• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Flagler Beach

Evacuations Ordered for Entire Barrier Island and Much of Mainland East of I-95, Curfew Wednesday Night

October 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

Hurricane Milton’s projected path has remained remarkably steady with very slight variations north or south, but with models agreeing on landfall in the Tampa Bay area after midnight Thursday and now mostly merging to agree on a path along or a bit south of I-4, toward Merritt Island and the Space Coast, where it would exit, still as a hurricane, Thursday afternoon. Tropical-storm force winds ranging between 40 and 70 mph are expected in Flagler County, with the possibility of hurricane-force winds especially on the barrier island.

County Has No Intention of Closing SR100 Bridge and Sheriff Says It’s Not His Call Alone. Flagler Beach Had Other Ideas.

October 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The Flagler Beach bridge is not the city's to close, being a state road, except in narrowly defined circumstances. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission in an emergency meeting Monday approved a resolution asking the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to “exercise appropriate measures” regarding the State Road 100 bridge. The resolution does not explicitly ask the sheriff to close the bridge if need be, but the commission’s discussion before voting on the resolution indicated that intent, even though it appears to clash with the county’s emergency declaration, state law, and the sheriff’s own position.

Milton Could Be Among ‘Most Destructive Hurricanes on Record,’ NHC Warns; Flagler Readies for Flooding; Cancellations Multiply

October 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 29 Comments

Hurricane Milton's track according to the European forecast model has it making landfall at Tampa Bay and crossing the peninsula just south of the I-4 corridor. (Tropical Tidbits)

Hurricane Milton, now a monster storm, had sustained winds of 180 miles per hour, making it one of the most intense and dangerous hurricanes ever recorded. It had crashed NHC’s site in early evening Monday, as Florida’s midsection was bracing for a direct hit in the Tampa Bay area and Flagler County was preparing for severe impacts and potential hurricane-force winds that it did not record even during Hurricanes Mathew and Ian in 2016 and 2017.

Hurricane Milton, Gaining Force Quicker, Is Barreling Toward Florida’s I-4 Corridor and Flagler By Midweek

October 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The expected path of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Milton over the next five days according to to the American forecasting model. (Tropical Tidbits)

Eleven days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend, Tropical Storm Milton, expected to be Hurricane Milton by tonight, is rapidly gaining strength and is expected to become a major hurricane by Tuesday. It is mobilizing Florida from Tampa Bay through the north-central midsection of the state, including Flagler County, where severe conditions and impacts are expected. Tropical-storm-force winds are expected in Flagler County late Tuesday night into Wednesday. The rainfall potential over the next five days for coastal Flagler County, including Flagler Beach and Beverly Beach, is in the 8 to 12-inch range, and in the 6 to 8 inch range for inland Flagler.

Flagler Beach Police Investigating ‘Suspicious’ Shooting of a Palm Coast Man on A1A

October 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Police had roped off a section of the dunes on State Road A1A just north of State Road 100. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach Police Department and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office are investigating what they are terming the “suspicious” shooting of a Palm Coast man on State Road A1A early this morning. The man survived and was taken to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach.

Ban on Homeless Sleeping in Most Public Places Among 34 New Florida Laws Going in Effect Oct. 1

September 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

homeless ban

Nearly three dozen new state laws will take effect Oct. 1, including a contentious measure that will limit where homeless people can sleep. Other measures include creating a license plate for Parrot Heads living the life of the late singer Jimmy Buffett and requirements about flood disclosures for home buyers. In all, 34 laws that passed during the 2024 legislative session will take effect, with the homeless changes (HB 1365) drawing the most attention.

Judge Rejects ‘SLAPP’ Suit by Veranda Bay Developer Against Opponents Who’d Challenged County’s Approval

September 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Circuit Judge Chris France

Rejecting what he saw as an attempt to silence an advocacy organization’s right to challenge development, Circuit Judge Chris France on Friday ruled in favor of Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek, ending a year-and-a-half-old lawsuit filed against the group by Palm Coast Intracoastal. France termed PCI’s action a SLAPP suit impermissible under state law, handing the grass-roots group a major victory against the chilling effect of such lawsuits on speech and participation in matters of public concern. PCI is under the umbrella of SunBelt Land Management, the company overseeing Veranda Bay near Flagler Beach.

