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Backgrounders

Zohran Mamdani Exposes Nullity of Democrats and Republicans

August 23, 2025 | Pierre Tristam | 7 Comments

On the bus with Zohran Mamdani. (Facebook)

The reaction by Democrats and Republicans to the Zohran Mamdani phenomenon in New York City has been like an MRI of both our parties’ cancerous hopelessness. Democrats in their wilderness should be championing energetic countercurrents who could slow the slide and focus the party on everyday challenges. But instead of capitalizing on a new voice that champions the disaffected, Democrats are competing with Republicans in a race to the muckiest.

Rookie Marineland Mayor Dew Tries Firing Veteran Town Manager and Town Attorney. His Own Appointee Stops Him.

August 22, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Marineland Mayor Douglas Dew at Thursday's meeting of the town commission. (© FlaglerLive)

In another gust of dysfunction underscoring Marineland’s increasingly nonsensical status as a town, rookie Mayor Douglas “Dewey” Dew on Wednesday and Thursday attempted but failed to fire Town Manager Suzanne Dixon and Town Attorney Dennis Bayer, starting with an Aug. 20 email “request” that they resign immediately. He sent the email unilaterally, without the authority of the commission and outside of a public meeting. Jessica Finch, whom Dew unilaterally appointed to the commission in May, refused to go along with the firing and was critical of Dew’s methods.

Flagler County Issues Statement Explaining Letter About New Tax to Be Levied on Barrier Island Property Owners

August 22, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The beach south of the Flagler Beach pier shortly after it was renourished in July 2024. Flagler County is hoping to extend similar, if less extensive, renourishment efforts across all 18 miles of county beaches. (© FlaglerLive)

On Aug. 15, the Flagler County government administration issued a letter to property owners in the unincorporated portion of the barrier island alerting them to a possible special tax the county would be enacting in the future to raise money for beach protection. There would be no levy in 2025-26, but there will likely be one the following year, pending a study. The letter raised concerns among property owners. The county administration today issued a clarifying statement and Q & A.

Former Assistant Public Defender Regina Nunnally Leads ‘Know Your Rights’ Workshop for Local Renters on Aug. 26

August 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

The no nonsense Regina Nunnally in arguments to a jury during a 2022 trial, when she was an assistant public defender in Flagler County. (© FlaglerLive)

Former Assistant Public Defender Regina Nunnally, an inspirational speaker, author, preacher and lawyer with Community Legal Services, will lead a free “Know Your Rights” workshop for renters on Aug. 26 at Flagler Cares’ Flagler County Village at Palm Coast’s City Marketplace. The workshop will offer essential information for renters on their legal protections and responsibilities.

Flagler Cares CEO Carrie Baird To Be Honored with News Service of Florida’s 2025 Above & Beyond Award

August 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Flagler Cares CEO Carrie Baird, second from right, after a proclamation marking Flagler Cares' 10th anniversary, at a Bunnell City Commission meeting in June. All local governments adopted the proclamation. (© FlaglerLive)

Carrie Baird, chief executive officer of Flagler Cares, is among this year’s honorees of the News Service of Florida Above & Beyond Award. The awards honor the “most influential and thought-provoking women in Florida who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in their field, combined with having made significant contributions to society.” Flagler Cares, a Palm Coast-based non-profit that just marked its 10th anniversary, connects people to benefits, direct services or resources through a “no-wrong-door” approach.

Flagler County’s and Palm Coast’s Unemployment Rates Hit 4-Year Highs, Housing Inventory at 15-Year High

August 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

The rainbow may be elusive: houses are not selling as fast as they were a few years ago, but construction continues. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County’s unemployment rate in July rose to 5 percent, from 4.8 percent the previous month, the highest jobless rate since July 2021, when it was still trending down from the Covid pandemic slowdown. Palm Coast’s unemployment rate of 4.9 percent also matches a four-year high. The housing inventory in the county–the number of houses available for sale–hit a 15-year high, according to the latest available figures.

The Truth About Flagler’s Public Libraries: Doing Far More Than You Realize, with Far Less Than Necessary

August 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

It's taken a great deal of strategy to keep a healthy Flagler County Public Library system going. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Public Library system remains one of the most–if not the most–efficient divisions of county government. Even with the staffing necessary at the new Bunnell library come December, the system’s personnel will have grown by just 20 percent in 20 years, while county government grew 37 percent, Palm Coast government grew 49 percent, and the county population grew by 84 percent. For all that, the library system continues to be the target of criticism without context or evidence, when it should be championed.

