Federal, state and local officials gathered at veterans Park in Flagler Beach under a broiling sun this morning for the groundbreaking of the $27 million beach-rebuilding project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a project 20 years in the making. Officials exchanged heaps of praise, but a principal reason behind the project–climate change–was left unspoken in a state where the words are now banned.
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Social Media and Gun Laws Await Supreme Court Rulings, with Big Implications for Florida
The social-media ruling likely will decide whether Florida can carry out a 2021 state law that placed restrictions on platforms such as Facebook and X. The gun ruling in a Texas case could help determine the fate of a 2018 Florida law that barred people under age 21 from buying rifles and shotguns.
Banning Asylum Is No Way to an Immigration Fix
Under both U.S. and international law, anyone fleeing persecution in another country has a right to request asylum and have their claim assessed. But both the Trump and Biden administrations have dramatically undermined these protections. Most recently, Biden’s executive order and accompanying federal rule on “Securing the Border” — which effectively closed the U.S.-Mexico border this June — all but suspended the right to asylum altogether.
Florida Argues in Court It Is Free to Censor or Control State-School Professors’ Academic Freedom in Classrooms
The state of Florida is free to forbid college professors from criticizing the governor in the classroom, an attorney argued on behalf of the state during an appellate court hearing over the Stop Woke Act — adding that those professors are free to seek work elsewhere if they don’t like a legislature-controlled curriculum. Academic freedom and when the government can insert itself into the classroom were focal points for a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit panel.
Lowering Speed Limits to 25 in Palm Coast Too Expensive, But City Considers Traffic ‘Humps’ in Neighborhoods
The Palm Coast City Council is not interested in spending $1.6 million to lower speed limits citywide from 30 to 25 mph–it would cost that much to change all the signs–and is leery about certain “traffic-calming” devices, whether speed “humps” or traffic islands. But it will consider a plan that would leave it in residents’ hands to decide whether they want speed humps in their neighborhoods.
Blaming Satan, Ex-Marine Calls Violent Standoff With Deputies a ‘Psychotic Break’; Judge Denies Bond for Now
Robert Detherow, the 55-year-old former Marine at the center of a six-hour standoff with police last week that included rants demanding the arrest of Sheriff Rick Staly, threats and obscene gestures against a deputy and hurling a glass bottle at her, said today that he was suffering “a psychotic break” brought on by PTSD from past deployments. A judge denied him bond, saying his behavior was too erratic and dangerous, pending further evidence of psychological issues.
Amendment 5: I’m Homesteaded. I Don’t Need Another Perk To Deepen Inequalities and Hurt Local Governments.
A yes vote on Florida’s Amendment 5 on this November’s ballot means that every year, the second of two $25,000 exemptions will increase according to the previous year’s inflation rate. The indexing is not only unnecessary–the Save Our Homes cap on taxes already does that–but it’s another pander that will deepen disparities at the expense of local governments, businesses, renters and agricultural properties, all of whom will have to make up for lost revenue.
Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Access to Abortion Pill Without Foreclosing on a Future Challenge
Thursday’s ruling means that mifepristone will continue to remain widely available in the United States, where it is used in over 60% of abortions by health care providers. The decision, however, does not necessarily foreclose another challenge to the FDA’s actions. Three states with Republican attorneys general – Idaho, Missouri, and Kansas – joined the dispute in the lower court earlier this year.
Sidestepping Executive Privilege, Appeal Court Sides with DeSantis on Records Denial, Calling Request ‘Overly Broad’
The appeal stemmed from a public-records request, filed by a person identified in court documents as J. Doe, seeking information from DeSantis’ office about influential conservatives involved in discussions about appointing Florida Supreme Court justices. In a subsequent lawsuit, Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey rejected the public-records request on a series of grounds, including that the governor had “executive privilege” that could be used to prevent release of certain documents.
Humbling Flagler, DeSantis Vetoes Almost a Third of Local Projects, Including YMCA, Tourist Center, and All Bunnell’s Asks
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a $116.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, after vetoing close to $950 million in spending approved by lawmakers in March. The vetoes include $46.52 million from what had been a record $151 million in appropriations for Flagler County, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach, a heavy loss that dampens earlier hopes for a big haul.
