The County Commission today heard new options on the expansion of Captain’s BBQ at Bing’s Landing in the Hammock, a plan that drew some support from the public, though rancor and controversy still simmers.
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In Contrast With Scott, DeSantis Expected To Make Easier Access to Medical Pot a Priority
A new administration headed by DeSantis, who takes over as governor Tuesday, seemingly presents a friendlier stance toward medical pot than the administration of outgoing Gov. Rick Scott.
Cuts Into Sheriff Building’s Structure Point to Alarming Issues, Including Bat Droppings and “Substantial Moisture”
Two days of testing and cuts into walls and floors at the troubled Sheriff’s Operations Center are adding to a tally of concerns, with revelations of old wood and insulation, bat droppings and widespread floor moisture.
Mother Faces Felony for Leaving 13-Day-Old Child and 2 Other Toddlers Unsecured in Car
Mercedes McCaster, 29, was driving on Palm Coast’s Belle Terre Parkway with four children, all of them improperly or not at all secured. Her arrests brings attention to a common safety problem.
Transgender Inmate Spurs Appeal as Florida Prisons Seek to Deny Her Gender Identity
Inmate Reiyn Keohane contends that her rights have been violated at least in part because she has not been allowed to wear women’s undergarments and groom as a woman.
It’s Now AdventHealth Palm Coast: Florida Hospital Flagler Changes Name, and Signs
Florida Hospital Flagler officially became AdventHealth Palm Coast this morning, with some 15 signs changed over to reflect the company’s re-branding across nearly 50 hospitals in nine states.
Mark Carman, Affable Face of Policing in Palm Coast For 20 Years, Is Leaving To Be Crescent City Chief
Mark Carman, 57, spent 31 years at the Flagler Sheriff’s Office and 20 heading the Palm Coast precinct and as liaison. He’ll be taking the Crescent City Police Chief’s job come February.
Parkland Massacre Report Calls for More Armed Teachers, More Money for School Cops
“Personal and system failures” culminated in the mass shooting that left 14 students and three faculty members dead and 17 people wounded at a Broward County high school, according to a report by a state panel that spent months investigating the Valentine’s Day massacre.
On Pritchard Drive, a Man Takes His Life on New Year’s After His Wife Dies at Christmas
Daniel P. Kennedy of Palm Coast had called a friend moments earlier to say his wife had died around Christmas and he could not go on living. He was still breathing when deputies found him.
New Year Raises Florida’s Minimum Wage To $8.46 and Lowers Workers Comp Rates
Minimum-wage workers will start earning $8.46 an hour Tuesday, up from $8.25 an hour in 2018 — and more than a dollar above the $7.25 federal minimum wage.
27-Year-Old Manager at Captain’s BBQ Arrested on Charges of Sex With a Minor
Brandin Michael Deoliveira, 27, a resident of Palm Coast, was arrested this afternoon and is alleged to have threatened to kill the girl and her family if she revealed anything.
Flagler Firefighters’ Union Members Vote For Firing Their Boss, Administrator Craig Coffey
The firefighters’ union’s vote was expected but significant in that its membership’s contract is dependent on negotiations with Coffey’s management team, and vulnerable to retaliation.
2018 Roundup: For Florida, Another Massacre, Another Hurricane, Another Shift To the Right
Florida was struck by a hurricane for the third year in a row, was the site of yet another mass shooting, saw the end of the Supreme Court’s liberal wing and the election of a Donald Trump acolyte as governor.
Hoverboard Explodes, Triggering Fire That Leaves Palm Coast Family All But Homeless
The fire Thursday evening consumed much of the B side of the duplex at 18 Buttonbush Lane in Palm Coast. leaving a mother and her two young children without a home days after Christmas.
Reemerging From the Guts of the Beast: Art Exhibit Will Celebrate Richard and Arleen Schreiner
Before his untimely death in 2012, Palm Coast artist Richard Schreiner saw art as fury, as revolt and defiance. A new exhibit will celebrate his and his late wife’s life’s work at Salvo Art House in Bunnell.
Citing Company’s Tax Savings, FPL Customers Seek $736 Million Refund and Lower Rates
Florida Power & Light has asked state regulators to reject a petition that seeks to force the utility to refund as much as $736 million to customers and reduce base electric rates.
