Gov. Ron DeSantis has cancelled a meeting of the Florida Cabinet again, prompting complaints from Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried that the governor is evading oversight under Florida’s unique executive branch mechanism.
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Flagler Beach Mayor Declines to Sign Fireworks Contract, Citing Unapproved Cost and Shorter Show
Flagler Beach Mayor Suzie Johnston said she is not signing the city’s fireworks contract with a pyrotechnics producer, at least not until the city commission reviews them, because the commission had not approved the extra $1,000 cost and a diminution of the show’s length to 17 minutes, from 20. it is is yet another delay from yet another unexpected twist in what has been a drudging effort to secure a July 4 fireworks for the city.
A 45-Year-Old Woman Is Killed in 2-Vehicle Crash at U.S. 1 and Whiteview Parkway
A 45-year-old Palm Coast woman was killed Wednesday evening in a t-bone crash at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Whiteview Parkway. The crash resulted in the 16th fatality of the year on Flagler roads.
Anti-Alabama Slurs Aside, Palm Coast Council Clears 251-Apartment Complex in Town Center
The Palm Coast City Council on a 4-1 vote approved the 251-unit Wilton apartment complex off Brookhaven Drive, but not before Council member Eddie Branquinho repeatedly took on the project’s Alabama-based investors, asking openly whether the council was “on the side of Alabama” or on that of Palm Coast residents.
The Live Profile | Raise High the Roof Beam: Kyle Berryhill Is Palm Coast’s New Fire Chief
Kyle Berryhill, 42, was named Palm Coast’s next fire chief when Jerry Forte officially retires on Oct. 14, though Berryhill has been gradually taking the reins for months. It is the culmination of a career that started in 2005 with his first job as a firefighter-EMT in Palm Coast, and that’s been defined by a combination of command and humility both as a union leader and a manager.
District Readied to Open Summer School Without Deputies. Sheriff ‘Wasn’t Going to Tolerate It.’
Sheriff Rick Staly said the Flagler district prepared to open summer school at Rymfire Elementary with 350 students and no deputy requested. Livid at the possibility in light of the most recent school shooting, he ordered that a school resource deputy be dispatched to the school regardless, and told the district he’d be billing it regardless. The district has since conceded the point.
How Mud Muckers in West Flagler Bogged Down in Its Own Lawsuit and Wetlands Violations, and Lost
Mud Muckers for many years operated as a huge ATV park southwest of Bunnell, until it was found to be violating wetlands rules and required to move. Mud Muckers sued its landlord, and today lost its final appeal, four years after it said–inaccurately–that it had been unceremoniously shut down.
The Gardens, Now Veranda Bay, Clears Last Hurdle Before Construction of First 56 of 334 Homes
After innumerable public, regulatory and legal hurdles, including a lawsuit, Veranda Bay today won with another key vote from the Flagler County Commission–an almost-routine 5-0 vote this time approving the final plat for the first 56 lots of a development that’ll eventually number 334 homes.
Judge Won’t Revoke or Reduce $500,000 Bond on 16-Year-old Damari Barnes After Jail Incident
Damari Barnes is being held on $500,000 bond in the shooting death of 19-year-old Jamey Bennett. The prosecution wanted his bond revoked following an jail incident in which Barnes allegedly attacked another inmate and forced him to drink urine. The defense wanted the bond reduced to $100,000, so Barnes could go home. The judge denied both.
U.S. Supreme Court Sides With Florida Government Agency Against Family in Medicaid Dispute
Justices, in a 7-2 opinion, sided with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration in a case that drew attention from officials across the country. They ruled that the agency could claim $300,000 of an $800,000 settlement a company paid a family after a 13-year-old girl was permanently injured bya company truck.
Trial Diary: A Journalist Sits on a Baltimore Jury
Could 12 strangers agree on justice in Baltimore, a city riddled with killings and distrust of the police, in a shooting case where the victim was an actor on the legendary drama “The Wire”?
‘Our Democracy Is At Risk’: FPC’s Jack Petocz’s Winning Essay in ACLU Contest
Jack Petocz, who will be a senior at Flagler Palm Coast High School next fall, won First Place in the ACLU of Florida Volusia/Flagler Chapter’s first Annual “Cary Ragsdale Future Voter’s Essay Contest.” The award carries a $500 prize underwritten by FlaglerLive, and publication of the essay here.
