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Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News

The 7th Judicial Circuit, Which Includes Flagler County, Is Getting Two New Circuit Judges, Initially by Appointment

August 25, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

The Flagler County courthouse. Flagler County, along with Putnam, Volusia and St. Johns, form the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which is getting two new circuit judges. Where they will be seated is not yet known. (© FlaglerLive)

Following a determination by the Florida Supreme Court and ratification by the Legislature last June, the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which includes Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam counties, is getting two additional circuit judgeships, in addition to the 27 existing ones. The nine-member Judicial Nominating Commission for the Seventh Circuit, which currently has no representation from Flagler or Putnam counties, is accepting applications for the two judgeships until 5 p.m. on Sept. 15.

23-Year-Old Man Facing 15 Charges, Including Carjacking, Following 140 MPH Chase and Crash at SR100

August 25, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Malachi Emmanuel Rogers.

Malachi Rogers, 23, is at the Flagler County jail facing 15 criminal charges, six of them felonies, one of them a first-degree felony charge of carjacking, and another a second-degree felony charge of fleeing police with wanton disregard for others’ safety, stemming from an incident that unfolded Sunday morning on I-95 and at the intersection with State Road 100 in Palm Coast.

NASCAR’s Erik Jones Brings His Love of Reading, and a Book-Vending Machine, to Rymfire Elementary

August 25, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Erik Jones on Friday, doing one of his favorite things away from the track: reading to children. (© FlaglerLive)

NASCAR driver Erik Jones and his foundation, in partnership with AdventHealth, have been donating book-vending machines to schools in Volusia County and new Flagler County as a literacy initiative, with Jones appearing at schools to read to students, as he did Friday at Rymfire Elementary.

Zohran Mamdani Exposes Nullity of Democrats and Republicans

August 23, 2025 | Pierre Tristam | 15 Comments

On the bus with Zohran Mamdani. (Facebook)

The reaction by Democrats and Republicans to the Zohran Mamdani phenomenon in New York City has been like an MRI of both our parties’ cancerous hopelessness. Democrats in their wilderness should be championing energetic countercurrents who could slow the slide and focus the party on everyday challenges. But instead of capitalizing on a new voice that champions the disaffected, Democrats are competing with Republicans in a race to the muckiest.

Fendrick Gabaud, 40, Would-Be Firefighter for Flagler County Fire Rescue Dies During Physical Test at Bunnell Training Tower

August 22, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

The training tower on Justice Lane in Bunnell. (Flagler County)

Fendrick Gabaud of Ormond Beach, 40, who was being assessed for recruitment as a Flagler County Fire Rescue firefighter, died this morning at the John R. Keppler Jr. Fire Training Center on Justice Lane in Bunnell. Gabaud was part of a group of seven recruits who were going through a standard physical agility test at 10 this morning. The Bunnell Police Department is investigating.

Rookie Marineland Mayor Dew Tries Firing Veteran Town Manager and Town Attorney. His Own Appointee Stops Him.

August 22, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Marineland Mayor Douglas Dew at Thursday's meeting of the town commission. (© FlaglerLive)

In another gust of dysfunction underscoring Marineland’s increasingly nonsensical status as a town, rookie Mayor Douglas “Dewey” Dew on Wednesday and Thursday attempted but failed to fire Town Manager Suzanne Dixon and Town Attorney Dennis Bayer, starting with an Aug. 20 email “request” that they resign immediately. He sent the email unilaterally, without the authority of the commission and outside of a public meeting. Jessica Finch, whom Dew unilaterally appointed to the commission in May, refused to go along with the firing and was critical of Dew’s methods.

Flagler County Issues Statement Explaining Letter About New Tax to Be Levied on Barrier Island Property Owners

August 22, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

The beach south of the Flagler Beach pier shortly after it was renourished in July 2024. Flagler County is hoping to extend similar, if less extensive, renourishment efforts across all 18 miles of county beaches. (© FlaglerLive)

On Aug. 15, the Flagler County government administration issued a letter to property owners in the unincorporated portion of the barrier island alerting them to a possible special tax the county would be enacting in the future to raise money for beach protection. There would be no levy in 2025-26, but there will likely be one the following year, pending a study. The letter raised concerns among property owners. The county administration today issued a clarifying statement and Q & A.

