Wings Over Flagler-Rockin the Runways, held the last week of April at the Flagler County Airport, had been organized in just 60 edays in a rapid partnership between county government, WNZF, and Bill Mills of TBD Partners, Mills Aviation Charities and Blue Sky Yakrobatics.
Economy
Florida Hospital Flagler Donates First Aid Supplies to Flagler Beach Lifeguards
Florida Hospital Flagler has donated an array of medical supplies to the City of Flagler Beach’s Ocean Rescue Services. Items donated include gloves, face masks, ammonia, alcohol pads, gauze, biohazard containment materials, and more.
Don’t Mind a Gap This Year: Flagler County’s Budget Prospects Brighten With Talk of Tax Cut
Countywide property values are expected to rise 5 percent this year and bring in an additional $2.3 million at today’s tax rates, reducing pressures on the budget and allowing the county commission to consider tax cuts and the expansion of services, including the addition of three firefighters.
Gouged, Palm Coast Calls City Market Place Lease Demands “Unacceptable” and Looks Elsewhere
City Market Place owner John Bills is asking for a 57 percent increase in rent from Palm Coast government, whose offices have been renting 22,000 square feet at City Market Place for five years. The city needs one more year before moving to City Hall in Town Center. It’s now shopping for other spaces for that year.
Flagler Beach Museum Taking Over Pier for “Jazz, Cheese & Cheer!” Fundraiser Saturday
The Flagler Beach Museum’s “Jazz, Cheese & Cheer!” fundraiser Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. will feature Linda Cole & Co, enjoy small samples of wine, craft beer, cheese, sweets and food from numerous local eateries while gazing at the best ocean view in town.
Hiding Behind Barricades of Indifference as Income Disparities Corrode the Social Contract
The very rich, who are already less and less in touch with the lives of ordinary Americans, will further barricade themselves to avoid having to witness the decline of a country that is no longer about ensuring a decent standard of living for the greatest number of people.
From a New Branch Library to a West Side Fire Station, Flagler Commissioners Weigh Sales Tax-Funded Projects
Most of the $2-million-a-year sales tax revenue the county commission voted in almost two years ago is spoken for–a new jail, a new sheriff’s HQ–but a few million dollars remain spendable. The administration is proposing a long wish list that commissioners will now rank.
Charlie Crist on Ending the Cuba Embargo: Not Flip-Flopping, But Facing Reality
Crist wants to lift the 53-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba. He hasn’t flipped soft on the Cuban government, which he calls “oppressive,” “totalitarian,” and “wrong.” He just says that the embargo hasn’t worked and that it’s insanity to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result, argues Stephen L. Goldstein.
SunRail Begins Paid Commuter Service Between Volusia and Orange Counties
After providing free service to 135,000 riders for two weeks, SunRail, the commuter rail line in Central Florida, on Monday began paid service between DeBary and Sand Lake Road in Orlando. The free service days drew 11,237 riders a day, on average.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate Tumbles to 8.3% in Sharpest Single-Month Improvement of Recovery
Flagler County’s unemployment rate fell a full percentage point in April, to 8.3 percent, the sharpest single-month improvement of the last five years’ recovery, as the number of unemployed people in the county dropped by 375 and the number of employed people climbed by 111. A drop of 264 in the labor force, however, also helped reduce the unemployment figure.
As City Market Place Plays Hardball With Palm Coast, Gallery’s and Theater’s Future There Dims
The new owners of City Market Place want to jack up rent on Palm Coast city offices by 33 percent, and slam similar increases on Hollingsworth Gallery and other long-time anchors of the strip mall, making every one of those tenants question whether they will be there much longer–and placing a cloud on the future of some tenants, such as City Repertory Theatre.
Scott Signs Tax Cut Package Rolling Back Car Registration Fees and Offering 2 Tax Holidays
The hurricane sales-tax holiday runs from May 31 through June 8, the back-to-school holiday will run from Aug. 1 through Aug. 3, and vehicle registration fees have been scaled back to pre-2009 levels, among other measures Gov. Rick Scott signed into law.