Florida’s Relatively New Red-Flag Law Emerging as Model for Other States in Gun Debate
As a national debate rages over gun laws after last month’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, proponents of “red-flag” policies point to a Florida law as a model for states seeking to strip deadly weapons from people who could cause harm.
Mask-Up Again: Covid Patients Up to 13 at Hospital, Flagler Positivity Rate Above 21% as Cases Rise
Covid cases have increased for the 10th straight week in Florida, to just under 72,000 as of May 27, and have also increased in Flagler County, to 270 this week, up from 219 the week before, according to the Flagler County Health Department. The county’s positivity rate was 21.3 percent. Flagler is averaging 26 new cases per day. But there are glimmers that the surge is leveling off.
Bunnell’s Long-Awaited Commerce Parkway Survives Veto, as Does Barrier Island Sewer Project, But Not Ag Museum
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued $3.13 billion in vetoes Thursday as he signed a record $109.9 billion budget for the fiscal year that will begin July 1. For Bunnell, the $6.8 million allocated for long-awaited Commerce Parkway survived, as did an $8 million allocation for the barrier island’s septic-to-sewer project.
Travis Smith, Convicted in Lyft Driver Attack, Wants a New Trial and to Be Let Out of Jail
Travis Smith, the 38-year-old Palm Coast resident convicted of battery by a jury last week for attacking a Lyft driver, has filed for a new trial. Smith is challenging the jury’s findings. He has also filed a motion to get out of jail, challenging the judge’s decision to revoke his $5,000 bond immediately after the May 25 verdict.
Yet Another Felony Charge for Moultrie as He Awaits Trials on Rape and Murder Accusations
Kwentel Moultrie was charged with assaulting another inmate, adding a third-degree felony to a rap sheet that also includes a first-degree felony rape charge and a life-felony murder charge from separate incidents.
Florida Healthcare Providers Sue the State Over 15-Week Abortion Law that Starts July 1
The law has caused an upset among reproductive rights activists, and the lawsuit claims that HB 5, the piece of legislation that was approved this spring by the Legislature, violates protections under the Florida Constitution.
‘Shocking’ Ages: 4 Children, Youngest 12, Arrested on Felony Theft and Burglary After Joyride
Four Palm Coast children–12, 14, 15 and 17–with the 15 year old at the wheel, were arrested at gunpoint after allegedly stealing a Palm Coast resident’s car and joyriding through Flagler Beach and Palm Coast.
“Be Prepared to Be Off the Grid”: Flagler Emergency Management Chief Decodes Hurricane Season
Flagler County Emergency Management Chief Jonathan Lord today prefaced the 2022 hurricane season, with 14 to 21 storms predicted, six to 10 of them expected to become hurricanes. There are some worrisome weather factors in play, but also improvements in preparation and infrastructure.
U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Florida-Like Texas Law Limiting Content Moderation by Social Media
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a Texas law similar to one in Florida that prohibits large social media companies, such as Facebook or Twitter, from banning or removing users’ posts based on political viewpoints. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruled that Florida’s law unconstitutionally restricts free speech.
Person Killed in T-Bone Crash at Cody’s Corner, Where DOT Renounced Building Roundabout
A 32-year-old woman was killed in a two-vehicle, t-bone crash at the intersection of State Road 11 and County Road 304, also known as Cody’s Corner, south of Bunnell this afternoon.
Flagler 3rd Graders’ Reading Scores Fall Again, to Lowest Level in 7 Years, Yet Rank 12th in State
The percentage of Flagler County 3rd graders achieving a reading level of 3 (out of 5) or above–that is, reading at a satisfactory level–fell to 58 percent, the lowest level in at least seven years of comparable testing results, and down from last year’s 59 percent. Scores had peaked at 69 percent in 2017 and 68 percent in 2019, the year before the pandemic.
Another Unprovoked Attack at a Local Business Lands 35-Year-Old Palm Coast Man in Jail
Dustin M. Patrick, a 35-year-old resident of Breeze Hill Lane in Palm Coast, was booked at the Flagler County jail on a felony child abuse charge after allegedly attacking a teen employee Friday at Red Crab in Palm Coast. It was the second unprovoked attack by a stranger against another in six days at different Palm Coast businesses, in front of others.
Measure Up to What Vets Fought For: A Call to Flagler’s Community and State Leaders
It is time county commissioners, governors and legislators exhibited some plain common sense, balancing serious gun-safety regulations with responsible gun ownership. The politicians who let the carnage continue are the cowards for not taking action.