Annexation Into Flagler Beach of 2,700-Home Development Crosses Key 1st Hurdles, With Some Public Opposition

September 18, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

The proposed annexation of Veranda Bay into Flagler Beach drew a standing-room-only audience at Tuesday's special meeting. The audience had dwindled by the time the commission voted three hours later. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission Tuesday night substantially moved forward with the annexation of Veranda Bay, a 2,700-home development along John Anderson Highway that will double the city’s population, hugely increase its tax revenue but also likely change its identity, its politics and its center of gravity as well as the character of its unincorporated surroundings by the time it’s built out near the middle of the century.

Flagler Beach Prepares to Annex Veranda Bay, Adding 2,700 Housing Units and Doubling City’s Size by 2044

September 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

It's been growing: Veranda Bay, soon likely to be annexed by Flagler Beach. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission holds a special meeting Tuesday to consider the annexation of Veranda Bay, the 800-acre development on the two sides of John Anderson Highway that, when it is built out in 2044, would total 2,735 housing units and 5,100 residents–equal to the current city population–over half a million square feet of commercial space, and a new, walkable downtown. The city’s planning board unanimously recommended approval. Opposition has been limited.

Flagler’s Officials Hope Congressman Mike Waltz Will Be Their Sandman as They Dredge for More Beach Dollars

August 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin, right, had invited Waltz to survey the renourishment project's progress and hear about the pier reconstruction project. Left is Flagler Beach City Commissioner Rick Belhumeur. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County officials asked U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, the Republican whose six-county district includes all of Flagler County and who was visiting Flagler Beach today, to give them help in efforts to federalize larger portions of the 10 miles of shore that still need new beach sand. The county has no money to extend beach renourishment to that portion of the barrier island. But the congressman, who is not big on climate change measures, was reserved, making no promises.

Forbidding a Margaritaville Hotel Rooftop Spike Repeat, Flagler Beach Limits All Building Heights to 35 Feet

August 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

Rooftop features on the Margaritaville Hotel that exceed Flagler Beach's 35-foot height limit triggered a public outcry that in turn led to a rewrite of the city's height ordinance. (© FlaglerLive)

A rewritten ordinance will forbid rooftop bars, dance floors, lounges, or any other public uses on 35-foot-high buildings in Flagler Beach, with the notable exception of the Margaritaville Hotel’s rooftop lounge, whose height city officials permitted by mistake even though it exceeds limits set out in the city charter. The Flagler Beach City Commission last week sharply rejected a recommendation by its own Planning and Architectural Review Board to approve an ordinance that would have allowed some features on buildings to go as high as 49 feet.

Flagler Beach Will Lower Speed Limit to 20 Across the City, Citing Safety and Streets Shared by Many Non-Motorists

August 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

Not for much longer. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission on Thursday voted 4-1 to drop the citywide speed limit to 20, from a variety of higher speeds–30 along some streets, 25 along others. Speeds along State Road A1A and State Road 100 will remain at 25. Whether, and to what extent, the Flagler Beach Police Department will be able to enforce what for many residents and visitors will be a significantly lower speed limit than they’re used to is an unanswered question.

Beach Project Nears Conclusion as It Moves to Pier and Heart of Flagler Beach, With a Few Traffic Disruptions

August 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The extractor makes its way up State Road A1A early this morning. (© FlaglerLive)

The $27 million beach renourishment project in Flagler Beach is nearing conclusion in the next few weeks, well ahead of schedule, at least its latest schedule: the project overall had been delayed a few years. It entails a few traffic disruptions this morning.

