Circuit Judge Dennis Craig rejected a more lenient prison term for Richard Westervelt of Palm Coast, who’s been arrested 13 times and faced 44 felonies and misdemeanors since 2010.
Featured
FPC Marks Football Team’s Perfect Season, a Superior Band for 15 Years, and a 14-Year-Old Champion
The Flagler County School Board meeting Tuesday turned into an evening of celebrations of historic achievements for so many that the meeting had to be moved to the Flagler Auditorium.
District Picks 100 Parents to Pilot App That Monitors and Controls Their Child’s Computer
Through a free app called Mosyle, parents will have the ability to control and lock down their child’s school issued device, with all parents given access by next fall.
Applicants Line Up Concert-Style For Florida’s Dozens of New Methadone-Treatment Licenses
Florida officials this summer decided to double the number of methadone clinics in the state as part of a $27 million federal grant aimed at curbing opioid addiction and overdoses.
Bunnell Man, 46, Accused of Raping Girl Since She was 8 and Molesting Another at Sleep-Over
The alleged assaults came to light after a sleep-over involving a 15 year old girl who’d gone to Bowling’s house to see her 15-year-old friend in June 2016.
Overriding Medical Marijuana Users’ Pleas, and Voters, Flagler Commissioners Pass Dispensary Ban
The 3-1 vote to ban medical marijuana dispensaries outright Monday evening ends a year-long process that saw commissioners zigzag between approval and prohibition.
A Fifth of Old Kings Elementary Students Absent as School Grapples With Outbreak
54 students were sent home Friday and at least 35 were sent home today after developing flu-like symptoms, but the outbreak appears limited to Old Kings Elementary.
Assisted Living Facilities Are Challenging Rule Requiring Generator Power in Emergencies
The Florida Senior Living Association representing 350 assisted living facilities argues the proposed rule creates requirements that are not authorized in state law.
3 Reasons The Trump Tax Plan Is a Disgrace
Robert Reich’s three-step guide on the rubbish of the Trump-Republican tax plan for when you confront your Republican Uncle Bob during the holidays.
All-Cash Business? Not So: Why It’s Getting Easier for Marijuana Shops to Open Bank Accounts
Almost 400 banks and credit unions now serve the medical marijuana industry, according to the U.S. Treasury — a number that has more than tripled since 2014.
Barney Davis, 56, Critically Injured in Motorcycle Crash on Seminole Woods By RaceTrac, Dies
There was no contact between Barney Davis’s motorcycle and a van as Davis attempted evasive action after the van cut in front of him, FHP said.
Behind Pending Sale of Sea Ray, A Few Hints As to Why, None As To What Next
Brunswick Corp. had noted a little disappointment with storm-related slowdowns at Sea Ray but explains its sale as a more strategic decision to focus more on different parts of its business.
Blaming Climate Change, Ex-Emergency Management Chief Warns Floridians of More Intense Storms Ahead
Craig Fugate, a former FEMA and Florida Division of Emergency Management chief, highlighted the need for people in Florida to plan year-round for the six-month hurricane season.
Masked Gunman Robs Shell Station at Club House Drive, Suspect Arrested Within Hours
Charles E. Rushing-Griffen, 27, was booked at the Flagler County jail at 5:23 this morning as the suspect in an armed robbery by a masked gunman at 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening.
County And Bunnell Score Big Grants For Plantation Bay and Stormwater, Flagler Beach and Palm Coast Do Not
Flagler County won a $500,000 grant for improvements to its Plantation Bay utility, Bunnell won $460,000 for stormwater and sewer improvements from the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Bigamy Charge Revived Against Palm Coast Sex Offender With Long, Violent Criminal History
Paul Stout, a Bunnell resident with a violent criminal history in three states, was rearrested on a bigamy charge he had first faced in 2013, when the State Attorney’s office dropped it.
Early Morning Fire on Wellstream Lane Makes Home Uninhabitable For Family of Five
The fire broke out in the chimney at the 3,500-square-foot, two-level house at 68 Wellstream Lane in Palm Coast just before 1:30 this morning. It then spread to the roof.
