Enterprise Flagler’s “new game plan” seeks to win over voters for a new property tax in exchange for the promise of new industry and more jobs. The plan is more projections than details.
Economy
Work Crews–and Businesses–Idle Around Flagler Beach Farmers’ Market Land Dispute
Flagler Beach’s reconstruction of streets and sidewalks may have encroached on segments of the property belonging to the owners of the city’s weekly farmer’s market.
County Caves to Court Clerk Gail Wadsworth’s Demand for Bigger Staff and Budget
The $120,000 increase, which the county will have to draw from reserves or from budget cuts, is identical to the amount it would take to keep Carver Gym funded at the current level.
Mosquito-Borne Encephalitis May Be On the Rise in Flagler, Health Department Cautions
The disease is rare but has severe consequences, and the department’s “sentinel” chickens have shown an increase in symptoms of the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus.
Commission Money Race: Mori Hosseini and Other Developers Bankrolling Abbott’s Bid
Volusia, St. Johns and Jacksonville development firms account for all but about $1,000 of Bob Abbott’s campaign funds. Nate McLaughlin’s are more grass roots based.
Unemployment Resumes Climb in Flagler and Florida as Economy Fails to Strengthen
Flagler County’s unemployment rate went up to 15.6 percent (from 15.4 percent), and Florida’s went up to 11.5 percent, raising fears of a double-dip recession.
Aerial View of Florida Hospital Flagler Campus, 2010
Large aerial view of Florida Hospital Flagler campus and property line, 2010.
More Beds, More Buildings, More Doctors: Hospital Campus Plans for Doubling Capacity
The 100-acre campus along SR100 will eventually have a new hospital tower to accommodate an extra 100 beds, several additional buildings and, soon, a trail system.
Palm Coast Liquors Up on Hypocrisy Ahead of ABC Store’s Opening (and 10 New Jobs)
The November opening of Flagler County’s first ABC liquor store, a 10,000-square-foot facility, is drawing flack for its location despite its promise of 10 new jobs, choice booze and discounts.
Experts: Argue All You Want, Mosque Project Is on Firm Legal Ground
Whatever its detractors say, the project to build a 15-story Islamic center, including a mosque, near Ground Zero has the law, including a particular GOP law, unquestionably on its side.
$15 Million Short, Federal Insurance Fund Takes Over News-Journal’s Pension Plan
A federal judge ruled against adequately funding News-Journal retirees’ pension plan, ordering instead that $40 million in cash and other values should go to Cox, the newspaper’s former minority owner.
In Split Vote, Tourism Council Approves Raising Bed Tax to 4% For More Marketing
The additional 1 percent would raise an extra $275,000 to $300,000, which the council wants to spend on more advertising for Flagler. Several council members objected, setting up a possible battle at the County Commission.
Back from the Brink, Florida Hospital and United Healthcare Reassure Flagler Clients
For people who need to go to the hospital or its affiliates, nothing changes–until the fine print is made clearer: rates are almost certain to increase.
Outlining Achievements, Enterprise Flagler Tells Palm Coast City Council: We Matter
The economic development agency’s list included achievements that weren’t quite its own while Director Greg Rawls remained cagey regarding the new tax the agency is proposing.
Innovative Garden Hose Start-Up Swells Flagler Hopes for Economic Revival at the Airport
MH Operations proposes to manufacture an expanding and retracting hose few will resist, and do so from a county airport, where it would create 125 jobs.
Cakes Across America Dumps Airport Building County Built For It; Taxpayer Bill: $300,000+
In another example of economic development subsidized at taxpayers’ expense, the cake company leaves taxpayers holding the bag for a promise of jobs never fulfilled.
Flagler Beach Developer John Boback Arrested on $410,000 Theft Charge
Boback took the money from a Marco Island investor to build what was going to be a professional complex on A1A. The complex never went up.
Harmonic Shock Meets Art at Hollingsworth Gallery’s “Music Is the Muse”
The latest show at City Walk’s Hollingsworth Gallery features works by 18 artists inspired by particular songs or pieces of music, which will also be playing–through Sept. 28.
Water Wars Redux: Homeowners Sue
Palm Coast Over Annexation Bullying
Palm Coast is forcing Palm Coast Plantation property owners to sign annexation agreements in exchange for water and sewer services. The owners say Palm Coast is breaking the law.
Florida Court Rules Pregnant Woman’s Rights Override Presumptions for the Unborn
In a circuit court decisions with wide implications about the rights of a fetus, a judge ruled a woman had the right to decline hospitalization against doctors’ concerns over her pregnancy.
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon’s Compensation Package: $218,296 a Year
Jim Landon’s base salary of $168,878 is higher than the total compensation package of the school superintendent, who manages five times as many employees and is responsible for 13,000 students.
“Burn the Koran Day” in Gainesville: When Crude Isn’t the Only Thing Mucking Up Florida
Terry Jones’ “Dove World Outreach Center” in Gainesville slimes Florida, but no more so than Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin are sliming American values in the name of the worst of Western civilization.
Pierre on WNZF’s Open Lines with David Ayers This Morning
Chatting it up about local politics, local media, the primary election, the good referendum on the ballot and the very bad one, and more.
Six Things You Need to Know About Financial Regulation
No need to read 2,000-page bills. Here are less than 1,000 words to give you a quick primer on what’s happening now when your money becomes other people’s money.
450 Vehicles for 350 Palm Coast City Employees? Council Bridles at “Urban Legend”
Palm Coast’s city government owns a total of 285 vehicles, including dozens of off-road mowers, utility vehicles and firetrucks, though it also has a well-endowed vehicle fund.
