Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito projects a windfall of $12.3 million in addition to current revenue, yielding $7.5 million in new revenue for county government operations, $3.7 million for the Sheriff’s Office, and a little over $1 million between the other constitutional offices. Again, that’s assuming the county commission does not lower the property tax rate to account for the new revenue.
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TSA Agents Pay Early Morning Visit to Flagler County School Bus Drivers in Surprise Inspection
As they were preparing to roll out early this morning Flagler County schools’ bus drivers got a surprise inspection from members of the Transportation Security Administration, the at-times dreaded federal agency and division of the Department of Homeland Security. It was a quietly pre-arranged safety drill by Transportation Director Dontarrious Rowls through the TSA’s “Security Enhancement Through Assessment” program.
95-Home Subdivision in R-Section Draws Concerns Over Smaller Lot Sizes, But Council Approves
The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday voted 4-0 to approve a gated subdivision of 95 homes, most on 6,000-square foot lots, on Ryan Drive in Palm Coast’s R-Section, against objections by residents that the development is built of smaller lots, would generate more traffic and could impact children’s safety at a bus stop.
Knife Pulled, Then Swung, Then a Gun Is Drawn in Road Rage Incident in Palm Coast’s W Section
Tuesday afternoon, Rafael Vincent Rivera, 50, and G.P., also 50, were involved in a road rage incident on Pine Lakes Parkway in Palm Coast that escalated, with a knife getting pulled, then swung, then a gun getting drawn, and Rivera getting arrested and facing a felony aggravated assault charge.
Flagler County Will Take $1.2 million Out of Reserves to Pay for 2 New Firetrucks in Unbudgeted Spree
The Flagler County Commission approved spending $1.24 million out of reserves to buy two firetrucks in one fell swoop, thus replacing half of Flagler County Fire Rescue’s four front-line fire trucks when the two new engines are delivered in about 14 months. The proposal is to address an ageing fleet and was approved unanimously after little discussion.
Damaging Trust with Unions, Flagler School Board Rejects a Rebate to Employees that Its Own Teams Had Agreed To
The Flagler County school district’s teacher and service employee unions have suspended collective bargaining negotiations with the district following what both unions say is a breaking of a pledge by the district to award one-time health insurance premium rebates to employees. The unions consider that “bad faith,” breaking trust in the district, damaging what for many years had been cordial relations between the two sides, and raising the possibility of more formal measures.
DeSantis Signs New Law Banning Protests Outside Private or Elected Officials’ Homes
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation providing for jail terms of up to 60 days and $500 fines for protesting outside the homes of public officials and private citizens — like what’s been happening to U.S. Supreme Court justices since the leak of a draft opinion reversing Roe v. Wade.
A Month Out from Sentencing on Felony DUI Conviction, Dan Priotti Is Back in Jail on Domestic Charge
The latest incident is the result of an alleged confrontation between Dan Priotti and his ex-girlfriend, less than a week after a judge ruled against his lawyer’s motion for a mistrial in the DUI conviction. Priotti had been out on bond pending sentencing on May 17. The prosecution may now use the incident as a further argument against leniency.
Setting Aside Transparency Concerns, Flagler Beach Commission Reaffirms Support for $420,000 Dumpster Project
The $420,000 reconstruction and expansion of the dumpster pad outside the Funky Pelican in Flagler Beach–$450,000, including architectural drawings–will go forward, the Flagler Beach City Commission decided last week, despite questions by two commissioners and the mayor.
Why I Took Part in The National Women’s March in Flagler Beach
“I was born in 1968 in a Catholic home for unwed mothers in Philadelphia,” the author, a long-time Hammock resident, writes of pre-Roe America. “My biological mother was 15 when she became pregnant. She was forever scarred for life by her experience in one of these homes. She was 16 when she gave birth and had no say whatsoever in what happened to me. Let that sink in: my mother was completely powerless over what happened to her and to her child.”
A Record 36 Million Tourists Visit Florida in First 3 Months of the Year, Beating Pre-Covid Numbers
Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-marketing agency, posted information Friday showing that 35.982 million people traveled to the state between the start of January and the end of March.
Looking Past Shock to Continuity, Flagler Education Foundation Appoints Teresa Rizzo Its Next Director
The Flagler Education Foundation, the school district’s non-profit support arm, appears to be making the same bet on Teresa Rizzo that it made on her late husband Joe, who had no fund-raising experience when he took over the organization, but vastly improved its its local impact between 2017 and 2022.
