Roster, who joined the Sheriff’s Office in 2001, rose to the rank of Sergeant and was the agency’s 2010 officer of the year, was the subject of an internal affairs investigation triggered by men in his own squad last year, who claimed he was collecting thousands of dollars for time he wasn’t actually working.
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Facebook Advances to 15- and 16-Year-Old Girls and Rendezvous Lead to 30-Year-Old’s Arrest
Michael Lee King is a 30-year-old resident of 1521 Hickory Street in Bunnell, exchanged suggestive text messages with girls and scheduled a meeting at PetSmart in palm Coast, where he was arrested by Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies on Monday.
In Wake of 9th Death in Florida, Flagler Health Department Cautions Against Seawater Bacteria
Vibrio vulnificus is a cholera-like bacteria that lurks in warm Intracoastal waters and infects people through raw shellfish or oysters or through open lesions, and causes death 50 percent of the time. Henry Konietzky, 59, is the latest victim to die from exposure to the bacteria as he crabbed in Ormond Beach’s section of the Intracoastal this weekend.
Elections Supervisor Accepts Compromise on Use of Community Center for Early Voting
The Palm Coast City Council was willing to make broad concessions to Elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks, including either cancelling or moving one of its meetings so she could have the use of the larger Community Center room for Election Day voting, but the council stopped short of granting her that room for all 26 days she was requesting.
“That’s One Lucky Young Lady”: 23-Year-Old Survives as Truck Flips Into Waterlogged Ditch
23-year-old Carlene Murphy survived what could have been a grisly accident at 10:15 Monday morning on SR100, west of Bunnell, as her pick-up overturned and ended up in a waterlogged ditch.
Flagler Democrats Will Demonstrate For Obamacare in Front of Health Department Tuesday
The noon demonstration by the Flagler County Democratic Club marks the first day of Obamacare’s insurance exchanges, and protests Florida’s sustained opposition, and various obstacles, to the law, including the prohibition against use of local health departments to make it easier for the uninsured to get coverage.
When Southern Heritage Is a Lost Cause
As surely as their chosen symbols profess a sentimental attachment to an era of racist brutality, Confederate nostalgists insist that what they really pine for is the Old South of country roads, shady front porches and long, lazy afternoons at the fishing hole. Steve Robinson doesn’t buy it.
A Republican Abandons Rick Scott: Paula Dockery and Florida’s Fraying GOP
Democrats now look like a party united compared to the Republicans, Cary McMullen argues, as Paula Docker, one of Florida’s increasingly endangered moderate Republicans, announces her desertion of Gov. Rick Scott’s campaign for re-election.
Nostalgia Sprinkle: Flagler Beach Bans Mobile Vendors Except for Ice Cream Trucks
Thursday evening, the Flagler Beach City Commission swirled Solomon with nostalgia in a 4-1 vote to ban all mobile vending in the city, except for ice cream trucks, a victory for Sandy Kenny’s operation.
A Man Is Accused of Dragging and Running Over His Girlfriend Off Palm Coast Parkway
When Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Frank Gamarra arrived at the Palm Coast Parkway scene at 8 p.m. Thursday, Toni Bater, a 50-year-old Palm Coast resident, was lying on the ground with severe injuries to her legs, arms and head and bruising to her right eye. She was in the parking lot of West Point Plaza, […]
An Old House’s Fate Divides Bunnell as History, Character and Property Rights Clash
An old house hooked to a demolition order and the property it sits on at 401 East Moody Boulevard are suddenly at the center of a clash between a city commission and residents looking to preserve—if not define—the city’s character along its main east-west road on one hand, and the property rights of its residents on the other. That battle may be determined by how the issues surrounding the house and the property are resolved.
SWAT Team Deployed Again–For Minor Drug Arrest on Palm Coast’s Pine Grove Drive
Two young children and a middle-aged woman were detained while, for the second time in four days, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday deployed its SWAT team to serve a warrant on a suspect later charged with possession of marijuana, cocaine, and prescription pills without a prescription.
