Larry Newsom is short-listed as an “alternate” after four candidates for the Putnam County Administrator job, though he says he’s not likely to take it.
Flagler Beach
Hypocrites on Crack
Thursday evening, Flagler Beach Commissioners Jane Mealy, Marshall Shupe and Joy McGrew flipped off voters and voted for a prohibition on medical pot dispensaries.
Countering 70% of Its Own Voters, Flagler Beach Prepares to Ban Medical Pot Dispensaries Outright
The City Commission this evening takes up an ordinance that would ban medical marijuana dispensaries anywhere in the city. The city fears not doing so would turn it into a pot hub.
At Flagler Beach Pier, A Modest Re-Dedication For a Truncated Treasure
Officials from three governments gathered Saturday morning for a warm-hearted ribbon-cutting at the beleaguered Flagler Beach Pier, with eyes on a future structure.
Flagler Beach Again Offers Free Parking And Shuttles On and Off Island All Day July 4
Flagler Beach made arrangements to provide free parking at the Food Lion on SR100 and free shuttle service in and out of the city from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4, with additional free parking at Santa Maria del Mar Church.
First Cast, In Full Glory
Flagler Beach photographer and attorney Scott Spradley was by the Pier at dawn this morning to capture images of fishermen’s first cast. He did, superbly, and tells the story of the picture.
Coming to Flagler Beach: No-Parking Barriers and Silt Mounds to Stop A1A Washouts
The city and the state transportation department will block off portions of A1A to parking and build silt mounds to soak up water, though some commissioners are skeptical of silt’s effectiveness.
637-Ft. Flagler Beach Pier Re-Opens Saturday, 8 Months After Hurricane Matthew Lobotomy
The Flagler Beach Pier will reopen Saturday as emergency repairs end, to the joys of a city that’s lived without its iconic amenity since Hurricane Matthew sheared 163 feet from its end and made it unstable.
More Washouts Plague Flagler Beach’s A1A as Commissioners Wonder: Another Year and Half Of This?
Heavy rains caused more washouts of the low dunes and rock revetments along State Road A1A this afternoon in what is becoming a recurring problem with almost every heavy rain event.
Flagler-Palm Coast’s Crime Rate Falls Modestly in 2016, But Domestic Violence Up 8.1%
The crime rate has been relatively flat for the past three years, and significantly down from previous years even as the county has been growing by about 2,000 people a year since the end of the recession.
Saturday From Hell: 3 Stabbings, 8 Arrests Across Flagler As Domestic Violence Stresses Sheriff’s Initiative
Sheriff’s deputies in Palm Coast and police in Flagler Beach and Bunnell were seemingly overrun with violent incidents in barely a 24-hour period this weekend, two weeks from a domestic-violence summit.
Flagler County’s Homeless Numbers Fall to 10-Year Low But Affordable Rents Elusive
The number of homeless fell to 104 people in January, compared to 104 the previous year, as the economy has improved. But the lack of affordable rents remain a challenge.
Scott Vetoes Money for Flagler’s 2nd County Judge, Bunnell Bypass, Flagler Beach Sewers
The more than $300 million in vetoes are to make up for money restored to Visit Florida, economic development, and a bump in per-student funding.
Flagler Beach Pier Cleared for July 4 Fireworks, Which Will Go Off Even If Burn Ban Persists
Flagler County Fire Chief has cleared the July 4 fireworks for takeoff while an engineering firm certified the Flagler Beach pier’s safety for the event.
Profile In Resilience: Cindy Dalecki’s Journey From Loss Back to Radiance
Cindy Dalecki, one of the most recognizably sunny personalities and marketing executive in Flagler Beach and Palm Coast, describes her ongoing recovery from losing her husband and companion of 28 years.
Marketing 2 Go, Curley Tail Design and the Branding Box Move to Ripple Coworking in Flagler Beach
Marketing 2 Go, Dalecki’s 7-year-old company and with Kim Fitzgerald’s Curley Tail Design, who together run The Branding Box, moved to Ripple Coworking, a startup in a venerable building.
Flagler Beach, a.k.a. Ocean City, Gets 9 New Lifeguard Towers, All On Strength of Volunteers
The nine lifeguard towers, on a design from towers in Ocean City, Md., are expected to more than double the life of the structures. Commissioner Rick Belhumeur led the all-volunteer effort.
As Details Emerge, Mother Describes Father’s Execution-Style Shooting of Son During an Argument
The victim’s mother described her husband Bobby Gore, 74, walking out to the porch, pointing his gun at her son Lucas Gore’s head, and firing two shots, killing him. Mother and son had been arguing.
