Ed Danko is right to resist Mayor David Alfin’s proposal to have all council members sign “Code of Conduct,” including a pledge of civility. It is not an elected board’s place collectively to regulate or codify its members’ behavior, or government’s place to force pledges of any kind on anyone.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Ormond Beach Sues Flagler County Over Easement, and Threatens to Cut Off Water to Hunter’s Ridge
The City of Ormond Beach is suing Flagler County government and a developer in the Hunter’s Ridge subdivision at the south end of the county, claiming that Flagler and the developer entered into an illegal agreement ceding an easement to the county that crosses a conservation area belonging to the city. Flagler County’s denials aside, Ormond Beach fears–and is convinced–that the county will one day use the 60-foot-wide easement to build a paved road.
Public-Notice Misstep Delays County Commission’s Decision on Captain’s BBQ Settlement to Nov. 20
The Flagler County Commission held a two-hour closed-door session this afternoon to discuss a potential settlement in Captain’s BBQ’s four-year-old lawsuit against the county. What was to be a special meeting following the closed session was postponed because it was not properly noticed. So commissioners could not reach consensus, make motions or take a vote.
Judge Orders 85-Year-Old Man Accused in Woodlands Murder to Be Evaluated for Competence
Circuity Judge Terence Perkins today ordered a neuropsychological evaluation of Charles Kidd Jr., the 85-year-old former resident of Blare Drive in Palm Coast’s Woodlands accused of murdering 36-year-old Mark Ruschmeier in August.
AdventHealth Surgeon John Cascone Charged with Child Abuse in 2nd Arrest in 4 Years
John Cascone, the AdventHealth Palm Coast surgeon who pleaded to a battery charge in a domestic violent case four years ago, was arrested again on Saturday (Nov. 4) on a felony count of aggravated child abuse involving a 15-year-old girl, and a felony battery count involving his wife. He was released the next day on $60,000 bond.
How a Reckless FHP Chase Almost Caused a Catastrophic Crash in Seminole Woods
On Oct. 26, Palm Coast resident Kendall Clark and her husband were driving in a residential Seminole Woods neighborhood to visit family when they were almost in a severe crash with a Florida Highway Patrol trooper chasing an alleged suspect who had committed no violent crime nor was wanted on a warrant.
Staunch Opposition Kills Paul Renner’s Calculated Proposal to Consolidate Judicial Circuits
Amid overwhelming opposition to consolidation, a committee appointed by the Florida Supreme Court on Friday unanimously recommended against shrinking the number of judicial circuits in the state as Rep. Paul Renner had proposed. Critics labeled consolidation a gerrymandering effort aimed at weakening Democrats’ power in the court system.
As School Board Risks Wrongful Termination Suit, Value of Attorney’s Contract Is Close to $500,000
The three-member majority of the Flagler County School Board that wants to fire Attorney Kristy Gavin thinks it can do so at the cost of 14 weeks’ pay. The remaining board members say that risks incurring a wrongful termination lawsuit, with the value of Gavin’s remaining 20 months on her contract nearing half a million dollars, according to an analysis not disclosed until now.
Renoir-Inspired Turtle, Dedicated at Intracoastal Bank, Is 21st In Flagler’s Biggest Public Art Trail
Artists Lisa Fisher’s and Nancy Zedar’s “Renny,” the 21st edition in the Turtle Trail, which has quietly grown into the single-largest public art project in Flagler County in the last five years, was dedicated in front of Intracoastal Bank on Palm Coast Parkway to commemorate the community bank’s 15th anniversary. Scores of supporters turned up.
Before Troopers Shot Her in Hammock, DeLand Woman Had A Short, Violent History of Confrontations
Jacqueline Faye Blank, the 37-year-old DeLand woman Florida Highway Patrol troopers shot several times in the parking lot of the Hammock Beach Resort on Oct. 25, is an army veteran who until August had a clean record. That quickly vanished with a violent confrontation with her girlfriend and cops in early August, and a violent confrontation with FHP elsewhere, not reported until now, just before the shooting.
