The Flagler Health Department and Florida Hospital Flagler are partnering to provide a bi-monthly breastfeeding support group at the hospital.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Flagler and Florida Unemployment in Holding Pattern For Seventh Month In a Row
Flagler’s unemployment rate is at a healthy 4.1 percent, where it’s been, give or take a few decimal points, for seven months, with the state’s unemployment mirroring the holding pattern.
Two Flagler School Buses Involved In Minor Incidents In Thursday’s Afternoon Runs
Neither incident was serious, but at least one of them led to inaccurate rumors on social media that a weapon was involved: it never was.
AR-15s in Flagler Schools, Traffic Cops in Mustangs, New Marine Unit: Sheriff Staly’s State of Policing
Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly spoke to some 75 people Thursday on a re-energized state of policing in Palm Coast and the county, summing up initiatives and coming developments.
Spirit Ride’s Coffin Honoring Fallen Tow Operators and Other Emergency Responders Makes Ceremonial Stop in Bunnell
The ceremonial casket is part of American Towman’s Spirit Ride pilgrimage through 200 cities across the country to bring attention to the dangers emergency responders face every day.
A Palm Coast Resident Says “School Shooting” In a Facebook Video That Has Nothing To Do with School Shootings. Cops Show Up.
Tony Lagano, 35, was upset over a family court issue and alluded to a school shooting in a sarcastic Facebook video last week, only to be visited by sheriff’s deputies.
Matanzas High School Girl Reports Being Raped By Another Juvenile at Her Home
An investigation is ongoing into the allegation of a rape of a 16-year-old girl after the alleged perpetrator asked to meet the girl to “catch up.”
Students Raise Concerns, But Flagler School Board Approves Social Media Surveillance
The Flagler County School Board Tuesday approved a three-year, $55,500 contract with Vermont-based Social Sentinel to troll eight different types of social media accounts.
Tax-Evaders Beware: Flagler Will Take Over Local Collection From Short-Term Renters, Projecting Jump in Revenue
The Flagler County Tax Collector, not the state Department of Revenue, will be collecting the 5 percent tax on short term rentals starting in July–a tax hundreds of property owners are evading currently.
Florida Hospitals and Halifax Health Named Among 150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare
Adventist Health System, which includes the Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties, was recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the top places to work in health care.
Flagler School Board Wants To Snoop on Students’ Social Media, And Maybe Yours. Wrong Move.
The School Board is set to contract with Social Sentinel, a company that will troll social media accounts across Flagler for $18,500 and issue “alerts” to select officials. It’s an inappropriate move down a slippery slope.
Flagler Moves to Protect Public’s Use Of Beaches Ahead of Law Granting Property Owners Restrictive Rights
The new law allows beachfront private property owners to trespass the public from private beaches, something not allowed currently, and never done in Flagler.
Wendell Parker, 32, Killed, Woman Critical in Head-On I-95 Collision North of Palm Coast Parkway
A man was killed early this morning and a woman is in critical condition following a head-on collision on I-95, just north of the interchange with Palm Coast Parkway..
Flagler-Palm Coast Under Tornado Watch Until 6 PM as Line of Storms Approaches
The squall line this afternoon is expected to produce locally heavy rainfall of 1 to 2 inches, with locally heavier amounts, and winds of 30-40 mph.
7 New Sheriff’s Deputies, 143% Cost Increase as Outline of Flagler’s School Safety Takes Shape
Sheriff Staly and Superintendent Tager are negotiating an increase of the school deputies’ program to $1.8 million split 50-50, with the schools’ share paid by the state and the sheriff’s by the County Commission.
88-Year-Old Palm Coast Man Dies of Gunshot, 3rd Elderly Suicide in Seven Weeks in Flagler
Joseph O’Sullivan, 88, of Palm Coast’s P Section, died of a gunshot Wednesday. There have been at least eight suicides in the county since the new year.
Flagler Judge Scott DuPont Called “Unfit,” “Outrageous,” “Disturbing,” “Beyond Reckless” and Contemptuous of Law
A devastating 21-page opinion by a disciplinary judicial commission repeats in harsher language a call for Judge Scott DuPont’s removal, a recommendation going before the Supreme Court.
