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Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News

Blaming Satan, Ex-Marine Calls Violent Standoff With Deputies a ‘Psychotic Break’; Judge Denies Bond for Now

June 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Robert Detherow, the 55-year-old former Marine at the center of a six-hour standoff with police last week that included rants demanding the arrest of Sheriff Rick Staly, threats and obscene gestures against a deputy and hurling a glass bottle at her, said today that he was suffering “a psychotic break” brought on by PTSD from past deployments. A judge denied him bond, saying his behavior was too erratic and dangerous, pending further evidence of psychological issues.

Amendment 5: I’m Homesteaded. I Don’t Need Another Perk To Deepen Inequalities and Hurt Local Governments.

June 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

amendment 5 homestead inflation florida

A yes vote on Florida’s Amendment 5 on this November’s ballot means that every year, the second of two $25,000 exemptions will increase according to the previous year’s inflation rate. The indexing is not only unnecessary–the Save Our Homes cap on taxes already does that–but it’s another pander that will deepen disparities at the expense of local governments, businesses, renters and agricultural properties, all of whom will have to make up for lost revenue. 

Humbling Flagler, DeSantis Vetoes Almost a Third of Local Projects, Including YMCA, Tourist Center, and All Bunnell’s Asks

June 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

Gov. Ron DeSantis with local county and city officials during a visit to Flagler Beach in late 2022, along with Reps. Paul Renner and Tom Leek. DeSantis vetoed almost a third of the appropriations Renner and Sen. Travis Hutson had secured for the county and its cities. (© FlaglerLive)

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a $116.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, after vetoing close to $950 million in spending approved by lawmakers in March. The vetoes include $46.52 million from what had been a record $151 million in appropriations for Flagler County, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach, a heavy loss that dampens earlier hopes for a big haul.

For 2nd Time in 2 Months, Ethics Commission Finds No Validity in Complaint Against Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin

June 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin. ethics commission

For the second time in two months, the Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed a complaint against Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, this one alleging that he had voted on land use items that benefited him and Don “Toby” Tobin, a friend and Realtor colleague of Alfin’s at Grad Living Realty.

Beach Dredging and Rebuilding Project Will Take 4 Months, Not 9, and Flagler Beach Will Be Spared Detours

June 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Get used to the sight, the noise, the vibrations and the disturbances as the Army Corps of Engineering contractor begins work on rebuilding 3.4 miles of beach in Flagler Beach. But the result will be an unrecognizably expanded beach. (Army Corps of Engineers)

In a boon for a city besieged by construction, the contractor starting work on Flagler County’s first-ever beach-renourishment project within days informed Flagler Beach officials that the dredging will start at the south end of town and move north, will not use Veterans Park as an equipment staging area, and will not require traffic detours downtown, as had been previously planned. 

‘Iron Man’ Robber Is Re-Arrested on an Arson Charge After Truck Fire and Explosion at Bunnell Lot

June 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Lakhram Mahadeo when he was in state prison until 2021, left, and in his most recent picture at the Flagler County jail, where he remains.

Lakhram Mahadeo, the Palm Coast resident who drew attention as the so-called “Iron Man” bank robber in 2013, served eight years in prison and was serving probation for that armed robbery of the Wells Fargo branch on Belle Terre Parkway, was arrested again on an arson charge stemming from a bizarre incident involving a semi truck he allegedly set on fire after it broke down.

Palm Coast Council Flirting with Easing Charter Restrictions on City’s Borrowing Capacities 

June 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Eight years ago a diofferent council got a tour of the city's public works facility as the administration was making the case for a new complex. The city is still struggling to pay for that complex. Nick Klufas, right, then in his rookie year, is the only member who was part of that visit and who remains on the council today. It is his last year. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast faces mountains of needs, from stormwater infrastructure to roads to a public works facility, plus some wants like parks and a future sports complex on the west side. The city’s ability to finance those needs is limited. Its revenue sources are few and spoken for. Its charter places severe restrictions on borrowing. Now, coinciding with the city’s 25th anniversary, the Palm Coast City Council wants to explore ways to ease the charter’s restrictions on borrowing.