An Inside Look at the Army Corps’ Beach Renourishment Along Flagler County’s Shore as It Nears Completion

August 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The beach renourishment project that started in Flagler Beach last month after almost 20 years of planning and waiting is nearing completion at remarkable speed, with operations moving to the area of the Flagler Beach pier and north of it starting in the middle of next week and windup expected this month. The project is little short of the recreation of earth. Here’s a detailed tour for those unable to make it to the project site.

A Mast Arm Crashes Onto State Road 100 at the Foot of the Flagler Beach Bridge, Impeding Traffic

August 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The mast arm fell across the westbound lanes of State Road 100 at North Flagler Avenue in Flagler Beach in mid-morning. (Flagler Beach Police)

It isn’t yet clear why, but a traffic-light-bearing mast stretching over State Road 100 at Flagler Avenue in Flagler Beach, just before the bridge, bent and struck the road this morning around 10:30, causing some havoc with traffic. No one was hurt.

After Flagler Beach’s Margaritaville Hotel Rose Higher Than It Should Have, the City Rewrites Height Ordinance

August 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

The Margarita Hotel in downtown Flagler Beach, as seen from City Hall's Commission Chamber, where commissioners were beginning to hear residents' complaints that the hotel's height was exceeding the city's allowable limits. The city has since rewritten its height ordinance, which is now going through the approval process. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Beach government is re-writing its height ordinance as it applies to commercial buildings after an administrative misstep allowed the Margaritaville Hotel to rise higher than it was supposed to. The city’s planning board reviewed and recommended the new ordinance, which sets out exceptions and conditions for heights exceeding 35 feet. The ordinance now goes to the City Commission for a pair of readings.

Flagler Beach Does Not Intend to Use New Juvenile Curfew as Punishment, But as Safety Measure, Police Chief Says

August 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney, left, explaining the city's new juvenile curfew to the audience at Commissioner Scott Spradley's "Coffee with the Commissioner" event last Saturday. (© FlaglerLive)

Exercising a state law provision, Flagler Beach last month enacted a juvenile curfew, applicable from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. to most children under 16 in numerous circumstances, but Police Chief Matt Doughney said the curfew’s penalty has not been necessary, nor does the city intent to exercise it beyond educating those caught after hours, and keeping them safe.

Alarms Raised Over Beach Dredging Feared Close to Live Fishery Grounds, Endangering Soft Corals and Sea Life

July 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

Bathers in proximity of the pipe bringing dredged sand from a borrow ground 10 miles offshore to the ongoing beach-reconstruction project in Flagler Beach. The dredging is raising concerns about live fishing grounds getting impacted. (© FlaglerLive)

Backed by GPS data, photographs, and eyewitness accounts from the ground and from a fishing vessel, four people–two of them key advocates of the beach renourishment project ongoing in Flagler Beach, two of them fishing-vessel owners–are warning in dire terms that the dredging of over 1 million cubic yards of sand from the sea bottom several miles offshore is raking up live sea life and getting dangerously close to damaging or destroying a unique fishing ground.

Flagler Beach Gets $745,000 TDC Grant for Boardwalk Rebuild That May Never Happen, Besting County and Palm Coast

July 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

It's not Atlantic City, but Flagler Beach's boardwalk is among the more popular gathering spots in the city. (© FlaglerLive)

After three bracing presentations by three local governments but tortuous debate by Flagler County’s Tourist Development Council members, the council on Wednesday approved a $745,000 grant for Flagler Beach to rebuild its boardwalk near the pier even though the city has none of the remaining $3 million to build it. Palm Coast and Flagler County were at the losing end of the three-way pitch for the sizeable grant, which the tourism board offers only every two years.

Flagler Beach Gush of Drainage Complaints Mirror Palm Coast’s as Commission Rebuffs Moratorium

July 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

The houses at 2708 and 2706 South Daytona Avenue in a block where newer houses have been built at significantly higher fill elevations than older onces, resulting in drainage problems that are now leaking into the city commissioners' in-boxes and meetings. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission tabled a proposal to stop construction in flood zones for six months. The administration was proposing the moratorium on using fill at work sites to give it time to rewrite the city’s building regulations, which the city engineer blamed for drainage issues on residential lot. Commissioners disagree, saying the problem is the city’s own non-enforcement of its existing regulations.

