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

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

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

Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News

Tips for Surviving Election Day

November 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

tips election day

No matter what, we all need some tips for surviving the shouting, the demonstrating, the tantrum-throwing, the reality-denying, and the lawsuits, which are the habitual response of our fellow citizens when they don’t get their way. Here you go.

Renner, on His Last Day, and Staly on His 2,497th, Break Ground on Florida Guard’s Training Facility in Bunnell

November 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

A Florida State Guard dog showing the groundbreakers how it's done this afternoon off Justice Lane. (Andy Dance)

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, who all but birthed the concept, and Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, joined with state and local officials this afternoon to break ground on the future $10 million Florida State Guard multi agency, regional training facility in Bunnell. The facility will serve the State Guard, which Gov. Ron DeSantis revived four years ago, but also all local police and fire agencies, and some regional law enforcement agencies as well in a more advanced training complex than they’ve known to date.

For Ex-Montessori School Owner Kerri Huckabee, 30 Days in Jail and 3 Years Probation Over Attacks on Neighbors

November 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

Kerri Huckabee after her plea and sentencing today, as she was being finger-printed. She was not taken into custody: she will serve her jail term on weekends. (© FlaglerLive)

Kerri Anne Huckabee, the 55-year-old Flagler Beach resident and former Montessori school owner arrested 14 months ago on felony charges after attacking and destroying her neighbors’ surveillance cameras in the culmination of chronic hostility toward them, was sentenced today to 30 days in jail and three years on probation in a plea agreement that reduced the charges and closed the case.

81-Year-Old Man Killed in Car Collision on Royal Palms and U.S. 1 Was 5th Pedestrian Killed This Year in Flagler

November 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

The U.S. 1-Royal Palms Parkway intersection. Education Way is in the distance, parallel to Royal Palms. (© FlaglerLive)

An 81-year-old Palm Coast resident on foot was killed in a collision with a car as he was crossing the road at U.S. 1 and Royal Palms Parkway early Saturday morning. The 20-year-old Daytona Beach man driving the car suffered minor injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The victim is the fifth pedestrian killed on Flagler County roads so far this year, representing a third of all road fatalities.

Palm Coast Debt Referendum Will Be Counted as Judge Rules Ballot Language Unambiguous

November 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Circuit Judge Chris France, left, at the end of last Friday's hearing. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Chris France this morning issued an order denying a motion to nullify the Palm Coast City Council’s referendum that, if approved, would remove limits on the city’s borrowing and leasing authority. The decision is a victory for the City Council, sharply divided though it is about it and pyrrhic though the victory may end up being, if the referendum fails and sours voters on a subsequent attempt to pass one with less controversy and more clarity.

Why Trump Beat Harris By 312 Electoral Votes

November 1, 2024 | Pierre Tristam | 118 Comments

trump wins

Monday-morning-quarterbacking Democrats’ mistakes is a dead end. It wouldn’t have mattered what Harris did or who the Democrats ran. The result would have been the same. Trump didn’t make this moment. It was made for him, in no small part by liberalism’s abdication. The more liberalism projected self-loathing without a hint of pride in country or redemptive hope for it, the more it ceded the ground to “a bottom-up populist revolt” let by a strongman who reflects their belief: America’s democratic moment is over.

Chick-Fil-A Will Open Second Palm Coast Restaurant in BJ’s Wholesale Shopping Center

November 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

The Chick-fil-A on Palm Coast Parkway is getting company on the south side of the city. (© FlaglerLive)

Chick-fil-A, the popular restaurant chain that drew a small tent city of eager customers before it opened its first franchise in Palm Coast eight years ago, will be opening its second restaurant in the city in the BJ’s Wholesale shopping center, according to construction plans recently submitted to the city. City Manager Lauren Johnston dropped a hint about the restaurant in a presentation at a local chamber event earlier this week.

Judge France Will Rule on Whether to Nullify Palm Coast’s Debt Referendum Before Close of Election Day

November 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

GrayRobinson's Rachael Crews arguing Palm Coast government's case to Circuit Judge Chris France today, with (© FlaglerLive)

With Election Day four days away, Circuit Judge Chris France today said he will rule before Tuesday evening after hearing arguments in a citizen’s challenge of a controversial ballot proposal that would remove borrowing limits on Palm Coast. 

