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Featured

DeSantis Pursues Mask Crackdown in Schools as Covid Surge Continues and Counties Defy Orders

August 13, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran. (© FlaglerLive)

The State Board of Education has scheduled an emergency meeting Tuesday “to consider the compliance of school districts, including Broward and Alachua” with the rule and a new state law. Broward and Alachua have imposed mask requirements in schools.

Driven Out by Mold, Bunnell Again Vacates City Hall; Will Squat 2 Years While $7 Million Building Is Built on Commerce Blvd.

August 13, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

That didn't last: Bunnell is vacating its City Hall less than seven years after buying the property. (© FlaglerLive)

Bunnell City Hall and its police department will again be squatting for two years as water intrusion forces it to vacate its premises. The city plans a new $7 million building on Commerce Parkway and will hold its meetings at the Government Services Building meanwhile, with offices at the Bunnell Commerce Business Center, behind the Chicken Pantry.

AdventHealth Physician Sounds Alert to Increase of Children in Hospital for Covid, Renewing Call for School Masks

August 12, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The last week's total include six of the seven days' reporting, and reflect 584 confirmed cases and an estimated 100 additional cases based on the seven-day average. (© FlaglerLive)

AdventHealth Palm Coast had 82 patients admitted with covid, while the AdventHealth Central Florida division was reporting 12 children admitted as evidence continues to pile up: vaccines are an overwhelming buffer against hospitalizations, and masks are an effective buffer against infections, including in schools.

Opponents Call Approval of ‘Marinas’ Along Scenic A1A an Orwellian Ploy to Let Massive Boat-Storage Facility Rise

August 11, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 33 Comments

Not exactly marina-like: a forklift at a boat storage facility. (HCA)

The Flagler County Planning Board on Tuesday determined that marinas are an allowable use in the Scenic A1A corridor. But Hammock residents say it’s an Orwellian word game intended to clear the way for a 240-dry-boat storage facility called Hammock Harbour, whose development was twice rebuffed by courts.

Palm Coast Man Accused of Shooting Into a Neighbor’s House Wants to Go Home. Judge Swiftly Says No.

August 11, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Jamal Nejame in 2011, when he was riding high as a candidate for office in Flagler Beach. (© FlaglerLive)

The swiftness of Circuit Judge Terence Perkins’s decision, paired with the brief but wrenching testimony of one of the victims, was a passing illustration of how the casualness of gun wielding in a county where almost a fifth of adult residents have a concealed weapon permit at times results in severe consequences–and potentially deadly incidents, with continuing ramifications for all involved. 

Man Who Killed Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy Chuck Sease in 2003 Wants Clemency, Half-Way of 35-Year Prison Sentence

August 11, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Deputy Charles Sease's name is one of five law enforcement officers' names engraved on the Flagler County Sheriff's memorial to the fallen, and the last officer to die from a hostile act in Flagler, in 2003. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and State Attorney R.J. Larizza have written the state clemency board stern letters opposing any commutation of sentence for Bruce Grove, the now-46-year-old former Palm Coast resident serving 35 years in prison for the killing of Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Charles “Chuck” Sease in 2003 as Grove was eluding other deputies in a chase.

Again Indifferent to Process, Colleagues Dismiss Andy Dance’s Concern About County Commission’s Lack of Transparency

August 10, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

For County Commissioner Andy Dance, a familiar seat, but an unfamiliar process. (© FlaglerLive)

County Commissioner Andy Dance is concerned about the commission’s habit–unique among local governments–of holding special meetings and votes immediately after workshops, a habit that lacks transparency. As they have when he’s raised procedural issues before, Dance’s colleagues shrugged off the concern.

Flagler Gets the Message as Vaccines Quadruple in 4 Weeks, and Councilman Barbosa Declares Himself a Convert

August 10, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Flagler County residents have been getting the message: the red bars show the number of weekly covid-positive cases recorded, the green bars show the number of vaccine shots administered--numbers that had been steadily declining until mid-July. (© FlaglerLive)

As vaccine shots have quadrupled in Flagler in comparison with four weeks ago and covid hospitalizations have continued to rise, Palm Coast City Council member Victor Barbosa, just back from being hospitalized for covid, is now urging to get the vaccine he had previously resisted.

