Local cities and the county joined Palm Coast in an unprecedented show of unity and common goals at Thursday’s annual legislative delegation meeting, to press Rep. Paul Renner and Sen. Travis Hutson for support in bringing the University of North Florida to Palm Coast’s Town center.
Economy
Behind AdventHealth’s da Vinci Robot, Sharp Improvements in Patients’ Recovery and Lesser Pain
Dr. Steven Brown, a surgeon behind the da Vinci robot at AdventHealth Palm Coast, described the machine’s successes through 1,000 surgeries at a Common Ground breakfast presented by the Chamber of Commerce this morning.
Americans Love CBD Products, But It’s a Wild West
Americans’ exuberance for CBD could well be short-lived. That’s because many products currently marketed under the CBD banner are of low or variable quality.
Whose News Literacy? What’s ‘Fake News’? Resources for Teachers and Students Raise Questions.
Inappropriately named “fake news” is real, pernicious and dangerous, but the tools developed to detect it and teach students savvy media literacy can be problematic, with an over-reliance on the status quo.
DeSantis Wants $1 Billion Injection into Public Education, Mostly For Teacher Pay
After dubbing next year the “Year of the Teacher,” DeSantis has made two major teacher-compensation packages the centerpiece of his education spending plan for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
UNF’s MedNex Plan With Palm Coast as Hub Creating “A Lot of Buzz” as Committee Deliberates
University of North Florida President David Szymanski this morning briefed a committee of the university system’s Board of Governors on UNF’s plans for an innovative “medical nexus” that would include Palm Coast and AdventHealth as key partners.
Flagler County Tells Sellers, Realtor and Inspector of Damaged Sears Building to Buy It Back or Get Sued
Flagler County commissioners voted to offer the sellers of the $1.25 million Sears building the chance to buy back the damaged structure or face a lawsuit. Flagler bought the building in November and discovered it to be damaged from a pre-existing water-intrusion condition.
New Cell Tower At Frieda Zamba Pool Will Improve Coverage for P and W Sections Starting Next Year
The Palm Coast City Council Tuesday is expected to approve leasing yet another site for a tall cell tower, the fourth in the past year and a half, to improve cell coverage in the city. AT&T is signed up for the 150-foot tower at Frieda Zamba pool, behind Wadsworth Elementary School.
La Bonne Vieille Veuve Clicquot: History of Champagne’s Great Widow
As you get ready for New Year’s Eve, be sure to pick up the real stuff. Like Veuve Clicquot, the champagne served at Rick’s Cafe in Casablanca. Here’s a brief history of the Veuve Clicquot Champagne and its maker, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin.
Waste Pro Taps Home Grown Talent to Head Its Palm Coast Operation in Latest Reinvigoration
Waste Pro, the garbage hauler on contract to provide garbage and recycling service for residents in Palm Coast and unincorporated Flagler, appointed DSC graduate and long-time local resident Heather Badger-Felmet as division manager in Palm Coast.
Sunshine State News and Nancy Smith Say Goodbye After 10 Years
Nancy Smith has been the editor of Sunshine State News, the conservative online news site, for all its 10 years. Smith describes those years and why the time has come to say goodbye.
Mary Ann Clark, Resolute Founder and Leader of Innumerable Flagler Institutions, Dies at 91
Mary Ann Clark’s eclectic leadership, tenacity, verve and love for her community founded, fostered or shaped many of Flagler County’s cornerstone civic and cultural organizations over the past four decades.
Flagler’s Fair Housing Rules Would Add Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence, Veterans and LGBTQ
The Flagler County Commission in the next few weeks is expected to hear a proposal to revise the county’s fair housing ordinance, which hasn’t been revised in 30 years. The proposal would add or clarify several protected classes.
At Opponents’ Meeting on The Gardens Development Off John Anderson, More Vigilance Than Chest-Thumping
A community meeting by a group that opposes The Gardens development off John Anderson Highway drew some 100 people Thursday evening but kept the shrillness and triumphalism to a minimum, focusing instead on how to maintain “positive, respectful pressure,” in the group’s president’s words.
Flagler Is No Citrus: Local Officials Say New York Times Is Safe From ‘Fake News’ Censorship at Library
In the wake of Citrus County commissioners rejecting a public library digital subscription to The New York Times, Flagler County’s library and government officials stressed that nothing like that would be tolerated locally.
The Gardens Development Off John Anderson Scales Back Significantly, But Still Faces New County Obstacles
The Gardens off John Anderson Highway was originally planned as a 3,966-home and apartment development but was scaled back to 330 lots. Even then, county regulators said it would need a rezoning to go forward, a politically uncertain step the developers are loath to take.
