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Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News

Over 100 Homes in Palm Coast Damaged by Wind; Woodlands a Flood Concern; Surge in Flagler Beach Was Limited

October 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

In Palm Coast's Woodlands this afternoon. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County and city officials are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Despite the worst rain event Palm Coast has known in its history, despite some floodwaters in Flagler Beach’s low-lying areas and severe winds during Hurricane Milton’s passage over the region, the number of homes that experienced water intrusion have been limited to “a handful,” while the number of homes reporting wind damage, in Palm Coast, stands at 57. The numbers in Flagler Beach are not yet known. The shelter will close today, the night curfew will be rescinded.

Water Surging in Flagler Beach’s Low-Lying Areas, Flooding Some Homes; 44,800 Still Without Power in Flagler

October 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 48 Comments

A house on South Flagler this evening. The water was still rising. (© FlaglerLive)

“This horror will grow mild, this darkness light,” Floridians may be telling themselves–perhaps in not so many words–as Hurricane Milton edged off the coast of Florida this morning, still as a hurricane that left a wide swath of destruction and 3.2 million customers without power in its enormous path.

With Hurricane Milton’s Worst Ahead, Torrential Rains Raise Flooding Concerns in Palm Coast and Close Roads

October 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Stormwater cavalry: City of Palm Coast crews special-delivered sand bags to some residents in the B-Section, where water levels have been a particular concern due to today's torrential rains--with the worst yet ahead. (Palm Coast)

Torrential rain in Palm Coast ahead of Hurricane Milton has “severely overwhelmed” the city’s stormwater system. Milton’s advance rain bands have led to a few street closures in the B Section, to city crews special-delivering sand bags to some residents, and to an alert from the city to residents to minimize water usage as the stormwater system is being overwhelmed by precipitation–with the worst yet to come.

Commissioner ‘Disheartened’ By Lack of Evacuations in Flagler Beach, Where Milton Preparations Are Plainly Low Key

October 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

The property owner at a house on flood-prone South Flagler Avenue installed a water-hose barrier in hopes of staving off floodwaters from Hurricane Milton's storm sturge on the Intracoastal. The Intracoastal is only a few feet away from Flagler Avenue, and barely a few in ches below its asphalt. (© FlaglerLive)

But for significantly less traffic on most roads, you’d be hard-pressed to see that the largest part of Flagler County under an evacuation order was heeding the warning this morning. From the looks of the Barrier Island and the mainland part of Flagler Beach in the first hours after the 8 a.m. evacuation order, there were many more cars parked in driveways than getting packed or driving off. Homes with sandbags or other storm preparations were the exception. Businesses were more likely to be boarded up than homes, though that was the exception even for businesses, most of which were closed.

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.

AdventHealth Offering Free Video Consults Through Centra Care Wednesday and Thursday

October 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The sun will come out. (AdvenHealth)

AdventHealth is deploying its extensive safety preparations as Hurricane Milton approaches the region. The health system has stockpiled thousands of gallons of water and generators are standing by to run the hospital on emergency power if necessary. Sandbags are prepared should they be needed to secure doors and windows.

On an Unsettled Day, Judge Dawn Nichols Brings Order to Court as She Begins Post-Perkins Tenure

October 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols got immediately to work, as if she'd been doing the job for years--which, of course, she has: she's been on the bench for 10 years, but in Volusia County. Now she's Flagler County's felony judge. (© FlaglerLive)

A week after Terence Perkins’s retirement, Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols walked into court at 1:35 this afternoon, wished the lawyers, a half dozen inmates inmates and a dozen people in the gallery a good afternoon, and got to work with pleas, a couple of sentencing hearings, bond and status hearings with workmanlike cheer and speed just shy of breathless.

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.

Ahead of Hurricane Milton, State Emergency Director Guthrie Warns of Possibly ‘Largest Evacuation’ Since 2017

October 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Parts of Florida are still digging out from the damage of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago. Now a much vaster part of Florida is about to be swept into the destructive force of Hurricane Milton. (Florida National Guard)

With Hurricane Milton expected to reach Category 3 or 4 force before hitting Florida in the middle of the week, state Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie on Sunday urged residents to immediately start putting storm plans in place, which could include evacuating further inland.

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.