Data Company Seeking Easements Discovers Flagler Beach Commissioners Won’t Be Cowed Into Submission

June 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

The significant portion of Veterans Park in Flagler Beach that DC Blox, the data company, was seeking an easement for is demarcated by the sidewalk, going north toward the monument and State Road 100. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission will not grant a data-center company a perpetual easement over almost a third of Veterans Park in the heart of the city as a landing point for undersea internet cables. The company was attempting to save money at the city’s expense. City commissioners explicitly called out the scheme, tabling the proposal until DC Blox returns with a feasible proposal to use South 6th Street as a landing site, without disrupting the city-owned parking lot there or compromising its future value to the city.

Secretive Data Company Getting Stiff Resistance from Flagler Beach Over Perpetual Easement at Veterans Park

June 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

DC Blox, a company planning to build a data center in Palm Coast, wants an easement over the northern segment of Veterans Park in Flagler Beach, beneath which it would "land" undersea internet cables. The city has issues both with the company's terms and its opaque methods. (© FlaglerLive)

DC Blox, the Atlanta-based data company working with Palm Coast to open a data center there, is about to face stiff resistance from some Flagler Beach City Commissioners as it seeks a permanent easement through Veterans Park, one of the city’s iconic treasures. Officials are not happy with the choice they’re being given at Veterans Park, the paltry, one-time compensation the city is being offered–$100,000 per cable landing–or the way DC Blox has attempted to keep negotiations out of the public eye, especially about money.

Flagler Beach Demolishes Any County Plan To Make Barrier Island Pay Higher Tax for Beach Protection

June 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 29 Comments

The rest of the county may love Flagler Beach a bit too much. (© FlaglerLive)

If the county plans any taxing method to pay for beach protection that taxes the barrier island more than it does the rest of the county, Flagler Beach will not sign off.  Four of the five city commissioners are opposed to any such plan, and the fifth is skeptical of the county’s approach. Flagler Beach is especially resentful of the county for even discussing various proposals, however preliminary, without having included Flagler Beach  in the discussions from the start. 

At ‘Monumental Groundbreaking’ for Beach-Rebuilding, Shovels of Praise, But Not a Word About Climate Change

June 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

Shovels against nature: the site of this morning's ceremonial groundbreaking. (© FlaglerLive)

Federal, state and local officials gathered at veterans Park in Flagler Beach under a broiling sun this morning for the groundbreaking of the $27 million beach-rebuilding project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a project 20 years in the making. Officials exchanged heaps of praise, but a principal reason behind the project–climate change–was left unspoken in a state where the words are now banned.

Amendment 5: I’m Homesteaded. I Don’t Need Another Perk To Deepen Inequalities and Hurt Local Governments.

June 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

amendment 5 homestead inflation florida

A yes vote on Florida’s Amendment 5 on this November’s ballot means that every year, the second of two $25,000 exemptions will increase according to the previous year’s inflation rate. The indexing is not only unnecessary–the Save Our Homes cap on taxes already does that–but it’s another pander that will deepen disparities at the expense of local governments, businesses, renters and agricultural properties, all of whom will have to make up for lost revenue. 

Humbling Flagler, DeSantis Vetoes Almost a Third of Local Projects, Including YMCA, Tourist Center, and All Bunnell’s Asks

June 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

Gov. Ron DeSantis with local county and city officials during a visit to Flagler Beach in late 2022, along with Reps. Paul Renner and Tom Leek. DeSantis vetoed almost a third of the appropriations Renner and Sen. Travis Hutson had secured for the county and its cities. (© FlaglerLive)

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a $116.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, after vetoing close to $950 million in spending approved by lawmakers in March. The vetoes include $46.52 million from what had been a record $151 million in appropriations for Flagler County, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach, a heavy loss that dampens earlier hopes for a big haul.

