The proposed Belvedere Terminals fuel farm off U.S. 1 in Palm Coast appears to be dead. In an email to City Manager Lauren Johnston on Friday, Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris pulled his support without equivocation, joining three council members who are extremely skeptical of the proposal. Belvedere couldn’t afford to lose Norris’s support. Until then, the mayor had been the company’s champion in the city.
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Three of Five Finalists for Palm Coast City Manager Drop Out as Council’s Instability Takes a Toll
The shortlist of Palm Coast city manager candidates who were to interview with the City Council at the end of April is down to two, from five. The last two were among the somewhat less favored of the five when the council ranked them on March 11. Today, Sonia Alves-Viveiros, the Edison, N.J. city manager, withdrew, citing the lack of stability on the City Council as a reason.
Proposed Fuel Farm Off U.S. 1 Draws More Fire as Public Urges County to Reject Palm Coast Location
Already bruised by mounting opposition since it was announced almost two weeks ago, Palm Coast and Flagler County governments’ proposal to buy 78 acres for a 12.6-million gallon fuel farm off U.S. 1 took more fire today, this time at the County Commission, even though the county last week pulled the proposal from today’s agenda. Numerous residents, all opposed to the fuel farm at the U.S. 1 location, addressed the commission, but commissioners themselves raised sharp questions about the plan, adding to its uncertain future.
Federal Judge Halts Florida’s New Law Targeting Migrants, Citing Overreach
Miami-based Judge Kathleen Williams issued a 14-page decision granting a request for a temporary restraining order against the law, which the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved in February. The law created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida.
NIH Funding Cuts Will Hit Red States and the Poor Hardest
NIH cuts will be detrimental to the entire country. But they will disproportionately hurt states that traditionally have received very low levels of NIH funding, the majority of which are red states. This is because such states lack resources to develop advanced research infrastructure necessary to compete nationally for NIH funding.
Florida’s No-Show Republicans Are Hiding From Voters’ Anger
Something is changing. People are angry, auto-calling their representatives, making signs, demonstrating and showing up at town halls. But Republican representatives don’t show up, not any more. They don’t like getting booed. They don’t like facing outraged citizens. A few tried holding town halls. Did not go well. But hey, at least they actually held town halls. Nobody’s seen hide nor hair of Florida Republicans.
Florida Could Target 341,000 Haitian and Venezuelan Migrants for Expulsion
Florida leads the nation in the number of immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. Of those, 59% are Venezuelan and 35% are Haitian. Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem issued a termination notice that canceled TPS for Venezuelan recipients as of April 7. Then a judge intervened. But the judge’s order doesn’t stop the expulsion of Haitians.
In Flagler, Voters Cast Half a Million Ballots in 8 years; 5 Were Non-Citizens. Where’s the ‘Fraud’?
An executive order requires that all votes be counted by the end of Election Day. It also requires proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. The order relies on a lie: that fraud is corrupting American elections. Let’s not look far and take Flagler County’s recent elections to test the claim.
Palm Coast Approves Final Step for 489 New Houses, 147 of Them Near Proposed Fuel Depot
The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved final plats for three residential subdivisions at three of the four cardinal points of the city (north, west, south) totaling 489 single-family houses. Of these house, 147 are to be built on land adjacent to an industrial tract slated for a massive fuel depot.
County Pulls Massive US1 Fuel Depot from Consideration for Now as ‘Pause’ Gives Palm Coast Time to Study Options
The Flagler County Commission was set next Monday to approve a $10 million state grant to buy a 78-acre parcel off U.S. 1 in Palm Coast for a planned fuel depot and rail head. The county administration pulled the item from the agenda after the Palm Coast City Council opted to look for a different location in response to mounting public opposition to the plan. The pause is also a reflection of deepening skepticism among elected officials about a plan that was barely vetted before it was sprung on them just weeks ago.
How Tariffs Wreck Trust in the United States
What’s really at stake in the sweeping tariffs just imposed on American allies and other countries is trust – America’s long-standing reputation as a stable and predictable destination for global investment. And once that trust is lost, it’s incredibly hard to win back.