Federal Judge Rules Unconstitutional Part of Florida Law That Led to Book Purges from School Libraries

August 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

banned books

Siding with publishers and authors, a federal judge Wednesday ruled that a key part of a 2023 Florida law that has led to books being removed from school library shelves is “overbroad and unconstitutional.” U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza issued a 50-page decision in a First Amendment lawsuit filed last year against members of the State Board of Education and the school boards in Orange and Volusia counties.

U.S. Rep. Randy Fine Tells Palm Coast During Sewer Plant Visit: Utility Infrastructure Is Primarily Your Responsibility

August 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

His glasses fogged up by condensation--he'd jus stepped out of an air-conditioned car into 90-degree heat--U.S. Rep. was greeted at the utility plant by Palm Coast Council member Theresa Pontieri, right, Council member Ty Miller, and Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston. (© FlaglerLive)

U.S. Rep Randy Fine, on a whirlwind tour of Flagler County that included an ATV trip along its battered beaches and an afternoon meet-and-greet at the Chamber of Commerce, this morning visited what has become a necessary stop in Palm Coast’s infrastructure calvary: the sloshing tanks and purifying basins of Waste Water Treatment 1. Costly as the expansion and modernization of the plant is to Palm Coast, he said utility infrastructure is primarily the city’s responsibility, not the federal government’s.

A Disaster Expo at the Palm Coast Community Center Highlights Community’s Prepared Resilience

August 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

A small hill of emergency-preparedness kits welcomed particip[ants at the disaster expo at the Palm Coast Community Center on Tuesday. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Cares, the social services non-profit and coordinating agency, secured a $143,000 Long-Term Recovery Grant from the American Red Cross for Flagler Volunteer Services as part of the recovery efforts following Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, enabling a “disaster preparedness breakfast and expo” at the Palm Coast Community Center Tuesday that drew a full house.

Hurricane-Bound Erin, 1st Major Storm of Season, Not Expected to Affect Florida

August 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Tropical Storm Erin, forecast to become Hurricane Erin, tracked over the next several days by the American-consensus forecast at the National Hurricane Center. (Tropical Tidbits)

Tropical Storm Erin, still churning closer to the African coast than the American or Caribbean, is expected to become a major hurricane by the weekend as it moves west. It is not expected to pose a danger to the Florida Peninsula, Flagler County included, Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said today. But he added a word of caution: Erin is too far to rule out a more onerous turn.

Trespassing Persons on Public Property and Best Practices Dealing with Protestors: Flagler Beach City Attorney’s Memo

August 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The Funky Pelican and the sidewalk, in a 2016 image. (© FlaglerLive)

The full text of the memo written by Flagler Beach City Attorney Drew Smith and attorney Abby Osborne-Liborioon on Aug.6, in response to Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney’s request for clarity on the city’s authority to trespass individuals from public spaces.

At Flagler Cares, A Play Therapy Room That Allows Children to Express the Unspeakable

August 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

A portion of the play therapy room at Flagler Cares at the Flagler County Vollage. The room was made possible with a grant from the Early learning Coalition, a partner with Flagler Cares. (© FlaglerLive)

Imagine a 5 or 6-year-old child, maybe an abused child or one who’s just endured unspeakable trauma. The child has been incapable of expressing feelings as other children might. The child’s parents have been unable to connect. Play therapy enables the child to express those feelings as nothing else might. That’s the purpose of the play therapy room at Flagler Cares, “a place to play, a place to heal,” as the plaque outside the room put it.

Opposition Grows to Florida’s SB 180, a Gift to Developers Posing as a Storm-Recovery Law

August 10, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

sb 180 criticism

A nonprofit smart growth advocacy organization, 1000 Friends of Florida, is the latest entity calling for the Florida Legislature to repeal portions of a new law designed to expedite post-disaster rebuilding. The measure has become the most controversial new measure signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year. The problem? Language barring new local land-use or development regulations considered “restrictive or burdensome,” even if they are completely unrelated to storm recovery.

FPL Has Delayed Core Enclosure Tests at Nuclear Plant for Nearly 20 Years

August 9, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Key safety tests have gone by the wayside at Florida Power & Light’s aging Turkey Point nuclear plant, which was recently given an extension on its two reactors to operate until the years 2052 and 2053, respectively. (Miami-Dade County).