Flagler Seeks New Countywide Tax of Homes and Businesses for Beach Protection, But Cities’ Support Is Key

June 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

flagler beach management plan

In a “dramatic change for the county,” the County Commission on Monday agreed unanimously to seek a new levy on residents and businesses to pay for $7 million in annual beach reconstruction and protection–for ever. It is the county’s surrender to an unavoidable reality: to preserve the beaches, considered to be Flagler County’s greatest asset, residents across the county will have to shoulder a share of the cost in the same way that they pay for garbage services and stormwater protection.

For Flagler County, New Tax to Raise $7 Million a Year to Preserve Beaches Concedes Realities of Climate Change

June 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

flagler beach management plan

Monday’s milestone by the Flagler County Commission–seeking a new funding mechanism to rebuild and maintain the county’s 18 miles of beaches–was the culmination of a four-year process. It would put in place a method to pay for expected beach maintenance for decades as the county faces a new reality of rising seas and relentless erosion. Here’s how consultants arrived at the proposal, and what it would pay for.

Nearly $1 Billion in New Construction Raises Flagler County Taxable Values 12% Over Last Year, a Salve to Budgets

May 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The percentage for 2024 is still a working number, which may increase or decrease slightly. It reflects values that apply to county government's calculations. Values in the cities and for the school board may be different. (© FlaglerLive)

“Humming along” is how Flagler County Property Appraiser Jay Gardner describes the year’s property values: powered by nearly $1 billion in new construction alone, $631 million of it in Palm Coast, taxable property values in Flagler County rose around 12 percent this year, and 13 percent in Palm Coast, about the same as last year. The estimates being finalized this week play a central role in local governments’ budgeting and taxing decisions.

Development Is Devouring the Tree Canopy. Palm Coast and Flagler Officials Say They’re Trying to Catch Up With Protection.

May 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

Trees and vegetation burned today on parts of the nearly 200 acres cleared of trees to make room for a 333-home subdivision called Sabel Preserve along Royal Palms Parkway in Palm Coast. (© FlaglerLive)

There was a bit of a disconnect today in a panel discussion by Flagler County’s five mayors and County Commission chair about how attractive Flagler County is to its residents and those who keep pouring in, and how quickly developments are razing swaths of tree canopy. They spoke of the importance of preserving the region’s quality of life, but also how the torrid growth rate is inevitably bringing congestion, and numerous developments, some of them–as with a 6,000-home plan in Bunnell–colossal.

Palm Coast Mayor Alfin Hints Against Rolled Back Tax Rate This Year, But Says ‘New Sources of Revenue’ Ahead

May 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin at today's "Meet the Mayors" forum at the Flagler County Association of Realtors. He was flanked by Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson and Sheriff's Chief Mark Strobridge. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin today hinted that he may not be supportive of going back to the rolled back property tax rate this year as he was last year. He said there may be also be new, alternative revenue sources that don’t rely on the property tax. But he did not say what those would be except in the most cryptic terms: “Eco Dev.,” he wrote in a text, abbreviating the words for “economic development.” “I will share as soon as I can,” he added.

Sustained ‘Grit and Determination’ Essential to Saving Flagler’s Beaches, Al Hadeed Tells Decision-Makers at Tiger Bay

May 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

County Attorney Al Hadeed was the keynote speaker at Tiger Bay last week. (© FlaglerLive)

In a talk at Flagler Tiger Bay, County Attorney Al Hadeed, who for almost a decade has led the administrative charge to rebuild and protect the county’s beaches, told a sold-out audience at Flagler Tiger Bay that feelings of futility in the face of constant erosion must be countered with “grit and determination” to protect the county’s seaside heritage.

