In the face of intense opposition, but also just as intense support, the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday said Yes to a new city hall. The 5-0 vote followed three hours of presentations, public comment and discussion before an overflow crowd at the Palm Coast Community Center, the largest crowd to turn up for any issue in recent memory.
Featured
The Time Will Come For a New Palm Coast City Hall. This Isn’t It.
Landon and the council want their $9 million city hall the way petulant children want a new toy. But there’s a lot more arrogance than prudence in the city’s approach. So it’s pretty simple. If the city is convinced that this is a good thing for itself and for residents, just ask residents what they think. That’s a yes or no question all of us would welcome.
Charlie Crist’s Bailout Plan: Bill Nelson
Fanning the flames of uncertainty about former Gov. Charlie Crist’s viability as a gubernatorial candidate, Democrats close to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson are letting potential supporters know the three-term senator is waiting in the wings if Crist’s campaign stumbles.
Obamacare Will Survive. Obama and Democrats, Maybe Not So Much.
The law’s rocky debut has refocused attention on whether Obama, intellectually gifted though he may be, was ready to be the country’s chief executive. It may also decide which party is in control after 2016.
“Punishment Therapy” For Depression? A Lake Worth Doctor Is Accused of Torturing a Patient
Dr. David Simon, a Lake Worth family doctor accused of sadistic “punishment therapy” that involved handcuffs, blindfolds, whips and other implements of torture apologized repeatedly to the Board of Osteopathic Medicine, but that was not enough to persuade board members that Simon could safely continue to practice.
As High Court Takes On Medical Marijuana Proposal in Florida, Politics Muddy Merits
The Florida Supreme Court will try to sort through the conflicting arguments between Attorney General Pam Bondi, who opposes legalization, and proponents of the measure. The court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5, a key step in deciding whether voters will get to have their say next fall.
In Flagler Beach, Muted Interest in Last Two Candidates Looking to Head Fire Department
Thursday evening’s town hall-style meeting with Bobby Pace and Brandon Seymour, the two candidates looking to be Flagler Beach’s Fire Captain (that is, chief), drew hardly an audience, possibly because City Manager Bruce Campbell’s choice, to be announced before Thanksgiving, has not been a secret.
William Styffe, 33, Suspected Bank Robber, Is Dead 7 Weeks After Suicide Attempt in Jail
William Carl Styffe, who was accused of trying to rob Hancock Bank in Palm Coast and robbing a Sun Trust Bank in Ormond Beach on Aug. 30, then a Compass Bank in St. Johns County a few days later, died over the weekend subsequent to injuries he sustained during a suicide attempt at the Volusia County Branch Jail on Sept. 18.
Only 3,600 Floridians Enroll in Affordable Care Act’s First Month; Obama Accepts Blame But Questions Abound
Only 3,571 people have successfully enrolled in a private insurance plan in Florida in the first month of the Affordable Care Act’s federal marketplace. The target was 33,400, resulting in a success rate of just 11 percent, though 3.8 million Floridians are without health insurance.
Burdens and Costs Pile Up for School Board’s Ex-ITT Building on Corporate Drive, Disrupting Community Education
The board bought the 54,000 square-foot building for $3.5 million in 2001 and housed the Flagler Technical Institute’s community education classes and offices there, but the building must be evacuated either by January or by summer and either rebuilt and renovated at costs approaching $5 million or demolished even as the district continues to pay $445,000 in annual debt service on it.
Speed Limit Could Go Up to 75 On I-95 By July, and to 70 on U.S. 1
Florida lawmakers’ proposal to raise speed limits would direct the state Department of Transportation to determine the safe minimum and maximum speed limits on all divided highways that have least four lanes. In Flagler County, that includes I-95 and U.S. 1. On U.S. 1.
Live Smoke Bomb and Dud Grenade Found at Flagler County Landfill; Bomb Is Safely Detonated
For the second time in six weeks, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office’s bomb squad was called into Flagler County early Wednesday morning to investigate the discovery of a live grenade–in this case, a live smoke bomb from the Vietnam era, packed alongside a dud grenade from World War II, and discovered in the hazardous materials pile at the Flagler County landfill.
Specialty Tags Lose Their Gloss As Fewer People Are Willing to Pay Extra For Causes
There’s been a noticeable decline in motorists willing to pay an extra $15 to $25 to let others know their college or sports preferences or that they support the troops, manatees or even trees, but advocates say reducing registration fees could reinvigorate the program, which helps raise $30 million a year for a wide range of causes.
