John Ruffalo, a member of the Ronald Reagan Republican Assemblies, allegedly used force against a 72-year-old woman to keep her from going into Republican headquarters in the Staples shopping center Saturday, even though she is the wife of the chairman of the Flagler County Republican Executive Committee, and a member of the committee herself.
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Almost 27% of Flagler Residents Under 65 Are Without Health Insurance; Reform Would Help
Obama’s health care reform would almost eliminate the proportion of uninsured, but Gov. Rick Scott’s refusal to join reform’s expanded Medicaid eligibility means that many of Flagler’s 16,774 eligible residents will be shut out of the benefit.
Population Explosion at Humane Society as Flagler Favors $200,000 Spay/Neuter Grant
For the Flagler Humane Society, the $100,000-a-year grant over two years would vastly expand a spay/neuter program and help Flagler aim to be a no-kill community, ending animal euthanasia.
Palm Coast Stormwater Fees Going Up 46%, Taxes Stay Level, Most Infrastructure Neglected
With the Palm Coast City Council’s refusal to raise property taxes , the city’s infrastructure will continue to deteriorate, Mayor Jon Netts and the city administration warned. But a majority of council members, led by Frank Meeker–who’s running for a county commission seat–refused to budge.
“Just Stop Acting Stupid,” Jeb Bush Tells Republicans Over Immigration Extremism
Worried about losing the Latino vote, Bush and other Republicans nevertheless brushed off questions about whether the still-extremist immigration plank of the Republican Party could prove to be too much of a hurdle for the presidential campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Palm Coast Child Specialist at Rehab Center for Adolescents Arrested on Molestation Charges
Corey Hodges, 34, a resident of 36 Barrington Drive in Palm Coast, was arrested on charges stemming from interaction with teen-age girls at Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare in Volusia, where Hodges worked. Stewart-Marchman fired Hodges. The charges are the result of a complaint by a 15-year-old girl, a client at the center’s Residential Adolescent Program, where Hodges had started working in February.
Palm Coast Will Require Garage Sales to Be Registered and Pay $5 Fee to Ensure Tracking
Palm Coast will impose a new permitting and fee requirement on garage sales to ensure that residents hold no more than two sales per lot per year, and to provide treasure hunters with a government-based database of garage sales by address and date.
A Few Florida Facts for Republican National Convention Delegates
Florida under the leadership of Republican icons like Bush, Scott and Rubio, and supported by proud and unthinking GOP legislatures for the last 15 years, has happily served as the grow house for Republican policies. The results are stunning, writes former lawmaker Dan Gelber.
Farm to Flag: One Commissioner’s Idea to Cultivate Flagler’s Agricultural Powers
Ideally, Farm to Flag would provide fresh foods to public nutrition programs while revitalizing the area’s major agricultural industries, creating more jobs and boosting the local economy through one of its traditional mainstays. But the program is rife with obstacles.
Jack Howell’s Teens-in-Flight Raising $10,000 for Aurora Shooting Victims’ Medical Bills
Jack Howell was incensed to hear that some of the Aurora, Colo., shooting victims would have trouble paying their medical costs. He’ll be flying $10,000 to them in September through a fund-raiser he’s organizing.
Charlie Crist Bear-Hugs Obama Closer As He Excoriates GOP’s Rightward Slouch
Ex-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Sunday urged voters to support President Barack Obama in the crucial swing state where the Democratic incumbent and Republican candidate Mitt Romney remain in a razor thin race.
Isaac Forces Republican Leaders to Shutter Monday’s Convention Schedule in Tampa
With Tropical Storm Isaac bearing down on Florida, Republican leaders will convene Monday and immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon. Organizers are concerned, in part, about transportation problems as high winds and other storm conditions threaten the Tampa Bay area.
Lessons from a Storm: How to Prepare for Hurricanes
From living through Hurricane Andrew at Ground Zero 20 years ago to rebuilding a home and a business in its wake, Frank Gromling shares lessons learned and advice for Flagler County and Florida residents, applicable in any hurricane emergency.
