Aghast at Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris’s paranoid and accusatory performance at the State of the City Address this week, a resident asks the mayor for a reckoning with himself–whether he is truly up to the job of serving the community to the best of his ability, to do so within the requirements of the city charter, and to bear the title of mayor honorably and responsibly.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Flagler Beach May Sell Ocean Palm Golf Course, Where Owner Plans Building the Size of Palm Coast City Hall
Flagler Beach government is considering selling the 40-acre, nine-hole Ocean Palm Golf Course at the south end of town to Jeff Ryan’s KTS Holdings, the current leaseholder of the property. Ryan would sign a deed restriction that would ensure the grounds remain a golf course in perpetuity. But Ryan is proposing to build a two-story, 30,000-square foot clubhouse and restaurant (the footprint would be 15,000 square feet, the building height 30 feet). The existing clubhouse is a one-story 1,560 square foot building built in 1961.
Palm Coast Assures DeSantis “DOGE” Team: The City Is Financially Sound
The Palm Coast government administration certified in late March to the governor’s office that the city has not encountered any of five criteria suggesting “financial emergency or distress” since 2018, and does not anticipate any ahead. Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston sent the letter confirming the fact to the governor’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” team on March 20. The letter is prompting some inaccurate speculation that the city manager was “declining” the state’s offer to audit the city.
Palm Coast Carnage: Mayor Norris Stuns Audience With Bleak Litany of Grievances at State of City Address
A day after he pulled up his truck to City Hall and cleared his office, Mayor Mike Norris delivered what amounted to a Palm Coast Carnage address to a stunned audience at the State of the City Thursday evening at the Community Center. A prickly, aggrieved, and paranoid-sounding Norris fabricated the story of a “blockade” of City Hall by homebuilders, attacked unnamed forces for allegedly orchestrating city employees’ complaints against him to drive him out of office, and referred to land owners as “swamp peddlers,” and challenged residents to chart a new course away from “people that have failed our community for more than 40 years.”
Flagler Beach Gets Its First Glimpse at App-Based Paid Parking, and Guardedly Likes What It Sees
The Flagler Beach City Commission got its first glimpse at an app-based paid-parking system for the city this afternoon from Passport Parking, a company with more than 800 clients across the country. The commission was non-committal, but most Flagler Beach residents who spoke approved of the plan, some guardedly, some enthusiastically–as long as the plan exempts Flagler Beach residents from paying–and some, disbelieving in a parking problem, opposed.
Lessons from Palm Coast’s Fuel Dump Folly
The push for building the ill-fated Belvedere Terminals fuel dump in Palm Coast was tied to a series of myths: that somehow Palm Coast’s overwhelmingly residential tax base is unsustainable. That its tax burden is lopsidedly on residential homes. That commercial and industrial development lowers property taxes. The premises are taken as gospel in this county and never tested. Not one of them is true.
On Probation for Aggravated Stalking, Zachary Tuohey Kept Trying Judge’s Patience. He Now Risks 2 Years in Prison.
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols’s patience with Zachary Tuohey’s aggravated stalking case almost ran out in December. It did so on April 1, when she sent him to jail for contempt of court. On Tuesday, she warned his attorney that he is close to facing two years in prison.
At Ralph Carter Park, Thousands of Children’s Sports Will Not Be Curbed Just to Benefit Few Homeowners, Council Says
After hearing a resident complain about noise and light–a resident familiar to every council member who’s served since 2009–Palm Coast City Council member Charles Gambaro Tuesday evening got the presentation he requested on Ralph Carter Park. It did not go as he expected. The park’s popularity is too broad, the complaints about it too finite, to justify dimming the park’s operations in response to a handful of complaints, if that.
Dallas String Quartet Unleashes Bach ’n’ Roll Classical Crossover at Palm Coast Concert
The Dallas String Quartet has continued to invigorate the so-called “classical crossover” genre with seven albums that find them infusing elements from Bach, Rachmaninoff, Sibelius and other classical composers into their arrangements of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and “Thunderstruck,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and many more. They’re in concert at the Flagler Auditorium,/Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center Friday.
