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Featured

School Board Rejects Developer Interested in Building ‘Specialty Retail Center’ on Palm Coast Parkway Property

October 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

The demolition of the school district's Corporate One property in 2016. The land has sat vacant since. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County School Board this evening will again formally reject a developer’s interest in buying the district’s old 7.2-acre Corporate One property  at the southeast corner of Palm Coast Parkway and Corporate Drive, a 7-acre site that used to be one of ITT’s headquarters, in the early years of developing Palm Coast, before the board bought it for $3.5 million. It was not one of the board’s wisest decisions.Tailwinds Development, a company that specializes in building retail commercial shopping centers, was interested in the acreage.

Flagler Schools Will Only Make Up One Day and Sacrifice 4 Lost to Hurricanes, While Preserving Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks

October 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Rymfire Elementary in palm Coast doubles up as Flagler County's first general population and special needs shelter in hurricane emergencies. It was used for two days during Hurricane Helene and three days during Hurricane Milton. (© FlaglerLive)

Assuming no more storms or other events require further school cancellations, Flagler County schools will have four fewer instructional days this school year. Thanksgiving and winter breaks will not be affected, the year will not be extended, and the district will still meet the legally required total of instructional days. The Flagler County School Board signed off today on its calendar committee’s minimal changes. 

Hurricane Milton’s Flagler Path in Pictures: Flooding, Beach Erosion, Damaged Roads and Roofs, but Nothing Disastrous

October 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Old Kings Road near Graham Swamp suffered severe damage and remained closed on Monday. (Palm Coast)

Hurricane Milton barreled through the midsection of the Florida Peninsula Thursday morning, lashing Flagler County with tropical-storm-force winds (and a few hurricane-force gusts) and up top 19 inches of rain in parts of the county. But damage overall was mostly minor despite floodwaters. Here’s an album in pictures and video.

Before You Complain: Your Grocery Bills Are Still the Cheapest In the World

October 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 30 Comments

That rich, cheap bounty--as bountiful as Americans' complaints about their grocery bills. (© FlaglerLive)

The cost of food has been a big concern for Americans since the height of the Covid pandemic, with U.S. food prices rising 25% between 2019 and 2023. While U.S. food inflation slowed considerably in 2024, grocery prices are still up from prepandemic numbers. For all that, food prices in the U.S. — relatively speaking — are the cheapest in the world, and have been for a long time. This is the case whether measured in terms of disposable personal income or in terms of percentage of household expenditures.

Flagler County in Federal Disaster Declaration: Residents Can Seek Help; Beach Will Be Repaired at 100% U.S. Expense

October 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Flagler Beach's newly rebuilt beach, which had extended some 100 feet or more, suffered severe erosion during Hurricane Milton, but did the job of preserving State Road A1A intact. Now that a federal disaster has been declared, the beach is eligible for repair funds, and will be rebuilt 100 percent at the federal government's expense. (© FlaglerLive)

President Joe Biden on Friday approved a major disaster declaration for 34 Florida counties that suffered damage from Hurricane Milton, including Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam counties. The declaration will help individuals and local governments to shoulder recovery costs, including–for governments–reimbursements for the majority of costs incurred by damage sustained or services provided during the storm and the recovery period. 

From Charley to Milton, 20 Years of Hurricanes and Florida Learned Nothing

October 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

A permanent sign in Florida. (© FlaglerLive)

Back in 2004, the Florida Department of Community Affairs ensured that evacuation times from flood-prone zones known as Coastal High Hazard Areas took less than a day. The law said the development density in those areas should not make the evacuees need more than 16 hours to get away from a Category 5 storm. Then Rick Scott and the Legislature killed the agency. Evacuation times have been getting worse, making life on those islands more dangerous.

Rick Scott Skipped Vote To Give FEMA More Money, But Now Says He’ll Be ‘Very Vocal’ To Push Congress to Help It

October 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 29 Comments

Florida U.S. Republican Sen. Rick Scott taking a ride on an airboat with Hillsborough County officials on Oct. 11, 2024. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)

Florida GOP U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said Friday that he’s asked the federal agencies involved with disaster relief to tell him what are the dollar figures they’ll need from Congress to help Floridians harmed by hurricanes Helene and Milton over the past two weeks.

