Michael Philip Blum, a 45-year-old resident of 18 Felter Lane, was arrested in connection with the unexplained suspected explosion in a swale at Fernwood Lane and Fleetwood Drive in Palm Coast Friday afternoon, a short distance from Blum’s house.
Featured
Much-Touted App Swiped Off as Flagler Beach Re-Focuses on Clunky Website to Communicate
Flagler Beach’s year-long attempt to launch an app that would improve engagement and communication with residents is flickering out. The City Commission Thursday evening voted unanimously to end development of the app and shift money allocated for it back to improving the city’s website. There was little indication that the city was interested in further app development, though that door remains ajar.
Florida Lawmakers Approve Abortion Ban Past 6 Weeks, One of the Most Restrictive in U.S.
In less than a year, Florida has moved from a 15-week abortion ban to the passage of one of the most restrictive bans in the nation — a 6-week abortion ban. The state House approved the legislation after at least six hours of questions, amendments, debate, protests and a final vote that will clear the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to consider the bill.
Marketing Lab Opens at Matanzas High School, Giving Classroom a Real-World Vibe of Office Energy
Matanzas High School’s Marketing Lab is the newest addition to its marketing and finance program, a hands-on immersive experience for students to get the full workplace experience from conceiving products to pitching their marketability to developing advertising campaigns to selling. Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt and Matanzas Principal Kristin Bozeman inaugurated the lab today.
Louis Gaskin Killed 33 Years After Double-Murder as Mark Carman, Who’d Arrested Him, Witnesses
Louis Gaskin, who murdered Robert and Georgette Sturmfels in Palm Coast’s R Section in 1989, was killed by lethal injection Wednesday evening. Mark Carman, who arrested Gaskin 33 years ago, was among the witnesses to the execution, and spoke of the experience, as did others who turned up in opposition to the death penalty.
Palm Coast Plan Proposes 102% Increase in Stormwater Rates in 4 Years. Council Is ‘Uncomfortable.’
A Palm Coast government consultant is proposing a 102 percent increase in homeowners’ stormwater rates over the next four years, what would equate to an annual bill of $542–more than what some homeowners pay in city property taxes. The City Council isn’t ready to go that far, but steeply higher rates are coming.
Splitting from Palm Coast, Flagler County Stays With Waste Pro, at Rates 65% Higher Than 2017 Contract
After the County Commission signed on to a five-year contract valued at around $3 million annually, Waste Pro will remain unincorporated Flagler County’s trash hauler, but not Palm Coast’s, where FCC Environmental will be the trash hauler starting June 1. Waste Pro had picked up Palm Coast’s trash for the previous 16 years.
Owners of 10,000 Vacant Lots in Palm Coast May Soon Be Responsible for Mowing Rights of Way
Palm Coast government’s quarter-century-old practice of mowing the rights of way in front of vacant lots mostly at its own expense may be about to end. The Palm Coast City Council today agrees that the responsibility should shift to the property owners, and that it should be enforced by the city’s code enforcement officers.
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Block Execution of Flagler’s Louis Gaskin, Set for Wednesday
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block the execution of Death Row inmate Louis Gaskin, who is slated to face lethal injection Wednesday in the 1989 murders of a Flagler County couple.
Volusia GOP House Rep. Webster Barnaby Likens Trans People to ‘Mutants,’ ‘Demons and Imps’
Florida House Rep. Webster Barnaby, A Volusia County Republican, called trans people “demons” and “imps,” and compares them to “mutants living among us on planet Earth” during a House Commerce Committee meeting on a bill that would ban transgenders’ use of bathrooms of their choice.
Andrew Mintz, Man at Center of Head-On Crash at Flagler Beach Pier, Faces Felony Charge
Andrew Mintz, the 34-year-old Palm Coast man at the origin of a three-vehicle crash near a crowd of officials and others by the Flagler Beach pier on April 1, has been charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding police while causing injuries or property damage, a second-degree felony with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Behind Mittelstadt’s Firing: ‘An Out of the Closet Lesbian’ Who Refuses to Kiss Chamber’s Ring
The bigoted, vengeful firing of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt will deeply stain Flagler County’s reputation for business or great schools: Neither the three school board members nor the chamber of commerce who orchestrated the ouster could find a single reason to fire her, fabrications aside. Malevolence was enough.