Flagler County Eyes Land Buy As Jacoby’s JDI Seeks to Offload 35 Acres Previously Slated for Development in Marineland

August 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

With Atlanta-based developer Jim Jacoby of JDI Marineland looking to offload properties in Marineland, Flagler County government and three state agencies are working to acquire 35 acres of JDI land in a joint purchase coordinated by the North Florida Land Trust. Flagler County would partner with three state agencies to buy the land, which is zoned for mixed use–housing or commercial. There’s long been rumors and speculation that JDI would build up the place, transforming the character of Marineland.

In a Plea, David Chenowith, 33, Is Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison, 20 on Probation for Sex Crimes Involving Minor

August 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

David William Chenowith in his state prison mugshot (he was released in 2019) and in his most recent jail mugshot.

Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols on Wednesday sentenced David Chenowith, a 33-year-old former resident of Langdon Drive in Palm Coast, to 14 years in prison followed by 20 years on sex-offender probation–an extremely restrictive sanction–following a guilty plea on eight charges related to the sexual abuse of children.

Former Assistant Public Defender Regina Nunnally Leads ‘Know Your Rights’ Workshop for Local Renters on Aug. 26

August 21, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The no nonsense Regina Nunnally in arguments to a jury during a 2022 trial, when she was an assistant public defender in Flagler County. (© FlaglerLive)

Former Assistant Public Defender Regina Nunnally, an inspirational speaker, author, preacher and lawyer with Community Legal Services, will lead a free “Know Your Rights” workshop for renters on Aug. 26 at Flagler Cares’ Flagler County Village at Palm Coast’s City Marketplace. The workshop will offer essential information for renters on their legal protections and responsibilities.

Feral Hogs, A Recurring Flagler Scourge, ‘Desecrate’ Cemetery

August 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Wild hogs' damage at Craig-Flagler Palms Cemetery off Old Kings Road. (Craig-Flagler Palms for FlaglerLive)

Feral hogs have been causing what one visitor called “desecration” of Craig-Flagler Palms’s cemetery grounds. It’s been a recurring problem in Palm Coast and Flagler County, and an increasing one, as development continues to diminish habitats. The cemetery has taken concerted action to bait the hogs off the grounds, but neither Palm Coast (the cemetery is outside the city’s jurisdiction) nor Flagler County will intervene.

House Rep. Sam Greco Sets Eyes on Palm Coast’s Needy Utility Infrastructure and Other Coming Asks

August 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

House Rep. Sam Greco, right, speaking with Brian Roche, Palm Coast's utility director, at the end of the tour of Waste Water Treatment Plant 1 in the Woodlands this morning, with Mayor Mike Norris and Deputy Utility Director Peter Roussell following close behind. Council member Charles Gambaro and Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston, among others, are in the group further back. (© FlaglerLive)

Florida House Rep. Sam Grego’s visit to Palm Coast’s Waste Water Treatment Plant 1 in the Woodlands this morning had two purposes. The junior House member who replaced Paul Renner got a chance to see where some of the $5 million appropriation he helped secure in the last session will go. And he was taken on a tour of other locations that are part of the city’s asks for the coming session, including the congestion-prone intersection of Town Center Boulevard and Old Kings Road, and drainage and capacity improvements for stormwater in the flood-prone Woodlands.

Ex-US Attorney Roger Handberg Returns and Oprah’s Stedman Headlines Flagler Tiger Bay’s New Speaker Series

August 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Greg Davis, left, who was honored with the Civility Award, with Tiger Bay President Jay Scherr. (© FlaglerLive)

A former U.S. attorney, a human space flight expert, a promoter of business with Israel, and Oprah Winfrey’s besty for the holiday event: that’s the lineup of speakers Flagler Tiger Bay announced Tuesday evening at its annual wine tasting and grand “reveal” evening at the Palm Coast Community Center. The lineup is part of the club’s seventh year.

Commissioner Kim Carney Recasts Decisions in Response to Library Board Chair’s Criticism of Cutbacks

August 19, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

County Commissioner Kim Carney. (© FlaglerLive)

Recasting her decisions in a different light, Flagler County Commissioner Kim Carney Monday took issue with criticism by the chair of the county’s Library Board of Trustees of County Commission decisions about the library system, and about the absence of commission members from Library Board of Trustees meetings all year. 