Did Palm Coast Council Agree To Condition Any Future Electric Franchise Tax Proposal on a Referendum? Yes.

June 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko, who participated by phone today, insisted that the council had agreed by consensus not to consider an electric franchise tax in the future without putting the proposal to a referendum first. Some of his colleagues weren't so sure. But Danko was right. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko insisted during a discussion on the budget and revenue sources today that the council had agreed by consensus last year not to consider an electric franchise tax in the future without putting the proposal to a referendum first. Some of his colleagues weren’t so sure. But Danko was right.

Stetson’s Roellke Joins 70 College and University Presidents in Diversity, Free Expression and Free Inquiry Consortium

June 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Stetson University President Christopher F. Roellke. (Stetson)

Recognizing this urgent moment for American higher education and democracy, Stetson University President Christopher F. Roellke is joining 70 other college presidents of diverse institutions from across the country to advance higher education’s pivotal role in preparing students to be engaged citizens and to uphold free expression on campus.

In Sharp Retreat, Flagler Rejects Countywide Beach Tax to Focus on Barrier Island Only, and on Informing Public

June 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Shortly after sunrise today, the contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's barges were getting in position ahead of starting to dredge sand from offshore and rebuild the beach in the city, a project more than 20 years in the making. Flagler Beach City Commissioner Rick Belhumeur was on the shore, taking in the sight, and the picture above.

A week after approving a plan in principle that would have imposed a new tax on almost all residents countywide to raise $7 million a year for beach protection, the Flagler County Commission today stepped back sharply from that plan, acknowledging that it had not done the necessary “outreach” to the public or to other local governments to ensure its success.

Sheriff: Increase School Board’s Cost Share of Campus Deputies to 60%, Lower County’s Share to 40%

June 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Sheriff Rick Staly with Superintendent LaShakia Moore last month during a press conference about recurring threats to schools. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Sheriff is recommending to the County Commission that the 50-50 cost share for school resource deputies, or SRDs, between the School Board and the County Commission be changed. Staly is recommending that the School Board shoulder 60 percent of the cost, adding $300,000 to the district’s budget, while lowering the county’s responsibility an equal amount. 

Flagler County’s Beach Protection Tax: Right Idea. Wrong Execution.

June 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 42 Comments

beach protection tax

The county has the right idea: we need a new tax to pay for expensive beach protection, or we’ll lose the beach. But the county’s execution is hurried, the plan is poorly thought-out, it is riddled with holes and inconsistencies, and it has included zero public participation and zero preparatory discussions with other governments. That’s a recipe for failure, deservedly so: the county is taking the public and its sister governments for granted, if not punting to the cities to do the heavy lifting.

FPC’s David Halliday, a Finalist for National Coach of the Year in Track and Field, Reflects on 30 Years’ Inspiration

June 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The Halliday Way: Flagler Palm Coast High School's Coach Dave Halliday. (Flagler Schools)

David Halliday, one of Flagler Palm Coast High School’s most successful, if not its most successful, coach over the past 20 years, is one of eight finalists for the Coach of the Year in Track and Field award by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. The Florida native reflects on a 30-year career that and a coaching philosophy summed up by the sort of humanism and commitment he tries to impart on his students and athletes.

‘It Can Happen Here’: Emergency Management Director Warns Against Hurricane Complacency in Flagler Ahead of Busy Season

June 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord always projects a sunny disposition, as he did this morning on Free For All Fridays, but his forecast and warnings are a different story. (© FlaglerLive)

There’s a dangerous myth in Flagler County, and the longer people have lived here, the more they start believing the myth, and spreading it: that Flagler County is immune to hurricanes. Jonathan Lord, Flagler County’s emergency management director, says ahead of what has been predicted to be the busiest hurricane season in memory that Flagler County is at risk of getting a direct hurricane hit, even a Category 5 hurricane, as any other coastal community in the state.

Sprawling Vacation Rentals Becoming a Nuisance to Palm Coast Residents. City’s Answer: ‘Our Hands Are Tied.’