The Closing of the Floridian Mind
Ron DeSantis’ crackdown on thinking has got teachers so spooked, and so emboldened censorious Christian nationalists, that knowledge is being ripped out of public education in this state, even before his ridiculous laws are officially in place.
Volusia-Flagler YMCA and Mayor Alfin in Big Push to Open Y in Palm Coast in About 2 Years
The Volusia Flagler Family YMCA is working with Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin and a corps of local community members to bring a YMCA to Palm Coast, with a rough goal of having a local facility under construction or near completion in about two years.
First Book Bans. Now School Libraries: Sally Hunt Thinks Media Centers Could Be Shrunk.
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt thinks some school libraries may be too large and under-used. She wants to rethink library spaces and media specialists’ roles, and thinks the public library could be the repository of books unwanted on school campuses.
Palm Coast Chamber’s Disinformation on Student Performance and Superintendent Draws Sharp Rebukes
Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt and School Board Vice Chair Colleen Conklin both issued sharply worded rebukes to rankly misinforming statements by the Flagler Palm Coast Chamber of Commerce regarding Mittelstadt’s performance in the last three years. A 3-2 majority of the school board fired Mittelstadt Tuesday, as of June 30.
2 Tree Service Workers Survive Electrocution on Palm Coast’s Commander Court
Two brothers who work for the Palm Coast-based Kamil All In One company survived electrocution as they worked in a tree at 13 Commander Court in Palm Coast around noon. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation.
Dune Hold-Out Signed Documents Today After 3 Years, Clearing Beach Reconstruction
Less than two weeks from a scheduled trial date, Flagler Beach resident Cynthia d’Angiolini this afternoon signed the two easements the county has been seeking for three years and that will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild and maintain 2.6 miles of dunes south of the pier, unimpeded, for the next half century.
Court Roundup: Plea Possible in Ex-Matanzas Student Case; Murder Trials Pushed Back
17-year-old Brendan Depa’s case is still awaiting a competency evaluation but the attorney of the former Matanzas High School student said a plea may be in the works. A plea may also be negotiated for Damari Barnes, 16, who faces a manslaughter charge in the death of Jamey “Juju” Bennett. Other murder cases, including those of Kwentel Moultrie and Taylor Manjarres, are pushed to late summer.
AdventHealth Palm Coast COO Wally De Aquino Named President and CEO of New Hospital on Parkway
AdventHealth today named Wally De Aquino president and CEO for AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway. The 100-bed, four-story hospital on Palm Coast Parkway set to open in August, alongside a new medical office building. It will be a 158,000-square foot, $167 million facility.
No Overt Prayers: Palm Coast Council Will Stick With Moment of Silence at Meetings to Avoid Theatrics
Rejecting exhortations from nearly two dozen people, there will be no overt, vocal prayer at Palm Coast City Council meetings, though room for prayer in all forms and for all creeds will continue, as it always has, for individuals who choose to pray, whether overtly before meetings or quietly during meetings or during the moment of silence.
Chong, Furry and Hunt in 3-2 Majority Not to Renew Superintendent Mittelstadt’s Contract
Rebuffing an outpouring of public support for Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt at this evening’s special meeting, the Flagler County School Board voted 3-2 not to renew her contract when it expires in June.
Focusing on Student Use, Flagler School Board Nears Closer to Ending Belle Terre Swim Club’s Memberships
After a decade of hesitancy and inaction, the Flagler County School Board is wading closer to turning the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club into a student-focused facility, removing its use as a membership driven club, while still leaving the door open to public use on a leasing basis.
The Cabal Against Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt
Flagler County Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt is the target of a cabal made up of a clique who claim to speak for a broader mass than they do, and who do so on the flimsiest pretexts and, whispering campaign aside, nonexistent evidence. Yet Tuesday evening, Mittelstadt may well be fired, with no justification.
On Eve of Decision, School Board Evaluations Rate Superintendent On Higher End of ‘Satisfactory’
The five Flagler County School Board members’ combined evaluation scores for Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt average 3.69 points out of a possible 5, rating her “Acceptable/Satisfactory” as the board heads into Tuesday’s special meeting to decide whether to renew her contract, and if so, how.