Judge Sides With Counties Again Over Juvenile Justice Costs Florida Is Passing On
For the second time in little more than a month, a state judge has found that the Department of Juvenile Justice improperly carried out a law that requires counties to help pay juvenile-detention costs.
Flagler Students’ ACT Scores, Reflecting College Readiness, Fall for 4th Year in a Row
If Flagler County were a state, its composite score of 18.6 would rank at the very bottom of the table, below Mississippi’s 18.7, well below the national average of 21.1, and a universe away from the scores of students in New England and the Northeast.
A Micro-Bump for Romney in Florida, But Obama Still Leads, Especially on Medicare
The latest Quinnipiac polls in swing states show President Obama maintaining diminishing leads over Mitt Romney despite voters saying Obama will do a better job on Medicare. The polls reflect Romney’s pick of Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan.
In a Victory for Florida Teachers, Judge Rejects State’s Onerous Evaluation Process
Florida’s teachers union is celebrating a 57-page order rejecting a state-approved rule that would spell out how school districts should evaluate teachers, declaring it “wholly invalid” because of flaws in the way it was pieced together.
Without Evidence But Plenty of Cash, Palm Coast Approves 52 Spy Cameras, Up from 10
The Palm Coast City Council’s agreement to increase the city’s traffic spy cameras to up to 52 is backed by no crash data and no scientific evidence that the 10 existing cameras improve safety, but Palm Coast stands to make up to $437,000 a year from the new scheme.
Gov. Rick Scott Threatens to Remove Monroe’s Supervisor of Elections Over Early Voting
Gov. Rick Scott issued a statement Tuesday that some read as a veiled threat to the Monroe County supervisor of elections, escalating a conflict over early-voting days in the run-up to the November elections. Harry Sawyer, the Republican supervisor in Monroe, said Monday he didn’t support an effort by Secretary of State Ken Detzner […]
Flagler School Board Hails Sales Tax Victory and Revenue But Readies to Lose $2 Million
As Sue Dickinson and Colleen Conklin took their seats after winning a fourth term, the school board learned that its sales tax revenue was up to $4.2 million, thanks to more sales activity in the county. But the district is also losing at least $2 million from the expiration of an unrelated tax by year’s end.
Skirting Landon’s Flogging of Cline Construction, Palm Coast Awards New Contract
The Palm Coast City Council awarded S.E. Cline Construction a $208,000 contract to build a water-control structure a week after City Manager Jim Landon argued to the council, harshly and publicly, that Cline was falling down on the job.
After 22 Years of Mostly Broken Promises, County Stops Hunter’s Ridge Development
The Flagler County Commission voted unanimously to stop all permitting on the 5,000-acre development that has yet to go beyond promises, while its developer has failed to meet a laundry list of county demands and requirements.
News-Journal Dynasty’s Post-Mortem: Federal Judge Snips Golden Parachutes’ Last Lines
A federal district judge ruled that Georgia Kaney, the News-Journal’s former publisher, and David R. Kendall, its former chief financial officer, must pay almost half a million dollars in legal fees Cox Newspapers incurred to avoid paying the pair $5.5 million in severance, the latest wrinkle in the collapse of the local newspaper dynasty.
Federal Court Rejects Provisions of Florida’s Early Voting Rules as Discriminatory to Blacks
Facing a potentially razor thin race in a critical swing state, a three-judge federal panel has rejected as discriminatory a provision of a state law passed last year that reduced the number of early voting days, but offered Florida election officials a way to make the changes comply with the federal Voting Rights Act.
You’ll Shop for 43 Minutes a Day, But You Won’t Take 15 Minutes to Vote Every Two Years
Less than 16 percent of Florida’s eligible voters, and 20 percent of Flagler’s, cast a ballot in last Tuesday’s primary, once again reminding the world that Americans’s interest in community and citizenship is among the lowest of any democracies. Perhaps it’s time to make voting mandatory.