Flagler Cop’s Son in Hit-and-Run Death on U.S. 1 Rejects 4-Year Prison Deal and Risks Worse
Jayden Jackson, the 22-year-old son of a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy, had played down his responsibility when he struck and killed Shaunta D. Cain, 51, with his car as he drove north on U.S. 1 in November 2022. Today, Jackson rejected a plea deal of four years in prison followed by probation. His attorney, Josh Davis, told Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols that Jackson will submit to an open plea when he is sentenced next week, risking significantly more than four years in prison.
Eager for Experience, Palm Coast Council’s Top Two Choices for Appointment Are Dave Sullivan and Dave Ferguson
In Dave Sullivan and Dave Ferguson the Palm Coast City Council’s choices clearly point to its eagerness for a tested, knowledgeable colleague who won’t need much of a learning curve as the council readies to appoint a new city manager and start budgeting for the coming year. Ferguson and Sullivan also have close ties with the local business community. Neither is a firebrand. Neither is foreign to humor and a degree of self-deprecation that has been lacking on a council more high-strung than an unsecured trigger.
County Buys Into $110 Million Speculative Sports Complex Palm Coast Voters Rejected in November
The Flagler County Commission signaled it was happily turning to an untested and financially risky public-private partnership with a company that would build a $110 million sports complex (in Palm Coast) in exchange for $6 million a year “lease payments” from the county. It is the same complex and concept that was behind Palm Coast voters’ rejection of a referendum last November.
Three County Commissioners Now Opposed to Sales Tax for Beach Management, Putting County Plan in Doubt
Just as Palm Coast and Bunnell had been increasingly coaxed to support the county, a majority of county commissioners–Leann Pennington, Kim Carney and Pam Richardson–spoke in opposition to a sales tax increase to support a comprehensive beach-management plan. Without that increase, the plan Petito devised to rebuild and manage all 18 miles of the county’s beaches would collapse, and with it any hope of continuing the beach renourishment the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started in Flagler Beach.
65-Year-Old Man Killed in Head-On Crash on Belle Terre Boulevard
A 65-year-old Palm Coast man was killed in a head-on crash caused by a 19-year-old driver crossing the yellow line early Monday morning on Belle Terre Boulevard at Kankakee Trail.
Fuel Farm Off U.S. 1 Appears Dead as Palm Coast Mayor Norris Pulls His Support, Joining Council Skeptics
The proposed Belvedere Terminals fuel farm off U.S. 1 in Palm Coast appears to be dead. In an email to City Manager Lauren Johnston on Friday, Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris pulled his support without equivocation, joining three council members who are extremely skeptical of the proposal. Belvedere couldn’t afford to lose Norris’s support. Until then, the mayor had been the company’s champion in the city.
Three of Five Finalists for Palm Coast City Manager Drop Out as Council’s Instability Takes a Toll
The shortlist of Palm Coast city manager candidates who were to interview with the City Council at the end of April is down to two, from five. The last two were among the somewhat less favored of the five when the council ranked them on March 11. Today, Sonia Alves-Viveiros, the Edison, N.J. city manager, withdrew, citing the lack of stability on the City Council as a reason.
Proposed Fuel Farm Off U.S. 1 Draws More Fire as Public Urges County to Reject Palm Coast Location
Already bruised by mounting opposition since it was announced almost two weeks ago, Palm Coast and Flagler County governments’ proposal to buy 78 acres for a 12.6-million gallon fuel farm off U.S. 1 took more fire today, this time at the County Commission, even though the county last week pulled the proposal from today’s agenda. Numerous residents, all opposed to the fuel farm at the U.S. 1 location, addressed the commission, but commissioners themselves raised sharp questions about the plan, adding to its uncertain future.
In Flagler, Voters Cast Half a Million Ballots in 8 years; 5 Were Non-Citizens. Where’s the ‘Fraud’?
An executive order requires that all votes be counted by the end of Election Day. It also requires proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. The order relies on a lie: that fraud is corrupting American elections. Let’s not look far and take Flagler County’s recent elections to test the claim.
Palm Coast Approves Final Step for 489 New Houses, 147 of Them Near Proposed Fuel Depot
The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved final plats for three residential subdivisions at three of the four cardinal points of the city (north, west, south) totaling 489 single-family houses. Of these house, 147 are to be built on land adjacent to an industrial tract slated for a massive fuel depot.
