The Flagler School Board wanted to start school in early August to give students more time to prepare for exams, but state law forbids it, forcing a calendar of its own on local districts.
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18-Year-Old Palm Coast Man Tased
And Arrested After Yelling Match
Qyontae Billy Sampson had been arguing with his girlfriend, but not physically, and did not comply when police tried to handcuff him, triggering a brief pursuit and arrest on three charges, including battery on a police officer.
Senate Panel Easily Clears Bill Granting Secrecy to Top College and University Job Applicants
The Senate Higher Education Committee voted 7-2 to approve the measure (SB 182), which would exempt information about applicants for the jobs of president, provost or dean from the state’s open-records laws.
Flagler Nears Solution For Marineland Acres Flood Woes, But at Steep New Tax For Residents There
To fix chronic flooding, residents of the Hammock’s Marineland Acres could see a new tax of up to $680 a year—more than five times the $11 monthly stormwater fee Palm Coast residents pay—added to their tax bills for the next 20 years.
On Flagler Roads, Cyclists Share Some Blame For Wrecks; Legislator Files Protective Bill
A proposed bill to strengthen protections for cyclists drew mixed reviews from a Flagler County commissioner and a Florida Highway Patrol homicide investigator, who both pointed at cyclists’ responsibilities on the road.
Guns on Florida Campuses: University System Says No, Citing Values and Protection
Florida’s university system wants state lawmakers to holster the idea of allowing guns on campus, saying it would jeopardize providing a safe and secure learning environment.
With “Venus in Fur,” Palm Coast’s City Rep Theatre Goes Fifty Shades of Dare
John Sbordone’s latest envelope-pushing offering at City Rep Theatre is a play within a play that mixes kinkiness, subtlety, and–as the lead character puts it–a little S&M porn.
Buddy Holly Story at the Flagler Auditorium: The Boundless Influence Of a Rock Legend
“The Buddy Holly Story,” at the Flagler Auditorium Friday, reflects the enduring influence and popularity of a rock-and-roller whose career spanned just 18 months before he died in a plane crash.
Is Your Facebook Account Private After You Die? Senate Bill Says Not So Fast.
Florida Sen. Dorothy Hukill wants to permit online account access after an account holder has died. The Act seeks to open the book on our digital lives, even after we have uploaded to the great cloud in the sky, writes Peter Schorsch.
Early Learning and Child Care Advocates Target Florida Legislature For More Money
Advocates are looking for higher health and safety standards for providers, better training for teachers and new money to cut the waiting list of 63,000 children for slots in the school-readiness program, which provides subsidized child care to low-income working families.
John Steele Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in Hit-and-Run Death of Sean Lynn Ryan
Sean Lynn Ryan was 25 when he was killed by a vehicle John Steele drove in December 2012 as Ryan walked along U.S. 1 near Plantation Bay. Steele kept going.
Third General Manager in 5 Years Takes Over Palm Coast’s Troubled Golf and Tennis Clubs
Six-figure deficits that taxpayers have subsidized year after year have riddled the budgets of Palm Coast’s Palm Harbor Golf Club and its tennis center since they opened.
Buddy Taylor’s Tyler Irigoyen, 13, Gets Shining Award For Bravery on Day of Fatal Crash
Immediately after Elisa Marie Homen was fatally injured in a crash with a school bus last month,13-year-old Tyler Irigoyen went to work, ushering his 50-some schoolmates to safety and tending to the injured bus driver before first responders arrived.
Net Neutrality’s Biggest Deal: FCC Rules Would Keep Internet Open
If the FCC ignores big cable and communications companies’ pressure and approves the rules, it would be one of the greatest public policy victories in decades, argue Matt Wood and Candace Clement.
Back In Tallahasee, Jeb Bush Gets a Taste of Push-Back Against His Education Legacy
Appearing at an education Summit, Jeb Bush, who is preparing a run for the presidency, saw his common core, school voucher and high-stakes testing ideas challenged, as they would likely be on the campaign trail.
Palm Coast Begins Conversion to LED Street Lights In Latest Push For Conservation
Palm Coast won’t retrofit its 3,000 street lights to LED just yet, but all new installations will be LED, and in a year or 18 months may consider a broader retrofit program if the investment shows solid savings over time.
Elderly Woman Strikes Cyclist on Florida Park Drive, Asks If He’s OK, Then Drives Off
Jordan Tyler, a 22-year-old resident of Ferdinand Lane in Palm Coast, was struck and injured by a sedan at Florida Park Drive and Farrington Lane. Authorities are looking for an elderly woman who was at the wheel of the car.