‘Promises Made and Kept’: ESE Parent Advisory Council Voices Unanimous Support for Superintendent
The parent-members of Flagler Schools’ ESE Parent Advisory Council (or EPAC) voted unanimously in support of the renewal or extension of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s contract, issuing a letter outlining the superintendent’s achievements and cautioning against yet more instability.
I Served on Flagler’s School District Book Review Committee, Only to Be Silenced
One of 14 members appointed by the Flagler school administration to a district-level committee to review the challenge to Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls” describes the experience of being part of a 14-0 decision to retain the book, only to be overruled by the superintendent, who banned the book.
Head-On Crash at Flagler Beach Pier Narrowly Misses Mayor, Her Child, Former Mayor and Commissioner
A speeding car was in a head-on crash in front of the Flagler Beach pier this morning, just as a beach clean-up involving children and other volunteers was starting. The collision took place within a few feet of the city’s mayor, her child, a former mayor, a city commissioner and the city’s parks and recreation director.
Peacock Sent Sally Hunt Script on Firing Superintendent Even as She Claimed ‘Due Diligence’
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt and Wadsworth Elementary Principal Paul Peacock were orchestrating the firing of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt as far back as February 22, a text Peacock sent Hunt two hours before a school board meeting shows. All along, Hunt claimed she was doing her “due diligence,” and that she had not made up her mind.
In a First at Flagler School Board, a Parent Pushing Book Bans Justifies Hitler’s Book-Burning
A parent falsely claimed Hitler’s book burnings only targeted sexually deviant books, as if to suggest the same should be done in Flagler. She was not corrected, though school board members on occasion have devoted parts of their comments to correct the record, especially when the board’s chamber is abused to peddle egregious, insulting or outright false statements.
School Committee Votes 6-0 to Keep Looking For Alaska as Superintendent Bans Nowhere Girls
John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” skated this afternoon to a Matanzas High School review committee’s 6-0 vote for retention, rebuffing a challenge to the book. It was the second book decision in a day in the Flagler district, the third in a week, counting Tuesday’s vote by the school board to retain Patricia McCormick’s “Sold.”
Trump Is Indicted
A New York criminal grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump. A former president has never been indicted before. Members of Congress quickly began to react, along partisan lines.
Sheriff Launches Voluntary Surveillance Camera Registry Tapping Private Homes, Businesses and Agencies
The camera registry is an online portal for citizens to register their security cameras in order to help solve crimes in the community. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is hoping that citizens will register their cameras and help create a community-wide public safety ecosystem.
Skirting Ban, FPC Committee Votes to ‘Weed’ Tilt, With Same Result: the Book Is Removed
A seven-member committee reviewing a challenge of Ellen Hopkins’s “Tilt” unanimously voted this morning to remove the book from circulation at the Flagler Palm Coast High School library, but not on challenged grounds. The committee found the book did not meet criteria to be banned, but met criteria to be “weeded,” as outdated.
Tenure No Longer Tenure in Florida As University Board Rules for 5-Year Reviews
The state university system’s Board of Governors on Wednesday gave final approval to a regulation that would require faculty members to undergo post-tenure reviews every five years, amid heavy opposition from critics who argued it could lead to a “downward trend in morale” on campus.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: John Green’s Looking For Alaska, a Review and a Recommendation
John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” a novel of adolescence, friendship, loyalty and misjudgments, is among the 22 books so far this school year that a trio of individuals have sought to ban from high school library shelves. A committee meets on March 30 at 3 p.m. at Matanzas High School to decide whether to retain it or ban it.
Walmart in Palm Coast Evacuated After It Was Target of a Bomb Threat
The Walmart store at 174 Cypress Point Parkway in Palm Coast was evacuated of customers and employees this afternoon after it was the target of a bomb threat called in around 4:40 p.m.
School Board Denies Paul Peacock’s Grievance Appeal in Skirmish Over Larger Power Struggle
The grievance is a skirmish in a larger power struggle over the superintendent’s future. That struggle continues, with Peacock, school board members and now the local chamber of commerce all having played or still seeking to play a role in the board’s impending decision on whether to renew Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s contract.