As nuclear reactors’ lifespans are extended, the industry is increasingly flying blind regarding the structural integrity of the reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) that enclose their cores. The loosening of routine RPV testing is just one example of how large firms like FPL have secured concessions to ensure they can keep aging nuclear plants churning for twice as long as their original license terms – in spite of safety concerns. In effect, watchdog groups claim, nuclear regulations are being improvised to accommodate power companies, compromising RPV safety and risking nuclear disaster.

Against Sharp Opposition from Hargrove Grade Businesses, Council Approves Heavy Industry Rezoning for Concrete Plant in 3-2 Vote

August 6, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The Palm Coast Industrial and Commercial Center off Hargrove Lane is to the right. The edge of the 37 acres to be rezoned heavy industrial is around the cul de sac and beyond. (© FlaglerLive)

Facing down sharp opposition, especially from business owners on Hargrove Grade, the Palm Coast City Council in a 3-2 vote Tuesday approved on first reading the rezoning of 37 acres at the western edge of Hargrove from light industrial to heavy industrial ahead of the construction of a concrete mixing plant there. The city’s planning board rejected the rezoning in June, citing pollution that could affect businesses on Hargrove, and the negative effects the plant could have on acreage along Hargrove owned by AdventHealth: the board did not want to discourage the hospital company from building a medical park there.

Advocates Blast FPL’s Request for Nearly $10 Billion Rate Hike as ‘Greed’

August 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

fpl rate hikes

Consumer activists said Tuesday that the proposed $9.8 billion rate hike that Florida Power & Light (FPL) is asking for is excessive and should be rejected by state regulators. In February, FPL, the state’s largest public utility servicing approximately 12 million people, submitted a four-year request for the Public Service Commission (PSC) to set new rates once its current base rate agreement expires at the end of this year. FPL is, with rare exception, the only power provider in Flagler County and its cities.

County Attorney Al Hadeed, Now a Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy, Is Regaled Into Retirement

August 1, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Maureen and Al Hadeed during a moving moment at Al's retirement party Thursday in Bunnell. (© FlaglerLive)

The sheriff’s naming of County Attorney Al Hadeed an honorary sheriff’s deputy was among the surprises at Hadeed’s retirement party Thursday evening at the Government Services Building. There were numerous local tributes, a proclamation, the dedication of a bench in Hadeed’s name at Princess Place Preserve, recognitions wrapped in gifts and held-back tears and choked-up memories and overhead screens projecting a lifetime of pictures.

U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District

August 1, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 30 Comments

Job creation over the last three years. The trend is sharply down.. (© FlaglerLive)

The national economy added 73,000 jobs in July and 106,000 in the last three months combined, the poorest quarter in job creation since the massive job losses of April 2020 as Covid shut down much of the economy. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.2. It has hovered between 4 and 4.2 percent for the past 14 months. In a related trend, personal and business bankruptcy filings rose nationally 11.5 percent in the last 12 months, and 27 percent in the Middle District of Florida that includes Flagler County, from 18,471 last year to 23,442 in the last 12 months. A bankruptcy attorney says the trend is here to stay.

Two Turtle Nests Halt Flagler Beach Pier Construction Until September as Workarounds Prove Impractical

July 31, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

turtle nests pier construction

The Flagler Beach pier demolition and reconstruction project is coming to a halt next Wednesday. Two new turtle nests burrowed in the path of the large trestle under construction are stopping work on the $16 million project. It will resume in about two months, after the turtles have hatched. The due date for the newest turtle nest is not before Sept. 10.

On Flagler County School Board, Competing Views Underscore District Tensions Behind Vouchers and ‘Choice’

July 30, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

School Board Chair Will Furry in an orientation session with Janie Ruddy, after her election to the board but before she was seated, last October. The two are at polar opposites when it comes to vouchers. (© FlaglerLive)

At the end of a 15-minute hearing on Tuesday to approve Flagler County schools’ tentative property tax and budget for the coming fiscal year–a budget that includes the siphoning of $17 million to subsidize private school “vouchers” for almost 2,000 students, with the district’s dollars–School Board member Janie Ruddy delivered a brief speech decrying the erosion of public dollars for public schools, and addressing its consequences. Will Furry followed with a rejoinder, illustrating district tensions at the heart of the voucher and “choice” program. Both statements follow in full.

