Superintendents are asking the state Board of Education for support in shifting money allocated to school marshals to the school resource officer program instead.
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Youths’ Bizarre Story of Dead Baby in Hidden Trails Dumpster Yields Placenta, But No Baby
Calling the discovery of a human placenta, but no baby, it a “mystery,” Sheriff Staly is asking the public’s help in determining the whereabouts and welfare of the newborn.
A Flagler Sheriff’s Employee Faces Grand Theft Charge, Again Implicating Courthouse Squad; Attorney Calls It “A Witch-Hunt”
Nancy Birdsong, a 20-year civilian employee with the Flagler Sheriff’s Office, is the third courthouse-connected employee to face disciplinary action, and inquiries are not over.
Raymond Almodovar, Flagler School Bus Driver, Is Killed in Hit-and-Run on I-95; Driver of Jeep Sought
Raymond Almodovar, a Flagler school district bus driver, was killed after his car was struck twice by two different vehicles on I-95 in a hit-and-run in Palm Coast.
“March For Our Lives” Draws 100 Along Palm Coast Parkway in Orange Echo of Global Student Movement
The Palm Coast demonstrators joined some 800 planned March For Our Lives protests across the globe today, calling for sensible gun control and a ban on assault-type weapons.
As Judge DuPont Continues to Battle Removal, Zambrano Orders Flagler Bench Again Shuffled
Flagler County will lose Family Judge R. Lee Smith to Putnam after less than two years and gain newly-minted Judge Chris France, among other changes caused by the DuPont affair.
For Life-Sentenced Murderer Paul Miller, Unexpected Glimmer of Hope As His Counsel Is Questioned
In a powerful argument based on new revelations that emerged today, Paul Miller’s attorney is arguing that the representation he got at trial was ineffective to the point that his conviction may never have happened.
Flagler-Palm Coast’s Population Grows 2.5% in a Year, to 110,510
Flagler County gained an estimated 2,705 residents in the last 12 months calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau, suggesting a need for more housing.
City Rep’s ‘Blood Knot’ Peels Off Limits of Black and White Skins Through Apartheid
The Athol Fugard play tells the story of two South African brothers in the early 1960s, one of whom returns to live with his sibling after years of passing as white.
Flagler Reads Together:
“The Alice Network”‘s Little Problem
Flagler Reads Together this year chose Kate Quinn’s “The Alice Network,” a novel about women spies during World War I wrapped in a sort of buddy road story.
Parent Faces Charges After Appearing to Instigate Fight Between 2 Indian Trails Middle School Boys
Anthony Gardiner, a 34-year-old resident of Pam Coast’s B Section, was captured in several videos either instigating or intervening in a fight between two boys on a Belle Terre Parkway sidewalk.
Sheriff’s Chief Paul Bovino, Newly-Minted FBI Academy Graduate, On The Experience From Within
Paul Bovino is among the more charismatic and intimidating members of the Sheriff’s Office, a cop’s cop with outsize stage presence and a love of the job that radiates in most things he says and does.
C.J. Nelson Exonerated of Felony Child Abuse Charge in Epic Confrontation, Faces
Sentence on Misdemeanors
A jury found C.J. Nelson not guilty of felony child abuse in an incident in which he punched a 16-year-old girl, but found him guilty of two misdemeanor battery charges.
Iconic Geodesic Dome at North End of Flagler Beach Collapses and Won’t Be Rebuilt
The two geodesic-domed houses, totaling close to 10,000 square feet between them, have been at Flagler Beach’s north end since the early 1980s. The owner says the dome will be replaced with a flat roof.
Sheriff Staly Orders Investigation Re-Opened in Flagler Courthouse Bailiffs’ Behavior
Staly issued the order three days after a FlaglerLive story detailed allegations of racial and sexual improprieties involving courthouse deputies and staff.
Nursing Home Industry Successfully Quashes Residents’ Bill of Rights
Florida Constitution Revision Commission member Brecht Heuchan withdrew a proposal that would have guaranteed rights to nursing-home residents and allowed them to sue facilities if those rights were violated.
Severe Weather and “A Few Tornadoes Possible” in Afternoon for Flagler-Palm Coast
The National Weather Center’s prediction for today projects a potential for severe and damaging weather onto the entirety of Flagler.