Over 100 Homes in Palm Coast Damaged by Wind; Woodlands a Flood Concern; Surge in Flagler Beach Was Limited

October 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

In Palm Coast's Woodlands this afternoon. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County and city officials are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Despite the worst rain event Palm Coast has known in its history, despite some floodwaters in Flagler Beach’s low-lying areas and severe winds during Hurricane Milton’s passage over the region, the number of homes that experienced water intrusion have been limited to “a handful,” while the number of homes reporting wind damage, in Palm Coast, stands at 57. The numbers in Flagler Beach are not yet known. The shelter will close today, the night curfew will be rescinded.

Florida Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to State Agency Campaigning Against Abortion Rights Amendment 4

October 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The Supreme Court sides with Gov. DeSantis. (© FlaglerLive)

The Florida Supreme Court denied a petition from a South Florida attorney who alleged that Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials interfered with the campaign for the state’s proposed abortion-rights amendment. The justices unanimously sided with the DeSantis administration in one of the legal challenges that emerged after a state health agency published a webpage alleging that Amendment 4 “threatens women’s safety.”

Water Surging in Flagler Beach’s Low-Lying Areas, Flooding Some Homes; 44,800 Still Without Power in Flagler

October 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 48 Comments

A house on South Flagler this evening. The water was still rising. (© FlaglerLive)

“This horror will grow mild, this darkness light,” Floridians may be telling themselves–perhaps in not so many words–as Hurricane Milton edged off the coast of Florida this morning, still as a hurricane that left a wide swath of destruction and 3.2 million customers without power in its enormous path.

1,400 Search-Rescue Teams Poised to Go House to House in Wake of Hurricane Milton

October 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

More than 1,400 urban search-and-rescue crew members — and more than 100 swift-water boats — were staged throughout the state in advance of Hurricane Milton’s landfall Wednesday night on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Milton made landfall at 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key.

With Hurricane Milton’s Worst Ahead, Torrential Rains Raise Flooding Concerns in Palm Coast and Close Roads

October 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Stormwater cavalry: City of Palm Coast crews special-delivered sand bags to some residents in the B-Section, where water levels have been a particular concern due to today's torrential rains--with the worst yet ahead. (Palm Coast)

Torrential rain in Palm Coast ahead of Hurricane Milton has “severely overwhelmed” the city’s stormwater system. Milton’s advance rain bands have led to a few street closures in the B Section, to city crews special-delivering sand bags to some residents, and to an alert from the city to residents to minimize water usage as the stormwater system is being overwhelmed by precipitation–with the worst yet to come.

Commissioner ‘Disheartened’ By Lack of Evacuations in Flagler Beach, Where Milton Preparations Are Plainly Low Key

October 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

The property owner at a house on flood-prone South Flagler Avenue installed a water-hose barrier in hopes of staving off floodwaters from Hurricane Milton's storm sturge on the Intracoastal. The Intracoastal is only a few feet away from Flagler Avenue, and barely a few in ches below its asphalt. (© FlaglerLive)

But for significantly less traffic on most roads, you’d be hard-pressed to see that the largest part of Flagler County under an evacuation order was heeding the warning this morning. From the looks of the Barrier Island and the mainland part of Flagler Beach in the first hours after the 8 a.m. evacuation order, there were many more cars parked in driveways than getting packed or driving off. Homes with sandbags or other storm preparations were the exception. Businesses were more likely to be boarded up than homes, though that was the exception even for businesses, most of which were closed.

Evacuations Ordered for Entire Barrier Island and Much of Mainland East of I-95, Curfew Wednesday Night

October 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

Hurricane Milton’s projected path has remained remarkably steady with very slight variations north or south, but with models agreeing on landfall in the Tampa Bay area after midnight Thursday and now mostly merging to agree on a path along or a bit south of I-4, toward Merritt Island and the Space Coast, where it would exit, still as a hurricane, Thursday afternoon. Tropical-storm force winds ranging between 40 and 70 mph are expected in Flagler County, with the possibility of hurricane-force winds especially on the barrier island.

County Has No Intention of Closing SR100 Bridge and Sheriff Says It’s Not His Call Alone. Flagler Beach Had Other Ideas.