Resurrection: In 3-1 Vote, County Approves Lease of Old Courthouse to Baptist School
The vote also represents an unexpected, 11th-hour turn-around for a building most people, including some commissioners (and Bunnell’s city government, which briefly took possession of it before rejecting it), had written off as unusable.
Prospects Dim For Medical Pot in Florida As Senate Committee Signals Rejection
Proposals by two Republican lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana have a slim chance of passing this legislative session, based on the comments of a Senate committee chairman who helps control the fate of that chamber’s measure.
Large Majority of Floridians Satisfied With State’s Direction, But Scott Approval Still Sinks
Floridians are optimistic, with 67 percent satisfied or very satisfied with the state’s direction, but little of that credit goes to Gov. Rick Scott, whose approval rating is at 42 percent just three months after winning re-election.
Flagler Beach Mother Pleads Guilty In Minor Daughter’s Rape as Boyfriend Awaits Trial on Capital Charges
Allegations against Rhonda Wilkerson, 50, and boyfriend William Dillow, 28, tell an account of two young girls in the grips of harrowing brutality, torture, sadism, lies and threats over several months at the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014.
Palm Coast Close To Suspending Red-Light Camera Program as Legal Challenges Mount
By all appearances from the council’s discussion this morning, the council is ready to end its program as it is now configured, with a final decision to be taken on March 3.
Parents Ask Judge To Disqualify Union From Challenging School Voucher Program
Lawyers for the state and parents whose children use Florida’s de facto school-voucher program argued Monday that groups including the state’s largest teachers union don’t have the right to challenge the program in court.
With Generous County Subsidy, Christian School May Be Next Tenant of Old Courthouse
County government will vote Tuesday on a proposal by First Baptist Christian Academy of Palm Coast to lease the old courthouse in Bunnell for $5,700 a month, and with an interest-free, 30-year tax-funded loan of $360,000.
For Second Time in Five Days, R-Section Houses Are Targets of Several Bullet Shots
A house at 7 Rolland Lane and another at 6 Roxboro Drive were each sprayed with five bullets within five days of each other, and in each case a bullet struck a vehicle inside a garage. No arrests have been made.
Brian Williams and Baghdad Bob
When Brian Williams lied about being shot in a helicopter, it was part of a broader pattern of bogus stories the American media were too happy to broadcast about the war in Iraq as it sped to George W. Bush’s Mission Accomplished moment on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Last Tango For Nuclear:
Atomic Power’s Environmental Ringers
The nuclear power industry’s attempted revival is relying on a corps of environmental converts to the cause, including Obama climate czar Carol Browner and ex-EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman.
For Flagler Cop Sam Bell, Stopping
Bad Guys Didn’t End With Desk Duty
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Sam Bell was sidelined from regular duty after a drunk driver caused his knee injury, but twice in the past three weeks he helped lead to the arrest of two suspects.
In a First For Jacksonville Zoo, A Baby Gorilla Is Successfully Born
Almost a year after mourning the death of a newborn gorilla, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens this morning announced the first successful gorilla birth in its history. The newborn’s sex is currently unknown.
Gripes Aside, 6,000 Palm Coast and Flagler County Residents Enrolled in Obamacare as Deadline Approaches
Brisk enrollment in Flagler County and Palm Coast is nevertheless accompanied by individuals’ continued struggles, financial and ideological, over the Affordable Care Act even as Florida leads the nation in Obamacare enrollments, with 1.3 million people, and more expected ahead of the deadline.
24-Hour Waiting Period for Abortions and Repeal of Undocumented Immigrant Attorney Law Filed
In a sign that hard-core Republican legislators intend to press their case at the Florida Legislature, lawmakers this week filed bills that would impose a 24-hour waiting period for abortions, and that would repeal the law adopted last year that enabled Jose Godinez-Samperio, an undocumented immigrant, to become a practicing lawyer.
Ban on Confederates in Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame Raises Gray Hackles
The Civil War became an unlikely point of contention at the last Florida Cabinet meeting as Agriculture Commissioner Putnam criticized a decision not to include Confederate soldiers in the hall of fame, though Florida law prevents it.
Strong Job-Creation Pace Continues, Adding 1 Million in Last 3 Months
The U.S. economy added 257,000 jobs in January, continuing a job-creation pace not seen since 1999, when the economy added 3.18 million jobs overall. The unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent.
