Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, a Democrat who switched from the Republican Party in 2015 and a former Tampa police chief, would like to take stronger action to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But Gov. Ron DeSantis has limited what local officials can do.
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School Chancellor Jacob Oliva Makes English-Proficiency Exam Optional for Now
In a win for advocates of English-language learners, Florida is allowing students to opt out of taking an annual English proficiency exam that is administered in person. Florida has more than 265,000 students for whom English is not a first language. They collectively speak more than 300 languages.
3 Arrested in Shooting Spree at K-Section House Involving 3 Guns and at Least 35 Bullets
Three men were arrested two minutes after they allegedly were involving in a shooting spree at a house on Kalamazoo Trail Thursday evening, a shooting that caused ripples of alarm in the neighborhood.
Two Flagler Beach Residents Arrested After Refusing to Comply With Mask Mandate at Commission Meeting
In a first at a local government meeting, two Flagler Beach residents were arrested Thursday evening after defiantly delaying a Flagler Beach City Commission meeting for 12 minutes, refusing to don a mask, in accordance with a city ordinance, and refusing to leave the commission room on their own. They were not arrested for a mask violation, but for trespassing after warnings.
Punting Responsibility, County Pits Hammock Neighbors Against Each Other Over Its Public Boat Ramp Giveaway
Flagler County government owns the unmarked, unguarded road segment of Pamela Parkway in the Hammock that ends as a boat ramp and that once cost a woman her life as she unknowingly drove into the Intracoastal. The county wants to give away the right of way to two homeowners in exchange for the homeowners building a seawall. Other residents object.
Flagler Government Planning Code Amendment Specifically to Permit Boat Storage Facility in the Hammock
After losing two court decisions, Hammock Harbour, the developer of a planned 240-boat storage facility near Hammock Hardware on State Road A1A, has filed a new application while the county is preparing an amendment to the Land Development Code that would specifically allow the business.
Upholding Requirement, Court Compares Mask Mandate to Smoking Bans in Public Places
A state appeals court Wednesday rejected a challenge to a Palm Beach County requirement that people wear face masks in businesses and other public places to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Controversial Bill Requiring ‘Viewpoint Diversity’ Surveys on Florida Campuses Wins Senate Backing
A controversial Senate proposal that would require Florida state colleges and universities to survey students about “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on campus cleared its first hurdle Tuesday.
18-Year-Old Matanzas High Student Faces Felony Charge Over Song Threatening to Kill Administrator
Joseph Washington, a senior at Matanzas High School, wrote, sang, recorded and posted a song about a Matanzas administrator who’d suspended him over a dress-code violation. The song is a succession of obscenities, racism, sexual put-downs, misogynism, and explicit threats to kill not only the administrator but his family.
Flagler Sheriff Severs All Ties With Popular Christmas With a Deputy, Pivoting to Its Own ‘Shop With a Cop’
Last week, the Sheriff’s Office’s relationship with Christmas With a Deputy abruptly and surprisingly ended. Part of the rationale is entirely logical and reasonable. Part of it appears less so.
Appeals Court Sides With Hammock Association Against County and Developer on 240-Boat Storage Facility
The Hammock Community Association won another victory today as a district court denied the appeal by a developer of a lower court decision quashing redevelopment of a boat yard into a 240-boat storage facility next to Hammock Hardware on State Road A1A.
A Blustering Jonathan Canales Calls Court ‘Satanistic’ as He Loses Latest Appeal of Life-Term Conviction
Jonathan Canales, the 34-year-old former Mondex man serving a life term for shooting his then-girlfriend, accused the prison system of exposing him to beatings and the courts for being “satanistic” and skewed against defendants, but could not show any evidence that he’d had poor legal representation.
7 Days, 11 Additional Covid Deaths in Flagler, Totaling 68 as County Passes 5,000 Cases; 2nd Dose Vaccines Begin
It was the deadliest seven-day stretch of the pandemic for Flagler County. Over the weekend the tally rose to 60, and today the Health Department reported eight additional deaths, all senior citizens, bringing Flagler County’s total to 68. Second-dose shot vaccines were set to begin this week, along with a new batch of first-dose vaccines.