Father Charged With 1st Degree Murder After Allegedly Shooting Son Dead In Flagler Beach
Bobby Gore is in police custody Sunday morning following the midnight shooting of his son in a domestic dispute at 1002 South Daytona Avenue in Flagler Beach.
Progressive Voices Rise to Resist Locally as Flagler Beach “Rally By the Sea” Rebukes Trumpism
Saturday’s rally of progressive-liberal organizations in Flagler Beach, organized by a group barely a few months old, suggests the local Republican sweep is not as total as it appears, or Trumpism the only movement in town.
Flagler Beach Unanimously Approves Marina Settlement That May End 7-Year Suit
It’s now up to Howard Sklar to sign off on the settlement agreement. His attorney said the marina, idle for almost two decades, could be operating soon, welcoming boats, building and repairing them.
Flagler Beach Pier Repair to Last a Bit Longer and Cost More as Engineers Test Loads
The Flagler Beach Pier was set to fully open May 1, but the opening date has been pushed back to the end of May, and engineering work, which won;t affect the date, will add up to $45,000 in costs.
Along A1A, Protective Plants Replace Rock Art as Volunteers Pilot Adopt-A-Dunes Program
Flagler Beach City Commissioner Joy McGrew is leading an all-volunteer effort to dug up plants from properties of willing owners along A1A and replanting them on dunes as protection against people using them as walkovers.
Badcock Furniture Will Fill Old Food Lion Space in Flagler Beach, Ending 8-Year Drought
Badcock Furniture will open in mid-summer in Flagler Square, as will a sweet shop, completing a remarkable revival of that commercial strip eight years after it had become a gaping hole for business.
In Unprecedented Flagler Beach Town Hall, Old Kings Elementary Students Become All Stars of Ideas
Mayor Linda Provencher’s Kids Town Hall drew a standing-room-only crowd, almost the entire city commission and the city’s top staff for a lively hour of ideas and suggestions from Old Kings Elementary students.
2017 Flagler Jail Bookings and Sheriff’s Crime and Incident Reports (Archived)
Archived 2017 Flagler County jail bookings, day and night shift commanders’ crime and incident reports investigated by Sheriff’s deputies and archive.
State Transportation Department Asks Flagler Beach Police to Crack Down on A1A Rock Art
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom said police officers will not suddenly arrest people who build rock structures on A1A, but will use a more friendly, educational approach.
Storm Damages Newly Repaired Dune Areas Along A1A, Stressing Urgency of Permanent Fix
Tuesday’s storm left various parts of A1A’s dunes–what’s left of them–damaged, but from an unexpected direction: officials have been fearing a breach from the ocean. The problem this time was rainwater pushing out.
David Dalecki, True Floridian and Gentle Soul, 1969-2017
Dave Dalecki’s quiet, gentle soul will be remembered by everyone he ever met and beyond for his deep involvement in his community and elsewhere. He is survived by (among others) his wife of 23 years, Cindy, his sons Dalton and Tyler.
Flagler Beach Pastor Who Defrauded Church Members of Hundreds of Thousands Blames Others As He’s Sentenced to 7.5 Years
Wesley Brown, the 54-year-old pastor who’d won the trust of church members only to defraud them, sought to lay blame on others even as he was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, after facing a potential 100 years.
After 11 Years, Flagler Beach’s First Fridays Events Get Their First Written Policy
The proposed four-page policy formalizes what had been verbally agreed to, or assumed, over the years, but doesn’t change the focus on favoring local businesses while outlining documentation requirements.
O’Brien Beach-Funding Proposal Prevails, And Flagler Beach Gets $2 Million Pledge
County Commissioner Donald O’Brien’s proposal to shift more money toward beach restoration prevailed today in a joint meeting of the County Commission and the county’s tourism board, and the county administrator pledged to allocate $2 million to Flagler Beach’s needs.
Flagler Tourism “Promotions” Slush Fund Jumps 76% in 3 Years, And We’re Counting Pennies For Beach Repairs?
Paying for critical repairs to Flagler County’s beaches is hostages to a tourism budget’s scandalous and unaccountable promotions spending, which the county administration wants to increase despite the emergency.
Flagler Beach’s Mary Ann Dominessy Reese, Who’d Made Her Battle With ALS Unsparingly Public, Dies at 63
For more than two years Mary Ann Dominessy Reese, a retired teacher, had painstakingly chronicled her decline through ALS on a widely read Facebook page, organizing campaigns and fund-raisers, along the way.
