Mayor David Alfin provided the swing vote Tuesday evening to keep Lauren Johnston as acting city manager until a permanent replacement is found, after a powerful plea–and motion–by Council member Theresa Pontieri to ratify Johnston contract and respect council procedures, the charter and principle. Moments later, the council rebuffed an attempt by Council member Ed Danko to hire Jerry Cameron, the former Flagler County administrator, in place of Johnston. Danko’s motion died for lack of second.
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Marcus Chamblin’s Defense Loses Almost All Key Motions It Sought Ahead of Next Week’s Circle K Murder Trial
Marcus Chamblin, 29, is one of two men facing murder and attempted murder charges in the death by fusillade of Deon O’Neil Jenkins and the wounding of another man, S.T., as they sat in a car at the Circle K on Palm Coast Parkway early the morning of Oct. 12, 2019. The defense lost motions to keep out of view of the jury a set of lyrics that could amount to a confession, and evidence found in the car Marcus Bauer and Chamblin drove out of Flagler County.
Six Life Terms for Andrew Sharp, 22, Who Repeatedly Assaulted His 8-Year-Old Cousin and Procured Her
Six weeks after Donald Andrew Sharp was found guilty of raping his cousin starting when she was 8, and of procuring her as a sexual toy to her slightly old brother, Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced Sharp to six life terms in prison without the possibility of parole. Sharp was unreactive.
Jerry Cameron Again Rears Up as Possible Acting Manager in Palm Coast Days After Council Voted In Johnston
Former County Administrator Jerry Cameron’s name is again lurking around Palm Coast City Hall as an interim possibility days after the council unanimously voted to install Assistant City Manager Lauren Johnston as its acting manager, the role required and so defined by the city charter in the absence of a permanent appointment. The possibility is bewildering staffers at City Hall, polarizing the council, and creating confusion about Johnston’s role ahead of Tuesday evening’s council meeting.
The Day Bunnell Shook with Groundbreakings: New City Hall, New Road, New Urban Horizon
Bunnell and Flagler County government held a pair of groundbreakings today to mark the construction of a new Bunnell City Hall and the digging through of the future 1.7-mile Commerce Parkway from State Road 100 to U.S. 1. The opening of Commerce Parkway may re-balance the city geographically and economically, adding a commercial and industrial component to go with the heavy residential development of Grand Reserve to the north.
Florida Is Blatantly Mixing Church and State in So-Called ‘Pregnancy Crisis Centers’
Planned Parenthood says Crisis Pregnancy Centers are “run by anti-abortion activists who have a shady, harmful agenda: to scare, shame, or pressure you out of getting an abortion, and to tell lies about abortion, birth control, and sexual health.”
The Economy Is Getting Better. Consumers Dont Feel That Way.
Americans are still worried about their financial stability even as their recession fears lessen. High prices at the grocery store and consumers’ memories of their pre-pandemic budgets may be playing a role. Here’s what financial and economic experts have to say about what this week’s economic indicators tell us about people’s perception of the economy.
Gaslighting Greed: Uber Overcharges Riders and Underpays Drivers
That higher driver pay would force big fare hikes is one of Uber and Lyft’s favorite scare tactics. As drivers across the country have protested poverty wages and organized for better pay, the rideshare giants have trotted out this line again and again. It’s false. The companies are reaping billions at drivers’ and riders’ expense, especially where no protections are in place.
Michael Rickman and Daytona Solisti in ‘Mozartiana – Music of Mozart’ April 21 in Ormond Beach
Pianist Michael Rickman and the Daytona Solisti Classical Players will perform a concerto that one music historian called “one of the greatest wonders of the world” – Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, KV 271 “Jeunehomme.”
They/Them vs. Him/Her: A Federal Judge Will Decide Legality of Florida’s Ban on Pronoun Freedom
A federal judge on Friday heard arguments in a court battle over a law restricting educators’ use of personal pronouns and titles in schools, in one of a series of challenges to Florida policies targeting LGBTQ people. The challenge alleges the law violates the teachers’ First Amendment rights and runs afoul of a federal civil-rights law.
