The Bulow Creek development starting just south of State Road 100 on both sides of Old Kings Road would consist of 2,250 houses and apartment units and 1.7 million square feet of commercial and office space, built over four phases stretching over 20 years or more.
Economy
Supreme Court Denies Styrofoam Appeal: Law Banning Local Governments From Regulating Pollutant Stands
Coral Gables approved an ordinance to ban Styrofoam in February 2016, and the Florida Retail Federation and Super Progreso, Inc., later filed a lawsuit challenging the ordinance’s legality.
It’s Not Just Noise: Airport Advisory Board Tensely Questions Lack of Planning as County Administrator Probes Board’s Role
Tension continues between members of the Flagler Airport Advisory Board and Airport Director Roy Sieger over planning and noise issues. Administrator Jerry Cameron said he’ll look into the board’s bylaws to better define its role and relationship with the County Commission, which appoints it.
Sen. Hutson Joins 3-2 Party-Line Vote to Further Advance Short-Term Rental Bill Ending Local Control
A long-running dispute over vacation rentals is heating up, as a Senate panel Tuesday approved a proposal that would give the state — not local officials — control over regulation of short-term rentals.
John Brady for Palm Coast Mayor
Vote Brady for Mayor on August 18, 2020 My Position on issues in Palm Coast I am asking for your vote to become the next Mayor of Palm Coast. My wife and I have lived in Palm Coast for 10 years. We moved here because we found Palm Coast to be a beautiful, charming, vibrant, […]
One Side Says Defamation. The Other Says Intimidation. The Gardens Development Spins-Off a Lawsuit.
Ken Bryan, a candidate for Flagler Beach City Commission and a board member of the group opposed to The Gardens development, was sued by the developer’s parent company. Bryan’s attorney charges the suit has no merit and says there may be a counter-suit.
Diane Vidal of Chiumento Dwyer Hertel Grant Appointed Flagler County Bar Association Director
Diane Vidal of Chiumento Dwyer Hertel Grant has been appointed as a Flagler County Bar Association Director. She will serve a term of two years in this position.
Single-Family Homes No Longer Sacred as States Turn to Zoning Laws to Lower Housing Costs
Twenty-eight states and Washington, D.C., last year passed a variety of legislation that addresses the housing affordability problem, from tax credits for developers to rental assistance and eviction protections for residents.
There’s No ‘Great American Comeback,’ and Certainly Not for Blue-Collar Workers
Low overall unemployment means little when half of Americans now work low-wage jobs. Manufacturing remains in decline, farm bankruptcies are spiraling, and union membership just hit an all-time low.
A Homeless Man Arranges for His Own Escape Out of Grand Oaks Rehab; He and His Accomplice Are Arrested
Hugh Wallace, a 57-year-old man with a history of homelessness, had arranged with a friend to take him out of Grand Oaks Rehab in Palm Coast, though he was a ward of the state. He was arrested on an outstanding warrant, and his friend was arrested on a charge of interfering with the custody of an invalid.
Palm Coast Unveils UNF’s Futuristic MedNex Foothold in Town Center as Officials Lobby Lawmakers
Renderings of UNF’s MedNex project in Palm Coast’s Town Center, along with a new infographic about the innovative plan, are part of a lobbying offensive planned for next week by Palm Coast officials to advocate for the initiative.
State Health Department Pushing Against Less Regulated Interpretation of Medical Marijuana Grower Rules
State health officials urged the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by the 1st District Court of Appeal that said a key part of the law conflicted with the 2016 constitutional amendment, approved by 71 percent of Florida voters.
Not Waiting on State Law, Palm Coast Will Ban Vaping Sales to Under-21 and Regulate Marketing
Palm Coast’s e-cigarettes and vaping regulation ordinance mirrors a proposal in the Legislature to ban vaping products to anyone younger than 21 and limit its visible marketing, but the city is not interested in waiting for legislative vagaries to sort themselves out.
County’s Own Advisory Board Members Slam Flagler Airport Director Roy Sieger at Meeting on Noise Problems
Airport Director Roy Sieger was strongly criticized by the head of the county’s own Airport Advisory Board at a workshop where commissioners learned that county government’s authority is severely limited when it comes to controlling noise at the Flagler Executive Airport.
Palm Coast Tennis Center Hosts Futures Pro Tournament, This Time With Reilly Opelka as Sponsor
The Palm Coast Open, a $25,000 official Futures (minor-league) tournament, begins today, with a 32-man field for singles, and a 16-team field for doubles.
AdventHealth Names Brent Davis Chief Financial Officer for the Central Florida Division – North Region
AdventHealth has selected Brent Davis to serve as vice president and chief financial officer for the company’s Central Florida Division – North Region, effective Feb. 3.