Daisy Henry Street Now Glides Through the Heart of Bunnell, Along Carver Gym Late Pastor Championed and Saved

November 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

It's Daisy henry's street now. (© FlaglerLive)

This morning, a stretch of four blocks of East Drain Street, along the gym’s ballfields on one side and family homes on the other, became Daisy Henry Street, so renamed for the former city commissioner and pastor by a city that wanted to “honor a legacy,” in the words of City Manager Alvin Jackson, and bolden Henry’s already distinguished mark on Bunnell’s history.

The Sex Wars Through Neil Simon’s Wit: City Rep Stages “Jake’s Women,” a Comedy in Dramatic Acts

November 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

The CRT production of “Jake’s Women” stars, from left: Bethanie Stillion as Edith, Julia Truilo as Karen, Alexandrea Lightfoot as Julie and Eric Bohus as Jake. (Mike Kitaif)

In Neil Simon’s “Jake’s Women,” opening tonight at City Repertory Theatre in Palm Coast, Jake is a novelist who has issues with intimacy, guilt, trust and all sorts of other familiar themes of the sex wars as he navigates the shoals of upper-class middle-age American dynamics, back when those problems were all we had to worry about. But it’s not a traditional play, as Neil Simon has a lot of fun breaking the fourth wall–that imaginary divide between the stage and the audience.

Ethics Commission Tosses Yet Another Complaint Against Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, This One from Familiar Name

October 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Jeani Duarte addressing Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, a few weeks before she filed an ethics commission against him. (© FlaglerLive via Palm Coast's YouTube)

For the third time in six months, the Florida Ethics Commission has dismissed a complaint filed against Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, finding it legally insufficient. The complaint was filed by Jeani Duarte, who in September twice filed suit in Flagler County Circuit Court in an attempt to stop the city’s referendum on a charter amendment. A judge called Duarte’s pleadings “nonsensical.”

Noisy Planes at Low Altitude Will Spray Mosquitoes Swarming in Aftermath of Hurricane Milton Starting Nov. 2

October 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

One or two Beechcraft King Air turboprop planes will start spraying mosquitoes across most of Flagler County at very low altitude–just 300 feet–starting Nov. 2, to reduce the multiplying population of mosquitoes in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. The spraying is paid for with state emergency funds and the planes are contracted through the state rather than through the East Flagler Mosquito Control District. 

Almost 60 Percent of Flagler County’s Registered Voters Have Cast a Ballot, 6th Highest Turnout in Florida

October 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

The early voting line at the Supervisor of Elections' office on Wednesday. (© FlaglerLive)

Turnout in the general election in Flagler County was approaching 60 percent Thursday, with two more days of early voting and Election Day next Tuesday, ahead of the pace of the 2020 election, which resulted in a turnout of 78.6 percent among registered voters. The supervisor of elections and local Democratic and Republican party leaders are describing a nearly issues-free election of historic proportion. 

Gov. DeSantis Appoints Derek Barrs, Who Lost to Janie Ruddy by 291 Votes, to School Board Seat Hunt Resigned

October 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

Derek Barrs. (© FlaglerLive)

Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday appointed Derek Barrs, the former Florida Highway Patrol troop commander and chief who lost to Janie Ruddy by 290 votes in  a School Board race in August, to the board seat Sally Hunt resigned a month after the primary. 

At Chamber’s Future of Flagler Forum, Rousing Cheer for Years Ahead from City, County and School Leaders

October 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

It isn't often that Superintendent LaShakia Moore is upstaged at an event, as she was today by the pulsating Alvin Jackson, the Bunnel city manager, who had an audience of more than 100 on the edge of its seats. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce gave a crowd of over 100 people the chance to hear the state of Flagler County’s cities, county and school board in less than 60 minutes, presented in rapid, compelling, and at times rousing succession by men and women more knowledgeable, less vapid and generally more intelligent than the elected officials who hire them: city and county managers and the school superintendent. 

Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin Accepts ‘Tough Love’ Evaluation of His First Year

October 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin.

With one exception, Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin did not get past “meets job standards” from four city commissioners and the mayor in the evaluation of his first year, and barely made it into that category (a few decimal points above “improvement needed) from one of them as he tallied an average score of 3.65 points out of a possible 5.

Texts Show Ed Danko Seeking to Recruit Resident to File Lawsuit Against His Own Council’s Debt Referendum

October 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 43 Comments

The Palm Coast City Council's Ed Danko has been fighting a proposed referendum he had previously approved for the ballot, and appears to have been significantly involved in recruiting a plaintiff for a lawsuit against the city, to nullify the referendum's results. (© FlaglerLive)

Dozens of texts Palm Coast Councilman Danko exchanged with a Palm Coast resident who was willing to be the plaintiff in a lawsuit show to what extent Danko was strategizing against the a referendum that would facilitate city debt. Texts show Danko predicating at least one council vote’s outcome on a lawsuit, discussed lawyers, sought information from his potential recruit and spoke of “our lawsuit.” A friend, Alan Lowe, eventually filed the lawsuit. Council member Theresa Pontieri says Danko’s involvement is a “blatant” conflict.

Flagler Government’s Former HR Manager Sues the County, Describing Hostile and Indifferent Environment

October 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

Samatha Whitfield speaking with Flagler County Sheriff's Cmdr. Jeff Stuart during a 2019 meeting, when Whitfield was employed by the Sheriff's Office. (© FlaglerLive)

Samatha Whitfield, the former human resources manager for Flagler County government, is suing the county in a whistleblower action, claiming she was terminated last summer in retaliation for reporting violations of rules and misconduct by one of her colleagues, to which the county administration responded with indifference.

Bunnell, Palm Coast and County Will Host Joint Veterans Day Ceremony and Parade Nov. 11

October 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Commemorative bricks at Heroes Park in palm Coast. (© FlaglerLive)

The parade will travel east on Moody Boulevard and conclude at the Government Services Building where the traditional ceremony will begin. Retired U.S. Naval Captain James Randall “Randy” Stapleford – a career naval aviator who served from 1972 to 2003 – will be the grand marshal of the parade and will share a few words at the ceremony.

Palm Coast Council Sharply Divided Over Making Large Developers Pay ‘Minuscule’ Fee for Public Art

October 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Copper Tritscheller’s “Burro With Bird on Shoulder” in Town Center's Central Park has been lonely since a 2020 installation that was to open the way for a lot more public art. The Burro's eyes on City Hall were disappointed by the council's divided enthusiasm over expanding the city's public art capabilities in a vote last month. The council tries again next week. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council is divided over a modest program to fund public art installations that would require larger developers to devote half of a percent of the value of their project to the arts. One council member calls it “awesome.” Another says it “makes no sense.” A third is “torn.”

Two Flagler Beach Residents Prevail Over Veranda Bay’s Parent Company, Ending 5-Year-Old Defamation Suit

October 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

The meeting that cast shadows over the lives of several Flagler Beach residents or member of the group Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creeek, after the parent company of the Veranda Bay development seized on some statements to sue for defamation. A judge has ruled against the company five years later. (© FlaglerLive)

Sunbelt Land Management, the company affiliated with the Veranda Bay development on John Anderson Highway, has lost a defamation suit the company filed in 2020 against Sallee Aernoff and Ken Bryan, two Flagler Beach residents who spoke up about its land-clearing practices. Circuit Judge Chris France, in a strong opinion in defense of expression on public issues free of intimidation, granted the two residents’ motion for summary judgment last week.

Palm Coast Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary with Quilts, Cake and a ‘Living Time Capsule’

October 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Michelle Young and her dog Nitro memorialize the occasion. (© FlaglerLive)

In contrast with the rain-soaked 10th anniversary celebration, the skies were cloudless Saturday and the sun blazing as Palm Coast marked its 25th anniversary with speeches, a blue and yellow cake, quilts and a “living time capsule” that looks back at the past quarter century.

