Attorney Mark Dwyer two years ago was admonished by the Florida Bar for a minor trust account issue. He’s now being reprimanded for a more serious issue, but Dwyer wants it explained at length. He takes the stand in his defense.
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Horseshoe Pitching at Flagler’s Old Dixie Park: An Out of the Way Sport Hooks In
The 18 Horseshoe-pitching courts at Flagler County’s Old Dixie Park are part of the Flagler Palm Coast Horseshoe Club’s hopes of drawing some of Florida’s 70 horseshoe tournaments and tourism dollars to the Flagler-Palm Coast area.
FPC Commencement 2012
My Daughter, the Graduate
I have covered an endless number of graduations in my career. Tonight, for the first time, my child–my daughter–was among the graduates. There was only one way to cover this one: in the first person.
Seeking “Closure,” Ex-Bunnell Commissioner Flynt Will Pay $2,500 Fine on Ethics Violations
The ethics case against Jimmy Flynt was filed by Bunnell City Commissioner Elbert Tucker when Flynt was still a commissioner, in late 2010. Flynt admitted to three violations of law and now looks forward to possibly running for the commission again.
Paul Miller, Who Shot and Killed His Neighbor, Makes Bail, Dismaying Victim’s Family
Paul Miller, 65, of Flagler Beach, posted $300,000 bond on Tuesday after spending 10 weeks in jail on a second degree murder charge following the killing of Dana Mulhall as the two argued over Miller’s barking dogs on March 14.
Julia Roberts, a Cancer Patient at Florida Hospital Flagler, Marries Sweetheart of 17 Years
Palm Coast resident Julia Roberts was admitted at Florida Hospital Flagler on May 4. On May 22, in her hospital room, she was married to Terry Adolph after hospital staff took care of vritually all the arrangements.
Florida Supreme Court Is Asked To Decide What Constitutes a Life Sentence for a Juvenile
An appeals court today ruled that a 70-year prison sentence for Shimeek Gridine of Jacksonville, for an armed robbery and attempted murder committed when he was 14, doesn’t amount to lidfe in prison, but the 1st District Court of Appeal asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Palm Coast Resident Is Baker Acted Then Jailed On Charges of Strangling and Maiming Kittens
Angel Roman, a 28-year-old Palm Coast resident, has been in and out of jail for the past two years and suffers from several mental illnesses, people who know him told deputies. He’d been Baker Acted before his latest jailing.
Stand-Off on Cedar Street in the Mondex Ends After Man Shoots Himself and Surrenders
Henry Brock broke through a bedroom window where his brother was asleep with Henry’s ex-girlfriend. An assault ensued, then Henry apparently shot himself to keep from going to jail. It didn’t work.
Cup Cakes Get Their Day in Court as Palm Coast Agrees to a Hearing on Home Bakeries
A split Palm Coast City Council has been wrestling with a proposal to allow small home-based commercial bakery operations, as long as the bakeries don’t sell products from the home. Food safety has been a hang-up.
When Elderly Is an Offensive Term
The elderly are simultaneously the country’s most powerful single demographic and its least respected. But if the elderly don’t want to be infantilized, if they don’t want to be referred to as the elderly, it may be time to means-test the term and the literal benefits it entails.
How Obama’s Support of Gay Marriage Could Lose Him Florida Come November
With debate and votes taking place around the state and polls showing a growing acceptance, the issue of same-sex marriage and domestic partner rights will likely be among a host of second tier issues that could determine which presidential candidate takes Florida.
70 Homes and Counting as Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Project in New Orleans Builds On
Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, which builds affordable homes in new Orleans’s deva In many cases, the private sector can move faster and better than government agencies. In my opinion, that is the record of Brad Pitt’s vision and action in New Orleans.
Composer Don McCullough Is the New
Director of the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus
Donald McCullough is the celebrated choral director and composer of the Holocaust Cantata, and for over a decade the director of the the Master Chorale of Washington at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
A Florida Senator’s Facebook Addiction
Florida Sen. Paula Dockery has had her adventures–and misadventures–on Facebook and Twitter. “For those of you who haven’t joined the world of social media,” she writes, “you are missing out on being connected in this less personal but oddly more personal world.”
Like Son, Like Father: Pianist Xavier Ryan Is Flagler County’s Youth Entertainer of the Year
The 2012 Spotlight on Flagler Youth Entertainers of the Year in the junior division were Amanda Lee Pikowski, Eric Dangerfield and Kali Nina Cobb. Adam Prior and Felicity Furtado took 2nd and 3rd in the senior division of a talent show that raised about $800 for the Carver Center.
Be Prepared: 9 to 15 Tropical Storms or Hurricanes Predicted Beginning June 1
NOAA predicts a 70 percent chance of nine to 15 named storms, four to eight of them strengthening to a hurricane (with top winds of 74 mph or higher) and of those one to three will become major hurricanes. Be prepared.