Our National Pathology Over Guns Is Inhuman
Insanity, as has been famously remarked, is doing the same thing over and over again, and hoping for a different result. And that is the story of our lawmakers’ ongoing inability to pass even the simplest of gun violence reduction measures. And, then, under our very noses, we’re hit with another Sandy Hook.
Cancel Student Debt and Bail Out Ordinary People for a Change
Donald Trump and the Republican Party passed a $1.9 trillion, high-end tax cut in 2017 that’s been called “socialism for the rich.” It led to billionaires paying a lower average tax rate than the working class for the first time in U.S. history. That sounds a lot more radical than helping regular people, Robert P. Alvarez argues.
DeSantis Appoints Ex-Education Commissioner Corcoran to University System’s Board of Governors
The Board of Governors oversees Florida’s 12 state universities and is tasked with such responsibilities as adopting regulations designed to carry out state laws related to higher education. Corcoran, a former Republican House speaker, served three years as the state’s top education official overseeing Florida’s public-school and college systems.
5th District’s Judge Meredith Sasso Among Applicants to Florida Supreme Court Vacancy
After reshaping the Florida Supreme Court to reflect his legal and political ideology, Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised to pick a new justice who will give him four appointees on the state’s highest court. Judge Sasso is a member of the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network and the ultra-conservative Federalist Society, whose faculty advisors included Robert Bork and Antonin Scalia.
Flagler Beach Commissioner Has ‘Zero Confidence’ July 4 Will Be Pulled Off as Planning Drags
As the Flagler Beach city manager is giving a fireworks producer until just 24 days before July 4 fireworks to sign a contract, City Commissioner Eric Cooley said he had no confidence that the fireworks or other preparatory plans for Independence Day could be pulled off safely, absent more detailed information.
Apparently Unprovoked, Palm Coast Man Throws Coffee and a Punch at 76-Year-Old Customer
Flagler county Sheriff’s deputies arrested Sean Michael Ruel, a 39-year-old Palm Coast man, for what appears to be a brazen, unprovoked attack on a 76-year-old man at a convenience store four days before.
Stand-Off With Armed Individual Ends Near 8-Hour Mark With Arrest
What started as a potential domestic violence situation at 6 Welling Place in Palm Coast in mid-afternoon today turned into a nearly 8-hour stand-off between 51-year-old Mark Francioni, who had barricaded himself in his house, with firearms, and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s Crisis Negotiating Team.
2.2 Million Floridians Expected on the Roads This Weekend Despite Record High Gas Prices
More than 39 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more across the country this Memorial Day weekend, including 2.2 million Floridians–10 percent of the state’s population–even as gas prices hit a new record of $4.58 a gallon in the state on Thursday.
From One Massacre to Another: Friday Vigil in Veterans Park Will Mark Mass Murders in Uvalde and Buffalo
A vigil in memory of the 31 victims of the Buffalo and Uvalde mass-shooting victims is scheduled for at 8 p.m. Friday, May 27, at Veterans Park in Flagler Beach. The vigil will have no speeches. Participants are encouraged to bring candles or lighters. A bell or a gong will be rung 31 times.
Provider Still Hasn’t Signed Flagler Beach Fireworks Contract or Shown Insurance. City Chief ‘Not Yet’ Worried.
Less than six weeks from July 4, and two weeks after the Flagler Beach City Commission voted to approve a $24,000 contract with Ryan Allen to set off Independence Day fireworks, the contract is still not signed, Allen has still not provided proof of insurance, and the city has therefore not issued a deposit check.
Travis Smith Found Guilty of Battery In Lyft Driver Attack, But Acquitted Of Felony Charge
Travis Schriever Smith, the 38-year-old Palm Coast resident who assaulted a Lyft driver in an unprovoked and drunken attack in the early days of the pandemic, was found guilty of battery, a misdemeanor, but not guilty of burglary at the end of a three-day trial in Circuit Court in Bunnell this evening.
In Response to Texas School Massacre, Biden Calls for More Gun Regulations, Florida GOP for Prayers
In the wake of the latest mass shooting at a school, President Biden called for tougher gun controls and for Americans to stand up to powerful gun lobbyists. Florida’s GOP leaders maintained opposition to gun restrictions and offered prayers.
Two Jacksonville Motorcyclist, 22 and 29, Are Killed on I-95 at Old Kings Road Overpass
A group of four Jacksonville motorcyclists who had been at a bike meet in Palm Coast crashed on I-95 near the Old Kings Road overpass as they were riding home Tuesday evening. They were each on his or her own motorcycle. All four were ejected. Two of the four riders were killed.
