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Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News

The Wheels Are Falling Off the Ronbo Bus

December 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

It's just not going well. (© FlaglerLive via CNN)

Ron DeSantis has decided to show how tough he is, going on the offensive not against Moscow but against a peaceable nation of pink buildings, blue seas, and Black people, wooing voters in Iowa and New Hampshire by hollering, “Like, if the Bahamas were firing rockets into Fort Lauderdale, like, we would not accept that for, like, one minute. I mean, we would just level it.”

DSC Lands $400,000 Justice Department Grant Aimed at Reducing Sexual and Domestic Violence

December 9, 2023 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

A "silent witness" at Flagler County's Family Life Center, the county's only shelter for abused persons, in operation since 1987. (© FlaglerLive)

The U.S. Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women has awarded Daytona State College $400,000 to continue programs educating students, faculty and staff on issues of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. DSC will work in partnership with the State Attorney, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and Family Life Centers in Flagler and Volusia.

FWC Admits Error and Changes Policy in Response to Palm Coast Outrage Over Gruesome Killing of a Pet Deer

December 8, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

Baboo the deer as he was being controlled after he was cut and was bleeding to death for nearly a quarter hour on a C-Section law in Palm Coast on Oct. 5. (© FlaglerLive via Sheriff's video)

A trio of Palm Coast residents indignant at the euthanizing of a domesticated deer by throat-slitting in early October addressed the Dec. 5 meeting of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and got what appeared to be an immediate response: FWC, one of whose officers was responsible for killing the animal, has changed its euthanizing policy to prevent similar outcomes in future.

Flagler Beach Property Owner Liam Mackin, 70, Identified as Anti-Semitic Hate Crime Suspect Just as He Flees

December 8, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 49 Comments

Flagler Beach police twice had conversations with Liam Mackin, the suspect in recent hate crimes in the city, before he fled on Dec. 5. The image, released by police, is from body cam video.

Flagler Beach police identified the man allegedly responsible for a series of hate crimes against local business on Nov. 19 and 20 as Liam Mackin, a 70-year-old resident and property owner with his wife at the Bridgewater condominiums in Flagler Beach, unit E101, since 2015. He has been a local resident for 30 years. But he has fled to Ireland. Mackin deliberately and very specifically targeted businesses that were either owned by Israelis or Americans of Jewish heritage, or had business or family affiliations with Jewish concerns.

A Poisoned Tree Grows in St. Augustine

December 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

Vergilio Aguilar Mendez, in a still from body cam footage, on a sidewalk at the Super 8 motel where he was staying last May.

An 18-year-old migrant faces an aggravated manslaughter charge for the death by heart attack of the sheriff’s deputy who arrested him on a resisting charge, while the migrant was on a sidewalk eating dinner and speaking to his mother by phone at his motel in St. Augustine. The death of the deputy was a tragedy. The charge against the migrant compounds it with a miscarriage of justice in the making.

Jury Sides with Physician and AdventHealth in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Involving 38-Year-Old Palm Coast Man

December 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The case was tried by Circuit Judge Chris France over seven days. Above, a break in an afternoon session last week. (© FlaglerLive)

Ending a seven-day civil trial, a six-person jury on Tuesday found that Dr. Kizhake Kurian, a cardiologist who practices in Palm Coast with AdventHealth Medical Group, was not negligent in the death of Richard Starr, a 38-year-old Palm Coast resident who had been in relative good health until a series of heart-related medical episodes in the last days of March 2018.

Palm Coast Adopts Countywide Parks and Recreation Master Plan

December 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

The new boat launch at Waterfront Park. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council took a significant step forward in its commitment to providing residents and visitors with a high quality of life by approving the 2023 Parks & Recreation Master Plan.

