Seven new charges against Circuit Judge Scott DuPont bring the total to 12 and now point to disturbing allegations of violations against people appearing in court and lawyers.
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Deficit-Ridden Mosquito Control’s Bail-Out Includes $400,000 Property Deals With Palm Coast and County
Palm Coast government will contribute $293,000 and Flagler government $100,000 in property deals as a large part of East Flagler Mosquito Control’s plan to bail itself out of a $1.1 million hole.
How One City Took Down Its Confederate Monuments: A Stealth History Lesson
After Charlottesville, Baltimore’s removal of Confederate statues in the dead of night was the city’s latest attempt to make peace with the ghosts of the Civil War. Other cities may be taking note.
Christopher Hollinger Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison Over Sex Assault of 2 Teen Girls At Long Creek Preserve
Hollinger was 23 when he got two girls, then 14 and 15, drunk before having sex with them at the Palm Coast nature preserve in March 2016.
“I Didn’t Serve To Defend Neo-Nazis,” Gov. Scott Says, Distancing Himself From Trump
Pam Bondi, meanwhile, endorsed UF President Kent Fuchs’s denial of a request to allow white nationalist leader Richard Spencer to speak on campus next month.
School Board Declines $1.8 Million Offer From Island Walk Developer For Old ITT Property
The developer wants to redevelop the area with shops and restaurants, but the school board thinks the price is too low, it hasn’t appraised the property and it won’t sell it if it doesn’t have pressing needs for revenue.
Flagler School District Enters Brave New World of Student Computer Controls and Surveillance
Responding to parents’ concerns, the Flagler school district is rolling out a pair of systems that will vastly increase potential controls and limits on students’ computer usage at school and at home.
UF Prepares For White Supremacist Richard Spencer, a Rally Participant in Charlottesville
National Policy Institute President Richard Spencer, who made an appearance at the Charlottesville event, could speak at the University of Florida next month. Authorities are taking measures.
Palm Coast Government Absorbs Golf Course’s Employees and Contracts With Golden Lion In Latest Attempt to Stem Losses
The city will pay a management firm $630,000 a year to maintain the golf course’s grounds while adding eight employees to the city’s payroll and running the operation itself.
Between Umbras and Penumbras, Flagler Schools and Others Ready For Great Eclipse
The greatest solar eclipse to cross the United States since 1918 on Aug. 21 has the Flagler school district and others talking safety, best viewing practices and Palm Coast time checks.
Stabbing on Palm Coast’s Kaywood Place Sends Man to Hospital and Another to Jail
Harold “Doug” Cook, 50, was jailed on a felony charge after he allegedly stabbed Jarrett Register, 25, at the end of a fight that had started earlier at the Flagler Cracker Ranch.
As Deadline For Plea Looms, Kimberle Weeks Heads for December Trials On 5 Felony Counts
Former Elections Supervisor Weeks’s attorney filed a second motion to suppress the search warrant that revealed evidence against her, arguing that the remaining counts are fruit of a poisoned tree.
Three Ways the Trump Administration Has Downplayed White Supremacy
In the weeks leading up to the protests, Trump and those close to him have often played down the real threat of violence being committed by white supremacists on a regular basis across the country.
Desir Desinor, 65, Dies, Woman Hurt in Head-On Crash in Old Kings Road Passing Zone
Desir Desinor, 65, of Palm Coast, died and Brianna Peres, 18, was seriously hurt in a head-on collision on Old Kings Road south of Oak Trails in Palm Coast Saturday evening.
Kim Jong-Trump
There is no pre-emptive military option against North Korea. None. No matter how much Korea “provokes.” There is only containment, and shutting up Donald Trump.
Seminole Woods and C-Section in Palm Coast Struck With a Dozen Car and House Burglaries
Jewelry was stolen in one house burglary, four guns and $7,000 in cash in another, but most of the other burglaries seemed hurried jobs that lifted trivial items.
Not This Time: Supreme Court Rejects Re-Sentencing For Murderer of 13-Year-Old Girl
Hitchcock was sent to Death Row after a 10-2 jury recommendation. Attorneys argued that the new unanimity standard should retroactively apply to his case and lead to a new sentencing hearing.