Portions of East Drain Street in Bunnell Will Be Renamed in Honor of Former Commissioner Daisy Henry

October 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Daisy Henry and East Drain Street have long been synonymous. (© FlaglerLive)

Following a vote by the Bunnell City Commission in July, Bunnell government will rename a portion of East Drain Street in the south part of the city after Daisy Henry, the long-time city commissioner and a local icon who was all but synonymous with life around and beyond Drain Street. The street will be called Daisy Henry Street. That ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 1 at 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of East Drain Street and South Pine St. in Bunnell, with ample parking near Carver Gym. 

A ‘Firehose’ of Disinformation as Trump and Musk Spread Lies About Voter Fraud in Campaign’s Final Days

October 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 48 Comments

florida voting

Fanned by former President Donald Trump and notable allies such as tech tycoon Elon Musk, election disinformation is warping voters’ faith in the integrity of the democratic process, polls show, and setting the stage once again for potential public unrest if the Republican nominee fails to win the presidency. Their lies about noncitizens voting, the vulnerability of mail-in ballots and the security of voting machines are spreading widely over social media.

Speech Codes at Flagler School Board and Palm Coast Council Are Now Illegal, Thanks to Moms for Liberty

October 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Several of the rules in effect at government meetings such as the Flagler County School Board have been ruled unconstitutional by a federal court, among them the prohibition on addressing anyone but the board chair, the prohibition on referring to district or government employees by name, or the use of certain profanities. (© FlaglerLive)

A decision by the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, controlling law in Flagler County, invalidates local governments’ speech codes that prohibit public speakers from addressing individual members of elected boards, or citing employees by name, or quoting from school library books, no matter how racy, or speaking offensively, which is considered a point of view. But rules against disruption and obscenity remain. The question is: will local governments correct their rules accordingly?

A Third of Flagler County Voters Have Already Cast a Ballot, Compared to 24% in Florida

October 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Voting continues to be brisk at Flagler County's five early-voting locations. (© FlaglerLive)

Early voting in Flagler County have significantly exceeded the numbers in the 2020 and 2016 general elections, with the total of mailed-in votes almost at parity with early voting. By early afternoon Friday, just the fifth of 13 days of early voting, a third of Flagler County’s registered voters–almost 32,000—had cast a ballot, well ahead of the 24 percent who have done so statewide.

A Different Kind of Road Rage: Man Accused of Threatening Work Crew with Machete

October 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Miguel Angel Rodriguez, a 43-year-old resident of Seminole Woods in Palm Coast, faces a felony assault charge after allegedly confronting a work crew while brandishing a machete. He’d been upset about a delay on Belle Terre Boulevard.

Flagler Auditorium’s New Season Launches with St. Augustine Orchestra, and a Special Violinist, Sunday

October 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

St. Augustine Orchestra conductor and artistic director Scott Gregg with trumpeter Andrea Albritton. (St. Augustine Orchestra)

When the SAO, which lacks its own permanent performing space in St. Augustine and plays at high schools, churches and other venues across Northeast Florida, reached out to the Fitzgerald to rent its theater for a concert, Fulmer and the performing arts center governing board saw an opportunity they didn’t want to slip away: to bring back classical music performances to the local stage.

Company Building Data Center in Palm Coast Clears Undersea Cables’ Final Hurdle in Flagler Beach

October 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The acreage in Palm Coast's Town Center that will be transformed into a data center. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Beach’s South 6th Street will soon be the landing point for up to six of the 600-some transatlantic data cables that form the backbone of the internet. The cables will then snake underground, across State Road 100 and into Town center, where DX Blox, the Atlanta-based company, will build a “cable landing station,” or a data center, near the intersection of Town Center Boulevard and Royal Palms Parkway.

As Seminole Woods Soon Gets Its Own Fire Station, Emergency Response Times May By Cut in Half for Many

October 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

At the groundbreaking this morning. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast Fire Department and city government officials hosted a groundbreaking for the $10.5 million Fire Station 26 in Seminole Woods, what will be the city’s sixth fire station. It is expected to drastically reduce emergency response time in Seminole Woods and Quayle Hollow when the building is finished in January 2026.

