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Featured

Proposal Would Reduce Testing But Lower Standards and Shift Academic Decisions From Teachers to Parents

November 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

standardized testing school standards florida

A trio of education bills passed by the Senate K-12 education committee ease the burden of standardized tests, eliminate the requirement for Algebra 1 end-of-course exam and 10th-grade English Language Arts tests to graduate from high school, and allow parents more power to determine whether their third-graders should move to the next grade. 

Flagler Beach Planning New Year’s Fireworks and ‘Surf Board Drop’ in What Could Be Launch of New Tradition

November 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Fireworks off the pier again? On New Year's? It may not be so far fetched, though maybe not from that far out on the rickety pier. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission at a special meeting Tuesday will consider approving a $33,600 plan for a New Year’s fireworks celebration triggered by the commemorative drop of a lighted surf board likely blazing with 2024. The 12-minute fireworks show would be produced by My Three Sons, the company that produced last July 4’s countywide show at Flagler Executive Airport, and would be launched at midnight from the stable portion of the pier–immediately after the surf board drop at Veterans Park.

Ex-Bloods Gang Leader Brandon Washington, Serving Life, Duels Again with Prosecutor in Losing Bid for Relief

November 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Brandon Washington today before leaving court. (© FlaglerLive)

Brandon Washington was once the local gang leader of the “East Coast Bloods.” He was tried in 2011 and found guilty of a 2007 home invasion robbery and murder on Palm Coast’s on Pheasant Drive, and is serving four life terms. Today, he dueled with the prosecutor who won that conviction as Washington and his attorney argued that he’d had ineffective representation at trial. He did not prevail, but appeared to enjoy himself greatly.

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects DeSantis Attempt to Enforce Drag Show Law Halted in Lower Courts

November 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

drag shows

A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration that would have allowed enforcement of a new state law aimed at preventing children from attending drag shows. U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell this summer issued a statewide preliminary injunction against the law, finding that it violated First Amendment rights.

9-Building, 216-Unit Apartment Complex Would Line Old Kings Road South of Palm Coast Parkway

November 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 30 Comments

It won;t look exactly like that, but close: the developer of a 216-apartment complex planned for Old Kings Road, halfway between Palm Coast Parkway and Town center Boulevard, said it will look similar to the development pictured above.

The Palm Coast Planning Board in a 5-2 vote that reflected some sharp resistance to the project recommended approval of a master plan for a nine-building, 216-apartment complex lined along Old Kings Road’s two lanes, halfway between Palm Coast Parkway and Town center Boulevard. It would be by far the largest development visible from the road south of Utility Drive, changing the complexion of what had been one of Palm Coast’s last remaining greenways.

C.J. Nelson Jr., 22, Charged with Manslaughter in the Shooting Death of 18-Month-Old Girl at R-Section House

November 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The sheriff showed pictures of the gun, including an image of Nelson holding the gun "while trying to be frankly a punk gangster," Staly said.

C.J. Nelson Jr., the 22-year-old Palm Coast man arrested on an unrelated charge the night of the shooting death of an 18-month-old girl at at 2 Ranwood Lane in September, was charged with manslaughter with a firearm for that death on Wednesday. The first degree felony charge is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

In Settlement, Flagler County Will Pay Captain’s BBQ $800,000 and Allow New, 5,000 Sq. Ft. Restaurant at Bing’s Landing

November 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 94 Comments

A view of the "peninsula," as seen from Captain's BBQ at Bing's Landing, where the restaurant will build a 5,000 square foot building, with the county picking up $400,000 of that cost. The picture above was taken during training involving Flagler County Fire Rescue and the county's emergency helicopter. (© FlaglerLive)

Four years after Captain’s BBQ sued Flagler County government in a breach of contract claim, a negotiated settlement calls for the county to pay Captain’s $800,000, and clear the way for a new, 5,000 square foot restaurant at the county park. For Flagler County taxpayers, the dispute with Captain’s, just entering its fifth year, will have cost close to $1 million, when the county’s attorneys’ fees are included. The settlement is a huge victory for Captain’s.

Factual Yowls Aside, Palm Coast Says Community Cats’ Trap, Neuter and Release Program Is Working

November 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

palm coast community cats tnr

The Palm Coast City Council heard an enthusiastic report on the city’s partnership with Community Cats and its Trap, Neuter and Release program, which seeks to limit the feral cat population, with volunteer caretakers feeding and caring for the cats. The report contained notable factual errors and some lack of perspective.