In Reversal, Flagler Beach Will Allow Medical Pot Dispensaries, Limiting Them to Mainland
The Flagler Beach City Commission unanimously agreed to drop a proposed ban and allow dispensaries along State Road 100, but not on the beach side.
At Flagler’s Troubled Mosquito Control, $115,000-a-Year Director Turns Over Duties to Assistant–But Would Retire In 6 Months
Director Joe Cash told staffers his last day was Aug. 7, but that he would actually retire in February, sowing confusion about his status. The government agency faces a $1.1 million deficit.
Big Pharma Bullies: How Insurers Force You To Buy Name-Brand Drugs Instead of Generic
Some pharmaceutical companies are cutting deals with insurance companies to favor their brand-name products over cheaper generics. Insurers pay less, but sometimes consumers pay more.
Palm Coast Council Kills Memorial To 208 U.S. Soldiers Its Beautification Committee Had Unanimously Approved
The council killed a proposed plaque that memorializes the 34 Navy sailors and Marines killed and 174 wounded by an Israeli attack on the USS Liberty in 1967.
Palm Coast Council Will Control Charter-Review Process, With Facilitator and Public Comment
The Palm Coast City Council is launching its first charter review in 18 years, sitting itself as the charter review committee, with facilitator Marilyn Crotty, who will shepherd the process for $6,000.
Clash Continues Ahead of Aug. 24 Execution Over Lethal Injection Drug Never Before Used
Asay’s execution would be the first carried out in Florida since a January 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found Florida’s death penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional.
Flagler Beach Offers City Manager Newsom 30% Raise, to $120,000; He’d Asked for 7%
City Manager Larry Newsom would get a $28,500 raise–assuming he can make the numbers work in a budget that also calls for a 4 percent across the board raise for employees and other wishes.
Ending Uncertainty, Palm Coast Will Welcome Medical Pot Dispensaries Starting In Fall
The Palm Coast Council emphatically decided that it would allow medical pot dispensaries in the city’s major business districts even as it may approve an extension of a moratorium to work out a zoning regulation.
December Trials Set For 2 Flagler Residents Facing Capital Murder Charges
Bobby Earl Gore, 74, is accused of shooting his won execution-style in Flagler Beach, Dorothy Singer is accused of shooting her husband and burying him in the couple’s backyard.
12-Year Effort to “Renourish” Beaches All But Washes Out as County Urges Wall of Dunes Instead
Flagler County is urging Flagler Beach to sign on to a $20 million plan to rebuild dunes on top of a wall of rock, though most of that money has yet to be secured.
County Votes To Buy Two Properties for $900,000 Even Though Appraisals, Still Due, May Be Lower
Flagler County commissioners, in a puzzling vote today, approved buying two parcels for a library and a future use even though the appraisals on the properties have not come in, and may be lower than the price paid.
Upwards Mobility Bunk: Don’t Lie to Poor Kids About Why They’re Poor, And Will Stay Poor
What happens when children born into poverty run face first into the crushing reality that the society they live in really isn’t that fair at all? Hard work has nothing to do with it.
Florida’s State Colleges Will See Their First Enrollment Increase in Seven Years
A new state forecast projects a 1 percent growth rate in enrollment in the 28 colleges during the 2017-18 academic year, representing the equivalent of 324,109 full-time students.
In Some States, Sales Tax Holidays Lose Luster as Hype Overshadows Cost
Tax holidays don’t increase buying but merely concentrate it around specific dates. They’re regressive. They’re more political than useful: in Florida, the Legislature turned down Gov. Scott’s request for 10 days.
Trump Will Win In 2020
There’s nothing original in Donald Trump’s presidency when seen through Nixon-colored glasses, considering the similarities–and the invaluable help both got from Democrats to get elected.
William Gamble, 66, Dies Three Days After Dog Attack in Palm Coast’s C Section
William Gamble, a 66-year-old resident of Crossgate Court in Palm Coast, was walking his dog, Dahlyla, not far from his home, when another dog attacked. Gamble died Aug. 2.