Palm Coast Belies Its Own Council Members’ Statements As It Claims Debt Referendum Is ‘Clear and Unambiguous’

October 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Circuit Judge Chris France. (© FlaglerLive)

Sharply divided though it’s been over the matter, the Palm Coast City Council is opting to fight a lawsuit that seeks to invalidate a proposed charter amendment at the Nov. 5 election, filing an answer to the lawsuit that seeks its dismissal primarily on technical grounds. The city’s answer that the ballot language is “clear and unambiguous,” however, directly contradicts what a majority of the council has said about the language. 

Cajun Beach Restaurant in Flagler Beach, In Rare City Rebuke Over Noise, Is Denied Music Permit

October 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Cajun Beach restaurant is on Oceanshore Boulevard at South 12th Street. (© FlaglerLive)

In a rare rebuke that reflects a history of complaints about the business, the Flagler Beach City Commission denied an outdoor entertainment permit to Cajun Beach Boil and Sushi, the restaurant on State Road A1A at South 12th Street, after the business flouted a city ordinance.

‘Significant Reservations’ About Approving 2,735 Homes at Veranda Bay as Development Advances on 4-1 Vote

October 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

The entrance to Veranda Bay off John Anderson Highway. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission is slowly moving toward approval of annexing Veranda Bay, the 900-acre development along that could potentially double the population of the city, change its character as a small town and upend its political center of gravity. But commissioners are pushing back against the number of homes, which could be a deal-breaker. The developer has made several concessions and is continuing to negotiate, but the total number of homes has so far been a hard line.

In Flagler and Florida, Democrats Lose Vote-By-Mail Edge as Republicans Rally in Early Voting

October 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 39 Comments

Early voting has been brisk in Flagler County as in the rest of Florida, wiping out any advantage Democrats might have built in mailed-in ballots. Above, a scene at the Flagler County Public Library on Palm Coast Parkway, one of five early-voting sites for a fortnight. (© FlaglerLive)

After falling behind in voting by mail, Florida Republicans quickly moved ahead of Democrats in ballots cast in the November election on the strength of turning out to early voting sites. In Flagler County, ballots turned in by registered Democrats had an edge before early voting started on Monday, and Democrats were clinging to a bare difference of a few dozen ballots in that category by midday today. But a record turnout in the first two days of early voting quickly wiped out that advantage.

Hammock and Barrier Island Outside Cities Would Pay New Tax to Help Pay for Flagler’s $8.2 Million Beach Plan

October 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

The county has a plan. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government has devised a plan to generate $8.2 million a year in local dollars to rebuild and maintain the 11.6 miles of beach north of Beverly Beach to the border of Marineland. The County Commission intends to vote on that plan, which includes a new tax for portions of the barrier island, on Nov. 4.

Palm Coast Historical Society and City Unveil Hernandez-Honoring Historical Marker at Long Creek Preserve

October 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The celebrants. (Palm Coast)

The Palm Coast Historical Society and Palm Coast government on Friday unveiled a new historical monument at Long Creek Nature Preserve, honoring the rich history and natural beauty of this beloved local treasure.

Matters of Temper Dominate Palm Coast Mayoral Candidates Cornelia Manfre’s and Mike Norris’s Final Clash

October 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 38 Comments

Mike Norris and Cornelia Manfre in the WNZF studios last Friday. (WNZF)

In their hour on the air, sitting in close quarters in WNZF’s studio but with an empty chair between them, Palm Coast mayoral candidates Cornelia Manfre and Mike Norris attacked, ducked, provoked and raised alarms about each other, never in good fun but never with disrespect. Manfre was clearly more prepared, sounding more forceful, answering questions in sharp, short and clear outlines and keeping Norris on the defensive.

