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Featured

Florida Law Banning Kids off Some Social Media Prevails as Judge Refuses to Block It

March 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

children social media florida desantis

A federal judge has rejected a request to block a 2024 Florida law aimed at keeping children off some social-media platforms, ruling that industry groups did not show they had legal standing to challenge the measure.

Saving Our Beaches Is a Collective Responsibility Like Roads and Parks. Let’s Each Do Our Part.

March 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 39 Comments

Before the beach was renourished and the dunes rebuilt. (© FlaglerLive)

A Beverly Beach resident explains how protecting Flagler County’s beaches through the proposed county plan is similar to supporting communal responsibilities like roads, schools, parks and libraries: not everyone benefits from those services equally, but the services all play a crucial role in the local quality of life and the economy, and must be supported evenly. So it is with the beach.

Jane Mealy Exits Flagler Beach Dais After 19 Years, Cunningham Is Sworn-In and Sherman Named Chair

March 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Changes in Flagler Beach: James Sherman, left, was sworn-in to his second term and appointed chair of the commission, Jane Mealy exited after 19 years, and John Cunningham was sworn-in for his first term. (© FlaglerLive)

Jane Mealy for 19 years had been the Flagler Beach City Commission’s unrivaled workhorse and its sharpest study long before successive commissioners mostly modeled themselves after her, whether they knew it or not. Thursday evening, Mealy cast her final vote and exited after her defeat by John Cunningham, and the re-election of James Sherman, who was elected chair. Rick Belhumeur was elected vice-chair, to his recurring chagrin.

In Startling Stand-Your-Ground Ruling, Judge Nichols Dismisses Charges Against Man Accused in Violent Attack at Circle K

March 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The Circle K on Palm Harbor Parkway, and the picnic tables where the incident took place. (Google)

In a stand your ground ruling that startled law enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office, Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols on Monday dismisses felony charges against 23-year-old Hunter Detherow, who was facing five to 20 years in prison for a fight at the Palm Harbor Circle K a year ago that left one man with four broken ribs and another with stab wounds, a collapsed lung and a black eye. Detherow, a former Marine, was not injured. The two men were twice his age, though one of them was nearly twice his weight.

Palm Coast Eases Stance on Beach-Saving Sales Tax as ‘Grow Some Balls’ Message Lifts Plan’s Chances, But More Talk Needed

March 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Wednesday's joint meeting of local governments on a proposed beach-management plan included representatives of Flagler County, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell, Beverly Beach, and by phone, Marineland. (© FlaglerLive)

In contrast with their joint meeting in February, representatives from Palm Coast, Beverly Beach, Bunnell, Flagler Beach, Marineland and the county were all more supportive of a proposed beach-management plan centered on raising the sales tax as they discussed it Wednesday evening. Palm Coast remains the crucial hold-out for now, if not an immovable one. But time is running out.

Michael Jennelle, 53, Guilty on All Charges of Raping Granddaughter; He Faces Life in Prison

March 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Michael Jennelle taking the measure of the jury that would decide his fate as he was preparing to testify this afternoon. (© FlaglerLive)

At the end of a three-day trial and just 75 minutes of deliberations this afternoon, a jury found Michael Jennelle, 53, guilty on seven counts of raping and molesting his granddaughter when she was between 7 and 10, and whom he had adopted as his daughter. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.

City Council Cuts City Manager Candidates to 5, But with Sharp Disparities Regarding Most

March 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

All the news not fit for a screen: a television display at City Hall. (© FlaglerLive)

Shortly before giving applicants yet more reasons to think twice about working here, the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday shortened its list of city manager candidates to five, with one clear front-runner–William Smith, a former county and city manager in Georgia and North Carolina, with vast experience in the field, and the first candidate to get across-the-board top scores from all four council members so far.

Palm Coast Council Agrees to Investigation of Mayor Norris After Allegation of ‘Blatant Violations of City Charter’

March 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 56 Comments

Palm Coast City Council member Charles Gambaro, right (seen here at a previous council meeting) called for an investigation of Mayor Norris over an allegation that he violated the city charter by demanding the resignation of top staffers. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council late Tuesday night called for an independent investigation of Mayor Mike Norris after Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston confirmed that he unilaterally demanded in a private meeting that she and Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo resign, what would be a “blatant violation of the city charter,” in Council member Ty Miller’s words. Norris is denying the charge.