Emergency Order Will Criminalize Walking on Dunes in Flagler County; Flagler Beach’s Experience: Education Works

May 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Flagler Beach has done a good job of keeping people off its dunes, Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed says, but the northern part of the county needs more enforcement. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission on Monday is expected to approve an emergency order that criminalizes walking on dunes anywhere along the county’s 18 miles of shoreline. The penalty may be a $500 fine and 60 days in jail. The order reflects several pulses of urgency as dunes are being rebuilt with fragile vegetation taking root, and as erosion continues its relentless work. Flagler Beach criminalized walking on dunes years ago, but has never arrested anyone for it: education is key, its police chief says.

Data Company Wants to Use Veterans Park to Land Undersea Cables; Flagler Beach Wants Appropriate Payment

May 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

Veterans Park is primarily a hub of people, events and leisure. A data company is hoping to make it, in part, a hub for undersea cables. (© FlaglerLive)

DC Blox, a data company planning a data center in palm Coast–its Florida subsidiary is called DC Orchid–is now proposing to run its undersea internet cable landing site through the north side of Veterans Park in the heart of Flagler Beach, after a proposal to do so at a South 6th Street location displeased city commissioners. The company is also willing to pay more than the one-time, $100,000 fee it had offered, per cable–a sum city commissioners found paltry.

$27 Million Contract Awarded as 9-Month Dredging to Rebuild Beach North and South of Pier Starts in Weeks

May 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

A recently completed beach-rebuilding project in St. Johns County, conducted by Weeks Marine, the contractor that just won a $27 million bid to rebuild 3 miles of Beach north and south of the Flagler Beach pier. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week awarded a $27 million contract to a New Jersey company with extensive beach-rebuilding experience in Florida to rebuild 3.5 miles of severely eroded beach north and south of the Flagler Beach pier. The reconstruction starts in June. By the time the nine-month beach-reconstruction is done in March 2025, the beach will have grown in width by 140 to 180 feet with1.3 million cubic yards of sand. The work will be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

18-Year-Old Man Shot in the Arm Near Flagler Beach Fire Station; Alleged Assailant at Large

May 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

The scene outside the Flagler Beach Fire Department this evening. (© FlaglerLive)

An 18-year-old man was shot in the arm in the vicinity of the Flagler Beach Fire Department and taken to the hospital with the non-life-threatening injury this evening, Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney said. The assailant fled the city and is unknown and at large for now.

Veranda Bay Says It’s Ready to Annex Into Flagler Beach; Its 2,700 Future Homes Will Double City’s Size

April 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

The sun rises on Veranda Bay's relationship with Flagler Beach. Above, a Veranda Bay lot on the Intracoastal. (© FlaglerLive)

Ken Belshe, who represents Veranda Bay, the planned 2700-home development along John Anderson Highway, told Flagler Beach’s city attorney in an email that voluntary annexation is a go. The city had been assiduously pursuing Veranda Bay to annex, amending its annexation ordinance to make it possible, courting Belshe with what amounted to a love letter, and with not a little bit of anticipatory drool, sharply increasing its development impact fees that would disproportionately be generated from Veranda Bay.

Construction Begins on $24 Million, 1.3-Mile Seawall at South End of Flagler Beach, Adding to City’s Clangs

April 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

erosion ian flagler beach

Flagler Beach might as well be known as Construction City for the rest of the year. The second, but nowhere near last, gargantuan project to clang the city began today as the Florida Department of Transportation’s contractors started work on a $24 million, 1.3-mile seawall at the south end of Flagler Beach–what will be the longest sea wall the city has ever known, though it won’t necessarily be visible when completed.

Flagler Beach Will Declare April Sisco Deen Month in Perpetuity as Scholarship Takes Historian’s Name

April 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Sisco Deen, left, with Dan Warren, at a 2010 event organized by the Flagler County Historical Society. Warren, who died in 2011, was the State Attorney for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which includes St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam and Volusia County, starting in 1962, when he took on the KKK and the John Birch Society in St. Augustine, and ended the stranglehold both organizations had on the city, thus bringing about integration. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission on Thursday is set to be the first city to declare April “Sisco Deen Month” in perpetuity, in honor of the archivist and long-time member of the Flagler County Historical Society, who died last August at 83. Deen was a Flagler Beach resident.