Latest Rule Proposal Would Let Pot Growers Distribute Product Directly to Retailers
The director of Florida Department of Health’s Office of Compassionate Use expects growers to be able to sell their product at storefronts, possibly in regions outside of where their nurseries exist.
South and West Palm Coast Getting 2, Possibly 3 New Gas Stations, With First Opening in June
A gas station on Pine Lakes Parkway and Wynnfield Drive will open in June while Race Trac is securing permits to open a station on SR100 and Seminole Woods Boulevard.
DCF Abuse Hotline Refused 2 Calls Before Phoebe Jonchuck Was Thrown Off Bridge
DCF did not deem urgent a message from a lawyer for the girl’s father the day before the killing warning that Jonchuck was “driving all over town in his pajamas with Phoebe” and “seems depressed and delusional.”
“I’m So F— Sorry”: In 911 Call of AK-47 Shooting, Regret and Worries of Going to Jail
In the 911 call, Brandon Williamson describes how he shot his friend Shane Huber and apologized repeatedly as Huber sat or stood near him for 8 minutes before deputies and paramedics arrived.
18-Year-Old Shot With AK-47 In House Across From Wadsworth Elementary in Apparent Accident
18-year-old Shane Huber of Palm Coast was shot in the chest with an AK-47 Tuesday afternoon at a house on Parkview Drive, across the street from Wadsworth Elementary. The school by then had let out.
Judge Orders Dennis McDonald and Attorney to Pay Palm Coast $15,900 Over Frivolous Suit
Circuit Judge Michael Orfinger’s order calls for the sum to be paid equally by McDonald and his attorney. The decision signals to local anti-government activists that governments will not leave certain attacks unanswered.
Florida Lawmaker Proposes Capping All State and Local Testing at 5% of School Time
The bill would authorize districts to use something other than tests to assess students in some courses, revamp laws tying teachers’ evaluations and pay more closely to student performance.
Sheriff’s Deputy Erik Pedersen Reconnects 94-Year-Old Mondex Woman To the World
When Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Erik Pedersen discovered that 94-year-old Ann Parker was without a phone in her Mondex home, he bought her one and refused payment.
Not So Good For Jeb: Hillary Would Tie Him in Florida, Easily Beat Him in Other Swings
Hillary Clinton is ahead of Jeb Bush by a statistically insignificant 1 point in Florida but beats him or Chris Christie handily in Ohio and Pennsylvania in a prospective contest for the presidency.
County Approves Salamander’s Bid For 198-Room Hotel, With Conditions and Donations
The Flagler County Commission’s verdict, just before 2 a.m. Tuesday, includes some last-minute promises of land and dollars from Salamander, and a four-year deadline to build the $72 million project.
Still Under Fire, Gov. Scott’s Office Attempts To Deflect Criticism Over FDLE Chief’s Firing
The ouster of Bailey has become a major controversy for Scott, who contended last month that commissioner resigned from the post. Bailey, who has only publicly commented to the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau, has said, “I did not voluntarily do anything.”
For Democrat Adam Morley, Steep Challenges In Bid For State House Against Paul Renner
Lack of money aside, Adam Morley’s candidacy appears to lack coherence and strategy, neither of which he could formulate when he met with Flagler County’s leading Democrats Monday.
Palm Coast Mother Charged With Child Abuse For Tasing Her 15-Year-Old Son
Rhonda Gulsen, a 54-year-old resident of Fairfax Court in Palm Coast, before allegedly tasing her son, had egged on a relative who was beating on the 15-year-old boy.
Flagler Commission Approves $18 Million Jail Expansion, Tripling Capacity to 404 Beds
The expansion of the jail will cost the sheriff and the county more to run. Those annual costs, drawn from property tax revenue, have not yet been provided.
Nuclear Power’s Last Tango: Industry’s Promise Fails to Outrun Crippling Costs
If you like the U.S. nuclear power industry, it’s a Michael Jordan-type gallant return. If you don’t like nukes, it’s more of a Gloria Swanson gruesome comeback in Sunset Boulevard.
Salamander’s Hammock Beach Hotel: An Invitation to Future Prosperity in Flagler
Tim hale, a Palm Coast business owner and Hammock resident, argues that Flagler County’s economic future is intertwined with Salamander’s proposed 198-room hotel at Hammock Beach.
Glitches Fixed, Flagler’s Upgraded 911 System Readies For Launch, With Text-to-911 Next
The $266,000 upgrade enables dispatchers to more quickly and accurately zero in on cell callers’ location. In the near future, text-to-911 capabilities will make it easier for the deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired to use 911.