12-Year-Old Testifies of Years of Sexual Abuse at Grandfather ‘Mike’ Jennelle’s Hands; He’ll Take Stand in His Own Defense

March 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Michael Jennelle arriving for court today. He's been held at the Flagler County jail on $100,000 bond since June 2023. (© FlaglerLive)

When Michael Jennelle takes the stand Wednesday, as he said he would, in his defense against charges that he raped and molested his pre-teen granddaughter for years, he will have to overcome the nearly flawless, withering day Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark marshaled against him today, leaving the defense flailing. It will take a lot more than “I didn’t do it” for Jennelle (as he told the judge in December) to convince the jury of his innocence.

Foreclosure Ahead: Judge Orfinger Maps Way for Flagler County Against Old Dixie Motel Owners

March 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Judge Rick Orfinger, the retired Fifth District Circuit of Appeal judge, was sitting in for Circuit Court Judge Chris France at this afternoon's hearing. (© FlaglerLive)

Senior Judge Rick Orfinger today directed the attorney representing Flagler County to draft an order that would grant the county’s motion for a final judgment in its favor nearly four years after an obscure partnership bought the property, made a string of empty promises to rebuild it, flouted a court order to put up a bond and ran up $115,000 in contempt fines.

Semi-Trailer Truck Driver Killed in Fiery Crash on I-95 Near Palm Coast Parkway

March 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Palm Coast Fire Department firefighters at the scene of the crash on I-95 Monday afternoon. (Palm Coast Fire Department)

A semi-trailer truck driver was killed in a fiery crash on I-95 just before the Palm Coast Parkway exit in mid-afternoon Monday. No one else was involved. It was the fifth fatality on Flagler County roads in a 10-day span.

Jennelle’s Defense, Implying a Monstrous Conspiracy, Terms Charges of Child Rape the Fabrications of a Jilted Wife

March 10, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Michael Jennelle facing the jury this morning. (© FlaglerLive)

In brief opening arguments in the trial of Michael Jennelle, 53, who faces life in prison if convicted, the prosecution told the jury that Jennelle started sexually abusing his granddaughter when she was 7 and continued to do so until she was about 10. The defense said it was a fabrication between the granddaughter and her grandmother at a time when Jennelle was divorcing her. The trial is expected to take most of the week.

Read Across Flagler Event at Central Park Brings Out the District’s Own Student Novelists

March 10, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Their first novels already published, they're working on their second. From left, Caleb Hathaway and MacKenzie Wheat of Flagler Palm Coast High School, and Abbigail of Matanzas High School. They were featured authors at last Thursday's Read Across Flagler event at Palm Coast's Central Park. (© FlaglerLive)

The second annual Read Across Flagler at Palm Coast’s Central Park, an event organized by the school district’s media specialists, focused on the district’s own authors , including three high school students who have already published their first novel and are working on their second. There was a petting zoo, a balloon art station and two tables-full of books being given away, but the focus was on the writers.

Lawmakers’ Circus Returns to Tallahassee

March 9, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

The circus, also known as the Florida Legislature, is back in town. (Photo via FSU Flying High Circus.)

The circus is coming to town. Y’all might know it as the regular session of the Florida Legislature. Don’t even begin to think this year can’t possibly be worse than last year, when lawmakers passed a dumpster full of bills to make Florida worse.

Motorcyclist Killed On Belle Terre Boulevard When Pick-Up Cuts In Front of Him; 4th Bike Week Fatality

March 9, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The intersection of Belle Terre Boulevard and Finn Way. (Google)

A 70-year-old Palm Coast man on a motorcycle lost his life late Saturday night, a day before the end of Bike Week, when a pick-up truck collided with his motorcycle on Belle Terre Boulevard at Finn Way, just south of State Road 100. It was the fourth fatality of Bike Week 2025 between Volusia and Flagler counties, and the second in Flagler.