In Florida, You Can Lose Your Driver’s License For Jaywalking–Especially If You’re Black
Sen. Jeff Brandes has repeatedly introduced measures that would prohibit driver’s license suspensions for non-driving offenses. But Clerks of court stand to lose $40 million annually if the law is modified.
Christmas With a Deputy Marks 10th Year By Increasing Shopping-Spree Sleighs to 125 Children
This Friday 125 children will get to go on a Christmas shopping spree with a cop and a gift card at Target, getting there in a long convoy of cop cars, lights and sirens blaring.
Charges or Sanctions Against Judge Scott DuPont Up to Commission as Hearing Ends
The final hearing in the year-long case alleging misconduct against Circuit Court Judge Scott DuPont ended Tuesday, with a decision expected sometime in the next two months.
FPL Customers Will be Billed $176 Million For Pollution Cleanup Following Leak at Utility
All electricity customers in Flagler County are serviced by FPL and will see the cost, albeit modest, reflected in their bills even though the leak took place in South Florida.
Alabama Saves The Day. But Not Much Else.
If what it takes for Democrats to win is a Republican pedophiliac predator and compulsive lawbreaker, their victory in Alabama Tuesday helps the GOP more than it does Democrats.
25 Years Later, a Palm Coast Murder Is Relived in Flagler Courtroom as Killer Seeks Release
Michael Renaud, now 44, was 17 when he murdered Margaret Rogers at a house on Point Pleasant Drive in Palm Coast in 1992. Today he was back in court, arguing for his early release.
Senate Leader Eyes Constitutional Amendment Requiring Two-Thirds Majority For Any Tax Increase
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission, which meets every 20 years, has the power to place constitutional amendments on the November 2018 ballot.
Flagler Clerk of Court Will Hold Mass Wedding Ceremony on Valentine’s Day in New Tradition
On Feb. 14, Clerk of Court Tom Bexley will lead a mass marriage ceremony for all willing couples of all denominations and orientations.
Why Palm Coast Will Soon See Nearly 100-Foot Condo Towers Rise Off Colbert Lane
The development was once called Harbor View Marina. It will now be called Marina Del Palma and will add up to 615 residential units, 461 of them in condo towers of eight stories.
2 Suicides, in Flagler Beach and at Palm Coast Econo Lodge, Bring Year’s Total to 19
Sharon Keeler, 66, lost her husband Karl to a vehicle crash earlier this month and died by suicide over the weekend. Seth Michael Rice, 47, of Jupiter, died of a gunshot wound at a Palm Coast hotel.
From All-Women Field, Florida Democrats Pick Palm Beach’s Terrie Rizzo As New Leader
Seeking unity, Democrats are trying to reclaim the governor’s office and defend U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s seat next year as well as contend for state Cabinet seats.
A Dubious Arrest, a Compromised Prosecutor, a Tainted Plea: How One Murder Case Exposes A Broken System
One innocent man’s odyssey through the justice system shows why defendants often agree to virtually inescapable plea deals for crimes they didn’t commit.
“We Don’t Serve Gays”
Invoking Christian belief to deny service to a gay couple is not a First Amendment right, nor is it a matter of artistic expression. It’s good old discrimination under a new mask.
Found Guilty of Escape Out of Cop’s Car, George Wood Faces Up to 30 Years in Prison And Two More Trials
George Wood III of Palm Coast, 31, a felon now 11 times over, had busted out of a cop car after his arrest on SR100 in January and led police on an air and foot chase.
Ethics Commission Orders Kim Weeks and 2 Others To Reimburse $312,000 in Fees Over Frivolous Complaints
The state Ethics Commission ordered Kim Weeks to pay nearly $130,000 and Dennis McDonald and Mark Richter Jr. to pay the rest to compensate the county for defending against frivolous and defaming complaints they’d filed.
$50 Million for St. Johns River Protection, $100 Million for Florida Forever: Measures Advance
Measures doubling Gov. Scott’s request for the Florida Forever conservation program and earmark money to improve the St. Johns River moved easily through the Senate Thursday.
Joint Legislative Committee Unanimously Votes To Audit East Flagler Mosquito Control
Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Paul Renner, who represent Flagler, had asked the committee for an audit after that the tax-supported district incurred a $1.1 million deficit in a budget of $1.8 million.