AAA To Scott: Veto 75 MPH Speed Limit
AAA asked Scott more than a week ago for a sit-down to talk about the narrowly-approved measure that could see maximum speed limits hiked by 5 mph. The governor hasn’t made a decision on the bill. His aides are willing to discuss it.
Palm Coast Approves Zoning Changes to 749-Home Grand Landings Development on Seminole Woods
Grand Landings is a 749-home, 774-acre development in Seminole Woods, about two miles south of State Road 100 (and less than two miles from the Flagler County Airport), that had fallen into bankruptcy. Its new developers have spurred more new construction activity there than in most places in Palm Coast.
Palm Coast Will Expand Indian Trails Sports Complex Again to Capitalize on Tournament Growth
The Indian Trails Sports Complex is expanding for the second time in three years, a reflection of Palm Coast’s success in attracting quality sports tournaments that draw thousands of out-of-town visitors to the county, filling restaurants and hotels. The Palm Coast City Council Tuesday evening unanimously approved expanding the complex from eight fields to 10, just three years after the complex was expanded from four fields to eight.
TALKiT, the New Palm Coast-Based Social Media App, Is Introduced to Economic Advisory Council
TALKiT, the innovative, Palm Coast-based social media application whose developers say will revolutionize the way individuals and institutions communicate in real time, got its formal introduction to the Flagler County Economic Opportunity Advisory Council Wednesday morning.
Palm Coast Council May Consider Red-Light Camera Referendum, But Wants More Talk
There were no dramatic moves Tuesday evening among council members or from the city manager. A dozen members of the public addressed the issue, as did City Manager Jim Landon, as did most of the council members and the mayor. But in the end, the most conclusive action was that the council should talk the matter over more thoroughly at a workshop soon.
Joint Restaurant Experiment Ends as Palm Coast’s Red Lobster Closes and Olive Garden Grows Larger
Three years after Darden Restaurants opened a combined Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurant at the Target shopping center, the company announced that it would close Red Lobster as it prepares to either sell or spin off the brand, which has been losing customers.
Palm Coast Calls on Local Contractors to Apply For City Hall Project
The Vendor Roundtables will be held Tuesday, May 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, July 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Flagler-Palm Coast Campus of Daytona State College. Contractors will be given information on the scope of work for the new City Hall and the anticipated schedule of bidding and construction.
An Everlasting Horror Reenacted and Remembered as CRT Ends Season With 2 Holocaust Shows
Adam Fisher’s “An Everlasting Name” and Charlotte Raspanti “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” give voice to children and survivors of the Holocaust in a pair of productions ending City Repertory Theatre’s third season at City Market Place, starting this weekend.
Unemployment Falls Sharply to 6.3% as Economy Adds Nearly 300,000 Jobs, But Labor Pool Shrinks
People are reentering the workforce, they’re applying for work, they’re finding jobs, with an economy in April adding more net jobs for the 50th consecutive month–ironically, one of the longest peace-time recoveries on record, following the Great Recession of 2007-08. But a huge number of people are also leaving the workforce. That has resulted in an unemployment report for April that looks very bright at first, but that dims somewhat when analyzed more closely.
Flagler Seeks, Flagler Wins: Bill Restoring Vacation-Rental Regulation Authority Passes House and Heads for Scott’s Desk
The Flagler County Commission has been leading the fight to overturn a 2011 state law prohibiting the regulation of short-term rentals. Thursday morning, the Florida Senate voted 37-2 to give back some home-rule authority to local governments. The House approved the measure 90-27 on Wednesday, sealing a major victory for Flagler County.
75 MPH Speed Limit on Some Highways Nears Reality as Bill Goes to Gov. Scott
After a sometimes-emotional debate, a divided Florida House on Wednesday gave final approval to a proposal that could lead to 75 mph speed limits on some highways. The House voted 58-56 to pass the bill (SB 392), which was backed by the Senate last week.
Wings Over Flagler: Rockin’ the Runways Edition Flies In For Weekend of Roars
Some 30 plans and a half dozen musical acts will highlight the revived and renamed Wings Over Flagler event at Flagler County Airport Friday and Saturday. The event wasn’t held last year, but a new partnership between WNZF, the county and Wings organizers ensured that returned this spring.