A Student Is Bitten By a Wild Rat at Buddy Taylor Middle School’s Farm; Teacher Reprimanded
Two Buddy Taylor Middle School students were bitten and one of them injured by wild rats, while two dozen students were exposed to the rats as a teacher was flushing them out of a hole with a water hose at the school’s farm. The activity was neither part of a lesson plan nor of the curriculum.
Secret Camera Records Violence and Leads to Palm Coast’s Man’s Arrest on Child Abuse Charge
Pierre Betine Joseph, a 49-year-old resident of Rolling Sands Drive in Palm Coast, was arrested on a felony child abuse charge after video footage from a secret camera installed by the victim’s siblings showed Joseph whipping his middle school son 11 times with two different belts as the child screams in pain and pleads for mercy, leaving welts on the child’s legs.
State Attorney Files Two Felony Charges Against Kerri Huckabee in Flagler Beach Dispute With Neighbors
The State Attorney’s Office on Monday filed four charges against Kerri Huckabee, the Flagler Beach resident and Montessori school owner arrested in September in the culmination of a long-running feud with her next-door neighbors. The charges include a second degree felony count of firing or throwing a deadly missile into a building, and a third degree felony count of resisting arrest with violence.
Teachers Union Blisters School Board Over ‘Fiscal Irresponsibility’ and ‘Unjust Actions’ in Attorney’s Pending Firing
In a letter to her membership, Elisabeth Dias, president of the Flagler County Education Foundation, the teachers union, calls attention to what she terms the potential “wrongful termination” without due process of School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin, which would set a precedent and pose “a serious threat to the rights and well-being of our members, as well as the financial stability of our school district.”
It’s Not a Good Idea to Spit at the Court Ahead of Your Sentencing. Dacotah Clarke Now Faces Up to 17.5 Years.
Dacotah Wren Clark, 27, left a plea hearing and a pending prison sentence of 2.5 years by slamming the courtroom door and spitting in the elevator. He was then re-arrested days later on a dozen new charges. After a dressing down by Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, Clarke now faces up to 17.5 years in prison, without penalties for the spitting and door-slamming.
Captain’s BBQ and Flagler County Reach Tentative Settlement in Lawsuit Entering 5th Year
Captain’s BBQ and its landlord, Flagler County government, have reached a “tentative settlement” in Captain’s breach-of-contract lawsuit against the county, now entering its fifth year. The settlement was reached at an Oct. 27 mediation. But it’s not over. The County Commission must approve it, and will discuss it in a closed-door session next week. A previous proposed settlement, in 2020, failed.
Latest FHP Chase in Flagler Ends with Death of Alleged Carjacker in Rear-End Crash on I-95
A one-mile stretch of I-95 from the State road 100 bridge south turned into a crash zone during a 90-minute period around midday, resulting in overturned vehicles but no injuries in the first crash and the death of a man who was allegedly fleeing in a chase yet again triggered either in Duval or St. Johns County and involving the Florida Highway Patrol. The fleeing man is alleged to have committed a carjacking.
Drone Footage Shows Extent of Flagler Playhouse Fire’s Irreparable Devastation; Likely an Electrical Cause
Drone footage of the aftermath of the Flagler Playhouse fire shows annihilating damage you cannot see from street level, with the entirety of the theater–the main building–as if systematically bombed through its nave. The multilayered roof of metal, asphalt shingles and wood has collapsed, melted from within. The iconic spire somehow kept standing at the front of the building, held up by metal trusses, though it’s a matter of time before it is removed.
Brendan Depa Tenders Open Plea in Beating of Matanzas High Staffer, Leaving Sentence Up to Judge
Brendan Depa, the 18-year-old special education student facing up to 30 years in prison for the merciless beating of a Matanzas High School teacher aide last February, pleaded to the first-degree felony charge today before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. He will be sentenced in January.
Two Crashes Kill Three People In Deadliest Day This Year on Flagler Roads
In the deadliest day on Flagler County roads this year, three people died in two unrelated vehicle crashes barely two hours apart on Sunday in Palm Coast.