Early Voting at Flagler County’s Five Locations Breaks Single-Day Record; 12,100 Mail Ballots Already In

October 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

Turnout was brisk at the Flagler County Public Library on Palm Coast Parkway, one of five early-voting locations. The library location was the busiest this morning, with a line snaking around the sidewalk and halfway down the parking lot, toward the entrance. (© FlaglerLive)

With some 12,100 votes already turned in by mail so far, early voting in Flagler County began its 13-day run today with record-breaking turnout despite slow lines as a ballot with two dozen races and a half dozen constitutional and charter amendments took voters time to read and fill out.

Federal Judge Cites ‘Legislative Privilege’ to Shield School Board Members from testifying in Book Ban Case

October 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The wagons have circled. An illustration from "And Tango Makes Three."

A federal judge has shielded Escambia County School Board members from having to testify in a legal battle about the removal of children’s books from school libraries. United States Magistrate Judge Zachary C. Bolitho on Friday issued a 15-page order agreeing with the school board that members do not have to give depositions because of what is known as “legislative privilege.”

New College’s Descent from Stellar Florida College to ‘Eugenicon’

October 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

florida new college

Steve Sailer, a “eugenicon” who believes Black people are genetically inferior to whites, race is biological, interracial marriage is wrong, and “core Americans” are by definition white, has been invited to speak at one of New College’s “Socratic Stage Dialogues.” Socrates himself would not know whether to laugh, cry, or take an even bigger swig of hemlock.

Hurricane Milton Damage Forces Flagler Beach Public Library, a City Treasure, to Close Until Further Notice

October 18, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

One of Flagler Beach's treasures. (© FlaglerLive)

Hurricane Milton’s rains caused some damage at the Flagler Beach Library, requiring services to be limited to curbsides, with even those services now suspended. A reopening date is not yet certain, but is probable later this month. 

54-Year-Old Palm Coast Man Wanted in Flagler Beach Shooting Found Dead of Apparent Self-Inflicted Gunshot

October 18, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Yairton Garcia in a 2023 mug shot from the Flagler County jail, where he'd been booked on a charge later dropped.

Yairton Garcia, the 54-year-old Palm Coast and Daytona Beach resident suspected by Flagler Beach police of shooting and wounding a man in Flagler Beach in the early morning of Oct. 5, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at a Lake Charles house in Palm Coast on Wednesday after Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies had surrounded the house and sent in a robot to investigate Garcia’s whereabouts. 

After Closed-Door Meeting, No Sign Palm Coast Is Settling Ballot Referendum Litigation, Which May Go Past Election

October 18, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

closed door meeting

Signals from Thursday’s closed-door meeting of the Palm Coast City Council suggest that the city appears not ready to settle the lawsuit over the ballot referendum on a charter amendment that would allow the city more freely to borrow money and enter into lease agreements. If the referendum fails, the case would be moot. If it succeeds, it won’t be the end of litigation: at least twice before courts have invalidated such referendums in Florida well after the vote was certified, and those challenging the measure intend to keep challenging it even if it succeeds at the polls on Nov. 5.

Aviation Company Aura Aero Selects Volusia Over Flagler County for for 500,000-Square-Foot Manufacturing Plant and 1,000 Jobs

October 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 74 Comments

AURA AERO Inc. plans to open a manufacturing and assembly plant in Volusia County at the Daytona Beach International Airport. A rendering of the facility is pictured here. (Photo: AURA AERO Inc.)

Aura Aero Inc., the French designer and manufacturer of next-generation aircraft, has announced its intent to build a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing and assembly plant in Volusia County at the Daytona Beach International Airport. The facility will create more than 1,000 high-paying jobs in the area. Flagler County had been in contention for the facility.

Palm Coast Council Wants Another Re-Write of Vacation-Rental Ordinance, Pushing Approval to Next Year

October 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The saltwater canals in Palm Coast's C-Section and a sliver of the F-Section have been an attractive amenity since the city's origins in the 1960s and 70s, when ITT Levitt dug them out. But they've never been dredged since, and the silt is accumulating. The question is: how much will it cost to dredge, and who should pay? (© FlaglerLive)

Four months after it directed its attorney to draft it, the Palm Coast City Council again delayed approving the city’s first-ever vacation-rental ordinance as numerous issues and new proposals arose after the latest draft, which was due for a first read on on Tuesday. Instead, the council agreed to table it and schedule another workshop in December or January, when three new members will be on the council. That means the council will barely have time to approve the ordinance before the state Legislature again tries to pass a law that invalidates local ordinances.

