Commissioners Jane Mealy, Kim Carney and Mayor Linda Provencher attended the July 12 county staff meeting on beach renourishment with the U.S. Corps of Engineers, which was closed to the public. Dennis McDonald, a candidate for the county commission, raised issues with the potential sunshine violation.
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GoToby’s Don Tobin Joins 8 Others Vying to Replace Frank Meeker on Palm Coast Council
Don Tobin, better known as Toby, is the most recognizable name among those declaring interest in a position four Palm Coast City Council members will fill by their appointment come November. Tobin’s focus is real estate, economic development and city-county relations.
Florida Colleges Vow to Be 1st in U.S. to Double Graduation Rates By 2020–With Extra Funding
Florida’s 28 state and community colleges will request a 35 percent increase in state funding to reach those goals and think Gov. Rick Scott will back their play. Graduating from a four-year college costs $23,647.
Storm Burst: Two Wrecks, 10 Victims, Most Children or Teens, Few Injuries
Five teen-agers were in a truck that overturned after hitting an electric pole (which burst into periodic flames) at Old Kings Road and Frontier Drive in Palm Coast; an older woman was at the wheel of an SUV, with four young children, that ended up upright against the trees on I-95 within an hour of the other wreck.
After 4 Straight Years, Flagler County School District Loses Its A Rating, to a B
The drop is reflective of a statewide drop in district and school grades, and it masks an improvement, at least relative to other districts, of Flagler’s ranking, from 29th in the state to 19th. Still, the drop is ill-timed with a district effort to renew a half-cent sales tax school levy.
Who Is Sheldon Adelson and Why Are GOP Contenders Accepting His Money?
Sheldon Adelson donated $25 million to the Newt Gingrich campaign and reportedly donated $10 million to a superpac supporting Mitt Romney, but the foreign source of the billionaire’s gambling fortune is raising questions about its financing of GOP contenders.
County Concedes What Palm Coast Has Been Saying for Months: Sales Tax Plan a No-Go
The Flagler County Commission agreed to drop its current plan for a half-cent sales tax renewal and again seek out a compromise with the cities that may win their backing should the measure appear before voters on the November ballot.
Stop Paying Paper-Pushing Administrators And Union Bosses Better Than Teachers
Can anyone imagine the owner of the Miami Heat announcing that LeBron James has done such an outstanding job leading his team to the NBA championship that he is being “promoted” to a front-office job?
Ray Stevens Assault on John Pollinger Mutates, This Time Invoking 9/11 Decisions
Fresh from losing a suit attempting to boot John Pollinger from the Republican ballot for sheriff on Aug. 14 (the decision is on appeal), the Ray Stevens camp is criticizing a Pollinger decision to keep officers from going to Ground Zero after 9/11, though the record overwhelmingly supports Pollinger’s decision.
Flagler Beach Fire Chief Martin Roberts Faces Firing on Insubordination Charge
Flagler Beach City Manager Bruce Campbell told Martin Roberts he’d be fired pending a pre-disciplinary hearing on July 17. Roberts had served as chief since November 2005. He was at the center of a controversy over unauthorized trips.
In Florida, Mitt Romney Has a New George W. Bush to Contend With: Gov. Rick Scott
With Rick Scott’s poll numbers continuing to struggle and Florida a critical battleground in the November election, Democrats see the governor as a uniquely powerful albatross against Mitt Romney, who cannot win the election without winning Florida.
John Pollinger Responds to His Critics
John Pollinger, a candidate for Flagler County Sheriff, has been criticized over his last months as Middletown, N.J., police chief and his tenure as post commander of the American Legion in Palm Coast. He tells his side.
Drug War Collusion: Top Cops, Lapdog Press, And the Art of Tax-Funded Campaigning
With State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Flagler Sheriff Don Fleming and Putnam Sheriff Jeff Hardy in starring roles (all three are running for re-election next month), Wednesday was the latest shameless example of local and state police using a minor drug sweep for maximum political effect, at taxpayers’ expense.
Bikes, Poetry, Action: Gargiulo Foundation’s Tour de Force in Art at Hollingsworth Gallery
The Gargiulo Art Foundation’s first annual Bicycle Art and Poetry Show at Hollingsworth Gallery capitalizes on Palm Coast’s growing appreciation for its bike paths and its arts community.
Hedging Privacy Concerns, Hospitals Shop for Patients on Facebook and Google
A growing number of hospitals are taking their advertising campaigns to Facebook, Google and other websites as more see the value of highly targeted campaigns that enable them to track results. Social media users may be unnerved by being tracked and followed by information they’ve searched for.
In Country: With Kix 98.7, WNZF Launches Flagler’s Fourth Radio Station in Four Years
Kix 98.7 FM, a traditional country station officially launching Aug. 1, joins WNZF’s all-news station. Beach-FM and Easy Oldies as Flagler County Broadcasting’s empire continues to grow. General Manager David Ayres says that may be it for now.
Richard Schreiner, 1945-2012
Richard Schreiner, Palm Coast’s most provocative artist, died today (July 12) at his home. Schreiner, 67, had been battling a debilitating disease in the last few months. He was the subject of the largest-ever retrospective at Hollingsworth Gallery just last month.