Realtors Want Their Signs in Rights of Way. Palm Coast Warns that Hate and Other Signs Would Follow.

November 14, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

realtor signs rights of way palm coast free speech

Palm Coast Council member Ed Danko is leading the charge on behalf of Realtors and other businesses to open up city rights of way to their advertising signs on weekends. Fellow Council member Theresa Pontieri is warning that doing so would open up rights of ways to every sign imaginable, including hate signs, while overwhelming the city’s Code Enforcement Department. The council is split on an issue it will have to decide soon.

Consultant Says Palm Coast Residents Must Pay Cost of Future Growth With Higher Water Bills. Council Recoils.

November 14, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 51 Comments

Costly waste: Palm Coast's water and sewer infrastructure doesn't come cheap. (© FlaglerLive)

Growth is increasing your cost of living as an existing resident of Palm Coast, and you’re going to have to pay for it in higher water and sewer bills, according to a utility-rate consultant Palm Coast government hired. City Council members are not nearly so sure, and are asking for new numbers, possibly sharply raising impact fees on developers and builders.

Flagler Playhouse Season Will Continue at Matanzas’s Pirates Theater as ‘ReBuild’ Kicks Off at Woody’s

November 13, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

flagler playhouse survival

The Flagler Playhouse’s shows will go on: the venerable company’s 150-foot theater in downtown Bunnell was demolished two weeks ago, but in a Phoenix-like turn-around, its next three shows will be staged at Matanzas High School’s Pirates Theater, essentially more than salvaging the bulk of the season. The playhouse is launching its “Let’s Kick Off the ReBuild” campaign at Woody’s BBQ Tuesday evening.

Man Destroys a Room in Reckless Shooting Spree at Topaz Motel Before His Arrest at Gunpoint Blocks Away

November 13, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

topaz motel incident

A 35-year-old man who claimed he was being chased by assassins with AR-15 rifles fired numerous rounds through the door and windows of Room 214 at the Topaz Motel in Flagler Beach, facing State Road A1A, in a shooting spree that destroyed the room.

154 Participants Later, Flagler Cares’ Opioid Recovery Initiative Marks Its First Year, With New Wheels

November 13, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

core program flagler cares

The Coordinated Opioid Recovery initiative launched in Flagler County a year ago under the umbrella of Flagler Cares, umbrella. It’s a multi-layered approach that shepherds individuals toward recovery through medically-assisted treatment, peer-to-peer counseling, mental health and other services. Last week it marked its anniversary with, among other things, the ribbon-cutting for an outreach vehicle run by Flagler Open Arms Recovery Services.

Condemn Palestinians’ Genocidal Rhetoric–and Israel’s Genocidal War

November 12, 2023 | Pierre Tristam | 49 Comments

There is no question that "river-to-the-sea" emblems and rhetoric, like that t-shirt sold at an Arab fest in Orlando last May, is a genocidal, anti-Semitic call for the eradication of Israel. (© FlaglerLive)

There’s unquestionably some river-to-the-sea anti-Semitism out there. It should be and is being denounced. But conflating all criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism is itself a form of bigotry that places Palestinian lives beneath contempt and Israeli policy above reproach, even as swaths of Gaza in November 2023 look like Dresden in February 1945 and anti-Palestinian rhetoric in media and government continues to be indistinguishable from the vilest racism. 

Controversial PragerU Materials that Distort Science and Whitewash History Gain Foothold in Florida Schools

November 11, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The organization, formally the Prager University Foundation but known as PragerU, is founded and run by conservative talk-show host Dennis Prager

PragerU, which is not a university, is founded and run by conservative talk-show host Dennis Prager and funded by a number of like-minded philanthropists. PragerU touts its conservative view as a “free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.” But critics say it distorts science and whitewashes unpleasant aspects of historical events.

Florida Lawmakers Want to Reduce Regulations in Public Schools

November 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

A little less book censorship would be nice. (© FlaglerLive)

Florida lawmakers are looking at ways to take some regulations off the books for public schools. A new law law directed the State Board of Education to identify potential repeals and revisions in the state’s education code. The law also required the board to solicit input from people such as teachers, superintendents, administrators and school boards.

