After a series of wrangling votes rich in political maneuvering, the commission will re-interview three candidates for city manager–Bruce Campbell, Gary Word and Edward Sealover.
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Record 43.6 Million in Poverty; Record 50.7 Million Uninsured; Only Elderly Thrive
The Census Bureau’s annual poverty, income and insurance report is the hardest data yet on the severity of the recession. The elderly are not only spared: they improve.
15 Palm Coast Residents Arrested in Oxycodone Bust; State System to Tackle Abuse Is On Hold
All 15 men and women arrested in the prescription-drug bust are from Palm Coast. Three are still at large. A system designed to reduce prescription-drug abuse is on hold.
Janke Offers to Withdraw from Flagler Beach Manager’s Job Amid New X-Rated Allegations
Janke had initially withdrawn from consideration, but reversed course and said he’d leave it up to the commission to determine whether his candidacy was too much of an embarrassment.
Proposed Coral Farm at Matanzas High School Raises Tentacles of Possibilities–and Questions
In an untested, risky arrangement, the proposal would have the school district lease land to a private company that would, in exchange, share some of its profits with the district.
Preliminary SAT Results Show Higher Scores for Flagler’s Class of 2010
In all but math at FPC, students at the county’s two high schools improved when compared with last year’s seniors. Some 1.6 million students took the test in the last round.
Grumpily, Tourist Council Extends Aging Grant for Princess Place Preserve 1 More Year
The $35,000 matching grant from the council was awarded in 2006 to improve the preserve’s museum. It’s been poorly handled since, though the preserve’s value is indisputable.
Goomba’s Ex-Hitman Joey Calco Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison; Calzone Case Ahead
The 10-year sentence is on a gun-possession charge. Calco has yet to go to trial on an assault charge stemming from his alleged attack over a calzone at his former pizzeria.
CC DC: Charlie Crist Adopts Gay Rights and Calls for Repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
Crist’s belated embrace of gay adoptions, civil unions for gays and lesbians, and full, equal rights for gay soldiers makes him socially indistinguishable from Kendrick Meek.
Revving Up Speed Zones, State Tells Flagler: Manatees More Endangered Than Boaters
A local committee had recommended mostly hand-off, unregulated speeds on the Intracoastal. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission staff rejected the approach.
Carver Gym on the Drawing Board: Rosy Goals, Grayer Certainties
A committee set up to save Carver Gym from the cleaver isn’t lacking for ideas and objectives, but money and ownership remain the unanswered questions.
Bunnell Commissioners Are Excoriated for Doubling Their Salaries While Others Suffer
By doubling their salaries to $9,600 a year, Bunnell commissioners matched the salaries of council members in Palm Coast, a city with 30 times the population of Bunnell.
Palm Coast’s Waterfront Park, Carving Out Tranquility on the Intracoastal, Opens
See a photo gallery of Palm Coast’s newest jewel, the 12th in its collection of parks. It opens Saturday with special booths and walking tours around the 20-some acres.
Shunning Hometown Favorites, Flagler Beach Names Scott Janke Frontrunner for Manager
Scott Janke is the former town manager in Fort Myers Beach, where he was fired last year, through no fault of his own, when his wife was outed as a porn star. They’ve been separated almost a year.
Sheriff Fleming and Rollie Fingers to Headline Sex-Exploitation Prevention Fund-Raiser
The sheriff is the the 2010 recipient of the “Greatest Save” Law Enforcement Award for Florida. Fingers, baseball’s great relief pitchers, will host the $100-a-plate evening.
So Long, Sadie Strickland: Bunnell Centenarian Was Told Flagler Would Devour Her in 1927
Sadie Strickland died on Sept. 10. She was almost 101. Her neighbors thought she and her husband would run back to Georgia in 1927. The neighbors were wrong.
Alex Sink and Rick Scott on Health Care: Sharp Clash of Opposites in Race for Governor
On health care, there are no blurry lines between Florida Gubernatorial candidates Alex Sink and Rick Scott. It’s a story of opposites.
