The Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce gave a crowd of over 100 people the chance to hear the state of Flagler County’s cities, county and school board in less than 60 minutes, presented in rapid, compelling, and at times rousing succession by men and women more knowledgeable, less vapid and generally more intelligent than the elected officials who hire them: city and county managers and the school superintendent.
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Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin Accepts ‘Tough Love’ Evaluation of His First Year
With one exception, Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin did not get past “meets job standards” from four city commissioners and the mayor in the evaluation of his first year, and barely made it into that category (a few decimal points above “improvement needed) from one of them as he tallied an average score of 3.65 points out of a possible 5.
Texts Show Ed Danko Seeking to Recruit Resident to File Lawsuit Against His Own Council’s Debt Referendum
Dozens of texts Palm Coast Councilman Danko exchanged with a Palm Coast resident who was willing to be the plaintiff in a lawsuit show to what extent Danko was strategizing against the a referendum that would facilitate city debt. Texts show Danko predicating at least one council vote’s outcome on a lawsuit, discussed lawyers, sought information from his potential recruit and spoke of “our lawsuit.” A friend, Alan Lowe, eventually filed the lawsuit. Council member Theresa Pontieri says Danko’s involvement is a “blatant” conflict.
Flagler Government’s Former HR Manager Sues the County, Describing Hostile and Indifferent Environment
Samatha Whitfield, the former human resources manager for Flagler County government, is suing the county in a whistleblower action, claiming she was terminated last summer in retaliation for reporting violations of rules and misconduct by one of her colleagues, to which the county administration responded with indifference.
Internet Groups File Constitutional Challenge to Renner-Led Social Media Law Restricting Access
In a long-anticipated move, two internet-industry groups Monday filed a constitutional challenge to a new Florida law aimed at keeping children off social-media platforms. The Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, whose members include tech giants such as Google and Meta Platforms, said in a federal lawsuit that the law violates First Amendment rights and that parents should make decisions about children’s social-media use.
Palm Coast Council Sharply Divided Over Making Large Developers Pay ‘Minuscule’ Fee for Public Art
The Palm Coast City Council is divided over a modest program to fund public art installations that would require larger developers to devote half of a percent of the value of their project to the arts. One council member calls it “awesome.” Another says it “makes no sense.” A third is “torn.”
Two Flagler Beach Residents Prevail Over Veranda Bay’s Parent Company, Ending 5-Year-Old Defamation Suit
Sunbelt Land Management, the company affiliated with the Veranda Bay development on John Anderson Highway, has lost a defamation suit the company filed in 2020 against Sallee Aernoff and Ken Bryan, two Flagler Beach residents who spoke up about its land-clearing practices. Circuit Judge Chris France, in a strong opinion in defense of expression on public issues free of intimidation, granted the two residents’ motion for summary judgment last week.
Palm Coast Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary with Quilts, Cake and a ‘Living Time Capsule’
In contrast with the rain-soaked 10th anniversary celebration, the skies were cloudless Saturday and the sun blazing as Palm Coast marked its 25th anniversary with speeches, a blue and yellow cake, quilts and a “living time capsule” that looks back at the past quarter century.
Florida Politicians Owned by Polluters: A Database Helps Show How
Vote Water recently rolled out what it calls its “Dirty Money Project.” It’s a searchable database to track donations to Florida politicians from polluting industries such as Big Sugar and the rest of the agricultural industry, the phosphate miners, the major utilities, the developers and even the sneaky “polluter PACs” — committees that function as cash machines and get significant funding from these industries.
The Affordable Care Act Is Back in the Bull’s Eye in Final Days of the Campaign
Health care is suddenly front and center in the final sprint to the presidential election, and the outcome will shape the Affordable Care Act and the coverage it gives to more than 40 million people. Besides reproductive rights, health care for most of the campaign has been an in-the-shadows issue. However, recent comments from former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, about possible changes to the ACA have opened Republicans up to heavier scrutiny.
A ‘Firehose’ of Disinformation as Trump and Musk Spread Lies About Voter Fraud in Campaign’s Final Days
Fanned by former President Donald Trump and notable allies such as tech tycoon Elon Musk, election disinformation is warping voters’ faith in the integrity of the democratic process, polls show, and setting the stage once again for potential public unrest if the Republican nominee fails to win the presidency. Their lies about noncitizens voting, the vulnerability of mail-in ballots and the security of voting machines are spreading widely over social media.