Matanzas High School Student Lands a Punch on Deputy Breaking Up a Fight
N.L., a 16-year-old Matanzas High School student, faces a felony charge of battery against a law enforcement officer after landing what appears to be an inadvertent punch on a school resource deputy attempting to break up a fight between N.L. and another student.
County Pulls Massive US1 Fuel Depot from Consideration for Now as ‘Pause’ Gives Palm Coast Time to Study Options
The Flagler County Commission was set next Monday to approve a $10 million state grant to buy a 78-acre parcel off U.S. 1 in Palm Coast for a planned fuel depot and rail head. The county administration pulled the item from the agenda after the Palm Coast City Council opted to look for a different location in response to mounting public opposition to the plan. The pause is also a reflection of deepening skepticism among elected officials about a plan that was barely vetted before it was sprung on them just weeks ago.
‘Ritz Carlton Residences’ Will Add 128 Condo Units in Two Towers At Hammock Dunes (not Palm Coast)
Two condominium towers of 64 condos each will rise at Hammock Dunes, to be called the Ritz-Carlton residences, the belated culmination of a project initially approved by the Flagler County Commission in 2006 and still awaiting its final plat. The development will add to half a dozen existing and similar condominium towers at Hammock Dunes. But contrary to a report in the News-Journal, Palm Coast is not involved.
15 Years in Prison for CJ Nelson Jr. in Shooting Death of 18-Month-Old Niece Ja’Liyah Allen
C.J. Nelson, the 24-year-old Palm Coast resident whose reckless gunplay caused the shooting death of his 18-month-old niece at a Ranwood Lane house in September 2023, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Family members and friends of Ja’Liyah Allen, the victim, and of Nelson–all members of the same family–filled several pews in the gallery.
Florida House Committee Approves Sales Tax Cut to 5.25% But Eliminates Tax ‘Holidays’
For the first time in 16 years, the state wouldn’t offer sales-tax “holidays” under a House proposal that calls for an overall cut in sales taxes. The House Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a $5.43 billion package dominated by House Speaker Daniel Perez’ proposal to lower the state’s sales-tax rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent.
Palm Coast Council Seeks Analysis to Move Proposed Fuel Farm Off U.S. 1 as Opposition Builds Fast
The proposed 12.6 million-gallon gas and diesel depot on U.S. 1 has quickly gone from an economic development triumph, as Palm Coast and county officials described it last week, to a political liability fueled by public opposition spreading at the speed of a wildfire. On Tuesday, the Palm Coast City Council agreed to seek an analysis to determine whether there’s an alternative location better suited to the depot, a planned $75 million facility to be built by a start-up, Belvedere Terminals, with no track record in the industry.
Interviews of 10 Candidates for Appointment to Palm Coast Council Give a Choice Between Experience and Ideals
A defining line sharpened as the interviews progressed. It was drawn between candidates who spoke the pragmatism of public-service experience on one side, and candidates who spoke of ideals and private-sector careers they hope to translate into public service. This council has limited time to make a limited appointment with specific aims ahead, in a term limited to less than two years, and for a position whose learning curve typically takes two years fully to scale.
It’s Randy Fine After All as Election Day Surge Helps Trump Pick Defeat Josh Weil and Democratic Hopes
Powered by an Election Day surge that helped erase early-voting advantages the Josh Weil campaign had built up, Randy Fine, the Melbourne Republican, Florida Senate member and Donald Trump pick, won the special election for the 6th Congressional District this evening–not handily at all, but he won it all the same, to his patron’s (and his own) relief.
Flagler Beach Quietly Signs On to Agreement with ICE, Deputizing Local Cops for Immigration Enforcement
Without discussion or mention of the agreement, the Flagler Beach City Commission last Thursday signed an agreement with U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to deputize some of its police officers to enforce federal immigration laws.
Flagler Beach Ends Debate on Annexation with Final Approval of Measure Scrapping 5% Rule
The Flagler Beach City Commission approved on a 4-1 vote and on final reading the repeal of a decades-old rule that required the city to hold a referendum any time it would annex more than 5 percent of its geographic area in a given year. The repeal was precipitated last year by the city’s interest in annexing Veranda Bay, the huge development along John Anderson Highway that would more than double the city’s population when built out.