Palm Coast Mayor Norris Calls for Indefinite Building Moratorium Or He’ll Vote No on $614 Million Utility Plan

March 7, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 55 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. (© FlaglerLive)

In a stunning reversal, Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris today told his colleagues that he will vote against the utility rate increase and borrowing plan he supported just three days ago  unless the city imposes an indefinite building moratorium on residential housing, or “no more approval of any more residential housing, to date uncertain,” as he put it. The revelation drew sharp resistance from Council members Charles Gambaro and Ty Miller, and guarded support–and an alternative path–from Theresa Pontieri, who twice before had called for a moratorium.

Flagler Beach Officers Under Investigation as Wrongful Charge of Man Outside Funky Pelican Is Quickly Dropped and City Bristles

March 7, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 78 Comments

Flagler Beach Police Sgt. Steve Yelvington, left, at the beginning of his interaction with Jeff Gray, before arresting him. (© FlaglerLive via bodycam)

Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney has requested an internal affairs investigation of the two officers who arrested a man on a trespassing charge simply for holding a sign outside the Funky Pelican restaurant at the pier, and City Manager Dale Martin has ordered that all city employees receive training in respecting citizen’s rights. The arrest caught public attention and provoked outrage. The State Attorney’s office on Thursday dropped the felony charge of armed trespassing against Gray. The city expects a lawsuit.

Flagler Beach ‘All In’ Behind Sales Tax Increase to Fund Beach Management, But Overcoming Palm Coast Veto Is Key

March 7, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Flagler Beach City Commissioner Eric Cooley, left, explaining to his colleagues why he's "all in" with the county's beach-management plan. So was the rest of the commission. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission in a special workshop Thursday gave solid and unanimous backing to county government’s plan to take over preservation and management of the county’s 18 miles of beaches in perpetuity, a plan that depends on raising the sales tax by half a cent and on winning Palm Coast government’s approval. That approval is key, because without it, it amounts to a veto over future comprehensive beach-management.

Palm Coast Is Not a Business. It’s Not an Army Base. We Need a City Manager, Not a CEO in Fatigues.

March 6, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

palm coast city manager search

The fetish of government as a business has a stranglehold on politicians. The mayor likes to call the city “Palm Coast Inc.” and wants a “CEO” to manage it. The fetish for a manager plucked out of the military is just as brawny. It’s a mistake. It will compound Palm Coast’s problems, which for the most part were not created by management. The city administration, because of its professionalism and deeply credentialed staff, has for years been the last thing standing between chaos and civility, between governing and fiscal, populist irresponsibility. The problem has been misguided policy by undisciplined councils.

Isaiah Warren, 26, Sentenced to 4.5 Years in Prison for DUI Crash That Severely Injured Flagler Beach Man

March 6, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Isaiah Warren at the scene of the severe crash in Flagler Beach last April, after Warren had been drinking. He failed his field-sobriety exercises and was arrested. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols on Wednesday sentenced Isaiah Macario Warren, 26, to four and a half years in prison for the drunk driving crash in Flagler Beach last April that severely injured Brian Tiller, a 45-year-old resident of the city. Warren faced two third-degree felonies–for drunk driving causing serious bodily injury and for tampering with evidence, resulting from his attempt to hide the fact that he’d been drinking in the car, and he faced a maximum of 11 years in prison.

Defying Science, Florida Lawmakers Prepare to Scrap Later Start Time for High Schools

March 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

students start times

With school districts across the state expressing support, Florida senators Monday started moving forward with a bill that would repeal requirements aimed at later daily start times in many high schools. Lawmakers in 2023 approved the requirements, citing a need for older students to get more sleep. [The need is supported by extensive research that points to better academic performance and better health.] The requirements are slated to take effect in 2026, but as the deadline has neared, districts have said they are struggling to comply.

State of the Monarch

March 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

state of the monarch

If there are any limits to a president’s power, it wasn’t evident from Donald Trump’s speech before a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025. When the Constitution was written, many people – from those who drafted the document to those who read it – believed that endowing the president with such powers was dangerous. The danger is here.

