The calm is deceptive: Florida has done nothing to reduce its colossal property-insurance exposure. To the contrary. Builders are increasingly encouraged to build anywhere to reverse the effects of the real estate crash.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Flagler’s Poverty Gap: Boosting Food Stamps Enrollment–and More Accurate Numbers
While the Mobile Benefits Program is well-meaning and necessary–a few million dollars in food assistance are going unclaimed in Flagler–the inaccurate numbers backing up the initiative undermine the program’s credibility.
Palm Coast’s Secret Deal With Solar Company: Long Tax Holiday and Other Perks for 180 Jobs
Dubbed “Project Iceman,” the deal calls for at least a $49 million investment and average wages of $34,500, though the fine print reveals exclusive perks and secrecy provisions that prevent public scrutiny of the deal’s implementation.
Bucking Long-Range Goals, Palm Coast Again Scales Back Cultural Arts Grants Funding
Palm Coast is planning to award just $20,000 in cultural grants to 11 organizations this year, half the budget of three years ago, though the city is increasing the dollars and city resources it’s spending on its own special events.
Josh D. Crews, 1976-2010
First Baptist Church on Saturday (Nov. 27) overflowed with emotions, remembrances and people at a service for Joshua Crews, the Flagler County native, one-time owner and long-time bartender at Woody’s BBQ who died when his car rolled on U.S. 1 on Nov. 21. He was 34.
Cadillac and Kia in Morning Smash-Up on Northbound I-95 Back Up Traffic for 2 Miles
The 8:10 wreck at mile marker 295 on I-95 northbound shut down two of the three lanes and backed up traffic past the Matanzas Parkway overpass. There were injuries, but no fatality. The two vehicles were removed 90 minutes later.
Terry Kilcoyne, 71-Year-Old Salvage Owner, Killed When His Truck Overturns on I-95
Kilcoyne was traveling with a passenger on I-95 just north of the Flagler-St.Johns county line. She suffered minor injuries. None of the four people in the Durango that Kilcoyne’s truck hit when his tire shredded was injured.
Story of a Rescue: How 12-Year-Old Barak Ordonez Made It Out of the Bulow Marshes
Looking for a shortcut to outrace his brothers during a hike deep in Bulow Plantation, 12-year-old Barak ended up lost 15 miles inside the marshy, park until a helicopter airlifted him out.
2,000 Meals and More: Feed Flagler Feasts As County Breaks Thanksgiving Bread As One
Feed Flagler exceeded its goal of serving some 2,000 Thanksgiving meals as 10 locations around the county turned into community feasts Wednesday, hundreds of families went home with a week’s supply of food, and food pantries stocked up.
Purple Heart Monument at Palm Coast’s Heroes Park Is Slammed Over in an Act of Vandalism
The Purple Heart monument–a heavy, granite stone weighing a few tons–was dedicated less than two months ago at the city park along Palm Coast Parkway. A sheriff’s investigation is ongoing, with few clues.
Feed Flagler Ingredients: 100 Turkeys, 450 lb. of Ham, 170 Pies, and 2,000 Guests Wednesday
The kitchen at Buddy Taylor Middle School was a feast’s brew as Hammock Dunes Club’s chef and other volunteers were wrist-deep in preparation for Wednesday’s feasts for 2,000 in 10 locations around Flagler County.
Ending 8 Years of Extortion, Bunnell Quietly Invites Drivers to Get Their Money Back
From 2002 to May 2008, Bunnell charged owners a $350 “administrative fee” for impounding their vehicles, even when there were no legal grounds to impound the cars. The burden is now on vehicle owners to get their money back.
Don’t Call Them Pill Mills: Palm Coast’s Pain Management Practices Recoil at Bad Rap
When Flagler Sheriff Don Fleming described three local pain management practices as “pill mills,” their doctors and practitioners were stunned and explained: Pill mills are a problem. Pain management clinics are not.
Former School Board Member and Realtor Eddie Herrera Jailed On a Battery Charge
Eddie Herrera served eight years on the school board, two as chairman. The Realtor’s fight with acupuncturist Scott Beat, with Herrera’s daughter in the car nearby, was over an accusation of infidelity.
Armed Robber Takes Hundreds of Oxycodone Pills from Winn Dixie Pharmacy on SR 100
The robber, who used yellow gloves at the Winn Dixie pharmacy, handed the pharmacist a note just before noon Sunday, demanding the pills. He walked out the front door and drove off in a dark vehicle.
Josh Crews, Long-Time Woody’s Bartender and Manager, Killed in Sunday Morning Wreck
Josh Crews was 34 and had been a fixture behind Woody’s bar in Palm Coast and St. Augustine since 2005, and had once owned the restaurant with his brother Matt when it first opened in 1998.
