Virginia Jennelle of Palm Coast allegedly gashed her daughter’s forehead with a broomstick and poured food all over her to make her unpresentable and keep her from running away.
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Flagler County Fair 2016: Rock n’ Rib Fest and Nova Rex’s Metallic High Hair Among Peaks
The Flagler County Fair begins today through Sunday and this year folds in Rock ‘n Ribfest, the annual rock music festival that will feature several bands. including Nova Rex and Restless Heart.
After Reaping 69 Awards at State Competition, Flagler’s Problem Solvers Go International
Students from four Flagler County schools collected dozens of awards and many were invited to international competition in Michigan in June, but that means fund-raising is intensifying to get them there.
Raise the Driving Age to 18
Neurologically, kids aren’t ready, argues Catherine Durkin Robinson. Isn’t it time we did what’s best before more die or kill others? Simply focusing on experience ignores what we know about the teenage brain and its predilection for risky behaviors.
In Major Shift, County Proposes Rebuilding Beach Without Federal Dollars For Now
With federal dollars unlikely to share in the $44 million project, Administrator Craig Coffey wants the county commission to share costs with state transportation and environmental agencies instead, though the plan is rife with uncertainties.
County Commission Retreats From Joint Meeting With Palm Coast Council on EMS
After appearing ready to meet with Palm Coast, county commissioners now say that between election turn-over and the absence of a crisis, there’s no need to meet over ambulance issues.
County Explores Big-Idea Energy Savings, But Through Long-Term Wedding With Contractor
Flagler County government is looking to go greener with its energy consumption, but some of those ideas may not be possible without wedding government to a single private contractor for a decade and a half or more.
Has Business Biased Florida’s Workers Comp Law Too Far Against Labor? Court Will Decide
Plaintiffs argue that lawmakers have taken too many rights and benefits from people who get injured on the job, while business groups say a 2003 law kept costs from “spiraling.”
Palm Coast Man Accused of Drunk Driving Arrested After 2 Crashes on Belle Terre Pkwy.
Ian Yahnke, 45, of Palm Coast, crashed a car at the Kangaroo station then at White View Parkway before his arrest, breathing .271 and .289 in a blood-alcohol level test at Florida Hospital Flagler.
Latest Ethics and Elections Complaints Against County Said to Set “New Highs for Creative Writing”
The complaints rehash allegations made in previous complaints related either to the 2013 county purchase of the old Memorial Hospital in Bunnell or to conflicts between the commission and Kimberle Weeks, the former elections supervisor currently under felony indictment.
Criminal Immunity: Prosecutors Are Rarely Punished for Mistakes and Misconduct
The Innocence Project alleges that prosecutors across the country are almost never punished when they withhold evidence or commit other forms of misconduct that land innocent people in prison.
A Bunnell Man Is Falsely Arrested Over Name Error, and Case Proceeds Despite Corrections
In a nightmare of the persistence of bureaucratic errors, Dakota Ward, 19, who’s never been in trouble, was confused with another man and falsely arrested on a battery charge last week. His case is still proceeding.
Man Arrested Over Cocking AK-47 Outside Metro Diner After Words With Manager
Joseph Eberhardinger, 24, had gone to Metro Diner with his girlfriend so she could retrieve her last paycheck when the incident unfolded. The same evening, Anthony Catoggio, 19, was arrested on an identical charge in a separate incident.
Flagler’s 6 Public-Sector Unions Launch Unified Political Arm as Palm Coast Workers Bargain
The new organization, joining teachers, cops, firefighters, school employees and municipal workers, aims to rival Realtors, home builders and the chamber in political influence and regain some power in collective bargaining.
28 Year Old Man Charged With Drunk Driving Manslaughter Death of 2 Women on SR100
Jody Alan Hyde, then 26, was the only person not injured in a wreck he allegedly caused in 2014, where two women were killed and two people left with incapacitating injuries.
Flagler County Royalty:
The Trouble With Uncontested Elections
Property Appraiser Jay Gardner and Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston have no competition, Tom Bexley for clerk of court barely does: Good as they are at their jobs, it’s not good for Flagler or for the offices they represent.
Hoax Call of Home Invasion and Shooting Draws Out SWAT and Anger on Ziegler Place
An unsuspecting resident on Ziegler Place was frightened by the sudden appearance of armed police, the house’s door was battered down and damaged, and nothing amiss was inside, though the residents were left angry.