Commission Sends 7 Names to Gov. DeSantis for Appointment to 2 Judgeships in 7th Judicial Circuit; Case Is Chief Judge Again

March 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Jackie Roys Clifton

The Seventh Judicial Circuit’s Nominating Commission today sent seven names to Gov. Ron DeSantis in a pair of short lists of candidates for a Volusia County Court appointment and a Circuit Court appointment. The Seventh Judicial Circuit includes Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam counties. Circuit Court judges theoretically may be assigned to a bench in any of the four counties at any point during their service. Also today, the court announced that the 43 judges in the circuit have re-elected their colleague, Circuit Judge Leah R. Case, to another term as chief judge.

Palm Coast Council Contends with 7th Resignation in 9 Years as Application Window Opens for Ray Stevens Replacement

March 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

palm coast city council appointment

The Palm Coast City Council has had seven resignations since 2016: Bill McGuire. Steven Nobile. Jack Howell. Victor Barbosa. Milissa Holland. Cathy Heighter. And now Ray Stevens. Over the same time-span, the council has had four mayors (Jon Netts, Holland, David Alfin and now Mike Norris) and 22 council members, a turn-over rate unmatched on any other local government board. The volatility of the council. is likely scaring off some of the better candidates for city manager as the council seeks to fill a post that has not lacked for its own precariousness.

Palm Coast Council Approves 36% Water and Sewer Rate Increase by 2027 to Finance $455 Million Infrastructure Loan

March 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

Palm Coast's Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 is ground zero of the city's infrastructure needs. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council Tuesday approved a controversial plan to raise water and sewer rates 36 percent by October 2027 and borrow $455 million to expand the city’s sewer and freshwater capacity, comply with a state consent order forcing the city’s hand on capital improvements, and assure bond-holders that the city can soundly make good on its financial obligations. Combining water and sewer costs, a household using 4,000 gallons of water per month would see its water and sewer bill go from $90.73 today to $123.46 in October 2027, a difference of $32.73, or $393 per year.

John Cunningham and James Sherman Win in Flagler Beach, Defeating Jane Mealy; David Atkinson and Dean Sechrist Win in Bunnell

March 4, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

John Cunningham, a few hours before he unseated Jane Mealy on the Flagler Beach City Commission. (© FlaglerLive)

In a changing of the guard, John Cunningham, a newcomer to politics in Flagler Beach, took the largest share of the vote and defeated nearly 20-year incumbent Jane Mealy to win a seat on the City Commission, with James Sherman winning re-election to a second term. In Bunnell, two newcomers, David Atkinson and Dean Sechrist, won the seats that Tonya Gordon and Tina Marie-Schultz left uncontested.

Flagler County Votes to Buy 307 Acres for Conservation for $3 Million in Pringle Forest West of U.S. 1

March 4, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Flagler County's purchase of more than 300 acres in the northern part of the county will help protect the waters of Pellicer Creek. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission on Monday approved the $3 million purchase of 307 acres for environmental protection of land west of U.S. 1. The land, owned by Raydient, a subsidiary of Rayonier, the timber company, is part of what’s known as Pringle Creek Forest. The parcels the county is acquiring stretch in an east-west sliver from the northern boundary of the Sawmill Estates subdivision, west of U.S. 1, across the railroad tracks, to a pair of unevenly shaped squares with a huge cavity between them, all the way to the county’s western boundary, not far from Flagler Estates.

Jose Valerio-Rodriguez, 70-Year-Old Homeless Man, Arrested for Human Trafficking and Statutory Rape of a Minor

March 4, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Authorities say Jose Valerio-Rodriguez had a tent in the woods behind Frontier Drive, where he engaged in illegal sexual activity with a minor. (Google)

Jose Valerio-Rodriguez, a 70-year-old homeless man who lived in a tent in the woods behind the Circle K on Palm Harbor Parkway near Frontier Drive, faces a life felony for human trafficking and a second degree felony on allegations of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, or statutory rape.

4 County Commissioners Endorse Petito Plan to Save Beaches and Launch Public Campaign for Sales Tax Increase

March 3, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

County Administrator Heidi Petito's plan for beach management got a huge lift from the County Commission today. (© FlaglerLive)

Four county commissioners–Andy Dance, the chair, Greg Hansen, Pam Richardson and Kim Carney–gave their blessing today to Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito’s resolute financial plan to make county government responsible for rebuilding and maintaining all 18 miles of beaches. The commissioners gave Petito their consensus that she may now develop a public campaign to win support. Palm Coast’s support will be crucial. Without it, the plan dies.