As It Fields Flood of Complaints, Palm Coast Is Revising Building Rules to Limit New Houses’ Fill Elevations

November 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 47 Comments

The house under construction at 98 Birchwood Drive and the concerns by neighboring residents about its elevation, which they say may cause flooding on their yards, has brought intense attention to an issue numerous Palm Coast residents have reported across the city as new homes have gone up. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast government, responding in part to mounting complaints about flooding seemingly caused by new construction of much higher homes in the city’s quarter-acre single family home lots, is working swiftly to limit how high the slab elevation of new homes, and the fill beneath it, may go. A new house at 98 Birchwood Drive has been ground zero of a problem that until now had not drawn broad attention or responses by the city.

Flagler Beach Government Will Subsidize Local Businesses at First Friday in Latest Effort to Localize the Event

November 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Drawing a crowd has not been a problem at Flagler Beach's First Friday. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission is again directing a First Friday make-over: more focus on live music, no more food trucks, subsidies to encourage local businesses to attend, and continuing fees for non-locals setting up tents. The approach is a reflection of an ongoing challenge: First Friday is not serving enough as a pipeline of business to local merchants, as the city commission intends it to be.

A Sociology Course That Deals with Gender, Sexuality and Race May be Demoted at Florida Colleges

November 9, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

sociology course demoted in florida

The Principles of Sociology class, which still would be available to students, would no longer count toward fulfilling required social-science coursework. The class involves lessons on gender, sex and sexuality and race and ethnicity, according to a syllabus from one university. State Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. wants it removed from the social sciences category.

Flagler Sheriff’s Office Awarded $355,000 Federal Grant to Develop Hate-Crime Prevention Initiatives

November 9, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

A demonstration outside Flagler Palm Coast High School in March 2022 protesting the suspension of a student who had led a walk-out against what became known as the "don;t say gay" law, seen by its opponents as justifying hate against the LGBTQ community. (© FlaglerLive)

In its application for the grant, the Sheriff’s Office said it would “develop a comprehensive approach to addressing hate crimes committed in Flagler County through enhancing agency investigation and reporting capabilities, as well as by forming partnerships with community stakeholders… in identifying potential hate crimes and targeted violence prevention.”

Palm Coast Residents Complain: New Homes Built Higher Than Ours Are Flooding Us, and City Turns Blind Eye

November 8, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 119 Comments

Mara Wuerth brought a visual aid to show Palm Coast City Council members the sharp difference in heights between her lot and the new fill for a house next door under construction. (© FlaglerLive via Palm Coast TV)

In Palm Coast, new homes are suddenly being built on significantly higher fill bases of a foot, two feet or more than adjoining properties. Older properties that never flooded now do. Homeowners of long date are shocked as they watch the yards of their dream homes–their main investment–turn to small lakes. The city has made them feel even more powerless: there’s nothing the city can do. There are no limits on fill height.

Bowing to Bitter Public Opposition, Council Kills Seminole Woods Apartments and Limits Development to 416 Homes

November 8, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 29 Comments

Seminole Woods Boulevard along the proposed boundary of the Cascades development in Seminole Woods. (© FlaglerLive)

In a twin blow to the developer–and to the city’s meager apartment market–the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday rejected a rezoning application that would have allowed for an apartment complex near the south end of Seminole Woods Boulevard, and rejected a land use change that would have allowed for the total number of housing units there to go from 416 to 850.

Flagler School Board’s Will Furry Criticizes District for Following Public Records Law

November 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

In a long diatribe at a workshop today, Flagler County School Board member Will Furry repeatedly implied that the district should have redacted an investigative report about a teacher at Buddy Taylor Middle School even if redactions went against the state’s public records law.

When Even Ed Danko Is Right

November 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

civility on elected boards

Ed Danko is right to resist Mayor David Alfin’s proposal to have all council members sign “Code of Conduct,” including a pledge of civility. It is not an elected board’s place collectively to regulate or codify its members’ behavior, or government’s place to force pledges of any kind on anyone.

Ormond Beach Sues Flagler County Over Easement, and Threatens to Cut Off Water to Hunter’s Ridge

November 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Sean Moylan, assistant county attorney for the County Commission, argued the county's case in a dispute with Ormond Beach. Two days later, the city took Flagler by surprise and sued. (© FlaglerLive)

The City of Ormond Beach is suing Flagler County government and a developer in the Hunter’s Ridge subdivision at the south end of the county, claiming that Flagler and the developer entered into an illegal agreement ceding an easement to the county that crosses a conservation area belonging to the city. Flagler County’s denials aside, Ormond Beach fears–and is convinced–that the county will one day use the 60-foot-wide easement to build a paved road.