October 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The Flagler Beach bridge is not the city's to close, being a state road, except in narrowly defined circumstances. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission in an emergency meeting Monday approved a resolution asking the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to “exercise appropriate measures” regarding the State Road 100 bridge. The resolution does not explicitly ask the sheriff to close the bridge if need be, but the commission’s discussion before voting on the resolution indicated that intent, even though it appears to clash with the county’s emergency declaration, state law, and the sheriff’s own position.

Tampa Mayor Betty Castor: ‘We Are In For Over a Century’s Storm Here’

October 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor today. (Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)

As Hurricane Milton strengthened to a Category 5 storm Monday, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned: “It’s going to be a surge event. It’s going to be a rain event. It’s going to be a wind event, and, if it stays on the predicted trajectory, we are in for over a century’s storm here with Milton. This is the real deal here with Milton.”

Milton Could Be Among ‘Most Destructive Hurricanes on Record,’ NHC Warns; Flagler Readies for Flooding; Cancellations Multiply

October 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 29 Comments

Hurricane Milton's track according to the European forecast model has it making landfall at Tampa Bay and crossing the peninsula just south of the I-4 corridor. (Tropical Tidbits)

Hurricane Milton, now a monster storm, had sustained winds of 180 miles per hour, making it one of the most intense and dangerous hurricanes ever recorded. It had crashed NHC’s site in early evening Monday, as Florida’s midsection was bracing for a direct hit in the Tampa Bay area and Flagler County was preparing for severe impacts and potential hurricane-force winds that it did not record even during Hurricanes Mathew and Ian in 2016 and 2017.

Ahead of Hurricane Milton, State Emergency Director Guthrie Warns of Possibly ‘Largest Evacuation’ Since 2017

October 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Parts of Florida are still digging out from the damage of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago. Now a much vaster part of Florida is about to be swept into the destructive force of Hurricane Milton. (Florida National Guard)

With Hurricane Milton expected to reach Category 3 or 4 force before hitting Florida in the middle of the week, state Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie on Sunday urged residents to immediately start putting storm plans in place, which could include evacuating further inland.

Hurricane Milton, Gaining Force Quicker, Is Barreling Toward Florida’s I-4 Corridor and Flagler By Midweek

October 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The expected path of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Milton over the next five days according to to the American forecasting model. (Tropical Tidbits)

Eleven days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend, Tropical Storm Milton, expected to be Hurricane Milton by tonight, is rapidly gaining strength and is expected to become a major hurricane by Tuesday. It is mobilizing Florida from Tampa Bay through the north-central midsection of the state, including Flagler County, where severe conditions and impacts are expected. Tropical-storm-force winds are expected in Flagler County late Tuesday night into Wednesday. The rainfall potential over the next five days for coastal Flagler County, including Flagler Beach and Beverly Beach, is in the 8 to 12-inch range, and in the 6 to 8 inch range for inland Flagler.

Republicans Follow Trump’s Lead in Landslide Shift and Falsehoods on Vaccines

October 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

trump rfk vaccines

Trump has presided over a landslide shift in his party’s views on vaccines, reflected this campaign season in false claims by Republican candidates during the primaries and puzzling conspiracies from prominent conservative voices. Republicans increasingly express worry about the risks of vaccines. A September 2023 poll from Politico and Morning Consult showed a narrow majority of those voters cared more about the risks than the benefits of getting inoculated. On at least 17 occasions this year, Trump has promised to cut funding to schools that mandate vaccines.

Flagler Beach Police Investigating ‘Suspicious’ Shooting of a Palm Coast Man on A1A

October 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Police had roped off a section of the dunes on State Road A1A just north of State Road 100. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach Police Department and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office are investigating what they are terming the “suspicious” shooting of a Palm Coast man on State Road A1A early this morning. The man survived and was taken to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach.

Palm Coast Faces State Order to Build Up Sewer Capacity by 2028 as System Falters; Utility Rate Increases Inevitable

October 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 82 Comments

Palm Coast's Wastewater Treatment Plant #1 at the edge of the Woodlands is 50 years old. The city will be required by a state order to expand and rehabilitate it by 2028. (© FlaglerLive via Goggle Earth)

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is issuing a consent decree to Palm Coast government requiring the city to improve and expand one of its two sewer plants by 2028. The decree is a direct result of a system under strain and often over capacity. Compliance will be expensive, with ultimate costs in the $200 million range. Some of that may be paid with development impact fees. But a substantial portion of the cost will be the responsibility of existing rate-payers. The City Council will have no choice, especially with a consent decree hanging over its collective neck.