Flagler Commissioners Want to Cut Tax Rate, Give Sheriff 15 Deputies And Force Staff to Cut $2 Million in County Services

August 9, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

County Administrator Heidi Petito tried to defend her budget today. Some of the commissioners want it to subsidize the budgets of the sheriff, of the clerk of court and other constitutional officers.

A majority of Flagler county commissioners ignored their administrator’s and finance director’s numbers and proposals today and told their staff to find ways to cut $2 million from the county’s own budget while ensuring that the sheriff and other constitutional officers, such as the clerk of court and supervisor of elections, get all the budget increases they’re asking for.

Rule Clarified: In Flagler Schools, the Vaccinated Exposed to Covid Don’t Have to Quarantine; Others Must at Least 4 Days

August 9, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Health Department staff will be conducting drive-by testing for covid at 301 Dr. Carter Boulevard, the department's headquarters, every day between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. (© FlaglerLive)

Unvaccinated students and teachers who have been exposed to Covid must quarantine at least four days before they are eligible for rapid-testing and, if asymptomatic, a return to the classroom. But the vaccinated, and those who have been Covid positive in the previous 90 days, and show no symptoms, can stay in school even after exposure, according to a new state rule.

St. Johns School District Again Fighting Ruling Allowing Transgender Students to Use Bathroom of Their Choice

August 9, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The St. Johns County school district reads the 14th Amendment in a peculiarly institutional way. (© FlaglerLive)

The St. Johns County School Board is asking a federal appeals court to again consider a years-long battle about whether a transgender male student should have been allowed to use boys’ bathrooms.

Now That It’s Cleared, a Massive Gambling Compact Is About to Change the Florida Landscape

August 8, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

florida gambling compact

It’s official.  Federal authorities green-lighted Florida’s gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida on Friday, marking the start of a new cultural era by allowing digital gambling statewide for the first time in Florida history. The 30-year compact is worth $2.5 billion to the state of Florida in just the first five years.

How Unemployment Insurance Fraud Exploded During the Pandemic

August 8, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

bogus fake unemployment claims fraud

Bots filing bogus applications in bulk, teams of fraudsters in foreign countries making phony claims, online forums peddling how-to advice on identity theft: Inside the infrastructure of perhaps the largest fraud wave in history.

Back at Work, an FPC Teacher Worries About an Unmasked School and a District Unprepared for the Unexpected

August 6, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

Sure, but what about those who aren't? (© FlaglerLive)

A Flagler Palm Coast High School teacher describes a lack of information from the school board concerning Covid protocols, no discussions of contingency plans in case of breakouts, and no clarity about quarantines even involving staffers who are vaccinated but experience breakthrough infections.

Flagler Records 154 Covid Infections Today as AdventHealth Palm Coast’s In-Patients Soar to 86, Another Record

August 5, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

The outdoor Covid testing tent has returned outside the Health Department's office on Dr. Carter Boulevard in Bunnell. (© FlaglerLive)

The 16-hospital AdventHealth network in Central Florida has 1,350 in-patients with covid, 400 more than it had during the highest previous peak of the pandemic last January. Patients who survive stay an average of 14 to 21 days at the hospital, averaging in age between 50 to 55–younger than in previous waves–but all ages have been seen in hospitals. Of the 1,350, some 350 are in ICU and on ventilators.

In a Boost for Its Palm Coast Hub, UNF President David Szymanski Stepping Down to Become CEO of MedNexus

August 5, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

University of North Florida President David Szymanski in January 2020, when he attended a segment of Palm Coast's Hackathon. (© FlaglerLive)

Szymanski’s decision signals the breadth and weigh of UNF’s investment in MedNexus and now places the person most responsible for it behind its development, in Jacksonville and in Palm Coast, where it came about through the lobbying of former Mayor Milissa Holland.

Palm Coast Council Clears Way for a 240-Apartment Complex Just North of RaceTrac on Old Kings Road

August 5, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

The developer of Tuscan Reserve in palm Coast, aboive, is proposing to develop a 240-unit apartment complex on Old Kings Road, just north of State Road 100. The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved the rezoning that clears the way for the development. (Roger Kennedy Construction)

The developer of Tuscan Reserve apartments in Palm Coast is proposing to develop a 240-unit apartment complex on Old Kings Road, just north of State Road 100, called the Tribute. The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved the rezoning that clears the way for the development.