With Recreational Pot on Florida’s Horizon, a House Panel Looks to Oregon for Insights
Facing the possibility that Floridians could be asked next year to legalize recreational marijuana, a House panel on Tuesday turned to Oregon to learn more about the economic, environmental and health impacts the state has faced since authorizing adult pot use four years ago.
ICI Homes’ Latest Expansion at Plantation Bay Approved, 3-2, But Not Before a Drubbing Over Stinginess
County Commissioner Dave Sullivan said ICI Homes is not doing enough to share in the county’s burdens of repairing Plantation Bay’s troubled water and sewer utilities. The commission approved a 132-home phase of the development.
240-Boat Storage Facility in the Hammock off A1A Will Go Forward as County Rejects Objection
The proposed Hammock Harbor boat storage and restaurant development near Hammock Hardware on A1A drew a legal appeal from residents who disputed the county’s interpretation allowing the re-development under existing zoning rules. But county commissioners saw nothing wrong with the project.
Palm Coast Lines Up Support from County and Cities for UNF’s MedNex Initiative in Town Center
Flagler County commissioners today unanimously endorsed a proposed UNF partnership with Palm Coast to create a medical hub in Town Center as the county’s top legislative priority for 2020.
As Local News Outlets Shutter, Rural America Suffers Most
Amid the steady decline in local news, some states are considering stepping in to support the Fourth Estate. But critics worry that doing so might undermine the press’s role as a government watchdog.
What’s Flagler County Got Against Affordable Housing? A Forum Attempts to Demolish Enduring Stigmas.
Many Palm Coast and Flagler County residents generally revile apartments, subsidized housing and other forms of affordable housing. A county-sponsored forum attempted to tackle the stigmas and offer fresher perspectives.
DeSantis Criticizes Proposal to Raise Minimum Wage to $15, Saying It’ll Hurt Restaurant Owners
Florida For A Fair Wage is seeking voter support to increase the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour on Sept. 30, 2021 and increase it by $1 each year until it hits $15 an hour on Sept. 30, 2026.
Flagler County’s Economic Development Farce Is Wasting Millions of Taxpayer Dollars to Beat Its Own Drum
Since Flagler County government created the $450,000-a-year economic development department, the county has added 10,000 jobs, but only a few dozen as a result of the department’s involvement.
Danielle Anderson’s Dual Role as Flagler GOP Operative and News-Journal Correspondent
The News-Journal has defended Danielle Anderson’s dual roles as a correspondent and as president of the Flagler County Republican Club by saying she does not cover political stories. But last week she covered Sen. Rick Scott’s visit to Flagler, without a disclaimer.
Obamacare Premiums Will Fall 4% and Number of Insurers Will Increase By a Third
The news comes despite the Trump administration’s persistent attempts to undermine the Affordable Care Act, which created the market with the goal of providing comprehensive health coverage at affordable prices and reducing the number of Americans without health insurance.
How Dredging 550,000 Cubic Yards of Ocean Sand Will Change Flagler Beach’s Dunes
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project will dump darker dredged sand on 2.6 miles of beach to rebuild Flagler Beach’s dunes starting next spring, and stretching to the end of the year.
Flagler Beach Commission Set to Impose Steep Increase in Water and Sewer Rates for 5th Year in a Row
The city is proposing a 12.5 percent increase for water and sewer rates and a 12.8 percent increase in the stormwater fee. That’s after water and sewer rates went up 25 percent this year, 34 percent the previous year, 20 percent in 2017 and 13 percent in 2016.
China Plays the NBA
The obvious prioritization of commercial ties with a government that’s attacking demonstrators in Hong Kong and putting millions of ethnic Uyghurs in concentration camps is a damning statement about what the league — and the economic system it operates in — truly values.
Behind Collapse of Furniture Company Deal With Flagler Government, Disarray, Misrepresentations and Premature Boasts
The collapse of a deal between a furniture-assembling company and Flagler County government is the latest setback for an economic development department with a checkered eight-year history and signal failures.
County Fires Tourism Director Matt Dunn After 4-Month Suspension, Citing New Direction Under Amy Lukasik
Flagler County Tourism Director Matt Dunn had been placed on paid administrative leave in April after coming under criminal investigation. The county says the tourism bureau is turning away from Dunn’s sports-oriented tourism, and was not firing him for any wrongdoing.
New Building Improvement Regulations Eyed to Withstand Hurricanes
The Florida Building Commission gave tentative approval to more-stringent wind resistance requirements for vinyl siding and additional mitigation requirements for rooftop decks, among other recommendations to lawmakers.
Trump’s Trillion-Dollar Hit to Homeowners, and $680 Billion Gift to Corporations
By reducing deductions for real estate taxes, Trump’s 2017 tax plan has harmed millions — and helped give corporations a $680 billion gift. An analysis shows how.