15 Years in Prison for CJ Nelson Jr. in Shooting Death of 18-Month-Old Niece Ja’Liyah Allen
C.J. Nelson, the 24-year-old Palm Coast resident whose reckless gunplay caused the shooting death of his 18-month-old niece at a Ranwood Lane house in September 2023, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Family members and friends of Ja’Liyah Allen, the victim, and of Nelson–all members of the same family–filled several pews in the gallery.
Palm Coast Council Seeks Analysis to Move Proposed Fuel Farm Off U.S. 1 as Opposition Builds Fast
The proposed 12.6 million-gallon gas and diesel depot on U.S. 1 has quickly gone from an economic development triumph, as Palm Coast and county officials described it last week, to a political liability fueled by public opposition spreading at the speed of a wildfire. On Tuesday, the Palm Coast City Council agreed to seek an analysis to determine whether there’s an alternative location better suited to the depot, a planned $75 million facility to be built by a start-up, Belvedere Terminals, with no track record in the industry.
Interviews of 10 Candidates for Appointment to Palm Coast Council Give a Choice Between Experience and Ideals
A defining line sharpened as the interviews progressed. It was drawn between candidates who spoke the pragmatism of public-service experience on one side, and candidates who spoke of ideals and private-sector careers they hope to translate into public service. This council has limited time to make a limited appointment with specific aims ahead, in a term limited to less than two years, and for a position whose learning curve typically takes two years fully to scale.
It’s Randy Fine After All as Election Day Surge Helps Trump Pick Defeat Josh Weil and Democratic Hopes
Powered by an Election Day surge that helped erase early-voting advantages the Josh Weil campaign had built up, Randy Fine, the Melbourne Republican, Florida Senate member and Donald Trump pick, won the special election for the 6th Congressional District this evening–not handily at all, but he won it all the same, to his patron’s (and his own) relief.
Flagler Beach Quietly Signs On to Agreement with ICE, Deputizing Local Cops for Immigration Enforcement
Without discussion or mention of the agreement, the Flagler Beach City Commission last Thursday signed an agreement with U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to deputize some of its police officers to enforce federal immigration laws.
Flagler Beach Ends Debate on Annexation with Final Approval of Measure Scrapping 5% Rule
The Flagler Beach City Commission approved on a 4-1 vote and on final reading the repeal of a decades-old rule that required the city to hold a referendum any time it would annex more than 5 percent of its geographic area in a given year. The repeal was precipitated last year by the city’s interest in annexing Veranda Bay, the huge development along John Anderson Highway that would more than double the city’s population when built out.
Democrat Josh Weil Riles GOP Panic Over Special Election: ‘We Are Going to Have Our Own Surge’
Democrat Josh Weil, the Orlando teacher, and the GOP’s Sen. Randy Fine of Melbourne, are running so close in the special election for Waltz’s 6th Congressional District seat–which includes all of Flagler County–that even if Weil doesn’t win Tuesday, the race is sending seismic waves through a magaland.
Owners Demolish Old Dixie Hotel a Few Weeks from Deadline, Ending Years of Litigation
The Old Dixie motel is coming down. What used to be the Country Hearth Inn, what rapidly became an eyesore after it closed in 2008, then a battleground between Flagler County government and two sets of owners, was being demolished today, making one legal case moot and all but ending the second. The attorney for the property owners says something will be built there, but it’s not yet clear what.
Deltona Homicide Suspect Ends Chase at Hammock Dunes Bridge with Self-Inflicted Gunshot
What started with the report of a shooting-death of a woman in Deltona early this morning ended after a police chase before dawn at the foot of the Hammock Dunes Bridge with a man apparently shooting himself after he crashed through the toll bridge’s arm and veered off the road.
When Canadian Snowbirds Don’t Flock to Florida, Costs Are More Than Financial
Every winter, hundreds of thousands of older Canadians spend the winter in the United States. But in recent weeks, we’ve seen many Canadian snowbirds shifting their attention to other matters. First, stories started to emerge from those who said they would no longer participate in this seasonal migration because of political events in the U.S. Another related concern was the weakened Canadian dollar. This trend has prompted some to consider selling their winter properties in the U.S.