Anti-Vaccine Activists Are Peddling False Claims That Covid Shots Are Deadly, Undermining Vaccination
Anti-vaccine groups are exploiting the suffering and death of people who happen to fall ill after receiving a covid shot, threatening to undermine the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history. In some cases, anti-vaccine activists are fabricating stories of deaths that never occurred.
Sea Ray Plant Will Reopen as Boston Whaler, Bringing Back 300 to 400 Jobs and Annexing Into Palm Coast
Capping a whirling six months of major economic-development victories for Palm Coast, and two and a half years after the Sea Ray plant shut down off Colbert Lane, eliminating some 440 high-paying jobs, the plant will reopen very soon under the banner of Boston Whaler, a boat builder owned by Sea Ray’s parent, Brunswick Corp.
Ask the Doctor: No, Vaccines Contain No Aborted Fetus Tissue, Socializing Without Masks, Politics of Vaccines
Dr. Stephen Bickel answers two dozen new questions, including about the politics and logistics of the vaccine rollout, whether vaccinated people may socialize without masks, and numerous specific questions about the vaccine and beyond it.
Senate Pandemic Preparedness Chairman to Advocates of Covid-Safety Lockdowns: Drop Dead
Businesses will remain open for the economic well-being of the state even as covid-19 cases continue to surge in Florida, the head of a Senate select committee on the pandemic said this week.
“We’ve Let the Worst Happen”: Reflecting on 400,000 Dead
A reporter who’s covered the pandemic from the start examines the toll covid-19 has taken on the country and what to expect from a new president.
Almost 20 Years Later, Construction Begins on The Gardens Along John Anderson, But Lawsuit Looms
Crews began clearing acreage for The Gardens, a development along John Anderson Highway first proposed under a different name almost 20 years ago, but the controversies and obstacles that have dogged the project since continue, including a lawsuit filed just weeks ago.
Daytona State College Campuses Evacuated Following Emailed Threat of ‘Shooting and Explosives’
An emailed threat sent to Daytona State College this morning prompted the immediate evacuation of the school’s buildings in Volusia County and the dispatching of police units to the Palm Coast campus.
Florida Senate Proposal Would Vastly Expand “School Choice” and Use of Tax Dollars for Private Schools
The legislation, filed by Republican Sen. Manny Diaz of Hialeah, would expand eligibility for school-voucher programs, consolidate existing school-choice programs and allow parents to use taxpayer-backed education savings accounts for private schools and other costs.
Sentenced to Life in Prison for Shooting Girlfriend, Jonathan Canales Returns to Court to Plead Leniency
Jonathan Canales was sentenced to life in prison for the attempted murder of Tiffany Norman in the Mondex in 2014 as her three children slept. He will represent himself when he appears before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins next week, arguing defendants’ last hope: that his attorney had been ineffective.
Flagler Grand Jury Issues 4 Indictments for Murder, 2 More in Drug Deaths, 2 in Killing of Deon O’Neal Jenkins
The indictments of Allyson Dawn Bennett, 39, and Javian Neesmith, 21, are Flagler County’s second and third for murder stemming from the death of individuals from drug overdoses–a relatively new, rapidly expanding but also increasingly controversial trend in criminal prosecutions that began with the emergence of the fentanyl epidemic.
Surgeon General: No Idea When Florida Will Get More Vaccines, Or How Many Doses
Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said in the statewide phone call that he does not know when additional “first doses” of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be sent to the state or how many doses would be in a potential future delivery.
Joe Biden’s Inauguration, and Amanda Gorman’s Beacon
President Joe Biden’s moving and restorative inauguration was upstaged by Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, whose words reflected the unvanquished voice of the American we idealize, the possible and the impossibly scaled in this country of the “battered and beautiful.”
AdventHealth Palm Coast Will Build a $100 Million, 100-Bed Hospital on Palm Coast Parkway
In a surprise, AdventHealth officials today announced the system will build a $100 million, 100-bed hospital on the south side of Palm Coast Parkway, adjacent to Market Street, the assisted living facility, with construction starting in September.