Disaster Recovery Days:
Rebuilding a Business After Hurricane Andrew
When Hurricane Andrews ravaged the physical location of the main offices of his electronic protection firm in Miami 20 years ago, Frank Gromling discovered new sources of ingenuity and rewards, despite, and at times because of, the struggles to rebuild.
Tea Party Mojo: What Ted Yoho, Republican Who Defeated Cliff Stearns, Stands For
Ted Yoho’s policy positions show him to be more than just a flame thrower with broad anti-government pronouncements. He unseated 12-term Congressman Cliff Stearns through a showman’s eye and the ability to use it to his campaign’s advantage.
SUV Crosses Belle Terre, Flips Across Ditch And Through Backyard; One Woman Hurt
A Palm Coast nurse’s aid, was at the wheel of her Ford Escape SUV when she lost control going down Belle Terre Parkway at lunchtime and flipped through the backyard of a house on Point of Woods Drive. She was rtaken to Florida Hospital Flagler.
Unemployment Rises Again, to 8.8% in Florida And 12.7% in Flagler, Clouding Recovery
After falling steadily by 2.1 percentage points over the past year and holding steady at 8.6 percent in June, Florida’s unemployment rate ticked back up to 8.8 percent in July, and there was a net job loss of 3,300 in the state.
Planning Board Unanimously Backs Big Senior Complex Near Woodlands, Upsetting Many
The recommendation now goes before the Palm Coast City Council, which is expected to approve land use changes to enable the 216-unit assisted and independent living facility despite the conversion of conservation land and traffic issues that concern Woodlands residents.
Two-Week DUI Crackdown Begins on Flagler and Florida Roads as FHP and Sheriff Mobilize
The Florida Highway Patrol and the Flagler County Sheriff’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign begins Aug. 17 and stretching through the Labor Day weekend, which ends Sept. 3. It’s part of a national anti-DUI campaign, but no local checkpoints are scheduled.
Court Clerk Gail Wadsworth Says Hail Mary Worked As Lawmakers Reverse Budget Cuts
In Flagler County, some 20 courthouse employees can go back to working full time after agreeing to furlough themselves down to 37.5 hours a week rather than see one of their own laid off. Courthouse hours that were cut back on July 1 will be restored for the public.
Flagler Beach’s Allen Whetsell Is Kiwanis’s Florida Governor, a First for Flagler and Volusia
Allen Whetsell, the general manager at Craig-Flagler Palms Funeral Home, a Kiwanian for 30 years and a recent candidate for supervisor of elections, was installed as Governor of the Florida District, giving the service organization its first Flagler governor in 95 years.
FPL Claims Settlement Would Scale Back Rate Hike to $548 Million, But Opponents Cry Foul
The $548 million increase is down from an initial proposal of $690 million, but the state’s Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers and the Florida Retail Federation, say FPL’s rates should decrease — not increase — next year.
Sheriff’s and School Bus Director’s Caution: “Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible.”
With Flagler County schools resuming on Thursday, Aug. 15, the sheriff’s office and the school district’s transportation department–responsible for 85 bus routes traveling 8,000 miles a day–are reminding parents, students and all drivers to heighten their prudence. A list of bus routes and times is included.
With David Richardson, Floridians Elect the First Openly Gay Member of the Legislature
In primary elections shaped by newly drawn districts, Florida voters Tuesday appeared to send three incumbent House members packing, rejuvenated the political careers of a few old names — and likely elected the state’s first openly gay lawmaker.
Woodlands Residents Fear Radical Changes as Grand Haven Proposes New Developments
The Grand Haven developer is looking to plant a 200-bed assisted living facility at the southeast edge of the Woodlands, near their midst, potentially—and radically—changing the complexion of the old neighborhood. The proposal goes before the Palm Coast Planning Board Wednesday evening, at 5:30.
