Viewed in isolation or presented without context, coronavirus numbers don’t always give an accurate picture of how the pandemic is being handled. Here, two journalists offer insight on how to navigate the figures.
Backgrounders
Michael Schottey, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Michael Schottey is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
For Covid Tests, the Question of Who Pays Comes Down to Interpretation
Who pays when all employees are required to have a negative Covid test in order to return to work? Or if a factory tests workers every two weeks? Or just because someone wants to know for their own peace of mind?
Milissa Holland, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Milissa Holland is the Palm Coast mayor, running for re-election. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
15 Years On, $25 Million In, Flagler Beach Dunes Project Near ‘Dead In the Water’ as 13 Property Owners Hold Out
Just 13 property owners are essentially holding hostage a fully funded beach and dune-rebuilding plan Flagler Beach and the county have worked toward for 15 years, a resistance based on what the county considers extortionist motives for money that doesn’t exist.
Don Greene, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Don Greene is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
John Brady, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
John Brady is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
As Covid Testing Soars, Wait Times For Results Jump To A Week Or More
While hospital patients can get the findings back within a day, people getting tested at urgent care centers, community health centers, pharmacies and government-run drive-thru or walk-up sites are often waiting a week or more. In the spring, it was generally three or four days.
Sheriff Issues Desist Letter to Ex-COP Featuring Lynching Symbol and FCSO Patrol Car on Facebook
The man, whose Facebook page name is Scott van Ostran, was never a sheriff’s deputy, Sheriff Rick Staly said, but may have been a volunteer with the department’s C.O.P., or Citizens on Patrol, program several years ago.
A Unanimous Palm Coast Council Passes Mask Mandate, Building Pressure on Other Flagler Governments
The Palm Coast City Council this evening voted 5-0 to enact the first mask mandate of any government in Flagler County, describing it as an urgent necessity as coronavirus spike in the county and the state.
Flagler’s Covid Cases top 400, Two More at Long-Term Care Facilities; Palm Coast Eyes Mask Mandate Like New Smyrna Beach’s
Covid-19 cases in Flagler spiked in the last 24 hours by 18 cases, one of the largest-single-day spikes, as the Palm Coast City Council this evening considers a mask mandate, but it carries no penalties for violators.
Sheriff’s Investigation Finds No Criminal Wrongdoing in Death of Inmate Anthony Fennick
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office concluded no criminal wrongdoing surrounded the death of former inmate Anthony Fennick in February 2019 shortly after he was rushed to AdventHealth Palm Coast, seizing and unresponsive, and after complaining of high fever and developing an allergic rash for several days before that.
Flagler Beach Has No Plans to Close Beach Over July 4 Weekend, and Will Make Free Shuttle Buses Available
As several counties in South Florida close their beaches over Independence Day weekend, Flagler Beach will keep its beaches open and make free shuttle buses available for visitors, to alleviate traffic and parking on the island.
Princeton Village Resident Among 31 New Flagler Covid Cases in Last 3 Days; Florida Adds 6,000 Monday and 58 Deaths
Flagler County recorded 55 new cases last week and a total of 115 new cases since Phase 2 reopening began on June 5 as the surge of coronavirus cases across Florida reached Flagler.
Consequences of Florida’s Careless Reopening: 8,933 Cases in 1 Day; Surge Reaches Flagler With 50 Cases in 6 Days
The numbers are a grim reflection of the consequences of Florida’s rapid and largely haphazard and careless reopening of society and the economy since the end of April, and of dangerous complacency among residents.
Easy To Say ‘Get Tested.’ Harder To Do. Here’s How.
The challenge is to get tested for Covid-19 in a way that will yield useful information. And if you’re tested too early in the course of infection, the test might not detect it. That could give false reassurance.
Staffer at Grand Oaks and Resident at Tuscan Gardens Test Positive; Florida Cases Again Soar to New Record
The Covid cases at local long-term care facilities break a streak of negative testing as Flagler officials wearily eye surging numbers around the county and plan some strategies to keep Flagler’s low.
Wawa: Behind the Name, a Rich Etymology from Around the World
The Wawa name has come to be almost synonymous with the company, as if it were its origin. In fact, the word–the sound, the name–has innumerably rich applications around the world.
School Board Chair McDonald Shuts Down Speaker Critical of Her at Public Meeting, Drawing Rebukes
School Board Chair Janet McDonald stopped a student speaker from delivering his comments at Tuesday’s meeting, allowing him later to deliver it only sanitized from mention of her by name. Two board members condemned McDonald’s move and want the public-speaking rules revised.
