Dr. Paul Mucciolo, an emergency-medicine physician at AdventHealth Palm Coast, declared his candidacy for the District 3 seat on the Flagler County School Board to bring back “a healthy dose of professionalism” to the board, he said, and to return the school district to an A-rated organization. Mucciolo is running for the seat Colleen Conklin has held since 2000. Conklin has elected not to run again in 2024, as has Cheryl Massaro, though Massaro may not have entirely closed the door on another run.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Proposed Joint Agreement on Bunnell’s Carver Center Governance Gives Sheriff’s PAL New and Larger Role
A proposed joint agreement on governing the Carver Center in South Bunnell–the area’s only recreation and community center–gives the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s Police Athletic League a broader presence and a much more prominent role in the management of the facility, especially in programming and running the gym.
Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade Draws More than 100 Boats as It Prepares to Lift Anchor Dec. 9
More than one hundred boats have officially registered to participate in the 2023 Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade which has held the record as Florida’s largest lit boat parade to be held December 9 at 6 p.m. It may be in range of the record for the largest such boat parade in the United States, behind the Newport Beach parade in California and the Newport, Rhode Island, parade.
National Guard at Flagler Airport Breaks Ground on $15.7 Million Facility at Armory That’ll Add 30 Jobs
Barely three years after cutting the ribbon on its $22 million, 73,000-square-foot Flagler Palm Coast Readiness Center on the south expanse of Flagler Executive Airport, the Florida National Guard today broke ground on a 37,000 square foot building that will consolidate truck and weapons maintenance operations from two other units into the Palm Coast facility and add 30 permanent jobs.
County May Remove Heather Haywood from Planning Board Over a ‘Lie’ and Refusal to Comply with Record Request
The Flagler County Commission Monday morning voted unanimously to “reconsider” Heather Haywood’s service on the county Planning Board, pointing to her possible removal, should she not comply with a public record request FlaglerLive filed on Nov. 21. Haywood on Nov. 20 stood before the commission and accused Commissioner Greg Hansen of writing to her inappropriately. She did not back-up her statement with evidence. She has so far not produced the alleged communication, nor any other requested.
Brennan Hill Sentencing Delayed as Defense Discovers He Does Not Necessarily Face Mandatory Life in Prison
Brenan Hill, the 34-year-old man a jury found guilty of murder in the shooting death of Savannah La-Rynn Gonzalez, 22, in March 2021 in Palm Coast, came to court today thinking, as did his own lawyer, that he was to be sentence to life in prison. In fact, he is eligible for 25 years to life, opening an opportunity for his lawyer to argue for the lesser sentence. The judge reset the sentencing hearing to next February to give Gerald Bettman, the lawyer, time to prepare.
Gabriella Alo Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison, Her Brother to 2 in Attacks in Flagler Beach
Gabriella Alo, the 19-year-old Palm Coast woman at the center of a pair of seemingly sadistic assaults in Flagler Beach last January was sentenced to 6 years in prison. Alo’s brother, Nicholas, 22, was sentenced to two years in prison, with credit for nearly a year he’s served, followed by three years on probation.
The Kissinger Delusion
This man’s death, way overdue–Kissinger lives to be 100 but Hank Williams, born the same year, dies at 30?–is a tragedy only in one sense: despite the copious and undisputed record about one of the most brutal men of the 20th century, Kissinger is still garnering bootlicking tributes. The tragedy is that America does not learn. It rinses the blood and repeats.
Belle Terre Elementary’s Jessica DeFord and Matanzas High’s Sara Novak are Top Administrators of the Year
Flagler Schools announced today, in an unusually terse release, that Jessica DeFord is the District Principal of the Year and Sara Novak is the Assistant Principal of the Year.
Willie Gardner Is Spared More Jail Time After All in Dog Abuse Case, But Is Barred from Contact With Animals
Willie Gardner was released from jail in late morning today, a few hours after a sentencing hearing before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, who withheld a further jail sentence after all on animal abuse charges Gardner faced. Gardner had served 30 days since his arrest on a probation violation. Perkins earlier this month had wanted 90 days.