Felon and Alleged Gang Member Earnest Watson Arrested in Connection With Monday Shooting in Bunnell
Earnest Lee Watson III, a 26-year-old resident of 200 Knox Jones Road in Bunnell, was arrested on Thursday and charged in connection with a shooting on East Booe Street in Bunnell on Monday, and a gang link noted.
A Leery Flagler Beach Commission Votes for Diminished July 4 Fireworks Despite Provider’s ‘Bait and Switch’
Don’t expect the kind of fireworks show you’ve been used to this July 4 in Flagler Beach now that “the residents have been betrayed,” in the words of the chairman of the city’s former July 4 committee. The commission’s vote followed on the heels of a series of embarrassing missteps, poor vetting on the city’s part, and documentation provided only hours before commission meetings.
Three Conservation Groups Sue EPA Over Water Quality and Manatee Deaths
The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and the Save the Manatee Club filed the lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Orlando. The groups are seeking to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to re-engage in talks with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service about water quality in the Indian River Lagoon, which has been the site of numerous manatee deaths in 2021 and this year.
Flagler Beach Commission Reels from Stink Behind Blind Vote on $420,000 Repair Job at Funky Pelican
Last month the Flagler Beach City Commission approved a $420,500 bid to rebuild the garbage-dumpster pad adjacent to the Funky Pelican. Four of the five commissioners and the mayor did not know that the project was not merely to repair the pad, but to double the space, further blocking the public’s view of the ocean on the north side of the restaurant–and doubling what had originally been planned as a $200,000 job.
77-Year-Old Patient Beaten and Choked to Death at Assisted Living Facility in Palm Coast
A 77-year-old woman who’d been a patient at Gold Choice Assisted Living and Memory Care in Palm Coast was beaten and choked to death by another patient overnight, and was only discovered by a staffer during rounds early this morning.
Singin’ – and Caterwauling — in the Rain: Flagler Palm Coast High School Stages Classic Musical
“Singin’ in the Rain,” which debuted as a movie musical in 1952 but didn’t come to life on stage until its London debut in 1983, is set in that mind-blowing, exciting and frantic era when Hollywood was evolving from silent films to “talkies.” It tells the tale of a Hollywood star couple making that transition: the magnetic Don Lockwood and his onscreen leading lady, Lina Lamont. The effervescent, talented Don is ready for the new prime time. Lina — not so much.
Federal Lawsuits Argues Florida’s New Limits on Ballot Initiatives Are Unconstitutional
Groups seeking to place proposed constitutional amendments on the 2024 ballot are urging a federal judge to reject the state’s arguments defending a law that prevents paying petition gatherers based on the number of signatures they collect.
Another Shooting in Bunnell, But No Reported Injuries
Five or six shots were reported in the area of East Booe Street and South Cherry Street in South Bunnell just before 12:30 p.m. today, leaving behind an abandoned bicycle in the road, a bag of pot and shell casings, but no apparent injuries.
A Voluntary Pledge on Ethical Campaigning? Danko Convinces Palm Coast Council Not to Sign On.
A majority of the Palm Coast City Council was prepared to approve a statement on ethical campaigning that would have candidates voluntarily sign a pledge to that effect, until Council member Ed Danko, calling it a “slippery slope” of government intrusion, convinced the council against it. The council will adopt a mere statement issued to candidates, without a signature line.
DeSantis signs K-12 ‘Victims of Communism’ Bill then Rails Against ‘Marxists’ on Campuses
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday a measure creating a “Victims of Communism Day” at Florida’s public schools, though much of the discussion centered around what state officials believe to be a rise in communist sympathies at Florida’s college campuses.
Back in Court, Wife’s Murderer Says She Was Equally to Blame for Her Own Death
A lengthy court hearing Friday was the first time that Michael Cummings, now 50, spoke openly about the details of killing his wife at their home on Point Pleasant in Palm Coast, at least as he remembered them. He put much of the blame for that night on her, blamed his defense attorneys, and disputed his designation as a murderer.
600-Day Retirement Clock Ticking for Judges Terence Perkins, Raul Zambrano and James Clayton
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins has been the senior judge in Flagler County since 2018, taking over a courthouse in slight turmoil and returning it to a no-drama zone of docket workhorses. He will retire at the end of 2023, along with Judge Raul Zambrano, who had been a felony judge in Flagler previously, and James Clayton, currently the circuit’s chief judge.
Abortion’s Last Stand: A Post-Roe Future Is Already Happening in Florida
Reports of harassment, disturbance and violence outside the state’s clinics are skyrocketing, while the federal law meant to protect clinics doesn’t cover the kind of tactics common today.
DeSantis Claims ‘Ideology’ Found In Rejected Math Texts. Reviewers Find Near-Zero Evidence of It.
