An initial plan to build three cottages in partnership with a state conservation agency would expand to an additional 10 cottages at the River-to-Sea Preserve in the near future.
Economy
With 800,000 Floridians in Health Insurance Limbo, Hopes Return for Medicaid Expansion
A coalition of businesses groups, local officials and healthcare industry representatives has rolled out a plan to insure nearly one million low-income Floridians who fall in the so-called Medicaid coverage gap.
Craft Beer Growlers’ Day Finally Approaching in Florida, But Small Brewers Are Leery
Proposals to end the state’s prohibition on 64-ounce containers known as “growlers” have been blocked in recent years by large beer distributors claiming a need to protect the state’s Depression-era three-tier regulation system.
Palm Coast Inaugurates 3-Day Birds of a Feather Fest With “The Big Year”‘s Greg Miller Headlining
The inaugural and broad-spanned three-day Birds of a Feather Fest is scheduled for Feb. 6-8, 2015, offering a weekend of birding, workshops, presentations, kayak trips and family activities.
Florida’s Minimum Wage Going Up to $8.05 as Obama’s Push For $10.10 Remains Elusive
A Democratic bill in the Florida Legislature would seek the $10,10 threshold, but its chances of passing are slim to none. Business groups like the Florida Chamber of Commerce have argued against such proposals.
Projecting $1 Million Saving, Palm Coast Will Build $2.5 Million City Hall Addition Now Instead of 2019
The total Palm Coast City Hall cost rose to $9 million as the council agreed to build an 8,000 square foot addition as part of a broader construction plan that would net the city savings over five years.
How to Easily Navigate Big Changes in Fine Print of Obamacare Plans Before Deadline
Even if you’re getting the same plan — of the nearly 2,800 health plans offered in 2014, about 1,700 of them will exist in the same form next year — their benefits may not stay the same. Here’s an easy way to figure it all out.
Varn Park Will Close Until April 15 For $476,000 Renovations Thanks to Scenic A1A Grant
The federal National Scenic Byways grant was the largest of just three such awards in Florida, and will have a $140,000 match from Flagler County.
Job Creation Surges to 321,000 as Year’s Totals Approach Best Showing Since 1999
The national economy added 321,000 in October, the best showing since February 2012, when it added 332,000 jobs, and job-creation figures for September and October were revised upward, adding 44,000 jobs to the tally, for a total of 835,000 in the last three months. But the unemployment rate, calculated from a different survey, held at last month’s 5.8 percent.
For Oceanside Grill in Flagler Beach, a Parking Lot Becomes Epic Battleground Over City Rules
The city told Oceanside Grill that it had inadequate parking, and when the restaurant bought a lot to comply, the city told it it could not use it for parking. The contradictions came to a head at a planning board meeting Tuesday, but a compromise is in the works.
Economic Development Director Helga van Eckert Is CareerSource’s Excellence Award Recipient
Flagler County’s Department of Economic Development Executive Director Helga van Eckert was awarded the “Partners in Workforce Excellence Award” by CareerSource Flagler Volusia at the Annual Board of Directors meeting on Nov. 21.
Obamacare Snags: He Wants To Be Insured But Still Can’t Afford It.
The law requires all Americans to carry health insurance, but despite subsidies, it isn;t a given that some workers can afford their portion of premium costs. One of those people is Leaburn Alexander
Palm Coast Will Optimize Its 50 Traffic Signals, But No: They Still Won’t Be Synchronized
Palm Coast will spend $55,000 to study its traffic signals on its way to improving efficiency and wait times for drivers at red lights, but drivers’ most pressing wish–synchronization–won’t be part of the results.
Hurricane-Free For 9th Consecutive Season, Florida’s Property Insurers Now Better Braced for Catastrophe
A single Andrew-like Hurricane could wipe out in a day what Florida has taken almost a decade to recoup, but those nine years of calm have also placed the state in a stronger position to face an eventual and inevitable catastrophic storm.
As Large Businesses Look to Dump Employees on Obamacare, Smaller Firms Snub Subsidies
Few employers are embracing a temporary Obamacare subsidy for small businesses while large businesses are hiring brokers to help them shift employees to government-subsidized plans, which the Obama administration says is illegal.
Regrettable Holiday Ritual: Spike in Calls to Alzheimer’s Hotline as Families Grasp Changes
Visiting with relatives over the holidays may raise questions about the physical and cognitive health of family members. Although some change in cognitive ability can occur with age, serious memory problems are not a part of normal aging. Recognizing the difference between normal aging and more serious problems can help you identify when it may be time for you to make the call or see a doctor.
Bowing to Utilities, Florida Regulators Cut Energy-Efficiency Goals and Sunset Solar Incentives
A solar rebate program will expire at the end of 2015 and the Public Service Commission accepted a controversial staff recommendation that will lessen overall energy-efficiency goals for power companies.