Students Who Oppose Masks Could Qualify for Vouchers to Transfer to Private Schools, at Public Expense

August 5, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Nothing wrong with masking. (Nenad Stojkovic)

The State Board of Education is set to hold a conference call Friday, in part to consider an emergency rule that would expand the state’s Hope Scholarship voucher program to allow students who don’t want to wear masks to transfer to private schools.

Expansion of Mosquito Spraying in Plantation Bay and Sawmill Creek Draws Mixed Reactions

August 4, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

The workshop drew only 10 people, some of whom complained that it had not been announced broadly enough. (© FlaglerLive)

A workshop intended to gauge public sentiment about modestly expanding the East Flagler Mosquito Control District to Plantation Bay and to a small area west of U.S. 1 drew just 10 people Wednesday evening, some fiercely opposed, some wager for the spraying.

Robert Batie, Accused Rapist of 16-Year-Old Patient, Was Employed By Practice Working With Flagler Schools

August 4, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Robert Batie. (Volusia County Branch Jail)

Therapist Robert Batie was arrested on four charges of molesting and raping a 16-year-old patient at his office on Hargrove Grade in Palm Coast. He had worked with Palm Coast Counseling, engaged by Flagler schools since 2020 to provide mental health services to students at the practice or elsewhere.

In Florida Covid Crisis, Politics Define Gov. DeSantis’s Decisions from Barring Mask Requirements to Vaccine Passports

August 4, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

masks florida

Elected officials’ attitudes and actions about masks and vaccinations have become a flashpoint in the increasingly tribal nature of partisan politics. The ideological schism over preventive protocols in Florida has aided DeSantis’ rise as a national presidential contender and, at the same time, become a cornerstone of Democrats’ efforts to oust him.

In Mayoral Election Audit, Lowe Partisans’ Hunt for Perfidy Disappoints as Results Are, As Expected, Confirmed

August 4, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

The Palm Coast Canvassing Board, with Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart, as its members were signing the document signifying the audit showed a hand-count that perfectly aligned. with the machine count. (© FlaglerLive)

The audit of the July 27 special election for Palm Coast mayor showed 100 percent accuracy, though partisans of Alan Lowe, one of the losing candidates, have continued to make baseless allegations of irregularities.

Back from Boys’ Camp, Palm Coast Council Adopts Tentative Tax Rate, But Policing Budget Is Contested

August 4, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

ed danko

The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday broke its impasse over a tentative tax rate, approving what for now is the same rate that’s been in effect since 2019, with council members’ pledge to look for ways to reduce it. But that may be difficult with a slew of competing demands in services, including additional sheriff’s deputies, street paving, and other administrative requests.

David Alfin, Making a Point of Facing the Public on a Level Plane, Is Sworn-In as Palm Coast’s 4th Mayor

August 3, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin immediately after his swearing in, acknowledging City Clerk Virginia Smith, with his daughter Melanie and his wife Tammy at his side, and the council he was about to join behind him--with some on the dais more enthusiastic than others about his accession. (© FlaglerLive)

David Alfin was sworn-in as Palm Coast’s fourth mayor this evening in a simple ceremony and a well-attended meeting in which he made a point of defining his tenure as a service to residents, but also as a mission to bring civility and consensus to a sharply divided council. There was pointed symbolism and a few pointed remarks during the meeting.

In ‘Baffling’ Votes, County Commission Rejects More Probing Meeting Schedule It Had Adopted Just 3 Weeks Ago

August 3, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Not big on hard work: County Commissioners Dave Sullivan, Joe Mullins, Donald O'Brien and Greg Hansen aren't interested in pre-scheduled workshops to vet and discuss county business, as Palm Coast and the school board do, and as Commissioner Andy Dance was recommending. After agreeing to such a schedule, the commission, with Dance in dissent, rejected it on Monday. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler County TV)

Not big on hard work: County Commissioners Dave Sullivan, Joe Mullins, Donald O’Brien and Greg Hansen aren’t interested in pre-scheduled workshops to vet and discuss county business, as Palm Coast and the school board do, and as Commissioner Andy Dance was recommending. After agreeing to such a schedule just three weeks ago, the commission, with Dance in dissent, rejected it on Monday.