Flagler Playhouse Burns, Demolishing Home of County’s Oldest Theater Troupe and a City Landmark
The Flagler Playhouse, for 46 years a mainstay of the performing arts in the county, lost the rustic theater it has occupied and packed with audiences since 2006 in Bunnell as a fire destroyed it Sunday night into early Monday. Flagler County Fire Chief Michael Tucker said the building was irreparable.
DeSantis’s Censorship University System Is Causing a Brain Drain
DeSantis is obsessed with remaking education according to his authoritarian tendencies, doing his damnedest to wreck K-12 with his army of book-banning harpies in “Moms for Liberty” and his Scared Karens legislation, and forbidding honest discussion of slavery and racism so as to never make white kids feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.”
The Big Reveal
Riding Brightline: The Great, the Brash and the Ugly
Earlier this month FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam and his son took a 24-hour round-trip from Orlando to Miami aboard Brightline’s new high-speed line, discovering what may be–what ought to be–the future of rail travel in Florida with all its pleasures, possibilities and limitations. Here’s the story of the trip and a review of the travel experience.
Amid Horrors in Israel, Temple Beth Shalom Prepares to Celebrate 50th Anniversary in Palm Coast
Fifty years ago, 18 Jewish families who found themselves living in Flagler County in the early 1970s, discovered each other and discovered they had no place of worship to call their own. They founded Temple Beth Shalom, which bills itself not as a Conservative or a Reform temple, but rather an egalitarian, independent house of worship. This weekend, it celebrates its 50th anniversary in Palm Coast.
School Board Attorney Gavin Fends Off Firing Squad as Superintendent Will Negotiate Possible Transition
The Flagler County School Board Tuesday evening again stopped short of firing Kristy Gavin, its attorney, after it was sharply cautioned by Superintendent LaShakia Moore against taking such a vote without counsel and risking serious financial consequences. The board voted 4-1 to allow Moore to negotiate moving Gavin to the position of staff attorney, answering to only to Moore.
Hailey Lulgjuraj Ended Chemo a Week Ago. She Is Hosting a Benefit for Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors Saturday.
Hailey Lulgjuraj has just ended treatment after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. She never stopped working. She decided to channel her gratitude toward the first annual “Tides of Hope” benefit for breast cancer patients and survivors at Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill, the Flagler Beach restaurant her husband co-owns with her brother in law. She tells the story behind the benefit.
Another FHP Chase Ends in Arrest After Manhunt Off Slow Drift Turn in Seminole Woods
A chase initiated by Florida Highway Patrol troopers–the second in less than 24 hours in Flagler County–ended after a manhunt in the woods off Slow Drift Turn in Palm Coast’s Seminole Woods early this afternoon, with the arrest of a man who’d crashed the Dodge Charger he was driving.
Curtis Ceballos’s Invisacook Stove, Built in Bunnell, Lands on Time Magazine’s Top Inventions of 2023
Five years ago Curtis Ceballos, a Palm Coast entrepreneur and inventor, developed Invisacook, an induction cooktop stove that essentially makes the cooktop disappear: no more flames, no more red-hot coils, no more burning surfaces. It’s manufactured in Bunnell and sold worldwide. This week, Time Magazine named the invention one of the best of 2023.
FHP Chase Ends in Shooting at Two Women, Wounding One, at Hammock Beach Resort; Incident Captured on Video
A chase involving units of the Florida Highway Patrol ended in an FHP-involved shooting at the Hammock Beach Resort involving two women, one of whom was injured and air-lifted. A video of the incident shows the women’s vehicle pinned and surrounded by FHP vehicles and troopers when the shooting occurred.
Palm Coast’s Jessy Gilbreath, 28, Arrested for Raping Autistic Child, 12, in His Charge
Jessy Kalany Gilbreath, a 28-year-old resident of 45 Eton Lane, Side B, in Palm Coast, faces a capital felony charge of child rape. Though it’s the first such charge for a Flagler County suspect since the Legislature in its last term revived a law making an individual convicted of raping a child younger than 12 eligible for the death penalty, that does not apply in this case because the capital offense did not take place after Oct. 1, as did other alleged offenses.
