The Flagler Beach Planning Board embraced an idea proposed by downtown business owners to impose two-hour parking limits in a small area downtown that is typically overrun by people parking for hours at a time, sometimes all day, preventing the sort of turnover traffic that helps businesses thrive. The board is forwarding the proposal to the City Commission and urging it to consider it.
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Derrius Bauer, in a Shift, Agrees to Plea and 15 Years Instead of Life in Prison for Circle K Murder
Two days after he declined yet again to risk life in prison if convicted at trial, Derrius Bauer, 30, this morning signed a plea agreement and was sentenced to 15 years, a term that between time already served and gain time ahead, may have him out of prison when he’s 38. For the court, prosecutors and the Flagler County Sheriff’s detectives who cracked the case, the plea ends the longest and most expensive investigation in the Sheriff’s Office’s history.
Florida House Speaker Calls for Cutting Sales Tax from 6 to 5.25%, Gutting Revenue by $5 Billion
House Speaker Daniel Perez said Wednesday he wants to lower the state’s sales-tax rate, trimming revenue by almost $5 billion a year. Perez, R-Miami, told House members he has directed Ways & Means Chairman Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, to produce a bill next week that would lower the rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent.
30 Years in Prison for Tyrese Patterson in Killing of Noah Smith In Last of Lives Lost Over ‘Stupid, Senseless Act’
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols’s 30-year prison sentence for Tyrese Patterson closes the book on four cases that sent four young men to prison for long terms, one of them for life, over what the judge described as the “stupid, senseless” behavior that led to the killing of 16-year-old Noah Smith in a shootout in Bunnell in January 2022.
Bunnell Approves Grand Reserve’s Last 141 of 847 Houses, with a Pointed Caution From Its Staff
The Bunnell City Commission approved the final phase of Grand Reserve, the 847-home subdivision that will increase the city’s population by more than half and is already changing the city’s politics. The sixth phase consists of 141 houses on 100 acres. The city’s planning director cautioned the commission to review future developments more carefully than when Grand Reserve was originally approved.
Trump Names Derek Barrs to Transportation Department Post; He Will Leave Flagler School Board
Less than five months after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to a Flagler County School Board seat, where his presence helped restore a level of stability that had been lacking for two years, Derek Barrs will almost certainly leave the board for an appointment as administrator to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Florida Senate Committee Approves Ignoring Preferred Pronouns in State and Local Government
A measure (SB 440) prohibits requiring any employee to refer to another person using that person’s preferred pronouns if such pronouns don’t correspond to that person’s sex at birth. Job applications in public workplaces may only ask an applicant whether they are male or female and may not provide a nonbinary option.
‘I’m Done,’ Judge Tells Derrius Bauer in Final Attempt to Win Plea; He’d Rather Risk Life in Prison
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols attempted again to convince Derrius Bauer, 30, to take a plea deal that would have him out of prison in eight and a half years rather than risk life in prison if convicted on a murder charge, as was his friend Marcus Chamblin last year in the same courtroom. Bauer was adamant against a plea. Trial will be set for late summer or early fall.
Is Mike Waltz Out of His Depth? Ex-Flagler Congressman May Have Violated Espionage Act with Leak
Mike Waltz, the former congressman representing Flagler County and the 6th Congressional District, whom Donald Trump tapped as his national security adviser, is at the center of the gravest scandal facing an administration embroiled in controversies since its first day, 64 days ago. Waltz may have violated provisions of the Espionage Act that control national defense information.
To Prevent Renewed Wars Over Annexation, Flagler County Will Aim for Joint Planning Group with Cities
Flagler County government is proposing to create a Joint Planning Committee with Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell to review all developments and annexations that straddle county-city or city-city boundaries. The committee would be responsible for drafting service agreements defining who will provide law enforcement, fire, water and sewer services and road maintenance. The County Commission is all for it. But getting the cities to sign on to what amounts to more transparent coordination may be a challenge.
New $7 Million Fire Station 51 and Sheriff Substation on County Road 305 a Step Closer to Construction
Flagler County Fire Rescue’s new Fire Station 51 is one step closer to construction later this year as the county’s planning board recommended approval of its site plan to the County Commission. The commission is expected to ratify the decision within weeks, clearing the way for construction.