Flagler Third Graders Rank 19th in Reading, 23rd in Math, in Latest FCAT Batch
Out of 988 students who took the test in Flagler County, 130, or 13 percent, scored only a 1 on a scale of 5, and will be held back, absent improvements in summer reading school, which the district offers free.
Meeker Resigning Palm Coast Council to Run for Holland’s County Seat as Jockeying Begins
A regular partisan election in line with the coming primary and general will be held for Milissa Holland’s now-open seat on the Flagler County Commission, with two candidates already vying for it. The Palm Coast City Council may appoint a replacement for Meeker come November, depending on a legal reading of the city charter.
FCAT Flack: Gov. Rick Scott Grades Up PR
As the Florida Department of Education tries to handle the fallout of the collapse in FCAT writing scores, the office of Gov. Rick Scott has been intimately involved in efforts to roll out the test scores, according to staff emails.
Upset That Trey Corbett Had Cut Him Off at the Gym, 65-Year-Old Defaces His Campaign Sign
Steven Paskewich was apparently upset that Trey Corbett, a candidate for Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, allegedly cut him off at the weight machine at Thriv, the Palm Coast fitness center–a machine Corbett says he doesn’t use. So Paskewich defaced three Corbett signs with mild obscenities–and was arrested.
Existing and New Home Sales Up Nationally; Florida Looks to Other Improving Indicators
Home sales have yet to kick up in Florida, where sales fell slightly in April, but Realtors are quick to say that median price and pending sales rose dramatically as the inventory of homes available for sale keeps shrinking.
Romney Takes 6-Point Florida Lead Over Obama; Rubio’s Impact as VP Is Minor
In a big reversal from two months ago, when the Republican primary contest was damaging Mitt Romney’s brand, Barack Obama’s fortunes have dimmed considerably in Florida, while a Marco Rubio addition to Romney’s ticket appears to yield less than a bang.
As FPL’s Smart Meters Convert 50,000 Flagler Homes, County Takes Dim View of Opponents
Florida Power & Light will roll out 50,000 smart meters in Flagler homes and small businesses over six months beginning this summer. The Flagler County Commission supports an opt-out measure for customers, some of whom thing the smart meters are invasive and dangerous, but FPL already provides a temporary opt-out.
Palm Coast and the County Look for State Cavalry to Resolve a Dispute Over $2.4 Million
Palm Coast and the county are battling over $2.4 million each side wants to use for its own road projects. Their solution: getting the state to come up with that amount, essentially a new grant for the county. That may prove to be a tall order.
Sheriff Candidate Ray Stevens’s Ex-Aide Files Suit Against Rival Pollinger Over GOP Status
Anne-Marie Shaffer was GOP Sheriff’s candidate Ray Stevens’s campaign manager until two weeks ago, when she opted to legally challenge John Pollinger’s status as a Republican on the Aug. 14 primary election for Flagler County Sheriff.
Milissa Holland Formally Launches Campaign for House as Hutson Welcomes the Challenge
Democrat Milissa Holland plans on making her experience at the Flagler County Commission and as liaison in legislative services a centerpiece of her campaign against Republican Travis Hutson, who is accumulating an enormous treasure chest.
Stand Your Ground Loophole Could Endanger Women, Democratic Senate Leader Warns
Incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chris Smith Smith said the Stand Your Ground law could actually end up making domestic violence victims more vulnerable–unless they have an injunction for protection.
Advanced Placement Gambit: Challenging Students at the Risk of Penalizing Teachers
Flagler County high schools are encouraging more students to take Advanced Placement tests, which beef up a school’s profile. But when students fail the testm their teachers are penalized, now that their pay is tied to student performance.
Gator Shame: Why I’m Relieved My Daughter Won’t Be Attending the University of Florida
Athletics aside, Florida doesn’t take its public universities and public schools seriously, making it difficult for top students to stay here–or for the state to depend on more than tourist ghettoes, sunbathing spreads and Medicare colonies.
Invasion of the Giant African Snail: Florida’s Latest Slimy Bane
The giant African snail is again invading South Florida and possibly spreading north, devouring numerous crops such as banana, potato, onion and cabbage, and also eating stucco plaster and concrete. Frank Gromling reports.
An Odd, Alluring Coupling of Photography And Colored Pencil Gems at the Art League
The Flagler County Art League’s third annual photography show, through June 6, features 20 photographers and the first stand-alone exhibit by the local chapter of the Colored Pencil Society of America.
Flagler’s FCAT Writing Scores Collapse, a Reflection of Florida’s Tougher Standards
As expected, Flagler County’s writing scores for 4th, 8th and 10th graders, released today, fell precipitously as the state imposed a new writing standard and a new passing grade, but itself failed to convey those standards clearly to teachers and principals ahead of time.