Typical House Will Cost $5,000 More in Flagler Beach as City Approves Series of New Impact Fees

April 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Impact fees will help expand such infrastructure as Flagler Beach's sewer plant, above. (© FlaglerLive)

It’ll cost builders $5,000 more to build the typical 1,500 to 2,000-square foot house in in Flagler Beach, a cost that will be passed down to buyers of new homes, as the city commission last week approved an increase in water and sewer impact fees and instituted new impact fees for fire, police, the library and parks and recreation.

No July 4 Fireworks in Flagler Beach Until 2027, But City Intends to Reconquer the Day, and the Skies, That Year

April 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Flagler Beach is overrun with visitors and revelers on July 4. The city is not willing to jeopardize safety by having July 4 fireworks that other public safety agency could not help with anyway. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Beach hasn’t had July 4 fireworks since 2019. It will not have them again until 2027, by which time the pier, the boardwalk and the beach will have been rebuilt, assuming hurricanes, which have a malicious mind of their own, don’t interfere. But the city is intent on staking its place as the home of July 4 fireworks in that future when it is able to host the blasts again, restoring that old tradition.

Land Clearing for 333-Home Subdivision Along Royal Palms Parkway and Town Center Blvd.

April 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 44 Comments

Land-clearing work has started on nearly 200 acres along Royal Palms Parkway and Town Center Boulevard at the southern rim and I-95 along the future development's eastern rim for what will be a 333-home subdivision. (© FlaglerLive)

Crews began clearing land on nearly 200 acres for the future Sabal Preserve subdivision, a development of 333 relatively affordable single-family homes at the northeast intersections of Royal Palms Parkway, Town Center Boulevard and I-95 to the east in Palm Coast.

Eclipse Will Peak at 61% of Sun Cover Around 3 PM In Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell

April 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

2017 eclipse

Locally not as dramatic as the eclipse of 2017, which obscured almost 90 percent of the sun in Flagler County and its cities, Monday’s solar eclipse will obscure 60 to 61 percent of it at peak, just past 3 p.m., in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell. The National Weather Service in Jacksonville predicts only partly sunny and somewhat windy conditions in the Flagler County area. Flagler County and its cities will see a partial eclipse for 2 hours 31 minutes.

Company Planning Huge Data Center in Palm Coast for Undersea Internet Cables, But Flagler Beach Trips Over Easements

April 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 59 Comments

The city-owned parking lot on South 6th Street in Flagler Beach, at beachside, would become the first landing zone for undersea communications cables before the cables fan back out to a data center in Palm Coast. But the city is not willing to provide an easement that would foreclose on the lot's development potential in the future. (Google)

Palm Coast and the county are keeping confidential a planned large data center by an Atlanta-based company, DC Blox, that would be a cable landing station for undersea internet communications cable carrying massive amounts of data. But the company needs easements in two locations in Flagler Beach to make it work, and the Flagler Beach City Commission is not ready to grant one of the two, because it would foreclose development on one of the city’s most valuable properties, and the company is only offering $100,000 per cable per easement.

Flagler Beach Has a New Mayor in King, a New Chair in Spradley, and One Temporarily Ruffled Feather

March 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Sunset for Mayor Suzie Johnston: the one-term mayor received a bunch of roses from the city and a sunset from Scott Spradley, a photographer, who was elected chair of the commission Thursday evening in a rare change of tradition. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission has a new mayor in Patti King following a non-election that saw her seated without opposition as her predecessor, Susie Johnston, chose not to run. And in a snub to tradition he prompted, though it wasn’t intended to be on his behalf, Scott Spradley was elected chair, leaving Commissioner Rick Belhumeur dejected over being passed over.