Florida Prisoners Will Wash Dishes and Sew Their Own Clothes in Bid to Save Money
Florida’s prisons have a $45.5 million deficit despite shuttering 10 prisons in recent years, so department head Mike Crews is finding new ways to save money, including refusing to replace broken dishwashers and making inmates do the work instead.
Reviving Sore Issue, Flagler Beach Readies to Ban Ice Cream Trucks Outright
The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday will take up a proposed ordinance that prohibits mobile vendors, including ice cream trucks, outright, reviving an issue the commission has attempted to deal with twice in the last 19 months, only to shrink in the face of substantial opposition.
Eighteen Months In, Palm Coast Observer Retrenches Back to Once a Week
After scoring a series of successes in the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s backyard and launching an ambitious effort to go head-to-head with the twice-weekly News-Tribune a little over a year and a half ago, the Palm Coast Observer is doing what most newspapers have had to do to survive: it’s cutting back.
Gov. Scott Defends Exiting Common Core Testing In Face of Criticism and Fact-Checks
Scott did not say specifically how he thought tests developed through a state-led initiative could be an instrument of federal intrusion, or cite an example of federal intrusion, as he defended his order to move Florida away from the Common Core testing consortium.
Should Jacksonville’s Nathan Bedford Forrest High Be Named for KKK’s Grand Wizard?
Never apologize for what? Secession? Slavery? How about white supremacy and the KKK? The fight to rename Jacksonville’s Nathan Bedford Forrest High School raises the question, argues Julie Delegal.
Prescription-Pill and Alcohol Deaths in Flagler Far Outpace Those From Illegal Drugs
The annual medical examiners’ report for Florida, including Flagler’s numbers, put in sharp perspective common misconceptions and exaggerations—by media, police and lawmakers—about the nature and extent of the drug problem, highlighting the relatively minor part played by illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, and the virtually nonexistent part played by marijuana or synthetic pot.
Legislature Considering Tougher Crackdowns on Sexual Predators in Wake of New Findings
DCF has been recommending fewer and fewer sex offenders for confinement, with the number falling from a high of 228 in 2000 — two years after the law went into effect — to a low of 19 in 2012.
Bunnell Commission Votes 3-2 to Hire Larry Williams as Its Next Manager
The City Commission late Monday evening voted 3-2 to hire Lawrence J. Williams as its next city manager. It was the culmination of six months of change and turmoil in Bunnell government, ending the tenure of Armando Martinez.
In Political Balancing Act, Scott Pulls Out of Testing Group But Preserves Common Core
By withdrawing from just the testing partnership, Scott’s decision Monday was more of a political balancing act than either a radical departure from Florida’s Common Core policy adopted in 2010 or a repudiation of the tougher standards that have been rolling out in schools through FCAT 2.0 for the past three years, in preparation for Common Core.
Sticker Shock Part Deux: Bunnell Commission Hit With $35,000 Legal Bill for August
The attorney, Lonnie Groot, has resigned effective Oct. 1, in part because of the criticism leveled at him after he issued the first bill, for $24,000. The city had budgeted $60,000 for the entire year, and will have to find the balance of the money in its reserves.
Death Toll From Preventable Hospital Mistakes Ranges Between 210,000 and 440,000
A new study finds that preventable hospital mistakes that lead to patients’ death are far higher than previous estimates, making medical errors the third-leading cause of death in America, behind heart disease, which is the first, and cancer, which is second.
Sheriff Busts Meth Lab in Palm Coast’s R-Section, Arresting Same Suspect Twice in 24 Hours
Micahel Marsh, 30, was arrested in the Friday bust at 6 Raeitan Way, where he lived with Amber Troha, 19, and others. After bonding out, Marsh was re-arrested the next day, along with Troha and Virdell Myers, 28, on charges of possessing prescription drugs without a prescription, among other charges.
Gubernatorial Crist-al Clearing: There Will Be No Sink-Scott Rematch
Ending months of speculation, former Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink said Friday she will not run for governor against incumbent Republican Rick Scott in 2014, further fueling “will he or won’t he” chatter about Democrat Charlie Crist.