Out of thousands of pages of responses by people it enlisted to review the texts, only one reviewer found that critical race theory constituted a large component of any of the books and only a handful found evidence that some “might” contain critical race theory, just as most reviewers found no social emotional learning.
3 Trump-Appointed Judges Reverse Obama-Appointee’s Ruling Against Florida’s Restrictive Voting Law
Calling it flawed, a three-judge appellate panel made up entirely of Trump appointees on Friday put a hold on an Obama-appointed federal judge’s ruling that said a 2021 Florida elections law was unconstitutionally intended to discriminate against Black voters.
Sheriff Connects Smith and Hall Shootings as Man Linked to 1st Is Arrested and $15,000 Reward Offered
Sheriff Rick Staly today said the January killing of 16-year-old Noah Smith and this week’s killing of 16-year-old Keymarion Hall are related, and that Terrell Anthony Sampson, 18, of 404 Church Street in Bunnell, was arrested in connection with Smith’s killing. Sampson faces an unrelated charge of possessing a weapon as a delinquent. CrimeStoppers is offering a $15,000 reward in information leading to an arrest in the Smith killing.
Philip Martin Is Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Massaging Young Girl as Judge Notes Excess
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced former Palm Coast resident 56-year-old Philip Martin to 25 years in prison for rubbing, caressing and massaging various body parts of a girl who’d been in his trust when she was 9, 10 and 11. But the judge acknowledged that he would have imposed a lesser sentence had he not been bound by minimum-mandatory requirements.
July 4 Fireworks in Flagler Beach Appear Back On as City Seeks to Lock In Producer, But Questions Persist
In a special meeting called for Monday, the Flagler beach City Commission will consider approving a $24,000 agreement with a Green Cove Springs company to produce the July 4 fireworks, resolving the risk of a dark July 4 created when the city failed to contact its previous fireworks producer in time.
For the Mother of Curtis Gray, Lost to Gunfire, Keymarion Hall’s Death Triggers Grief and Impulses to Help
Carmen Gray, the mother of Curtis Gray, murdered three years ago when he was 18, had been preparing for Saturday’s Rise Above the Violence “Mindfulness Event” at Washington Oaks State Park when she learned of the shooting death of Keymarion Hall. She talks about her reaction, her PTSD and the goals of Saturday’s event.
Palm Coast Council Looks for ‘Break-Even Point’ in Lease With Green Lion Café at Palm Harbor Golf
The city conceded that it has–and continues–to lose money through its current lease, which requires the Green Lion to pay only $600 a month in rent and no utility costs. The aim of the new lease is to bring the city to a break-even point, but how utility payments are figured in–as part of, or in addition to, rent–remains to be decided.
Keymarion Hall, 10th Grader at Flagler Palm Coast High School, Is Shot and Killed, 24 Year Old Wounded
Keymarion Hall, a 10th grader at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was shot and killed on a street in Bunnell late Tuesday night and 24-year-old Nysean Giddens, who was fleeing with others in a vehicle, was wounded and apprehended.
Mullins Misinformation and Commission’s Sly Maneuver Frame 4-1 Vote to Scrap School Board Deal
The Flagler County Commission’s vote on Monday was on a significant policy matter controlling school construction and development that was not publicly noticed until hours before Monday’s meeting. It was yet another snub to process, to the Flagler County School Board, and it was colored by disinformation and inaccuracies from Commission Chairman Joe Mullins.
Palm Coast Council Tries Again With Green Lion Café, Almost Tripling Rent, But Differences Remain
The Palm Coast City Council this evening will consider approving a new lease or an amended lease with the Green Lion Café at the city-owned Palm Harbor Golf Club, raising the popular restaurant’s rent from $600 to $1,665 and ending subsidies for utilities. But key differences remain between the Green Lion and the city.
Policy Changes On Opioid Overdoses and Seizures Coming to Florida Schools
The new law exempts school district employees from civil liability if they administer an opioid antagonist to a student under Florida’s Good Samaritan Act. The law will go into effect on July 1, 2022.
Ex-Jimmy’s Hang Ten Owner James Harris Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison in Lewd Filming of Daughter
James Harris, the 61-year-old former owner of Jimmy’s Hang Ten in Flagler Beach, pleaded guilty today to three counts of sexually abusing his step-daughter and was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by 15 years on probation.
Voting Precincts Will Drop from 23 to 21 as In-Person Polling Declines, Flagler Beach Will Get Early Voting Site
Flagler County’s voting precincts will be reduced from 23 to 21 as far fewer people are turning out to vote in person on Election day itself, in contrast with sharp spikes in early voting and voting by mail. Early voting sites will increase from three to four, with Flagler Beach getting its own early voting site from here on, according to a plan by Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart.
