The Flagler County Commission this evening appointed Heidi Petito interim manager for at least the next three months, or long enough to shepherd the county through budget season, but likely for much longer, the commission being uninterested in laboring over a successor. It was a surprise: Jorge Salinas, brought on as chief of staff in January, was widely expected to be named interim. Instead, he now says he is no longer interested in the top job.
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Felon Released from Prison Months Ago, Resentenced 6 Days Ago, Carjacks 70-Year-Old Woman and Flees Cops
Angelo Walsh, 38, had been found guilty of domestic battery–he’d pounded his girlfriend with both fists–four days before a Saturday incident in which he carjacked a 70-year-old woman and sent deputies on a chase through Palm Coast with reckless disregard for other drivers–a charge he’d faced on a previous prison stint.
Flagler Mosquito Control Launches Plan that would Expand Spraying to Entirety of County By 2026
The plan would expand taxing for mosquito control of property owners countywide. Currently a property with a taxable value of $150,000 pays around $24 a year for mosquito control. Currently the district boundaries include Palm Coast, Bunnell, Flagler Beach and Beverly Beach.
Deputies and Firefighters Talk a Suicidal 17-Year-Old Girl Off the Ledge at Palm Coast Parkway and I-95
Four public safety agencies this morning cooperated in literally talking a 17-year-old Palm Coast girl off the ledge on the I-95 overpass at Palm Coast Parkway. The incident shut down I-95 northbound and the parkway’s eastbound traffic in the 6 and 7 o’clock hours this morning before it was resolved without harm to anyone.
Wesley Brown, Ex-Flagler Beach Pastor Who Defrauded Congregants, Loses Bid to Reduce Prison Sentence
Wesley Brown–pastor and financial advisor Wesley Brown, formerly of Flagler Beach, now a 15-time convicted felon over defrauding clients of nearly half a million dollars–was denied a motion to have his seven and a half years prison sentence cut as he appeared in court today.
Woman Claiming She was Drugged and Raped Sues Palm Coast Doctor Gerard Abate; Criminal Investigation Open
A woman is suing Gerard Abate, a 67-year-old Palm Coast physician who runs his own medical consultancy, over claims he drugged, raped and exposed her to a sexually transmitted disease after meeting her on a dating site in 2017. A potential criminal case against Abate is pending, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
Florida Supreme Court Justices Again Reject Recreational Pot Amendment Despite Strict Regulatory Language
Justices, in a 5-2 decision, said a proposal by the political committee Sensible Florida included ballot wording that would mislead voters. By the same margin, the court in April rejected a recreational-pot proposal by the committee Make It Legal Florida.
Biden Signs Law Making Juneteenth a New Federal Holiday
“Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names—Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at the White House signing ceremony, noting that the White House was built by slaves. “And today, a national holiday.”
Road Signs May Not Be Enough to Stop Sea Turtles’ Carnage on Flagler’s Beachside
A dead or stranded turtle on the side of the road is common, but prevention is not complicated, whether it’s reducing clutter and pollution on the beach or following up on the Flagler Turtle Patrol’s awareness tips.
From ‘Hamlet’-Writing Chimps to Erotic Miniature Golf, It’s ‘All in the Timing’ for City Rep’s Latest Production
Whether it’s the three chimpanzees of “Words, Words, Words” discussing the crafting of high literature, the miniature-golf-as-metaphor-for-sex shenanigans of “Foreplay, or The Art of the Fugue,” or the multiple replays of murder in “Variations on the Death of Trotsky,” the “All in the Timing” one-acts are soaked in bizarro scenarios.