June 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 49 Comments

A property on Fircrest Lane in Palm COast advertised as a short-term rental that can sleep 12 people. (Google)

As resident after resident complained about short-term renters next door–the noise, the partying, the traffic, the garbage, the unexpected–the Palm Coast City Council chambers Tuesday evening sounded more like a scene transplanted from the County Commission a decade ago, or legislative committees in Tallahassee every year since. But the legislature just passed a new law that forbids cities like Palm Coast from imposing stricter regulations on vacation rentals than they would on permanent residents.

Ex-Marine Had It In for Sheriff Staly As He Compared Son’s Arrest to Donald Trump’s in a ‘Dying’ America

June 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

The standoff with Robert Shawn Detherow on Forsythe Lane Wednesday lasted six hours. (© FlaglerLive)

Robert Shawn Detherow, 55, threatened to dismember the sheriff’s deputy taking him to the Flagler County jail after he held off deputies in a six-hour standoff Wednesday, three days after posting a series of video exhorting people to join him to pray, to confront Sheriff Rick Staly, who he said should be arrested, and to ward off a civil war in the United States. He was upset over his son’s arrest in March, which he compared to the arrest of Donald Trump.

In Blow to Flagler, Special Magistrate Rejects Demolition of Old Dixie Motel Even as He Finds It ‘Dangerous’

June 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Sean McDermott, a special magistrate, at the beginning of this afternoon's hearing on the Old Dixie motel property. (© FlaglerLive)

The special magistrate the county newly hired to conduct its code enforcement hearings agreed with a county finding that the decrepit motel on Old Dixie Highway is “unsafe,” “dangerous” and not habitable. The magistrate nevertheless sided with the hotel owners, rebuffing a county move to demolish the building.

Palm Coast Drainage Committee Holds 1st Meeting Amid Some Perplexity Over Ability to Accomplish More Than City Staff

June 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

drainage committee

Palm Coast government’s drainage advisory committee held its first meeting Tuesday afternoon at City Hall. There were two people in the audience, neither from Palm Coast. To say that the committee will find a way to address drainage problems more clearly, better, or beyond what the city administration has already done would be premature: even some of its members are “perplexed” as to the committee’s direction,

Standoff with ‘Religious Fanatic Survivalist’ on Palm Coast’s Forsythe Lane Ends With Arrests

June 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

The house at 94 Forsythe Lane in Palm Coast. (Google)

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly described the man holed up inside the house at 94 Forsythe Lane in Palm Coast’s F-Section since late this morning as a “religious fanatic survivalist” who had earlier been causing a disturbance and assaulting law enforcement officers. The man has “also alluded that he wanted to do suicide by cop,” Staly said. The man was taken into custody around 2 p.m.

Countywide Burn Ban Issued as Drought Index Climbs and Firefighters See Uptick in Wildfires

June 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

The smoke isn;t that thick yet, but the drought index is worrying local fire authorities. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County enacted a burn ban effective 5 p.m. today (June 5) and declared a state of local emergency to do so. The ban remains in effect for seven days, and applies countywide, including in Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach. 

Scott DuPont Appeals Decision Booting Him Off August Ballot for Judge in Local Circuit

June 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Scott DuPont during his electoral run in 2016. (© FlaglerLive)

n attorney for Scott DuPont filed a notice of appeal last week after Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ruled that DuPont was ineligible to run for judge in the 7th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler and Volusia counties.

Sally Hunt Confirms She’ll Resign, But Late Enough To Ensure DeSantis, Not Voters, Will Choose Replacement

June 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 33 Comments

sally hunt resignation

Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt today confirmed that she will resign her seat before November. She did not say when precisely between now and then. She appears to be purposefully doing so late enough to have prevented an election to fill the remaining two years of her terms. Gov. Ron DeSantis would fill the seat with his own appointment, which could take months after the seat becomes vacant.