Palm Coast Faces State Order to Build Up Sewer Capacity by 2028 as System Falters; Utility Rate Increases Inevitable

October 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 82 Comments

Palm Coast's Wastewater Treatment Plant #1 at the edge of the Woodlands is 50 years old. The city will be required by a state order to expand and rehabilitate it by 2028. (© FlaglerLive via Goggle Earth)

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is issuing a consent decree to Palm Coast government requiring the city to improve and expand one of its two sewer plants by 2028. The decree is a direct result of a system under strain and often over capacity. Compliance will be expensive, with ultimate costs in the $200 million range. Some of that may be paid with development impact fees. But a substantial portion of the cost will be the responsibility of existing rate-payers. The City Council will have no choice, especially with a consent decree hanging over its collective neck.

Palm Coast City Council Candidates Ray Stevens and Andrew Werner Sharpen Differences in Radio Face-Off

October 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Andrew Werner, left, and Ray Stevens this morning during their face-off on Free For All Fridays on WNZF. (© David Ayres for FlaglerLive)

Ray Stevens and Andrew Warner, the two candidates in the runoff for the District 3 seat of the Palm Coast City Council, faced off on WNZF’s Free For All Fridays this morning in a more focused and spirited discussion than candidates typically do at soporific and rarely challenging forums. The two candidates tangled for 65 minutes over development, their past, their associations, the reason they’re running, and why they’d be a better councilman than the other guy.

Flagler School Board is Doing Nothing to Encourage Applicants for Seat Vacated by Sally Hunt. Here’s How to Apply.

October 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

flagler school board appointment

The Flagler County School Board discussed the appointment of Sally Hunt’s replacement for the first time Tuesday, for just four minutes. It had no clue what to do next, and has no intentions of informing the public that the application window is open, or facilitating applications. The board chair has had contact with the governor’s appointment office, but did not say what that entailed other than getting an acknowledgement from that office that Hunt had resigned.

Palm Coast Says It Has No Control Over Burn Piles on Lands Cleared for Development But Will Seek Attorney General’s Opinion

October 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

A wood pile burning in May at the site of a development for over 300 homes along Royal Palms Parkway in Palm Coast. The burning there has stopped. (© FlaglerLive)

For years Palm Coast has had an ordinance giving it authority to control where and when burning takes place. The ordinance conflicts with state law, which reserves that authority exclusively to the Florida Forest Service. Rather than approve a new ordinance just yet, the Palm Coast City Council has agreed to seek an Attorney General opinion on what regulatory authority the city could seek within the law.

Palm Coast Fire Department Mourns Loss of Former Colleague Zachary Shane Mahaney, 43, to Suicide

October 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Zach Mahaney, far left, at the PALM Coast Community Center (Palm Coast)

The Palm Coast Fire Department is mourning the loss of Zachary Shane Mahaney, a 43-year-old former firefighter who spent a year with the department until last June. He died by a self-inflicted gunshot on Sept. 25 or 26 in Ormond Beach after going missing from his parents’ home on Sept. 25.

A Majority of the Palm Coast City Council Now Opposes Its Own Debt Referendum, Yet It Remains on the Ballot

October 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Newly appointed Palm Coast City Council member Charles Gambarro, left, attempted to nullify a controversial proposed referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot. City Attorney Marcus Duffy, right, counseled against it. (© FlaglerLive)

Newly appointed Palm Coast City Council member Charles Gambaro attempted to nullify a controversial proposed referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot. City Attorney Marcus Duffy counseled against it. That left the council in a startling position of defending a proposed referendum a majority of the council opposes. The ongoing debate is illustrative of the extent to which the proposed referendum has lost credibility and the way it is fracturing the council.

33-Year-Old Man With Mental Health Issues Again Arrested After Crash with Injuries and 5 MPH Chase on U.S. 1

October 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Flagler County Sheriff's deputies and Bunnell Police Department officers chased Kyle McNary on U.S. 1. (FCSO video still)

Kyle McNary, a 33-year-old Palm Coast resident Baker Acted and arrested after a severe mental health breakdown in late August was again arrested on numerous charges after allegedly attacking his step-father and causing a severe vehicle crash on U.S. 1, after which he led police on a crawl of a chase at 5 miles per hour on the highway.