Flagler School Board Keeps Sold on School Library Shelves in Unprecedented 3-2 Vote
The Flagler County School Board this evening voted 3-2 to keep “Sold,” the novel in verse by Patricia McCormick, on the shelves of Flagler County school’s high school libraries. The novel is written from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl trafficked to a prostitution house in India.
School Board Uncomfortable with Arming Classroom Teachers, But Not Other Campus Staffers
A majority of school board members today said that, while not opposed to arming school staffers, they would be uncomfortable with arming classroom teachers, as opposed to staffers or administrators beyond individual classrooms.
Appeal to Supreme Court for Stay of Gaskin Execution Cites FlaglerLive Article on Juror’s Reversal
Among other arguments, Gaskin’s lawyers cite a March 15 FlaglerLive article in which Janet Valentine, one of the 12 jurors at Gaskin’s 1990 trial, saying she regrets being part of the 8-4 votes recommending his death. Valentine would go on to be Flagler County’s school superintendent between 2010 and 2014.
Trials of Circle K Murder Suspects, Derrius Bauer and Marcus Chamblin, May Not Be Until Next Year
Layers for the defense and the prosecution told Circuit Judge Terence Perkins this morning that they may not be ready for the trial of Derrius Bauer, one of two suspects in the October 2019 killing of Deon O’Neal Jenkins, known as the Circle K murder, until next January.
DeSantis Signs Massive Expansion of Subsidized Private Education at Public Expense
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed an expansive voucher law to provide public money for children to attend parochial, secular and other private schools across the state, despite previous skepticism about letting millionaire and billionaire families participate in Florida’s K-12 school voucher programs.
George Hanns, Defeated in 2016 After 24 Years, Plans Another Run for County Commission
George Hanns had served 24 years as a Flagler County Commissioner when he lost in 2016. He wants another run at it, this time as a Republican vying for the seat Donald O’Brien is vacating, and that Palm Coast Council member Ed Danko plans a run for.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: Ellen Hopkins’s Tilt, a Review and a Recommendation
In “Tilt,” Ellen Hopkins gives us the powerful coming of age story of three very engaging, very different American teenagers. The novel is on the list of books three Flagler County residents are seeking to ban. A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee discusses the challenge on Thursday.
DeSantis Is Destroying Florida Universities’ Hard-Earned Respect in the Name of White Nationalism
Florida’s public universities have been gaining national prominence and respect, with U.F. and FSU ranked Nos. 5 and 19 among public universities. DeSantis’s assault on academic freedom in the name of a white-nationalist, America-first curriculum is demolishing that hard-earned respect and making an embarrassment of the state.
Behind Principal Paul Peacock’s $7,500 Grievance, a Roil of Politics and Sideshow Maneuvers
Wadsworth principal Paul Peacock’s grievance appeal for a $7,500 supplement is not a complex issue for the School Board to decide on March 28. But it is taking place amid a peripheral stew of noise, politics, and maneuvering over the superintendent’s future, plus a threat of a lawsuit, all of which will challenge the board’s ability to stick to the merits of the appeal.
How a Palm Coast Organization Is Keeping Jazz Alive in Northeast Florida
Established in Palm Coast in 1986 by Eugene (Jeep) and Muriel McCoy, the North East Florida Jazz Association (NEFJA) has been celebrating and promoting Jazz for more than 35 years. It’s marking Jazz Appreciation Month with an April 1 concert featuring trumpetist Longineu Parsons II.
Proposed 16-Home Beachside Development South of Surf Club Troubles Residents and the County
Solitude at Matanzas Shores would be built on just under 4 acres of beachside land across from the Lakeside and Las Casitas developments, on State Road A1A. County commissioners are leery, and leaning against approving allowing 16 single-family homes there.
Superintendent’s Self-Evaluation Is 2 Points Short of ‘Highly Effective,’ With Notable Gaps
If it’s not a done deal–which it may well be–the self-evaluations may be key to Flagler School Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s future, which can now fairly be called embattled as one school board member has been seeking her replacement, two have remained mum on her future, and only two have lent her support.