Tiny RV Park Proposed for Colbert Lane Revs Up Residents’ Rebellion, and Is Denied
Upscale or not, Palm Coast Plantation and Grand Haven residents saw a proposed RV park on Colbert Lane as a trailer park, and the county commission rejected it Monday evening.
Levi Ovenshire, 19, Sentenced to 15 Years In Prison For Friend’s Attempted Murder in F-Section
Levi Ovenshire, 19, shot 19-year-old Marco Salazar in the back as the two were hanging out at 13 Fulton Place in Palm Coast last June 24. Ovenshire later spoke as if he’d been hallucinating.
Are Drug Addicts Less Valuable Than Students? Florida Says Yes, Wrongly.
Politically there may be a big difference between students’ safety and drug addicts. Ethically, there is none, and financially, addicts are being lethally short-changed.
As in Flagler, Few Districts Embrace Arming “Marshals,” So Money May Shift to School Cops
In Flagler County, Superintendent Jim Tager and the school board said they would not support arming anyone who is not, in essence, as trained as school deputies must be to carry a weapon.
Driver Plows Into 4 Bikers on U.S. 1 North of Matanzas Woods, 3 Are Hospitalized
Two men and a woman were hospitalized, one of them airlifted as a trauma patient, after a car plowed into them as they rode south on U.S. 1 Friday afternoon.
Shake-Up in Chambers: At Flagler Courthouse, 3 Judges Intervene Over Allegations of Deputies’ Sexual and Racial Improprieties
Two bailiffs have been disciplined and reassigned out of the courthouse, bailiffs have a new supervisor, and one judge’s administrative assistant lost her job as a judge’s assistant as a result of the alleged improprieties.
Palm Coast Man Faces Attempted Armed Carjacking Charge After Rushing C.O.P. With Knife
Stephen Goldberg, 32, of Palm Coast’s E Section, allegedly brandished a knife and rushed a C.O.P. who was patrolling in her car near his house Thursday. He faces a slew of charges.
Behind Closed Doors, Palm Coast Council Was Willing To Risk Big Loss Against McDonald Until Judge and Adjuster Set It Straight
Battles between Palm Coast government–the council and Jim Landon, the manager–and Dennis McDonald, the perennial critic, got so personal in a previous lawsuit, records show, that the city was willing to risk taxpayer money until it was forced to accept a settlement.
Broad-Ranging Gun Control Proposal Could End Up on November Ballot as an Amendment
A proposed constitutional amendment would a minimum age of 21 on all firearm purchases, a 3-day waiting period and a comprehensive background check.
The New Palm Coast Community Center: A Bounty of Spaces Welcoming Uses and Nature
The $8 million renovation more than triples the size of the old building to 18,000 square feet, with ample and handsome spaces inside and out, including a renovated public park.
Sheriff Credits “Fugitive Friday” Video For Re-Arrest of Palm Coast Man He’d Arrested In May
Sheriff Rick Staly last August pulled over James Christopher Raposa for speeding. He was later placed on probation on an impaired driving charge, but violated probation.
Post-Hurricane Initiatives Fall Short of Measures to Prevent Fuel Crises In Next Storms
A strategic fuel-reserve task force and using rail-tank cars to bring fuel into evacuation areas to avoid a repeat of runs on gas stations were among initiatives that failed at this year’s legislative session.
After Awarding $15,000 Raise to Assistant, Palm Coast’s Landon Is “Offended” at Claim He’d Award Big Raises On His Way Out
Palm Coast Council member Heidi Shipley and Jim Landon, the city manager, got in a brief sniping duel over the raise Landon awarded a loyal second without informing the council.
From Guns To Opioids To Education, A Legislative Session That Got A Few Things Done
The session became dominated in February by the aftermath of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County.
Flagler Unemployment Ticks Up by 0.6%, Mirroring Increases in Surrounding Counties
Flagler, St. Johns, Duval and Volusia all saw unemployment figures increase by 0.5 to 06 percent in January, with Flagler’s increase also due to a larger labor force.
Lawmakers Pass $88.7 Billion Budget But With Few of Flagler’s or Local Cities’ Priorities
Palm Coast and the county did not get any extra appropriations, nor did Flagler’s county court system get extra help for Judge Melissa Moore-Stens.