Public-Notice Misstep Delays County Commission’s Decision on Captain’s BBQ Settlement to Nov. 20

November 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

captains bbq settlement

The Flagler County Commission held a two-hour closed-door session this afternoon to discuss a potential settlement in Captain’s BBQ’s four-year-old lawsuit against the county. What was to be a special meeting following the closed session was postponed because it was not properly noticed. So commissioners could not reach consensus, make motions or take a vote.

Judge Orders 85-Year-Old Man Accused in Woodlands Murder to Be Evaluated for Competence

November 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

charles kidd jr second degree murder

Circuity Judge Terence Perkins today ordered a neuropsychological evaluation of Charles Kidd Jr., the 85-year-old former resident of Blare Drive in Palm Coast’s Woodlands accused of murdering 36-year-old Mark Ruschmeier in August.

AdventHealth Surgeon John Cascone Charged with Child Abuse in 2nd Arrest in 4 Years

November 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

John Cascone.

John Cascone, the AdventHealth Palm Coast surgeon who pleaded to a battery charge in a domestic violent case four years ago, was arrested again on Saturday (Nov. 4) on a felony count of aggravated child abuse involving a 15-year-old girl, and a felony battery count involving his wife. He was released the next day on $60,000 bond.

At Florida Summit, Trump Bashes, Mocks and Triumphs

November 5, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Donald Trump surrounded by Florida Republican state lawmakers who endorsed him on Saturday in Kissimmee on Nov. 4, 2023 (Mitch Perry)

Former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP presidential race, closed out a daylong event at the Republican Party’s Florida Freedom Summit in Kissimmee on Saturday with an 80-minute address filled with mockery — bashing GOP challengers Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, plus President Joe Biden.

How a Reckless FHP Chase Almost Caused a Catastrophic Crash in Seminole Woods

November 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

Some of the Florida Highway Patrol troopers involved in the Oct. 26 chase in Seminole Woods, after the alleged suspect's apprehension on Slow Drift Turn. (© FlaglerLive)

On Oct. 26, Palm Coast resident Kendall Clark and her husband were driving in a residential Seminole Woods neighborhood to visit family when they were almost in a severe crash with a Florida Highway Patrol trooper chasing an alleged suspect who had committed no violent crime nor was wanted on a warrant.

Staunch Opposition Kills Paul Renner’s Calculated Proposal to Consolidate Judicial Circuits

November 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

judicial circuits

Amid overwhelming opposition to consolidation, a committee appointed by the Florida Supreme Court on Friday unanimously recommended against shrinking the number of judicial circuits in the state as Rep. Paul Renner had proposed. Critics labeled consolidation a gerrymandering effort aimed at weakening Democrats’ power in the court system.

As School Board Risks Wrongful Termination Suit, Value of Attorney’s Contract Is Close to $500,000

November 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

Christy Chong, Will Furry and Sally Hunt are the Flagler School Board's firing squad. (© FlaglerLive)

The three-member majority of the Flagler County School Board that wants to fire Attorney Kristy Gavin thinks it can do so at the cost of 14 weeks’ pay. The remaining board members say that risks incurring a wrongful termination lawsuit, with the value of Gavin’s remaining 20 months on her contract nearing half a million dollars, according to an analysis not disclosed until now.

Renoir-Inspired Turtle, Dedicated at Intracoastal Bank, Is 21st In Flagler’s Biggest Public Art Trail

November 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Renny is born: Artists Nancy Zedar and Lisa Fisher, palm Coast Mayor David Alfin and Intracoastal Bank President Ryan T. Page unveil the 21st sculpted turtle in the now five-year-old Turtle Trail, the largest public arts project in the county. Renny is positioned in front of the bank on Palm Coast Parkway. (© FlaglerLive)

Artists Lisa Fisher’s and Nancy Zedar’s “Renny,” the 21st edition in the Turtle Trail, which has quietly grown into the single-largest public art project in Flagler County in the last five years, was dedicated in front of Intracoastal Bank on Palm Coast Parkway to commemorate the community bank’s 15th anniversary. Scores of supporters turned up.

Before Troopers Shot Her in Hammock, DeLand Woman Had A Short, Violent History of Confrontations

November 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Jacqueline F. Blank after her arrest in August, left, when she claimed the injury to her face was self-inflicted, and after her arrest following her shooting by Florida Highway Patrol troopers in the Hammock on Oct. 25, when she was still reclining after a hospital stay. Blank is being held at the Volusia County jail.