At Mike Norris ‘Mayoral Town Hall,’ an Impressive Crowd Starring Cast of Familiar Faces, Fictions and Grievances

July 29, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

Mike Norris was relaxed and relatively self-controlled if unfocused at his two-hour mayoral town hall Monday evening at the VFW hall in Palm Coast. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast Mayor Norris’s self-vaunted, well-attended and uneventful “Mayoral Town Hall” at the VFW hall on Old Kings Road Monday evening was almost identical to a grousing public comment segment at a City Council meeting, but stretched to two hours, and with a larger audience primed by pizza, beer and wine on the mayor’s personal generosity. The two-hour event drew 154 people, based on a head count just before the halfway mark.

Administration Releasing Billions in Federal Education Funding

July 27, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The dismantling of LBJ's legacy will be delayed. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C., in a file photo from November 2024. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

To Flagler County Schools’ relief, the Trump administration said Friday it’ll soon release billions in Education Department funding that has been frozen for weeks, delaying disbursements to K-12 schools throughout the country. The funding — which goes toward migrant education, English-language learning and other programs — was supposed to go out before July 1, but the administration informed schools just one day before that it was instead holding onto $6.8 billion while staff conducted a review. Members of both parties in Congress objected to the move.

Trump Voters Wanted Relief From Medical Bills. For Millions, the Bills Are About To Get Bigger.

July 27, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

trump health costs

President Donald Trump rode to reelection last fall on voter concerns about prices. But as his administration pares back federal rules and programs designed to protect patients from the high cost of health care, Trump risks pushing more Americans into debt, further straining family budgets already stressed by medical bills. Millions of people are expected to lose health insurance in the coming years as a result of the tax cut legislation Trump signed this month, leaving them with fewer protections from large bills if they get sick or suffer an accident.

4 Council Members Ask DeSantis to Suspend Mayor for ‘Malfeasance, Misfeasance, Neglect of Duty, and Incompetence’

July 25, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

Mike Norris in court on July 3, among supporters, before Circuit Judge Chris France's ruling against Norris's lawsuit. (© FlaglerLive)

Twice charging Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris with “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, and incompetence,” the rest of the Palm Coast City Council today issued a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, asking him to suspend Norris from office and appoint an acting mayor in his place. 

School Board Fails Math as It Adds Deputy Despite Increased Costs in Lean Times and No Increased Safety

July 24, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

One of the Flagler County Sheriff's School Resource Deputy patrol cars. (© FlaglerLive)

Just hours after the Flagler County School Board bemoaned sharply leaner times as enrollment drops, state dollars drop with it and federal dollars are being withheld, the board voted to  add one more school resource deputy to its ranks even though the deputy will not improve school safety and the cost-benefit data is not in favor of adding one. 

Flagler School Board Wrestles with Smoke and Mirrors Budget as $17 Million in Vouchers and Trump Cuts Hit Home

July 23, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

The majority of the Flagler County School Board are unquestioning supporters of Gov. DeSantis and President Trump. That majority withheld criticism even as it contended with potentially devastating cuts to the district's budget directly caused by the two leaders' policies and orders. (© FlaglerLive)

If Flagler County School Board members aren’t panicking over next year’s budget, they’re either putting on a good act or not fully grasping the breadth of the rapidly changing financial landscape and disappearing dollars that district staff outlined for them at a meeting Tuesday. Large parts of the budget are cloaked in smoke and mirrors–not because district staff is playing with the numbers, but because the federal and state governments are requiring the district to bank on dollars it will never see, or dollars that may never materialize, even though the dollars have to be included in the budget. 

Flagler School Board Isn’t Dancing About YMCA’s Request for $3 Million for Palm Coast Y in Town Center

July 22, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

A rendering of the Palm Coast YMCA in Town Center, seen from above. Don't raise the roof yet.

Volusia Flagler YMCA officials made their pitch to the Flagler County School Board for a $3 million contribution to help pay for the $16 million Y planned for Palm Coast’s Town Center. The same officials made the same request of Palm Coast government in April. Palm Coast is almost in. The School Board was much cooler. It shut down the possibility that any cash would be made available unless the district were to sell property–not just because the district’s reserves of around $6 million are limited, but because of restrictions on how the district may spend the money it has.