Our Silent Genocide of Transgender People
The United States in general and Florida in particular are enacting laws that literally erase the existence of an entire class of human beings. Trump signed an order declaring that transgender people don’t exist. Florida is about to adopt a law that would let government employees dehumanize their transgender colleagues by refusing to refer to them by their preferred pronouns. It is a new kind of genocide: bloodless, to be sure, but no less obliterating.
2-Hour Parking Limit Downtown Flagler Beach? ‘Great Idea,’ Planning Board Says, Urging City to Act
The Flagler Beach Planning Board embraced an idea proposed by downtown business owners to impose two-hour parking limits in a small area downtown that is typically overrun by people parking for hours at a time, sometimes all day, preventing the sort of turnover traffic that helps businesses thrive. The board is forwarding the proposal to the City Commission and urging it to consider it.
Derrius Bauer, in a Shift, Agrees to Plea and 15 Years Instead of Life in Prison for Circle K Murder
Two days after he declined yet again to risk life in prison if convicted at trial, Derrius Bauer, 30, this morning signed a plea agreement and was sentenced to 15 years, a term that between time already served and gain time ahead, may have him out of prison when he’s 38. For the court, prosecutors and the Flagler County Sheriff’s detectives who cracked the case, the plea ends the longest and most expensive investigation in the Sheriff’s Office’s history.
Florida House Speaker Calls for Cutting Sales Tax from 6 to 5.25%, Gutting Revenue by $5 Billion
House Speaker Daniel Perez said Wednesday he wants to lower the state’s sales-tax rate, trimming revenue by almost $5 billion a year. Perez, R-Miami, told House members he has directed Ways & Means Chairman Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, to produce a bill next week that would lower the rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent.
30 Years in Prison for Tyrese Patterson in Killing of Noah Smith In Last of Lives Lost Over ‘Stupid, Senseless Act’
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols’s 30-year prison sentence for Tyrese Patterson closes the book on four cases that sent four young men to prison for long terms, one of them for life, over what the judge described as the “stupid, senseless” behavior that led to the killing of 16-year-old Noah Smith in a shootout in Bunnell in January 2022.
Bunnell Approves Grand Reserve’s Last 141 of 847 Houses, with a Pointed Caution From Its Staff
The Bunnell City Commission approved the final phase of Grand Reserve, the 847-home subdivision that will increase the city’s population by more than half and is already changing the city’s politics. The sixth phase consists of 141 houses on 100 acres. The city’s planning director cautioned the commission to review future developments more carefully than when Grand Reserve was originally approved.
Trump Names Derek Barrs to Transportation Department Post; He Will Leave Flagler School Board
Less than five months after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to a Flagler County School Board seat, where his presence helped restore a level of stability that had been lacking for two years, Derek Barrs will almost certainly leave the board for an appointment as administrator to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Florida Senate Committee Approves Ignoring Preferred Pronouns in State and Local Government
A measure (SB 440) prohibits requiring any employee to refer to another person using that person’s preferred pronouns if such pronouns don’t correspond to that person’s sex at birth. Job applications in public workplaces may only ask an applicant whether they are male or female and may not provide a nonbinary option.
‘I’m Done,’ Judge Tells Derrius Bauer in Final Attempt to Win Plea; He’d Rather Risk Life in Prison
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols attempted again to convince Derrius Bauer, 30, to take a plea deal that would have him out of prison in eight and a half years rather than risk life in prison if convicted on a murder charge, as was his friend Marcus Chamblin last year in the same courtroom. Bauer was adamant against a plea. Trial will be set for late summer or early fall.
Is Mike Waltz Out of His Depth? Ex-Flagler Congressman May Have Violated Espionage Act with Leak
Mike Waltz, the former congressman representing Flagler County and the 6th Congressional District, whom Donald Trump tapped as his national security adviser, is at the center of the gravest scandal facing an administration embroiled in controversies since its first day, 64 days ago. Waltz may have violated provisions of the Espionage Act that control national defense information.