Revealing Look at How Flagler Beach Commission, in Closed-Door Meeting, Settled Wrongful Arrest Claim
Vassili Mironov had sued the Flagler Beach Police Department for $89,000 after his arrest at Finns for a fight he says he did not start. He got $6,000 in a settlement that revealed how divided city commissioners arrived at their 3-2 vote.
City Elections: Flagler Beach Voters Stay With Shupe and Carney, Bunnell Elects John Sowell and Re-Elects Rogers
Flagler Beach voters gave Marshall Shupe and Kim Carney solid re-election numbers, while Bunnell voted out Bonita Robinson, replacing her with John Sowell, and re-electing John Rogers to three-year terms.
Flagler Beach Could Have an 1,100-Foot Pier, But On Concrete, and Not Before 2021
Concepts of a future Flagler Beach pier were unveiled, projecting greater length but less wooden rusticity, and still a lot of uncertainty regarding cost. The earliest date for a new pier would be 2021.
Heads Scratch as Mysterious Lift-Boat Appears Near Shore in Flagler Beach
An oil-rig like platform that’s actually a “liftboat” appeared near shore, traveling south, in Flagler Beach tonight, and stopped, raising pylons and more questions than answers.
Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell Officials May Face Stronger Financial Disclosure Requirements
Financial disclosure forms filed by elected city officials are cursory compared to the detailed forms filed by county and other officials. That may soon change as the Legislature considers extending the stricter requirements.
Flagler Beach Pier To Be Repaired and Opened By May 1, But More Concrete Plans in Its Future
The $918,000 contract will stabilize the Flagler Beach pier but will not restore the 160 feet it lost during Hurricane Matthew. That’ll be the long-term fix, which may entail pouring concrete.
Flagler Beach Is Proposing Draconian Restrictions and Prohibitions on Drones
Flagler Beach would even further than an Orlando ordinance that just passed, banning drones over public buildings, parks, assemblies and other places absent permission from the city.
Behind Woman’s Suicide in Flagler Beach, Despair and a Last Evening With Caring Strangers
Janis Washburn, the 68-year-old Palm Coast resident found dead in the Intracoastal last week, had spent the last three hours of her life with a group of strangers who took her in to cheer her up. She had long spoken of suicide.
Tax Collector’s New Branch Office in Flagler Beach Compelled By Rising Traffic–and Guns
The new tax collector’s branch at the Food Lion shopping center in Flagler Beach will be the exclusive location for the boom in concealed weapons permitting, and possibly a commercial seed for the long-moribund Flagler Square.
Qualifying Over in Flagler Beach and Bunnell March 7 Elections, Still Time to Register to Vote
Both cities’ incumbents and one challenger in each have qualified–Marshall Shupe, Kim Carney and Paul Eik in Flagler Beach, Bonita Robinson, John Rogers and John Sowell in Bunnell, with two seats in play in each government.
In Flagler Again, Gov. Scott Issues $15.8 Million For Beach Fix in 4 Counties, $5.4M for Flagler
The $15.8 million is not necessarily new money but includes at least $5.3 million Flagler County has been lobbying for to rebuild dunes. Gov. Scott made the announcement at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park’s beach.
Short-Listed for Top Job in Jackson County, Flagler Beach Manager Newsom Says He’s Not Interested
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom, who’s been in the middle of a different job-hunt swirl this week, had applied for the Panhandle job last summer, just six months into his job locally, as a back-up plan, he said.
Flagler Beach Approves $40 Million State Plan to Rebuild Dunes, With Sea Wall at City’s North End
In a surprising shift, Flagler Beach City Commissioners agreed to a state plan to build a sea wall at the city’s north end in exchange for a beach management plan the state would pay for.
County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin Apologizes to Flagler Beach Officials Over Interference
Commissioner Nate McLaughlin apologized in person to Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom and City Commissioners Jane Mealy and Marshall Shupe over comments he claimed were misconstrued.
Why Is the County Chairman Meddling in Flagler Beach’s Business, and Why Was Flagler Beach’s Manager Job-Hunting in Bunnell?
Flagler Beach officials were perplexed and angered by County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin’s apparent interference in their city manager’s–and their city’s–business at a time when county and city are trying to work out difficult issues.
Janis Washburn, 68, Found Dead in Intracoastal Near Hidden Treasures By Flagler Beach Bridge
Janis Washburn, 68, of Palm Coast’s E-Section, was detected by a jogger on the Flagler Beach bridge just before 11 a.m. She had lived in Palm Coast since 2008.