Troubling Scene of 1 and 2 Year Old Soiled and In Road Leads to Neglect Charges Against Mom
Josie-Lynn Walters, 22, a resident of Espanola, was arrested on two counts of child neglect–a third-degree felony–after her children were found wandering unsupervised and in soiled underwear for over an hour near a busy intersection as Walters slept at home.
Darius Kimbrough, 19 Years on Death Row for Murder of Denise Collins, Is Executed This Evening
Darius Kimbrough, who raped, beat and murdered 28-year-old Denise Collins in her Orlando apartment in 1991, is being executed by lethal injection at Florida’s Starke prison at 6 p.m. Tuesday, after 19 years on death row. He is being killed on his mother’s birthday. He becomes the fifth inmate executed in Florida this year.
Palm Coast Again Pitches New City Hall, No Referendum, as Chamber Orchestrates Support
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon on Tuesday choreographed a presentation focused on a $9 million city hall in Town Center he said can be built mostly with existing dollars–and without a referendum–as the Flagler Chamber of Commerce and the Palm Coast Observer worked on a letter-writing campaign to sway council members, who may vote on the plan next week.
The Trouble With Veterans Day
It’s hard to see how, if a war is unjust, it can be heroic to wage it. So it’s flat-out preposterous to claim that everyone who has ever been in the U.S. military is a hero, argues Arnold Oliver, a Vietnam veteran who finds it troubling that Veterans Day has devolved into a hyper-nationalistic worship service of militarism.
They’re Not Speed Traps: New Spy Cameras on U.S. 1 in Palm Coast Aimed at Overweight Trucks
Crews last week installed video cameras on both sides of U.S. 1 between Royal Palms Parkway and Whiteview Parkway as part of a $1.2 million project to monitor the weight of large trucks. Additional cameras will go up by the northbound lanes of U.S. 1, near the weigh station.
Warning-Shot Bill Gaining Support In Spite of Police Opposition and Fears of Vigilantism
Rep. Neil Combee’s Warning Shot Bill under a new guise would amend the “stand your ground” self-defense law and permit people to display guns, threaten to use them or fire warning shots if they were being attacked and feared for their lives. It was inspired by the fate of Marissa Alexander, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband.
Cowardice as Culture: Richie Incognito’s NFL and the Adulation of Brutality
For years, in college and in the NFL, lineman Richie Incognito behaving loutishly and unaccountably on and off the field in an NFL culture that rewards and protects brutality. Jonathan Martin is the rare whistle-blower who reveals ugly truths the league and its fans would too often prefer not to acknowledge, argues Steve Robinson.
At Hollingsworth Gallery:
Christine Sullivan, Artist of the Year
The works of Christine Sullivan, the 2013 Gargiulo Art Foundation Artist of the Year, convey an intimate connections with a sense of place and memory while exploring the pleasures of solitude. Sullivan;s exhibit opens at Hollingsworth Gallery Nov. 9, running through Dec. 3.
In Divided Ruling, Florida Supreme Court Expands Parental Rights to Lesbians
Siding with a woman who sought parental rights after separating from her lesbian partner, a divided Florida Supreme Court found Thursday that state laws about assisted-reproductive technology are unconstitutional in such cases involving same-sex couples.
Popular and Consumer-Driven Provisions Fuel Sticker Shock of Obamacare Premiums
When setting premiums for next year, insurers baked in bigger-than-usual adjustments, driven in large part by a game-changing rule: They can no longer reject people with medical problems. It’s the double-edged sword of Obamacare–a crucial provision that comes with sticker shock for some.
Hunting Camp Rape Case: Conflicting Details Emerge as 4th Suspect Turns Himself In and 2 Bond Out
As Frank Goggans turned himself in at the Flagler County jail Wednesday and promptly bonded out (as had his brother Daniel), extensive and lurid details from investigators’ interviews with the two brothers and a third suspect have emerged in the case of the alleged gang rape of a woman in Flagler Beach and at the Cowart Hunting Camp on March 20.
Two Flagler School Buses Stolen in July Are Recovered, But District Just Bought Replacements
Alphonso Bernard Rock of Jacksonville was arrested in connection with the stolen buses, recovered in Gainesville Wednesday, but the buses no longer belong to the school district, which on Tuesday approved an $812,700 purchase of seven new buses, including two with the insurance-recovery money.
A Little Less Stingy, a Lot More Conditional: Palm Coast Approves $25,000 in Culture Grants
Eleven cultural organizations applied and all 11 got cultural grants from Palm Coast government, but with many strings attached even though none of the grants exceeds $2,370, and the total awarded is still a far cry from the $40,000 budget of six years ago.