Marineland Mayor Angela TenBroeck Invited to Address UN’s Climate Change Summit in Dubai
Marineland Mayor Angela TenBroeck is on her way to Dubai, where she’s been invited to address the United Nations’ climate change summit. The summit includes representatives from nearly 200 countries and thousands of businesses, non-governmental organizations and advocates for a cleaner, cooler planet. TenBroeck will be on on a series of panels addressing clean water, workforce, economic development, hunger alleviation and justice for indigenous people.
Ex-Bunnell Church Leader and Pastor Alfonso Joseph Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Sex with Minor
Alphonso Joseph, the 50-year-old Palm Coast resident and former pastor at several Bunnell churches, was sentenced this afternoon to five years in prison followed by 10 years on sex-offender probation after pleading guilty to having sex with an underage boy.
Muddled Flagler School Board Has Only Vague Ideas Who Would Handle Legal Needs If Its Attorney Were Fired
School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin isn’t fired yet, with a Dec. 31 deadline looming. But the school board’s 50-minute discussion on what sort of legal representation it needs accented a chasm between two veteran board members focused on pragmatism and bottom lines on one side, and, on the other, the board’s three newest members’ willingness to improvise as they go, with little heed for consequences. The district administration is left to pick up the pieces.
Sheriff Hopes New Facial Reconstruction of Murder Victim Found Near SR11 in 1980 May Lead to Identification
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit has received a new facial reconstruction depicting the victim of a 1980 cold case. On May 28, 1980, skeletal remains were found near a canal/culvert on State Road 11 about 2 miles south of the Bunnell, Florida city limits.
Suddenly Faced With Attorney’s Exit, Palm Coast Council Seeks New ‘Robust’ Law Firm for 1st Time in 17 Years
For the first time in 17 years, the Palm Coast City Council is having to shop for a new law firm: Neysa Borkert, the city attorney, is leaving Dec. 15. It’s not a position the city wanted to be in. The council at a special workshop this morning agreed to issue a request for proposal and hunt for a law firm able to mirror the city’s current legal services.
Judge’s Artful Pressure Convinces 22-Year-Old Who Molested Siblings to Plead Rather Than Risk Life in Prison
It took a lot of work on Circuit Judge Terence Perkins’s part this morning. But in the end, the judge convinced Ja’vere Justin Lumpkins, who just turned 22, to take the deal: six years in prison, instead of a high likelihood of life in prison if he was convicted at a trial that was set for next month. Lumpkins faced several counts of sexually assaulting two of his half-sisters, which alone could send him to prison for life. The minimum sentence he’d face on conviction would have been 21 years in prison.
Flagler Beach Photography Club’s Lori Vetter Bowers Lands Shot in State Association’s 2024 Calendar
Flagler County will be featured in the Florida Association of Counties 2024 calendar “Skylines of the Sunshine State” for the month of November with a stunning image of the canals in Palm Coast that was shot by photographer Lori Vetter Bowers, a member of the Flagler Beach Photography Club.
In Rare Rebuke, Judge Rejects Plea Agreement and Asks for Jail Time in Dog Abuse Case
Willie Gardner, 30, was ready to plead to four felony counts of cruelty to animals involving negligence toward pitbulls, but Circuit Judge Terence Perkins rejected the plea negotiated between the defense and the prosecution, asking for jail time.
Palm Coast Man, 19, Accused of Beating Teen and Smashing Car’s Windshield
Christian Anthony Betancourt, a 19-year-old resident of Farmbrook Lane in Palm Coast, faces a felony count of throwing deadly missiles at an occupied vehicle following a Nov. 21 confrontation at the Fairfield Inn hotel on Old Kings Road in Palm Coast. Betancourt was allegedly upset that he’d been found cheating on his girlfriend.
Zealotry Takes the Gavel at the Flagler County School Board
It’s an indication of the Furry-Chong-Hunt majority’s churlishness that the school board member with the most experience, the most education, the most legislative, parliamentary and institutional knowledge by far (Colleen Conklin, who is in her last year), is being passed over as chair on Tuesday for Will Furry, her polar opposite in every respect, and a rookie.