Flagler Sheriff Staly Exploring Deployment of Drones as First Responders: A ‘Much Cheaper Helicopter’
The parking lot of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Operations Center last week was transformed into a showplace for Axon, the Arizona-based technology company whose tasers, body cams, car cameras, simulators, interview rooms and real-time crime center equipment and software redefined policing in the past years. It continues to do so with new products–among them, the drone as first responder, which Sheriff Rick Staly is studying for possible deployment in Flagler County.
Lawless Persecution of Mahmoud Khalil Is a Threat to Free Speech Everywhere
Without a warrant or charges, plainclothes Department of Homeland Security agents forced their way into Columbia University’s student housing and detained Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil, who had demonstrated against the Israeli genocide in Gaza. They then shipped him to an immigration jail in Louisiana, impeding his access to attorneys and visits from family. Khalil is a lawful U.S. permanent resident who hasn’t been charged with any crime. Khalil’s fate — and the larger battle over the First Amendment — concerns all of us.
Can Democrats Get Their Act Together Before Its Too Late?
For more than a century, Democrats were the party of slavery, states’ rights, and Jim Crow, but, gradually and imperfectly, became the party of civil rights, voting rights, and workers’ rights, switching places with Republicans, who once had a strong streak of social progressivism. For 30 years, Florida elected New South governors such as Reubin Askew, Bob Graham, and Lawton Chiles, leaders who believed in education, open government, protecting the environment — crazy stuff like that. Where are they now?
Florida Senate Releases Plan to More Easily Finance Massive Exodus to School Voucher
With massive growth in school voucher programs, the Florida Senate on Friday released a plan that, in part, would seek to address funding concerns as students move between schools. The Senate Pre-K-12 Education Appropriations Committee is scheduled Wednesday to take up the bill (SPB 7030), which would make changes affecting public schools and voucher programs.
A Moratorium Won’t Help the Crappy Utility ITT Left Palm Coast. Painful Rates Might.
There’s no question that water and sewer rates in Palm Coast are among the most expensive in the state. That was true even before the City Council this week approved the sharpest and fastest rate increase in the city’s 25-year history. But neither a building moratorium nor blaming the City Council is a solution for a problem seeded by ITT, the original owner of the utility.
In Rare Rebuke, Palm Coast Planning Board Denies Application for Self-Storage Business on Pine Lakes Parkway
The Palm Coast Planning Board in a 4-2 vote denied an application for an 850-unit, 100,000 square foot self-storage facility on Pine Lakes Parkway, halfway between Belle Terre and Palm Coast Parkway. The facility would have 26 outdoor recreational vehicle and boat storage spaces. The decision is not final, and may not have been reached within the legally permissible parameters of the Planning Board’s responsibilities.
Edward James Is Killed by Lethal Injection for Murders of Betty Dick and her Granddaughter, Toni Neuner in 1993
More than three decades after he murdered a Seminole County woman and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Edward James was put to death by lethal injection Thursday night at Florida State Prison. James, 63, was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. and became the second person executed in Florida this year. Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected attempts by James’ attorney to halt the execution.
County Attorney Al Hadeed, Stalwart of Environmental Stewardship and Local History, Is Retiring in August
County Attorney Al Hadeed announced his retirement come August. He had been the county attorney for nearly a decade until the commission in a dubious move ended his contract in 1998. A different commission re-hired him in 2007. His retirement will remove the single-most important store of institutional memory from county government, though his signature achievements would fill volumes.
No Outright Indications of Mechanical Failures in Plane Crash That Claimed Pilot’s Life in West Flagler
A preliminary investigation of the Feb. 14 plane crash that took the life of pilot 75-year-old Thomas Harvey in western Flagler County reveals that the plane had followed a normal flight path until it suddenly began to drop rapidly, at more than 200 feet per second before impact. There was no evidence of a fire on board and “no indications of a flight control anomaly were discovered,” according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report, suggesting that Harvey may have suffered a medical episode.
City Repertory Theatre Takes Trip to Matters of Faith and Race with ‘Violet’ Musical
In “Violet,” a musical that opens Friday at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, it’s 1964, and Violet is about to travel by bus from her North Carolina home to Tulsa, Okla. The play’s themes are reflected in music that spans gospel, Memphis blues, bluegrass and jazz, with the cast singing to recorded backing tracks. Christian faith is an ongoing theme, as is race, judgment and life’s scars, visible and invisible.