Flagler County Acquires Last 25 Acres of Privately Held Land Along Princess Place Road for $700,000
Following the County Commission’s approval last November, Flagler County government this week closed on a $700,000 acquisition of the last 25 acres that were in private hands at Princess Place Preserve. The just market value listed by the Flagler County Property Appraiser is $198,000. The land last sold in 1994 for $45,000. The purchase was based on two appraisals the county conducted, and negotiations with the sellers.
Flagler Beach Has a New Mayor in King, a New Chair in Spradley, and One Temporarily Ruffled Feather
The Flagler Beach City Commission has a new mayor in Patti King following a non-election that saw her seated without opposition as her predecessor, Susie Johnston, chose not to run. And in a snub to tradition he prompted, though it wasn’t intended to be on his behalf, Scott Spradley was elected chair, leaving Commissioner Rick Belhumeur dejected over being passed over.
A $15,000 Plan to Transform the Foot of the Flagler Beach Bridge Into a Passive, Inviting Park
The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening is expected to approve a $15,000 plan transform a small area beneath the west side of the Flagler Beach bridge into a passive park with a proposed $7,500 grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District and an equal, matching amount from the city’s general fund. An obscure state land preservation agency owns a small portion of the same land, which may create a complication.
Flagler Beach’s Impact Fee Consultant Counters Home Builders Association’s Criticism Ahead of Commission Decision
L. Carson Bise, president of the consultancy Flagler Beach government hired to prepare a study proposing a 90 percent increase in the city’s impact fees levied on builders, on Wednesday responded point by point to questions and criticism of the study by the executive officer of the Flagler Home Builders Association, a day before the city commission is expected to vote on the proposal. Not all the responses appear entirely tenable.
Disney and Oversight District Settle Lawsuit, Not Quite Ending Company’s Dispute With DeSantis
The deal ends an Orange County circuit-court lawsuit that came amid a feud between DeSantis and Disney over the company’s opposition to a 2022 state law that restricted instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. Disney filed a separate federal lawsuit and appealed after a U.S. district judge in January dismissed that case. The appeal remains pending.
BJ’s Wholesale Club in Palm Coast Will Be Company’s 38th Store in Florida
BJ’s Wholesale Club, a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs, announced today the five newest clubs coming to its footprint, including the Palm Coast location on State Road 100. The local 103,000 square foot store will be part of a shopping center that will include other businesses, including a Miller’s Ale House and four other satellite businesses.
Proposed 90% Increase in Flagler Beach Impact Fees Shadowed by Questions and a Looming Development
After hearing it first proposed last July and twice opting not to adopt it just yet since, the Flagler Beach City Commission will try again to approve a revised impact fee schedule that would raise water and sewer fees for the first time in 14 years and create new impact fees for parks, police, fire and the library system. But questions about the study rationalizing the new schedule, including from a city commissioner and from the Flagler County Home Builders Association, continue to shadow the proposal.
Aborting Former Commitment, School Board Votes 3-2 To End Belle Terre Swim Club’s Public Memberships By July
Three Flagler County School Board members–Christy Chong, Will Furry, Sally Hunt–voted Tuesday to close the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club to the public, 28 years after it was gifted to the district, which has run it with public access to a swimming pool, tennis courts and a fitness gym. The facility has been a financial puzzle for the district for 10 years as well as a cherished institution for a loyal if diminished corps of members. The closure to the public will not end the facility’s financial deficits. It will only reduce them.
Palm Coast Takes Stock of Its Capital Funds Ahead of Budgeting for Parks, Roads, Fire, Swales and Utilities
The Palm Coast City Council this morning got a glance at what the city’s own major capital or construction plans will look like over the next 10 years, where the money will come from, and what city projects may drive the spending. The review of the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, or CIP, combines the tedious with the essential, delineating the wishful from the possible.
Marcus Chamblin Trial in Circle K Murder Set for April 8 as Co-Defendant Derrius Bauer Waits Until September
The trial of Derrius Braxton Bauer on a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Deon O’Neal Jenkins at a Palm Coast Circle K station in 2019 has been pushed to September to first accommodate the trial of Bauer’s co-defendant, Marcus Chamblin, set for April 8. The Chamblin trial includes a potential list of over 120 witnesses, will stretch over two weeks, and will be one of the more complex local criminal trials in recent years.