As Data Centers Hog Power, Regular Customers Foot the Bill

July 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

As power-hungry data centers proliferate, states are searching for ways to protect utility customers from the steep costs of upgrading the electrical grid, trying instead to shift the cost to AI-driven tech companies. (© FlaglerLive)

Regular energy consumers, not corporations, will bear the brunt of the increased costs of a boom in artificial intelligence that has contributed to a growth in data centers and a surge in power usage, recent research suggests. Between 2024 and 2025, data center power usage accounted for $9 billion, or 174%, of increased power costs in 13 states and Washington, D.C., where this spring, customers were told to expect roughly a $25 increase on their monthly electric bill starting June 1.

Justice Department Demanding to See States’ Voter Lists in Latest Intrusion

July 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Equipment at the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Office. (© FlaglerLive)

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the voter registration lists of several states — representing data on millions of Americans — and other election information ahead of the 2026 midterms, raising fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information. The DOJ is also demanding Colorado turn over all records related to the 2024 election, a massive trove of documents that could include ballots and even voting equipment. The Colorado inquiry, the most sweeping publicly known request, underscores the extent of the administration’s attention on state election activities.

America(n) Unbecoming

July 18, 2025 | Pierre Tristam | 19 Comments

The Freedom Tower in Manhattan, seen through a window of the Great Hall on Ellis Island. (© Pierre Tristam)

If the president can threaten citizenship revocation even for U.S.-born citizens, as he did this week, and just for holding opinions he doesn’t like, the rest of us certainly aren’t safe. For migrants, every night–every day–is Kristallnacht as ICE carries out its pogroms. A majority of Americans are either applauding or indifferent, while protesters are branded enemies and invaders to be crushed by militarized goonery. This is not the America any of us have known, or should tolerate.

Bull Creek Fish Camp Rising Again 2 Years After Demolition as County Secures Leaseholder for New Restaurant

July 17, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The RV park at Bull Creek Fish Camp. Soon all these people will have a restaurant again there. (© FlaglerLive)

Two years after Flagler County’s Bull Creek Fish Camp was torn down following severe damage from Hurricane Nicole, a nearly 5,000-square-foot building is rising in its place and will be leased to a west Flagler family that will run a restaurant there again. The Flagler County Commission tentatively agreed to leasing the property–which has yet to be built up–to Jessica Norton-Henry and the mother-son team of Pamela White and Joshua White. 

Man Shot 8 Times in 2nd Heist Is Guilty of Armed Robbery at Palm Coast Circle K and Sentenced to Life in Prison

July 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Qwinntavus Kwame Jordan in court today, before the verdict. (© FlaglerLive)

A jury of six convicted Qwinntavus Jordan, 34, of armed robbery of a Palm Coast Circle K in 2023 at the end of a three-day trial at the Flagler County courthouse today. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Data Center Planned for 2028 in Palm Coast Cloaked in More Secrecy and Undocumented Boasts than Answers

July 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

An exploratory rig offshore of South 6th Street in Flagler Beach on May 22, the landing location of planned undersea cables that will connect to a Cable Landing Station in Flagler Beach before snaking to a data center in Palm Coast. (© FlaglerLive)

Following up on an announcement Wednesday by Google that it would be building a transatlantic cable and land it in Flagler Beach, Palm Coast and Flagler County for the first time this week disclosed what has been reported since last August–that a company would build a large data center in Palm Coast’s Town Center. But the two governments’ releases provided more boasts than information.

Sean Moylan Withdraws from Contending for County Attorney, Citing Divided Commission; 2 Applicants Left

July 9, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Deputy County Attorney Sean Moylan, left, and County Attorney Al Hadeed last August during the primary election, when they served as counsel for the Canvassing Board. (© FlaglerLive)

In a letter remarkable for its grace and sense of service, Assistant County Attorney Sean Moylan on Monday night told Flagler County commissioners he was withdrawing from contention to replace Al Hadeed as the county attorney. He said he “did not did not want my candidacy or appointment to foster division on the commission.” That leaves just two candidates in the running: Marsha Segal-George and Michael Rodriguez. The County Commission interviews them July 15. Scott McHenry had also been short-listed. He withdrew. 