Flagler Seeks New Countywide Tax of Homes and Businesses for Beach Protection, But Cities’ Support Is Key

June 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

flagler beach management plan

In a “dramatic change for the county,” the County Commission on Monday agreed unanimously to seek a new levy on residents and businesses to pay for $7 million in annual beach reconstruction and protection–for ever. It is the county’s surrender to an unavoidable reality: to preserve the beaches, considered to be Flagler County’s greatest asset, residents across the county will have to shoulder a share of the cost in the same way that they pay for garbage services and stormwater protection.

For Flagler County, New Tax to Raise $7 Million a Year to Preserve Beaches Concedes Realities of Climate Change

June 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

flagler beach management plan

Monday’s milestone by the Flagler County Commission–seeking a new funding mechanism to rebuild and maintain the county’s 18 miles of beaches–was the culmination of a four-year process. It would put in place a method to pay for expected beach maintenance for decades as the county faces a new reality of rising seas and relentless erosion. Here’s how consultants arrived at the proposal, and what it would pay for.

Former Palm Coast Surgeon John Cascone Again Avoids Felony Conviction Over Abuse, Pleading to Misdemeanors

June 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

John Cascone, left, with his attorney, John Hager, in court today. (© FlaglerLive via zoom)

For the second time in five years, former Palm Coast surgeon John Cascone today pleaded two felony-battery charges to simple battery misdemeanors, avoiding jail and limiting punishment to 24 months of probation, which he may terminate early. The case followed a similar path to one involving Cascone five years ago, with notable differences. 

Covenants May Be Hurdle to Palm Coast’s Plan for YMCA on Town Center Land Pledged for the Arts

June 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

In its better days: The amphitheater that used to be home to the Palm Coast Arts Foundation and the annual Jackson Symphony's Picnic and Pops concert. The stage and the venue have been ghostly in recent years. (© FlaglerLive)

As Palm Coast government plans for a long-awaited YMCA in Town Center, albeit without a pool for now, a covenant restriction requiring the land to be used only for arts and cultural purposes may stand in the way. It isn’t an immovable restriction. But to get around it, the city may either have to pay back some state grant money that helped build a stage there, or it would have to use creative–to not say Orwellian–maneuvering that would allow it to redefine Y spaces as an arts and culture venue.

Sea Level Rise Make Florida’s ‘Beach Renourishments’ More Frequent, Expensive and Vain

June 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

The stormy months ahead may not be kind of Flagler County's shore even as the Army Corps of Engineers begins the most ambitious and expensive beach-reconstruction project in the county's history. (© FlaglerLive)

The barrier islands keep moving, which foolish humans label “beach erosion” as they keep trying to bend nature to their will by trucking or dredging in lots of sand from somewhere else for millions of dollars. The Corps of Engineers, the government agency in charge of playing in such big sandboxes, always claims they’re “saving” the beach from disappearing. They aren’t. They’re just saving a lot of people’s investments as “fiscal conservatives” spend tax money on beaches sure washed away in the next storm.

Lured by State’s $3,000 ‘Civics’ Bonus, Thousands of Florida Teachers Train in Christian Nationalist Tenets

May 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

Gov. Ron DeSantis with some of the 4,500 Florida teachers who last year completed the Civics Seal of Excellence endorsement course and receive a $3,000 bonus, according to a release issued by the governor's office.

Training materials produced by the Florida Department of Education direct middle and high school teachers to indoctrinate students in the tenets of Christian nationalism, a right-wing effort to merge Christian and American identities. Thousands of Florida teachers, lured by cash stipends, have attended trainings featuring these materials.  

Think Your Land Can’t Be Sold Without Your Knowledge? Palm Coast Lot Owner Found Out Differently.

May 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

The owner for eight years of a vacant lot in Palm Coast discovered recently that someone had put his lot up for sale without his knowledge--and the sale almost went through. It's a recurring scam most property owners are not aware of. (© FlaglerLive)

A Palm Coast property owner was shocked to fine that a lot he owns in the L Section had been put up for sale without his knowledge. It is now a common fraud that’s catching many property owners by surprise, that title companies are battling, and that the Florida Legislature attempted to address, but a bill doing so died in the last session.