Palm Coast City Council Candidates Ray Stevens and Andrew Werner Sharpen Differences in Radio Face-Off

October 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Andrew Werner, left, and Ray Stevens this morning during their face-off on Free For All Fridays on WNZF. (© David Ayres for FlaglerLive)

Ray Stevens and Andrew Warner, the two candidates in the runoff for the District 3 seat of the Palm Coast City Council, faced off on WNZF’s Free For All Fridays this morning in a more focused and spirited discussion than candidates typically do at soporific and rarely challenging forums. The two candidates tangled for 65 minutes over development, their past, their associations, the reason they’re running, and why they’d be a better councilman than the other guy.

Flagler School Board is Doing Nothing to Encourage Applicants for Seat Vacated by Sally Hunt. Here’s How to Apply.

October 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

flagler school board appointment

The Flagler County School Board discussed the appointment of Sally Hunt’s replacement for the first time Tuesday, for just four minutes. It had no clue what to do next, and has no intentions of informing the public that the application window is open, or facilitating applications. The board chair has had contact with the governor’s appointment office, but did not say what that entailed other than getting an acknowledgement from that office that Hunt had resigned.

Palm Coast Says It Has No Control Over Burn Piles on Lands Cleared for Development But Will Seek Attorney General’s Opinion

October 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

A wood pile burning in May at the site of a development for over 300 homes along Royal Palms Parkway in Palm Coast. The burning there has stopped. (© FlaglerLive)

For years Palm Coast has had an ordinance giving it authority to control where and when burning takes place. The ordinance conflicts with state law, which reserves that authority exclusively to the Florida Forest Service. Rather than approve a new ordinance just yet, the Palm Coast City Council has agreed to seek an Attorney General opinion on what regulatory authority the city could seek within the law.

A Majority of the Palm Coast City Council Now Opposes Its Own Debt Referendum, Yet It Remains on the Ballot

October 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Newly appointed Palm Coast City Council member Charles Gambarro, left, attempted to nullify a controversial proposed referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot. City Attorney Marcus Duffy, right, counseled against it. (© FlaglerLive)

Newly appointed Palm Coast City Council member Charles Gambaro attempted to nullify a controversial proposed referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot. City Attorney Marcus Duffy counseled against it. That left the council in a startling position of defending a proposed referendum a majority of the council opposes. The ongoing debate is illustrative of the extent to which the proposed referendum has lost credibility and the way it is fracturing the council.

Fact-Checking Vance and Walz On Healthcare, Abortion Rights, Fentanyl at the Border and in the Country

October 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

fact-checkong vance walz

Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz met in an Oct. 1 vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News that was cordial and heavy on policy discussion — a striking change from the Sept. 10 debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. But they made several false statements, Vance more than Walz.

Fire Station 22 Will Survive as Historic Building, with 90-Space Community Center Parking To Be Built Around It

October 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

The days of Palm Coast Fire Station 22, built in 1977, are drawing to a close. The grounds could be converted into a parking lot to accommodate overflow from the Community Center nearby. But an adjoining parcel could also do the job. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday voted on a $3.3 million plan that would preserve the old fire station and look to “adaptively reusing the building to serve alternate functions,” in the words of city architect Eric Gebo, while creating 90 new parking spaces as overflow for the nearby Community Center. The 138 parking spaces at the Community Center have proved insufficient for the number and popularity of activities and events there. On average, seven meetings a month are turned away from the center for lack of capacity.

Judge Refuses to Block Florida Government From Disseminating What Critics Call Abortion ‘Misinformation’

October 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Judge Jonathan Sjostrom in a still from a 2021 Marsy's Law for Florida video.

Saying courts “must trust the people to decide what information is important to them,” a Leon County circuit judge refused to issue a temporary injunction to block the state Agency for Health Administration from disseminating what critics call “misinformation” about a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights. Judge Jonathan Sjostrom rejected arguments by Floridians Protecting Freedom, a political committee sponsoring the proposed amendment, and wrote that the case is “not justiciable by courts because political power is reserved to the people in an election by means of each ballot.”