Paul Swarts, 60, Is Killed, 12-Year-Old Girl Injured as Van Rear-Ends Dump Truck on US 1 in Palm Coast
It is the fifth death in December on Flagler roads, four of the deaths occurring in the stretch from just yards north of Belle Terre Boulevard to the Old Dixie Highway intersection with U.S. 1.
Florida School Enrollment Grows at
Slowest Rate Since the Great Recession
Florida has about 17,000 fewer students in its kindergarten-to-high school system than lawmakers anticipated this year, a new report shows.
Let Craig Coffey Resign. With Severance.
Craig Coffey’s loss of credibility has been painful. It doesn’t need to be cruel. Rather than a public flogging on Jan. 14, he should be allowed to resign with a measure of dignity–and severance.
Motorcyclist Robert Roy Robbins Is Killed Off U.S. 1 Near White Eagle, 4th Flagler Road Fatality in 2 Weeks
Robert Roy Robbins, a 62-year-old motorcyclist, lost control, swerved off U.S. 1 and crashed on Old Dixie Highway near the White Eagle Lounge this afternoon. He was pronounced dead minutes later.
Palm Coast Man, 21, Arrested in B-Section Shooting, a Pot Deal Gone Wrong
Maurice Tyron Moultrie, 21, was arrested Friday (Dec. 21) in connection with the shooting of an 18-year-old Palm Coast resident earlier that day.
Jury Deadlocks, Mistrial Declared In Case of 47-Year-Old Accused of Molesting Girl at Sleepover
Michael Bowling, 47, will remain in jail on numerous charges even as numerous inconsistencies led a jury today to deadlock over charges he molested a 15-year-old girl.
18 Year Old Wounded in Drive-By Shooting on Palm Coast’s Bressler Lane; Suspects in Custody
A drive-by shooting shook Palm Coast’s B-Section this morning at 10, leaving a man of about 18 seriously injured.
Defense’s Strategy in Molestation Trial: Attacking, Discrediting and Demolishing an Alleged Victim
The defense in Michael Bowling’s trial today focused not on the charges at hand, but on one key witness, a teen girl, in attempts to impeach her credibility and accusations.
Nine Charged With Animal Cruelty Toward Bears in 4 Counties, Including Flagler
Defendants posted videos of bears being chased and mauled by large packs of dogs after being lured with dog food, doughnuts, pastries and peanut butter in areas of Baker, Flagler, Marion and Union counties.
Before Barbecue: How Flagler County Saved Bing’s From Development
Bing’s Landing before the current controversy over Captain’s BBQ’s proposed expansion could have been sold off to developers. It wasn’t, thanks to one woman’s vision. Her daughter tells the story.
In Child-Molestation Trial, Even a Juror Raises a Question About a Main Witness’ Credibility
The defense seriously damaged the credibility of the step-daughter of Michael Bowling, 47, on trial for molesting the step-daughter’s friend when she was 15–and facing more grave charges regarding his step-daughter as well.
Broward Elections Supervisor Sues Scott, Calling Suspension ‘Malicious and Politically Motivated’
Suspended Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes has filed a federal lawsuit against Scott and Senate President Bill Galvano as she tries to regain her job.
From ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven’ to a Teen’s Accusation of Molestation in a Closet
Michael Bowling, 47, in his first day of trial today, is accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl during a game of “Seven Minutes In Heaven” as the two were allegedly in a closet alone.
Overlooking Its Call for ‘Unity,’ Flagler NAACP Claims Sheriff ‘Sought to Bury’ Incident Involving 2 Racist Students at FPC
What the Flagler Branch of the NAACP billed as a “unified public support press conference” for the high school teacher targeted by two students’ racist threats featured more grandstanding and accusations than revelations today.
A Special Taxing District To Repair Palm Coast’s Privately Owned Sea Walls? Not Exactly.
Is Palm Coast looking to create a taxing district to pay for privately owned seawall repairs on the city’s 26 miles of saltwater canals? Not exactly. Certainly not yet. But it’s not off the table.
Like Palm Coast, County Government Plans To Send Small Drone Fleet Airborne
County government plans to spend $20,000 to acquire several drones and use them for public safety, land and infrastructure surveys and incident management, but the county has yet to develop rules and policies.
House With 5 Occupants in Palm Coast’s Z-Section Is Shot Up, But Surveillance Video Was ‘Deleted’
The 1,600-square-foot house at 16 Zircon Court in Palm Coast was the target of a shooting early Sunday morning. Nine bullet holes were detected.