Democrat Josh Weil Riles GOP Panic Over Special Election: ‘We Are Going to Have Our Own Surge’
Democrat Josh Weil, the Orlando teacher, and the GOP’s Sen. Randy Fine of Melbourne, are running so close in the special election for Waltz’s 6th Congressional District seat–which includes all of Flagler County–that even if Weil doesn’t win Tuesday, the race is sending seismic waves through a magaland.
Owners Demolish Old Dixie Hotel a Few Weeks from Deadline, Ending Years of Litigation
The Old Dixie motel is coming down. What used to be the Country Hearth Inn, what rapidly became an eyesore after it closed in 2008, then a battleground between Flagler County government and two sets of owners, was being demolished today, making one legal case moot and all but ending the second. The attorney for the property owners says something will be built there, but it’s not yet clear what.
Three Palm Coast Council Members Return from Tallahassee With Some Hope for City’s Utility Needs
Three of the Palm Coast City Council’s four members–Theresa Pontieri, Charles Gambaro and Ty Miller–returned from a lobbying trip to Tallahassee last week with some potential successes to help pay for the city’s utility-infrastructure needs despite legislative appropriations far more constrained than they’d been the previous two years.
Deltona Homicide Suspect Ends Chase at Hammock Dunes Bridge with Self-Inflicted Gunshot
What started with the report of a shooting-death of a woman in Deltona early this morning ended after a police chase before dawn at the foot of the Hammock Dunes Bridge with a man apparently shooting himself after he crashed through the toll bridge’s arm and veered off the road.
When Canadian Snowbirds Don’t Flock to Florida, Costs Are More Than Financial
Every winter, hundreds of thousands of older Canadians spend the winter in the United States. But in recent weeks, we’ve seen many Canadian snowbirds shifting their attention to other matters. First, stories started to emerge from those who said they would no longer participate in this seasonal migration because of political events in the U.S. Another related concern was the weakened Canadian dollar. This trend has prompted some to consider selling their winter properties in the U.S.
Company Will Build Massive Fuel Depot and Distribution Plant at Rail Spur Off Peavy Grade in Palm Coast
Belvedere Terminals, a start-up company developing a new gas and diesel distribution network by rail, will build a fuel depot and distribution plant on a 78-acre site on Palm Coast’s Peavy Grade, next to the city’s Water Treatment Plant 3 off U.S. 1. The company intends to start operations in late 2026 at a plant with half dozen fuel tanks with a total capacity of 300,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel storage, or 12.6 million gallons–the equivalent of 17 water towers like Palm Coast’s off I-95.
Flagler Beach’s Randy Jaye Releases ‘Florida Flashpoints,’ His 5th Book, on Florida History
Flagler Beach author and historian Randy Jaye released his fifth book on March 18: Florida Flashpoints: Extraordinary Moments From Spanish Colony to the Space Age. The book highlights Florida’s long, interesting and sometimes turbulent history with what the author consider to be 36 of the state’s most important historic moments.
Our Silent Genocide of Transgender People
The United States in general and Florida in particular are enacting laws that literally erase the existence of an entire class of human beings. Trump signed an order declaring that transgender people don’t exist. Florida is about to adopt a law that would let government employees dehumanize their transgender colleagues by refusing to refer to them by their preferred pronouns. It is a new kind of genocide: bloodless, to be sure, but no less obliterating.
Family of Six Loses House to Fire in Palm Coast’s L-Section, 21 Year Old Injured Trying to Save Pets
A family of six, including four children, lost their home to a middle-of-the-night fire on Longfellow Drive in Palm Coast early this morning, and a 21-year-old woman was taken to Halifax hospital with serious injuries.
Stephanie Raimundo, 48, Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Death of Calvin Stull as Mother Grieves
Stephanie Raimundo, the 48-year-old Palm Coast woman facing a combined 150 years in prison on 11 felony charges, including manslaughter in the drug-overdose death of 21-year-old Calvin Stull in January 2023, was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Stull’s mother addressed the court and Raimundo.
2-Hour Parking Limit Downtown Flagler Beach? ‘Great Idea,’ Planning Board Says, Urging City to Act
The Flagler Beach Planning Board embraced an idea proposed by downtown business owners to impose two-hour parking limits in a small area downtown that is typically overrun by people parking for hours at a time, sometimes all day, preventing the sort of turnover traffic that helps businesses thrive. The board is forwarding the proposal to the City Commission and urging it to consider it.