Palm Coast Dedicates a Trail To the Memory of Al Krier, Demosthenes of Cimmaron Safety and Civility
The 1.3-mile Al Krier Trail was dedicated by Palm Coast city officials and friends of Al Krier this morning on Palm Harbor Parkway, commemorating the dogged activism of a man who focused the city’s attention on safety issues on Cimmaron Drive and brought a civilized, cheery style to his campaigns.
A ‘Code of Conduct’ for Palm Coast City Council Members, Proposed by Mayor, Gets Pushback
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin is looking for the City Council to adopt a Code of Conduct for itself. The council is divided on the matter. The split is not over the wording of the proposed code, which drew few objections, but over the document’s implications, its lack of enforceability, and the precedent it may be setting, treating elected officials as city employees–which they are not.
Palm Coast Council Will Expand Public Comment Segments at Workshops, Even at Risk of Epic Meetings
The Palm Coast City Council will expand its public comment segments at workshops even if it risks lengthening often-epic sessions. Council members cited the importance of public comments–and the extent to which such comments can educate members and sway decision-making. Nick Klufas, the senior member of the council(he’s in his seventh year), cautioned that the council “could potentially get gunked up via this process.”
Palm Coast Approves 91,000 Square Foot Storage Facility Next to Elks Lodge on Old Kings Road
Another storage facility will go up in Palm Coast, on 12 acres on the west side of Old Kings Road, just north of the Elks Lodge, on land owned by First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Palm Coast, which is to the north of the site. The three-story building will be 91,000 square feet, or about half the size of a Walmart Supercenter.
Flagler County Cultural Council Wants You To Know: ‘We’re Here To Stay.’ But It’s Going to Need Help.
FC3, the Flagler County Cultural Council, has big ambitions–among them, to be known as the county’s designated arts agency, as the driver, supporter, coordinator and promoter of local arts, culture and history, and as a magnet for state and national grants that will help local cultural agencies thrive, or incubate new ones. But for all its giddiness, the organization, after three years, remains cash-poor and mostly in the organizational stage.
Da’mari Barnes, 17, Pleads Out in Shooting Death of Jamey Bennett, 19; Uncertain Sentence Pending
Da’Mari Barnes, now 17, pleaded guilty today to manslaughter in the shooting death of Jamey Bennett, 19, at a bonfire near Matanzas High School in 2022. The open plea means that when Barnes is sentenced on Jan. 2, the judge will have wide discretion to sentence Barnes either as an adult, with guidelines setting the minimum at 11.5 years in prison and a maximum at 30, or as a youthful offender, to up to six years in prison.
Palm Coast Fire Chief Issues Safety Tips for Halloween as Department Gives Safe Space to Ghosts
Palm Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill, in footage documented on video and issued by the city today, agreed to let a scream of a ghost take refuge at Palm Coast Fire Station 21 as he videotaped a public service message on Halloween safety.
Palm Coast Historical Society Marks Founders’ Day with Food Truck Festival and Exhibits Oct. 28
The Palm Coast Historical Society marks Founders’ Day on Oct. 28 at Holland Park with its 10th year anniversary celebration of the opening of the society’s museum at the park, with food trucks, 24 community groups, music and speakers.
In Gaza, Fighting Atrocities with Atrocities Compounds the Indefensible at Civilians’ Expense
Israel hasn’t won a war since 1967, and even that proved to be the untenable occupation and low-grade war it has faced for decades. It’s not about to win against Hamas. Hamas knows this. Israel knows it. Civilians are paying. Civilians alone will lose, as revenge substitutes for strategy and both sides perpetrate war crimes.
Palm Coast Moving To Loosen Sign Ordinance, Allowing More Free Expression–and Realtors’ Sales Pitches
A proposed rewriting of Palm Coast’s sign ordinance would not change the look of the city markedly, preserving most of the restrictions in place now. But a draft ordinance–still very much a work in progress–errs on the more permissive than restrictive side, now that local governments are largely (but not entirely) barred from regulating what signs say. That means homeowners will get to express themselves more freely, including with hate speech. Realtors will get to plant more signs.