Report Blisters DCF Over Abused Children’s Deaths as Florida Lawmakers Vow to Act
Florida’s recent series of child-abuse deaths took center stage at the Capitol on Tuesday, as a report blasted the state child-welfare system and as both chambers of the Legislature signaled they would craft bills to address the system’s shortcomings.
Gentle Warning Beep as Flagler’s $10 Million Emergency Radio System Approaches Its End
It’s less than eight years since Flagler spent $10 million to upgrade its county-wide communications to an 800 MHz system, to which some 1,500 radios from police, fire, municipal and county agencies are attached. That system is set to reach its official life’s end in 2017, requiring county government to start now to examine how it will replace it, and how it’ll pay for the replacement.
Charged With Assault, Thomas Merrill, 69, Denies Threatening a Woman With a Gun
Thomas R. Merrill, a 69-year-old resident of Beaverdam Lane in Palm Coast, was booked at the Flagler County jail on an assault charge after getting in an alleged altercation involving a gun with a woman who was living with him. He is the father of William Carson Merrill, the man sentenced to 25 years in prison for accidentally shooting and killing his wife in Palm Coast early last year.
The Other Disastrous Government Website: Florida’s Unemployment Portal Still Kicking Users
The state’s new, but troubled $68 million unemployment website, intended to provide a more modern, user-friendly method of access for people who receive benefits, has instead been a nightmare for many of its 200,000 users and may have a few months to go before it’s fixed.
Trevor Blumenfeld, 19, Is Shot While Skateboarding in Palm Coast’s LL-Section; Shooter Is At Large
Trevor Blumenfeld, 19, was shot while skateboarding in the area of Llovera Place and Lloyd Trail the Palm Coast neighborhood just south of the Flagler County Airport, just before 8 Monday evening. He was evacuated by air to Halifax hospital. His assailant was still at large.
Point Pleasant Dr. Tragedy: A Brief Stand-Off Amid Tears, a Refusal of Help, Then a Gunshot
Joshua Schmidt Roberson, 23, shot himself in the head in a construction lot on Palm Coast’s Pleasant Drive early Friday morning after a brief stand-off with deputies, and after calling 911 five times in tears, but refusing help.
County Sharpens Its Authority to Close Public Lands, But Not Without Commission Input
County Administrator Craig Coffey formalized authority to close certain public lands, including Bulow Woods, Pellicer Flats and the old hospital in Bunnell, either for safety reasons or as lands are undergoing construction or conservation. Trespassers may be arrested. Commissioners wanted to ensure that the administrator would not close lands without their knowledge.
1963’s Familiar Bloodstains: Far Right Politics from JFK to Barack Obama
John F. Kennedy was called treasonous and was the target of a relentless far-right campaign to vilify and demolish his presidency by demagogues and media barons whose ideological descendants have unleashed the same tactics on Barack Obama, writes Steve Robinson.
Palm Coast Delivery Man Carjacked and Dumped on Parkway Ahead of Assailants’ 3-State Crime Spree
Giuseppe Verdone Jr., who four years ago set off a bottle bomb at a Palm Coast bus stop, is accused with an underage girl accomplice of carjacking Ming Gong, 43, and dumping him on palm Coast Parkway before taking his car on a crime spree through Georgia and South Carolina, where Verdone and the girl were arrested.
Third Suspect in Hunting Camp Rape Case Surrenders, One Still at Large: Frank Goggans
Shortly after midnight this morning, Kurt Benjamin, the third of four suspects in the alleged rape of a woman at the Cowart Hunting Camp on March 20, was booked in at the Flagler County jail. Frank Goggans remains at large.
Palm Coast Getting Fleeced of Red-Light Camera Dollars, Harming Local Economy
In September, the 43 red-light cameras in Palm Coast generated $255,740 in fines, what would work out to an annual total of $3 million. The state and ATS, the private company running the system, took more than seven times the revenue share left Palm Coast, which means that the overwhelming majority of the money is leaving the local economy.
Florida Blue Says It Never Dropped 300,000 Customers, Only Their Current Insurance Plans
It’s a distinction that some Florida Blue members have a hard time seeing — especially when the new plan costs more and offers benefits they don’t necessarily want. Older, sicker people who had a harder time finding health insurance in the past because of pre-existing conditions welcome the change.