Flagler’s Covid Deaths Jump by 4, to 57; 800 New Vaccines Delivered; Second Dose Shipment Due Friday
As has become almost ritualistically routine since before Christmas, grimmer reports of covid’s toll are colliding with more hopeful if fitful news. That was the case again today in Flagler with a new vaccine shipment and the first decline in confirmed covid cases in five weeks, though case loads remain very high.
Under Threat of Lawsuit and Sharp Public Opposition, Palm Coast Council Rejects Palm Harbor Cell Tower
Ending one of the most furious backlashes against a city initiative in recent years, the Palm Coast City Council voted 5-0 to deny the city’s own contractor a proposed lease to build a 150-foot cell tower in the heart of the city-owned Palm Harbor golf course.
Final 4-1 Vote Clears Lakeview Estates Development in Place of Matanzas Golf Course, With Yet More Restrictions
The city’s template for the Matanzas golf course prizes compromise and pragmatism over an all-or-nothing approach–pleasing neither side entirely, but also carving out enough room for reasonable development within ample green bands, and without seriously endangering existing residents’ views.
5 Reasons to Wear a Mask Even After You’re Vaccinated
Even people who are receiving their second dose of the vaccine are choosing to keep wearing masks, as much to protect themselves as to protect others, since the vaccines may not prevent you from spreading the coronavirus and herd or community immunity is still a very long way off.
Jared W. Douglas, 19, Arrested in Stabbing at Holland Park After Week of Posturing Texts
Jared Wayne Douglas, a 19-year-old resident of 23 Blare Castle Drive, was arrested Sunday night and charged in the stabbing of a 15-year-old boy at Holland Park. The 15 year old was air-lifted to a hospital in Orlando. He is expected to survive.
FBI Arrests Army Veteran Allegedly Plotting Attack on Pro-Trump Demonstrators in Tallahassee
Federal authorities have arrested a self-described anarchist on charges related to his alleged attempt to recruit the “like-minded” to violently disrupt the expected gathering by supporters of President Trump at the Florida Capitol through Inauguration Day.
Biden Terms Vaccine Rollout ‘A Dismal Failure’ as He Unveils Pandemic Response Plan
During his Thursday speech outlining what he’s dubbed the “American Rescue Plan,” Biden made several claims about the current response to the pandemic and how it’s affecting Americans. Statements are fact-checked and given context.
As Covid Patient Load Keeps Breaking Records at AdventHealth Palm Coast, ER Director Gives Inside Look
As the Covid-19 patient load reaches 35–the hospital is licensed for 113 beds–Dr. Paul Mucciolo, AdventHealth Palm Coast’s ER medical director until last year, and the Chief of Staff since, details the hospital’s response and challenges to a record surge.
Law Enforcement on Alert in Tallahassee In Response to FBI Warning of “Armed Protests” Ahead of Biden Inaugural
State and local law enforcement agencies in Tallahassee are bracing for potential protests at the Florida Capitol this weekend and early next week, although officials say there are no specific threats right now.
Ask the Doctor: Securing Your 2nd Vaccine Dose, Why So Little Supply, Death or Adverse Reactions
Dr. Stephen Bickel answers questions about the short supply of Covid vaccines, the potency of the first shot and what happens if the second shot is delayed, where to get the second shot, and specific questions on the vaccine’s content, adverse reactions and other issues.
2 Covid Deaths Raise Flagler’s Total to 52; State Emergency Management Chief Rips Federal Vaccine Rollout
Bob Snyder, who heads the state-controlled Flagler County Health Department, said he expects some more doses next week, but he doesn’t know how many, while the head of state emergency management blamed the federal government’s rollout, detailing its obstacles, in unusually blunt language for a member of the DeSantis administration.
Sedition Is Not a 1st Amendment Right, and There’s No Comparison With BLM Marches
Mob participants claim they were only exercising their First Amendment right to protest, and that Black Lives Matter protests and riots didn’t draw the same scrutiny. Both narratives are factual and moral frauds that hide behind liberal rationales to perpetrate reactionary lies and justify the unconscionable.
Leading Senate Republican Says DeSantis Hasn’t Been Forthcoming About Flawed Vaccine Rollout
Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, said during a meeting of the Senate Health Policy Committee that there is statewide frustration over the vaccine rollout and that DeSantis administration officials need to provide the public with a “clear direction” about the state’s plans.
