By 2026, an estimated 49 million people would be uninsured, compared with about 28 million who would lack coverage under current law.
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Notching 3rd Appointment By Gov. Scott, Loyalist Jimmy Patronis Will Be Florida’s CFO
Gov. Scott appointed his ally Jimmy Patronis in 2014 to the Florida Public Service Commission. and in march Scott appointed him to the state Constitution Revision Commission.
23-Year-Old Is Victim of 2nd Shooting in 24 Hours in Flagler During Espanola Party
Jean Geral Isenader, 23, of Sergeant Court in Palm Coast, was shot in the abdomen after 1 a.m. on June 25 during a large party at the Espanola Community Center. No suspects was found.
Raul Zambrano, Redoubtable Alumni of Flagler Bench, Will Be 7th Circuit’s Chief Judge
Feared and respected, and a former felony court judge in Flagler, Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano was elected Chief Judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit, which includes Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties.
The GOP Senate Bill’s Hollow Promise To Protect Coverage For Preexisting Conditions
Built into the bill are loopholes for states to bypass protections and erode coverage for preexisting conditions, so insurers could cover chronically ill people but not the diseases they suffer from.
Man Is Killed as Car Fishtails and Crashes Through Guardrail on I-95, South of SR 100
A man was killed early Saturday morning when his car veered off I-95, crashed through the guardrail, and rolled into a ditch between the southbound and northbound lanes.
19-Year-Old Shot In Palm Coast’s F Section, Suspect Caught After Chase in R-Section
The suspect, Levi Evan Ovenshire, 19, fled in a car after the shooting at 12 Fulton Place, and was apprehended after 21-minute a chase through the R Section.
First Cast, In Full Glory
Flagler Beach photographer and attorney Scott Spradley was by the Pier at dawn this morning to capture images of fishermen’s first cast. He did, superbly, and tells the story of the picture.
Coming to Flagler Beach: No-Parking Barriers and Silt Mounds to Stop A1A Washouts
The city and the state transportation department will block off portions of A1A to parking and build silt mounds to soak up water, though some commissioners are skeptical of silt’s effectiveness.
Brandon Hubbert Acquitted of Armed Robbery at Palm Coast Staples as Evidence Falters
A jury took barely 20 minutes to acquit Brandon J. Hubbert of Bunnell, who’d faced between 10 years and life in prison had he been found guilty of a 2015 armed robbery at Staples off Old Kings Road.
637-Ft. Flagler Beach Pier Re-Opens Saturday, 8 Months After Hurricane Matthew Lobotomy
The Flagler Beach Pier will reopen Saturday as emergency repairs end, to the joys of a city that’s lived without its iconic amenity since Hurricane Matthew sheared 163 feet from its end and made it unstable.
6-Hour Manhunt Ends On Palm Coast Parkway As Felon, Just Out of Prison, Is Caught
The man had just served 96 months in prison, and was heard saying he doesn’t want to go back. The crash with the deputy was not serious, but he later crashed his truck more severely.
In Rare Joint Appearance, Flagler’s 3 Judges Speak Candidly About the Job’s Challenges On and Off Bench
Circuit Court judges Dennis Craig and R. Lee Smith and County Court Melissa Moore-Stens spoke of personal and professional challenges and addressed the Flagler bench’s workload.
Citizens’ Review Panel May Not Force Testimony From Cops, Florida Supreme Court Rules
The case stemmed from a complaint filed in 2009 alleging misconduct by a cop during a traffic stop. The Miami police department’s internal affairs division found insufficient evidence of misconduct.
Flagler’s Oddly Sunny Hurricane Matthew After-Action Report Draws Criticism From Its Own Emergency Staff
The much-anticipated report was written by the administration, not the emergency management staff, and conveys more of an error-prone, fluffy public relations approach than rigorous and factual analysis.
Where It’s Legal, Pot Leads To Fewer Traffic Stops, But Racial Disparities Remain
The drop means fewer interactions between police and drivers, potentially limiting dangerous clashes. But black and Hispanic drivers are still searched at higher rates than white motorists.
Flagler School Board Apprehensive of Changes in Law Affecting Charters, Recess and Religion
One law is altering the relationship between the district and its charter schools and imposing new requirements on eligibility for Bright Futures, and other laws will have broad impacts.