Flagler’s Top Prosecutor’s Advice to New Cops: Be Truthful, No Tattoos, and Don’t Be ‘a D*ckhead’
Five new recruits for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and Flagler Beach police got a blunt, unfiltered briefing on how to testify in court from Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis. It was a rare look, witnessed by FlaglerLive, at the dynamic between prosecutors and cops on the usually confidential fringes of court cases, and at how prosecutors prepare, guide and at times admonish police before they take the witness stand, since a cop’s testimony can make or break a case.
At Least 3 Locations in Flagler Beach Are Target of Anti-Semitic Graffiti; Police Looking for Offender
At least three business locations in downtown Flagler Beach were the target of anti-Semitic graffiti in Flagler Beach between Sunday and Monday. Flagler Beach police have surveillance footage of the individual, and are looking for the public’s help to identify him.
Flagler Beach Commission Approves $35,000 New Year’s Eve Fireworks Plan
The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening approved a a $35,000 New Year’s Eve plan to launch midnight fireworks from the pier, ending a four and a half year fireworks drought in the city. The vote, and the enthusiasm, was unanimous.
Andy Dance as County Commission Chair: Process, Deliberation and Transparency Come in from the Cold
Flagler County Commissioner Andy Dance said he intends to put his chairmanship to work for more transparency, clearer goal-setting, more vetting of issues and fewer surprises, especially at budget time, as he outlined a vision that he has been pushing for in his first three years on the commission.
Jason Wheeler, Calm and Cheery Spokesman in Flagler School District’s Capharnaum, Is Outta Here
Jason Wheeler, the former television reporter hired eight years ago to build and anchor the Flagler County School district’s communications hub, will be leaving the district at the end of the year for a similar job in the Panhandle. His departure adds to a continuing erosion of veterans with deep institutional knowledge of the district, with a brand new superintendent at the helm.
County Approves Captain’s BBQ Settlement, Bringing Lawsuit’s Cost to $1 Million, and Big Changes at Bing’s Landing
The Flagler County Commission this evening unanimously approved a settlement with Captain’s BBQ, ending the restaurant’s breach-of-contract lawsuit against the county. The settlement would, in Commissioner Leann Pennington’s words, “stop the insanity.” The county administration’s attempts to happy-face the settlement notwithstanding, it is now clear, by the commissioners’ own assessments, that the county would have lost had the case gone to trial, and that accepting a costly, and in some ways humiliating, settlement, was the county’s only choice.
Commissioners Keep Haywood on Planning Board But Boot Davies Off Contractor Review Panel
The Flagler County Commission in a pair of 4-1 votes this afternoon agreed to keep Heather Haywood as a member of the county’s planning board, but boot off Jeff Davies from the Contractor Review Board on nationalistic grounds: he is not an American citizen, and thereby not a registered voter.
County Not Yet Stoked for Skate Park Improvements But Approves 4 Pickleball Courts at Wadsworth Park
Wadsworth Park, the 45-acre county facility on the mainland side of the Flagler Beach bridge, will soon see a tennis court converted to four pickleball courts, but county commissioners are not ready to approve a plan to renovate the skateboarding park: the county administration is proposing a band aid, while users of the park are advocating for a more ambitious, but also more permanent, renovation.
Road Rage Incident Over Hurled Cup of Coffee Lands Palm Coast Man in Jail on 3 Felonies
An argument between the occupants of two vehicles that started at Chick-Fil-A off Palm Coast Parkway escalated into a physical fight in which one of the occupants took out an unloaded rifle, and culminated in the arrest of 36-year-old Donavan Matthews on three felonies.
Palm Coast Man, 42, Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash on U.S. 1
A 42-year-old Palm Coast man died in a single-vehicle crash on U.S. 1 just north of County Road 202 Friday afternoon. The man was at the wheel of a Ford F-150, driving north on U.S. 1. He lost control of the vehicle, veering onto the grass media, then overcorrected, sending the vehicle rotating counterclockwise across the highway’s two lanes before crashing into a tree.
Flagler Beach Planning New Year’s Fireworks and ‘Surf Board Drop’ in What Could Be Launch of New Tradition
The Flagler Beach City Commission at a special meeting Tuesday will consider approving a $33,600 plan for a New Year’s fireworks celebration triggered by the commemorative drop of a lighted surf board likely blazing with 2024. The 12-minute fireworks show would be produced by My Three Sons, the company that produced last July 4’s countywide show at Flagler Executive Airport, and would be launched at midnight from the stable portion of the pier–immediately after the surf board drop at Veterans Park.