Jacqueline Faye Blank, the 37-year-old DeLand woman Florida Highway Patrol troopers shot several times in the parking lot of the Hammock Beach Resort on Oct. 25, is an army veteran who until August had a clean record. That quickly vanished with a violent confrontation with her girlfriend and cops in early August, and a violent confrontation with FHP elsewhere, not reported until now, just before the shooting.

Miami-Dade Poised to Approve Nation’s 1st Protections from Excessive Heat for Outdoor Workers

November 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Construction and agriculture workers in Miami-Dade County may become the first in the nation to benefit from extreme-heat related protections should the (© FlaglerLive)

South Florida’s Miami-Dade County could be the only local government in the nation to provide heat-related protections for outdoor workers in the construction and agriculture industries, though advocates claim the proposal has been watered down due to lobbying by business interests.

A Student Is Bitten By a Wild Rat at Buddy Taylor Middle School’s Farm; Teacher Reprimanded

November 2, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

A section of the farm at Buddy Taylor Middle School. (© FlaglerLive)

Two Buddy Taylor Middle School students were bitten and one of them injured by wild rats, while two dozen students were exposed to the rats as a teacher was flushing them out of a hole with a water hose at the school’s farm. The activity was neither part of a lesson plan nor of the curriculum.

Secret Camera Records Violence and Leads to Palm Coast’s Man’s Arrest on Child Abuse Charge

November 2, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

Pierre betine Joseph.

Pierre Betine Joseph, a 49-year-old resident of Rolling Sands Drive in Palm Coast, was arrested on a felony child abuse charge after video footage from a secret camera installed by the victim’s siblings showed Joseph whipping his middle school son 11 times with two different belts as the child screams in pain and pleads for mercy, leaving welts on the child’s legs.

Teachers Union Blisters School Board Over ‘Fiscal Irresponsibility’ and ‘Unjust Actions’ in Attorney’s Pending Firing

November 1, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

Beth Keer, the legal guardian of a student at Matanzas High School and a former human resources director for a national behavioral health organization, addressed the school board at its last meeting on Oct. 26, when it set the parameters of firing School Board attorney Kristy Gavin, without stating just cause. ". This is a high risk termination which could result in a claim of wrongful discharge, which could be in this particular case, I would say, in excess of a $500,000 claim or potentially an EEOC claim," Keer told the board. "It appears to me that it's a desire by some board members to terminate Ms. Gavin's contract not based on facts but rather based on personal agendas." (© FlaglerLive)

In a letter to her membership, Elisabeth Dias, president of the Flagler County Education Foundation, the teachers union, calls attention to what she terms the potential “wrongful termination” without due process of School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin, which would set a precedent and pose “a serious threat to the rights and well-being of our members, as well as the financial stability of our school district.”

It’s Not a Good Idea to Spit at the Court Ahead of Your Sentencing. Dacotah Clarke Now Faces Up to 17.5 Years.

November 1, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Dacotah Clarke speaking with his attorney, Regina Nunnally, at his contempt hearing on Monday before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

Dacotah Wren Clark, 27, left a plea hearing and a pending prison sentence of 2.5 years by slamming the courtroom door and spitting in the elevator. He was then re-arrested days later on a dozen new charges. After a dressing down by Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, Clarke now faces up to 17.5 years in prison, without penalties for the spitting and door-slamming.

Captain’s BBQ and Flagler County Reach Tentative Settlement in Lawsuit Entering 5th Year

October 31, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

suffering captains bbq settlement

Captain’s BBQ and its landlord, Flagler County government, have reached a “tentative settlement” in Captain’s breach-of-contract lawsuit against the county, now entering its fifth year. The settlement was reached at an Oct. 27 mediation. But it’s not over. The County Commission must approve it, and will discuss it in a closed-door session next week. A previous proposed settlement, in 2020, failed.

Latest FHP Chase in Flagler Ends with Death of Alleged Carjacker in Rear-End Crash on I-95

October 31, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

The Flagler County Sheriff's Office issued the above image of the crash scene at the State Road 100 bridge on I-95. The man at the wheel of the sedan had allegedly carjacked the car in Duval County.

A one-mile stretch of I-95 from the State road 100 bridge south turned into a crash zone during a 90-minute period around midday, resulting in overturned vehicles but no injuries in the first crash and the death of a man who was allegedly fleeing in a chase yet again triggered either in Duval or St. Johns County and involving the Florida Highway Patrol. The fleeing man is alleged to have committed a carjacking.