In a Reversal, Palm Coast Council Unanimously Rejects Hargrove Lane Rezoning That Would Have Allowed Concrete Plant

August 19, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Hargrove Grade, above, will remain free of concrete mixing trucks for now as the Palm Coast City Council rejected an application to rezone 37 acres to heavy industrial. (© FlaglerLive)

Reversing a vote two weeks ago, the Palm Coast City Council today unanimously rejected the rezoning of 37 acres on Hargrove Lane from light industrial to heavy industrial, requested by a concrete batch plant company. Council members did not want to set that precedent, or to jeopardize the thriving commercial businesses along Hargrove Grade and Hargrove Lane, which they said would far outnumber in jobs whatever jobs a concrete batch plant might bring.

Greg Hansen Will Not Run Again in 2026, Ending Decade of Pragmatism on Flagler County Commission

August 19, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Flagler County Commissioner Greg Hansen, in office since January 2017, will complete his term but will not defend his seat in 2026. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Commissioner Greg Hansen had somewhat of a surprise for his colleagues and the public at the end of the commission meeting Monday evening: he announced that he will not run again. His term ends in 15 months, and he intends to fulfill it “with a bang.” Then-Gov. Rick Scott appointed him the seat in January 2017 following the death of Commissioner Frank Meeker the previous July. As the local political atmosphere got more polarized, Hansen over the years became more pragmatic and moderate.

Flagler Cares CEO Carrie Baird To Be Honored with News Service of Florida’s 2025 Above & Beyond Award

August 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Flagler Cares CEO Carrie Baird, second from right, after a proclamation marking Flagler Cares' 10th anniversary, at a Bunnell City Commission meeting in June. All local governments adopted the proclamation. (© FlaglerLive)

Carrie Baird, chief executive officer of Flagler Cares, is among this year’s honorees of the News Service of Florida Above & Beyond Award. The awards honor the “most influential and thought-provoking women in Florida who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in their field, combined with having made significant contributions to society.” Flagler Cares, a Palm Coast-based non-profit that just marked its 10th anniversary, connects people to benefits, direct services or resources through a “no-wrong-door” approach.

Palm Coast’s Michael Brick, 35, Killed in Collision at Crash-Prone US1 and Whiteview Parkway Intersection

August 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

The intersection of U.S. 1 and Whiteview Parkway is crash-prone. The image above is from a fatal crash there in 2022. (© FlaglerLive)

Michael Brick, a 35-year-old Palm Coast business owner, was killed Friday evening when a car crashed into his motorcycle at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Whiteview Parkway. He is the fourth motorcyclist to die on Flagler County roads so far this year.

Flagler County’s and Palm Coast’s Unemployment Rates Hit 4-Year Highs, Housing Inventory at 15-Year High

August 18, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

The rainbow may be elusive: houses are not selling as fast as they were a few years ago, but construction continues. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County’s unemployment rate in July rose to 5 percent, from 4.8 percent the previous month, the highest jobless rate since July 2021, when it was still trending down from the Covid pandemic slowdown. Palm Coast’s unemployment rate of 4.9 percent also matches a four-year high. The housing inventory in the county–the number of houses available for sale–hit a 15-year high, according to the latest available figures.

Florida Cities and Counties Line Up to Defy New Pro-Developer State Law Known as SB 180

August 17, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

One of the proposals would have given homeowners a tax break if they reinforced their home against flooding, by not counting the improvements as part of the value of their home assessed for tax purposes. (© FlaglerLive)

All over the state, local governments are pushing ahead on common-sense changes to their growth plans, wetlands protection, and impact fees. They’re doing so despite warnings from big, bad opponents that what they have in mind will violate a new pro-developer state law that limits city and county governments’ authority on new land-use or development regulations. It’s bad news for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature.

Scaffolding Record, DeSantis Signs 12th Death Warrant of Year: David Pittman, Polk Murderer of 3

August 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

David J. Pittman.

In what could be the 12th execution this year in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for a man convicted of killing three members of his estranged wife’s family in 1990 in Polk County. David Pittman, 63, is scheduled to be executed Sept. 17 at Florida State Prison. Florida has already set a modern-era record this year with nine executions, and two more men are scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection this month.