In Trial of Lyft Driver’s Attacker, Dramatic Moments for Prosecution Yield to Lapses by Alleged Victim
The prosecution and defense traded successes today in the trial of Travis Smith, the 38-year-old Palm Coast resident accused of violently attacking a 49-year-old Palm Coast Lyft driver unprovoked and spitting on him during Covid’s early days in 2020. Smith faces from 21 months to 17 years in prison if convicted.
DeSantis Veto of Modest Bankruptcy Relief Will Hurt Stressed Floridian Families That Need It Most
The bill would have afforded a measure of relief for Floridians already beset by bankruptcy, by giving them a little credit for equity in their primary vehicle. DeSantis voted no, claiming, ridiculously, that it would “incentivize” people to file for bankruptcy. But no one wants to file personal bankruptcy.
At His Sentencing, Another Aggrieved Weeks Duels With a Judge: ‘This Isn’t Going to Work For Me’
Duane Weeks Jr., son of ex-Elections Supervisor Kim Weeks and a repeat offender, was sentenced to prison Monday but took on his plea deal and the judge over a no-contact order with his victim, once he’s released from prison.
3 Republican-Appointed Judges Call DeSantis-Inspired Law Targeting Social Media Unconstitutional
Dealing a major setback to Gov. Ron DeSantis, a three-judge federal appellate panel of judges appointed by Republican presidents, including Donald Trump, on Monday ruled that a 2021 Florida law targeting social-media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter unconstitutionally restricts the companies’ First Amendment rights.
Trial Begins for Lyft Rider Accused of Attacking and Spitting on Palm Coast Driver in Early Days of Pandemic
Travis Smith, 38, faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted of assaulting a Palm Coast Lyft driver. Smith turned down a plea deal that would have had him serve 180 days in jail and two years of house arrest, but no felony conviction. The driver, an American citizen of Turkish descent and a Palm Coast resident of many years, claims Smith called him a “terrorist.”
Hundreds Turn Up For Flagler Beach’s 1st ‘Hang 8’ Dog-Surfing Contest, Putting Event on Map
Flagler Beach’s inaugural Hang 8 dog-surfing competition drew close to 1,000 people over the five-hour event, giving the city what its organizers say will be an established annual draw.
Tucker Carlson Is Peddling ‘Great Replacement’ Theory from an Anti-American Nazi
People like Tucker Carlson are pitifully ignorant of history and so are wielding an anti-American, highly unpatriotic notion for the sake of their television ratings. Ironically, Tucker’s intellectual forebear, Binet, would have considered him a mongrel.
77-Year-Old Woman Dies After Driving Her SUV Into a Pond at Grand Reserve in Bunnell
Linda Schoenholz, a 77-year-old Bunnell resident, died late Saturday night after driving her car into a retention pond off the Grand Reserve golf club in Bunnell, police report. Schoenholz was a resident of Grand Reserve since 2020.
Appeals Court Sides with DeSantis on Elimination of Black-Access North Florida Congressional District
A court order issued Friday means that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional redistricting plan, which dismantles a North Florida district likely to elect a Black candidate, will be used for this year’s primary and general elections, at least for now.
‘There’s a Lot of Covid Out There’: Virus Spiking Again in Flagler, But This Time Response Is Left to Individuals
Covid is back in force again in Flagler and Florida, and is on pace to be raging in the next few weeks. The public health response is vastly different than it was in the first two years of the pandemic, with a focus on a hands-off approach that leaves everything to personal choices while making a vast array of health measures freely available–if people choose to use them, and if they’re aware of them. Neither is necessarily the case, thus accelerating the spread of the latest variant.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate Falls to Record Low of 2.6%, Beating Housing and Pre-Pandemic Booms
In the two previous booms on record, Flagler’s unemployment rate had fallen to a low of 3.6 percent in December 2005, at the crest of the housing boom, before starting to rise the following year. In the late 1990s boom, the county’s unemployment hit 2.7 percent in September 1999 (when 486 people were unemployed), until now the lowest rate recorded.
Rezoning Would Clear the Way for 243 Apartments on Old Kings Road, Against Public Opposition
The Palm Coast Planning Board recommended approval to rezone acreage off Old Kings Road north of Town Center Boulevard for a 243-unit apartment complex. The proposal drew mis-statements by opponents of the project. A cover letter with a 100-name petition opposing falsely claims apartment dwellers do not “contribute anything to a community.”