Retreating from Confession in Husband’s Killing, Anna Pehota Vies for Trial: “I’d Rather Take My Chances”
Anna Pehota, 76, had previously confessed to killing her husband in the Hammock last fall, but has since withdrawn her confession and seeks a defense on a second-degree murder charge.
Behind Florida’s Deceptively Low Unemployment Rate
The labor force participation rate should always be taken into account when determining the overall state of the job market and the economy, and that rate has fallen significantly since the Great Recession, argues Dominic Calabro.
Palm Coast Man Who Avoided Prison in Child Porn Case Is Sentenced to 1 Year Over Gun
Paul Stout, formerly of Palm Coast, had avoided prison when he was placed on 10 years’ probation for possession of child porn last year, but his possession of a .380-caliber gun as a felon sent him to prison.
Council Will Approve “Kind of Dumb Looking” 150-ft Cell Tower on Palm Coast Parkway
The tower, camouflaged as a tree, will go up on city land near the public library and will accommodate four cell carriers, among them AT&T, whose service in many parts of Palm Coast has been dismal.
Florida Drops Planned Parenthood Case, Eliciting Charge of Political Motivation
Barbara Zdravecky, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, blasted the state Agency for Health Care Administration for “political gamesmanship” in a statement.
Woman Passed Out in Car on A1A With Infant By Her Charged With DUI and Child Neglect
Tiffany Pond, 24, was passed out at the wheel of her car, the radio blaring, with an infant next to her near an open alcohol container when a Flagler Beach officer woke her up.
“It Is Done!” Flagler Celebrates Opening of Exit 293 Interchange With North Palm Coast’s Future
Eighteen years in the making, the Matanzas interchange with I-95 is expected to alleviate traffic in palm Coast and spur development in the north of the city while giving residents of the L, B and F Sections faster, safer access to I-95.
Palm Coast Will Refinance $41 Million Utility Loan for Big Savings, But Don’t Expect Lower Rates
The Palm Coast City Council is holding a special meeting Tuesday morning, when it is expected to sign off on the deal. The nearly $600,000 in annual savings will not, however, lower utility rates.
As Scott Signs Bill Stifling Abortion Clinics, Planned Parenthood Sees Danger and Cruelty
The restriction means low-income Floridians could lose access to the organization’s health-care and family-planning services. Planned Parenthood said it has more than 67,000 patients in Florida annually.
County Takes Dim, Caustic View of Palm Coast’s “Efficiency” Push in Ambulance Services
County commissioners say if Palm Coast wants to make services more efficient, it’s the city’s problem, not theirs. But they’ve agreed to hold a joint meeting in May to discuss possibilities.
Florida’s 4.9% Unemployment Rate Matches Nation’s, Flagler’s Nearly There, at 5.4%
The number of Flagler County residents holding jobs surged by 472, one of the best single-month increases since the recession, lowering the county’s unemployment rate to its lowest level since 2007.
Flagler Beach Commission Denounces A1A Committee’s Plan for Signs on Scenic Road
Friends of A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway’s clumsily executed plan to install directional signs in Flagler Beach drew harsh and unanimous criticism from the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening.
Kimberle Weeks Makes a Court Appearance In Hearing That Illustrates Extent of Secret Recordings
The hearing addressed various technical motions, but also featured the testimony of an FDLE investigator that delved into the breadth and nature of Weeks’s recordings, which her defense attorney strived to show were not made illegally.
Palm Coast’s Karl Westgate, 19, Dies in Prison 7 Weeks After Sentence for Child Rape
Karl Westgate, sentenced last summer to 25 years for raping an 11-year-old girl, died in prison 48 days after his incarceration, and five weeks after writing a Flagler County judge to say that his plea had been coerced, and that he wanted his case re-opened.
America on Xanax: The Disunited State of the Union
An election season defined by popular fury aimed at Wall Street, Muslims, trade deals, Washington, police shootings, President Barack Obama, Republicans, immigrants, and other targets.
Court Upholds Prohibition on Married Couple Claiming 2 Separate Homestead Exemptions
Whether in state or out of state, the Florida appeals court found that the plain language of the law meant that only one homestead exemption was allowed, regardless of location.
Flagler County Supportive of Broadening Discrimination Protection in Housing for LGBT
Barbara Revels, who chairs the county commission, is proposing an amendment to a housing ordinance to extend non-discrimination protection to individuals for sexual orientation.