Beach Dredging and Rebuilding Project Will Take 4 Months, Not 9, and Flagler Beach Will Be Spared Detours
In a boon for a city besieged by construction, the contractor starting work on Flagler County’s first-ever beach-renourishment project within days informed Flagler Beach officials that the dredging will start at the south end of town and move north, will not use Veterans Park as an equipment staging area, and will not require traffic detours downtown, as had been previously planned.
‘Iron Man’ Robber Is Re-Arrested on an Arson Charge After Truck Fire and Explosion at Bunnell Lot
Lakhram Mahadeo, the Palm Coast resident who drew attention as the so-called “Iron Man” bank robber in 2013, served eight years in prison and was serving probation for that armed robbery of the Wells Fargo branch on Belle Terre Parkway, was arrested again on an arson charge stemming from a bizarre incident involving a semi truck he allegedly set on fire after it broke down.
Federal Judge Stops Florida’s Law Banning or Restricting Transgender Care, Calling It Discriminatory
A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that a 2023 Florida law and regulations prohibiting the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy to treat children for gender dysphoria and making it harder for trans adults to access care are unconstitutionally discriminatory and were motivated by “animus” toward transgender people.
Palm Coast Council Flirting with Easing Charter Restrictions on City’s Borrowing Capacities
Palm Coast faces mountains of needs, from stormwater infrastructure to roads to a public works facility, plus some wants like parks and a future sports complex on the west side. The city’s ability to finance those needs is limited. Its revenue sources are few and spoken for. Its charter places severe restrictions on borrowing. Now, coinciding with the city’s 25th anniversary, the Palm Coast City Council wants to explore ways to ease the charter’s restrictions on borrowing.
Did Palm Coast Council Agree To Condition Any Future Electric Franchise Tax Proposal on a Referendum? Yes.
Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko insisted during a discussion on the budget and revenue sources today that the council had agreed by consensus last year not to consider an electric franchise tax in the future without putting the proposal to a referendum first. Some of his colleagues weren’t so sure. But Danko was right.
Judge Blocks Florida Law Requiring Cities’ Elected to Disclose Same Financial Details as County and State Officials
A federal judge has blocked a 2023 Florida law that required municipal elected officials to disclose detailed information about their personal finances, ruling that the law likely violated First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian on Monday issued a preliminary injunction, siding with municipal officials throughout the state who challenged the law. The decision came three weeks before a July 1 deadline for filing the information.
In Sharp Retreat, Flagler Rejects Countywide Beach Tax to Focus on Barrier Island Only, and on Informing Public
A week after approving a plan in principle that would have imposed a new tax on almost all residents countywide to raise $7 million a year for beach protection, the Flagler County Commission today stepped back sharply from that plan, acknowledging that it had not done the necessary “outreach” to the public or to other local governments to ensure its success.
Sheriff: Increase School Board’s Cost Share of Campus Deputies to 60%, Lower County’s Share to 40%
The Flagler County Sheriff is recommending to the County Commission that the 50-50 cost share for school resource deputies, or SRDs, between the School Board and the County Commission be changed. Staly is recommending that the School Board shoulder 60 percent of the cost, adding $300,000 to the district’s budget, while lowering the county’s responsibility an equal amount.
In Florida and Elsewhere, New GOP Rules Hostile to Voter Registration Threaten Fines and Criminal Penalties
Republican lawmakers in Florida , Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and Texas have enacted a variety of voter registration laws over the past four years. The measures add new requirements around registering and communicating with voters and threaten hefty penalties for violations. The stated goal of the new laws is to prevent fraud, but in the absence of any evidence of more than very rare fraud some voting rights groups contend their real purpose is to dampen participation by likely Democratic voters.
Flagler County’s Beach Protection Tax: Right Idea. Wrong Execution.
The county has the right idea: we need a new tax to pay for expensive beach protection, or we’ll lose the beach. But the county’s execution is hurried, the plan is poorly thought-out, it is riddled with holes and inconsistencies, and it has included zero public participation and zero preparatory discussions with other governments. That’s a recipe for failure, deservedly so: the county is taking the public and its sister governments for granted, if not punting to the cities to do the heavy lifting.