Flagler Health Department Chief Bob Snyder Reveals He Was a ‘Breakthrough’ Covid Case, But Vaccine Kept Symptoms Mild

August 3, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Bob Snyder, who heads the Flagler County Health Department, the state agency in charge of the response to the covid pandemic, reveals this morning that he was a recent "breakthrough" case of covid, after making it through the previous 18 months unscathed. (© FlaglerLive)

Bob Snyder, the Flagler Health Department chief, had managed to make it through a year and a half of the pandemic’s most viral trenches unscathed, even when he was unvaccinated for two-thirds of that time.
Today, Snyder revealed he was among the “breakthrough” cases, contracting the delta variant recently despite his January vaccination. The infection barely sidelined him.

80 Hospitalized for Covid at AdventHealth Palm Coast as Infections in Flagler Continue to Soar: 900 in Last 7 Days

August 2, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

Flagler County recorded a record 665 infections in the week ending Friday, and has since recorded over 500 infections, putting it on pace to record another record this week, exceeding 800 infections. click on the image for larger view. (© FlaglerLive)

As many Flagler County residents got infected in the past seven days as did the total number of Flagler residents did in the first seven months of the pandemic last year, from January to Aug. 1, 2020. Two Flagler County commissioners today joined a very small number of elected officials who are asking residents explicitly to mask up and to get vaccinated, as the county’s vaccination rate remains below 50 percent.

A Man Is Killed in 2-Car Crash on Royal Palms Parkway at Point Pleasant Drive

August 2, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

The Accura flipped on Royal Palms Parkway just past Point Pleasant Drive at midday Monday. (© FlaglerLive)

A two-vehicle crash just past midday at Royal Palms Parkway and Point Pleasant Drive in Palm Coast resulted in the death of one of the drivers, according to authorities. The Palm Coast Fire Police shut down Royal Palms Parkway at Belle Terre Parkway to the west and Town Center Boulevard to the east.

DeSantis Adds Florida to 11 States’ Play to Overturn Roe v. Wade’s 2-Semester Abortion Standard

August 2, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

"Kenneth Conner, director-at-large for Florida Right To Life, Inc., holds up the cover of Newsweek magazine, left, and pro-life ad graphic barred from 1987 state government telephone directory. Conner held up the comparisons during a Thursday news conference at which the group announced their support of Republican Paula Hawkins for the U.S. Senate."

The governors filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a 2018 Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks. The filing doesn’t make these states party to Mississippi’s defense of its statute, but voices their legal support for that state’s case.

Palm Coast Survives Its Own Big Lies. For Now.

August 1, 2021 | Pierre Tristam | 14 Comments

ed danko qanon election

The big lies lost. But Palm Coast isn’t out of the woods. Alan Lowe may have been rejected by 73 percent of the electorate, but David Alfin’s 36 percent win, with less than 10 percent of the actual electorate, is hardly a rousing victory for a campaign that won more by default than acclamation, with incendiaries like Ed Danko and Victor Barbosa still on the council.

Crisis at the Border: Sheriff Staly’s On-the-Ground Report on a ‘Failed Immigration Policy’ Affecting All Communities

August 1, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 55 Comments

Migrants that have crossed the Rio Grande surrender to U.S. Border Patrol near an area known as Rincon. From here they will be transported to a processing center. (CBP)

Earlier this month Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly took part in a fact-finding trip along the Texas side of the border with Mexico with several other law enforcement officials and U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla. “The border crisis,” he argues, “is coming to you whether you like it or not.”

Race, Gender, Abortion: GOP Lawmakers Across the Country Are Waging a Counterrevolutionary War

July 31, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

Republican legislatures have been uninterested in pledging allegiance to the transgender flag. (

Republicans were emboldened in the 23 states where they control the governorship and both houses of the legislature. Other factors include a newly conservative U.S. Supreme Court, GOP backlash over former President Donald Trump’s reelection loss and a tidal wave of social media campaigns and commentary aimed at galvanizing conservatives by playing up divisive cultural issues.

Flagler Beach Mayor Suzie Johnston Is 1st County or City Elected Official To Call for Vaccines and Masks

July 30, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

Flagler Beach Mayor Suzie Johnston in her two-minute video statement. (© FlaglerLive via Facebook)

The mayor was acting on her own, representing herself rather than the city of Flagler Beach. The statement was issued within hours of Gov. Ron DeSantis issuing an executive order banning masking requirements in public schools, and as he has continued to counter efforts by communities to institute more restrictive safety measures in the face of Florida’s (and Flagler’s ) unprecedented surge in covid cases.