Palm Coast Suspends Part of Red-Light Camera Enforcement, But $158 Fines Still Being Issued
While still issuing $158 fines for red-light violations, Palm Coast is for now no longer pursuing drivers who refuse to pay, so those drivers will not get the steeper $264 traffic citation. But those citations may be issued pending the outcome of a court case.
Flagler Fish Company Marks Year 9 With Sea Bounty By Way of A.J. Neste
To celebrate its ninth year, Flagler Fish Company unveiled a new website lavished with the work of A.J. Neste, the award-winning photographer.
Feed Flagler’s 364-Day Blinders: Why Isn’t a Portion of Old Courthouse Considered as Homeless Shelter?
It must be Thanksgiving because as with the first Thanksgiving, the pilgrims seem more interested in clobbering the poor than feeding them.
1-Year-Old Child of Bankrupt Company Buys News-Journal and Halifax Media for $280 Million
New York-based New Media Investment Group bought the Daytona Beach News Journal and Halifax Media’s three dozen newspapers for $280 million in cash today. New Media is a publicly traded company that owns 402 small to mid-size community publications.
GEA Auto Sales, 2601 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell
(386) 586-6595
GEA Auto Sales offers the best used car inventory around, but also our state of the art service center. We service Palm Coast, Bunnell, Flagler Beach, St Augustine, Daytona, and all the other surrounding areas. Financing available.
Today’s The Day to Support the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The Miami-based Florida Center for Investigative Reporting is one of the state’s leading non-profit news source, whose work frequently appears in FlaglerLive.
Obamacare 2.0: Open Enrollment Starts With Few Glitches as Floridians Sign Up Over the Weekend
Sharply contrasting with last year’s roll-out, enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, which started Saturday, has gone smoothly, as the federal government expects nearly 10 million insured by the time the window closes in February.
Last Food Truck Tuesday of 2014 On Nov. 18, With Focus on Bike Safety
This edition of Food Truck Tuesday in Palm Coast’s Town Center includes Barnwood BBQ, Big Island Bowls, Caketeer, ChiPhi, El Cactus Azul, It’s All Greek To Me, Kona Dog, Mayan Grill and Monsta Lobsta.
Judge Throws Out Florida’s Medical Marijuana Rules, Calling Them Vague and “Unbridled”
Administrative Law Judge W. David Watkins sided with Miami-based Costa Farms and others that objected to the Department of Health’s use of a lottery to pick five licensees that will grow, process and distribute strains of non-euphoric marijuana authorized by the Legislature and approved by Gov. Rick Scott earlier this year.
Renovate and Lease Old Courthouse But Don’t Sell or Demolish, Committee Recommends
An advisory committee’s much-awaited findings recommend that county government continue to carry the maintenance costs of the old courthouse until it is able to renovate and rent it to non-profits or office-type concerns.
When Government Manipulates Press and Public, and the Press Plays Along
From Flagler County to Washington, government’s attempts to control stories come down to the same manipulative ploys for the same specious reasons, but the press too often plays along.
Demolition Set for Old Palm Harbor Center, As Is Competitive Rebirth of Island Walk
A huge segment of the old Palm Harbor Shopping Center is about to go under the wrecking ball as part of the $41 million redevelopment of the site, which will take over a year, though Publix will remain open there throughout, and move into a much larger store by the end of 2015.
Palm Coast Data Wins Back Saturday Evening Post Account But Loses All American Crafts
Winning back the Saturday Evening Post account’s three magazines helps offset yet another loss for Palm Coast Data as All American Crafts, which published 11 niche magazines, stopped all publishing in August and declared bankruptcy, with $7.5 million in debts.
For 1 Million Floridians, Health Insurance Again in the Balance as Supreme Court Rethinks Subsidies
Enrollment and subsidies, along with provisions such as the prohibition on excluding people with pre-existing conditions, are now at risk, because once again, the Supreme Court will decide whether the Affordable Care Act lives or dies.
Parents in Mourning Will Install Angel of Hope Statue at Craig Flagler Palms
An Angel of Hope inspired by the famed book by Richard Paul Evans and dedicated to families and friends grieving the loss of a child will go up on land donated by Craig Flagler Palms Funeral Home, Memorial Gardens and Crematory. The funeral home also donated a base for the statue.
Feed Flagler, in Its 6th Year, Launches Food Drive and Free Thanksgiving Meals Plan
Feed Flagler, the community-wide effort to provide meals for the needy (or anyone who requests one) at Thanksgiving, is off to its 6th year, with renewed emphasis on food collection for families.
A Play Palm Coast Can Identify With: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” at CRT
Nurse Ratched and Mac Murphy duel in an asylum in a war of wills between an authoritarian hag and a master of insubordination, for a good cause: it’s City Repertory Theatre’s interpretation of the Ken Kesey classic.