FPC’s David Halliday, a Finalist for National Coach of the Year in Track and Field, Reflects on 30 Years’ Inspiration
David Halliday, one of Flagler Palm Coast High School’s most successful, if not its most successful, coach over the past 20 years, is one of eight finalists for the Coach of the Year in Track and Field award by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. The Florida native reflects on a 30-year career that and a coaching philosophy summed up by the sort of humanism and commitment he tries to impart on his students and athletes.
‘It Can Happen Here’: Emergency Management Director Warns Against Hurricane Complacency in Flagler Ahead of Busy Season
There’s a dangerous myth in Flagler County, and the longer people have lived here, the more they start believing the myth, and spreading it: that Flagler County is immune to hurricanes. Jonathan Lord, Flagler County’s emergency management director, says ahead of what has been predicted to be the busiest hurricane season in memory that Flagler County is at risk of getting a direct hurricane hit, even a Category 5 hurricane, as any other coastal community in the state.
Parents Sue Florida Board of Education Over Policy Denying Them Right to Challenge Book Bans
Three parents of children attending Florida public schools filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Florida Board of Education on Thursday, claiming that a 2023 education law discriminates against parents who oppose book bans and censorship.
Sprawling Vacation Rentals Becoming a Nuisance to Palm Coast Residents. City’s Answer: ‘Our Hands Are Tied.’
As resident after resident complained about short-term renters next door–the noise, the partying, the traffic, the garbage, the unexpected–the Palm Coast City Council chambers Tuesday evening sounded more like a scene transplanted from the County Commission a decade ago, or legislative committees in Tallahassee every year since. But the legislature just passed a new law that forbids cities like Palm Coast from imposing stricter regulations on vacation rentals than they would on permanent residents.
Ex-Marine Had It In for Sheriff Staly As He Compared Son’s Arrest to Donald Trump’s in a ‘Dying’ America
Robert Shawn Detherow, 55, threatened to dismember the sheriff’s deputy taking him to the Flagler County jail after he held off deputies in a six-hour standoff Wednesday, three days after posting a series of video exhorting people to join him to pray, to confront Sheriff Rick Staly, who he said should be arrested, and to ward off a civil war in the United States. He was upset over his son’s arrest in March, which he compared to the arrest of Donald Trump.
In Blow to Flagler, Special Magistrate Rejects Demolition of Old Dixie Motel Even as He Finds It ‘Dangerous’
The special magistrate the county newly hired to conduct its code enforcement hearings agreed with a county finding that the decrepit motel on Old Dixie Highway is “unsafe,” “dangerous” and not habitable. The magistrate nevertheless sided with the hotel owners, rebuffing a county move to demolish the building.
Palm Coast Drainage Committee Holds 1st Meeting Amid Some Perplexity Over Ability to Accomplish More Than City Staff
Palm Coast government’s drainage advisory committee held its first meeting Tuesday afternoon at City Hall. There were two people in the audience, neither from Palm Coast. To say that the committee will find a way to address drainage problems more clearly, better, or beyond what the city administration has already done would be premature: even some of its members are “perplexed” as to the committee’s direction,
Scott DuPont Appeals Decision Booting Him Off August Ballot for Judge in Local Circuit
n attorney for Scott DuPont filed a notice of appeal last week after Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ruled that DuPont was ineligible to run for judge in the 7th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler and Volusia counties.
Sally Hunt Confirms She’ll Resign, But Late Enough To Ensure DeSantis, Not Voters, Will Choose Replacement
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt today confirmed that she will resign her seat before November. She did not say when precisely between now and then. She appears to be purposefully doing so late enough to have prevented an election to fill the remaining two years of her terms. Gov. Ron DeSantis would fill the seat with his own appointment, which could take months after the seat becomes vacant.
Flagler Seeks New Countywide Tax of Homes and Businesses for Beach Protection, But Cities’ Support Is Key
In a “dramatic change for the county,” the County Commission on Monday agreed unanimously to seek a new levy on residents and businesses to pay for $7 million in annual beach reconstruction and protection–for ever. It is the county’s surrender to an unavoidable reality: to preserve the beaches, considered to be Flagler County’s greatest asset, residents across the county will have to shoulder a share of the cost in the same way that they pay for garbage services and stormwater protection.