After All the Battles to Keep Belle Terre Swim Club Open, Here’s the Public’s Chance to Still Have Access

May 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

belle terre swim club

The Belle Terre Swim Club’s Advisory Committee is soliciting $20-a-month memberships that would enable members to use the facility on an hourly and daily basis. But at least 120 members are needed to open the club one hour a day. The committee’s goal is to build up to enough members to open the facility several hours a day, six days a week.

Palm Coast Government Will Award Forensic Audit ‘Education’ Contract to MSL, an Orlando Accounting Firm

May 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Palm Coast Ciy Council member Nick Klufas put the brakes on a forensic audit, while there's been no evidence of fraud in the city. (© FlaglerLive)

As the Palm Coast City Council seeks an education on forensic audits–either to conduct one or to learn that it may be too prohibitively, unnecessarily expensive absent imperative reasons to do one–Palm Coast government intends to award the contract for such an education to Orlando-based MSL, P.A. The accounting company specializes in audits, including fraud and forensic audits, business, tax and financial consultancies.

Nearly $1 Billion in New Construction Raises Flagler County Taxable Values 12% Over Last Year, a Salve to Budgets

May 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The percentage for 2024 is still a working number, which may increase or decrease slightly. It reflects values that apply to county government's calculations. Values in the cities and for the school board may be different. (© FlaglerLive)

“Humming along” is how Flagler County Property Appraiser Jay Gardner describes the year’s property values: powered by nearly $1 billion in new construction alone, $631 million of it in Palm Coast, taxable property values in Flagler County rose around 12 percent this year, and 13 percent in Palm Coast, about the same as last year. The estimates being finalized this week play a central role in local governments’ budgeting and taxing decisions.

Developer of Proposed 204-Boat Storage Facility in Hammock on Collision Course with County and Residents

May 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

A mediation session between the developer of a proposed 204-boat storage facility called Hammock Harbour, on State Road A1A, county officials and representatives of the Hammock Community Association lasted over three hours today. It was not fruitful, except to harden the likelihood of litigation ahead. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government, the Hammock Community Association and Hammock Barbour, the proposed development of a 204-boat storage facility and restaurant on A1A in the Hammock, are heading for another likely collision in court. A nearly four-hour mediation session that started this morning and stretched into afternoon, involving the three parties, failed.

Old Dixie Motel Owners Tell Skeptical Judge They Have No Intention of Abiding by Repair Contract with County

May 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

That vacant feeling: the old motel on Old Dixie Highway, still disused. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government and the attorney representing the always-mysterious owners of the derelict Old Dixie Motel argued in front of Circuit Judge Chris France today about a three-year-old contract requiring safety and construction benchmarks. The county considers the contract valid. The owners do not. The county considers the contract valid. The owners do not. The judge will issue a ruling in the near future, though if his questions were any indication today, France is skeptical of the motel owners’ position.

Judge Rules Luke Ingram, 21, Legally Insane at Time of Brutal Killing of His Grandfather; Family’s Pain Unravels

May 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Luke Ingram speaking with his attorney, Aaron Delgado, before this morning's hearing before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins in a short bench trial this morning found Luke Ingram not guilty by reason of insanity in the brutal killing, mutilation and raping of his grandfather Darwin Graham, 85, on Clermont Court in Palm Coast in November 2022. The short trial was also an occasion for family members to fill in, publicly for the first time, the distinguished life that Darwin Ingram had lived, and include for the court record some of the atrocities Luke Ingram committed that morning.

Scott DuPont Booted Off Ballot as Judge Rose Marie Preddy Prevails in Challenge Over Eligibility to Run

May 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Judge Rose Marie Preddy in an image from her campaign website.

Circuit Judge Rose Marie Preddy, who sits in Putnam County, will not face an opponent in her bid to retain her seat as a judge today threw out Scott DuPont–a former judge–off the August ballot. DuPont, a former judge in the circuit, was removed from the bench by the Supreme Court in 2018, then suspended from the Bar for several months. That suspension meant he could not be eligible for a judgeship until 2026.