Flagler District’s New Hire Will Reflect Dual Allegiance to School Choice–and to District as ‘the Best Choice’

July 7, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

school choice flagler

As the Flagler County school district is forced by a new state law to advocate for school choice–including vouchers, homeschooling and virtual schooling–against its own interests, the district is also learning to make the salesmanship work for itself: if there is to be true choice, the district must be included in the mix, and the message the district is disseminating is that it is “the best choice.”

As Texas Flood Death Toll Passes 50, Questions Arise Over Adequate Warnings and NWS Staffing

July 6, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Kerr County, Texas, was hardest-hit by catastrophic flooding in Texas Hill Country, northwest of San Antonio.

Catastrophic flooding that has claimed more than 50 lives in Texas came amid concerns about staffing levels at the NWS, after the Trump administration fired hundreds of meteorologists this year as part of Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts. The NWS Austin/San Antonio office’s warning coordination meteorologist announced in April that he was retiring early due to the funding cuts, leading to speculation that vacancies could have impacted forecasters’ response.

Stunning Flagler Beach, County Plans to End Paying Its Half of Lifeguard Costs, Endangering Program’s Future

July 2, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

flagler beach lifeguard program at risk

Flagler County Administrator Heidi Peito wants to end the county’s annual grant to Flagler Beach that for years has paid for half the cost of the city’s lifeguard program. Without that money, the city may have to either shrink its 15-block zone of lifeguard-covered shoreline or space out its lifeguard towers further, increasing response times in drowning or distress incidents. At least one city commissioner is questioning whether the city could keep financing the program on its own.

States Fear Critical Funding From FEMA May Be Drying Up: ‘Locals Won’t Step Up Unless They’re Dealing with a Catastrophe’

June 28, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Engineers are urgently recommending the immediate demolition of a further 125 to 150 feet from the end of the pier, which remains in danger of collapse, and walling off the entire structure before it is entirely demolished. (© Scott Spradley for FlaglerLive),

Many states rely on the federal government for the vast majority of their emergency management funding. Now, local leaders are looking for clues about the money — and the future of FEMA itself. W. Craig Fugate served as FEMA administrator under Obama and, before that, as head of Florida’s emergency management division under then-Govs. Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist. “My experience tells me locals will not step up unless they are dealing with a catastrophe,” Fugate said.

Flagler County Students Post Strong, Across-the-Board Improvements in All Grades and Disciplines, Boosting Superintendent

June 26, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

lashakia moore

Flagler County students in all grades improved their scores year over year in English and math, in some cases markedly so, as well as in all other disciplines subject to standardized tests, according to figures released by the state Department of Education Wednesday. The results are a boon to Superintendent LaShakia Moore and her administration, reflecting the first testing cycle entirely on her watch since her appointment in September 2023. 

Palm Coast Council Will Seek At Least a Small Reduction in Property Tax Rate, Leaving Open Possibility of More

June 25, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

A crew applying an asphalt sealant on a P-Section street in April. The sealant is a lower-grade, cheaper alternative to repaving. It is intended to extend the life of a street's surface by several years. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council will seek at least a modest decrease in next year’s property tax rate when it adopts its budget in September, continuing a trend begun in 2021. It is not ruling out a full rollback in the tax rate, something the council has done only once in the city’s history, in 2023, at heavy cost to the city’s operations. The council resisted rolback last year. 

Bunnell Mayor in Stunning Maneuver Revives 8,000-Home Development Commission Killed 2 Weeks Ago

June 24, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson has learned the powers of parliamentarian maneuvers in her three decades on the City Commission. (© FlaglerLive)

The Bunnell City Commission in a stunning move at the very end of its meeting Monday night, before a nearly empty chamber, voted 3-2 to revive the 8,000-home Reserve at Haw Creek development the commission rejected just two weeks ago. The item was not on the agenda. Mayor Catherine Robinson, who asked for the motion, had met with the city manager and the developer for three hours Monday morning. She said the developer was prepared to submit a revised plan that takes public concerns into account. 

Still on Warpath, Palm Coast Mayor Files Records Requests Targeting City Manager’s Communications 

June 23, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Back in December, Mike Norris would still look occasionally Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston in the eye. (© FlaglerLive)

In an unprecedented inquisition into the city’s top staff by its own mayor, Norris filed a public record request, seeking to know every communication Acting Palm Coast City Manager Lauren Johnston has had with Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo, local developers, county and sheriff’s officials, local media and others, from the day of his election–Nov. 6–to the present. It is unusual that an elected official would seek with such sweep what amounts to an interrogative of his own city manager’s administrative paper trail, especially in light of his recent censure.