Bunnell’s Chicken Pantry Is No More After 68 Years of Joyfully Frying Everything That Moves
After 68 years in business under more than half a dozen owners and in two locations, Bunnell’s Chicken Pantry is no more. Bunnell City Manager Alvin Jackson, whose office is across the way, said he’d been hearing of the business having financial difficulties before he saw the iconic red chicken on State Road 100 had been removed.
The Austin Example: Is It Time to Drop Minimum Parking Rules to Make Housing More Affordable?
Most cities require homes and businesses to have parking. Critics say they drive up housing costs, foster car dependency and raise carbon emissions. Austin last year became the largest city in the country to do away with its minimum parking requirements, following in the steps of other major cities like Portland, Minneapolis and San Jose. Nixing parking minimums is part of a slate of reforms in Austin to loosen city land-use regulations and allow more housing to be built amid the city’s severe housing affordability crisis.
Joint Investigation Leads to Arrest of Antarius Henderson, 23, in Bunnell Shooting that Left 20 Year Old Critical
The shooting incident in Bunnell’s South Anderson Street involved three people firing some 30 or 31 shots (police recovered 31 shell casings): Henderson, the 19-year-old man he’d been fighting with, and a 17-year-old boy. Some of the residents around the scene of the shooting, including young children, hid in their bathrooms as bullets flew.
Palm Coast Approves Steps for Trio of Developments That Will Add 689 Homes in North and South of City
The Palm Coast City Council and its planning board between them approved different steps for a trio of developments in north and south Palm Coast that will add a combined 689 single-family homes to the city’s inventory. The approvals were for the final plat of Phase 2B of Sawmill Branch off U.S. 1, the final plat of Seminole Palms Phase 1 on the west side of Seminole Woods Boulevard, north of Grand Landings Parkway, and for the subdivision master plan of Sawmill Branch Phase 3.
‘Promenade at Town Center’ Will Add 204 Apartments Atop Shops in First Development of Its Kind There
Palm Coast’s Town Center will finally get the kind of development that was meant to define it when it was conceived in 2003–a 17-acre project mixing commercial, retail and residential uses in a six-building complex totaling 233,000 square feet, called The Promenade at Town Center. It’ll be right in the center of it all: at the southwest corner of Bulldog Drive and Central Avenue, with 1,100 feet of frontage on Central–about three football fields’ length—and 350 feet on Bulldog.
Sally Hunt Is Right: Security Isn’t What It Should Be in Flagler’s Biggest Public Building
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt is right when she deems certain public meetings less than secure. The county and the school board need to to take their own and the public’s safety more seriously in the Government Services Building–the county seat–not with harebrained ideas like locking public meetings’ doors, but with reasonable, inexpensive and unintrusive measures such as metal detectors that are becoming standard in public buildings.
Opponents Seeking to Redefine Constitutional Language on ‘Persons’ to Keep Abortion Rights Proposal Off Ballot
With the Florida Supreme Court deciding whether an abortion-rights constitutional amendment should go on the November ballot, Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office and abortion opponents are urging justices to consider another part of the state Constitution that they say could apply to “unborn children.” Moody’s office Monday raised the possibility of filing an additional brief about what is described as the “natural persons” provision of the state Constitution.
Sheriff, Palm Coast and County Examine How to Share Burden of Adding 3 Dozen Deputies Over Next 3 Years
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has a current deficit of 37 road deputies, according to an analysis produced for the Sheriff’s Office, Palm Coast and the county. The analysis is intended to yield an objective, permanent method of paying for law enforcement based on calls for service. The analysis was the centerpiece of a joint meeting today of the two governments and the Sheriff’s Office as they devise ways to share the burden of law enforcement funding.
Out of Her Control: Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin Explains Why He Fired City Manager Denise Bevan
In a 40-minute interview Tuesday afternoon, Alfin explained what led him to make his motion, threading a needle between lavish praise for Bevan in one sentence and sharp criticism of city management in the next, while explicitly conceding that Bevan may have been the victim of political circumstances. Bevan, in sum, paid a paid a price for election-year political currents she was not in control of.