10 Republicans Join Democratic Majority to Impeach Trump for 2nd Time Over Insurrection; Waltz Votes No
U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, the Republican representing Flagler County and surrounding areas, voted No. He had been among 125 Republican members of Congress and others beyond Congress baselessly calling the election of Joe Biden fraudulent.
Covid Vaccine Now Available to 65 and Over at 4 Publix Stores in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach
Publix Supermarkets is making “a limited number of Covid-19 vaccines” available at four Publix stores in Flagler County starting now. But as has been the case with vaccines offered by local health departments in Flagler and elsewhere, all available vaccine appointments were snapped up as soon as they were made available.
Big Savings and Unexpected Revenue Allow Palm Coast to Hire 2 More Cops and Restore Raises Despite Covid
Palm Coast’s ultra-conservative fiscal management is allowing the city to hire two additional sheriff’s deputies, restore employee raises, and restore the city manager’s own raise, which he had declined last year on the approach of Covid’s era of uncertainty.
Covid and Quarantines Force Flagler Beach City Commission to Cancel Its Meeting Thursday
After its interim city manager and a building department employee tested positive for the coronavirus, the city got a recommendation from the health department to not hold the meeting as some city officials who may have been exposed to infected personnel are required to be under quarantine until the weekend.
Ask the Doctor: Visions of Vaccines Dance In Our Heads
FlaglerLive today is fortunate and proud to be launching the “Ask the Doctor” column, by Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director at the Flagler and Volusia Counties Health Departments. You are invited to submit your Covid, vaccine and other medical-related questions. Dr. Bickel will answer them here on a regular basis.
‘Zero Doses’ of Vaccines for Flagler This Week, ‘Few If Any’ Over Next 5 as Covid Surges Amid Warnings of Bleak Months
The state is sending what little supply of vaccines it has elsewhere for the next five weeks: The Villages qualify, Flagler does not. So even people due for their second shot may not get it as Flagler County’s Covid numbers surge to their worst levels yet. Bob Snyder, who heads the Flagler County Health Department, spoke as if at a wake when he updated government officials this morning, and in many ways it was.
Flagler Commissioners Again Give Defiant Mullins a Pass as Dance’s Call to Talk of ‘Behavior’ Gets Tepid Reception
County commissioners–who three times last year refused to discipline or censure Mullins–again mostly declined to address his recent talk of beheading liberals or sponsoring a trip to Washington, with one exception: newly-seated Commissioner Andy Dance recommended a commission “retreat” to discuss “commission norms, expectations and behavior or procedures.”
Ken Bryan, the Flagler Beach City Commissioner, Says Joe Mullins Violated Oath By Sponsoring Trip Before Insurrection
Addressing the Flagler County Commission this morning, and with Joe Mullins on the dais, Bryan said Mullins should resign his commission seat after calling on fellow-citizens to be beheaded and sponsoring a group of dozens to Washington last week, where the Capitol was overrun by a mob in an insurrection that went from rhetorical to violent.
Jon Netts, Longest-Serving Palm Coast Mayor and Council Member, the City’s Towering Founder, Dies at 78
Jon Netts, whose 15 years on the Palm Coast City Council shaped the young city and set the standard for measured, commanding and dignified leadership, died this evening at AdventHealth Palm Coast of complications from Covid-19. He was 78.
A Day of Grim Covid Records in Flagler County and the Nation as Local Hospital Is in ‘Red Status’ and Vaccines Dry Up
Flagler County’s coronavirus case load broke another record this week for the fourth successive week, with a quarter of the pandemic’s cases confirmed in just the last four weeks, overburdening local hospitals and triggering a “red status” there, meaning a triage system for certain procedures. Their vaccine supply depleted, Flagler officials have “no idea” when it will be replenished.
2 Arrested in ‘Targeted’ Circle K Murder in 2019 Following Extensive Investigation of 15 Months
A 15-month-long murder investigation the Flagler County sheriff called “the most extensive” in county history ended Thursday with the arrest of two men charged in the hit-style shooting at the Circle K on Palm Coast Parkway in October 2019. The shooting left Deon O’Neal Jenkins, 25, dead, and a friend injured.