Black Hawk Helicopter Repair Company Gets 30-Year Lease in Plant It’ll Build at Flagler Airport

March 3, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 49 Comments

A Black Hawk helicopter at Flagler County airport in 2011, when it was one of three sent there with the Florida National Guard to help fight wildfires. (© FlaglerLive)

Get ready to see a lot more Black Hawk helicopters flying around Flagler County’s airport in the heart of Palm Coast as a new company moves in, bringing with it almost three dozen jobs. The Flagler County Commission on Monday in a 3-1 vote approved a 30-year lease with Van Damme Helicopters, a company that repairs and repurposes for civilian uses Black Hawks that are no longer used by the military. Commissioner Kim Carney dissented and expressed some reservations.

Man Holding ‘God Bless Homeless Vets’ Sign on Public Sidewalk Outside Funky Pelican Arrested on Armed Trespassing Charge

March 3, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 89 Comments

The Funky Pelican, in business since 2010, features large, public blackboards on its walls fronting State Road A1A, where members of the public are invited to express themselves, albeit courteously and congenially.

Jeffrey Marcus Gray, a 55-year-old resident of Forest Court in St. Augustine, was arrested on a felony charge of armed trespassing Sunday morning after he refused to leave the immediate vicinity of the Funky Pelican, the restaurant at the Flagler Beach pier. The pier is public property, as is the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. The restaurant itself leases its space from city government in Flagler Beach. But individuals may be trespassed from public sidewalks or parks or other public property, if not without raising potential legal issues.

Federal Judge Clears Way for Publishers’ Lawsuit Against Florida and Volusia Boards of Education Over Banned Books

March 3, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

One of many displays about banned books at The Lynx, a bookshop in Gainesville. (© FlaglerLive)

With major publishing companies and authors arguing a 2023 state law violates First Amendment rights, a federal judge Friday refused to dismiss a lawsuit against members of the State Board of Education over the removal of school library books. U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza, appointed by President Obama, rejected a state motion to dismiss the case, which also names as defendants members of the Orange County and Volusia County school boards.

From Byron Donalds to Casey DeSantis, Florida’s 2026 Race for Governor Lunges for the Bizarre

March 2, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

The set-up. (Facebook)

The sitting governor is limping around like a disabled waterfowl with a bad beer hangover, inspiring a high level of schadenfreude in the Florida Legislature. So — even though the next gubernatorial election doesn’t take place until November 2026 — it’s past time to look to the future: Who will rule the citrus-cankered, gun-crazy, storm-battered Sunshine State?

Motorcyclist Killed in Crash on A1A in Flagler Beach, Two Teens Killed in Car Crash on CR304 Within Hours

March 2, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

The concrete median that divides State Road A1A starts at South 9th Street, where the motorcyclist attempted to pass an SUV on the left, striking the median and overturning. (© FlaglerLive)

After going more than three months without a road fatality, Flagler County roads were the site of two crashes causing the death of three people within hours early Sunday morning–a motorcycle crash in Flagler Beach and a car crash on County Road 304.

Egmont Key, Ground Zero for Sea Level Rise in Florida, Is a Preview for Coastal Communities

March 1, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Sabal palms on the western edge of Egmont Key have succumbed to saltwater intrusion. (Ben Montgomery)

Egmont Key is a bellwether, an observable Ground Zero for local sea level rise, our canary in the climate-change coal mine. The island you see today from the top of the Sunshine Skyway bridge is smaller than the island you saw last year. The island you see today is 300 acres smaller than it was in 1898. This may be the future of barrier island communities like Flagler Beach.

Ray Stevens, In Critical Condition, Resigns His Palm Coast City Council Seat Two Months After Swearing-In

February 28, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Ray Stevens at his swearing-in. (© FlaglerLive)

Elected to the Palm Coast City Council last November after surviving a historically close primary race, Ray Stevens tendered his resignation today, citing ill health. He had missed three successive meetings and attended last Tuesday’s meeting remotely, saying he’d be back in person next week, only to have a grave relapse.