Sidestepping Health Concerns, Flagler Approves 5 New Cell Towers, 2 Rising 350 Feet
Without denying health hazards, the Flagler County Commission approved the siting of five new cell towers, including one in Palm Coast, as part of its next-generation emergency communications system.
In 18 Minutes, Jury Finds Paul Dykes Guilty on 24 Counts of Child Sex Crimes, Including Rape
A jury of six women barely deliberated in the case of Palm Coast’s Paul Dykes, 21, found guilty of directing the rape of a 1-year-old girl with an ex-girlfriend, also found guilty in September.
In Blow to NRA, Florida Legislature Will Holster Open-Carry and Other Gun Bills
With the 2018 legislative session still more than a month away, gun-related measures might have died Tuesday in the Senate.
In Paul Dykes Trial, A Shaken Jury Is Subjected to Unrelenting Accounts of Unspeakable Acts
The first full day of trial for Paul Dykes, accused of raping a 1-year-old girl, subjected the jury to a tortuous onslaught of disturbing evidence. At day’s end, Dykes’s accomplice in the alleged rapes appeared.
Renner Again at Odds With Local Officials as His Recovery Centers Bill Gains Momentum
The House version of the bill is co-sponsored by Paul Renner, who represents Flagler, but whose proposal is opposed by Palm Coast government and the local hospital.
County Calls Waste Pro On the Carpet, Only to Lavish Praise, Flattery and Excuses
The county administration’s account of Waste Pro trash-hauling service contrasted sharply with commissioners’ stories of complaints, or documented complaints in Palm Coast.
5 Years in Prison for Ex-Congresswoman Corrine Brown, Who Once Represented Flagler
Describing the fraud as “shameless,” a federal judge sentenced former Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown to five years in prison for her role in a charity scam.
After Wrenching, Day-Long Process, A Jury Is Impaneled In Child-Rape Trial of Paul Dykes
A jury of six women and one man was chosen from a pool of 50, as potential jurors were excused for a variety of reasons, many of them over the anxieties triggered by the trial’s subject matter.
Death Sentence Commuted to Life For William Gregory, Double-Murderer of Flagler Beach
William Gregory was on Death Row for the 2007 murders of his ex-girlfriend Skyler Dawn Meekings, 17, and her boyfriend of two months, Daniel Arthur Dyer, 22, at a house on John Anderson Highway.
In Reorganization, Hansen Takes County Chairmanship, Sullivan Is on Canvassing Board
The county commission chairmanship gives Hansen added visibility during an election year, while Sullivan takes over a canvassing board position with a fraught history.
Florida Gun Store Burglaries, Often Brazen And Unresolved, Quadruple in 4 Years
Weak security practices at many gun stores have made commercial burglaries an increasingly significant source of weapons for criminals in Florida and beyond.
82,000 Stolen Guns Are Missing in Florida, Feeding Traffic Among Drug Dealers and Felons
Car burglaries are driving the epidemic as many gun owners leave their vehicles unlocked. Gun stores offer another easy target. Firearms stolen from these businesses during burglaries have more than quadrupled over the last five years.
At Flagler Playhouse, An Urbane Expansion for a Community Theater Celebrating 4th Decade
The Flagler Playhouse, now in its fourth decade, marked the opening of a new, 2000 square-foot wing that’ll give theater-goers a place to chill, drink and snack before shows and at intermissions.
In Latest Complication, Judge Craig Recuses Himself From David Snelgrove Death Row Case
The Supreme Court has ordered a re-sentencing in the case of David Snelgrove, sentenced to die 15 years ago in the double-murders in Palm Coast of an elderly couple.
Dozen Men Arrested For Soliciting Prostitution In Sheriff’s Sting at Palm Coast Hotel
Some 100 people inquired in response to the ad, but only 12 showed up at a room at the Days Inn in Palm Coast. Seven were from Palm Coast, one from Bunnell, the others from out of town.
Florida Voters May Get Chance to Lift Ban On Tax Subsidies to Religious Schools
A ban on state support for religious groups would be removed from the Florida Constitution under a proposal approved Wednesday by a Constitution Revision Commission panel.