Fire Station 22 Will Survive as Historic Building, with 90-Space Community Center Parking To Be Built Around It

October 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

The days of Palm Coast Fire Station 22, built in 1977, are drawing to a close. The grounds could be converted into a parking lot to accommodate overflow from the Community Center nearby. But an adjoining parcel could also do the job. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday voted on a $3.3 million plan that would preserve the old fire station and look to “adaptively reusing the building to serve alternate functions,” in the words of city architect Eric Gebo, while creating 90 new parking spaces as overflow for the nearby Community Center. The 138 parking spaces at the Community Center have proved insufficient for the number and popularity of activities and events there. On average, seven meetings a month are turned away from the center for lack of capacity.

Palm Coast Council Appoints Charles Gambaro to Heighter’s Seat, Bypassing Boyer

October 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Charles Gambaro walked upo to Darryl Boyer to shake his hand after the vote went Gambaro's way. (© FlaglerLive)

Executing the closest approximation of a midnight appointment in the city’s 25-year history, the Palm Coast City Council, with three of four members in their last weeks of service, appointed Charles Gambaro this evening to the seat Cathy Heighter resigned suddenly in August. 

Southern Recreation Center in Palm Coast Added as Fifth Early Voting Site

October 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

early voting southern recreation center

In preparation for a very high turnout during this Presidential Election, the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections will opened a new early voting site at Palm Coast’s Southern Recreation Center, at 1290 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast, bringing the total of early voting sites to five in Flagler County. The addition is in expectation of a heavy-turnout election and in response to a growing population.

Palm Coast Could Have Its First Free, Public 18-Hole Disc Golf Course in a Planned W-Section Park

October 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

disc golf course palm coast

Palm Coast and Flagler County may soon have their first disc golf course. If the Palm Coast City Council approves a proposed agreement with a builder, the 18-hole course will be the central feature of a new 9-acre city park at the corner of White Mill Drive and Pine Lakes Parkway. The builder, Marbella Apartments, will build the park at its expense, but in exchange for $569,000 in park impact fee credits.

Same ‘Horrid’ Conditions, Different House: Parent of 5 Arrested 4 Years Ago for Child Neglect Charged Again After Toddler Wanders

September 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Flagler County Sheriff's deputies invesigating Nicholas Carter's house on Barley Lane in Palm Coast Friday night. (© FlaglerLive/contributed)

Five years ago Nicolas Carter and his wife were arrested and charged with felony child neglect after authorities got complaints about the couple’s Espanola home. The couple was living with five young children in conditions lamentable beyond description. On Friday, Carter was arrested again on a similar charge, felony child neglect, and a misdemeanor charge of obstruction after one of his children–a toddler who was apparently born after the incident four years ago was seen wandering in the street, unattended. The house was in conditions similar to the one in Espanola.

The Fireman’s Son: Flagler County’s Even-Handed, Learned Judge Terence Perkins Retires

September 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins in his chambers on the fourth floor of the Flagler County courthouse. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins retires today after six years as Flagler County’s chief judge and 14 years as a judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, including stints as chief judge. In a long interview with FlaglerLive, Perkins reflected on a storied career that included a private practice at a firm he co-founded with colleagues, almost all of whom went on to become circuit or appellate judges, on the purpose of local judges, on his personal life, on the isolation and anguish judges feel at times, and on what’s next.

County Judge Andrea Totten on Circuit Judge Terence Perkins’s Retirement: ‘He Will be Profoundly Missed’

September 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

County Judge Andrea Totten, center, at her investiture in November 2019, with County Judge Melissa Distler and Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

County Judge Andrea Totten has known Circuit Judge Terence R. Perkins–who is retiring today–for 13 years, starting from when she clerked for him as a staff attorney in the Seventh Judicial Circuit to when he championed her candidacy for a new county judge seat in Flagler County, to which she was appointed in 2019. Totten reflects on those years, providing a unique perspective on Perkins beyond the courtroom.

The Big Read:
Deconstructing J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Fictions

September 27, 2024 | Pierre Tristam | 28 Comments

jd vance harden

When J.D. Vance went from calling Trump “America’s Hitler” and calling himself a Nevertrumper to calling him a man of “extraordinary vision” as he accepted the nomination for  vice-president, the apparent change was mistaken for the apotheosis of an opportunistic pivot and a betrayal of his memoir’s affective nuances. But it was in fact the reflection and perfection of a skill Vance displayed throughout “Hillbilly Elegy,” where he constructed a persona scaled to a chameleon’s tongue. The book is the Rosetta Stone of the Vance we see today.