West Flagler Man Faces Kidnapping and Assault Charges Involving Woman Picked Up in Daytona
Jesse Alan Pack is accused of kidnapping a woman in Daytona Beach and driving her to Flagler, where she reported escaping on County Road 200 near U.S. 1.
Pick-Up Flips on Old Kings, Driver Arrested For DUI, Palm Coast Firefighter Injured
Lt. Brian Mugford of the Palm Coast Fire Department injured his foot when looking for other patients: the driver of the pick-up had falsely claimed someone else had been driving, and had run off.
Sheriff Staly’s Heimlich Saves Elected Party Official’s Life at Candidate Forum
Sharon Demers, an elected Republican state committeewoman and a former candidate for school board, was choking when Staly successfully executed a Heimlich maneuver on her.
Man, 59, Critical After He Was Found Submerged in a U-Section Swale as Children Returned From School
David A. Niesse is in critical condition after he was found face-down in a waterlogged swale in front of his Palm Coast house, a scene that left a busload of Imagine School students shaken Tuesday.
In Praise of Pops: Jax Symphony’s Palm Coast Picnic Returns in Salute To Bracing Favorites
The Jacksonville Symphony’s 11th Picnics and Pops concert with the Palm Coast Arts Foundation is an exploration of the worlds of pop music’s Mozarts.
20 Years in Prison for Ex-Soccer Coach Who Molested Boys at Palm Coast Academy; He Faces New Rape Charge
Sean Stern was a program director at Palm Coast’s ex-Sports Pathways soccer academy for boys and girls, where he molested at least three boys over many months.
Water War Flares Again Between Palm Coast and County Over Planned Shops Near Airport
A proposed commercial development at the southeast corner of State Road 100 and the entrance to the county airport, opposite Bulldog Drive, is at the center of the latest water dispute between Palm Coast and the county.
On Florida Park Drive, Council Wants a Stop To Traffic-Calming Proposals That Dead-End
Palm Coast council member blames the city administration for not acting on several proposals to help reduce traffic, pollution and noise along Florida Park Drive.
Flagler Approves $14.8 Million Next-Gen Emergency Communication System, But Faces Bid Protest
Motorola won the $14.8 million contract to upgrade the emergency communications system every local first responder and other workers depend on, but Flagler faces a protest from CI, the other bidder and provider of the existing system.
Flagler Sheriff’s Corporal Counseled Over Racial Slur, Latest Revelation Since November
James Miley, a Flagler County Sheriff’s corporal, was counseled verbally in February after a deputy reported that Miley had used a racial slur while referring to a Latino subordinate.
Three Flagler County Rotary Clubs Join to Plant 220 Long Leaf Pine Trees Together
The project is in response to a call by Rotary International President Ian Risley for the organization to plant 1.2 million trees, one for each member of the international organization.
Gunshot Kills Brandi Celenza, 25, on Palm Coast’s Felter Ln. in “Definitely Suspicious” Incident
Brandi Celenza, 25, died of a gunshot today at 23 Felter Lane in Palm Coast in what authorities at the scene are describing as a suspicious incident–for now.
Sheriff Staly, FHP’s Pete Young and 2 Lesser Lights Compete For Fastest Lawman On The Draw
The Law Enforcement Shootout on April 15 at the Ag Museum features defending Champion Staly against FHP’s Pete Young, Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood and Putnam Sheriff “Gator” Deloach.
Paul Miller Loses Latest Appeal of Life Sentence for Dana Mulhall’s Murder in Flagler Beach
Circuit Judge Dennis Craig ruled that even if a use-of-force expert had been heard at trial, the jury would not have found grounds for self-defense and convicted Miller, now 70, of murdering Dana Mulhall.
Jury Finds Ex-Elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks Guilty On All 7 Felony Counts of Illegally Recording Others
Former Flagler County Elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks was found guilty on felony counts that she illegally recorded other officials during her tenure.
Flagler Beach Without a Beach? Researcher Lays Out Erosion’s Implications at Workshop
Flagler Beach native and beach-erosion expert Chad Boda presents findings from his recently-defended dissertation on beach sustainability at a city workshop.