Speech Codes at Flagler School Board and Palm Coast Council Are Now Illegal, Thanks to Moms for Liberty
A decision by the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, controlling law in Flagler County, invalidates local governments’ speech codes that prohibit public speakers from addressing individual members of elected boards, or citing employees by name, or quoting from school library books, no matter how racy, or speaking offensively, which is considered a point of view. But rules against disruption and obscenity remain. The question is: will local governments correct their rules accordingly?
A Third of Flagler County Voters Have Already Cast a Ballot, Compared to 24% in Florida
Early voting in Flagler County have significantly exceeded the numbers in the 2020 and 2016 general elections, with the total of mailed-in votes almost at parity with early voting. By early afternoon Friday, just the fifth of 13 days of early voting, a third of Flagler County’s registered voters–almost 32,000—had cast a ballot, well ahead of the 24 percent who have done so statewide.
Flagler Auditorium’s New Season Launches with St. Augustine Orchestra, and a Special Violinist, Sunday
When the SAO, which lacks its own permanent performing space in St. Augustine and plays at high schools, churches and other venues across Northeast Florida, reached out to the Fitzgerald to rent its theater for a concert, Fulmer and the performing arts center governing board saw an opportunity they didn’t want to slip away: to bring back classical music performances to the local stage.
Florida, in Turf War, Sues U.S. Attorney General Over Trump Assassination Investigation
In a dispute over federal law following the second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Company Building Data Center in Palm Coast Clears Undersea Cables’ Final Hurdle in Flagler Beach
Flagler Beach’s South 6th Street will soon be the landing point for up to six of the 600-some transatlantic data cables that form the backbone of the internet. The cables will then snake underground, across State Road 100 and into Town center, where DX Blox, the Atlanta-based company, will build a “cable landing station,” or a data center, near the intersection of Town Center Boulevard and Royal Palms Parkway.
As Seminole Woods Soon Gets Its Own Fire Station, Emergency Response Times May By Cut in Half for Many
The Palm Coast Fire Department and city government officials hosted a groundbreaking for the $10.5 million Fire Station 26 in Seminole Woods, what will be the city’s sixth fire station. It is expected to drastically reduce emergency response time in Seminole Woods and Quayle Hollow when the building is finished in January 2026.
Palm Coast Belies Its Own Council Members’ Statements As It Claims Debt Referendum Is ‘Clear and Unambiguous’
Sharply divided though it’s been over the matter, the Palm Coast City Council is opting to fight a lawsuit that seeks to invalidate a proposed charter amendment at the Nov. 5 election, filing an answer to the lawsuit that seeks its dismissal primarily on technical grounds. The city’s answer that the ballot language is “clear and unambiguous,” however, directly contradicts what a majority of the council has said about the language.
‘Significant Reservations’ About Approving 2,735 Homes at Veranda Bay as Development Advances on 4-1 Vote
The Flagler Beach City Commission is slowly moving toward approval of annexing Veranda Bay, the 900-acre development along that could potentially double the population of the city, change its character as a small town and upend its political center of gravity. But commissioners are pushing back against the number of homes, which could be a deal-breaker. The developer has made several concessions and is continuing to negotiate, but the total number of homes has so far been a hard line.
In Flagler and Florida, Democrats Lose Vote-By-Mail Edge as Republicans Rally in Early Voting
After falling behind in voting by mail, Florida Republicans quickly moved ahead of Democrats in ballots cast in the November election on the strength of turning out to early voting sites. In Flagler County, ballots turned in by registered Democrats had an edge before early voting started on Monday, and Democrats were clinging to a bare difference of a few dozen ballots in that category by midday today. But a record turnout in the first two days of early voting quickly wiped out that advantage.
Touch-and-Go Noise Around Flagler County Airport: Residents Hear Facts, and Contempt
A group of residents surrounding the Flagler County airport in Palm Coast have for years complained about the constant stream of touch-and-go student flights, about noise, about pollution, and about the county’s own dismissive attitude toward them. On Monday, the group got more of the same, with at times overt contempt from Airport Director Roy Sieger.
Hammock and Barrier Island Outside Cities Would Pay New Tax to Help Pay for Flagler’s $8.2 Million Beach Plan
Flagler County government has devised a plan to generate $8.2 million a year in local dollars to rebuild and maintain the 11.6 miles of beach north of Beverly Beach to the border of Marineland. The County Commission intends to vote on that plan, which includes a new tax for portions of the barrier island, on Nov. 4.