The Truth About Flagler’s Public Libraries: Doing Far More Than You Realize, with Far Less Than Necessary

August 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

It's taken a great deal of strategy to keep a healthy Flagler County Public Library system going. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Public Library system remains one of the most–if not the most–efficient divisions of county government. Even with the staffing necessary at the new Bunnell library come December, the system’s personnel will have grown by just 20 percent in 20 years, while county government grew 37 percent, Palm Coast government grew 49 percent, and the county population grew by 84 percent. For all that, the library system continues to be the target of criticism without context or evidence, when it should be championed.

Palm Coast Fire Department’s Eventful Patrick Juliano Is Promoted to Battalion Chief

August 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

kiwanis firefighters

Patrick Juliano is one of the more recognizable faces–and forces–of the Palm Coast Fire Department, often managing, aside from his regular duties, to be the department’s spokesperson, to coordinate some of the city’s most solemn events, contribute to their soundtrack with or without other musicians and percussionists, and to perform his bagpipes on innumerable occasions.

A Taylor Swift Tribute Upstages Debby Boone, Gary Puckett and Many Others at Fitz’s 2025-26 Season

August 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Blank Space – The Taylor Swift Tribute, featuring singer Olivia Mojica, will be presented Nov. 8 at the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center. (Lisa Boehm)

For all the great acts and big names filling this season’s lineup at Palm Coast’s Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center (previously, Flagler Auditorium), it’s “Blank Space – The Taylor Swift Tribute” that gets star billing on the Fitzgerald’s home page as the organization seeks to attract a younger crowd. This season’s lineup includes tributes to a number of classic rock bands and music artists from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.

Palm Coast Mayor Norris Files Dismissal Notice of His Lawsuit Against the City, Scrapping Rehearing or Appeal

August 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

Mike Norris will not further pursue his lawsuit against the city. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris today filed notice in Circuit Court through his attorney that he was voluntarily dismissing his lawsuit against the city he represents and Council member Charles Gambaro, without prejudice–meaning that it cannot be refiled. Mt. Dora attorney Anthony Sabatini filed the notice early this afternoon, soon after being served a letter by the city’s attorney, warning that the city would pursue financial sanctions against Norris if the lawsuit remained active. 

U.S. Rep. Randy Fine Raises County’s Hope to Federalize More Beaches and Secure $10 Million for Dune-Rebuild

August 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, second from left, at Bay Drive just before the tour down the shore for a look at the dunes and the erosion, with--from left--County Coastal Engineer Ansley Wren-Key, Deputy County Administrator Jorge Salinas, County Administrator Heidi Petito and County Commission Chair Andy Dance. (Flagler County)

If U.S. Rep. Randy Fine kept at arm’s length Palm Coast officials’ hopes for federal financial help with the city’s utility infrastructure on Wednesday, he left county officials much more hopeful that he will help them with beach-management and beach-funding possibilities. The county had two major asks. Fine said he’d help with both: clearing $10 million in FEMA money due from Hurricane Milton, and moving forward on a $4 million study, the first step in federalizing the rest of the county’s beaches.

Ex-Gang Member Michael Gilbert Back in Prison for 5 Years, Risking Another 5 Rather Than Settle

August 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Michael Gilbert in court. (© FlaglerLive)

Sometimes, defendants’ self-defeating math puzzles everyone in court, prosecutors and judges included. But the defendants’ misfortune is not entirely of their own doing, especially when they are on probation, a system as if cynically designed to make probationers fail. Michael D’Angelo Gilbert is one such defendant. 

U.S. Rep. Randy Fine Tells Palm Coast During Sewer Plant Visit: Utility Infrastructure Is Primarily Your Responsibility

August 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

His glasses fogged up by condensation--he'd jus stepped out of an air-conditioned car into 90-degree heat--U.S. Rep. was greeted at the utility plant by Palm Coast Council member Theresa Pontieri, right, Council member Ty Miller, and Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston. (© FlaglerLive)

U.S. Rep Randy Fine, on a whirlwind tour of Flagler County that included an ATV trip along its battered beaches and an afternoon meet-and-greet at the Chamber of Commerce, this morning visited what has become a necessary stop in Palm Coast’s infrastructure calvary: the sloshing tanks and purifying basins of Waste Water Treatment 1. Costly as the expansion and modernization of the plant is to Palm Coast, he said utility infrastructure is primarily the city’s responsibility, not the federal government’s.