Ex-Bloods Gang Leader Brandon Washington, Serving Life, Duels Again with Prosecutor in Losing Bid for Relief
Brandon Washington was once the local gang leader of the “East Coast Bloods.” He was tried in 2011 and found guilty of a 2007 home invasion robbery and murder on Palm Coast’s on Pheasant Drive, and is serving four life terms. Today, he dueled with the prosecutor who won that conviction as Washington and his attorney argued that he’d had ineffective representation at trial. He did not prevail, but appeared to enjoy himself greatly.
9-Building, 216-Unit Apartment Complex Would Line Old Kings Road South of Palm Coast Parkway
The Palm Coast Planning Board in a 5-2 vote that reflected some sharp resistance to the project recommended approval of a master plan for a nine-building, 216-apartment complex lined along Old Kings Road’s two lanes, halfway between Palm Coast Parkway and Town center Boulevard. It would be by far the largest development visible from the road south of Utility Drive, changing the complexion of what had been one of Palm Coast’s last remaining greenways.
C.J. Nelson Jr., 22, Charged with Manslaughter in the Shooting Death of 18-Month-Old Girl at R-Section House
C.J. Nelson Jr., the 22-year-old Palm Coast man arrested on an unrelated charge the night of the shooting death of an 18-month-old girl at at 2 Ranwood Lane in September, was charged with manslaughter with a firearm for that death on Wednesday. The first degree felony charge is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
In Settlement, Flagler County Will Pay Captain’s BBQ $800,000 and Allow New, 5,000 Sq. Ft. Restaurant at Bing’s Landing
Four years after Captain’s BBQ sued Flagler County government in a breach of contract claim, a negotiated settlement calls for the county to pay Captain’s $800,000, and clear the way for a new, 5,000 square foot restaurant at the county park. For Flagler County taxpayers, the dispute with Captain’s, just entering its fifth year, will have cost close to $1 million, when the county’s attorneys’ fees are included. The settlement is a huge victory for Captain’s.
Factual Yowls Aside, Palm Coast Says Community Cats’ Trap, Neuter and Release Program Is Working
The Palm Coast City Council heard an enthusiastic report on the city’s partnership with Community Cats and its Trap, Neuter and Release program, which seeks to limit the feral cat population, with volunteer caretakers feeding and caring for the cats. The report contained notable factual errors and some lack of perspective.
Ex-Girlfriend Charged with Armed Home Invasion Robbery as Her 3 Children Waited in Car Before School
Kiarra S. Strickland, a 33-year-old resident of Slumber Path in Palm Coast, was arrested on a first-degree felony charge of armed home invasion robbery following a Nov. 14 incident when she entered her former boyfriend’s home, where she used to live with her three young children, and allegedly held him up at gunpoint and took between $50 and $100 before driving off with her children, who had been in the car.
Realtors Want Their Signs in Rights of Way. Palm Coast Warns that Hate and Other Signs Would Follow.
Palm Coast Council member Ed Danko is leading the charge on behalf of Realtors and other businesses to open up city rights of way to their advertising signs on weekends. Fellow Council member Theresa Pontieri is warning that doing so would open up rights of ways to every sign imaginable, including hate signs, while overwhelming the city’s Code Enforcement Department. The council is split on an issue it will have to decide soon.
Consultant Says Palm Coast Residents Must Pay Cost of Future Growth With Higher Water Bills. Council Recoils.
Growth is increasing your cost of living as an existing resident of Palm Coast, and you’re going to have to pay for it in higher water and sewer bills, according to a utility-rate consultant Palm Coast government hired. City Council members are not nearly so sure, and are asking for new numbers, possibly sharply raising impact fees on developers and builders.
Flagler Playhouse Season Will Continue at Matanzas’s Pirates Theater as ‘ReBuild’ Kicks Off at Woody’s
The Flagler Playhouse’s shows will go on: the venerable company’s 150-foot theater in downtown Bunnell was demolished two weeks ago, but in a Phoenix-like turn-around, its next three shows will be staged at Matanzas High School’s Pirates Theater, essentially more than salvaging the bulk of the season. The playhouse is launching its “Let’s Kick Off the ReBuild” campaign at Woody’s BBQ Tuesday evening.
