Hailey Lulgjuraj has just ended treatment after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. She never stopped working. She decided to channel her gratitude toward the first annual “Tides of Hope” benefit for breast cancer patients and survivors at Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill, the Flagler Beach restaurant her husband co-owns with her brother in law. She tells the story behind the benefit.
Economy
Curtis Ceballos’s Invisacook Stove, Built in Bunnell, Lands on Time Magazine’s Top Inventions of 2023
Five years ago Curtis Ceballos, a Palm Coast entrepreneur and inventor, developed Invisacook, an induction cooktop stove that essentially makes the cooktop disappear: no more flames, no more red-hot coils, no more burning surfaces. It’s manufactured in Bunnell and sold worldwide. This week, Time Magazine named the invention one of the best of 2023.
Palm Coast Dedicates a Trail To the Memory of Al Krier, Demosthenes of Cimmaron Safety and Civility
The 1.3-mile Al Krier Trail was dedicated by Palm Coast city officials and friends of Al Krier this morning on Palm Harbor Parkway, commemorating the dogged activism of a man who focused the city’s attention on safety issues on Cimmaron Drive and brought a civilized, cheery style to his campaigns.
Almost 1000,000 Customers Migrate from State Insurer Citizens to Private Carriers
Citizens had 1.325 million policies as of Friday, down from 1.412 million policies two weeks earlier, according to Citizens data. The drop came as five private insurers assumed 99,773 Citizens policies in mid-October as part of a state effort, known as “depopulation,” to shift homeowners into the private market.
SunRail Offers Free Rides to Magic Ticket Holders for 27 Home Games
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Orlando Magic have partnered once again to promote fans taking the Train-To-The-Game with free SunRail service and an added later train on weeknights (Monday-Friday) when the Magic have home games. The additional southbound train will give fans another travel choice to attend the game or attend an event downtown.
Palm Coast Approves 91,000 Square Foot Storage Facility Next to Elks Lodge on Old Kings Road
Another storage facility will go up in Palm Coast, on 12 acres on the west side of Old Kings Road, just north of the Elks Lodge, on land owned by First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Palm Coast, which is to the north of the site. The three-story building will be 91,000 square feet, or about half the size of a Walmart Supercenter.
Rent Hikes May Finally Moderate Thanks to Historic Housing Construction Boom
An unprecedented surge in the nationwide construction of new housing — mostly apartments — may finally be making a dent in fast-rising rents that have been making life harder for tenants. More than 1.65 million housing units were under construction last year, the highest annual number since federal record-keeping started in 1969. Florida added 233,000 new housing units since mid-2022.
Flagler County Cultural Council Wants You To Know: ‘We’re Here To Stay.’ But It’s Going to Need Help.
FC3, the Flagler County Cultural Council, has big ambitions–among them, to be known as the county’s designated arts agency, as the driver, supporter, coordinator and promoter of local arts, culture and history, and as a magnet for state and national grants that will help local cultural agencies thrive, or incubate new ones. But for all its giddiness, the organization, after three years, remains cash-poor and mostly in the organizational stage.
Palm Coast Moving To Loosen Sign Ordinance, Allowing More Free Expression–and Realtors’ Sales Pitches
A proposed rewriting of Palm Coast’s sign ordinance would not change the look of the city markedly, preserving most of the restrictions in place now. But a draft ordinance–still very much a work in progress–errs on the more permissive than restrictive side, now that local governments are largely (but not entirely) barred from regulating what signs say. That means homeowners will get to express themselves more freely, including with hate speech. Realtors will get to plant more signs.
Heather Haywood Is Homesteaded in Volusia But Serves on Flagler’s Planning Board. A Commissioner Questions That.
The Flagler County Commission is giving Realtor Heather Haywood, who the commission appointed to the county planning board in February 2022, 30 days to drop her homestead exemption in Volusia County or appear before the commission for another vote on her eligibility for the planning board. But for the homestead record, there appears to be little question that Haywood is a Flagler County resident.