Palm Coast Council Appoints Charles Gambaro to Heighter’s Seat, Bypassing Boyer

October 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Charles Gambaro walked upo to Darryl Boyer to shake his hand after the vote went Gambaro's way. (© FlaglerLive)

Executing the closest approximation of a midnight appointment in the city’s 25-year history, the Palm Coast City Council, with three of four members in their last weeks of service, appointed Charles Gambaro this evening to the seat Cathy Heighter resigned suddenly in August. 

Palm Coast Could Have Its First Free, Public 18-Hole Disc Golf Course in a Planned W-Section Park

October 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

disc golf course palm coast

Palm Coast and Flagler County may soon have their first disc golf course. If the Palm Coast City Council approves a proposed agreement with a builder, the 18-hole course will be the central feature of a new 9-acre city park at the corner of White Mill Drive and Pine Lakes Parkway. The builder, Marbella Apartments, will build the park at its expense, but in exchange for $569,000 in park impact fee credits.

Florida Helps Focus Recovery Efforts on North Carolina

September 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Hurricane Helene flooding in North Carolina. (North Carolina National Guard)

The governor announced Sunday that the state was sending resources to North Carolina and Tennessee to address flood damage and conduct rescue missions. Included in the efforts are two Florida State Guard search and rescue teams and two teams from the Florida National Guard in Chinook helicopters. Additionally, the state is sending water, Starlink ground stations, high water vehicles, airboats, shallow-draft boats, trucks, and teams from the Florida Department of Transportation.

The Fireman’s Son: Flagler County’s Even-Handed, Learned Judge Terence Perkins Retires

September 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins in his chambers on the fourth floor of the Flagler County courthouse. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins retires today after six years as Flagler County’s chief judge and 14 years as a judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, including stints as chief judge. In a long interview with FlaglerLive, Perkins reflected on a storied career that included a private practice at a firm he co-founded with colleagues, almost all of whom went on to become circuit or appellate judges, on the purpose of local judges, on his personal life, on the isolation and anguish judges feel at times, and on what’s next.

County Judge Andrea Totten on Circuit Judge Terence Perkins’s Retirement: ‘He Will be Profoundly Missed’

September 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

County Judge Andrea Totten, center, at her investiture in November 2019, with County Judge Melissa Distler and Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

County Judge Andrea Totten has known Circuit Judge Terence R. Perkins–who is retiring today–for 13 years, starting from when she clerked for him as a staff attorney in the Seventh Judicial Circuit to when he championed her candidacy for a new county judge seat in Flagler County, to which she was appointed in 2019. Totten reflects on those years, providing a unique perspective on Perkins beyond the courtroom.

The Newest Abortion Rights Supporters: Men in Red States

September 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

men abortion

As the costs of extreme abortion bans have mounted, men have seen their partners forced to delay or forgo essential medical care — whether bleeding out in emergency room parking lots while suffering a miscarriage or taking on the huge expense of traveling between states. In extreme cases, they’ve seen their partners die. Husbands with wives who’ve been denied care when a pregnancy goes wrong are now waking up and speaking out.

The Big Read:
Deconstructing J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Fictions

September 27, 2024 | Pierre Tristam | 28 Comments

jd vance harden

When J.D. Vance went from calling Trump “America’s Hitler” and calling himself a Nevertrumper to calling him a man of “extraordinary vision” as he accepted the nomination for  vice-president, the apparent change was mistaken for the apotheosis of an opportunistic pivot and a betrayal of his memoir’s affective nuances. But it was in fact the reflection and perfection of a skill Vance displayed throughout “Hillbilly Elegy,” where he constructed a persona scaled to a chameleon’s tongue. The book is the Rosetta Stone of the Vance we see today.

Hurricane Helene Leaves 3.2 Million Without Power, Including Thousands in Flagler; Local Damage Minor

September 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

Marine deputies on a rescue mission near Ft. Myers Beach in a pair of stills from videos posted by the Lee County Sheriff's Office Thursday night.