Increasing Sales Tax Divides Palm Coast and Flagler County As Both Scrounge for New Revenue for Cops and Other Needs

May 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

Elected officials are all for more of them. But not necessarily if they have to pay for them. (© FlaglerLive)

Discussion of a possible increase in the local sales surtax sharpy divided opinions between the Flagler County Commission and the Palm Coast City Council, who were meeting jointly today to discuss funding for the sheriff’s office. The discussion divided the two bodies even within their own memberships, suggesting that any possibility of an increase is remote best this year, if that.

Spectrum Launches Long-Awaited High-Speed Fiber Option for Western Flagler County

May 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Flagler County's agricultural community, along with homes and businesses on the west side, can finally be connected to high-speed internet. (© FlaglerLive)

Charter Communications’ Spectrum, the internet, phone, cable television and wireless service company, last week launched high-speed internet and other services to more than 900 homes and small businesses in rural, western Flagler County. The fiber-optic network is now available in Andalusia, Bimini and Daytona North, also known as the Mondex, reaching into areas of the county that had been chronically underserved but for satellite connections.

Bluelining: How Home Insurers Are Spurning Entire Communities

May 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

When the Intracoastal Waterway is not just a nice view in Flagler Beach. (© FlaglerLive)

Bluelining is an insidious practice with similarities to redlining — the notorious government-sanctioned practice of financial institutions denying mortgages and credit to Black and brown communities, which were often marked by red lines on map. These days, financial institutions are now drawing “blue lines” around many of these same communities, restricting services like insurance based on environmental risks.

Voices From the Grave:
Admiral Rickover’s Nukes Warning: ‘We’ll Probably Destroy Ourselves’

May 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

President Lyndon Johnson awarded Admiral Hyman Rickover, center, the Enrico Fermi Award (named for the Italian-American physicist and member of the Manhattan Project whose team at the University of Chicago created the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, a key step in the making the atomic bomb).

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who died in 1986, was among the more outspoken, abrasive, often controversial and at times innovative military leaders in the nation’s history. In his last congressional hearing in 1982 he warned of the danger posed by nuclear weapons and nuclear power, predicted that the human race was on its way to extinction by nuclear conflagration, and deemed “silly” any talk of multiplying the Navy’s fleet, or even its aircraft carriers, which he said would last two days in a nuclear confrontation.

Governor Ron Wants to Pay High School Athletes. But Not At Your School.

May 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Caesar Campana in his coaching days, furing a Flagler Palm Coast High School-Matanzas High School match in 2010. (© FlaglerLive)

Former Flagler Palm Coast High School Head Football Coach Caesar Campana takes on a proposal by the Florida High School Athletic Association to allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness under what is commonly known as an NIL policy. But while the policy has a place in college sports, it will further divide high school sports between the haves and the have-nots, particularly favoring private schools and leaving public schools behind.

Palm Coast Man Killed in Crash After Girlfriend Reported His Voyeuristic Video of Her 10-Year-Old Daughter

May 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

The crash took place after Miguel Moreno, 36, of Palm Coast, struck stop sticks at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Shores Drive in St. Johns County. (Google)

Palm Coast’s Miguel Antonio Moreno, 36, was fleeing cops Thursday evening after his girlfriend had reported finding a voyeuristic video he had taken of her 10-year-old daughter. His vehicle crashed after striking stop sticks on U.S. 1, ejecting Moreno. He died at the scene.

Previously Disgraced Scott DuPont, Running Again for Judge, Offers Orwellian Explanation of His Bar Suspension

May 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Scott DuPont during his electoral run in 2016. (© FlaglerLive)

Former Circuit Judge Scott DuPont, who served in Flagler County and who is running against Judge Rose Marie Preddy, argues that while he was suspended from the Florida Bar as a result of inappropriate and scandalous conduct on and off the bench, he was still a member of the Bar during that suspension, therefore should still be eligible to run. Preddy’s lawyer argues the Florida Constitution says otherwise.

Development Is Devouring the Tree Canopy. Palm Coast and Flagler Officials Say They’re Trying to Catch Up With Protection.