Waldemar Rivera Found Guilty of Raping His Step-Daughter
The case against Waldemar Rivera went to the jury this morning after two hours of closing arguments that painted two radically different portraits of the same 13-year-old girl who claimed she’d been raped by Rivera, her step-father.
Startling Advice From Judge to Defendant in Rape Case: “I’m Telling You Now, It’s Not Going Well”
After the alleged victim testified, several times in tears, Judge Matthew Foxman suggested to Waldemar Rivera, who is accused of raping his 13-year-old step-daughter, to talk to his attorney, intimating a plea or a change in strategy, as Rivera’s first day of trial went mostly and seriously against him.
In Step-Father’s Rape Trial, Defense Hinges on Doubts Over Credibility of 13-Year-Old Girl
Waldemar Rivera, on trial over accusations that he raped his 13-year-old step-daughter, is hinging his defense over sowing doubts about the accounts of his step-daughter, who was 13 at the time of the alleged attack.
No, Florida, You May Not Count Prisoners Who Can’t Vote in Redistricting Tallies
A federal judge has struck down county commission districts in a rural North Florida county — a potentially precedent-setting decision that could play into a challenge of the state’s congressional lines.
Obama in Cuba:
The Limits of “Engagement”
Indeed, if engagement is supposed to result in political change, US engagement with Cuba is most likely doomed to fail, writes Jorge G. Castañeda. After all, trade and investment have done nothing to bring about a democratic opening in Vietnam over the last 20 years.
Arrested For Arson on Dunes, He’d Taken Selfies of Blaze And Sought to Paint Scene
Christopher Munson, a frequent local jail inmate on violent-crime charges, said he’d set fires over 10,000 square feet of dunes to spot beer bottles and have a good place to paint the next day.
With Less Accountability, Flagler’s Tourism Dollars Continue Shift To Big-Ticket Events
County government’s tourism arm, which manages $1.6 million in tax dollars, is diminishing emphasis on community events to push sports and conferences which draw people without necessarily promoting the county.
Three Changes You Can Expect In Next Year’s Obamacare Coverage
Ahead: more warning about “surprise” medical bills from out-of-network providers, more standardized out-of-pocket costs and better information about the size of the insurers’ network of doctors and hospitals.
Flagler Reads Together:
In Search of Wilderness
Along the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail reveals the limits and deceptions, but also the joys, of wilderness in urban America: An essay to accompany Flagler Reads Together’s focus on “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk.”
Court Backs New Death Penalty Law But Asks Florida Supremes to Rule on Constitutionality
The 5th District Court of Appeal today sided with the state in two death penalty cases, saying that blocking the executions “impermissibly invades” the discretion of the state to seek the sentence.
Flagler on “Budget-Signing Watch” as 4 Local Items Totaling $3 Million Await Scott Signature
Pending appropriations include $2 million for improvements to the Plantation Bay utility, $200,000 for the Malacompra drainage fix, and $200,000 for Flagler Beach’s stormwater improvements.
47-Year-Old Bunnell Man Arrested On 12 Counts of Child Porn Possession
Michael Giachetti, a 47-year-old resident of the Palm Terrace community in Bunnell (Lot 63), faces 12 third-degree felony counts. He is being held on $60,000 bond.
Sheriff Applauds New Law Regulating Police Authority to Seize Cash and Property
“Civil asset forfeiture” is a controversial practice that gives police authority to seize cash, cars, homes or pother property suspected of use in a crime even absent an arrest. Florida just reformed the law to make forfeiture more difficult and accountable.
Senator, Governor, President, Nothing: For Marco Rubio, a Fuzzy Florida Future
For essentially the first time since he won a city commission seat in 1998, Rubio will soon be without a government office and without a campaign. What office Rubio seeks next, if any, isn’t clear.
The Closing of the Academic Mind
Any denial of academic freedom is a blow struck against the meaning of a university. The irony today is that some of the most worrying attacks on academic freedom have been coming from inside university.
Full Funding Restored to Flagler’s Adults With Disabilities Program, a Big Victory for District
Intense lobbying by local school officials and their legislators helped restore the full $545,000 appropriation they’d lost last year, enabling the district to again double enrollment in the Adults with Disabilities’ Step Up program starting July 1.