Jeani Duarte, a Council Candidate, Says Palm Coast’s Utility Plants Will Make Cannibals of Residents

August 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 42 Comments

Jeani Duarte arriving in court last July, among the partisans of Mayor Mike Norris, who was suing the city. Duarte is a candidate for the Palm Coast City Council. (© FlaglerLive)

Jeani Duarte, a candidate for the Palm Coast City Council in the 2026 election, on Tuesday evening accused the city of planning a sewer infrastructure that will turn residents into cannibals. Duarte often addresses the council at its workshops and meetings, often several times a meeting, often to make statements that are either inaccurate or “nonsensical,” as Circuit Judge Chris France twice termed a civil action she attempted against the city, before France tossed it. 

A Disaster Expo at the Palm Coast Community Center Highlights Community’s Prepared Resilience

August 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

A small hill of emergency-preparedness kits welcomed particip[ants at the disaster expo at the Palm Coast Community Center on Tuesday. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Cares, the social services non-profit and coordinating agency, secured a $143,000 Long-Term Recovery Grant from the American Red Cross for Flagler Volunteer Services as part of the recovery efforts following Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, enabling a “disaster preparedness breakfast and expo” at the Palm Coast Community Center Tuesday that drew a full house.

Hurricane-Bound Erin, 1st Major Storm of Season, Not Expected to Affect Florida

August 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Tropical Storm Erin, forecast to become Hurricane Erin, tracked over the next several days by the American-consensus forecast at the National Hurricane Center. (Tropical Tidbits)

Tropical Storm Erin, still churning closer to the African coast than the American or Caribbean, is expected to become a major hurricane by the weekend as it moves west. It is not expected to pose a danger to the Florida Peninsula, Flagler County included, Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said today. But he added a word of caution: Erin is too far to rule out a more onerous turn.

Flagler County School Board’s Will Furry Says God Is Calling Him to Run for Congress Against Randy Fine

August 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

Will Furry campaigning for the school board seat in August 2022. (© FlaglerLive)

Will Furry, a Realtor in his first term on the Flagler County School Board, said he is running for the congressional seat held by Randy Fine. Furry will continue serving on the School Board until the end of his term in November. He cannot run for both seats. His fate will be decided in the Aug. 18, 2026 primary, when he would be one of a slew of Republicans challenging Fine. 

Flagler Beach City Attorney Recommends New Ordinance Limiting Trespassing Authority in Public Spaces

August 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Long-time Flagler Beach City Attorney Drew Smith wrote a seven-page memo, with an associate, defining, and mostly limiting, the city's authority to trespass individuals from public spaces. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Beach’s city attorney is recommending that the city adopt an ordinance clarifying when, where and why police may trespass an individual from public property, on the very rare occasions when they may, how much restraint police must exercise when interfering with a person’s speech (a lot), and what due process must be afforded the individual targeted.

Trespassing Persons on Public Property and Best Practices Dealing with Protestors: Flagler Beach City Attorney’s Memo

August 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The Funky Pelican and the sidewalk, in a 2016 image. (© FlaglerLive)

The full text of the memo written by Flagler Beach City Attorney Drew Smith and attorney Abby Osborne-Liborioon on Aug.6, in response to Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney’s request for clarity on the city’s authority to trespass individuals from public spaces.

With Cuts at Palm Coast Branch, County Pledges to Revisit Library Budget 3 Months After Bunnell Branch Opens

August 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Palm Coast City Council member Ty Miller doesn't want to see a planned cut in hours at the Palm Coast branch public library hurting patrons and programming. (© FlaglerLive)

With Palm Coast officials worried that a planned 23 percent cut in library hours and a significant cut in staffing at the Palm Coast branch will hurt patrons and programming once the Bunnell branch opens in December, Flagler County officials are pledging that staffing will be adjusted next spring should usage figures show a need. 