Court Allows ACLU’s Public Record Fight Over Police Tracking of Cell Phones
The ACLU requested the records from Jackson as part of a broader inquiry in 2014 into the Sarasota Police Department’s use of what are known as “Stingray” tracking devices.
FPC’s Anna Crawford Is Wasdworth’s New Principal, Volusia’s Reeves Takes Matanzas
Anna Crawford had been assistant principal at Flagler Palm Coast High School and Belle Terre Elementary, Jeff Reaves is a Volusia County import.
Divided Palm Coast Council Sticks With Controversial FPL Path in F-Section, But Alternatives Still Possible
The 3-2 vote to stick with the FPL path leading to Matanzas High School doesn’t yet kill alternatives, including the possibility of a temporary footpath along Old Kings Road, the city manager pledged.
Thirty Months Later, Holland Park Re-Opens To Cheers, and Echoes of a Brooklyn Basketball
The $4.3 million reconstruction project at the 27-acre park became a $4.7 million project and took exactly twice as long to complete as projected, but its re-dedication drew scores of children who could care less: they just wanted to play.
What Financial Constraints? Flagler Government Prepares to Spend $1.8 Million On Document-Management System
The new system would make many parts of government paperless, but it’s not yet clear how the county will pay for it even as it strains from Hurricane Matthew-related expenses.
Florida Health Officials Move Ahead With Medical Pot Rules Approved in Special Session
The just-passed bill addressed major issues, such as how many companies will receive marijuana licenses and how many retail outlets they can run.
Behind Closed Doors: 5 Things Being Weighed In Secret Health Bill Also Weigh It Down
As 13 GOP senators continue to secretly craft a health care bill, some of the policies under consideration have slipped out, and pressure points of the debate are fairly clear.
Trump Administration Quietly Rolls Back Civil Rights Efforts Across Federal Government
Previously unannounced directives will limit the Department of Justice’s use of a storied civil rights enforcement tool, and loosen the Department of Education’s requirements on investigations.
More Washouts Plague Flagler Beach’s A1A as Commissioners Wonder: Another Year and Half Of This?
Heavy rains caused more washouts of the low dunes and rock revetments along State Road A1A this afternoon in what is becoming a recurring problem with almost every heavy rain event.
Flagler’s Unemployment Stays at 4.5% as Number of People With Jobs Hits Record 44,000
The number of unemployed persons–2,065–was essentially unchanged compared with April, but it’s down by 250 people from a year ago. The Florida unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent.
How the Education Bill Scott Signed Thursday Will Hurt Flagler Schools, Favoring Charters
The Flagler school district is now 64th out of 67 in per-pupil funding, and the bill Gov. Scott signed today will force the district to turn over more money to charter schools.
Ex-Elections Supervisor Kim Weeks Rejects Plea Deal as Lawyer, Her 4th, Sets for Trial
The deal would have spared Kimberle Weeks prison on felony charges that she illegally recorded conversations, but would have meant probation, according to Kevin Kulik, her latest lawyer.
Gov. Scott Vetoes Higher Education Bill, Citing Cuts to State Colleges and Caps on Enrollment
Scott objected to an enrollment cap on baccalaureate degrees for the 28 state colleges and cutting college’s budget by $25 million, while substantially increasing spending on state universities.
The Problem with Dividing
‘Good Muslims’ from ‘Bad Muslims’
The “good Muslims” support those “war on terror” policies that result in the expansion of violence against mostly innocent people. The “bad ones” don’t — and are called terrorists.
Flagler-Palm Coast’s Crime Rate Falls Modestly in 2016, But Domestic Violence Up 8.1%
The crime rate has been relatively flat for the past three years, and significantly down from previous years even as the county has been growing by about 2,000 people a year since the end of the recession.
Controversial FPL Footpath Through F Section Back on Agenda as 2 Council Members Demand Options
F-Section residents are incensed at a planned path they rejected in 2008, but City Manager Jim Landon, who knows the volatile history of the path, shifted the blame for the controversy onto the city council.