Net Neutrality: The First Amendment Issue of Our Time
“Protecting an open Internet,” Sen. Al Franken argues, “isn’t just about developing new and enforceable net neutrality standards. It is also about making sure that the Internet isn’t effectively owned by a handful of companies.”
Art League Inaugurates Move to City Walk With “A Hero’s Call”
Now led by Weldon Ryan, a retired New York City police artist, the Flagler County Art League is devoting its first show at its new City Walk gallery to artistic renditions of first responders around 9/11 and since.
Sheriff Don Fleming, Art Critic: Tapped to Jury 9/11 Show, He Pays Tribute to Colleagues
Judging an art show was a first for Sheriff Fleming, though the first responders of 9/11 have particular significance for him: as a police chief in New Jersey, he’d worked with nine of the Port Authority cops who died that day.
Hometown Democracy and Class-Size Amendments Spark Up Civic Association Forum
The Flagler Palm Coast Civic Association’s forum featured contrasting views on ballot proposals that would affect class sizes, development laws, and two local taxes.
In 1st of 2 Rounds, County Adopts 14% Tax Rate Increase Against Scattered Criticism
The rate, $5.5905 per $1,000 in assessed value is up from $4.8894 per $1,000; for a $138 million budget that includes 287 county employees, down 64 positions in three years.
With 4 Out-of-Towners, Flagler Beach Resumes Interviews to Fill Manager’s Chair
Last week was the hometown favorites’ time. This week, five of the eight candidates for manager are being interviewed.
County Cuts Supervisor of Elections’ Budget 4.9%, But Keeps It Well Above 2009 Level
The $656,000 budget is 6.7 percent above where it was in 2009, and 43 percent higher than what it was in 2004. Commissioner Milissa Holland dissented from the vote approving Supervisor Weeks’ budget.
Obama Condemns Gainesville Koran-Burning as FBI Warns of Possible Retaliation in Florida
As protesters burn Gainesville Pastor Terry Jones in effigy and the FBI warns of possible retaliations in Florida, Obama joins condemnations of the planned Koran-burning.
Bunnell Rebuffs Sheriff’s Offer to Provide Law Enforcement at 26% Less Than City’s Costs
The Flagler County Sheriff’s proposal to cut Bunnell’s police costs by $260,000 by taking over proved less convincing than commissioners’ emotional attachment to a troubled police department.
In Knotty Deal, County Agrees to 980-Acre Buy from Ginn Co. for at Least $3.25 Million
The county will pay $2.25 million now, $1 million more in 24 months, and potentially $1.25 million more over an undetermined amount of time should the land yield lucrative wetlands credits.
Tourist Tax Increase Clears Key Hurdle With 4-1 County Commission Vote
The Flagler County Commission must now hold a public hearing on the increase of the tax from 3 to 4 percent, but the 4-1 vote suggests the measure is headed for approval.
School Board Approves $166 Million Budget; Tea Party’s Response Is Mostly Decaffeinated
The school board’s final budget adoption hearing was better attended than most ion previous years; questions and comments didn’t necessarily have much to do with the budget.
Gen. Patraeus Warns: If Gainesville “Church” Burns Korans, U.S. Troops Will Be Targeted
A Gainesville “church”‘s plan to burn Korans on to commemorate 9/11 “could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort,” Petraeus said. The Koran-burning preacher is unmoved.
Memo To Enterprise Flagler: Why Your Tax Plan Is Fumbling (and What To Do About It)
From its message to its messenger, Enterprise Flagler’s tax-and-build plan is facing obstacles and unanswered questions of its own making. It may be too late to reverse opposition, but not too late to do the right thing.
Launching 6th Season, Flagler Youth Orchestra Calls on All Students 3rd Grade and Up
The Flagler Youth Orchestra begins its sixth season, with an open house at the Indian Trails Middle School cafeteria at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Students 3rd grade and up are welcome.
Labor Day Fire Demolishes Home by 3rd Hole of Palm Harbor Golf Course
Palm Coast Fire Department unites responded to the single-family home fire around 3 p.m. Monday (Sept. 6). The home belongs to Deborah and Will Morningsun.