Veteran Who Robbed and Killed a Man at Graham Swamp in 2006 Seeks Full Release from Supervision

August 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Brian Wothers zooming in from his home for his latest court hearing. (© FlaglerLive via zoom)

Brian Wothers, the 43-year-old military veteran who robbed and killed 26-year-old Jeffrey David Maxwell at Graham Swamp after partying with him earlier that night in 2006, is seeking release from all state supervision 17 years after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and committed to a state hospital. A circuit judge is not ready to grant that step just yet. 

At Flagler Cares, A Play Therapy Room That Allows Children to Express the Unspeakable

August 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

A portion of the play therapy room at Flagler Cares at the Flagler County Vollage. The room was made possible with a grant from the Early learning Coalition, a partner with Flagler Cares. (© FlaglerLive)

Imagine a 5 or 6-year-old child, maybe an abused child or one who’s just endured unspeakable trauma. The child has been incapable of expressing feelings as other children might. The child’s parents have been unable to connect. Play therapy enables the child to express those feelings as nothing else might. That’s the purpose of the play therapy room at Flagler Cares, “a place to play, a place to heal,” as the plaque outside the room put it.

Opposition Grows to Florida’s SB 180, a Gift to Developers Posing as a Storm-Recovery Law

August 10, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

sb 180 criticism

A nonprofit smart growth advocacy organization, 1000 Friends of Florida, is the latest entity calling for the Florida Legislature to repeal portions of a new law designed to expedite post-disaster rebuilding. The measure has become the most controversial new measure signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year. The problem? Language barring new local land-use or development regulations considered “restrictive or burdensome,” even if they are completely unrelated to storm recovery.

Flagler Beach Officer Who Wrongfully Arrested Man Outside Funky Pelican Will Serve 3 Days’ Suspension

August 8, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

Flagler Beach Police Sgt. Austin Yelvington in an agency Facebook picture from 2024.

An independent investigation of Flagler Beach Police Sgt. Austin Yelvington found him to have violated the city’s arrest procedures last March when he arrested a man who stood outside the Funky Pelican restaurant at the pier, holding a sign supporting homeless veterans. Yelvington is to serve a three-day suspension without pay. The other Flagler Beach police officer involved in the arrest, Emmett Luttrell, was found to have followed procedures and was not penalized. 

20-Year-Old Man Is Killed After Stepping Into Traffic on I-95 South of Palm Coast Parkway

August 8, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

The incident took place around 3 a.m. on I-95's northbound lanes, just south of the Palm Coast Parkway interchange.

A 20-year-old man on foot who may have had a medical episode was struck and killed by two cars as he stepped into northbound traffic on I-95 in Palm Coast early this morning, just south of the intersection with Palm Coast Parkway.

County and Palm Coast ‘Task Force’ Will Explore Cost of Animal Shelter Separate from Flagler Humane Society

August 8, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

Flagler County and Palm Coast governments have been dissatisfied with sheltering services at the Flagler Humane Society and are considering standing up their own operation. (© FlaglerLive)

Even as they compulsively speak of “DOGE”-dictated government efficiency and stress over limited budgets, Flagler County and Palm Coast’s governments are setting up a joint task force to study the possibility of building or operating a multi-million animal shelter separate from the Flagler Humane Society, which since 1982 been the only full-service animal shelter in the county.

Palm Coast Man and Ex-Volusia County Schools Employee Charged With Raping Neighbors’ Child in Z Section

August 7, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Kermit Carl Booth in a photo from the Macon County jail in North Carolina, where he was briefly held before bonding out.

Kermit Carl Booth, 72, a former resident of Palm Coast and a former employee of the Volusia County school district, faces two capital felony charges of raping a girl when she was between 6 and 9, in a case dating back to 2006 to 2009 in Palm Coast’s Z Section. Booth was arrested in North Carolina last Friday and released on a startlingly low bond, prompting outrage from Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. A Flagler County judge had set bond at $500,000 when signing the arrest warrant. 

Flagler County Government Favors Merging Animal Control with Palm Coast, Ending Humane Society Contract

August 7, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

A question of control. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government is working toward consolidating animal control services with those of Palm Coast. That would sever the county’s $300,000 contract with the Flagler Humane Society, which currently provides those services to the county. The Flagler County Commission and the Palm Coast City Council in a joint meeting on Wednesday did not make a decision to that end, but agreed by consensus to draft a joint agreement (or ILA, an interlocal agreement) that would define the scope and cost of the services Palm Coast would provide.