13 Applicants, Including Several Familiar Names, Apply to Fill Palm Coast Council Seat Vacated by Stevens
Thirteen candidates have filed for the District 3 seat on the Palm Coast City Council that Ray Stevens resigned at the end of February. The list includes several familiar names, among them Dave Ferguson, a former appointee to the council, Dave Sullivan, who just ended two terms on the County Commission, Cornelia Manfre, who has had three unsuccessful runs for a council seat or the mayorship, Mark Stancel, who lost a primary vote to Stevens by two votes, and Andrew Werner, who lost to Stevens.
County’s Kim Carney, Crucial Vote on Sales Tax Proposal, Appears to Waver, Putting Beach Plan at Risk
County Commissioner Kim Carney’s support for the county-wide beach-management plan she endorsed just weeks ago appeared to waver when she raised questions about it at last Monday’s commission meeting, potentially putting the entire plan in jeopardy, especially with an undecided Palm Coast looking on.
10 Years on, Palm Coast Finally Breaks Ground on Nerve-Center Maintenance Facility’s $12 Million 1st Phase
Palm Coast hosted a groundbreaking for what will eventually be a nearly 100-acre maintenance facility gathering public works, stormwater and utility departments in one location off U.S. 1, to the northwest of the city. The $12 million phase is the first of three. The City Council in 2016 set the project in motion, but funding has been a challenge, as has the criticism of the project.
Florida Attorney General Threatens Removal of City Council Members Who Blocked Cooperation with ICE
Attorney General James Uthmeier is threatening three Fort Myers city council members with removal from office after they refused Monday to deputize police officers to participate in immigration enforcement. Uthmeier, who became the attorney general a month ago, warned the council that Gov. Ron DeSantis could remove them from office if they didn’t allow the city police to question people about their immigration status and detain those subject to deportation.
Palm Coast Adopts 31% Water and Sewer Rate Increase Over 3 Years, Scaling Back Spending to $512 Million
The Palm Coast City Council today in a 3-1 vote approved a 31 percent water and sewer rate increase to be phased in five increments through October 2028, and to finance a half-billion-dollar spending plan to improve the city’s utility infrastructure, some of which is overcapacity and outdated. The plan scales back an earlier proposal that would have increased rates 36 percent. The new plan calls for one bond issue of $292 million.
Palm Coast Mayor’s Motion for Construction Moratorium Fails in Face of Builders’ Bulky Show of Force
Mayor Mike Norris’s motion for a residential building moratorium this morning, made after nearly an hour of zealous speeches for or against, but mostly for, quickly failed for lack of a second, and applause resounded across the standing-room-only chamber. Some of it was consolation for Norris by his supporters. Most of it was from builders and their supporters.
Mayor Norris In Pattern of Offensive Behavior Toward Staff Since November, Internal Complaints Show
Several city employees and directors have filed a series of complaints and memos to Human Resources documenting behavior by Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris they considered rude, demeaning, offensive, abusive, harassing and inappropriately interfering with administrative duties, in violation of the city charter. The complaints were filed well before three City Council members called for an independent investigation of Norris over his overstepping his authority.
After a Protest, Flagler Beach Again Changes Rule for Large Annexations, Requiring Supermajority Vote
A year after removing the requirement that annexations of 5 percent or more of its land mass would require a referendum, the Flagler Beach City Commission again changed the rule, now to require at least a supermajority of the commission before such annexations may be approved. The change is the result of a protest lodged about the original amendment by the attorney representing a non-profit group that has opposed Veranda Bay, the large development seeking annexation into the city.
Florida Lawmakers Are About to Roll Back Rural Protections in Favor Of Developers. Don’t Let Them.
The Florida Legislature is once again trying to push through legislation that would take away the rights of area citizens and local government to have any voice in the management of rural and agricultural lands. It is crucial that citizens contact their legislative members and demand that these egregious measures be stopped immediately.