Shrugging Off Science, Physicians’ Pleas and Overrun Hospitals, DeSantis Bans Mask Requirements in Schools

July 30, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

desantis masks

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday he will issue an executive order to prohibit school districts from imposing mask-wearing requirements as students return to classes in August. The order contradicts the recommendations of physicians, public health officials and the CDC and is issued as Florida is again the epicenter of the covid pandemic and its hospitals are being overrun.

‘Absolutely’: Health Chief Calls for Masks in Flagler Schools as AdventHealth Goes to Unprecedented ‘Black Status’

July 30, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 55 Comments

Flagler County Health Department Administrator Bob Snyder on Thursday said that whether vaccinated or not, students indoors should be wearing masks. Snyder’s unequivocal declaration stresses similar recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and physicians at AdventHealth.

Covid Breaks Flagler Infection Records Daily, Filling Half Advent’s Beds; Community and Local Governments Are Indifferent

July 29, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 59 Comments

Flagler, like Florida, is in covid crisis. Governments and the community at large are mostly indifferent. (© FlaglerLive)

While the Flagler Health Department and AdventHealth Palm Coast are overrun with Covid cases and in-patients, local governments have gone silent, indifferent to the worst wave of the pandemic yet, making a mockery of their claim of a “partnership” with the Health Department or the hospital and amplifying community apathy that multiplies infections.

17 Cats and Dogs Rescued from Near-Death in U-Haul Truck; Two Owners Face Animal Cruelty Charges

July 29, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

One of the rescued dogs. (FCSO)

Jason Donellan-Sparks, 29, and Shawna Doud, 23, were traveling in a U-Haul from Tennessee when they parked in Palm Coast Wednesday morning and a witness noticed the condition of the animals in back of the truck, alerting sheriff’s deputies.

Hours After Palm Coast Voting Ends, Conspiratorial Lowe Mutters and Weird Requests to Elections Office Begin

July 28, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 42 Comments

alan lowe election conspiracies audit

There have been no direct challenges to the election result that saw David Alfin beat Alan Lowe and four others, but a request for a “forensic audit” of the election and a vast public record request for information about anyone and everyone involved in the supervisor of election’s running of the election have been filed, suggesting more noise than reason.

Year-Long Cabal of Claims Against Holland Comes Down to Wrist-Slap Over 2 Errant Emails as Ethics Commission Rules

July 28, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

Milissa Holland in her last public appearance as mayor outside of a council meeting, on May 14, at the opening of the splash pad at the park named after her father. (© FlaglerLive)

A 15-month drumbeat of sound and fury over allegations of corruption, cover-ups, cabals and criminal acts, a drumbeat that influenced two elections, a city manager’s career and the mayor’s own, among others, tarnishing the reputation of a leading private company in the county, came down to a minor rebuke over an email misuse Holland long ago acknowledged and apologized for. Nothing else.

Center Holds: David Alfin Is Palm Coast’s New Mayor as Voters Decisively Spurn Lowe and Politics of Abuse

July 27, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

David Alfin is the new mayor of Palm Coast, stepping in to the seat vacated by Milissa Holland in May, and occupied only by Jon Netts and Jim Canfield previously, in the city's 22-year history. (© FlaglerLive)

Realtor David Alfin was elected Palm Coast’s fourth mayor this evening in a relatively strong win over five other candidates. Fellow-Realtor Cornelia Manfre and Alan Lowe were trading places for second. Alfin’s victory paired with Manfre’s showing is a decisive repudiation of scorched-earth politics represented by Alan Lowe and Council member Ed danko, who’d made his political fortune synonymous with Lowe’s campaign.

In Shift, Flagler Schools Embrace Rapid Covid Tests for Students and Staff as Back-to-School Protocols Are Released

July 27, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

The Health Department revealed the free, off-campus rapid-testing option for students and staff today as the district itself published its new, 2021-22 school covid protocols, a four-page guide updating last year’s safety procedures. In contrast with conditions in the community, the protocols reflect a pronounced push for normalcy, as if Covid were no longer a serious problem.