Palm Coast Renews Contract with Southern Group Lobbying Firm, But With a Probationary Caveat

October 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Laura Boehmer and Oscar Anderson of Southern Group, Palm Coast’s lobbying firm,

Last June the Palm Coast City Council called on the carpet its lobbying firm in Tallahassee after voicing some dissatisfaction over the city’s record haul in state appropriations. On Tuesday, the council renewed its contract with the firm, but only for one year, not three, as the administration had proposed. The city will pay the firm $72,000 for the year, up from $60,000 in the last contract year, and leave the option open for four renewals.

Contracted Jail Guard Roberto Martinez of Palm Coast Accused of Pulling Gun on Fiancée

October 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Roberto Martinez.

Roberto Martinez, a 34-year-old resident of Bannerwood Lane in Palm Coast, was arrested on a felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge after allegedly intimidating his fiancée with a gun during an argument, and quickly changing into his guard uniform before police showed up, as if to gain favor with deputies. 

Palm Coast Approves 1st Steps Toward $240 Million Sewer Expansion, With Higher Utility Rates Coming in Spring

October 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 39 Comments

It'll take a lot of money to keep the lights on, but the city has no choice. Above, Palm Coast's younger of two sewer plants, which went into operation in 2018 off U.S. 1. (© FlaglerLive)

Addressing one of the most critical issues hampering the city’s infrastructure–and facing an order from the state to expand sewer capacity–the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday took a pair of momentous steps that by next spring will result in higher water and sewer rates to help pay for a nearly quarter-billion dollar expansion of one of the city’s two sewer plants. Only a portion of the construction can legally be covered by development impact fees. Absent grants or unexpected new revenue, the rest has to be paid through water and sewer rates, which are currently too low to shoulder that burden.

How Residential Growth, a State Order and Intense Rains Are Forcing Palm Coast’s Hand on Sewer Expansion

October 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Residential certificate of occupancy issued since 2000 in Palm Coast. (Palm Coast)

A combination of sharp growth that’s not paying for itself, a consent decree–or mandatory order–by the state and increasingly intense rain events have combined to force Palm Coast to rapidly expand its two sewer plants, resulting in significant capacity by 2028 but at significant cost: one of the two plant expansions will cost $245 million, between design and construction costs, and likely more by the time it’s done around 2028. The city has no choice in that timeline because of the consent decree, just as the Palm Coast City Council will have no choice but to raise utility rates next year.

Settlement Offer Gives Palm Coast Council Chance to Pull Embattled Debt Referendum from the Ballot

October 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The Palm Coast City Council, in the open. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council is holding a closed-door meeting at 3 p.m. on Thursday at City Hall to consider a settlement offer in the lawsuit challenging the veracity of the city’s debt referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot. The offer proposes that opposing sides agree to end the lawsuit and not count the results of the referendum, which will still appear on the ballot. The city would not owe the opposition attorneys’ fees.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 12
  • Page 13
  • Page 14
  • Page 15
  • Page 16
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 235
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • Roger Cullinane on Flagler County Issues Statement Explaining Letter About New Tax to Be Levied on Barrier Island Property Owners
  • Duncan on Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
  • Sherry on Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
  • Ray W, on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 28, 2025
  • TiredOfTheStupidity on Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
  • Ray W, on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 28, 2025
  • Jan on Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
  • notaj on Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
  • Tasmania woods.... on Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
  • Billionaires donation on Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
  • Deborah Coffey on Deputy Development Director Ray Tyner Leaving Palm Coast After 23 Years to Lead Volusia’s Growth Department
  • Ray W, on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 28, 2025
  • Deborah Coffey on Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
  • Gary on Would You Favor a Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum for Beach Protection? Local Governments Consider It.
  • Dennis C Rathsam on Deputy Development Director Ray Tyner Leaving Palm Coast After 23 Years to Lead Volusia’s Growth Department
  • Ray W, on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 28, 2025

Log in