Matters of Temper Dominate Palm Coast Mayoral Candidates Cornelia Manfre’s and Mike Norris’s Final Clash
In their hour on the air, sitting in close quarters in WNZF’s studio but with an empty chair between them, Palm Coast mayoral candidates Cornelia Manfre and Mike Norris attacked, ducked, provoked and raised alarms about each other, never in good fun but never with disrespect. Manfre was clearly more prepared, sounding more forceful, answering questions in sharp, short and clear outlines and keeping Norris on the defensive.
Early Voting at Flagler County’s Five Locations Breaks Single-Day Record; 12,100 Mail Ballots Already In
With some 12,100 votes already turned in by mail so far, early voting in Flagler County began its 13-day run today with record-breaking turnout despite slow lines as a ballot with two dozen races and a half dozen constitutional and charter amendments took voters time to read and fill out.
New College’s Descent from Stellar Florida College to ‘Eugenicon’
Steve Sailer, a “eugenicon” who believes Black people are genetically inferior to whites, race is biological, interracial marriage is wrong, and “core Americans” are by definition white, has been invited to speak at one of New College’s “Socratic Stage Dialogues.” Socrates himself would not know whether to laugh, cry, or take an even bigger swig of hemlock.
Judge Prohibits DeSantis Administration From Threatening to Prosecute TV Stations Over Abortion-Rights Ads
With Floridians already voting by mail in the runup to the Nov. 5 election, fierce legal wrangling continues to escalate over a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. A federal judge on Thursday sided with supporters of the proposal, which will appear as Amendment 4 on the ballot, who filed a lawsuit alleging the state violated the First Amendment by threatening television stations over an ad supporting the measure.
After Closed-Door Meeting, No Sign Palm Coast Is Settling Ballot Referendum Litigation, Which May Go Past Election
Signals from Thursday’s closed-door meeting of the Palm Coast City Council suggest that the city appears not ready to settle the lawsuit over the ballot referendum on a charter amendment that would allow the city more freely to borrow money and enter into lease agreements. If the referendum fails, the case would be moot. If it succeeds, it won’t be the end of litigation: at least twice before courts have invalidated such referendums in Florida well after the vote was certified, and those challenging the measure intend to keep challenging it even if it succeeds at the polls on Nov. 5.
Florida Agriculture Took a $2 Billion Hit from Hurricane Milton
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said Thursday that the financial damage to the state’s agriculture industry from Hurricane Milton will likely exceed $2 billion. Those figures add to the more than $1.5 billion in damage already suffered from Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Debby, and Hurricane Idalia that hit the Big Bend area of North Florida over the past 13 months.
Aviation Company Aura Aero Selects Volusia Over Flagler County for for 500,000-Square-Foot Manufacturing Plant and 1,000 Jobs
Aura Aero Inc., the French designer and manufacturer of next-generation aircraft, has announced its intent to build a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing and assembly plant in Volusia County at the Daytona Beach International Airport. The facility will create more than 1,000 high-paying jobs in the area. Flagler County had been in contention for the facility.
Palm Coast Council Wants Another Re-Write of Vacation-Rental Ordinance, Pushing Approval to Next Year
Four months after it directed its attorney to draft it, the Palm Coast City Council again delayed approving the city’s first-ever vacation-rental ordinance as numerous issues and new proposals arose after the latest draft, which was due for a first read on on Tuesday. Instead, the council agreed to table it and schedule another workshop in December or January, when three new members will be on the council. That means the council will barely have time to approve the ordinance before the state Legislature again tries to pass a law that invalidates local ordinances.
Florida Court Rules It’s OK to Shoot a Dog in Stand Your Ground Situation
In a case stemming from a man who killed a pit bull when he and his Chihuahua felt threatened, an appeals court ruled Wednesday that Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law can apply to cases involving animals. A three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal said a Palm Beach County circuit judge improperly denied a stand-your-ground immunity hearing for Cassanova Gabriel, who was charged with crimes including cruelty to animals.