Man Destroys a Room in Reckless Shooting Spree at Topaz Motel Before His Arrest at Gunpoint Blocks Away
A 35-year-old man who claimed he was being chased by assassins with AR-15 rifles fired numerous rounds through the door and windows of Room 214 at the Topaz Motel in Flagler Beach, facing State Road A1A, in a shooting spree that destroyed the room.
154 Participants Later, Flagler Cares’ Opioid Recovery Initiative Marks Its First Year, With New Wheels
The Coordinated Opioid Recovery initiative launched in Flagler County a year ago under the umbrella of Flagler Cares, umbrella. It’s a multi-layered approach that shepherds individuals toward recovery through medically-assisted treatment, peer-to-peer counseling, mental health and other services. Last week it marked its anniversary with, among other things, the ribbon-cutting for an outreach vehicle run by Flagler Open Arms Recovery Services.
Condemn Palestinians’ Genocidal Rhetoric–and Israel’s Genocidal War
There’s unquestionably some river-to-the-sea anti-Semitism out there. It should be and is being denounced. But conflating all criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism is itself a form of bigotry that places Palestinian lives beneath contempt and Israeli policy above reproach, even as swaths of Gaza in November 2023 look like Dresden in February 1945 and anti-Palestinian rhetoric in media and government continues to be indistinguishable from the vilest racism.
As It Fields Flood of Complaints, Palm Coast Is Revising Building Rules to Limit New Houses’ Fill Elevations
Palm Coast government, responding in part to mounting complaints about flooding seemingly caused by new construction of much higher homes in the city’s quarter-acre single family home lots, is working swiftly to limit how high the slab elevation of new homes, and the fill beneath it, may go. A new house at 98 Birchwood Drive has been ground zero of a problem that until now had not drawn broad attention or responses by the city.
Flagler Beach Government Will Subsidize Local Businesses at First Friday in Latest Effort to Localize the Event
The Flagler Beach City Commission is again directing a First Friday make-over: more focus on live music, no more food trucks, subsidies to encourage local businesses to attend, and continuing fees for non-locals setting up tents. The approach is a reflection of an ongoing challenge: First Friday is not serving enough as a pipeline of business to local merchants, as the city commission intends it to be.
Flagler Sheriff’s Office Awarded $355,000 Federal Grant to Develop Hate-Crime Prevention Initiatives
In its application for the grant, the Sheriff’s Office said it would “develop a comprehensive approach to addressing hate crimes committed in Flagler County through enhancing agency investigation and reporting capabilities, as well as by forming partnerships with community stakeholders… in identifying potential hate crimes and targeted violence prevention.”
Palm Coast Approves Final Step to Complete 210-Home Whiteview Village Gated Community
The Palm Coast City County on Tuesday approved the final plat for 81 homes in Whiteview Village, phase two of a two-phased development of 202 homes approved as a master-planned development by the council in 2018. Construction began in 2021 in an MPD that also includes a future 316-unit apartment complex.
Palm Coast Residents Complain: New Homes Built Higher Than Ours Are Flooding Us, and City Turns Blind Eye
In Palm Coast, new homes are suddenly being built on significantly higher fill bases of a foot, two feet or more than adjoining properties. Older properties that never flooded now do. Homeowners of long date are shocked as they watch the yards of their dream homes–their main investment–turn to small lakes. The city has made them feel even more powerless: there’s nothing the city can do. There are no limits on fill height.
Sheriff’s Traffic Stop in West Flagler Turns Into Arrest of Three Men on Drug and Other Charges
Sheriff Rick Staly turned patrolman Tuesday evening, pulling over a van that had crossed the double-yellow line on State Road 100 in the far western part of the county, and initiating a traffic stop that resulted in the arrest of three men, two of them on drug charges.
Bowing to Bitter Public Opposition, Council Kills Seminole Woods Apartments and Limits Development to 416 Homes
In a twin blow to the developer–and to the city’s meager apartment market–the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday rejected a rezoning application that would have allowed for an apartment complex near the south end of Seminole Woods Boulevard, and rejected a land use change that would have allowed for the total number of housing units there to go from 416 to 850.