Both Sides Pressuring Scott on School Bill That Drew Protest Firestorm from Education Leaders
The bill’s passage infuriated school boards, superintendents, the state’s main teachers and other education advocates. Scott hinted that he was considering a veto at the time.
Saturday From Hell: 3 Stabbings, 8 Arrests Across Flagler As Domestic Violence Stresses Sheriff’s Initiative
Sheriff’s deputies in Palm Coast and police in Flagler Beach and Bunnell were seemingly overrun with violent incidents in barely a 24-hour period this weekend, two weeks from a domestic-violence summit.
A 26-Year-Old Iraq War Veteran In 3rd Suicide in 5 Days in Palm Coast
Justus Albert Leach, A 26-year-old Army veteran of the Iraq war, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his backyard at 71 Ft. Caroline Lane Sunday.
Behind County Plaint That Relations With Palm Coast “Suck,” a History of Rancor and Cooperation
It’s been five years since Palm Coast and Flagler County governments met jointly, but they have a poor history of it, preferring to work behind the scenes on key issues.
After Matanzas Golf Course Owners a No-Show at Hearing, Palm Coast Moves to Recover $228,000
Circuit Judge Scott DuPont rejected what defenses the golf course owners had produced regarding overgrowth, clearing the way for foreclosure on the long-troubled course.
Health Providers Prevail Over Gun Promoters in Guns v. Glocks Duel as 2011 Law Dies
The plaintiffs in the case, including individual doctors, argued that the restrictions were a violation of their First Amendment rights. A federal court agreed.
At International Competition, FPC’s Teams Take Grand Champion and 1st, Bunnell Takes 2nd
An FPC team’s project designed to cater to those who cater to the sick in hospitals won grand champion, the project that built bat houses to combat the Zika virus won first place.
When Elected Officials Block Constituents on Twitter or Facebook, Possibly Breaking the Law
As elected officials increasingly turn to social media to communicate with constituents, some are blocking those who disagree with them. Some say it violates the First Amendment.
50 Years Later, Israel’s Attack on the USS Liberty Still Provokes Unsettling Conclusions
On June 8, 1967, during the Arab-Israeli war, Israeli jets and gunships attacked the USS Liberty in the Mediterranean, killing 34 Americans. Israel called it an accident. Survivors doubt it to this day.
Cities Can’t Go It Alone: They’ll Need State Help to Meet Paris Climate Goal
Even Palm Coast’s mayor has received requests to join the pledge, but many cities may be hamstrung by Republican governors and state legislatures that are less supportive of policies that would reduce fossil fuel emissions.
Palm Coast’s Daniel Torres, 37, Killed In Head-On Crash on Old Kings Road
Daniel G. Torres, 37, of Palm Coast, was killed in a head-on collision as he drove the wrong way south on Old King’s Road near Palm Coast Parkway early this morning. Two people in the other vehicle were injured.
A Special Session Gorged on Wheeling and Dealing Ends With All Sides Declaring Victory
The agreement gave each of the three sides at the Capitol — Scott, the House and the Senate — something that could be called a victory, but more vetoes may yet be to come.
Flagler’s Mosquito Control District’s Operations Move Into New Home at County Airport
Just as Flagler got drenched with mosquito-spawning rains, the agency responsible for monitoring and killing mosquitoes moved into a new, ample headquarters with its own helipad.
Lawmakers Find Agreement On Much Broader Allowances for Medical Pot Dispensaries
The cap on dispensaries would end in less than three years and the number of medical-marijuana operator licenses would increase as the number of patients eligible for the cannabis treatment grows.
Flagler Students Make Gains In Almost Every Discipline, Ranking in State’s Upper Half or Third
By almost every measure, Flagler students improved their English, math, science and social science scores, year over year, according to 2017 test results released today.
Court Throws Out Medical Malpractice Caps, Legacy of Jeb Bush Years, as Unconstitutional
Justices were sharply divided, with the majority finding that the caps on “non-economic” damages violated equal-protection rights and disputing that a malpractice insurance “crisis” exists.
Drought Relief: Rains Drench Flagler and Surrounding Counties, Reducing Parched Conditions
Three days of recurring rains ended, or at least significantly reduced, drought conditions that have been taxing the region, leading to water restrictions, brown lawns and heightened fire dangers.