Drone Footage Shows Extent of Flagler Playhouse Fire’s Irreparable Devastation; Likely an Electrical Cause

October 31, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

A drone image of the Flagler Playhouse taken on Monday by Flagler County Fire Rescue.

Drone footage of the aftermath of the Flagler Playhouse fire shows annihilating damage you cannot see from street level, with the entirety of the theater–the main building–as if systematically bombed through its nave. The multilayered roof of metal, asphalt shingles and wood has collapsed, melted from within. The iconic spire somehow kept standing at the front of the building, held up by metal trusses, though it’s a matter of time before it is removed.

Lawmakers’ Special Session Seeks to Expand Public Funding for Private Schools’ Special Education Students

October 31, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The Senate measure would be a boon to parochial and other private schools. (© FlaglerLive)

Florida lawmakers are gearing up to provide additional funding to a part of the state’s school-voucher program that serves students with special needs, as some proponents of the scholarships say demand has outpaced supply.

Brendan Depa Tenders Open Plea in Beating of Matanzas High Staffer, Leaving Sentence Up to Judge

October 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Brendan Depa preparing to tender a plea today before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. Perkins sent him back to the defendant's table: Depa had not read his plea agreement. (© FlaglerLive)

Brendan Depa, the 18-year-old special education student facing up to 30 years in prison for the merciless beating of a Matanzas High School teacher aide last February, pleaded to the first-degree felony charge today before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. He will be sentenced in January.

Flagler Playhouse Burns, Demolishing Home of County’s Oldest Theater Troupe and a City Landmark

October 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 33 Comments

The Flagler Playhouse at sunrise today. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Playhouse, for 46 years a mainstay of the performing arts in the county, lost the rustic theater it has occupied and packed with audiences since 2006 in Bunnell as a fire destroyed it Sunday night into early Monday. Flagler County Fire Chief Michael Tucker said the building was irreparable.

DeSantis’s Censorship University System Is Causing a Brain Drain

October 29, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

DJ Spang, a student from Tallahassee Community College, joined a walkout at Florida State University to protest various policies for higher education from the DeSantis Administration. Feb. 23, 2023.

DeSantis is obsessed with remaking education according to his authoritarian tendencies, doing his damnedest to wreck K-12 with his army of book-banning harpies in “Moms for Liberty” and his Scared Karens legislation, and forbidding honest discussion of slavery and racism so as to never make white kids feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.”

How a School Superintendent in Maine Addressed the War in Gaza with Students and the Community

October 29, 2023 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

james tager gaza war reflections

Jim Tager, a former superintendent of schools in Flagler, describes himself “privileged and inadequate to fully grasp the experiences of people in the Middle East,” but seeing his district through its prism of diversity and tolerance, he urges students and colleagues to form the kind of friendships across boundaries that enrich local and global communities.

The Big Reveal
Riding Brightline: The Great, the Brash and the Ugly

October 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

Hello Brightline. Our train pulling into the station in Orlando. We would have barely a few minutes to board before it sped off to Miami. (© FlaglerLive)

Earlier this month FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam and his son took a 24-hour round-trip from Orlando to Miami aboard Brightline’s new high-speed line, discovering what may be–what ought to be–the future of rail travel in Florida with all its pleasures, possibilities and limitations. Here’s the story of the trip and a review of the travel experience.

Amid Horrors in Israel, Temple Beth Shalom Prepares to Celebrate 50th Anniversary in Palm Coast

October 27, 2023 | Michael Lewis | 2 Comments

Temple Beth Shalom celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend in Palm Coast. (Temple Beth Shalom)

Fifty years ago, 18 Jewish families who found themselves living in Flagler County in the early 1970s, discovered each other and discovered they had no place of worship to call their own. They founded Temple Beth Shalom, which bills itself not as a Conservative or a Reform temple, but rather an egalitarian, independent house of worship. This weekend, it celebrates its 50th anniversary in Palm Coast.

School Board Attorney Gavin Fends Off Firing Squad as Superintendent Will Negotiate Possible Transition

October 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

Flagler County School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin during Thursday evening's 135-minute meeting about her fate. She was not fired. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County School Board Tuesday evening again stopped short of firing Kristy Gavin, its attorney, after it was sharply cautioned by Superintendent LaShakia Moore against taking such a vote without counsel and risking serious financial consequences. The board voted 4-1 to allow Moore to negotiate moving Gavin to the position of staff attorney, answering to only to Moore.

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