Why Flagler Beach Blocked Disabled Veterans’ Request For a Penny-Ante Gambling Hall
Unless they were willing to risk changing the character of the town, city commissioners had little choice but to block an attempt to open what would have been a penny-ante gambling hall at the DAV property.
Feed Flagler Raises $13,000 and Tons of Food Ahead of Wednesday’s 2,000 Free Dinners
Ahead of next Wednesday’s community-wide celebration, featuring 2000 free Thanksgiving dinners at 10 sites, Team Feed Flagler’s success is the talk of the county–and a blueprint for Flagler’s grass-roots battle against hunger.
Flagler Unemployment Falls to 15.5%, But County Labor Force Shrinks By 1.5%
Flagler County’s unemployment fell only because the labor force is shrinking faster than jobs. But the county still lost jobs in September, and Palm Coast still tops the state’s metropolitan unemployment rates.
On a Mission From God: Blues Brothers Tribute Friday at the Flagler Auditorium
It’s Jake and Elwood all over again Friday evening as Bluzmen recreate the great Blues Brothers band that featured Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in a romp through blues, R&B, jazz and those dance moves with no likeness.
Graduation Rates: FPC Falls to 83.5%, Matanzas Soars to 90.4%, Both Beat State’s 79%
It’s Matanzas High School’s best graduation rate to date, helping the district increase its overall graduation rate by either state or federal standards.
20 Years On, With $1.17 Million Pay-off, County Approves Hunter’s Ridge Megadevelopment
The 3-2 vote clears the way for yet another development, this one for 2,302 houses and 600,000 square feet of commercial and industrial space, in a county facing a potential for 40,000 new homes despite a depressed real estate industry.
Bill Delbrugge’s Letter to Flagler, Part I: America’s Place In the World–And Yours
In the first of two parts, Delbrugge recaps life in Egypt, America’s image abroad, and all the things Americans take for granted–but shouldn’t, including the importance of local government and civic engagement.
As Superintendent and School Board Now Urge Play’s Revival, Focus Shifts to Drama Teacher
Scripts of the Mockingbird controversy are being furiously re-written as the school district shifts to backing the play, but vague accusations and ugly slanders are now being directed at the Ed Koczergo, the drama teacher.
9 Counts of Burglary, 8 Counts of Mischief and More for 3 Men
The three young men are accused of breaking into several cars at Westwind Contracting on U.S. 1 and at at McCharacters in St. Joe Plaza.
Dogged Duo: Nate McLaughlin and Milissa Holland Take Their County Commission Oath
Put on your helmets: A county commission already stocked with personalities that wear their convictions on their sleeves welcomed Nate McLaughlin Monday. He fills a seat that had been a virtual non-entity for the past four years.
All 400 Sanctuary Pigs To Be Gassed in a Truck and Delivered to Starke for Cremation
The pigs are corralled into a truck, and gassed while the truck is on its way to Starke, where they’re off-loaded into a crematorium. Lory Yazurlo tried but failed to get a stay of execution for the pigs she’s cared for since 1995.
Tale of Two Recommendations: Valentine “Completely” Supports Staging of Mockingbird
The appeals committee’s original recommendation was re-written to more clearly reflect Mockingbird as an “appropriate” play to be staged by Flagler County school students.
Mockingbird‘s Fate Still Hanging as Appeals Panel, Endorsing the Work, Punts on the Play
A majority of the committee clearly wanted the play staged. But it’s recommendation goes no further than declaring Mockingbird “appropriate” for instruction–a matter never in doubt.
Live Recap: Mockingbird Appeals Committee’s Minute-By-Minute Deliberations
The nine-member appeals committee, meeting this morning at Matanzas High School, will recommend a fate for “To Kill a Mockingbird”–whether FPC’s students will stage it or not, and how. It’s up to Superintedent Valentine to make the final decision.
Flagler Sends Out Last Call for
Firefighter Paramedic Ranse Jones, 1975-2010
Some 300 people said goodbye to Ransford Jones, the Flagler County Firefighter-Paramedic who died this week after six months in a coma, in a moving ceremony of tributes and symbolism on Marineland’s boardwalk Sunday afternoon.
Improved Art League Goes On With the Show, Without Its President: Weldon Ryan Resigns
As president, Weldon Ryan convinced the art league to move to City Market Place, winning the league more visibility and members. He resigns after just four months at the helm.
National Coalition Against Censorship Urges Valentine To Reverse Mockingbird Decision
The strongly-worded letter from a coalition representing 50 organizations of actors, writers, educators and clerics calls on Superintendent Valentine to enrich the conversation on race and culture, not restrict it.