Eric Cooley Wins 3rd Term on Flagler Beach Commission in Subdued Election as Trump Takes Presidential Primary
Incumbent Flagler Beach City Commissioner Eric Cooley won his third three-year term today in a subdued municipal election framed by the Republican presidential primary, which former president Donald Trump–the only candidate not to have suspended his or her campaign–unsurprisingly won.
Palm Coast City Manager Denise Bevan Unceremoniously Fired Without Cause in 3-2 Vote on Mayor’s Motion
In a stunning move, Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin this morning motioned to fire City Manager Denise Bevan, without cause. The motion carried, 3-2, with Alfin and Council members Ed Danko and Cathy Heighter in the majority.
Ex-Marine Offended By Jesus Joke Repeatedly Stabs One Man and Pummels Another at Palm Harbor Pkwy. Circle K
Hunter Detherow, a 22-year-old former U.S. Marine, is at the Flagler County jail on $300,000 bond following accusations that he repeatedly stabbed one man and beat up another after a discussion on religion took a bad turn at the Circle K at Palm Harbor near midnight Sunday.
Admitting to Role in Killing Him, Tyrese Patterson Called 16-Year-Old Noah Smith His ‘Dog’ and ‘Best Friend’
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins has denied a motion by 22-year-old Tyrese Patterson’s attorney to exclude a long confession from his upcoming trial on a charge of murdering 16-year-old Noah Smith in a crossfire in Bunnell two years ago. That confession includes details about what led up to the killing, and how Patterson described his relationship with Smith as “best friends” who hung out together frequently. Startlingly, he also said the killing had not changed him.
Superintendent ‘Would Be Surprised or Shocked’ By County’s Move Away from School Deputy Support
Dampening the county’s hopes to reduce the $1 million it contributes to the School Board to pay for sheriff’s deputies in every school–and more in other “legacy” contributions, as the county calls them–Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore says she does not see how the community would accept a retreat from the combined commitment by the School Board and the County Commission.
Florida Spring Break: Come for the Sunshine, Stay for the Measles.
Too many dunderheads are buying what dangerous anti-vaxxers like Ron DeSantis and his pet quack Joseph Ladapo are selling, so the measles virus is roaring back in Florida as the governor basks in a series of retro-reactionary new laws, from the end of the DEI movement in state universities to the ban on local governments’ attempts to treat their workers humanely in the face of climate change–a pair of words disallowed in the governor’s administration.
Shooting in Bunnell Leaves a 20-Year-Old Man in Critical Condition
A 20-year-old man is in critical condition after suffering gunshot wounds in Bunnell late Saturday night, according to Bunnell Police Chief Dave Brannon.
Cash Bail: Unfair, and a Violation of Due Process
When arrested on suspicion of committing a crime, everyone in the United States has the right to due process and to defend themselves in court. But in a cash bail system, when judges set bail amounts, those who cannot pay the full amount remain jailed indefinitely — a clear violation of their due process rights — while the rich can pay their way out of jail.
DeSantis Says Undocumented Immigrants Will ‘Regret’ Coming to Florida as He Signs Harsher Penalties Into Law
One bill doesn’t mention migrants specifically but imposes a mandatory 10-day jail sentence for a third or subsequent conviction for driving without a license or with a license that has been suspended, cancelled, or revoked. Another bumps criminal penalties for people who commit felonies after having been deported and returning to the United States.
Paul Renner Vaunts His Tenure as Speaker and the Millions He Steered to Flagler, But Evades Saying What’s Next
House Speaker Paul Renner, the Republican who has represented Palm Coast at the Legislature for the last eight years, spoke for the first time at length about the record $150 million in appropriations he helped steer toward Flagler County while boasting of a successful session that increased money “across the board” for roads, schools, health care and green spaces. But he remained mum about his future as his term-limited tenure ends this year.
Flagler Beach Commission Authorizes Up to $22 Million in Loans for Pier Demolition and Reconstruction
The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday unanimously approved a measure authorizing the city administration to temporarily borrow money internally for pier demolition, design and reconstruction costs now estimated to be $18 million. The debt would be repaid by a tax-exempt financing note, itself to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency dollars.