Proposed Rezoning to Industrial of 1,842 Acres in Bunnell Will Be Reduced by About 500 Acres and Its Uses Restricted

June 23, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

The Bunnell City Commission will not hear the proposed rezoning this evening. The item has been pulled from the agenda as it is being revised. It will be resubmited in August. (© FlaglerLive)

The proposed and controversial rezoning in Bunnell of 1,842 acres from agricultural to industrial will be reduced by about 500 acres and designations limited to light industrial and heavy industrial, dropping the previous request for agricultural community industrial, the attorney for the landowners said today. The owners are also pledging to make the rezoning conditional on permanent restrictions, so such uses as landfills, fuel depots and hazardous chemical processing would be prohibited. Public opposition had cited all three among its concerns. The “voluntary restriction list” is in the works. 

Palm Coast Planning Board Rejects Rezoning That Would Allow Concrete Mixing Plant on Hargrove Grade, Citing Pollution

June 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

A rendering of what the SMR concrete batch plant would look like on Hargrvove Grade.

The Palm Coast Planning Board rejected a request to rezone 37 acres on Hargrove Grade on the west side of U.S. 1 to heavy industrial so a national could build a concrete mixing plant there. The land includes 10 acres of wetlands, overlaps within the protection zone of two public well sites that furnish water to the city, and would not be far from acreage zoned for a hospital or a medical building. The batch plant would be the only one in Palm Coast. Those factors, along with traffic, noise and pollution, played into the reasoning of board members and members of the public who opposed the rezoning. 

Charter Review Committee’s 5 Slots Draw 27 Applicants With Variety of Backgrounds Except in Age

June 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

It's not Constitution Hall, but still" Palm Coast is having trouble attracting qualified candidates to serve on its Charter Review Committee. (© FlaglerLive)

After a slow start, the call for applicants to Palm Coast government’s Charter Review Committee drew 27 candidates by the time the window closed at 5 p.m. this evening, 11 of them over the weekend. The applicants bring a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. The council wanted choices. It now has them and then some but for its pronounced boomer skew.

Palm Coast Approves Sharply Increasing Development Impact Fees on Builders, Citing ‘Extraordinary Circumstances’

June 17, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

construction impact fees

With some pushback from the Flagler Home Builders Association but notable unanimity from the dais and no complaints from the public, the City Council today approved sharply increasing fire, parks and transportation impact fees in hopes of further shifting the burden of development toward new residents. Last year the council did likewise with water and sewer impact fees. 

Jim Guines, Mentor, Maverick and Force to Be Reckoned With on Flagler County School Board for 11 Years, Dies at 93

June 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Jim Guines watching a retrospective of his life 10 years ago at a celebration of his legacy at Flagler Palm Coast High School. (© FlaglerLive)

Jim Guines, the forceful, witty, always independent and at times unpredictable member of the Flagler County School Board for 11 years until 2007–the man many had known as Smokin’ Jim for his storied barbecue–died this morning (June 15) at 93 after battling many illnesses and what Lawrence Durrell called “the slow disgracing of the mind.”

As Pier Construction Begins in Flagler Beach, Major Changes to Pedestrians, Traffic, Boardwalk, Parking and Beach Access

June 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

A rendering of the eastern end of the 800-foot concrete pier about to start construction.

Significant restrictions to beach-goers, pedestrians, boardwalk buffs and parking are about to change the complexion of two and a half blocks near the Flagler Beach pier as its demolition begins in coming days and for the next year and a half. Here’s a rundown.

Taxable Property Values Rise 9% Over Last Year, But Rate Is 3rd Decline in a Row in Cooler Housing Market

June 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The rate of increase in taxable property values has declined for the third year in a row, but remains solid in Flagler County and its cities. (© FlaglerLive)

Annual taxable property value increases local governments depend on to fuel growth in their budgets have continued their descent from a post-crash high of 18 percent in 2022, to just 9 percent as of June 1 in Flagler County, according to figures released by the Flagler County Property Appraiser. In Palm Coast, values increased 9.29 percent in 2025, with more than half of that powered by new construction. In Flagler Beach, it was 7.56 percent, and in Bunnell it was just 5.5 percent.

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