May 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

Trees and vegetation burned today on parts of the nearly 200 acres cleared of trees to make room for a 333-home subdivision called Sabel Preserve along Royal Palms Parkway in Palm Coast. (© FlaglerLive)

There was a bit of a disconnect today in a panel discussion by Flagler County’s five mayors and County Commission chair about how attractive Flagler County is to its residents and those who keep pouring in, and how quickly developments are razing swaths of tree canopy. They spoke of the importance of preserving the region’s quality of life, but also how the torrid growth rate is inevitably bringing congestion, and numerous developments, some of them–as with a 6,000-home plan in Bunnell–colossal.

Palm Coast Mayor Alfin Hints Against Rolled Back Tax Rate This Year, But Says ‘New Sources of Revenue’ Ahead

May 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin at today's "Meet the Mayors" forum at the Flagler County Association of Realtors. He was flanked by Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson and Sheriff's Chief Mark Strobridge. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin today hinted that he may not be supportive of going back to the rolled back property tax rate this year as he was last year. He said there may be also be new, alternative revenue sources that don’t rely on the property tax. But he did not say what those would be except in the most cryptic terms: “Eco Dev.,” he wrote in a text, abbreviating the words for “economic development.” “I will share as soon as I can,” he added.

Palm Coast Planning for YMCA on Central Avenue in Town Center, Raising Questions About Arts’ Place

May 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Palm Coast is planning for a YMCA on 12 acres in Town Center, at Central Avenue near the old stage of the Palm Coast Arts Foundation on one side and Town center Boulevard on the other. The sign to the right was planted there in 2012, when the arts foundation had (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast government is getting ready to build a 30,000 square foot YMCA on a 12-acre city-owned parcel on Central Avenue in Town Center, next to what used to be the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s stage and a 5-acre parcel that had been dedicated to arts and culture. Plans at the moment do not include a pool. A director of United We Art, the organization overseeing arts development in Town center, fears picking that location for the Y may crowd out the city’s pledge for an arts center there.

Flagler School Board Supportive of Leasing Old Courthouse in Bunnell as Christian School Exits

May 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The old courthouse is a cherished landmark in Bunnell and the county. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County school district is likely to take over the lease of the old Flagler County courthouse in Bunnell, which since August 2015 has been the home of First Baptist Academy, a Christian school. The school is leaving in August. The county has been looking for a new tenant. The school district has been looking to consolidate a half dozen programs under one roof. It would do so at the courthouse t a cost of at least $212,000 a year, not including the cost of reconstructing the building according to district needs.

St. Augustine/St. Johns County Win Nod for Museum of Black History; Getting It Built Is Next Challenge

May 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Ralph Abernathy, left, and Martin Luther King Jr. in St. Augustine in 1964, when King said he was leading "a massive assault against segregation." (Florida Memory)

A state task force assessing possible sites for a proposed Florida Museum of Black History voted 5-4 Tuesday in favor of St. Johns County, where Martin Luther King once rallied protests against segregation in the city of St. Augustine but where the site would require extensive development, including roadbuilding. The close vote followed intense lobbying by St. Augustine/St. Johns, which branched out to support from surrounding counties, including Flagler County, where Palm Coast and the School Board lent support.

School Board Appears Clueless as Unexpected Conflict Over Fair Use Emerges at Belle Terre Swim Club

May 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Students in a Flagler Fluid class at Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club. (Facebook)

Flagler Fluid, the private swim-team organization that’s been renting the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club for years, is suddenly facing scheduling conflict provoked by the school district division controlling access to the club that the school board earlier this year voted to close to all but specific uses. Board members were unaware of the conflict.

‘No Credible Threat to Flagler Schools’ as String of Menaces Take Toll on Students, Parents and Faculty

May 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Lashakia Moore

Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore said today that while the series of phoned-in threats to district schools has taken a toll on students, faculty and parents, none were credible, and she would not give the caller the satisfaction of cancelling events. The district’s crisis-intervention teams have been spending time in schools.

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