To Prevent Renewed Wars Over Annexation, Flagler County Will Aim for Joint Planning Group with Cities
Flagler County government is proposing to create a Joint Planning Committee with Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell to review all developments and annexations that straddle county-city or city-city boundaries. The committee would be responsible for drafting service agreements defining who will provide law enforcement, fire, water and sewer services and road maintenance. The County Commission is all for it. But getting the cities to sign on to what amounts to more transparent coordination may be a challenge.
New $7 Million Fire Station 51 and Sheriff Substation on County Road 305 a Step Closer to Construction
Flagler County Fire Rescue’s new Fire Station 51 is one step closer to construction later this year as the county’s planning board recommended approval of its site plan to the County Commission. The commission is expected to ratify the decision within weeks, clearing the way for construction.
Flagler Sheriff Staly Exploring Deployment of Drones as First Responders: A ‘Much Cheaper Helicopter’
The parking lot of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Operations Center last week was transformed into a showplace for Axon, the Arizona-based technology company whose tasers, body cams, car cameras, simulators, interview rooms and real-time crime center equipment and software redefined policing in the past years. It continues to do so with new products–among them, the drone as first responder, which Sheriff Rick Staly is studying for possible deployment in Flagler County.
Lawless Persecution of Mahmoud Khalil Is a Threat to Free Speech Everywhere
Without a warrant or charges, plainclothes Department of Homeland Security agents forced their way into Columbia University’s student housing and detained Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil, who had demonstrated against the Israeli genocide in Gaza. They then shipped him to an immigration jail in Louisiana, impeding his access to attorneys and visits from family. Khalil is a lawful U.S. permanent resident who hasn’t been charged with any crime. Khalil’s fate — and the larger battle over the First Amendment — concerns all of us.
Can Democrats Get Their Act Together Before Its Too Late?
For more than a century, Democrats were the party of slavery, states’ rights, and Jim Crow, but, gradually and imperfectly, became the party of civil rights, voting rights, and workers’ rights, switching places with Republicans, who once had a strong streak of social progressivism. For 30 years, Florida elected New South governors such as Reubin Askew, Bob Graham, and Lawton Chiles, leaders who believed in education, open government, protecting the environment — crazy stuff like that. Where are they now?
Florida Senate Releases Plan to More Easily Finance Massive Exodus to School Voucher
With massive growth in school voucher programs, the Florida Senate on Friday released a plan that, in part, would seek to address funding concerns as students move between schools. The Senate Pre-K-12 Education Appropriations Committee is scheduled Wednesday to take up the bill (SPB 7030), which would make changes affecting public schools and voucher programs.
A Moratorium Won’t Help the Crappy Utility ITT Left Palm Coast. Painful Rates Might.
There’s no question that water and sewer rates in Palm Coast are among the most expensive in the state. That was true even before the City Council this week approved the sharpest and fastest rate increase in the city’s 25-year history. But neither a building moratorium nor blaming the City Council is a solution for a problem seeded by ITT, the original owner of the utility.
In Rare Rebuke, Palm Coast Planning Board Denies Application for Self-Storage Business on Pine Lakes Parkway
The Palm Coast Planning Board in a 4-2 vote denied an application for an 850-unit, 100,000 square foot self-storage facility on Pine Lakes Parkway, halfway between Belle Terre and Palm Coast Parkway. The facility would have 26 outdoor recreational vehicle and boat storage spaces. The decision is not final, and may not have been reached within the legally permissible parameters of the Planning Board’s responsibilities.
Edward James Is Killed by Lethal Injection for Murders of Betty Dick and her Granddaughter, Toni Neuner in 1993
More than three decades after he murdered a Seminole County woman and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Edward James was put to death by lethal injection Thursday night at Florida State Prison. James, 63, was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. and became the second person executed in Florida this year. Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected attempts by James’ attorney to halt the execution.
County Attorney Al Hadeed, Stalwart of Environmental Stewardship and Local History, Is Retiring in August
County Attorney Al Hadeed announced his retirement come August. He had been the county attorney for nearly a decade until the commission in a dubious move ended his contract in 1998. A different commission re-hired him in 2007. His retirement will remove the single-most important store of institutional memory from county government, though his signature achievements would fill volumes.