The Trouble With American Exceptionalism
Do we have moral authority as a nation, asks Cary McMullen. Do we have the humility Obama spoke of, namely that we are acting not in self-interest but in the interest of justice? Are we exceptional not just in our history but in our standing among nations as an exemplar of righteous ideals?
Rapid Response Limits Fire as Lawnmower Sets Garage Ablaze on Palm Coast’s Woodward Lane
The Palm Coast Fire Department’s rapid response–about eight minutes between the call to 911 and the time water was on the flames–helped limit the fire damage to a house at 36 Woodward Lane, where a lawnmower is believed to have started a blaze that demolished the garage.
Saturday Theater: Four Candidates Make Their Case for City Manager Before Bunnell City Commission
The Bunnell City Commission was interviewing four candidates for city manager Saturday afternoon and into early evening, devoting an hour to each. An analytical summary of each interview is included.
FDLE Lays Down Florida Capitol Garrison Rule to Avoid Repeat of Summer Protests
Under the proposal by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, members of the public would be expected to leave the Capitol building by 5 p.m. each weekday or within 30 minutes of the end of public meetings. Capitol police could arrest for trespassing anyone who didn’t leave when they were told.
Ex-Flagler Tax Collector’s Son C. John Pellicer, 31, Killed in Midnight Wreck on CR2006
Claude John Pellicer, 31, the son of former Flagler County Tax Collector Suzette Pellicer, was killed late Thursday night on County Road 2006 in Flagler, not far from his home when he lost control of the pick-up truck he was driving.
Dispute Over Possibly Improper Rate Hikes Pits FPL’s 1% Against 99% of Customers
The state Supreme Court took up a challenge Thursday to hundreds of millions of dollars in rate increases approved last year for Florida Power & Light ij an agreement one Justice said reflected the wishes of 1 percent of commercial users against the wishes of 99 percent of FPL’s remaining customers.
Despite Slight Fall in Unemployment Rate, Flagler and Florida Lose Jobs in August
Florida’s unemployment rate fell a fraction, to 7 percent, in August, and fell to 10.1 percent in Flagler County, but Florida actually lost a net 4,700 jobs in the past month, and Flagler lost a net 181 jobs as the workforce shrank significantly.
Glory Glory Hallelujah: Another Mass Shooting, and the NRA Marches On
To propose reasonable, sane gun laws amid the gun lobby’s arsenal of lies, distortions and demagoguery has become pointless, argues Steve Robinson, as the nation picks up the wreckage of Aaron Alexis and the Navy Yard shooting.
Sen. Dorothy Hukill Proposes Cutting Sales Tax on Commercial Rental Property to 5%
Senate Finance and Tax Chairwoman Dorothy Hukill of Port Orange’s proposal could cut $250 million a year from state revenue. Business leaders want the tax, currently at 6%, eliminated altogether as Gov. Rick Scott travels the state on a tax-cutting tour.
Accused of Abusing a 4-Year-Old Boy With a Belt in April, He’s Arrested Only Wednesday
Luis Betancourt-Rodriguez was charged with child abuse after allegedly hitting a 4-year-old with a belt buckle in April, and with aggravated battery after allegedly striking a man in the face and causing him to almost lose his vision in one eye, but Betancourt-Rodriguez was not arrested until a traffic stop on Wednesday that revealed two arrest warrants.
As a Cat Lay Dying, He Drove Drunk to a Vet, But Court Finds Him Guilty of DUI Anyway
The cat Christopher Brooks was taking to a vet died at roadside as he was being given field sobriety tests, despite its owners’ please to the cop. But his DUI conviction was upheld by a Hillsborough County appeal court that declared that special circumstances don;t apply to cats as they would to human beings.
Homes Sales and Inventory Decline a Bit in Flagler as Interest Rates Continue to Rise
After July’s buoyant home-sale figures in Flagler County, which hit a post-recession high of 243 closed sales for the month, August’s numbers are somewhat less bubbly, but the trend remains solidly positive even as interest rates creep up.