Down-Ballot Effect in Florida of Trump Conviction Is Unlikely, But It’s a Fund-Raising Boon to Ex-President
Political experts don’t anticipate last week’s conviction of former President Donald Trump in New York will create significant down-ballot momentum — either way — for candidates in Florida. Fundraising has ratcheted up after Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, but experts in Florida pointed to issues such as voters already having their minds made up.
Former Palm Coast Surgeon John Cascone Again Avoids Felony Conviction Over Abuse, Pleading to Misdemeanors
For the second time in five years, former Palm Coast surgeon John Cascone today pleaded two felony-battery charges to simple battery misdemeanors, avoiding jail and limiting punishment to 24 months of probation, which he may terminate early. The case followed a similar path to one involving Cascone five years ago, with notable differences.
Covenants May Be Hurdle to Palm Coast’s Plan for YMCA on Town Center Land Pledged for the Arts
As Palm Coast government plans for a long-awaited YMCA in Town Center, albeit without a pool for now, a covenant restriction requiring the land to be used only for arts and cultural purposes may stand in the way. It isn’t an immovable restriction. But to get around it, the city may either have to pay back some state grant money that helped build a stage there, or it would have to use creative–to not say Orwellian–maneuvering that would allow it to redefine Y spaces as an arts and culture venue.
Sea Level Rise Make Florida’s ‘Beach Renourishments’ More Frequent, Expensive and Vain
The barrier islands keep moving, which foolish humans label “beach erosion” as they keep trying to bend nature to their will by trucking or dredging in lots of sand from somewhere else for millions of dollars. The Corps of Engineers, the government agency in charge of playing in such big sandboxes, always claims they’re “saving” the beach from disappearing. They aren’t. They’re just saving a lot of people’s investments as “fiscal conservatives” spend tax money on beaches sure washed away in the next storm.
Supervisors of Election Push Back Against Proposed DeSantis Rule On Determining Voter Intent
Florida supervisors of elections are pushing back on a rule proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to update standards for determining voters’ intent on ballots, saying the proposal includes “inconsistencies” that could lead to problems for county canvassing boards.
Lured by State’s $3,000 ‘Civics’ Bonus, Thousands of Florida Teachers Train in Christian Nationalist Tenets
Training materials produced by the Florida Department of Education direct middle and high school teachers to indoctrinate students in the tenets of Christian nationalism, a right-wing effort to merge Christian and American identities. Thousands of Florida teachers, lured by cash stipends, have attended trainings featuring these materials.
Think Your Land Can’t Be Sold Without Your Knowledge? Palm Coast Lot Owner Found Out Differently.
A Palm Coast property owner was shocked to fine that a lot he owns in the L Section had been put up for sale without his knowledge. It is now a common fraud that’s catching many property owners by surprise, that title companies are battling, and that the Florida Legislature attempted to address, but a bill doing so died in the last session.
After All the Battles to Keep Belle Terre Swim Club Open, Here’s the Public’s Chance to Still Have Access
The Belle Terre Swim Club’s Advisory Committee is soliciting $20-a-month memberships that would enable members to use the facility on an hourly and daily basis. But at least 120 members are needed to open the club one hour a day. The committee’s goal is to build up to enough members to open the facility several hours a day, six days a week.
Palm Coast Government Will Award Forensic Audit ‘Education’ Contract to MSL, an Orlando Accounting Firm
As the Palm Coast City Council seeks an education on forensic audits–either to conduct one or to learn that it may be too prohibitively, unnecessarily expensive absent imperative reasons to do one–Palm Coast government intends to award the contract for such an education to Orlando-based MSL, P.A. The accounting company specializes in audits, including fraud and forensic audits, business, tax and financial consultancies.
Nearly $1 Billion in New Construction Raises Flagler County Taxable Values 12% Over Last Year, a Salve to Budgets
“Humming along” is how Flagler County Property Appraiser Jay Gardner describes the year’s property values: powered by nearly $1 billion in new construction alone, $631 million of it in Palm Coast, taxable property values in Flagler County rose around 12 percent this year, and 13 percent in Palm Coast, about the same as last year. The estimates being finalized this week play a central role in local governments’ budgeting and taxing decisions.