As dawn broke over Florida and the Southeast today, 3.2 million people were without power in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm  at 11:10 p.m. in Florida’s Big Bend area–10 miles west of Perry, in Taylor County–and as one of the most destructive storms on record for the area, with winds of 140 miles per hour and a storm surge of 10 to 20 feet. In Flagler County, while power losses reached 10,000, only a few houses reported being struck by trees, with many more trees down on roads.

Matters of Temper and Temperament at Tiger Bay Forum, Many Evaded Questions, Some Revealing Moments

September 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

tiger bay candidates

The 35 or so people who turned up for Wednesday evening’s Flagler Tiger Bay Club candidate forum would have gotten a general understanding of where the candidates stood on local issues. But sharp differences were surprisingly rare, and specific answers to questions even rarer. Too many questions lent themselves to open-ended speculation and the sort of bromides no one can quibble with. A few questions about temperament, public private partnerships and the “westward expansion” yielded more insights, and the candidates themselves had moments more revealing than they may have intended.

Palm Coast Council Approves Budget and Tax Rate and Rejects Latest Attempt to Nullify Debt Referendum

September 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Palm Coast's city attorney, Marcus Duffy, again weathered indecorous criticism from Council member Ed Danko on Wednesday, who challenged him on his interpretation of procedures surrounding the call for a closed-door meeting. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council on Wednesday gave final approval on a 3-1 vote to a $358 million budget and a slight reduction in the property tax rate starting Oct. 1. The 50-minute hearing, which had been rescheduled from last week, when two of the council members were ill, turned indecorous again in its last 10 minutes. Council member Ed Danko challenged the city attorney over a lawsuit just filed against the city to stop a referendum on November’s ballot, and urged two of his colleagues to rescind their vote supporting the referendum, so the legal action is made moot. They declined.

‘Catastrophic’ Helene Landfall Projected for Big Bend This Evening, But Limited Outer-Band Impacts in Flagler-Palm Coast

September 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Hurricane Helene's path will take it through the Big Bend area of Florida, while its outer rain bands will lash at Northeast Florida, including Flagler County. (Tropical Tidbits)

In Northeast Florida, including Flagler County, outer rain bands will increase in frequency today, with stronger winds arriving after noon and local impacts increasing through Thursday night, the National Weather Service in Jacksonville says. But rain totals in coastal Flagler and Palm Coast are expected to be significantly less than in inland Flagler and counties further west and southwest: forecast models have coastal Flagler and Palm Coast receiving less than one inch, though localized thunderstorms may produce more. The flash flooding potential in Flagler is in the 5 to 15 percent range.

Flagler Beach Hears Substantial Opposition to Veranda Bay Annexation as Developer Counters: ‘I Have Agreed to a Lot Here’

September 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

At least 60 people filled the Flagler Beach City Commission's chamber for a special workshop on the Veranda Bay annexation Tuesday evening, not including commission members, staff and the developer and his attorney. (© FlaglerLive)

More than two dozen people in an audience of 60 spoke against Flagler Beach’s annexation of the 2,700-unit Veranda Bay development as crafted in a special workshop Tuesday evening. Three commissioners raised substantial concerns as well. But none of it appears to be a deal-breaker as the developer agreed to continue negotiating, and to make several pledges and concessions.

55 Years in Prison for Devandre Williams, 20, in Killings of Keymarion Hall and Noah Smith, Who Were Both 16

September 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Devandre Williams after the sentencing today. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced Devandre Bernard Williams to two concurrent 55-year prison terms for the shooting deaths of Noah Smith and Keymarion Hall, both 16, in 2022 in Bunnell. Williams had faced life in prison for either. He pleaded two weeks ago to a sentence of between 40 to 60 years with a mandatory minimum of 25 years on the count involving Hall, leaving it to Perkins to decide where to set the sentence. Co-defendant Tyrese Patterson is to be sentenced on November. Co-defendant Stephen Monroe’s case is still in the pre-trial phase.

Helene Will Be Major Hurricane by Landfall in Big Bend, Flagler at Edge of Concerns; Expect Messy Thursday

September 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Hurricane Helene's forecast path according to the European model. It is expected to make landfall as a major, Category 3 hurricane in Florida's Big Bend, bringing heavy rain and some wind to Flagler County especially on Thursday. (Tropical Tidbits)

Tropical Storm Helene is forecast to strengthen and move rapidly, becoming a major Category 3 hurricane–with winds above 111 miles per hour–before landfall along Florida’s Big Bend and Nature Coasts on Thursday evening. Helene will become very large, so impacts will be experienced far from the center. The potential for direct impacts is increasing for northeast Florida, according to the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, with local impacts including heavy rain and some flooding possible beginning on Wednesday night and lasting through early Friday morning. Thursday will be messy locally.