How Residential Growth, a State Order and Intense Rains Are Forcing Palm Coast’s Hand on Sewer Expansion
A combination of sharp growth that’s not paying for itself, a consent decree–or mandatory order–by the state and increasingly intense rain events have combined to force Palm Coast to rapidly expand its two sewer plants, resulting in significant capacity by 2028 but at significant cost: one of the two plant expansions will cost $245 million, between design and construction costs, and likely more by the time it’s done around 2028. The city has no choice in that timeline because of the consent decree, just as the Palm Coast City Council will have no choice but to raise utility rates next year.
Settlement Offer Gives Palm Coast Council Chance to Pull Embattled Debt Referendum from the Ballot
The Palm Coast City Council is holding a closed-door meeting at 3 p.m. on Thursday at City Hall to consider a settlement offer in the lawsuit challenging the veracity of the city’s debt referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot. The offer proposes that opposing sides agree to end the lawsuit and not count the results of the referendum, which will still appear on the ballot. The city would not owe the opposition attorneys’ fees.
Anger, Praise and Rudeness for Palm Coast’s Storm Response; Another Failed Attempt at Building Moratorium
A blustery, angry morning segment of a day-long meeting of the Palm Coast City Council today felt like aftershocks of Hurricane Milton as numerous residents assailed what they saw–against evidence–as the city’s failed response during the storm while some residents praised the same response for weathering a historic rainfall with very limited damage: just five homes had any kind of flooding, the city confirmed this afternoon. An attempt by City Council member Theresa Pontieri to call for a year-long moratorium on residential construction failed.
For Colleen Conklin, a Preview of Farewells and Flowers After 24 Years as She Logs Penultimate School Board Meeting
Flagler County School Board members Colleen Conklin and Cheryl Massaro, each in her own way, spoke their farewells at their last voting School Board meeting, though both will serve through another workshop in November, where a celebration of their tenures is planned. Conklin has been on the board since 2000, Massaro since 2020.
School Board Rejects Developer Interested in Building ‘Specialty Retail Center’ on Palm Coast Parkway Property
The Flagler County School Board this evening will again formally reject a developer’s interest in buying the district’s old 7.2-acre Corporate One property at the southeast corner of Palm Coast Parkway and Corporate Drive, a 7-acre site that used to be one of ITT’s headquarters, in the early years of developing Palm Coast, before the board bought it for $3.5 million. It was not one of the board’s wisest decisions.Tailwinds Development, a company that specializes in building retail commercial shopping centers, was interested in the acreage.
Flagler Schools Will Only Make Up One Day and Sacrifice 4 Lost to Hurricanes, While Preserving Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks
Assuming no more storms or other events require further school cancellations, Flagler County schools will have four fewer instructional days this school year. Thanksgiving and winter breaks will not be affected, the year will not be extended, and the district will still meet the legally required total of instructional days. The Flagler County School Board signed off today on its calendar committee’s minimal changes.
Hurricane Milton’s Flagler Path in Pictures: Flooding, Beach Erosion, Damaged Roads and Roofs, but Nothing Disastrous
Hurricane Milton barreled through the midsection of the Florida Peninsula Thursday morning, lashing Flagler County with tropical-storm-force winds (and a few hurricane-force gusts) and up top 19 inches of rain in parts of the county. But damage overall was mostly minor despite floodwaters. Here’s an album in pictures and video.
Before You Complain: Your Grocery Bills Are Still the Cheapest In the World
The cost of food has been a big concern for Americans since the height of the Covid pandemic, with U.S. food prices rising 25% between 2019 and 2023. While U.S. food inflation slowed considerably in 2024, grocery prices are still up from prepandemic numbers. For all that, food prices in the U.S. — relatively speaking — are the cheapest in the world, and have been for a long time. This is the case whether measured in terms of disposable personal income or in terms of percentage of household expenditures.
Flagler County in Federal Disaster Declaration: Residents Can Seek Help; Beach Will Be Repaired at 100% U.S. Expense
President Joe Biden on Friday approved a major disaster declaration for 34 Florida counties that suffered damage from Hurricane Milton, including Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam counties. The declaration will help individuals and local governments to shoulder recovery costs, including–for governments–reimbursements for the majority of costs incurred by damage sustained or services provided during the storm and the recovery period.
From Charley to Milton, 20 Years of Hurricanes and Florida Learned Nothing
Back in 2004, the Florida Department of Community Affairs ensured that evacuation times from flood-prone zones known as Coastal High Hazard Areas took less than a day. The law said the development density in those areas should not make the evacuees need more than 16 hours to get away from a Category 5 storm. Then Rick Scott and the Legislature killed the agency. Evacuation times have been getting worse, making life on those islands more dangerous.