Landmark Ruling Spurs Calls for LGBTQ Protections in Florida, Where No Law Bans Discrimination
Florida is one of more than two dozen states that do not have laws banning discrimination based on gender, and Republican legislative leaders during the past several years have thwarted efforts to pass such measures.
Don’t Let Bogus Claims Fool You: Voting By Mail in Flagler County Is Safe and Secure
Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart counters bogus claims and misinformation by explaining the safety, reliability and accuracy of voting by mail.
Palm Coast Considers Sharply Raising One-Time Fire Levies on Future Homes and Businesses
Homeowners would see a negligible impact on fees despite a proposed 65 percent increase in the one-time levy assessed on a new home, a cost generally folded into the price of that new home. The impact fee is not levied on existing homes.
165 Teachers and Other Staffers Qualify for School District’s Offer of Voluntary Early Retirement
Nearly 10 percent of the Flagler County school district’s workforce qualify for an early-retirement offer, the first in a decade as employees contend with Covid-19 anxieties and the district weighs difficult budget years ahead.
In Palm Coast, More Fervor than Fury, More Solidarity than Rage in March for George Floyd
The first of two marches in Flagler County against racism and the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police drew upwards of 200 people in Palm Coast and unfolded peacefully through the heart of town.
Wearing a Mask Is “BS” Says Flagler Commissioner Hansen in Latest Reflection of Mixed Signals and Division
A discussion about mask-wearing between Flagler County commissioners exposed continuing but fundamental misunderstandings about the purpose of masks and why they are intended to protect.
As Hurricane Season Begins on Top of Pandemic, Flagler Prepares for Battle on Two Fronts
Flagler County’s emergency and public health officials are preparing for an unprecedented battle on two fronts, with reconfigured shelters and rules but the same stress on compliance with evacuation orders if and when they’re issued, regardless of Covid-19 fears.
Child Vaccination Rate Drops Sharply, Worrying Pediatricians of Public Health Consequences
While a growing number of people are refusing to vaccinate their children in Florida, Some attributed the precipitous drop to the cancellation of pediatrician appointments during the pandemic.
AdventHealth Acknowledges 25,000 Covid-19 Tests Were Unreliable, Putting Recent Results In Doubt
AdventHealth blamed the unreliability of some 25,000 tests, including over 1,000 provided in Palm Coast, on Orlando-based MicroGenDX, a company that won emergency FDA approval to provide spit tests on the promise of accuracy and quick turn-arounds.
Flagler Beach Faces Decision Over Golf Course as Terry McManus Turns Himself In Over Fraud Charge
The felony charge against Terry McManus raises questions for Flagler Beach government, which owns the golf course he manages, regarding the future of that relationship. The relationship has been rocky from the start.
How Climate Change Is Contributing to Skyrocketing Rates of Infectious Disease
A catastrophic loss in biodiversity, reckless destruction of wildland and warming temperatures have allowed disease to explode. Ignoring the connection between climate change and pandemics would be “dangerous delusion,” one scientist said.
Flagler Health Officials Pledge to Keep Up Covid Testing as AdventHealth Phases Out Drive-Up Sites
There is some confusion about how much testing should take place–2 percent of the population per month or overall–and whether it will be available to the extent recommended as society reopens. The guideline from the federal government of testing 2 percent is a monthly goal, not an overall goal.
A Woman Disputing Social Distancing Rules at Local Clinic Clashes With Cop and Faces Felony Charges
It was an incident out of Covid-19’s unwritten playbook, escalating from a simple social-distancing request at the Florida Health Care Plans office off Palm Coast Parkway to a scuffle, a woman’s arrest and felony charges and an injury to a Flagler County Sheriff’s sergeant.
Palm Coast Reopens a Few Passive Parks and Trails Monday as Flagler Beach Weighs Limited Pier Access
Palm Coast and Flagler Beach governments are reopening a few of their more passive parks, trails and other outdoor amenities Monday while keeping major parks closed and maintaining a strict focus on safety and social distancing.
Brave New Covid World at AdventHealth: Your Car as Waiting Room, Phone Check-Ins, Mandatory Tests and Masks
AdventHealth physicians outlined how the system’s hospitals, including AdventHealth Palm Coast, will operate from here on, with significantly new procedures for patients, visitors, staff and physicians and a heavy emphasis on technology, social distancing and the isolation of anything Covid-19, including air.
Rumor Control is Critical and Time-Consuming for States, With No Help From Trump or His Likes
In addition to battling the coronavirus, states and localities are spending time and increased effort batting down rumors and myths — everything from President Donald Trump’s suggestion last week that injecting poisonous disinfectants might help to rumors that National Guard troops are enforcing stay-at-home orders at gunpoint.
