Polls opened today for the final day of the 2022 election, with nearly 42,000 votes already cast by mail or in early voting in Flagler County. Only a handful of local races are on the ballot.
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Barrier Island May Be Evacuated Wednesday Morning as Nicole’s Effects on Flagler Could Repeat Ian’s
Flagler County emergency management officials are cautioning residents of the barrier island, from Flagler Beach to Marineland, to be ready to evacuate as early as Wednesday as sub-tropical storm Nicole strengthens into a hurricane, making landfall in south Florida in the first hours of Thursday. Talks are ongoing possibly to stand up a shelter at the Palm Coast Community Center.
‘Chaos and Confusion’: The Campaign to Stamp Out Ballot Drop Boxes
Drop boxes have become a symbol of the attacks on voter access even though there’s been no cases of fraud, vandalism or theft involving drop boxes that could have affected election outcomes. Up to one-fourth of Florida drop-boxes had to be eliminated due to a new law restricting their use and locations.
DOT Dumping Sand at South End of Flagler to Protect A1A, But Heart of Flagler Beach Is Defenseless
Workers have been dumping new white sand at the rate of 590 cubic yards a day to buttress the dunes and protect State Road A1A from the Flagler Beach city limit down into Ormond By the Sea. Yet Flagler Beach itself, including the area at the heart of the city that has eroded even more since Hurricane Ian, remains critically defenseless.
In latest Intrusion on Academic Freedom, Tenure Review Could Be Tied to How Professors Teach Race
A controversial law designed to restrict the way certain race-related topics can be taught in Florida classrooms could factor into a new tenure-review process for university professors, under a proposal that higher-education officials will consider next week.
Potential Storm Has Flagler Officials Worried About Further Damage to Weakened Dunes
A storm developing east of the Bahamas has Flagler County officials worried–not about a significant wind or rain event, but about higher tides, high waves and further damage to the already weakened dune system along the county’s 18 miles of coastline.
FEMA Dollars May Not Be Enough to Rebuild Pier, State Emergency Chief Guthrie Tells Flagler Officials
Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told a group of Flagler County and Flagler Beach officials that they’ll need to lobby their state representatives for additional money if they hope to have all the funds necessary for an 800-foot concrete replacement pier.
Palm Coast Loses Firefighter-Paramedic Brant Gammon to Cancer Days After He Is Honored for Milestones
The Palm Coast Fire Department’s Firefighter-Paramedic Brant Gammon died today of an inoperable brain tumor less than three months after he was diagnosed, and barely two weeks after he was recognized in a ceremony for earning his paramedic certification. He had just turned 51 on Tuesday.
Flagler Schools Have Been Quietly Banning or ‘Removing’ Many Books Since Summer in Bow to ‘Moms for Liberty’
The school district has been quietly and steadily banning books from library shelves at Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas High, and at Indian Trails and Buddy Taylor middle schools since summer, FlaglerLive has found, with every title part of a list of challenges from just three members of the group known as “Moms for Liberty.” There is no indication that the challengers are reading the books, but they have been asked to join the district’s review committee.
Amendment 3: Is Yet Another Homestead Exemptions Needed, Or Prudent?
Florida voters could offer significant property tax exemptions to Florida’s teachers, firefighters, active-duty members of the U.S. military, and other specified professions, amid a relatively hostile housing market. But a well-meaning tax exemption may bring about other complications, such as a loss of local government tax revenue.