Against Sharp Opposition from Hargrove Grade Businesses, Council Approves Heavy Industry Rezoning for Concrete Plant in 3-2 Vote

August 6, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The Palm Coast Industrial and Commercial Center off Hargrove Lane is to the right. The edge of the 37 acres to be rezoned heavy industrial is around the cul de sac and beyond. (© FlaglerLive)

Facing down sharp opposition, especially from business owners on Hargrove Grade, the Palm Coast City Council in a 3-2 vote Tuesday approved on first reading the rezoning of 37 acres at the western edge of Hargrove from light industrial to heavy industrial ahead of the construction of a concrete mixing plant there. The city’s planning board rejected the rezoning in June, citing pollution that could affect businesses on Hargrove, and the negative effects the plant could have on acreage along Hargrove owned by AdventHealth: the board did not want to discourage the hospital company from building a medical park there.

Woman Who Posed as Nurse at AdventHealth Palm Coast for 18 Months, Seeing Almost 4,500 Patients, Is Arrested

August 6, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

Autumn Marie Bardisa in a Facebook portrait.

Autumn Marie Bardisa, a 29-year-old resident of 7 Pinto Drive in Palm Coast who impersonated an emergency room nurse at AdventHealth Palm Coast’s two hospitals, was arrested on 14 felony charges on Tuesday and is being held at the Flagler County jail on $70,000 bond. Bardisa worked at the hospitals from July 3, 2023 to Jan. 22, 2025, when she was fired. During her employment, she had documented contact as a nurse with 4,486 patients, according to the investigation. 

Back from the Brink, Ray Stevens Is Running Again for the Palm Coast City Council Seat He Resigned

August 6, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

ray stevens running again

The former Palm Coast City Council member is going to run in the 2026 election to reclaim the seat he resigned when he took severely ill just weeks into his term, after winning the District 3 seat runoff with 58 percent of the vote (and making past the primary by two votes). Stevens resigned in late February, when he was in the hospital, in critical condition, and told to get his affairs in order. He plans to run to complete the two years that would remain in his term, then not run again in 2028.

Advocates Blast FPL’s Request for Nearly $10 Billion Rate Hike as ‘Greed’

August 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

fpl rate hikes

Consumer activists said Tuesday that the proposed $9.8 billion rate hike that Florida Power & Light (FPL) is asking for is excessive and should be rejected by state regulators. In February, FPL, the state’s largest public utility servicing approximately 12 million people, submitted a four-year request for the Public Service Commission (PSC) to set new rates once its current base rate agreement expires at the end of this year. FPL is, with rare exception, the only power provider in Flagler County and its cities.

Flagler Commission Ratifies $195,000-a-Year, Open-Ended Contract with County Attorney Michael Rodriguez

August 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Michael Rodriguez's clock starts next week. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission unanimously approved an open-ended contract with Michael Rodriguez, the county attorney replacing Al Hadeed starting Aug. 11. One commissioner had a few quibbles but there were no changes to document Rodriguez negotiated with the administration. The commission voted to hire Rodriguez on July 17. 

Two Defendants in Disturbing Cases Get a Taste of Terence Perkins as Senior Judge: No Bond for You

August 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, now a senior judge, has been sitting in for Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols on occasion. (© FlaglerLive)

Retirement isn’t dulling the admonitory edge of Circuit Judge Terence Perkins in his role as senior judge. In a pair of rulings today, Perkins denied bond to two men, one accused of brutalizing his wife after she denied him sex, the other awaiting sentencing on a jury conviction for a hit-and-run crash that left the victim mangled and unable to work for months. 

Atlantic Awakens: Hurricane Center Eyes Two Weather Systems with Tropical Storm Potential

August 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two weather systems for potential tropical development over the next seven days, including one near the southeast Atlantic coast. This system now has a 40 percent chance of tropical cyclone formation on Friday or Saturday, up from 30 percent. Another system, currently in the eastern, tropical Atlantic, has a 50 percent chance of tropical storm formation in seven days.

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