A $15,000 Plan to Transform the Foot of the Flagler Beach Bridge Into a Passive, Inviting Park

March 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The west side of the Intracoastal, across the waterway, under the Flagler Beach bridge, is overgrown with Brazilian peppers, but a $15,000 project would transform it into a passive park similar to the one on the east side of the bridge. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening is expected to approve a $15,000 plan transform a small area beneath the west side of the Flagler Beach bridge into a passive park with a proposed $7,500 grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District and an equal, matching amount from the city’s general fund. An obscure state land preservation agency owns a small portion of the same land, which may create a complication.

Flagler Beach’s Impact Fee Consultant Counters Home Builders Association’s Criticism Ahead of Commission Decision

March 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Carson Bise addressing the Flagler Beach City Commission last July. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Beach YouTube)

L. Carson Bise, president of the consultancy Flagler Beach government hired to prepare a study proposing a 90 percent increase in the city’s impact fees levied on builders, on Wednesday responded point by point to questions and criticism of the study by the executive officer of the Flagler Home Builders Association, a day before the city commission  is expected to vote on the proposal. Not all the responses appear entirely tenable.

Proposed 90% Increase in Flagler Beach Impact Fees Shadowed by Questions and a Looming Development

March 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Construction of the Margaritaville Hotel in the heart of Flagler Beach as it stood at the end of January. Any new impact fees levied by the city would not apply to the hotel. (© FlaglerLive)

After hearing it first proposed last July and twice opting not to adopt it just yet since, the Flagler Beach City Commission will try again to approve a revised impact fee schedule that would raise water and sewer fees for the first time in 14 years and create new impact fees for parks, police, fire and the library system. But questions about the study rationalizing the new schedule, including from a city commissioner and from the Flagler County Home Builders Association, continue to shadow the proposal. 

Eric Cooley Wins 3rd Term on Flagler Beach Commission in Subdued Election as Trump Takes Presidential Primary

March 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Flagler Beach Commissioner Eric Cooley and Mayor Suzie Johnston, who is stepping down, with their dog Wednesday--a celebrity in Flagler Beach--and with former Mayor Linda Provencher, late this afternoon near the polling station at City Hall. (© FlaglerLive)

Incumbent Flagler Beach City Commissioner Eric Cooley won his third three-year term today in a subdued municipal election framed by the Republican presidential primary, which former president Donald Trump–the only candidate not to have suspended his or her campaign–unsurprisingly won.

Flagler Beach Commission Authorizes Up to $22 Million in Loans for Pier Demolition and Reconstruction

March 15, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

The ruin of the Flagler Beach pier was backdrop to the city's Hang 8 Dog Surfing competition last May. The City Commission on Thursday approved a mechanism to cover loans to keep the pier project moving forward--and also approved the 2024 Hang 8 competition, through a special exception. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday unanimously approved a measure authorizing the city administration to temporarily borrow money internally for pier demolition, design and reconstruction costs now estimated to be $18 million. The debt would be repaid by a tax-exempt financing note, itself to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency dollars.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 24
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
Flagler County Sheriff's Expo 2025

Recent Comments

  • FlaglerLive on Zakrzewski Killed for Murdering His Family, and DeSantis Sets Modern-Day Record for Executions in a Year
  • DaleL on Keep Your ICE Raids Out of Our Schools
  • Dan on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Juan on Keep Your ICE Raids Out of Our Schools
  • Ugly ending on Keep Your ICE Raids Out of Our Schools
  • Fact check everything on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Marek on ‘Yes, We Signed the Damn Thing Because We Really Had To,’ Orlando Mayor Says of Forced Transports for ICE
  • Marek on Keep Your ICE Raids Out of Our Schools
  • Whathehck? on Vance 46 Points Ahead of DeSantis in Early 2026 Presidential Poll
  • Bill on Keep Your ICE Raids Out of Our Schools
  • Laurel on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 1, 2025
  • Pogo on Vance 46 Points Ahead of DeSantis in Early 2026 Presidential Poll
  • Cathy M Poturny on Keep Your ICE Raids Out of Our Schools
  • Laurel on Keep Your ICE Raids Out of Our Schools
  • Laurel on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 3, 2025
  • Pogo on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 3, 2025

Log in