Drug-Possession Charge Filed Against Charles Cowart, 19, Graver Charges Dropped
Charles T. Cowart, a 19-year-old resident of Kaiser Place in Palm Coast–not to be confused with his father of the same first and middle name–faces a felony drug-possession charge.
Heather Haywood Is Homesteaded in Volusia But Serves on Flagler’s Planning Board. A Commissioner Questions That.
The Flagler County Commission is giving Realtor Heather Haywood, who the commission appointed to the county planning board in February 2022, 30 days to drop her homestead exemption in Volusia County or appear before the commission for another vote on her eligibility for the planning board. But for the homestead record, there appears to be little question that Haywood is a Flagler County resident.
Outreach Event Providing Wide Range of Social Services for Needy at Cattleman’s Hall Friday
Flagler Fall Outreach, a free event providing access to and information about a range of social service, health, education, legal and recovery services, will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Friday (October 20) at Cattleman’s Hall at the Flagler County Fairgrounds at 150 Sawgrass Road, Bunnell.
Ex-Employee of Palm Coast Assisted Living Who Defrauded Residents Is Sentenced to Jail and House Arrest
Tina Marie Teixeira, 27, an ex-employee of Market Street, the assisted living facility on Palm Coast Parkway, was sentenced to a year in jail instead of the recommended three and a half years in prison, followed by two years of house arrest and three years on probation on convictions for defrauding several residents or their spouses at the facility last year.
Flagler County Tried to Evict a Tenant at the Airport. Jury Called It Retaliation and a Violation of 1st Amendment.
Flagler County Airport Director Roy Sieger sent Les Abend an eviction notice regarding the hangar Abend had leased for over four years. A two-day trial resulted in a verdict against the county, with a jury finding that the county was retaliating against Abend, a former member of the county’s airport advisory board, for his criticism of Sieger. An eviction case turned into a rare First Amendment case in County Court. Abend will get to keep the hangar.
Grim Year for Local Arts as 3 Big Organizations Vanish and Palm Coast Drops Grants to Lowest-Ever Level
Palm Coast government on Tuesday scaled back its Cultural Arts Program almost by half, offering $20,000 to 13 organizations the coming year. It is the lowest nominal level since 2012, and the lowest level in the city’s history when adjusted for inflation. The retreat takes place in a year that has seen the disappearance of three major cultural organizations in Palm Coast and the county.
School Board and Attorney Kristy Gavin Explore ‘Mutual Agreement’ Breakup Ahead of Oct. 26 Decision
Stepping back from a brink that had School Board member Sally Hunt ready to make a motion to fire attorney Kristy Gavin this evening, the board and Gavin agreed at a workshop today to what amounts to a pair of mediation sessions, one behind closed doors and one in a public meeting, to explore a severance on mutually agreed terms. The terms are not known, nor is Gavin’s willingness to agree to them.
Victory for the Hammock as County Rejects More Intense Commercial Development on A1A Parcels
The Flagler County Commission Monday unanimously rejected a proposal to rezone an acre of Hammock property along State Road A1A to more intensive commercial uses. The commission, siding with Hammock residents, found the proposal vague in its designs for the property, at odds with the Scenic A1A overlay, and at risk of setting a precedent that would potentially damage or demolish the road’s character.
Superintendent LaShakia Moore’s $175,000 Salary Is Significantly Less Than a Predecessor’s, When Adjusted
The four-year contract with Superintendent LaShakia Moore the Flagler County School Board is ratifying tonight calls for less compensation than that awarded the two other executive of the county’s largest governments, even though Flagler schools have more employees than both combined, and it is less, in adjusted numbers, than the starting pay of Bill Delbrugge, who in 2005 became superintendent, like Moore, without previous such experience.
Matanzas Brawl Was Long Simmering: Parents Had Alerted the School and Sought Mediation, To No Avail
The Matanzas High School brawl last week did not occur out of nowhere. According to eight of the parents involved, several of them had been warning the school administration of problems well before, asking for a series of measures, all neglected or turned down outright by the administration, to an apparently unaware principal, Kristin Bozeman, who would tell several of the parents that she was unaware of the issues until the day of the brawl.