Derrius Bauer, in a Shift, Agrees to Plea and 15 Years Instead of Life in Prison for Circle K Murder
Two days after he declined yet again to risk life in prison if convicted at trial, Derrius Bauer, 30, this morning signed a plea agreement and was sentenced to 15 years, a term that between time already served and gain time ahead, may have him out of prison when he’s 38. For the court, prosecutors and the Flagler County Sheriff’s detectives who cracked the case, the plea ends the longest and most expensive investigation in the Sheriff’s Office’s history.
30 Years in Prison for Tyrese Patterson in Killing of Noah Smith In Last of Lives Lost Over ‘Stupid, Senseless Act’
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols’s 30-year prison sentence for Tyrese Patterson closes the book on four cases that sent four young men to prison for long terms, one of them for life, over what the judge described as the “stupid, senseless” behavior that led to the killing of 16-year-old Noah Smith in a shootout in Bunnell in January 2022.
Bunnell Approves Grand Reserve’s Last 141 of 847 Houses, with a Pointed Caution From Its Staff
The Bunnell City Commission approved the final phase of Grand Reserve, the 847-home subdivision that will increase the city’s population by more than half and is already changing the city’s politics. The sixth phase consists of 141 houses on 100 acres. The city’s planning director cautioned the commission to review future developments more carefully than when Grand Reserve was originally approved.
Trump Names Derek Barrs to Transportation Department Post; He Will Leave Flagler School Board
Less than five months after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to a Flagler County School Board seat, where his presence helped restore a level of stability that had been lacking for two years, Derek Barrs will almost certainly leave the board for an appointment as administrator to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
22-Year-Old J.T. Horovsky Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison and 10 on Probation for Molesting Child
When he was arrested last September, Joseph Thomas Horovsky, who turned 22 last week, faced life in prison if convicted on two charges of molesting a family member younger than 12 for several years. He pleaded last month, and this afternoon, walking into court a free man one last time, he was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by 10 years on probation. He will be designated a sex offender for life.
‘I’m Done,’ Judge Tells Derrius Bauer in Final Attempt to Win Plea; He’d Rather Risk Life in Prison
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols attempted again to convince Derrius Bauer, 30, to take a plea deal that would have him out of prison in eight and a half years rather than risk life in prison if convicted on a murder charge, as was his friend Marcus Chamblin last year in the same courtroom. Bauer was adamant against a plea. Trial will be set for late summer or early fall.
Is Mike Waltz Out of His Depth? Ex-Flagler Congressman May Have Violated Espionage Act with Leak
Mike Waltz, the former congressman representing Flagler County and the 6th Congressional District, whom Donald Trump tapped as his national security adviser, is at the center of the gravest scandal facing an administration embroiled in controversies since its first day, 64 days ago. Waltz may have violated provisions of the Espionage Act that control national defense information.
To Prevent Renewed Wars Over Annexation, Flagler County Will Aim for Joint Planning Group with Cities
Flagler County government is proposing to create a Joint Planning Committee with Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell to review all developments and annexations that straddle county-city or city-city boundaries. The committee would be responsible for drafting service agreements defining who will provide law enforcement, fire, water and sewer services and road maintenance. The County Commission is all for it. But getting the cities to sign on to what amounts to more transparent coordination may be a challenge.
New $7 Million Fire Station 51 and Sheriff Substation on County Road 305 a Step Closer to Construction
Flagler County Fire Rescue’s new Fire Station 51 is one step closer to construction later this year as the county’s planning board recommended approval of its site plan to the County Commission. The commission is expected to ratify the decision within weeks, clearing the way for construction.
Flagler Sheriff Staly Exploring Deployment of Drones as First Responders: A ‘Much Cheaper Helicopter’
The parking lot of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Operations Center last week was transformed into a showplace for Axon, the Arizona-based technology company whose tasers, body cams, car cameras, simulators, interview rooms and real-time crime center equipment and software redefined policing in the past years. It continues to do so with new products–among them, the drone as first responder, which Sheriff Rick Staly is studying for possible deployment in Flagler County.