U.S. Unemployment Drops to 5.8% as Economy Adds 214,000 Jobs, Maintaining Average
The nation’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.8 percent in October, a level last seen in July 2008, when the rate was rapidly rising, and the economy added 214,000 jobs, continuing a steady if somewhat slow recovery.
500,000!
FlaglerLive Crosses Half-Million
Reader Mark in October
FlaglerLive ended October with close to 550,000 readers for the month, a new record and further indication that as print struggles to maintain its mass-market appeal, the media landscape is changing too rapidly to accommodate old models.
Daytona Speedway Seeking $3 Million A Year in Tax Gifts, Jaguars Close Behind
The Jacksonville Jaguars are following closely behind the Daytona Speedway in requests of up to $90 million in sales tax dollars over 30 years, tax revenue that would be subtracted from public needs.
Vaulting from Hollingsworth to Salvo Art: JJ Graham Opens Gallery of Revelations in Bunnell
With the opening of the Salvo Art Project gallery Saturday evening on the grounds of Nature Scapes in Bunnell–the reincarnation of Hollingsworth Gallery in Palm Coast–JJ Graham is creating an artists’ colony devoted to expressionist art in a space at once immense and intimate.
“Epic Moment in Palm Coast’s History” as New City Hall Breaks Ground at Town Center
Mayor Jon Netts celebrated the occasion in words that richly threaded Palm Coast’s nomadic years to Wednesday’s moment, turning symbolism into masonry as he spoke of the building representing unity, diversity and energy.
FlaglerLive Was Hacked by a Turkish Nut Case With an Allah Complex, But We’re Back
FlaglerLive was the target of a malicious attack Thursday from an Islamist based in Southwest Turkey. The attack was overridden in late afternoon but exposed the sort of vulnerabilities that much larger news organizations have been discovering recently.
Flagler Posts Biggest Single-Month Unemployment Drop Since Recession, to 8.4%, as 474 Residents Gain Jobs
Flagler County still has the second-highest unemployment rate in the state, but September was a banner month for the county’s economic health in almost every regard.
Florida Hospital Flagler Names Chief Medical Officer and OR’s Nurse Manager
Florida Hospital Flagler announced this week the appointment of Dr. Ronald Thomas as the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Lauretta Kiniery as the nurse manager for the hospital’s operating rooms, sterile processing department and endoscopy department.
Family-Owned Beutlich Pharmaceuticals Bringing 25 to 30 Jobs to Flagler by January
Beutlich Pharmaceuticals, a family-owned pharmaceutical company based in Waukegan, Ill., is moving to a 20,000 square-foot warehouse in Bunnell, where it expects to hire 25 to 30 people. The company will operate locally by January 2015.
Despite Big Economic Impact, Flagler Beach Mostly Snubs Groundbreaking to Double Gamble Rogers Park’s Camping Sites
There were more top state and county officials than Flagler Beach officials at today’s groudbreaking at Gamble Rogers State Park, an echo of the city’s failed attempt to change the name of the recreation area back to Flagler Beach last month.
Bloodbath at Deteriorating Tallahassee Democrat Is Newspapers’ Latest For-Profit Suicide
The story of the Tallahassee Democrat’s decomposition is a deeper cautionary tale on how monopoly media can turn a vibrant, growing community into a cloistered cultural backwater.
Waterside Pools Inc., (386) 447-3390
15 Hargrove Lane, #3K, Palm Coast
Waterside Pools Inc in Palm Coast provides pool construction, repairs, maintenance and cleanings, servicing Flagler Volusia St. Johns.
“Thank You for Using Your Legs to Show Us What’s In Your Hearts,” Palm Coast Mayor Tells Pink Army
This morning’s 5K Pink Army run for breast cancer awareness drew hundreds of runners, walkers and strollers of all ages and sizes who thronged Town Center just after dawn, for the cause.
From Polish and Italian to Arabic and Creole: The Changing Sound of the American Street
One-fifth of Americans now speak a language other than English at home. Fastest-growing are Arabic and Creole, though Spanish and Chinese are still the number 1 and 2 languages after English.
“Barefoot in the Park” Inaugurates Flagler Playhouse’s New Season, and Renovated Digs
Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” opens a new season for a Flagler Playhouse that benefited from a $150,000 state grant and used it to improve its stage’s wing space, provide better rest rooms and storage space.
Creekside Festival Celebrates 10th Year Saturday and Sunday at Princess Place Preserve
Drawing upwards of 15,000 guests each year, the Chamber of Commerce-managed two-day festival offers exhibits and activities to appeal to all tastes. This year’s event is set for Saturday, Oct. 11 and Sunday, Oct. 12.