the Region in February.
Florida House Passes Ban on Homeless Sleeping In Public Despite Added Burdens to Local Governments
The Florida House on Friday approved a controversial proposal that would prevent homeless people from sleeping in public, despite concerns about increased costs for local governments. The Republican-controlled House voted 82-26 along almost-straight party lines to pass the bill (HB 1365), which is backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. It also would make it easier for residents and business owners to challenge local officials over how homelessness is addressed.
Palm Coast’s Wishful 20-Field, $93 Million Sports Complex Rests on a Far Future of Dubiously Rosy Speculation
The Palm Coast City Council is embarking on an ambitious plan to explore and perhaps develop and finance, in a private-public partnership, an enormous sports complex on the west side of the yet-undeveloped city. A consultant encouraging the project is projecting rosy figures that would not mortgage tax dollars yet yield ample profits while drawing up to 250,000 athletes and spectators a year. The figures are speculative and do not easily stand up to scrutiny.
More Sound and Fury Than Broad Problems as 3 Residents Complain to City of Ralph Carter Park’s Popularity
When the Palm Coast City Council gets its administration’s latest report on the state of Ralph Carter Park in the R-Section, it’ll have to decide how much of the sound and fury again hemming the popular park is the grousing of a few people signifying nothing or a reflection of a broader problem. Judging from a community meeting the administration hosted at City Hall Wednesday evening, there is no broad problem.
2024 Million Dollar Food-A-Thon Kicks Off with Food Truck Palooza at FPC on March 16
The Third Annual Million Dollar Food-A-Thon kicks off Saturday, March 16, with “Food Truck Palooza!” at Flagler Palm Coast High School, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Over 40 food trucks, live entertainment, a kids fun zone, street vendors and a muscle/collector car show will take over the Flagler Palm Coast High School parking lot on Bulldog Drive. The Food-A-Thon’s goal is to raise $200,00 in cash, which can then be leveraged into $1 million worth of food.