Developer of Proposed 204-Boat Storage Facility in Hammock on Collision Course with County and Residents
Flagler County government, the Hammock Community Association and Hammock Barbour, the proposed development of a 204-boat storage facility and restaurant on A1A in the Hammock, are heading for another likely collision in court. A nearly four-hour mediation session that started this morning and stretched into afternoon, involving the three parties, failed.
Old Dixie Motel Owners Tell Skeptical Judge They Have No Intention of Abiding by Repair Contract with County
Flagler County government and the attorney representing the always-mysterious owners of the derelict Old Dixie Motel argued in front of Circuit Judge Chris France today about a three-year-old contract requiring safety and construction benchmarks. The county considers the contract valid. The owners do not. The county considers the contract valid. The owners do not. The judge will issue a ruling in the near future, though if his questions were any indication today, France is skeptical of the motel owners’ position.
Judge Rules Luke Ingram, 21, Legally Insane at Time of Brutal Killing of His Grandfather; Family’s Pain Unravels
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins in a short bench trial this morning found Luke Ingram not guilty by reason of insanity in the brutal killing, mutilation and raping of his grandfather Darwin Graham, 85, on Clermont Court in Palm Coast in November 2022. The short trial was also an occasion for family members to fill in, publicly for the first time, the distinguished life that Darwin Ingram had lived, and include for the court record some of the atrocities Luke Ingram committed that morning.
Scott DuPont Booted Off Ballot as Judge Rose Marie Preddy Prevails in Challenge Over Eligibility to Run
Circuit Judge Rose Marie Preddy, who sits in Putnam County, will not face an opponent in her bid to retain her seat as a judge today threw out Scott DuPont–a former judge–off the August ballot. DuPont, a former judge in the circuit, was removed from the bench by the Supreme Court in 2018, then suspended from the Bar for several months. That suspension meant he could not be eligible for a judgeship until 2026.
Increasing Sales Tax Divides Palm Coast and Flagler County As Both Scrounge for New Revenue for Cops and Other Needs
Discussion of a possible increase in the local sales surtax sharpy divided opinions between the Flagler County Commission and the Palm Coast City Council, who were meeting jointly today to discuss funding for the sheriff’s office. The discussion divided the two bodies even within their own memberships, suggesting that any possibility of an increase is remote best this year, if that.
Supreme Court Rejects Challenges to Florida’s Use of 6-Person Juries in Most Felony Trials Instead of 12
The U.S. Supreme Court did not explain its reasons for declining to take up 13 cases challenging Florida’s use of only six jurors in most felony trials. But Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a dissenting opinion that said the court should reconsider a 1970 ruling in a Florida case, saying the constitutional right to trial by a jury is not met by six-member juries.
Spectrum Launches Long-Awaited High-Speed Fiber Option for Western Flagler County
Charter Communications’ Spectrum, the internet, phone, cable television and wireless service company, last week launched high-speed internet and other services to more than 900 homes and small businesses in rural, western Flagler County. The fiber-optic network is now available in Andalusia, Bimini and Daytona North, also known as the Mondex, reaching into areas of the county that had been chronically underserved but for satellite connections.
Bluelining: How Home Insurers Are Spurning Entire Communities
Bluelining is an insidious practice with similarities to redlining — the notorious government-sanctioned practice of financial institutions denying mortgages and credit to Black and brown communities, which were often marked by red lines on map. These days, financial institutions are now drawing “blue lines” around many of these same communities, restricting services like insurance based on environmental risks.
Is the Armadillo Spreading Leprosy in Central Florida?
Leprosy remains rare in the United States. But Florida, which often reports the most cases of any state, has seen an uptick in patients. The epicenter is east of Orlando. Brevard County reported a staggering 13% of the nation’s 159 leprosy cases in 2020. Leprosy experts believe armadillos play a role in spreading the illness to people.
Voices From the Grave:
Admiral Rickover’s Nukes Warning: ‘We’ll Probably Destroy Ourselves’
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who died in 1986, was among the more outspoken, abrasive, often controversial and at times innovative military leaders in the nation’s history. In his last congressional hearing in 1982 he warned of the danger posed by nuclear weapons and nuclear power, predicted that the human race was on its way to extinction by nuclear conflagration, and deemed “silly” any talk of multiplying the Navy’s fleet, or even its aircraft carriers, which he said would last two days in a nuclear confrontation.