Council Slams Enterprise Flagler’s Camouflage, Casting Doubt on “Development” Tax
The economic development agency that devours taxpayer dollars year after year hasn’t produced a report in years showing what it’s accomplished. Elected officials are tiring of the mystery.
Commission Increases County Employees’ Health Costs Against Steep Opposition
County employees’ health insurance premiums are rising steeply, but they remain less expensive than for employees in other government agencies in the area.
Word on the Street: Palm Coast Data Adding 100+ Jobs
The Flagler Chamber of Commerce is hoping that the job announcement will buttress arguments for an “economic development” tax, though the connection is tenuous.
US Economy Loses 131,000 Jobs, Unemployment Rate Stalls at 9.5%
The economy is losing far more jobs than it is adding as more temporary census workers lose work.
Scammed Into a Lease and Facing Eviction While the Accused Realtor Lives Nearby
A renter faces her fourth foreclosure-driven eviction in a year as local Realtors are struck with what appears to be a rogue Realtor’s rental scam in Palm Coast’s R Section.
It’s Raining Taxes: Despite Rising Revenue, County Considers Increase in Bed Tax to 4%
The increase to 4 percent would fuel the backlash against other local tax proposals and increases.
Laying Off Employees, Palm Coast Is Set to Pay at Least $83,000 for One School Deputy
The school deputy Palm Coast is paying for is a way to get four other extra deputies on Palm Coast’s streets for large portions of the year–at the schools’ expense.
In a Shift, Andy Dance Joins Unanimous Vote for School Tax Referendum in November
Andy Dance’s switch improves the school district’s case for a tax proposal while hurting that of an “economic development” levy.
United Healthcare Pledges 75-Day Extension for Flagler Clients Despite Hospital Dispute
United Healthcare’s pledge lessens thousands of Flagler residents’ anxiety over getting care at Florida Hospital Flagler, but only temporarily.
Merchants of Greed: How Florida Hospital and United Healthcare Bargain Over Your Body
On Aug. 15, half a million central Floridians, and thousands in Flagler County covered by United Healthcare, including children on medicaid, will be denied insured coverage at Florida Hospital’s facilities, including Florida Hospital Flagler.
Where Spin Meets Bull: Florida Hospital’s Lars Houmann on the Dispute With United Healthcare
A three-and-a-half minute video by the Florida Hospital CEO is a window into the company’s deception and disingenuity.
Bunnell City Administration Will Occupy County Offices Rent-Free Through 2012
Bunnell will continue occupying a suite of county offices valued at $3,000 a month even though the old city hall is livable.
Taking Stockman: How Nixon, Reagan, Bush and their GOP Demolished the Economy
David Stockman, Reagan’s former budget director, sums up how his GOP destroyed the American economy through a bogus faith in markets and false promises of fiscal discipline.
What You Always Wanted to Know About Mills & Millage Rates
Even John Quincy Adams complained almost 200 years ago that few people could figure out the meaning of “mills,” and he wasn’t even talking about millage rates. Here’s an explanation and some history of the most commonly incomprehensible word at tax time.
Florida 1 of 3 States With Top-Rated Medicare Advantage Plan. But You Can’t Enroll in Flagler.
Top-rated Capital Health Plan, a non-profit, is available only in the four-county Tallahassee area, so local Medicare members are denied enrollment.
Medicare Advantage: How Florida Rates
Florida doesn’t rate so high in a state-by-state chart showing the percentage of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries enrolled in quality plans.
County Tax Rate Going Up 15.4% Even as Revenue and Government Services Stall
The proposed 2011 property tax rate would be the highest in at least 10 years, yet collapsing property values mean government revenue will not rise at all compared with this year.
Mia Bella’s Dancers: From Non-Existent to National Champions in Seven Months
Brie Valenti opened her Mia Bella dance studio last January at City Walk, and returned from a competition in Tennessee with two national trophies this week for her students and her choreography.
In Shifty Budget, Palm Coast Projects Peter Pots Paying Paul Pots and 12-15 Lay-Offs
Next year’s city budget is heavy on shifts, cuts and one pot of money subsidizing another while keeping the tax rate where it’s been.
Tax-Free Days: Aug. 13-15, But Applicable Items Are Limited
Everything you need to know about the back-to-school tax-free days this year. But don’t expect to get the tax break at Disney.
Florida Tax-Free Days: The Fine Print
The tax-free holiday in all its details: what’s tax-free, what’s not, according to Florida’s tax revenue department.
Under Threat of Lawsuit from Universal®, City Walk in Palm Coast Will Change Its Name
City Walk, the beleaguered strip mall and home to Palm Coast city offices, will change its name to get away from Universal’s trademark strips in Orlando and Hollywood.
Palm Coast Goals: No Tax Hike, 8-10% Cuts, 10-15 Jobs Gone; City Hall Plans Unscathed
The Palm Coast City Council wants to keep property taxes the same, compensating for revenue with fees, fines, loans and reserves, and still build a new city hall.
Ormond’s River Grille Owner Closer to Taking Over Flagler Beach’s Pier Restaurant
The iconic Pier Restaurant’s lease is up in two years. The city owns it. The city will negotiate with a new owner immediately, to the displeasure of locally owned Flagler Fish Company.
Battling Referendums: School Tax Will Compete With Building Tax in November
In the wost of times, voters will be asked to approve a tax levy to continue existing funding on top of a new tax favored by the chamber of commerce for building commercial properties.