John Pollinger, Steve Clair and Randy Burke Among 25 Candidates for Bunnell Police Chief
City Manager Lawrence Williams is in no hurry to nominate a chief. He’s frozen the position until Dec. 1, by which time he said he’ll announce his decision. John Pollinger was a candidate for sheriff in 2012, Steve Clair was just passed over for police chief in Flagler Beach, and Randy Burke is Bunnell’s acting chief.
Hunting Camp Rape: Charles Cowart Turns Himself In; U.S. Marshals Hunting For 3 Remaining Suspects
Charles “Skeeter” Cowart, one of the four men wanted in the alleged kidnapping and gang-rape of a woman in Flagler Beach and at the Cowart Hunting Camp in western Flagler County on March 20, turned himself in at the Flagler County jail early Thursday afternoon. U.S. Marshals are hunting for the remaining three suspects–Daniel and Frank Goggans, of 65 Leidel Drive in Palm Coast, and Kurt Benjamin of 31 Poinsettia Lane in Palm Coast.
Sheriff’s Cruiser in T-Bone Wreck That Injures 1 on Palm Coast Parkway and Pine Lakes
A man was hospitalized with minor injuries after his SUV struck a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy’s cruiser at Palm Coast Parkway and Pine Lakes Parkway at 10 a.m. Thursday. The deputy, James Gore, was not injured.
Four Flagler Men Sought in Kidnapping and Gang Rape of a Woman at Cowart Hunting Camp
The Flagler County Sheriff is looking for four men accused of kidnapping a woman they’d encountered at Finn’s bar in Flagler Beach and gang-raping her at the Cowart Hunting Camp in western Flagler County on March 20. The men are Charles L. Cowart of west Bunnell, Daniel and Frank Goggans, and Kurt Benjamin, of Palm Coast.
State Attorney Will Not Prosecute Bobby Pace, Clearing Him to Return to Flagler Beach Fire Department
The State Attorney’s Office settled on a deferred prosecution agreement that would eventually drop the misdemeanor charge against Bobby Pace, clearing the way for him to return to work at the fire department and possibly be named its fire captain next month.
School District, County’s Largest Employer, Starts Health Clinic Experiment With Florida Hospital Flagler
The $288,000 annual contract with Florida Hospital Flagler’s Prompt Care Clinic will allow 1,400 of the school district’s 1,700 employees to seek out primary care at no cost, but with some restrictions. The district hopes it will lower the annual increases in premiums that employees and taxpayers have been bearing.
Too Young for Medicare, Too Old for Medicaid, and Neglected By Affordable Health Act
While most of the uninsured will be able to get subsidized health coverage Jan. 1 under the Affordable Care Act, the poorest adults under 65 will be out of luck in many states, including Florida. Many are women in their 50s and 60s, too old to have children still at home so they can’t qualify for Medicaid. But they’re not yet 65 so they don’t qualify for Medicare, either.
Florida’s Stand Your Ground Deconstructed Before US Senate Panel on Civil and Human Rights
The unusual Senate hearing focused almost exclusively on Florida, featured the mothers of two 17 year olds killed in its name–Trayvon martin and Jordan Russell Davis–and drew a rebuke from Ranking Republican Ted Cruz of Texas, who questioned whether the scrutiny of “stand your ground” was part of a broader “political agenda.”
Learning To Love Flagler’s IB Program: Students Turn Myth-Busters For 400 People
A pair of introductory meetings about FPC’s IB program, for students from 5th grade and up, drew more than 400 people who heard from IB students eager to demolish false impressions and stereotypes about the program and encourage more parents to sign up their children for Flagler County schools’ crown jewel.
Red-Light Running Smash-Up Knocks Over AT&T Van on Old Kings and 100; Drivers Escape Injury
The intersection of Old Kings Road and State Road 100 in Palm Coast was the scene of a spectacular two-vehicle crash that left an AT&T work van on its side in the middle of the intersection after a car that ran a red light struck it. But both drivers somehow escaped injuries and were walking around at the scene.
Caught On Video, Dollar General Burglar Attacks Cigarette Machine, Fails, Then Flees
The suspect broke into the Dollar General on Palm Coast Parkway this morning. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a white male about 6 feet tall in a black hooded sweatshirt who left the store on a mountain bike after he unsuccessfully tried to break the glass pane on a cigarette machine.
Fall Kills Roofer Roberto Martinez, 43, As He Worked on a New Plantation Bay House
Flagler County had seen a deep lull in construction-related injuries and fatalities since the end of the housing boom in late 2006. But construction activity has picked up significantly this year. Roofers have the fourth-most dangerous job, going by fatality rates in the industry–after loggers, fishers and aircraft pilots and engineers.