The Sun Is Setting on Government Transparency in Florida
Florida, the “Sunshine State,” once known as a beacon of government transparency, is growing ever darker, and the clouds are spreading throughout the United States. Legislators have passed more than 1,100 exemptions to the Florida Sunshine Law, and growing.
Florida Law Banning Kids off Some Social Media Prevails as Judge Refuses to Block It
A federal judge has rejected a request to block a 2024 Florida law aimed at keeping children off some social-media platforms, ruling that industry groups did not show they had legal standing to challenge the measure.
Saving Our Beaches Is a Collective Responsibility Like Roads and Parks. Let’s Each Do Our Part.
A Beverly Beach resident explains how protecting Flagler County’s beaches through the proposed county plan is similar to supporting communal responsibilities like roads, schools, parks and libraries: not everyone benefits from those services equally, but the services all play a crucial role in the local quality of life and the economy, and must be supported evenly. So it is with the beach.
Jane Mealy Exits Flagler Beach Dais After 19 Years, Cunningham Is Sworn-In and Sherman Named Chair
Jane Mealy for 19 years had been the Flagler Beach City Commission’s unrivaled workhorse and its sharpest study long before successive commissioners mostly modeled themselves after her, whether they knew it or not. Thursday evening, Mealy cast her final vote and exited after her defeat by John Cunningham, and the re-election of James Sherman, who was elected chair. Rick Belhumeur was elected vice-chair, to his recurring chagrin.
In Startling Stand-Your-Ground Ruling, Judge Nichols Dismisses Charges Against Man Accused in Violent Attack at Circle K
In a stand your ground ruling that startled law enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office, Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols on Monday dismisses felony charges against 23-year-old Hunter Detherow, who was facing five to 20 years in prison for a fight at the Palm Harbor Circle K a year ago that left one man with four broken ribs and another with stab wounds, a collapsed lung and a black eye. Detherow, a former Marine, was not injured. The two men were twice his age, though one of them was nearly twice his weight.
Palm Coast Eases Stance on Beach-Saving Sales Tax as ‘Grow Some Balls’ Message Lifts Plan’s Chances, But More Talk Needed
In contrast with their joint meeting in February, representatives from Palm Coast, Beverly Beach, Bunnell, Flagler Beach, Marineland and the county were all more supportive of a proposed beach-management plan centered on raising the sales tax as they discussed it Wednesday evening. Palm Coast remains the crucial hold-out for now, if not an immovable one. But time is running out.
Michael Jennelle, 53, Guilty on All Charges of Raping Granddaughter; He Faces Life in Prison
At the end of a three-day trial and just 75 minutes of deliberations this afternoon, a jury found Michael Jennelle, 53, guilty on seven counts of raping and molesting his granddaughter when she was between 7 and 10, and whom he had adopted as his daughter. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.
City Council Cuts City Manager Candidates to 5, But with Sharp Disparities Regarding Most
Shortly before giving applicants yet more reasons to think twice about working here, the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday shortened its list of city manager candidates to five, with one clear front-runner–William Smith, a former county and city manager in Georgia and North Carolina, with vast experience in the field, and the first candidate to get across-the-board top scores from all four council members so far.
Palm Coast Council Agrees to Investigation of Mayor Norris After Allegation of ‘Blatant Violations of City Charter’
The Palm Coast City Council late Tuesday night called for an independent investigation of Mayor Mike Norris after Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston confirmed that he unilaterally demanded in a private meeting that she and Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo resign, what would be a “blatant violation of the city charter,” in Council member Ty Miller’s words. Norris is denying the charge.
12-Year-Old Testifies of Years of Sexual Abuse at Grandfather ‘Mike’ Jennelle’s Hands; He’ll Take Stand in His Own Defense
When Michael Jennelle takes the stand Wednesday, as he said he would, in his defense against charges that he raped and molested his pre-teen granddaughter for years, he will have to overcome the nearly flawless, withering day Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark marshaled against him today, leaving the defense flailing. It will take a lot more than “I didn’t do it” for Jennelle (as he told the judge in December) to convince the jury of his innocence.
Foreclosure Ahead: Judge Orfinger Maps Way for Flagler County Against Old Dixie Motel Owners
Senior Judge Rick Orfinger today directed the attorney representing Flagler County to draft an order that would grant the county’s motion for a final judgment in its favor nearly four years after an obscure partnership bought the property, made a string of empty promises to rebuild it, flouted a court order to put up a bond and ran up $115,000 in contempt fines.