Resisting Obamacare, Florida Becomes National Aberration as Scott Battles Sebelius
Florida officials are callous and secretive, willing to keep information from citizens that could save their lives, according to the Obama administration’s top health official., while Gov. Rick Scott and other state officials are ramping up their attack on the federal online Marketplace and the “Navigators” who will help the uninsured use it to enroll in a health plan for 2014.
Nine Interviewed for Revamped Top Cop Post in Flagler Beach as Dan Cody Era Ends
The nine men (possibly 10) being interviewed by a four-man board in Flagler Beach are ex-cops, but they’ll be hired as captain of the police department, as City Manager Bruce Campbell has eliminated the police chief position and reduced its pay from $70,000 to $58,000.
Pam Stewart Appointed Education Commissioner Amid Common Core Strife
Pam Stewart’s appointment came amid jockeying over the future of education in Florida and rumors that Gov. Rick Scott will soon issue an executive order on schools, possibly dealing with whether the state will go along with a common-core related multi-state test aimed at measuring new, national standards for learning.
Bunnell Commission Narrows Manager “Crapshoot” to 5; Tucker Will Interview Secretly
Elbert Tucker’s decision to interview candidates individually aside, the Bunnell City Commission will interview the five candidates Saturday afternoon, by which time it will likely be clear who will be the city’s next manager, replacing Armando Martinez.
Immigration Reform’s Latest Cheering Section: Florida College and University Presidents
Florida college and university presidents are calling on Congress to pass immigration reform this year, saying it would be better for the state’s economy if foreign students could stay after graduation, instead of being forced to take their diplomas and leave.
Palm Coast Data Parent Warns Grimly: Don’t Expect “Profitability in Near Term Or at All”
In the most sobering annual report to investors to date, Palm Coast Data parent Amrep Corp. raises numerous questions about the long-term viability of its operations as debt, recurring losses and competition burden its prospects–and those of what was once Palm Coast’s largest private employer.
Sheriff Manfre Drafts the Press to Fight The Bogus Epidemic of Fake Pot
The bogus drug-bust news conference was a specialty of former Sheriff Don Fleming, as it has been for innumerable police agencies since the dawn of Nixon;s war on drugs since 1971. Last week, Sheriff Jim Manfre unfortunately joined the parade, this time amplifying fears of a fake epidemic of fake pot.
Flagler Health Department Chief Defends Ban on Navigators, Citing Privacy and Logistics
Flagler County Health Department Director Patrick Johnson defended the state’s controversial ban from DOH property against outreach workers called Navigators, who help uninsured people sign up for subsidized health coverage under Obamacare–a law Florida officials have actively and chronically obstructed.
Weekend Violence: Gun-Brandishing on Oceanshore, a Blade at White Eagle Lounge
Gregory Thilesen and Ken Guarnieri were jailed on separate charges involving the allegedly threatening display of weapons, and a Medical Examiner investigator is arrested for allegedly robbing and pawning off possessions of the dead.
Aveo Engineering Set to Sign 40-Year Lease for Flagler County Airport Sites
Aveo Engineering, which plans to hire some 300 people by 2016, will pay $1,089 a month per acre, and intends to build two structures on up to a dozen acres at the south end of the airport, including a design and manufacturing plant.
Life Sentence for Rest-Stop Murder That Shattered Florida Tourism Is Reduced
Audra Akins was 14 when he murdered British tourist Gary Colley at an I-10 rest stop near Tallahassee 20 years ago. His life sentence was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. He was re-sentenced to 40 years, making him eligible for release in 12 years.
At Public Universities, More Aid Is Going To the Wealthy Than to The Neediest
Attention has long been focused on the lack of economic diversity at private colleges, especially at the most elite schools. What has been little discussed is how public universities, which enroll far more students, have gradually shifted their priorities — and a growing portion of their aid dollars — toward wealthier students.
Banned in Flagler, Welcomed in Prisons: Corrections Reverses Cigarette Prohibition in Work Camps
Corrections officials quietly reversed a blanket ban on tobacco at prisons this summer and are now allowing inmates at work release centers to have up to 10 packs of cigarettes each–just as Flagler County readies to ban smoking among new employees.