Frieda Zamba Featured at Flagler Beach Historical Museum’s New Surf Exhibit
Frieda Zamba and Haley Watson will be available for autographs and selfies featured in the Flagler Beach Historical Museum’s new Surf exhibit opening Friday, Feb. 7.
Critical Lack of Exhibit Space Hobbling Palm Coast Art Scene Even as Organizations Thrive
For the first time in 20 years, the Flagler County Artist of the Year will not have a show, for lack of space. The critical lack of exhibit space is on the radar of the Flagler County Art League, the fledgling Palm Coast Arts Foundation and the Grand Gallery at Grand Living Realty.
City Tells Anxious Matanzas Woods Golf Course Community ‘The Fix’ Is Not In, Nor Is a Proposal
Residents surrounding the Matanzas Woods golf course have been critical of the city’s silence on a proposed development of 300 homes there, but city officials say their hands are tied as long as they don;t have a concrete proposal to discuss–and none has been submitted yet.
Hack This: Palm Coast Is Onto Something With Tech Beach Competition
Palm Coast’s Tech Beach Hackathon last weekend points the way to a more useful form form of economic and innovative development, especially when contrasted with the enormous waste of dollars and resources over the past years at the county’s economic development department.
Marina del Palma Grand Opening Saturday
Marina del Palma is hosting a special grand opening event on the property Saturday, Jan. 25, Ken Belshe, senior sales director said.
Officials Project Better Days for Plantation Bay Utility But Re-Write History to Downplay County’s Role in Plagued Deal
County officials told Plantation Bay residents they’d have a more stable utility under new management, but County Attorney Al Hadeed re-wrote some of the history of the county’s plagued, $5.5 million acquisition of the utility from Mori Hosseini’s ICI homes in 2013.
Palm Coast’s Inaugural Tech Beach Hackathon Glimmers With Stress-Tested Innovations
Palm Coast’s first “Tech Beach Hackathon” at City Hall was a weekend cramming session of tech developers connecting their just-designed apps to local healthcare problems looking for a solution.
Palm Coast’s War on Dollar Stores and Their Customers Contradicts City’s Inclusive Plan
The Palm Coast City Council imposed a 120-day moratorium on new dollar-type discount stores, citing vague fears of “long-term effects” on the community, a decision that runs counter to free-market ideals.
AdventHealth’s Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House Receives $5,000 Donation from Weston Coatings Group
Professional painting company, Weston Coatings Group, has donated $5,000 to AdventHealth HospiceCare to support the Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House.
WNZF Sues County Commission Candidate Tommy LeGault Over Unpaid Bills; He Owes FPC’s Cheerleaders Money They Raised Months Ago
Tommy LeGault, running for a Flagler County Commission seat as a small-business advocate, owes WNZF nearly $5,000 for infomercials he aired, owes FPC’s cheerleaders $1,000, and twice faced eviction in the last three years.
Palm Coast Prepares for $20 Million Sewer Plant Expansion in Anticipation of Growth
The Palm Coast City Council is supporting the city’s next-largest utility expansion–a $20 million project that will add 2 million gallons a day of capacity to its second sewer plant on U.S. 1. The expansion will be financed through a loan and is not expected to affect customers’ rates.
Re-Emerging for 4th Year, Vacation-Rental Bill Restricting Local Authority Advances With Sen. Hutson’s Support
A Senate committee Monday approved a proposal that would take away power from cities and counties to regulate vacation rental properties. The 8-2 vote included Sen. Travis Hutson’s support. Hutson represents Flagler County.
Recreational Pot Proposal Won’t Make It to the November Ballot
Make It Legal Florida contended that a petition-gathering law passed year by the Legislature is unconstitutional and that problems with a Department of State database hampered petition efforts.
County Ends Low-Performing Economic Development Department, Citing ‘Fluffy’ Numbers and Poor Accountability
Headed by Helga van Eckert since 2012, Flagler County’s $500,000-a-year economic development department had been more successful with PR and taking credit for others’ work than producing much of its own.
How Wealthy Towns Keep People With Section 8 Housing Vouchers Out
Section 8 vouchers should give low-income people the opportunity to live outside poor communities. But discriminatory landlords, exclusionary zoning and the federal government’s hands-off approach leave recipients with few places to call home.
What You Need to Know About How Section 8 Really Works
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is a form of government rent assistance. In 2018, upwards of 5 million people across the country lived in a household that used a voucher to help pay some or all of their rent.
Florida Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Constitutional Proposal to Deregulate Utility Industry
The ruling was a victory for state leaders, business groups and utilities that fought the amendment, which was proposed for the November ballot by a political committee known as Citizens for Energy Choices.