Flagman Is Struck and Killed By Van on Colbert Lane Repaving Project, Near Waterfront Park
A flagman working for Halifax Paving on the Colbert Lane resurfacing project in Palm Coast was struck by a work van this afternoon, and later died at the scene.
Kimberle Weeks Trial Day 3: Defense Opts Against Putting On a Case, Relying on Outlier Theory Instead
In an echo of Kimberle Weeks’s own irreverence toward established law, her lawyers are arguing an untested and unusual interpretation of what amounts to a public meeting: all conversations between public officials involving public business.
Flagler Government Approves Open-Ended Renewals of County Administrator’s and Attorney’s Contracts
County Administrator Craig Coffey and County Attorney Al Hadeed have been the commission’s hires since 2007. Their contracts no longer will have an end date.
Trial Day 2: Jury Hears Kim Weeks Insult Secretary of State and Others As Ken Detzner Sat in Witness Box
Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner was a star witness for the prosecution today, saying Kim Weeks recorded him without his permission. he then heard her call him a “dumb bastard.”
Fugitive Felon Leads Deputies On Chase Across Palm Coast Before K-9 Chomps Him to a Stop
Richard Lawrence Knoblaugh, 37, took deputies from SR100 to Matanzas High before crashing his SUV in his own C-Section yard and falling to a K-9’s bite Monday evening.
Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s State Of the City Address at Community Center
The full text of Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s State of the City Address at an event produced by the Observer Tuesday.
Jury Seated in Kimberle Weeks Trial as Defense Wins Minor Victory Over Prosecution Tactic
The week-long trial of ex-elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks began today with day-long jury selection. Weeks faces nine felony counts of allegedly illegally recording and disseminating communications.
Attempted Suicide Leads to Baker Act, Then Arrest Over Gun Threat and Violence
A 37-year-old resident of Rolling Sands Drive in Palm Coast faces two felony counts after he resisted an involuntary Baker Act following an attempted suicide.
RaceTrac Station at Old Kings and SR100 Starts Construction in June as Kings Pointe Resurrects
The new RaceTrac gas station is a breakthrough for the long-dormant Kings Pointe development, until now one of the symbols of the housing collapse.
Flagler Beach Drug House Busted, Filth Draws Code Enforcement, 5 Arrested, 3 Already Out
The Paytas family members and associates at the 135 Oak Lane house in Flagler Beach have been subjects of drug busts before, and some of them have served prison time.
New Law Gives Property Owners Right to Restrict Beach Access. Flagler Working On Protecting Public’s “Customary Use”
The new and unusual Florida law allows beachfront property owners the right to wall off or restrict dry-sand areas from public use, but Flagler government intends to protect that “customary use” despite the law.
Traffic Stop Turns to Air, Foot and K-9 Chase Off State Road 100, Three Women, 2 Men Apprehended
A traffic stop that began on State Road 100 near the city limit between Palm Coast and Bunnell late this morning has turned into a chase on foot, by air, and with K-9 units.
Judge Craig Is Out, Judge Perkins Is In As Flagler’s Felony and Civil Benches Again Flip
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins will replace Dennis Craig, who’s headed back to Volusia, becoming the sixth judge in eight years to preside over Flagler County’s felony court.
Sheriff’s Jail Deputy Suspended After Reporting to Work Drunk; Supervisory Issues a Concern
Flagler Sheriff’s detention deputy Mark Sousa’s alcohol test recorded him at 0.096 and 0.093 four hours into his shift–the four hours it took supervisors to react to an employee’s repeated request to intervene.
Driver Wanted in Monday’s Hit-and-Run Death Is Found: Was on Suspended License for DUI
Bryan Brown, 60, of Ormond By the Sea, allegedly owned up to the crash after quick policing and reporting combined with the conscience of Brown’s employer.
Unprecedented Flagler Forum With 7 Judges Has Some Make News and Others De-Mystify The Bench
Seven local judges appeared at the Flagler Palm Coast Forum Tuesday evening, the Ed Fuller group devoted to civic and electoral discussions featuring candidates running for office.
Mondex Man, 62, Held On $200,000 Bond on Charges Of Molesting Girls, 6 and 8
Thomas Jay Binkley, a 62-year-old resident of Forest Park Street in Bunnell, allegedly confessed to molesting the girls, who were in his charge.