Mainland High School Coach John Maronto’s Prostitution Arrest: Hold Your Sanctimony
Mainland High School football coach John Maronto, 68, was arrested in a prostitution sting Sept. 4. Hold your sanctimony: wasteful police stings aside, he did nothing wrong.
A Wedding Made in Deli: How Aquarius Conquered Cancer
He’s 60. She’s 65. They’ve each been married twice before. She was just diagnosed with terminal cancer. They’re getting married at Strathmore’s Deli, with Mayor Netts officiating.
Ron Vath Mystery Theater: Flagler Beach Commissioner Takes a Job With FEMA
Ron Vath had applied for the job in April. The job may be permanent, but the postings may not be. He is due back sometime in early fall.
24 Roses in Red, White and Black for Ray Boylan, Mentor Beyond Call and Color
Ray Boylan, who died on Aug. 26 at age 76, was a hero of the Flagler school district’s African American Mentor Program, and its only white mentor. His widow Gail was honored Saturday.
Mosque Madness and the Shame of New York
As a model of understanding, New York City was once an American redemption. Relatively, anyway. Not anymore, as a majority of New Yorkers are joining the mob-like reaction against an Islamic center near Ground Zero.
Ox-Bow Development: Councilman Meeker Sees Palm Coasters as Business-Hunting Posse
Frank Meeker would award $1,000 per job over three years for local residents who convince businesses elsewhere to “uproot” themselves and move to Palm Coast. City staff is studying the idea.
Softball League: Flagler Beach Interviews 3 Hometown Candidates for Manager, Gently
Easy questions, general answers: that sums up the day’s interviews of three familiar faces in Flagler Beach. Commissioner Ron Vath was absent. The show drew a maximum of 20 people.
Stetson Professor Monique Forte’s Death Attributed to Cocaine Abuse
Stetson Professor Monique Forte, beloved as a friend and mentor, had been battling mounting stress in her work and personal life.
North By Northwest: State Rejects Palm Coast’s Sprawling Growth Horizon
While the state approved of Palm Coast’s plans to develop the Bulow Creek area, it rejected the city’s planned expansion to its west and northwest, calling it unneeded and fraught with sprawl.
It’s Raining Taxes, Cont’d: Behind Scenes, County Manager Floats Sales Tax Increase
One proposal would increase the half-cent sales tax by a super-majority vote of the county commission, bypassing voters.
3 Local Candidates for Manager on Flagler Beach’s Interviewing Schedule Thursday
See all eight candidates’ resumes, as well as the interviewing schedule of four candidates on Thursday: James P. Gallagher, Caryn Miller, Michael Evans and Bruce Campbell.
Where’s Ron Vath? Without Explanation, Flagler Beach Commissioner Is Out Indefinitely
The 69-year-old commissioner has missed several meetings and is about to miss many more, including budget hearings and interviews with 12 candidates for city manager.
Flagler Student Is Jailed After Setting Off A “Bottle Bomb” at a Bus Stop
18-year-old Giuseppe Verdone Jr. set off the “bottle bomb” at Bird of Paradise and Biscayne Drive while waiting for a bus to Pathways, the district’s school for problem students.
For First Time in Memory, Flagler School Enrollment Stalls; No Budget Cuts Foreseen Yet
The 240 additional students the Flagler school district expected this fall haven’t materialized, resulting in a projected loss of $1.62 million in state funding.
Should You Be Worried About Hurricane Earl? No (For Now)
Hurricane Earl is on track to pass some 350 to 400 miles away from Flagler County Thursday and Friday, though the storm will produce high waves and rip currents.
Enterprise Flagler’s Tax and Build Plan Revealed: How They’ll Seek Your Vote
The 4,200-word plan is presented here uncut, providing readers with a first, comprehensive look at how Enterprise Flagler will sell its tax plan to subsidize private industrial incentives at public expense.
Smoke, But No Fire, In a New Section Of the County Jail
The smoke was detected at 2:46 p.m. Monday afternoon. It was attributed to an electrical short in a ground-fault indicator unit. No one was hurt or evacuated.