College Students and Staff: Ignore the Voluntary but Autocratic ‘Viewpoint Discrimination’ Survey
Calling it the latest example of creeping authoritarianism, the president of the University of Florida’s faculty union urged students and employees to ignore the so-called “viewpoint discrimination” survey now required on Florida’s college and university campuses, in compliance with a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Revamped Lawsuit Targets DeSantis’s ‘Intentionally Racially Discriminatory’ Redistricting Plan
In documents filed in federal court in Tallahassee, voting-rights groups and five individual plaintiffs alleged that the plan Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature should be blocked because it will reduce — or eliminate — the chances of Black candidates being elected in North Florida and the Orlando area.
Gov. DeSantis Vows to Sign Law Allowing Open, Permitless Gun Carrying Before He Leaves Office
Citing some 25 states that have already done it, Gov. Ron DeSantis gave “constitutional carry” — allowing people to carry guns without concealed weapons permits — his full endorsement during a news conference on Friday.
Flagler’s All-White Juries Aren’t What They Used To Be. Thank Wokism.
It wasn’t that long ago when an all-white jury deciding the fate of a Black man accused of raping a white woman, let alone a white underage girl, would have taken no more than the few minutes necessary to sign the verdict form declaring the man guilty. That’s assuming the man made it to the courthouse in the first place. Those days are over.
Flagler Beach Could Have Had Its July 4 Fireworks Had It Not Waited Until April 24 to Book the Show
Several things were said by officials at the Flagler Beach City Commission meeting that were either inaccurate or incomplete, and a key point of information was left out: the commission was not aware that it was not until April 24 that the city contacted Santore to book the show, or that Santore was prepared to do the show had it been contacted earlier.
Palm Coast Councilman Ed Danko’s Husky Mix at the Center of a Dog-Biting Incident at Holland Park
Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko was accused of belligerence toward two Palm Coast animal control officers, initially refusing to quarantine his dog and provide the dog’s veterinary history, after his dog was accused of biting another at Holland Park. He signed the required documents five days after the incident.
Tourism Bureau Would Have Paid No More than $727,500 for Visitor Center Land on A1A, But Loses Out
Flagler County’s tourism bureau would have paid the appraised price of $727,500 for a choice parcel at the corner of State Road A1A and South 9th Street in Flagler Beach, listed at $1.5 million, but the parcel is now going to a buyer offering much more, returning the tourism bureau to its hunt for land for a future visitor center.
DeSantis Vetoes Controversial Rooftop Solar Bill, Handing Victory to Environmental Groups
The bill (HB 741) dealt with a somewhat-wonky issue known as “net metering.” But it drew a fierce debate during this year’s legislative session, as supporters said the state needed to end subsidies for people with rooftop-solar systems and opponents contended the measure would cripple the rooftop-solar industry.
Smoke and Ash from Development’s Burn Pile Near FPC Clouds School’s Hosting of District Track Championship
On Monday and Tuesday, the burning of cleared woods on State Road 100 near Wawa, for a future self-storage facility and a shopping mall, produced enough smoke and ash to cause concern on the nearby campus of Flagler Palm Coast High School as track athletes on Monday trained through the smoke, and on Tuesday had to compete through it as FPC hosted nine schools in the district track and field championships. The conditions produced a poorer image of of Palm Coast to visiting athletes and families than the district wished.
‘Waiting for Godot’ Finally Arrives as Palm Coast’s City Rep Stages Beckett’s Absurdist Masterpiece
Beckett’s 1953 play – which is often and rightfully tagged as part of the “Theater of the Absurd” movement – depicts two men, Vladimir and Estragon, who engage in conversation as they wait for a mysterious figure named Godot who (or that) never shows up. Detractors (and there have been fewer and fewer of them as the decades have progressed) howl “There’s no plot!” Admirers howl “There’s no plot!”
DeSantis Signs Voting Restrictions Into Law, But State Suspends Enforcement, Complying with Court Order
In a notice to Chief Judge Mark Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Secretary of State Laurel Lee said officials also would place a hold on provisions restricting use of ballot drop boxes to county election supervisors’ main or permanent branch offices used for early voting.
Palm Coast Council Agrees to Keep Frieda Zamba Pool Open Year-Round for an Additional $102,000 (If That)
The Palm Coast City Council today agreed on a plan to keep Frieda Zamba pool at the city’s aquatic center open year-round as an interim measure before the city has the money to rebuild the aquatic center, presumably with a 50-meter pool as opposed to the non-Olympic 25-meter version in place now.