Hammock Group Appeals Captain’s BBQ Plan at Bing’s Landing, and County Questions Filing
The Hammock Community Association filed an appeal of a county planning board approval of the expansion of Captain’s BBQ at Bing’s Landing, drawing a challenge from the county on grounds that the decision is not appealable that way.
T.K. Wetherell, Former House Speaker and Florida State President, Dies at 72
Wetherell, a Daytona Beach native, served in the House from 1980 to 1992, the final two years as speaker. He died of cancer.
Democrats’ Arafat Complex
Early possibilities for the 2020 election–Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton–suggest Democrats aren’t learning lessons but clinging to habits of self-destruction.
Federal Judge Strikes Down Entire Affordable Care Act, Putting Law In Peril–Again
Judge Reed C. O’Connor struck down the law, siding with Republican state attorneys general to say the tax bill passed by Congress last December effectively rendered the entire health law unconstitutional.
Katherine May Sanford, 85, Is Killed in Crash on U.S. 1 and Seminole Woods Boulevard
Katherine May Sanford, 85, a resident of Palm Coast, was killed Friday evening in a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 1 and Seminole Woods Boulevard.
Yet Another Student Is Arrested, At FPC, Over School Shooting Threats, Capping Exasperating Week
In the fourth school-safety incident in five school days, yet another student, a 16-year-old attending Flagler Palm Coast High School, was arrested today on allegations that he threatened to shoot up the school.
Florida Supreme Court Clears Cops to Use Stand Your Ground Defense in Shootings
Stand your ground applies to “persons,” and “a law enforcement officer is a ‘person’ whether on duty or off, and irrespective of whether the officer is making an arrest,” the court ruled unanimously.
Survivor of Half-Failed Double-Suicide May Not Get To Blame Depression in “Assisted Murder” Defense
Bruce Haughton says he planned to kill himself and his ex-girlfriend Katherine Goddard in her R-Section home. She died. He survived. The prosecution sees it only as assisted murder, discounting his mental state.
With Judge’s Help, Sheriff’s Insurance Carrier Corners Employees Over Workers’ Comp Claims as Fate of Building Looms
Some 30 Flagler County Sheriff’s employees have been in a dispiriting battle with their own agency’s insurance carrier and the judge ruling on their workers’ compensation claims, portending little hope that they may prevail.
Ethics Commission Finds Probable Cause School Board’s Janet McDonald and Husband Dennis Violated Law on Disclosures
A state ethics investigation found that both Dennis and Janet McDonald inaccurately reported assets on disclosure forms ahead of election runs. The late Frank Meeker, a county commissioner, filed the ethics complaints shortly before his death in 2016.
FPC Teacher Pursues Hate Crime Charges On 2 Racist Students Who Threatened Her
Two 16-year-old students who exchanged a string of online, racist threats about their language arts teacher during class on Monday face misdemeanor assault charges with a possible enhancement under Florida’s hate-crime law.
‘Culture Change’ Needed In Schools as Parkland Massacre Commission Finalizes Its Work
The panel will ask the Legislature to impose sanctions if school districts failed to put into effect some of the school-safety measures, including measures already required by law, such as active-shooter drills.
2 FPC Students’s Threats Targeting Teacher Were Racially Motivated; Criminal Charges Still Possible
Two students claiming they were just joking made explicit, racist threats against their teacher in written chats uncovered Monday, and may yet face criminal charges, contrary to earlier claims.
Disputed Wetlands Restoration In Flagler Beach Will Proceed as St. Johns River Board Unanimously Approves $500,000 Project
The St. Johns River Water Management Board unanimously approved the 100-acre, $500,000 wetlands restoration project on the Intracoastal Waterway near Gamble Rogers Recreation Area in Flagler Beach.
Kimberle Weeks Pleads to Another Felony Count and, Months Late, Files Appeal
Kimberle Weeks, the former Flagler County elections supervisor, pleaded to the eighth and final felony count against her the day her attorney filed an appeal with the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
Two FPC Students Barred From Campus After Allegations of Online Threats Against Teacher
Two students at FPC were allegedly exchanging online chatter about the time and place to harm a teacher. The Sheriff’s Office investigated and declined to pursue charges, though the students face discipline from the district.
Opposing Scott Court Cases, DeSantis
Signals Friendlier Approach to Medical Pot
DeSantis, a Republican who will take office on Jan. 8, is unwilling to continue some of the court battles now being waged by outgoing Gov. Rick Scott’s administration.