Road Rage Incident on U.S. 1 Involving a Gun Results in 2 Felony Charges for 68-Year-Old Woman

September 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 30 Comments

Nancy Lee Leight

Nancy Lee Leight, a 68-year-old Palm Coast resident, faces two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following a road rage incident when she allegedly brandished a gun against a driver she’d cut off. 

Hurricane Helene Leaves 3.2 Million Without Power, Including Thousands in Flagler; Local Damage Minor

September 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

Marine deputies on a rescue mission near Ft. Myers Beach in a pair of stills from videos posted by the Lee County Sheriff's Office Thursday night.

As dawn broke over Florida and the Southeast today, 3.2 million people were without power in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm  at 11:10 p.m. in Florida’s Big Bend area–10 miles west of Perry, in Taylor County–and as one of the most destructive storms on record for the area, with winds of 140 miles per hour and a storm surge of 10 to 20 feet. In Flagler County, while power losses reached 10,000, only a few houses reported being struck by trees, with many more trees down on roads.

Matters of Temper and Temperament at Tiger Bay Forum, Many Evaded Questions, Some Revealing Moments

September 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

tiger bay candidates

The 35 or so people who turned up for Wednesday evening’s Flagler Tiger Bay Club candidate forum would have gotten a general understanding of where the candidates stood on local issues. But sharp differences were surprisingly rare, and specific answers to questions even rarer. Too many questions lent themselves to open-ended speculation and the sort of bromides no one can quibble with. A few questions about temperament, public private partnerships and the “westward expansion” yielded more insights, and the candidates themselves had moments more revealing than they may have intended.

Palm Coast Council Approves Budget and Tax Rate and Rejects Latest Attempt to Nullify Debt Referendum

September 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Palm Coast's city attorney, Marcus Duffy, again weathered indecorous criticism from Council member Ed Danko on Wednesday, who challenged him on his interpretation of procedures surrounding the call for a closed-door meeting. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council on Wednesday gave final approval on a 3-1 vote to a $358 million budget and a slight reduction in the property tax rate starting Oct. 1. The 50-minute hearing, which had been rescheduled from last week, when two of the council members were ill, turned indecorous again in its last 10 minutes. Council member Ed Danko challenged the city attorney over a lawsuit just filed against the city to stop a referendum on November’s ballot, and urged two of his colleagues to rescind their vote supporting the referendum, so the legal action is made moot. They declined.

‘Catastrophic’ Helene Landfall Projected for Big Bend This Evening, But Limited Outer-Band Impacts in Flagler-Palm Coast

September 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Hurricane Helene's path will take it through the Big Bend area of Florida, while its outer rain bands will lash at Northeast Florida, including Flagler County. (Tropical Tidbits)

In Northeast Florida, including Flagler County, outer rain bands will increase in frequency today, with stronger winds arriving after noon and local impacts increasing through Thursday night, the National Weather Service in Jacksonville says. But rain totals in coastal Flagler and Palm Coast are expected to be significantly less than in inland Flagler and counties further west and southwest: forecast models have coastal Flagler and Palm Coast receiving less than one inch, though localized thunderstorms may produce more. The flash flooding potential in Flagler is in the 5 to 15 percent range.

Flagler Beach Hears Substantial Opposition to Veranda Bay Annexation as Developer Counters: ‘I Have Agreed to a Lot Here’

September 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

At least 60 people filled the Flagler Beach City Commission's chamber for a special workshop on the Veranda Bay annexation Tuesday evening, not including commission members, staff and the developer and his attorney. (© FlaglerLive)

More than two dozen people in an audience of 60 spoke against Flagler Beach’s annexation of the 2,700-unit Veranda Bay development as crafted in a special workshop Tuesday evening. Three commissioners raised substantial concerns as well. But none of it appears to be a deal-breaker as the developer agreed to continue negotiating, and to make several pledges and concessions.

55 Years in Prison for Devandre Williams, 20, in Killings of Keymarion Hall and Noah Smith, Who Were Both 16

September 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Devandre Williams after the sentencing today. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced Devandre Bernard Williams to two concurrent 55-year prison terms for the shooting deaths of Noah Smith and Keymarion Hall, both 16, in 2022 in Bunnell. Williams had faced life in prison for either. He pleaded two weeks ago to a sentence of between 40 to 60 years with a mandatory minimum of 25 years on the count involving Hall, leaving it to Perkins to decide where to set the sentence. Co-defendant Tyrese Patterson is to be sentenced on November. Co-defendant Stephen Monroe’s case is still in the pre-trial phase.