After Qualms from Palm Coast and Bunnell, County’s Beach-Saving Plan Gets a Much Warmer Reception from Flagler Beach

February 28, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Local officials getting ready to break ground on the beach-renourishment project in Flagler Beach last June. Next time the beach is to be renourished, the county or Flagler Beach must have at least $13.5 million in hand. Only a beach-management plan can get them there. (© FlaglerLive)

After a punting response from Palm Coast government and a muted one from Bunnell, Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito’s ambitious plan to save the county’s beaches and permanently ensure their maintenance got a warmer response from the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening, with one commissioner hoping the city will not only back the plan but be its champion.

Flagler Beach’s Days Are Numbered. That’s No Reason for Palm Coast to Assist Its Suicide. 

February 27, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 41 Comments

As Benjamin Franklin is said to have once told Flagler Beach Commissioner Jane Mealy, "a beach, if you can keep it." (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Beach’s days are numbered. A beach-protection plan is essential. The county has produced one that spares the cities any tax increase and ensures the renourishment and management of all 18 miles of the county’s beaches. Sending the question to referendum ensures its death, and with it the eventual death of our beaches. Flagler Beach and Palm Coast should not be so fatalistic.

County’s Heidi Petito Scores 84% in Latest Evaluations, With Sharp Criticism from One Commissioner

February 27, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

County Administrator Heidi Petito presenting the beach-management funding plan to the Marineland Town Commission last week. Petito, in her evaluations by county commissioners, was commended for fostering good relations with other governments. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito scored 82 percent on her latest evaluation, an improvement over the previous year’s 78 percent, if with some caveats. Among them: sharp, almost lawyerly criticism from Commissioner leann Pennington on one hand and unrealistic perfect-score evaluations on the other.

Ralph Carter Park Rears Its Dusky Lights Again as Councilman Clamors for Dimmers Just Months After City Upgrades

February 26, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Though there's been recurring complaints about Ralph Carter Park's lights for years, those complaining can be counted on one light pole. (© FlaglerLive)

A year after Palm Coast staff installed shields on the flood lights at Ralph Carter Park in the R Section, to recalibrate park hours in line with residents’ demands, and to hold a community meeting to outline it all, City Council member Charles Gambaro is asking to lay it all back on the table as he sees the same problems recurring there.

John R. Jenkins, Home Health Care Nurse, Arrested After Footage Shows Him Brutalizing Disabled, Voiceless Man

February 26, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

John Roy Jenkins.

John Roy Jenkins, 68, had been caring for a profoundly disabled man in his 20s in palm Coast since last March. When the alleged victim’s mother looked at indoor surveillance video, she uncovered repeated cases of Jenkins’s physical and verbal abuse against and torment against her son. He faces four felony counts of abusing a disabled person.

Flagler Humane Society Takes a Lashing from Palm Coast Council as Accountability and Transparency Are Questioned

February 26, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

Flagler Humane Society Director Amy Carotenuto addressing the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday. (© FlaglerLive via YouTube)

Palm Coast City Hall’s maintenance crews might still this morning have been cleaning up the bloodbath Amy Carotenuto and the Flagler Humane Society she leads endured Tuesday at the hands of City Council members and numerous residents who spoke, some of them former volunteers at the society. Some of the criticism was unfair and undocumented, but some of it was self-inflicted by a society that lacks transparency and a sense of accountability.

Palm Coast Throws Cold, Brackish Water on County Beach Tax and Management Plan, Calling for Referendum

February 25, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

County Administrator Heidi Petito pitching for federal help with beach protection projects to Mike Waltz last August, before the president named the congressman his national security adviser. The Palm Coast City Council was a tougher audience for Petito today. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council today was not receptive to County Administrator Heidi Petito’s comprehensive but expensive financing plan for a long-term solution to saving the county’s 18 miles of beaches. At least three council members favor sending the proposal to the ballot for a referendum, which would almost certainly fail and delay the enactment of an already lagging beach-management plan to 2027, after the next general election. 