Attorney Behind Lawsuit Challenging Palm Coast’s Debt Referendum Had Warned Council of Red Flags in August

September 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Palm Coast attorney Jay Livingston, seen here speaking with County Attorney Al Hadeed in 2019.

Jay Livingston, the Palm Coast attorney who filed the lawsuit challenging the City Council’s proposed referendum removing limits on the city’s bonding, borrowing and leasing powers, was struck by ballot language he said was “designed to intentionally mislead the voters” as he heard it while waiting on an unrelated land-use issue before the council in July. Meanwhile, the city attorney suggested to council members that they only discuss the lawsuit in a “shade” or closed-door meeting, which raises issues of its own.

Sheriff Staly: Why I Oppose Amendment 3 on Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

September 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 88 Comments

Sheriff Rick Staly. (© FlaglerLive)

As Flagler County voters consider Amendment 3, which proposes the legalization of recreational marijuana in Florida, we must consider the serious consequences the amendment would impose on our community and what its backers, with their well-funded commercials, aren’t telling you, Sheriff Rick Staly writes.

Ban on Homeless Sleeping in Most Public Places Among 34 New Florida Laws Going in Effect Oct. 1

September 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

homeless ban

Nearly three dozen new state laws will take effect Oct. 1, including a contentious measure that will limit where homeless people can sleep. Other measures include creating a license plate for Parrot Heads living the life of the late singer Jimmy Buffett and requirements about flood disclosures for home buyers. In all, 34 laws that passed during the 2024 legislative session will take effect, with the homeless changes (HB 1365) drawing the most attention.

Judge Rejects ‘SLAPP’ Suit by Veranda Bay Developer Against Opponents Who’d Challenged County’s Approval

September 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Circuit Judge Chris France

Rejecting what he saw as an attempt to silence an advocacy organization’s right to challenge development, Circuit Judge Chris France on Friday ruled in favor of Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek, ending a year-and-a-half-old lawsuit filed against the group by Palm Coast Intracoastal. France termed PCI’s action a SLAPP suit impermissible under state law, handing the grass-roots group a major victory against the chilling effect of such lawsuits on speech and participation in matters of public concern. PCI is under the umbrella of SunBelt Land Management, the company overseeing Veranda Bay near Flagler Beach.

Lawyer for Victim of Alleged Rape by Flagler Paramedic Informs County of Her Intention to Sue

September 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The interior of a new Flagler County Fire Rescue ambulance before it went into service. (© FlaglerLive)

A lawyer representing the victim of an alleged sexual assault as she was being transported unconscious aboard a Flagler County Fire Rescue ambulance has notified county government of her intention to sue. The notice is not a surprise. James Tyler Melady, who had worked as a paramedic with Flagler County Fire Rescue since 2018, had a checkered record and was going to be fired when he resigned in June, was arrested on Sept. 12 on a charge of sexual battery–or rape–of a patient who was passed out with intoxication and was being transported by ambulance to a local hospital the night of Oct.16-17, 2021.

Florida’s New Covid Booster Guidance Is Straight-Up Misinformation

September 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

ladapo and desantis

In what has become a pattern of spreading vaccine misinformation, the Florida health department is telling older Floridians and others at highest risk from covid-19 to avoid most booster shots, saying they are potentially dangerous. Clinicians and scientists denounced the message as politically fueled scaremongering that also weakens efforts to protect against diseases like measles and whooping cough.

A Florida Editor Told Clay Jones His Political Cartoons Were Too Political. He Responds.

September 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

clay jones

Celebrated and fearless cartoonist Clay Jones, whose work has been appearing at FlaglerLive for a year, received a complaint from a Florida editor (not us) that his political cartoons were too political. His response: I refuse to change how I cartoon to the point that my work is frivolous and meaningless. Other cartoonists are doing that. Let them have it.” Clay Jones will not play nice. For good reason.

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