Helene Will Be Major Hurricane by Landfall in Big Bend, Flagler at Edge of Concerns; Expect Messy Thursday

September 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Hurricane Helene's forecast path according to the European model. It is expected to make landfall as a major, Category 3 hurricane in Florida's Big Bend, bringing heavy rain and some wind to Flagler County especially on Thursday. (Tropical Tidbits)

Tropical Storm Helene is forecast to strengthen and move rapidly, becoming a major Category 3 hurricane–with winds above 111 miles per hour–before landfall along Florida’s Big Bend and Nature Coasts on Thursday evening. Helene will become very large, so impacts will be experienced far from the center. The potential for direct impacts is increasing for northeast Florida, according to the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, with local impacts including heavy rain and some flooding possible beginning on Wednesday night and lasting through early Friday morning. Thursday will be messy locally.

Attorney Behind Lawsuit Challenging Palm Coast’s Debt Referendum Had Warned Council of Red Flags in August

September 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Palm Coast attorney Jay Livingston, seen here speaking with County Attorney Al Hadeed in 2019.

Jay Livingston, the Palm Coast attorney who filed the lawsuit challenging the City Council’s proposed referendum removing limits on the city’s bonding, borrowing and leasing powers, was struck by ballot language he said was “designed to intentionally mislead the voters” as he heard it while waiting on an unrelated land-use issue before the council in July. Meanwhile, the city attorney suggested to council members that they only discuss the lawsuit in a “shade” or closed-door meeting, which raises issues of its own.

Stand-Alone AdventHealth ER Once Planned for Matanzas Woods Parkway Will Be Built a Few Miles North

September 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The future ER is a short distance from the Flagler-St. Johns County line.

AdventHealth has announced the first phase of plans for 10.75 acres in St. Johns County. The health care system will build a 12-bed off-site emergency department (OSED) to expand services in the rapidly growing area. Located east of I-95, near the intersection of State Road 207 and Wildwood Drive, construction is anticipated to begin in 2025 and be completed by early 2026. The location is roughly 23 miles from the center of Palm Coast, and a shorter drive for north and northwest Palm Coast, where development has been brisk.

Sheriff Staly: Why I Oppose Amendment 3 on Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

September 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 88 Comments

Sheriff Rick Staly. (© FlaglerLive)

As Flagler County voters consider Amendment 3, which proposes the legalization of recreational marijuana in Florida, we must consider the serious consequences the amendment would impose on our community and what its backers, with their well-funded commercials, aren’t telling you, Sheriff Rick Staly writes.

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.

In Flagler Expect More Rain as PTC9 Morphs into Helene; State of Emergency for Panhandle and West Florida

September 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

hurricane helene

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday declared a state of emergency for 41 counties as a storm system is expected to rapidly grow into a powerful hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. The counties do not include Flagler or its surrounding region, which is expected to be spared the brunt of the storm. But Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said Flagler could see up to 4 inches of rain on already saturated grounds over the next four days from what is currently known as Potential Tropical Cyclone 9, and will be known as Helene.

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.

Lawyer for Victim of Alleged Rape by Flagler Paramedic Informs County of Her Intention to Sue

September 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The interior of a new Flagler County Fire Rescue ambulance before it went into service. (© FlaglerLive)

A lawyer representing the victim of an alleged sexual assault as she was being transported unconscious aboard a Flagler County Fire Rescue ambulance has notified county government of her intention to sue. The notice is not a surprise. James Tyler Melady, who had worked as a paramedic with Flagler County Fire Rescue since 2018, had a checkered record and was going to be fired when he resigned in June, was arrested on Sept. 12 on a charge of sexual battery–or rape–of a patient who was passed out with intoxication and was being transported by ambulance to a local hospital the night of Oct.16-17, 2021.

A Florida Editor Told Clay Jones His Political Cartoons Were Too Political. He Responds.

September 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

clay jones

Celebrated and fearless cartoonist Clay Jones, whose work has been appearing at FlaglerLive for a year, received a complaint from a Florida editor (not us) that his political cartoons were too political. His response: I refuse to change how I cartoon to the point that my work is frivolous and meaningless. Other cartoonists are doing that. Let them have it.” Clay Jones will not play nice. For good reason.

Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Referendum That Would End Limits on Palm Coast’s Borrowing Power, Calling Language Deceptive

September 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

Surprise litigant: Alan Lowe, a former candidate for Palm Coast mayor, filed suit against the city in an attempt to nullify a ballot measure. (© FlaglerLive)

Alan Lowe, one of the candidates for Palm Coast mayor defeated in the August primary, sued the city and the Supervisor of Elections on Friday to remove from the November ballot a charter amendment that would scrap limits on the city’s borrowing and leasing capacities. The suit argues that the amendment’s language is misleading–a point two of the four sitting council members have made, as have both remaining candidates for mayor and some of the candidates for council seats.

Mixing Self-Pity with Self-Applause, Sally Hunt Resigns For Real This Time; DeSantis Appointment Could Take Months

September 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

She was never really all there. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt submitted a resignation letter by email early this afternoon, making good on a pledge that by November she’d be gone from the seat she’s occupied less than two years. Hobbling with self-inflicted wounds from one of the most turbulent school board tenures in recent memory, Hunt claimed her “early departure from the Board was not an intended or desired outcome.” Many of her actions in her months on the board, and her frequent absence from it, from school functions and from contact with constituents, suggested otherwise.

Flagler County’s Inventory of Homes for Sale Reaches 13-Year High as Unemployment Remains Above 4%

September 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

unemployment august 2024 flagler florida

After rising to a three-year high last month, Flagler County’s unemployment rate declined a statistically insignificant fraction, to 4.4 percent. In one troubling indicator: The local inventory of available housing is now at 1,225 single family homes–the highest number in 13 years. It was last at that level in may 2012, when the inventory was shrinking fast in the recovery from the housing boom.

R-Section Man Brandishes AK-47 at Solar Contractors and Orders Them to Leave. He’s Charged With a Misdemeanor.

September 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 43 Comments

Roland Littlefield.

Roland Littlefield, 53, of 17 Regent Lane in Palm Coast, thought a group of people in a car who were working for a solar company were “casing” the neighborhood, so he allegedly pointed his AK-47 assault rifle at them and ordered them to leave. Similar behavior is typically charged as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony. Littlefield was charged with using a firearm while drunk, a second-degree misdemeanor .

104 Single-Family House Subdivision Approved for Palm Coast’s L-Section as Planning Board Raises Flooding Cautions

September 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 48 Comments

The green square toward the middle is the future site of Matanzas Park, a 104-house subdivision. A strip of Matanzas Woods Parkway is visible in the left corner. U.S. 1 and Sawmill Creek's new houses are in the upper left. North would be toward the upper right. (Google Earth)

The Palm Coast Planning Board on Wednesday approved the master plan for Matanzas Park, a 104-house subdivision in Palm Coast’s L-Section. The subdivision will fill a 26-acre rectangle–if not almost a square–rimmed by Londonderry, London and Longfellow drives, all of which are built up, with houses abutting the subdivision’s property. Some 40 percent of the acreage in the proposed subdivision is wetlands, which will be eliminated but for a pond in the middle of the site. The board raised some cautions about potential flooding in and around the subdivision. 

Flagler School Board Makes ECGs Mandatory for Student Athletes as Sally Hunt, In Shift, Provides Swing Vote

September 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

The Flagler County School Board Tuesday became only the sixth or seventh district out of 67 in Florida to make ECG screenings for student athletes mandatory at least once in their four years of high school. The 3-2 vote followed 75 minutes of often heart-wrenching personal pleas from parents whose children suffered or died from heart defects, and the divided board’s at times contentious disagreements over whether to include an opt-out in the requirement, especially between Will Furry, the board chairman–and opponent of a mandate–and Colleen Conklin, its chief advocate.

Sheriff’s Reorganization Nets $650,000 in Cost Reductions, Helping to Fill Shortfalls in Employee and Inmate Healthcare

September 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Retirements prompt cost-saving moves at the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. (© FlaglerLive)

With the approaching retirements of Division Chiefs Kim Burroughs and David Williams, Sheriff Rick Staly asked his Executive Team to conduct a critical review of their responsibilities and provide him with suggestions to enhance the Sheriff’s Office.

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