Jacksonville Symphony Returns for Sunday Picnics and Pops Concert, With a Prayer to the Rain Gods
Last year’s Picnics and Pops concert in Palm Coast’s Central Park had to be cancelled because of rain. The Jacksonville Symphony is bringing essentially the same program that was rained out, under the direction of Morihiko Nakahara.
250-Mile, Coast-to-Coast Bike Trail
Across Central Florida Nears Reality
Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, thanked House members for supporting his Coast-to-Coast bike-trail connector, which was vetoed last year by Gov. Rick Scott when lawmakers backed the project as a $50 million item.
In Clearest Pro-Immigrant Shift Yet, Gov. Scott Demands a Senate Vote on In-State Tuition for Undocumented
The governor, who originally came to office threatening to crack down on undocumented immigrants, said Tuesday that his opinion on the issue was shaped by stories he’s heard from students who grew up in Florida and would benefit from being able to pay the cheaper, in-state tuition rates.
Latest Beer-Sale Proposal Protects Big Distributors as Craft Brewers Are Limited to 2,000 Off-Site Kegs
A Senate proposal that would allow small craft brewers to directly sell beer in bottles and cans, as long as they limit to 2,000 kegs how much beer is made for off-site sales, continues to leave a bad taste for the growing industry.
A Film Studio Grows in Palm Coast: 10th Voyage Nurtures Zombies and Ambitions
Operating from a plain-looking office complex in Palm Coast’s Hargrove Grade, 10th Voyage Studio is the creation of three young men–Patrick Appolonia, Scott Nance, and Lenny Mosco–who believe that the days of bigness in film-making are over: they’re poised to make technology and versatility pay in a city with little competition.
Your Amazon Holiday Is Over: Giant Starts Collecting Sales Tax in Florida in 2 Weeks
For Floridians who are supposed to pay the taxes but haven’t, the announcement of Amazon’s entry into the state’s brick-and-mortar retail landscape could mean about $80 million a year in sales taxes, according to one business lobbying group.
House Balks at $2 Million-a-Year Tax Subsidy to Daytona Speedway as Other Breaks Advance
Funding for Daytona International Speedway and a temporary tax break on gym memberships could be casualties when the House and Senate meet next week on their opposing packages to complete Gov. Rick Scott’s $500 million election-year tax cuts.
Mega Health Bill Favoring Nurse Practitioners, Trauma Centers and Drs. Without State License Clears House Panel
The bill would protect private for-profit trauma centers, allow for independent practice for nurse practitioners and allow out-of-state doctors to participate in telehealth without a Florida license. The Florida Medical Association opposes the latter two.
More Parents Are Defaulting on College Loans For Their Children, Costing Taxpayers
The Parent Plus program allows parents to take out essentially uncapped amounts to cover college costs, regardless of the borrower’s income or ability to repay the loan. But default rates, while still modest, have nearly tripled over the last four years.
Altered Space: When the Mall
Is a Refuge From Virtual Reality
With America’s slouch toward the virtual at the expense of the real and the human, it is entirely possible that we will become nostalgic for malls as lost relics of interpersonal relations, alongside the courthouse square, the barber shop and the neighborhood bar.
The Ten Tenors Renew Their Vows With Flagler in Two Broadway-Themed Shows at the Auditorium Saturday
The Ten Tenors have been coming to the Flagler Auditorium for a dozen years, ever since they sprung out of Australia to set out on what’s become an increasingly popular, worldwide phenomenon.
Single-Family Home Permits Up 29% in 1st Quarter as Construction in Palm Coast Churns
Some 126 construction permits were issued for single-family homes in Flagler County in the first three months of the year, 88 of them in Palm Coast and 34 in the unincorporated part of the county.
Obamacare Tally: Florida Subsidies Average $3,000, But Some Families Complain of Costly Exclusion
And yet only one in four Floridians who qualifies for a subsidy had enrolled in a plan by March 1, leaving 1 million eligible residents uninsured. A mother describes how the law’s employee-insurance provision barred her family from subsidies.