No Outright Indications of Mechanical Failures in Plane Crash That Claimed Pilot’s Life in West Flagler
A preliminary investigation of the Feb. 14 plane crash that took the life of pilot 75-year-old Thomas Harvey in western Flagler County reveals that the plane had followed a normal flight path until it suddenly began to drop rapidly, at more than 200 feet per second before impact. There was no evidence of a fire on board and “no indications of a flight control anomaly were discovered,” according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report, suggesting that Harvey may have suffered a medical episode.
City Repertory Theatre Takes Trip to Matters of Faith and Race with ‘Violet’ Musical
In “Violet,” a musical that opens Friday at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, it’s 1964, and Violet is about to travel by bus from her North Carolina home to Tulsa, Okla. The play’s themes are reflected in music that spans gospel, Memphis blues, bluegrass and jazz, with the cast singing to recorded backing tracks. Christian faith is an ongoing theme, as is race, judgment and life’s scars, visible and invisible.
13 Applicants, Including Several Familiar Names, Apply to Fill Palm Coast Council Seat Vacated by Stevens
Thirteen candidates have filed for the District 3 seat on the Palm Coast City Council that Ray Stevens resigned at the end of February. The list includes several familiar names, among them Dave Ferguson, a former appointee to the council, Dave Sullivan, who just ended two terms on the County Commission, Cornelia Manfre, who has had three unsuccessful runs for a council seat or the mayorship, Mark Stancel, who lost a primary vote to Stevens by two votes, and Andrew Werner, who lost to Stevens.
County’s Kim Carney, Crucial Vote on Sales Tax Proposal, Appears to Waver, Putting Beach Plan at Risk
County Commissioner Kim Carney’s support for the county-wide beach-management plan she endorsed just weeks ago appeared to waver when she raised questions about it at last Monday’s commission meeting, potentially putting the entire plan in jeopardy, especially with an undecided Palm Coast looking on.
10 Years on, Palm Coast Finally Breaks Ground on Nerve-Center Maintenance Facility’s $12 Million 1st Phase
Palm Coast hosted a groundbreaking for what will eventually be a nearly 100-acre maintenance facility gathering public works, stormwater and utility departments in one location off U.S. 1, to the northwest of the city. The $12 million phase is the first of three. The City Council in 2016 set the project in motion, but funding has been a challenge, as has the criticism of the project.
Florida Attorney General Threatens Removal of City Council Members Who Blocked Cooperation with ICE
Attorney General James Uthmeier is threatening three Fort Myers city council members with removal from office after they refused Monday to deputize police officers to participate in immigration enforcement. Uthmeier, who became the attorney general a month ago, warned the council that Gov. Ron DeSantis could remove them from office if they didn’t allow the city police to question people about their immigration status and detain those subject to deportation.
Palm Coast Adopts 31% Water and Sewer Rate Increase Over 3 Years, Scaling Back Spending to $512 Million
The Palm Coast City Council today in a 3-1 vote approved a 31 percent water and sewer rate increase to be phased in five increments through October 2028, and to finance a half-billion-dollar spending plan to improve the city’s utility infrastructure, some of which is overcapacity and outdated. The plan scales back an earlier proposal that would have increased rates 36 percent. The new plan calls for one bond issue of $292 million.
Palm Coast Mayor’s Motion for Construction Moratorium Fails in Face of Builders’ Bulky Show of Force
Mayor Mike Norris’s motion for a residential building moratorium this morning, made after nearly an hour of zealous speeches for or against, but mostly for, quickly failed for lack of a second, and applause resounded across the standing-room-only chamber. Some of it was consolation for Norris by his supporters. Most of it was from builders and their supporters.
Mayor Norris In Pattern of Offensive Behavior Toward Staff Since November, Internal Complaints Show
Several city employees and directors have filed a series of complaints and memos to Human Resources documenting behavior by Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris they considered rude, demeaning, offensive, abusive, harassing and inappropriately interfering with administrative duties, in violation of the city charter. The complaints were filed well before three City Council members called for an independent investigation of Norris over his overstepping his authority.