Florida’s High Court Affirms Guilty Until Proven Innocent Standard in Drug Possessions
In not requiring “knowledge” of the illegality of whatever they were carrying, the law puts Florida at odds with at least 48 other states that require prosecutors to convince a jury that defendants knew they were carrying illegal drugs.
Cops Spying on Your Cell Phone: Warrantless, Routine, and With Providers’ Complicity
Privacy activists hold that cops’ tracking of cell phones require a search warrant to be constitutional. But the Supreme Court hasn’t ruled on the issue, and Congress has yet to pass a law addressing it.
Editor’s Note: When Comments Are Swift Boats’ Docking Hooks
I’ve been asked why certain comments in the John Pollinger-Anne-Marie Shaffer case were approved, considering their lavish innuendoes and borderline slanders. The decision bears explaining in light of this year’s distinctly foul election season.
Big Sweep of Small-Time Pill Pushers Nets 78 Arrests in Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office was ground zero for a three-county sweep today–and for a choreographed media event to maximize publicity for the sweep, and three top cops running for re-election–State Attorney R.J. Lariza, Flagler Sheriff Don Fleming and Putnam Sheriff Jeff Hardy.
Ex-School Board Member Richard Marier Accused of Stabbing Pit Bull to Death
Richard Marier, who served on the Flagler County School Board from 1994 to 1998, was charged with cruelty to animals, a felony, and with using a weapon in the commission of a felony.
Florida Hospital Flagler’s Parkway Medical Plaza Will See You Now
The $15 million facility on Cypress Edge Drive opened ceremoniously Tuesday. It has several physicians’ offices, a walk-in clinic, a rehab and a woman’s center. Some of the services were shifted from the main hospital campus.
With Fire Chief’s Job Teetering, Flagler Beach Commission Splits Over Ethics and Dysfunction
In a special meeting prompted by a controversy over unauthorized fire department trips to fire truck manufacturers, the city commission Tuesday agreed to rewrite some of its ethics guidelines, but a proposal to turn commissioners into whistle-blowers is facing resistance.
Pollinger Will Remain on Aug. 14 Ballot as a Republican as Judge Craig Denies Challenge
John Pollinger will remain on the Aug. 14 ballot as a Republican candidate for Flager County Sheriff, Circuit Court Judge Dennis Craig ruled Tuesday afternoon, denying a challenge by Anne-Marie Shaffer, a supporter of candidate Ray Stevens, to bar him from the Republican ballot.
Palm Coast’s Pre-2010 Red-Light Camera Fines in Question Following Latest Court Decision
The 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach on Friday found Orlando’s red-light traffic cameras illegal before they were standardized by a state law in 2010. Palm Coast’s set up was similar to Orlando’s. But the decision does not affect the current camera set up or the fine structure.
Scott Administration Downplays Northeast Florida Tuberculosis Spike; CDC Doesn’t
An April report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted a surge in cases of the highly contagious disease that appeared to be clustered in a homeless shelter, a jail and an outpatient mental health clinic in downtown Jacksonville.
In a Historic Breakthrough, County Will Cede Old Courthouse to Bunnell for Its New City Hall
No money will change hands, though the transaction isn’t quite free for Bunnell or the county, which retains the larger, annex portion of the building, and several building and maintenance rights (and costs).
12% Property Tax Increase and Reserves Will Close $4.6 Million County Budget Gap
The Flagler County Commission agreed in principle to raise the property tax 12 percent and use a combination of reserves and other one-time dollars to close what, going into the budget season, had been a gaping deficit provoked by new expenses, accounting issues and falling property values.
Charging “Political Assassination,” Pollinger Seeks Court to Reveal Shaffer’s Backers
John Pollinger, a Republican candidate for sheriff, is asking Judge Dennis Craig to compel Anne-Marie Shaffer to answer whether the Republican Club of Flagler County or the Ronald Reagan Republican Assembly of Flagler County–in which Shaffer is an officer–are helping to fund the lawsuit she filed against Pollinger to boot him from the Republican ballot.
Foster Children in Group Homes in Miami and Jacksonville Falling Prey to Sex Trafficking
Authorities said men lured teenage girls into prostitution, plying them with money, gifts and personal attention. The men collected the proceeds and paid the girls 40 percent. In the Jacksonville case, the teen was advertised in Backpage.com. In both cases, the alleged pimps also used teens as recruiters, police say.
Car Strikes 4-Year-Old on Florida Park Drive; “Thankfully We Don’t Have to Deal With a Tragedy”
The 4-year-old boy was darting across Florida Park Drive from one house to another, in front of Francis Collins, a 69-year-old resident of Frederick Lane, who was going slower than the speed limit. Collins’s Honda struck the boy, but resulting in no life-threatening injuries.
A Lifeguard’s Soul,
Outsourced to the Bottom line
Thomas Lopez was fired by Jeff Ellis and Associates, the private company to whom Hallandale Beach outsourced its lifeguard services, when Lopez tried to save a drowning man beyond his jurisdiction. It’s an example of privatization’s immoral priorities.