City Rep Theatre’s ‘Vinegar Tom’ Explores the Psychology of Witch-Finding
“ ‘Vinegar Tom’ uses the hunt for witches in the 17th century as a tool to investigate the subjugation of women in a male-dominated society,” says City Rep director John Sbordone. “The lessons of the past are reflected in many aspects of our own society.”
Census Bureau: Flagler County’s Population Was 131,500 Last July, an Increase of 16,000 in Three Years
Flagler County is again among the faster-growing counties in the nation, but not among the fastest. The county added 16,000 residents between 2020 and 2023, a 14 percent increase beginning to resemble the population surge of the early 2000s that was halted by the housing crash. Put another way: the county has grown by a population equivalent to more than three times the size of Flagler Beach in that brief span. Just since 2010, the county has grown by 40,000 people.
Houston Had a Problem. Flagler Sheriff’s Deputies Solved It: Suspected Armed Robber Arrested in Palm Coast
Asdrubal Rios Rodriguez, 35, was arrested amid a swarm of deputies, Glocks and rifles drawn, Tuesday on Palm Coast Parkway after authorities received an advisory from Houston police that the Tahoe Rodriguez was driving was connected with an armed robbery at a jewelry store. Some $79,000 in cash and several pieces of gold jewelry were found in the Tahoe.
After Torrent of Drainage Complaints, Only 2 Have Applied for Palm Coast’s New Advisory Committee So Far
Considering the throngs of complaints about drainage problems caused by new construction and the way they upended city priorities, it would not have been unreasonable for the council to expect that there’d be a flood of applicants to serve on the newly created Residential Drainage Citizens Advisory Committee meant to explore solutions. Three weeks into the application process, it hasn’t happened yet. Only two people have applied.
Wrongfully Arrested Migrant To Be Freed on Immigration Bond as Civil Rights Suit Is Filed Against St. Johns Sheriff
Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, the Guatemalan migrant who had been wrongfully arrested outside his motel in St. Johns County last May and charged with manslaughter after the sudden death by heart attack of his arresting deputy, is to be released from federal custody on an immigration bond this week. On Tuesday, one of his attorneys filed an amended federal lawsuit accusing St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick of violating Mendez’s civil rights.
Thieving Trio Leads Cops on Chase From Target Shopping Center Before Crashing into Retention Pond
A thieving trio wanted on numerous warrants from other counties or on probation allegedly got away with $1,837 worth of merchandise from two Palm Coast businesses before leading police on a chase along State Road 100 and crashing into a retention pond near the intersection with I-95 Tuesday afternoon.
As DeSantis Crows, Opponents of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law Say Settlement Rectifies Some of the Damage
Gov. Ron DeSantis was quick out the door with a claim that a settlement in a legal challenge to his Parental Rights in Education Act— or Don’t Say Gay — vindicated his efforts “to keep radical gender and sexual ideology out of the classrooms of public-school children.” In fact, the settlement agreement’s terms also limit enforcement of that law which the governor pushed through the Legislature two years ago to bar public school instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity.
Imagine 2050: Residents Fear Small-Town Tranquility Is History as City Plans for Its Long-Term Future
Preserve the city’s greenery, temper growth, manage roads, bring in more businesses and arts and culture choices: those are some of the major themes gathered from thousands of interactions with Palm Coast residents and synthesized for the Palm Coast City Council today as it heard a mid-point update in its year-long rewrite of the city’s Comprehensive Plan, the long-term blueprint for growth and how the city imagines itself at half century.
Rights-Of-Way Ban on Realtor or Any Signs Will Remain as Palm Coast Moves to Adopt New Ordinance
Nine years after its attorney said it would have to change its sign ordinance to comply with a new Supreme Court ruling, the Palm Coast City Council appears ready to adopt those new rules and maintain a long-standing ban on Realtor or other signs in rights-of-way, except for government signs.
Legal Or Not, Only Immigrants Can Save America
The United States avoided a recession largely because of a surge in immigration, and its economic output is expected to be $7 trillion higher over the next 10 years largely because of immigration–legal or not: the Congressional Budget Office doesn’t distinguish between the two. As native-born fertility declines and Americans age, the country cannot afford to close its borders. Those immigrants at the border aren’t an invasion. They’re not a crisis. They’re a lifeline: theirs and ours.