Nobody Knows How Many Kids Get
Caught With Guns in School. Here’s Why.
Lax reporting by schools, lax oversight by state and federal authorities make it nearly impossible to say just how many students get caught taking firearms into public schools each year.
6 Years After Murdering Dana Mulhall, Paul Miller, 70, Claims Lawyer Failed Him By Not Invoking Stand Your Ground
Flagler Beach’s Paul Miller shot and killed his neighbor Dana Mulhall as Mulhall in a dispute over Miller’s barking dogs. Miller is contesting his life sentence and was back in court in Flagler today.
Brazenly Misrepresenting Council, Palm Coast’s Landon Names Assistant and Awards $15,000 Raise Council Did Not Approve
For Palm Coast Manager Jim Landon, the Beau Falgout appointment for $110,000 a year is the latest in a long list of instances where Landon’s version misrepresents the facts.
Details Behind 6th Grader at Center of Bunnell School Incident Point To a “Gun,” a Troubled History and Family
The 6th grader at the center of the alleged gun incident by a Bunnell Elementary playground has had a history of suspensions and an unstable home life.
Sheriff and Superintendent Pledge to Double School Deputies as They Outline New Normal Of Campus Security
School deputies will be increased to 13, with two at each high school and one in every elementary school, while a series of other security measures are implemented in a reflection of post-Parkland massacre norms.
Suspended Student Feared To Have a Weapon at Bunnell Elementary Fence Triggers Alert, and Arrest
A student who’d been suspended earlier in the day is facing arrest for assault was seen at a Bunnell Elementary fence with what looked like a weapon near dismissal time Wednesday afternoon, causing a lockdown.
“It Stinks,” Palm Coast Manager Says of WastePro’s Service as Mayor Speaks of Ending Contract
Mayor Milissa Holland is raising the possibility of finding a new garbage hauler for Palm Coast after losing patience with complaints about WastePro.
School Board Will Yet Again Try To Sell Corporate One Property Off Palm Coast Parkway
The school board will most likely have to sell the 7-acre property–now without a building–at a loss, after owning it since 2003 but for far more trouble than it was worth.
House Edges Closer to Vote on Bill Mixing Guns With School Safety and New Limits
Those younger than 21 would be prohibited from buying rifles, others would have a 3-day waiting period. Coaches and others could be “deputized” as school marshals.
Pedestrian Struck By Vehicle on A1A at South 7th in Flagler Beach Is Air-Lifted
A man believed to be older than 55 was struck by a passing car on State Road A1A as he was crossing the street this evening around 7:15 p.m.
Another Exhausting But Short-Term Victory For Flagler Government as Vacation-Rental Deregulation Fails Again
Flagler County government had staunchly opposed lawmakers’ attempts to eliminate local regulation of short-term vacation rentals, regulations crafted in 2014 largely at Flagler’s behest.
Matanzas Student Frustrated in Math Jokes of “Shooting Up” the School, and Is Arrested
The arrest this morning of Raul Hernandez, 14, signals that school and sheriff’s officials will be taking a hard stand against any threats, however un-serious the intention.
Senate Passes Safety Plan, Including Armed Teacher Program and $97 Million for More School Cops
Flagler County would be in line for a substantial increase in dollars allocated for school resource deputies, and would have the authority to implement a school marshal program.
For Sheriff and Flagler Schools, Clear Accord: No to Arming Teachers, Yes to More Deputies
At a joint news conference later this week, Sheriff Rick Staly and Superintendent Jim Tager will outline new security measures and initiatives and a plan for additional school deputies, but no weaponizing of teachers.
Hammock Beach “Dragging Their Feet” Over Dunes-Repair Agreement, Vexing County
The agreement with Hammock Beach is the last piece of a mosaic of agreements framing the reconstruction of protective dunes along the beach. But hammock Beach has yet to sign.
First Responders in Florida Aren’t Covered for PTSD. That May Change After Parkland.
Like many states, Florida does not provide lost wages to first responders disabled with PTSD. A bill that would change that is now gaining momentum after 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month.
Florida Senate Backs Arming Teachers And Rejects Assault Weapons Ban
The Senate plan and a similar House proposal would allow school boards to decide whether they want to implement a “marshal” proposal to arm certain teachers.