For two years, Dr. Stephen Bickel, then-Health Department chief Bob Snyder and Flagler Broadcasting President David Ayres shepherded Flagler County through the Covid pandemic on WNZF’s airwaves. The three have teamed up again as a group that calls itself Vigilante Philanthropy, but they’d prefer to do their work outside the limelight.
Economy
SR100 Pedestrian ‘Faith’ Bridge Gets Somewhere After All: To an Award, But Ex-County Engineer Is Snubbed
The Flagler Greenways Pedestrian Bridge over State Road 100 earned the “National Recognition Award” from American Council of Engineering Companies in the 2024 Engineering Excellence Awards. The award will go to Kisinger Campo and Associates, the engineering company that designed the bridge for the county. At the county, the bridge was overseen by engineer Faith al-Khatib, whom the county unceremoniously pushed out last year.
Snuffed Out for 4 Years, Commission Debate Continues to Smolder Over July 4 Fireworks in Flagler Beach
It’s as if a stash of July 4 fireworks keeps smoldering somewhere under Flagler Beach, looking for a burst skyward–and getting snuffed out at every turn. Some Flagler Beach city commissioners and members of the business community are not happy with the uncertainty. So the commission will hold a workshop on the matter for still more talk, to hear from the public and to figure out of fireworks could return to the pier for the first time in five years come July 4.
The Rent Is Still Too High
Housing prices are spiraling alongside homelessness. Last year, homelessness hit an all-time national high of 653,100 people. To solve this crisis, we need to recognize housing as a human right.
Tucker Carlson, Propaganda and Journalism
Tucker Carlson’s work provides an opportunity for public education in distinguishing between propaganda and journalism. Some Americans, primarily Carlson’s fans, will view the videos as accurate reportage. Others, primarily Carlson’s detractors, will reject them as mendacious propaganda.
Palm Coast Marks Grand Opening of Southern Recreation Center
The City of Palm Coast announce the successful grand opening of the highly anticipated Southern Recreation Center and new Lehigh Trailhead. The grand opening ceremony took place on Friday afternoon, drawing in hundreds of excited residents who gathered to celebrate and explore the new facilities.
Palm Coast’s $13.7 Million Southern Recreation Center: A Facility Designed for Way More than Pickleball and Tennis
Between its gathering and lounging areas, its food concessions, its trailhead, dog park, community garden and other amenities, the most important thing you should know about Palm Coast’s new Southern Recreation Center is that you don’t have to be a tennis player or a pickleball player to go there. That’s why the emphasis on that happily open-ended word: Recreation. You can fill in your own kind of fun. Here’s a tour.
Vacation Rental Bill Scaling Back Local Control, Opposed by Flagler County Government, Heads to House Floor
The House Commerce Committee today approved a bill on a 10-4 vote pre-empting most vacation-rental authorities to the state. The bill heads to the House floor for a vote and reconciliation with the Senate’s version. It is the closest a pre-emption proposal has come to enactment in the dozen years that the vacation rental industry has pushed them.
Three School Board Members Are Champing at the Bit to Close Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club to the Public
If they could have voted on it Tuesday, Flagler County School Board members Will Furry, Christy Chong and Sally Hunt would have closed the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club to the public. They would have turned the 11-acre club gifted to the school board by ITT in 1996 into a facility for students and school programs only, with the exception of swimming pool rentals to other clubs or parties.
Florida Moving To Ban References to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Florida lawmakers are moving toward approving an overhaul of state energy laws, including eliminating references to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and imposing a ban on offshore wind-energy generation.