Rick Scott Skipped Vote To Give FEMA More Money, But Now Says He’ll Be ‘Very Vocal’ To Push Congress to Help It
Florida GOP U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said Friday that he’s asked the federal agencies involved with disaster relief to tell him what are the dollar figures they’ll need from Congress to help Floridians harmed by hurricanes Helene and Milton over the past two weeks.
Over 100 Homes in Palm Coast Damaged by Wind; Woodlands a Flood Concern; Surge in Flagler Beach Was Limited
Flagler County and city officials are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Despite the worst rain event Palm Coast has known in its history, despite some floodwaters in Flagler Beach’s low-lying areas and severe winds during Hurricane Milton’s passage over the region, the number of homes that experienced water intrusion have been limited to “a handful,” while the number of homes reporting wind damage, in Palm Coast, stands at 57. The numbers in Flagler Beach are not yet known. The shelter will close today, the night curfew will be rescinded.
Florida Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to State Agency Campaigning Against Abortion Rights Amendment 4
The Florida Supreme Court denied a petition from a South Florida attorney who alleged that Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials interfered with the campaign for the state’s proposed abortion-rights amendment. The justices unanimously sided with the DeSantis administration in one of the legal challenges that emerged after a state health agency published a webpage alleging that Amendment 4 “threatens women’s safety.”
Water Surging in Flagler Beach’s Low-Lying Areas, Flooding Some Homes; 44,800 Still Without Power in Flagler
“This horror will grow mild, this darkness light,” Floridians may be telling themselves–perhaps in not so many words–as Hurricane Milton edged off the coast of Florida this morning, still as a hurricane that left a wide swath of destruction and 3.2 million customers without power in its enormous path.
1,400 Search-Rescue Teams Poised to Go House to House in Wake of Hurricane Milton
More than 1,400 urban search-and-rescue crew members — and more than 100 swift-water boats — were staged throughout the state in advance of Hurricane Milton’s landfall Wednesday night on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Milton made landfall at 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key.
With Hurricane Milton’s Worst Ahead, Torrential Rains Raise Flooding Concerns in Palm Coast and Close Roads
Torrential rain in Palm Coast ahead of Hurricane Milton has “severely overwhelmed” the city’s stormwater system. Milton’s advance rain bands have led to a few street closures in the B Section, to city crews special-delivering sand bags to some residents, and to an alert from the city to residents to minimize water usage as the stormwater system is being overwhelmed by precipitation–with the worst yet to come.
Commissioner ‘Disheartened’ By Lack of Evacuations in Flagler Beach, Where Milton Preparations Are Plainly Low Key
But for significantly less traffic on most roads, you’d be hard-pressed to see that the largest part of Flagler County under an evacuation order was heeding the warning this morning. From the looks of the Barrier Island and the mainland part of Flagler Beach in the first hours after the 8 a.m. evacuation order, there were many more cars parked in driveways than getting packed or driving off. Homes with sandbags or other storm preparations were the exception. Businesses were more likely to be boarded up than homes, though that was the exception even for businesses, most of which were closed.
Evacuations Ordered for Entire Barrier Island and Much of Mainland East of I-95, Curfew Wednesday Night
Hurricane Milton’s projected path has remained remarkably steady with very slight variations north or south, but with models agreeing on landfall in the Tampa Bay area after midnight Thursday and now mostly merging to agree on a path along or a bit south of I-4, toward Merritt Island and the Space Coast, where it would exit, still as a hurricane, Thursday afternoon. Tropical-storm force winds ranging between 40 and 70 mph are expected in Flagler County, with the possibility of hurricane-force winds especially on the barrier island.
County Has No Intention of Closing SR100 Bridge and Sheriff Says It’s Not His Call Alone. Flagler Beach Had Other Ideas.
The Flagler Beach City Commission in an emergency meeting Monday approved a resolution asking the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to “exercise appropriate measures” regarding the State Road 100 bridge. The resolution does not explicitly ask the sheriff to close the bridge if need be, but the commission’s discussion before voting on the resolution indicated that intent, even though it appears to clash with the county’s emergency declaration, state law, and the sheriff’s own position.