Bruce Campbell Still Waiting for Official Word That He’s To Be Flagler Beach’s Acting Manager
The Flagler Beach City Commission appointed Bruce Campbell acting manager beginning Jan. 2. He hasn’t officially been told in writing. But being an employee already, he wasn’t necessarily supposed to be told.
County Endorses Federal Recommendation To Kill All 400 Pigs at Yazurlo’s Sanctuary
Federal and state authorities could only recommend that the pigs be killed. The county made the final decision, though the county commission has yet to formally address the issue, and a time and place for the operation have not been set.
Sheriff Calls for 1-Year Pill-Mill Freeze in Flagler Through County and City Ordinances
Citing three pill mills already in Flagler County, Sheriff Fleming is asking the county commission and the cities to adopt ordinances stopping pill mills until the state strengthens its regulations.
Mockingbird Appeals Committee’s Challenge: Loyalty to “Protocol” vs. Free Expression
Interviews with appeals committee members reveal a divide between instinctive revulsion of censorship and hesitancy over second-guessing a principal’s decision even as the facts of the case continue to be muddled by unspecified generalities.
Court Orders County to Take Over Custody and Fate of 400 Swine in Bunnell Pig Sanctuary
Lory Yazurlo appears to have lost an eight-year battle to keep caring for unwanted pigs on her 20-acre farm, though government officials point to degraded conditions harmful to animals and public health, and Yazurlo’s refusal to comply with age-old care plans.
Another Violent Domestic Assault in Palm Coast Lands a Fugitive in Jail
In the second violent domestic assault case in three days, a 30-year-old Palm Coast resident of Parkview Drive allegedly threatened to kill his girlfriend rather than let her leave him.
Harping on “Christmas Come True” Charity Ball at Hammock Beach Saturday
Nadine King had the idea of a Christmas charity ball back in the 1980s. She revived it in Palm Coast last year, helping 54 families better realize their Christmas. King hopes to double that number this year.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter, Nov. 2-5, 2010
When a homeless man is robbed and another jailed for hoping for a roof beneath his head, knife-wielding during an argument, boat larcenies, numerous burglaries and car break-ins, and more.
Palm Coast Man With Long History of Arrests is Charged With Kidnapping and Sexual Battery
Major Harris III allegedly threatened to shoot his live-in girlfriend, then raped her, then forced her and two young children to go to DeLand.
Ranse Jones, Flagler Firefighter-Paramedic in a Coma Since May, Died on Monday
Ransford Jones was 34 years old. He had been with the Flagler County Fire Department for two years before an aneurysm felled him in May, while he was playing in a beach volleyball tournament in Panama City.
Seminole Woods “Bomber”: Fascinated With Rockets and “Having Fun in a Stupid Way”
Patrick Cossette, the 20-year-old FPC graduate arrested Sunday for setting off a home-made explosive device in Seminole Woods, speaks to FlaglerLive about indulging his fascination with rockets since he was 13.
Uniforms in Flagler Schools? Data Show Dress-Code Violations To Be a Negligible Issue
The dress code in Flagler schools remains a hotter topic of discussion, especially on the school board, than it is a problem, especially in schools. Yet the arrival of a new school board member may prompt more talk of uniforms.
Seminole Woods Scare: Canadian Arrested After Setting Off Home-Made Bomb in Lake
Four men from Daytona Beach had seven home-made bombs, one of which they exploded in a lake in the Seminole Woods area Sunday. One is under arrest. The area is secure.
Dueling Seafoods and Surfers: Video and Photo Gallery
The dueling festivals are over and the images are in: a video report from the 2010 Tommy Tant Classic and a photo gallery from Tommy Tant and Palm Coast’s Seafood Festival.
After 11,000 Days as Flagler’s Judge, Kim C. Hammond Retires to FSU Fight Song
Kim Hammond started his career as a judge in Flagler County four decades, six presidents and 11,0000 days ago. His retirement ceremony Friday was a tribute to an institution.
“An Agreement is an Agreement”: Maps Contradict Palm Coast’s Annexation Claim
Large maps and a 2007 circuit court settlement show clearly where Palm Coast’s annexation authority ends. That authority doesn’t extend over the site of a proposed National Guard reserve center on county land.
Time to Get Involved: Feed Flagler Challenges County’s Thanksgiving Compassion and Beyond
Led by Commissioner Milissa Holland and the county administration, Feed Flagler aims to provide meals for 2,000 people at Thanksgiving, raise thousands of dollars and stock up food pantries and family pantries for many weeks’ worth.