City Rep Theatre is Playing Neil Simon’s ‘Song’ in Bow to Broadway Romance
Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre stages Neil Simon’s “They’re Playing Our Song,” the popular, semi-autobiographical story of Marvin Hamlisch and songwriting partner Carol Bayer Sager–or of Simon and Marsha Mason.
New Rules Regulating CBD Products and Hemp in Florida Now In Effect
New rules regulating CBD products address issues such as pesticides, how packages are labeled and the inspection of products sold or produced in the state, and are derived from a federal law opening the door to CBD and hemp regulations.
Lubert-Adler Sells Hammock Beach Resort and Other Properties to Tampa Company For $18 Million
The complex deal included two undeveloped but well-positioned commercial properties and closed December 31. The total value of all recorded transactions is $18.26M. The buyer is Tampa-based KDG Capital, a private equity fund headed by Dr. Kiran Patel.
Inside Documents Show How Amazon Chose Speed Over Safety in Building Its Delivery Network
Amazon ignored or dismissed safety concerns about its delivery network to prioritize speed and explosive growth, according to new documents and interviews with insiders.
She Thought She Had a Cold. She Briefly Saw a Doctor and Got Antibiotics. Her Insurance Bill: $25,865
A woman, worried that her sore throat might be strep, got swabbed at her doctor’s office. The sample was sent to an out-of-network lab for sophisticated DNA tests ― with a price tag similar to a new SUV.
A Year-End Thank You To Our Readers and Supporters From the FlaglerLive Board of Directors
As you and your family make decisions as to which organizations will receive your charitable donations, please keep in mind that there are those who would like nothing more than to have aggressive news outlets like FlaglerLive disappear entirely.
Florida Unemployment Approaches Historic Low at 3.1%, Flagler’s at 3.3%
Flagler County’s rate remained steady at 3.3 percent, the same rate as in October but down from 3.9 percent a year ago. Flagler County’s labor force dipped somewhat, to 48,352, but is still about 1,200 people higher than a year ago.
Agriculture Commissioner Fried Rejects Canada and Mexico Trade Deal Over Absent Protections for Seasonal Growers
Fried, Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat, said she was “deeply disappointed” protections for seasonal growers were not included in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is intended to replace the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. The House approved the new agreement, known as the USMCA, on Thursday.
Love Is In The Air: Ten Tenors Return to Flagler Auditorium For One Performance
The Ten Tenors are among the most popular acts at the Flagler Auditorium, making what has been an annual pilgrimage to Palm Coast year after year. They’ll perform one night only, on Dec. 21.
Widespread, Heavy Rain and Coastal Flooding Bearing Down on Travel Weekend, Weather Service Warns
The most widespread, persistent heavy rainfall will overspread the local area Saturday night through Sunday night, the National Weather Service in Jacksonville cautions, with most areas expected to get 2 to 4 inches of rain.
Both A1A Lanes Reopen to Traffic in Flagler Beach in Big Relief to Businesses and Central Ave.
A little more than 300 days into the latest reconstruction of that storm-battered road, both lanes of State Road A1A reopened to traffic at 3:55 p.m. today. The full project won’t be completed until late January.
Flagler Cats Bingo Business Shut Down on Allegations of Operating as Illegal Gambling Parlor
Flagler Cats Bingo, opened last year in Flagler Beach as a fund-raising arm of Flagler Cats, was raided and shut down by the sheriff’s office after 48 gambling machines were seized. Owner Mari Molina says she was not aware of any gambling.
GOP Legislators Claim Restrictions on Medical Pot Keeps It From Ending Up In Recreational Hands
In a Florida Supreme Court case with major ramifications for the medical-marijuana industry, the Florida House contends a disputed 2017 law helps prevent “diversion” of pot to the illegal recreational market, minors and other states.
Save the Minor Leagues
These teams have provided a way for folks in rural and underserved areas to see baseball and future major leaguers for a fraction of the price of traveling to an MLB city. And they’re a way to boost the communities they play in.
6 Years Late, $13 Million in Debt, County Concedes Incompetence Running Utility as It Seeks Plantation Bay Bailout
Flagler County officials admitted to the catastrophic consequences of the Plantation Bay utility deal and to the county’s inability to manage the plant as they look for ways to extricate the county from a huge debt load.
Residents Near Flagler Airport Threaten Lawsuit Over Noise, and Get County’s Pledge to Examine Issue
A half dozen residents described intolerable noise from flight-school planes at the Flagler airport, and got the county administrator’s pledge of a workshop in January to examine solutions.
FWC Approves Changes to Spotted Seatrout Rules
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved several rule changes for spotted seatrout. Spotted seatrout are one of Florida’s most popular inshore fisheries.