When Oceans Heal:
In Praise of the Jimmy Miller Foundation
The Jimmy Miller Foundation is a non-profit organization helping people challenged by physical and mental illness, including through the Wounder Warrior Project.
Walmart at 50: Gutting the Middle Class 1 Small Business and Manufacturing Job at a Time
Walmart’s 50th anniversary caps a 150year stretch when the number of independent retailers fell by over 60,000, and when, between 2001 and 2007, some 40,000 U.S. factories closed, eliminating millions of jobs.
Carson Merrill and Paul Miller, Flagler’s Two Shootists, Heading to Court Wednesday
William Carson Merrill shot his wife Stefanie with an AK-47 at their Covington Lane home on Feb. 21. Paul Miller shot his neighbor Dana Mulhall as the pair argued about Miller’s barking dogs on South Flagler Avenue on March 14.
Conservatives Press Attack as Florida’s Liberal Justices Are Cleared of Campaign Wrongdoing
An investigation into the filing of qualifying papers for Florida Supreme Court Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince has been closed, but the controversy about the trio’s place on this fall’s ballot is likely to continue.
FHP’s Crackdown and the Prohibitionist Politics of Drunk Driving: A Dissent
Taking aim at today’s deployment of 40 FHP troopers on I-95, Darrell Smith calls the targeting of people who drink–as opposed to drunk drivers–a brown-shirted example of a police state mentality too readily embraced by the public.
U.S. Economy Adds Just 80,000 Jobs In June as Unemployment Stagnates at 8.2%
The national economy added percent for the third most 80,000 jobs in June, keeping the unemployment rate stuck at 8.2 percent for the third month in a row.
Divided Palm Coast Council Buries
Home-Based Baking Start-Ups For Good
For a Palm Coast City Council that has been preaching the virtues of entrepreneurship and small business, the 3-2 vote reasserted council members’ priority for residential neighborhoods and freedom from the risks of new business.
Palm Coast Woman Hospitalized Following 2-SUV Wreck on US1, By Hess Station
Mary Rosalind Barber, a 52-year-old resident of Palm Coast, was driving north on U.S. 1 near the Hess station Thursday afternoon when a Georgia driver with four passengers cut into her right of way, slamming Barber’s SUV to its side.
FHP Deploying 40 Troopers and 2 Planes on I-95 in Flagler and 3 Other Counties Friday
The Florida Highway Patrol’s Operation Checkered Flag will take place Friday, July 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., targeting aggressive, drunk and speeding drivers. FHP is asking civilian drivers to report such drivers throughout the day, which coincides with races at the Daytona Speedway.
Memories of July 4 From Lake Sebasticook to Flagler Beach
July 4 festivities have turned into a 24-hour rolling event in Flagler County, beginning with fireworks at Town Center on Tuesday evening and finishing with fireworks at the Flagler Beach Pier tonight. What takes place in between is a parade of memories.
In Flagler Beach, a Clash of Authority Entangles The Manager, Fire Chief and Commissioners
The controversy over all-expenses-paid trip Fire Chief Martin Roberts and others took to investigate fire trucks is bringing to light a more serious conflict over City Manager Bruce Campbell’s authority, and the city commission’s habit of meddling directly with city department heads, over Campbell’s.
New Charter School Hastily Signs Lease for Tenant-Challenged Building at County Airport
Global Outreach Academy has been on the hunt for a building for months. The three-year deal at the Flagler County Airport fills a building on which the county has been paying $111,000 a year while having a terrible time keeping occupied since it built it for Embry-Riddle Aeronautic University in 2004.
Florida Law Barring Doctors From Asking Patients About Guns at Home Ruled Invalid
The law restricts doctors’ ability to provide truthful, non-misleading information to a patient, U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled. The “docs-vs-glocks” law was backed by the NRA and signed by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011.
Flagler Beach Fire Department Embroiled in Controversy Over Unauthorized Trips
Flagler Beach City Manager Bruce Campbell knew nothing about an all-expenses-paid trip his fire chief and two other fire department employees took to South Dakota in early June to look at a pumper truck, though the city commission has not approved the purchase of a replacement.
In a Snub to Cities, a Split County Commission Agrees to 15-Year Sales Tax for Jail Expansion
A 3-2 split of Flagler County commissioners agreed to place a continuation of a half-cent sales tax on the November ballot, but substantially increase the county’s share of the revenue at the expense of cities–a move Palm Coast and Flagler Beach oppose, and may jeopardize the levy’s success when voters have their say on Nov. 6.
Gov. Scott’s Health Law in Florida: No Medicaid Expansion, No Insurance Exchange
Gov. Rick Scott will opt Florida out of the insurance “exchanges” the new health law designs to help residents find health coverage, and he will opt out of expanding medicaid, even though the federal government pays all the costs for expansion the first 2 years, and 90 percent thereafter.
County Extends Administrator Coffey’s Contract To 2016 Without Discussion or Public Evaluation
This year’s elections could result in turn-over of three of the five Flagler county commission seats. Coffey is looking to extend his contract to 2016, though his contract isn’t set to expire until December 2013. He makes $141,000 a year before allowances.