Florida’s Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3%, Flagler’s at 11.6%, But Many Drop Out
Florida’s jobless rate in April fell to 8.7 percent as the state continued an employment rebound that began 11 months ago, with ripples down to Flagler County, where the unemployment rate was 11.6 percent. But it was still the state’s worst.
Car Rams a School Bus With 34 Children on Board, at Whiteview Parkway; No One Hurt
A Flagler County school bus on a run to three schools was rammed from behind by a Mitsubishi Friday morning, startling the 34 students on board but causing minor damage to the bus and no injuries.
Milissa Holland Will Run For Florida House, Energizing Flagler’s Chances For a State Voice
Ending months of speculation and rumors, Milissa Holland, a county commissioner for the past six years, will run for the newly drawn 24th District House seat, giving Flagler County its strongest chance of direct representation in Tallahassee in half a century.
Dear Gov. Scott: “We Are Going To Start Losing Teachers.” An Ex-School Board Member’s Plea
Evie Shellenberger, the former Flagler County School Board member, writes Gov. Rick Scott to warn him of despairing teachers and a generation of students left behind by Florida’s neglect of vocational education, and invites him to a one-on-one sit down discussion.
Crime Falls, Cop-Killings Rise: Flagler Officers Honor the Fallen and Gauge a Disturbing Trend
For the second year in a row, Florida led the nation in cops killed on the job. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office held its annual ceremony for the fallen, and local top cops discussed the disturbing trend.
A Man With Several Gunshot Wounds Is Found in Palm Coast Fire Station Parking Lot
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a shooting that took place late this morning near the Palm Coast Fire Department’s Station 22, at Palm Coast Parkway and Clubhouse Drive. The shooting may be an attempted suicide.
School Chancellor, in Flagler, Touts Higher FCAT Standards as State Board Drops Them
Florida Public Schools Chancellor Pam Stewart’s 75-minute appearance before the Flagler County School Board, teachers and others Tuesday afternoon lent more PR than insights into the state’s latest FCAT fiasco, satisfying few locally.
Another Blow for the County: Palm Coast Rejects Flagler’s Sales Tax “Compromise”
Citing the county’s “Taj Mahal” of an administration building and the city’s future growth needs (and revenue), the Palm Coast council on Tuesday stuck to its refusal to change the way sales tax revenue is split, a blow for county government.
To Little Opposition, Palm Coast Approves New Levy for Stormwater Fixes, Delays Another
To little opposition, the council voted unanimously to add a 6 percent tax on electric utility bills, adding, on average, $6.27 a month to monthly residential utility bills. The council defeated a proposal to add a second tax that would have raised an equal amount.
FCAT Scores Plummet Statewide, Sending Education Officials in a Panic
The lower scores can have serious implications on school grades, students’ promotions and graduations, merit pay and evaluations for teachers. The state Board of Education called an emergency meeting for Tuesday to rethink its approach.
Going Nose to Nose, Palm Coast and The County Remain Split on Half-Cent Sales Tax
Palm Coast wants to keep the split of the half-cent sales tax revenue what it is today. Flagler County wants to change the formula, which would decrease Palm Coast’s share by $500,000. The disagreement is jeopardizing a unified approach on a sales tax referendum both sides say is critical to their revenue needs.
She Stood Her Ground. She Got 20 Years. The Case of Jacksonville’s Marissa Alexander.
As Florida reviews its “stand your ground” law in the wake of the Trayvon Martin killing, Marissa Alexander on Friday received a 20-year sentence for firing a shot in what she claims was self-defense and her backers say was a case of her standing her ground.
Obama’s Come to Jesus Moment on Gay Marriage: More Buchanan Than Lincoln
One might be tempted to see in Barack Obama’s belated embrace of gay marriage a retraction of the infuriatingly compromising president we’ve come endure and a return to the audacious president we thought we were electing four years ago. But that would be projecting a fantasy on a cave wall.
Breastfeeding Frenzy
Time magazine’s cover featuring 26-year-old Jamie Lynne Grumet breastfeeding her nearly 4-year-old son is the latest revival of the old fervors and prejudices surrounding breastfeeding including, unfortunately, the sexualization of an asexual act.
Focused on Referendum, Flagler Beach Mayor Provencher Drops Veto Threat Over Bonfires
Linda Provencher, the Flagler Beach mayor, retreated from her threat of a veton on the bonfire ban because she wants the focus to be on a referendum, which she believes will show popular opposition to the ban.
From Pathways Academy and Matanzas High To Beverly Beach: A Sea Oats Odyssey
Students from Pathways Academy and Matanzas High School planted 750 sea oats along Beverly Beach’s dunes through a University of Florida project and the initiative of Beverly Beach Commissioner–and FlaglerLive columnist–Frank Gromling, who relates the story.
Florida Disputes National Report Card’s F, Based on Abused Children’s Legal Rights
The state-by-state study rated on how well states protect the legal rights of abused and neglected children in dependency court. It was conducted by two national child advocacy organizations.