On Second Thought, Palm Coast Council Expands City Manager Shortlist to 11, With Gimlet Eyes on Kandahar

February 25, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

An American patroil in Kandahar, the Afghan province, during America's ill-fated war there. The seven months a candidate for Palm Coast city manager spent in Kandahar caught the eye of a City Council member, vaulting the candidate into the short list.

After getting a small and unimpressive batch of candidates from a four-week job posting in December, the Palm Coast City Council’s head-hunter for a new city manager did a desperate thing, marking the want ad as “open until filled.” That drew nine more candidates, and two who re-applied from the first batch. This time, there were two stand-outs, perhaps three, in the council’s view.

Flagler Jail Would Make 100 Beds Available to ICE as Staly Joins Florida Sheriffs Ramping Up Immigration Enforcement

February 24, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

Sheriff Rick Staly is working on an agreement wiith US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (© FlaglerLive)

All of the state’s 67 counties have entered agreements with federal immigration authorities to detain undocumented immigrant criminals in jails, the Florida Sheriffs Association announced on Monday as the state rushes to assist President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts. Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly is working on an agreement with ICE to make 100 beds at the Flagler County jail available for ICE detentions of up to 72 hours per inmate, in exchange for $125 a day per inmate.

Marineland Commissioner and Ex-Mayor Angela TenBroeck Forced to Resign After Latest in Odd Pattern of Evictions

February 24, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Angela TenBroeck at a Meet the Mayors forum hosted by the Flagler County Association of Realtors last May, flanked by Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson, right, and Flagler Beach Mayor Patti King. (© FlaglerLive)

Angela TenBroeck, who’d served as a commissioner and mayor in Marineland since 2020 and was the 2021 Florida Agriculture Woman of the Year, was forced to resign her seat last week when she lost her residency in Marineland. Since September, Marineland lost its town clerk, its most popular mobile amenity, and now TenBroeck, all involuntarily, all with one thing in common that triggered their departure: an eviction from property owned by JDI Marineland, the company long associated with Atlanta’s Jim Jacoby and Atlanta-based Jacoby Development.

Flagler County’s $114 Million Beach Management Plan Depends on Raising Sales Tax and Winning Cities’ Buy-In

February 24, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

Flagler County government is looking for buy-in from cities to extend beach protection across all 18 miles of Flagler's shoreline. But it'll be costly. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government’s proposed $114 million plan to rebuild, maintain and protect 18 miles of shoreline over the next six years depends on raising the local sales tax by half a penny, imposing a $160-a-year tax on each barrier island property, including Flagler Beach, doubling spending on the beach from the county’s tourism-tax revenue, and temporarily using some general fund revenue toward the effort.

Project 2025 Is Trump’s Blueprint for Ending Health Care As We Know It

February 24, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Project 25 would change health care from the ground up. (© FlaglerLive)

The rapid-fire adoption of many of Project 2025’s objectives indicates that Trump acolytes — many of its contributors were veterans of his first term, and some have joined his second administration — have for years quietly laid the groundwork to disrupt the national health system. That runs counter to Trump’s insistence on the campaign trail, after Democrats made Project 2025 a potent attack line, that he was ignorant of the document.

DeSantis’s Know-Nothing Assault on Florida’s Public Universities

February 23, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Jeanette Nuñez, until recently lieutenant governor, is becoming interim, and likely permanent, president of Florida International University. (Photo via FIU)

DeSantis, the lame duck and failed presidential candidate, may have lost much of his hold on the Legislature but, given that he appoints state university trustees, our institutions must still suffer his anti-intellectualism, his spite, and his obsession with “woke.”

Quincy, Florida, Hires a Felon Convicted of Embezzling Government Funds as Its City Manager. Is It Legal?

February 22, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Quincy City Hall. (Facebook)

The city of Quincy’s government is in turmoil as city manager Robert Nixon faces scrutiny over his past criminal conviction for embezzlement of government funds and questions about whether it disqualifies him from serving as Quincy’s city manager. Commission meetings have veered from day-to-day affairs into a referendum on Nixon, with residents split on his future in tight-knit Quincy, which lies 25 miles northwest of Tallahassee. 

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