2 Big Developments Would Change Complexion of Palm Harbor Neighborhood; City Would Take Over Marina
Two proposed developments–along the Palm Harbor golf course and at the Palm Coast marina–would total 120 hotel rooms and 318 multi-family units–town houses and condos, as the city prefers to describe them.
Wyse Report: Daytona Area Condo Sales Still Depressed
For the fourth consecutive month, condo sales around the greater Daytona Beach area were down in year-over-year comparisons.
Tiny A1A Subdivision Sees Wells Fail As a Big Development Churns Nearby. Now County Wants To Charge Residents $1,700 a Year for a Fix.
Willow Woods residents sandwiched between Washington Oaks State Park and Matanzas Woods developments would be charged $1,700 a year for 20 years to hook up to city water to replace failing wells, though residents say they’re not at fault: the development is.
Is the Whiteview Parkway Narrowing Project Going Forward? Depends on Whom You Ask.
The narrowing of Palm Coast’s Whiteview Parkway from four to two lanes has raised questions but the $4 million project is fully designed and now depends on state grants to move forward, which means it could wait many years. Still, the project has been cause for mixed messages and inaccuracies.
Florida Will Use $116 Million in Pollution-Settlement Money from VW to Buy Alternative-Fuel Buses
New public-transit and school buses that run on electricity and alternative fuels would get much of Florida’s share of a federal payout from a Volkswagen emissions scandal.
13 Palm Coast Organizations Split $30,000 in Cultural Arts Grants from City Government
The amount is $4,000 less than last year, but remains around the same total amount the city has handed out annually since 2013, when it increased the sum from $20,000.
After 8-Year Moratorium, Flagler County Will Get Back To Taxing Development for Roads and Possibly More
Flagler County government today hired a firm to study impact fees, or one-time levies on new development, to pay for roads, parks, libraries, fire rescue and public buildings in what could be a significant addition to county revenue by 2020.
U.S. House Approves Bill Allowing Banks to Help Marijuana Businesses, But Senate Uncertain
The bill would prevent marijuana businesses from operating on a cash basis. Cash-only businesses can attract thieves and make it harder for law enforcement to monitor financial transactions.
Economy Adds 136,000 Jobs, Streak at 108 Months of Growth, Unemployment Down to 3.5%
The national economy added 136,000 jobs in September, and figures for July and August were revised upward by 45,000 jobs, sending the unemployment rate to 3.5 percent, matching a level last seen in December 1969.
Wall Street Is Killing Newspapers
This is a crisis. This country lost more than a fifth of its local newspapers between 2004 and 2018, while newspapers lost almost half of their newsroom employees between 2008 and 2018.
Underground Power Lines Plan Moves Forward, But Residents and Businesses Will Pay More
The Florida Public Service Commission approved proposed rules to carry out the law, which is expected to lead to residents and businesses paying more in their electric bills for storm-protection projects.
UNF’s Palm Coast Medical Hub Clears 1st Hurdle With Board of Governors Committee Approval
UNF’s Palm Coast medical hub was unanimously recommended to the full Board of Governors in a committee meeting Thursday morning, winning plaudits for UNF president David Szymanski overt enthusiasm.
New Round of Medicare Penalties Hits 2,583 Hospitals, Including All Local Hospitals in 3 Counties
Although Medicare began applying the penalties in 2012, disagreements continue about whether they have improved patient safety. On the positive side, they have encouraged hospitals to focus on how their patients recuperate, and some now assist them in procuring medications and follow-up appointments.
Palm Coast Sewer Line Through Hammock Would Reduce Reliance on Septic, But Raises Development Fears
A Palm Coast sewer line up the spine of the barrier island would help stop a reliance on septic tanks and has been a priority for local governments, but Hammock residents are concerned that it would also spur more intensive development.
Pink Army Month Proclamation and Raising of Flag at Flagler Beach First Friday Oct. 4
In anticipation of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and their Pink Army 5K and 1 Mile Pet Friendly Fun Walk, the Pink Army 5K committee, will raise the Pink Army 5K flag at Flagler Beach First Friday on Oct. 4th at 6:00 p.m. located at Veterans Park.
Bill Would Prohibit Dogs in Restaurants, But Not Preempt Local Ordinances Like Flagler Beach’s
Most four-legged patrons of pet-friendly restaurants would have to remain outside, under a bill proposed this week by state Rep. Bruce Antone, D-Orlando.
Let Medicare For All End Cruelty of Using Health Care Coverage as a Bargaining Chip
If we already had Medicare for All, the United Auto Workers could be using their collective power to fight for higher wages and better benefits. Instead, GM gets to use the health of its employees as a bargaining chip.