DeSantis Holds Roundtable on Masks in Schools. Traditional Public School Teachers and Educators Aren’t Invited.

July 27, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Gov. Ron DeSantis in a July 13 roundtable on Cuba, in a still from the video posted to his Rumble account. The roundtable on masks was posted Monday. It was not visible today. (© FlaglerLive via Rumble)

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday afternoon held a roundtable discussion about masks at schools with representatives of charter and private schools, but not traditional public education. Media, the teachers’ union and even the Department of Education were not made aware.

State Government Is Sitting on $15 Billion in Federal Aid to Help Florida Schools Through Pandemic

July 26, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Yet so much help is out there, untapped. (Phil Roeder)

Most of the dollars have yet to be disbursed by state government to school districts for this past school year and this coming school year, and the 2021-22 academic year is just a few weeks away. That means initiatives outlined by the federal government, such as tackling student learning losses during the pandemic, are stuck waiting to help vulnerable students.

Flagler Records 99 Covid Infections Sunday, County Jail Outbreak Hits 37, AdventHealth Palm Coast Has 45 Hospitalized

July 26, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Empty beds in Florida hospitals are becoming a rare sight as Covid's delta variant continues to hospitalize patients in record numbers, including 45 today at AdventHospital Palm Coast. (© FlaglerLive)

The numbers across the community continue to point toward more gravity than relief, with infections still on the upswing, with few people and fewer organizations–including governments–returning to safety protocols essential to slowing the spread, such as masking and social distancing.

No Plans for Mandatory Masks in Flagler Schools as DeSantis Fights Possible Federal Mandate

July 26, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Masks were required in Flagler schools last year. Not so when school resumes on Aug. 10. (Flagler Schools)

Children under 12 are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, making them more vulnerable for infection–and transmission to adults, but DeSantis is fighting any mask mandate in schools and Flagler schools are not changing course from a mask-optional approach when school resumes on Aug. 10.

Flagler Breaks Weekly Record with 400 Covid Infections, Florida Deaths on Rise Again

July 25, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

Flagler County has broken the weekly record of covid infections, previously set in January. Click on the graph for larger view. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County recorded 400 covid infections in the week ending Friday, breaking the previous weekly record set in January, and filling hospital beds as never before during the pandemic. The week’s increase represents a 346 percent increase over averages two weeks ago.

The Sleaziest Generation

July 23, 2021 | Pierre Tristam | 109 Comments

The memorial to the dead of Covid near RFK Stadium in Washington. (Ron Cogswell)

This fourth wave of covid is ravaging the state. It was entirely preventable but for glib, “don’t Fauci my Florida” recklessness and the militancy, disinformation and poisonous selfishness of the unvaccinated. This is on them.

As Flagler Beach Grapples with Tawdry Pro-Trump Gatherings, City’s Wink to Surveillance Cameras Raises Questions

July 23, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 108 Comments

The weekly demonstrators are giving Flagler Beach a black eye. (© FlaglerLive via Facebook)

The weekly pro-Trump demonstrations featuring profane language in the heart of Flagler Beach has city commissioners concerned about the city’s image and the administration and police eying surveillance cameras they insist will not target the demonstrators, but be used as a tool in case of criminal activity. Others see a Pandora’s box.

Bunnell Commission Draws 7 Applicants for 2 Vacant Seats, But One Withdraws as County Invokes ‘Conflict’ Policy

July 23, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Nealon Joseph, a Bunnell resident and county planner with emergency management, was required to withdraw his application for appointment to the Bunnell City Commission. (© FlaglerLive)

The applicants for the two vacant seats on the Bunnell City Commission include two former commissioners, a planning board member, a former candidate for the commission and code enforcement board member, and an employee of county government’s emergency management division. The commission makes the appointments Monday.

Palm Coast Will Close Parts of the Splash Pad at Holland Park as Rubber Surface Has Deteriorated

July 22, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

The whale and whale tail, the mantra ray, the rings, and the two turtles in the toddler area will be closed to the public as repairs to the splash pad at Holland Park proceed. (© FlaglerLive)

Filtering issues had hampered the initial opening of the $5.1 million pad. In mid-June, what appeared to be electrical issues later traced to a software problem developed, forcing the pad to close for a few days. There’s been other issues. The pad closed again today as cracks were detected in the soft padding.

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