Semi-Trailer Truck Driver Killed in Fiery Crash on I-95 Near Palm Coast Parkway
A semi-trailer truck driver was killed in a fiery crash on I-95 just before the Palm Coast Parkway exit in mid-afternoon Monday. No one else was involved. It was the fifth fatality on Flagler County roads in a 10-day span.
Jennelle’s Defense, Implying a Monstrous Conspiracy, Terms Charges of Child Rape the Fabrications of a Jilted Wife
In brief opening arguments in the trial of Michael Jennelle, 53, who faces life in prison if convicted, the prosecution told the jury that Jennelle started sexually abusing his granddaughter when she was 7 and continued to do so until she was about 10. The defense said it was a fabrication between the granddaughter and her grandmother at a time when Jennelle was divorcing her. The trial is expected to take most of the week.
Read Across Flagler Event at Central Park Brings Out the District’s Own Student Novelists
The second annual Read Across Flagler at Palm Coast’s Central Park, an event organized by the school district’s media specialists, focused on the district’s own authors , including three high school students who have already published their first novel and are working on their second. There was a petting zoo, a balloon art station and two tables-full of books being given away, but the focus was on the writers.
Lawmakers’ Circus Returns to Tallahassee
The circus is coming to town. Y’all might know it as the regular session of the Florida Legislature. Don’t even begin to think this year can’t possibly be worse than last year, when lawmakers passed a dumpster full of bills to make Florida worse.
Motorcyclist Killed On Belle Terre Boulevard When Pick-Up Cuts In Front of Him; 4th Bike Week Fatality
A 70-year-old Palm Coast man on a motorcycle lost his life late Saturday night, a day before the end of Bike Week, when a pick-up truck collided with his motorcycle on Belle Terre Boulevard at Finn Way, just south of State Road 100. It was the fourth fatality of Bike Week 2025 between Volusia and Flagler counties, and the second in Flagler.
Palm Coast Mayor Norris Calls for Indefinite Building Moratorium Or He’ll Vote No on $614 Million Utility Plan
In a stunning reversal, Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris today told his colleagues that he will vote against the utility rate increase and borrowing plan he supported just three days ago unless the city imposes an indefinite building moratorium on residential housing, or “no more approval of any more residential housing, to date uncertain,” as he put it. The revelation drew sharp resistance from Council members Charles Gambaro and Ty Miller, and guarded support–and an alternative path–from Theresa Pontieri, who twice before had called for a moratorium.
Flagler Beach Officers Under Investigation as Wrongful Charge of Man Outside Funky Pelican Is Quickly Dropped and City Bristles
Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney has requested an internal affairs investigation of the two officers who arrested a man on a trespassing charge simply for holding a sign outside the Funky Pelican restaurant at the pier, and City Manager Dale Martin has ordered that all city employees receive training in respecting citizen’s rights. The arrest caught public attention and provoked outrage. The State Attorney’s office on Thursday dropped the felony charge of armed trespassing against Gray. The city expects a lawsuit.
Flagler Beach ‘All In’ Behind Sales Tax Increase to Fund Beach Management, But Overcoming Palm Coast Veto Is Key
The Flagler Beach City Commission in a special workshop Thursday gave solid and unanimous backing to county government’s plan to take over preservation and management of the county’s 18 miles of beaches in perpetuity, a plan that depends on raising the sales tax by half a cent and on winning Palm Coast government’s approval. That approval is key, because without it, it amounts to a veto over future comprehensive beach-management.
Palm Coast Is Not a Business. It’s Not an Army Base. We Need a City Manager, Not a CEO in Fatigues.
The fetish of government as a business has a stranglehold on politicians. The mayor likes to call the city “Palm Coast Inc.” and wants a “CEO” to manage it. The fetish for a manager plucked out of the military is just as brawny. It’s a mistake. It will compound Palm Coast’s problems, which for the most part were not created by management. The city administration, because of its professionalism and deeply credentialed staff, has for years been the last thing standing between chaos and civility, between governing and fiscal, populist irresponsibility. The problem has been misguided policy by undisciplined councils.