Local Religious Leaders Adapt Congregations to Coronavirus, and Answer the Question: How Does God Allow It?
Flagler County’s religious leaders are trying to keep worshipers connected while most everyone is sheltered-in-place, and wrestling with the theological question of how a deity could allow a pandemic like Covid-19 to so ravage its creation.
American Carnage: How Donald Trump Is Killing Us
The coronavirus has mutated into ideological variants. We are moving from a natural disaster to a man-made one, from statistically unavoidable deaths to deaths willed by indifference, ignorance, selfishness, and the political calculations of a single man. The consequences will compound rather than mitigate the pandemic.
Covid-19 Advice: 7 Lessons America’s Governors Should Not Ignore as They Reopen Economies
We spoke to frontline experts from around the globe and have compiled a list of recommendations for reopening U.S. states. Their consensus? It’s tough to find policies that simultaneously save lives and livelihoods.
Florida Infections Spike to Near Peak Again, Flagler Cases at 52; St. Johns Reopens Beaches Partially
Flagler County Covid-19 cases are expected to spike a little because of increased testing; AdventHealth Palm Coast’s ICU capacity at 28 percent and total capacity at 30 percent. Flagler County government defends its decision to open some trails as St. Johns opens its beaches for four hours a day, with limited use.
Millions of Americans Might Not Get Stimulus Checks. Some Might Be Tricked Into Paying TurboTax to Get Theirs.
Congress gave the IRS the job of sending out coronavirus rescue checks. But the underfunded agency is struggling, while for-profit companies like Intuit have started circling, hoping to convert Americans in need into paying customers.
Covid-19 Peak Pushed Back to May 3; In Flagler, 47 Are Tested at Drive-Up Site and 400 Households Get Food Aid
More details about the first Covid-19 infection affecting a Flagler staffer at a nursing home as the county begins drive-up testing, officials warn relaxing distancing measures, and Palm Coast launches its Rise-Up Palm Coast initiative.
Spike in People Dying at Home Suggests Coronavirus Deaths Are Considerably Higher Than Reported
Coronavirus death counts are based on positive tests and driven by hospital deaths. But data from major metropolitan areas shows a spike in at-home deaths, prompting one expert to say current numbers were just “the tip of the iceberg.”
Covid-19 Tempers: How Palm Coast Residents With No Prior Records Are Ending Up In Jail on Domestic Violence Charges
Even as the sheriff stresses de-escalation before arrests, ordinary family members are losing tempers and acting violently at home in collateral consequences of the coronavirus emergency, as this weekend’s repeated examples from Palm Coast illustrate.
Oceanfront Property Owners Want Beach Closure Lifted. Federal Judge Says No.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, argued that the ordinance is unconstitutional on a series of grounds, including that it violates privacy and due-process rights.
How and When to Wear a Mask, and How Not To
Whether to wear a mask or not to protect against Covid-19, in what circumstances, and in what manners. Here’s what’s known and recommended in those regards as of mid-April.
1st Infection in Flagler Nursing Home; Flagler Opens Covid Testing Site at DSC Tuesday; Big Food Drop For Needy at FPC
Flagler opens its first drive-up Covid-19 testing site Tuesday and organizes a major food drop as infection numbers appear to be slowing but local officials say it’s still important to “stay the course” on distancing.
Flagler County’s Crime Rate Falls 19% in 2019, After 22% Drop Year Before; Staly Credits Innovations
Much of the crime drop was in non-violent crimes, burglaries and larcenies especially. Vehicle thefts increased 26 percent despite the increasing use of license-plate readers. Rapes increased, and murders matched the previous year’s total: three.
Flagler Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart Helping to Lead Push for Expansion of Mail Ballots and Early Voting
Flagler County Elections Supervisor Keiti Lenhart is among the Florida supervisors who have asked Gov. Ron DeSantis for emergency measures they say will help them cope with an anticipated “significant statewide shortage” of poll workers later this year because of the coronavirus.
Are You Really Recovered After Overcoming Covid-19? Doctors Can’t Guarantee You Won’t Re-Transmit
As with so many other aspects of the coronavirus, determining when a patient has recovered is fraught with uncertainties. Federal guidelines are limited. Physicians can’t offer seemingly recovered patients who aren’t retested any guarantees about whether they will be able to transmit the virus.
At AdventHealth, 15 Ventilators and Plans for 66 ICU Rooms; Local Officials Prepare for Surge and Promised Tests Don’t Show
As confirmed Flagler County Covid-19 cases reach 28 Friday evening, local health officials are now stopping short of using reassuring language, saying the worst is yet to come, while various shifts point to the increasing severity of the pandemic.