Farewell To Bookstores:
Why I Won’t Miss Books-A-Million
The closure of Books-A-Million is not as bad as it sounds: the chain bookstore was not living up to its billing as a cultural hub, and bookstores these days are becoming irrelevant thanks to Amazon, audio books and Google, which make the world’s libraries immediately accessible at a click.
In “I Do! I Do!” a Half-Century of Marriage to the Tune of Four Bedposts at Palm Coast’s City Rep Theatre
“I Do! I Do!,” the Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt musical, traces a couple’s marriage over 50 years through thick and song, and will be staged at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre over three weekends through April 6.
Flagler Unemployment Creeps Up Again, to 9.4%, But Labor Force and Net Jobs Grow
Flagler County’s unemployment rate again rose in February, to 9.4 percent, a decimal-point increase over the previous month and some 80 more people went on unemployment. But The county’s overall employment went up sharply, by 364 (for a total of 31,976), and the county’s labor force went up even more, by 442–both signs of growing strength in the local economy as more workers seem encouraged to join the labor force, and more workers are actually finding jobs.
Lawmakers’ Proposal to Ban E-Cigarettes for Youths Lights Up Local Governments Over Additional Strictures
Health groups and local governments are criticizing a bill (HB 169) that would ban e-cigarette sales to minors because the measure also would prevent cities and counties from passing their own regulations on the sales of electronic cigarettes and tobacco products.
The End: Palm Coast’s Books-A-Million, Flagler’s Only General-Interest Bookstore, Is Closing
Books-A-Million in Palm Coast on Wednesday announced an everything-must-go sale ahead of closure, ending the town’s very brief romance with a bookstore larger than an attic. The company lost money in 2013. There is no known replacement for the store, a mainstay of the Target shopping center.
Red-Light Cameras Won’t Be Repealed This Year, But Restrictions on Profits May Yet Pass
Red-light cameras’ powerful lobby defeated Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Brandes’s attempt to end the use of the devices, but several proposed restrictions are still moving through the Legislature, such as limiting profits to safety uses and requiring safety studies before cameras can be installed.
As March 31 Deadline Nears: Going Without Health Insurance Will Likely Cost You At Tax Time
If you thought you could get health coverage later this year, you may not get that chance until November, which means that you’ll most likely have to pay a penalty of 1 percent of your income at tax time, even if only a single member of your family is not insured. Penalties rise in subsequent years.
David Beckham Lobbies Tallahassee for Tax Breaks on a Soccer Stadium in Miami
Elected officials — including Gov. Rick Scott — and staffers flooded Twitter with “selfies” alongside Beckham, who wants to bring a professional soccer team to Miami and has set his goal on the Port of Miami as a potential stadium site.
In-State Tuition For Undocumented Immigrants Passes House, 81-33, as GOP Opposition Thins
The measure allows undocumented immigrants to pay cheaper, in-state tuition rates if they attend Florida middle and high schools for at least four straight years before going to college.
Marketing 2 Go, Palm Coast Pioneer in Social Media, Celebrates 4 Years in Business
It was four years ago this month that Cindy Dalecki launched Marketing 2 Go, her own start-up in the emerging but often intractable world of social media–a world almost everyone needs, especially in business, but few understand, and fewer still can navigate to their advantage.
Flagler Favors Getting Into Cottage Business in County Parks, Starting at Princess Place
The twin proposals would result in three cottages at the Princess Place Preserve costing $390,000. and 10 cottages at River to Sea costing close to $1 million. Profits would be modest, but the county’s aim is to broaden the availability of nature tourism in Flagler.
Unemployment Spike to 9.3% in Flagler Masks Larger Labor Force, More Job Creation and Flurry of Development Ahead
Flagler County’s January unemployment is up sharply from from 8.8 percent in December. but in a brighter sign, the county’s labor force also added some 400 people, there was a net gain of some 200 jobs, and numerous commercial, residential and government construction projects suggest that the county’s economy is brightening.
Saviors of European Village: How Vassili Mironov and Friends Prevented a Bloodbath
In their first interview just back from the hospital, Vassili Mironov and two friends describe how they neutralized the assault-rifle-carrying Daniel Noble Saturday night at European Village, as Nolan was threatening to shoot into the crowd.