Flagler Mosquito Control District In Crisis as It Faces $1.1 Million Deficit in $1.8 Million Budget, Weeks After Dedicating New HQ
Six of the tax-supported district’s 14 employees have been laid off and other cuts are ahead weeks after it celebrated moving into a new, $2.1 million building at the Flagler County Airport.
Half of Floridians Now Off Land Lines, Underscoring Need For Stronger Cell Coverage
An estimated 51 percent of homes in the state were wireless-only in 2015. Meanwhile, the number of traditional residential wirelines in the state dropped 15 percent from 2015 to 2016.
Divided Palm Coast Council Treads Toward Searching For New Manager Starting in January
The Palm Coast City Council will put out a call for search firms in January, and foresees a search taking 12 to 18 months, a schedule that didn’t win unanimity at today’s meeting.
Palm Coast Hires $200,000 Consultant To Figure Out What Roads To Pave Next, and How
The consultant will help the city figure out cheaper ways to resurface its 550 miles of streets than the method it’s been using for years, starting with an inventory of roads, cracks and sidewalks.
Florida’s Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday Is This Weekend: Here’s A Guide
Florida’s 2017 sales tax holiday on school supplies, clothing, shoes and personal computers and other select accessories is this weekend–starting at a minute after midnight Friday, Aug. 4, through midnight Sunday, Aug. 7.
New Driver’s Licenses, With Double the Security Features, Intended to Cut Down on Fraud
Each card will have better safeguards, from features that appear only when viewed under ultraviolet light to a pastel-colored linear rendering of the Florida state seal and a large orange “FL.”
Flagler Beach Marina Settlement With City Collapses, But This Time It’s a Sklar Thing
Flagler Beach and Marina owner Howard Sklar return to court in late September as their settlement talks over the Flagler Beach Marina collapsed when Sklar reversed course on a building requirement.
Gov. Scott’s Emily Hysterics
Even Tropical Storm/Depression Emily cried foul at Gov. Scott’s, sleazy, opportunistic hyping of what was no more than an overheated summer storm: look at how fast she high-tailed it out of the state.
Court To Decide Legality of Those Utility Bills For Nukes Plants That May Never Be Built
A federal appeals court hears arguments in a class-action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law that has led to Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy Florida collecting money from customers for nuclear-power projects.
Man Faces 6 Counts of Negligence After Provoking Crash on Seminole Woods Blvd., Endangering 2 Families
Six other people, three of them children, were involved in a two-vehicle crash when Larry B. Batson Jr. intentionally drove his car against another on Seminole Woods Boulevard.
IHOP Restaurant and Chipotle Mexican Grill Nearing Construction in Palm Coast
International House of Pancakes will open near the Island Walk Starbucks on Palm Coast Parkway. And Chipotle will open next to Panera Bread on State Road 100.
Renewed Push For Tougher Texting While Driving Penalties May Face Resistance in Flagler
A Florida state legislator, Emily Slosberg, who survived a violent car crash caused by distracted driving, is campaigning across the state to make texting and driving a primary offense.
40% of Sea Ray Boats’ Workforce in Flagler Affected By Layoffs and Furloughs
Some 90 employees have been laid off and 130 furloughed out of a workforce of 560 at the Sea Ray Boats plant off Colbert Lane even as manufacturer’s parent company posts strong earnings in the second quarter.
Palm Coast’s Erin Vickers Set For September Trial on Child Rape in 1st of 49 Charges
Erin Vickers, 23, and then-boyfriend Paul Dykes, 20, face a combined 90 charges of raping children as young as 1, and taking and transmitting pictures and video of child porn.
Flagler Beach Delays Medical Pot Ban Vote For 2 Weeks, But Hazy Evidence Unchanged
The absence of one of the five commissioners led to the delay on the vote on a controversial measure that would ban the operation of medical pot dispensaries anywhere in Flagler Beach.
Flagler Beach’s Newsom, Again Short-Listed For Another Job, Also Eyes Palm Coast
Larry Newsom is short-listed as an “alternate” after four candidates for the Putnam County Administrator job, though he says he’s not likely to take it.
Hutson and Renner Try To Push Back Against Criticism on Home Rule, Taxes and Education
Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Paul Renner took credit for–and defended–several controversial bills that passed in the last session of the Legislature as they spoke to Flagler’s political and business leaders this morning.