Your Only Job Today: Vote
Polls opened at 7 this morning. They will close at 7 this evening. You have one, brief job today–by far a more important job than sitting at your desk or punching a clock: find your precinct and go vote.
In Two Key Flagler County Races, Candidates Swell Their Coffers With Their Own Money
As the primary campaign culminates with Tuesday’s vote, the races for Flagler County Court Judge and Flagler County Sheriff have overwhelmed all others in money raised and spent, but with notable exceptions, candidates’ own money talked loudest.
Fire Consumes Seminole Woods House That Belongs to a Family of Four
A single-family house on 15 Seaman Trail East in Seminole Woods, belonging to a couple with two young children, was demolished by a fire that started at 3:30 Monday afternoon. A neighboring house was protected. No one was injured.
Florida Hospital Flagler Spared Sister Hospitals’ Fraud Lawsuit and Medicare Penalties
Florida Hospital Flagler came out unscathed by readmission penalties Medicare is levying on 2,000 hospitals, including most hospitals in Florida. FAF was also not among seven sister-Adventist hospitals named in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging fraudulent billing that a federal judge said last week may now go forward.
Election Homework: The Goods on Paul Ryan
Everything you always wanted to know about Paul Ryan but were afraid was true: profiles, backgrounders, an FAQ on his plans for Medicare, and some of the best reporting on Mitt Romney’s vice presidential pick.
Hurricane Andrew 20 Years Later: Memories of Resilience in a Storm’s Wake
Frank Gromling, who lived and worked in the path of Hurricane Andrew 20 years ago, remembers the days of the storm and its aftermath in a South Florida ravished beyond recognition. A spirit for rebirth was left intact, however.
Second Multi-Vehicle Pile-Up in 2 Weeks, Involving 3 Trailers, on Palm Coast Part of I-95
A tractor trailer overturned in the pile-up and leaked fuel, triggering a hazardous material situation, while two other trailers were damaged and a sedan was nearly demolished, and two of I-95’s northbound lanes were closed for more than seven hours.
Two White Men Who Like to Cut Things: On Romney’s Nomination of Paul Ryan
Mitt Romney’s pick of Paul Ryan, the seven-term Wisconsin congressman, born during the first Nixon administration, is a puzzling choice, more calculated than inspiring, more cautious than bold, and in some respects, just as strategically faulty as John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin.
Chronic, Scandalous Abuse and Worse at a Florida Brain-Injury Center Demands Attention
It is impossible to look at the pages-long list of abuse allegations at the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation and not wonder how it is allowed to remain open: Sexual abuse. Mental abuse. Burns. Broken bones. Bruises. Cuts and punctures. Bizarre punishment. And much worse.
Palm Coast Data Revenue Down Another 20% in Latest Quarter as Parent Company Posts Loss
Palm Coast Data’s entire revenue for 2012 was less than half its revenue for just two quarters barely four years ago, when it signed a job-incentive deal with Palm Coast government and the state of Florida. The promised jobs have not materialized.
Florida Revenue May Grow by $2.6 Billion as Recovery Solidifies, Contradicting Romney
President Obama and Gov. Rick Scott will be competing t take credit for Florida’s continuing economic improvements as the state turned in a relatively healthy $407 million surplus in the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Commission Candidates Support a Jail Sales Tax, But Not the Way the County Went About It
Four of the five candidates for the Flagler County Commission agree with renewing the county’s portion of a half-cent sales tax, on the books for 20 years, but they’re very critical of the way the commission opted out of a voter referendum on the issue.
Zimmerman Will Attempt Stand Your Ground Defense; Prosecution Flubs Release of Records
Lawyers for George Zimmerman confirmed Thursday that he will assert a “stand your ground” defense. If successful in a pre-trial hearing, the murder charge against Zimmerman, in the killing of Trayvon Martin, could be dropped.