Palm Coast Pledges ‘Task Force’ Action on Homes Flooding Near New Construction, But Residents Are Skeptical

December 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

house on perotti

The Palm Coast city administration is pledging to residents that it is taking a case-by-case approach to address concerns about flooding on quarter-acre properties seemingly caused by new construction. It has created what it calls a “task force” to address the issue. But residents are skeptical, claiming their calls or emails go unanswered, or that the city’s response is to sue neighbors, or that they’re having to shoulder their own costs of drainage improvements.

Approval of 205-Home Old Kings Village Delayed as Polo Club West Residents Say Developer Is Not Negotiating

December 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Craig Atack, a resident of Polo Club West, told the Palm Coast City Council that attempts to work out differences with representatives of a proposed development adjoining the Polo Club have been unsuccessful. (© FlaglerLive via Palm Coast TV)

The Palm Coast City Council is not yet ready to approve Old Kings Village, a planned 205-home development on 60 acres on Old Kings Road, 2.5 miles south of State Road 100. The proposed development is within a short distance of Polo Club West, an equestrian community significantly less dense and more lush than would be its neighboring “Village.” Residents of Polo Club West are objecting to the Village, absent wider buffers and other safeguards.

Tony Zaksewicz, Honored Matanzas High Teacher, Arrested over Walmart Theft Scheme Stretching Over 6 Months

December 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

Anthony Zaksewicz, right, who has been teaching in Flagler County schools for 17 years, when he was honored by the local school board for being the recipient of a state teaching award last year. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools TV)

Anthony Zaksewicz, a 45-year-old resident of Lema Lane in Palm Coast and a veteran history teacher at Matanzas High School honored last year with a state award, was arrested on felony charges in connection with an alleged thieving scheme at Walmart that stretched over six months and aggregated thefts of nearly $3,200. Zaksewicz has taught in Flagler schools for 17 years.

School Board Saves Thanksgiving Week Off for 2024-25 Calendar, But at Cost of Extending High School Day

December 5, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The school board today endorsed the planned 2024-25 school calendar. (Manasvita S on Unsplash)

The school day for Flagler County high school students will be longer by seven minutes each day starting next fall, with a minute added to each class period so the instructional calendar can still meet the legally required total number of class hours per semester, while the Thanksgiving week holiday is not affected. Class periods will go from 47 to 48 minutes.

ER Physician Paul Mucciolo Files for Conklin’s School Board Seat, Citing Need for ‘Healthy Dose of Professionalism’

December 5, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Dr. Paul Mucciolo. (© FlaglerLive)

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. 

Proposed Joint Agreement on Bunnell’s Carver Center Governance Gives Sheriff’s PAL New and Larger Role

December 5, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The Carver Center gym before a town hall organized by Superintendent LaShakia Moore in late September. (© FlaglerLive)

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

December 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The late Al Krier's last boat, an 18-foot Herreshoff Pilot named “Pilot 49” because it was the 49th such boat built. This year's parade is in Krier's memory.

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

December 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

A rendering of the new facility that will go up where the Avenger Air Defense missile system was sitting, on the grounds of the Flagler Executive Airport east of the existing armory. (© FlaglerLive)

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

December 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

Realtor and Flagler County Planning Board member Heather Haywood has been strongly cautioned by the county attorney about her refusal, so far, to comply with a public record request. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler County TV)

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

December 1, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Brenan Hill speaking to his attorney, Gerald Bettman, today in court. (© FlaglerLive)

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

December 1, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

Gabriella and Nicholas Alo in court this morning. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 30, 2023 | Pierre Tristam | 43 Comments

Henry Kissinger with Egypt's Anwar Sadat in an undated photo from the early 1970s. (Florida Memory)

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

November 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Jessica DeFord, left, and Sara Novak. (Flagler Schools)

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

November 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Willie Gardner with his attorney, Bill Bookhammer, in court this morning. (© FlaglerLive via zoom)

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

November 29, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Marineland Mayor Angela TenBroeck in a screen capture from one of her videos.

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

November 29, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Alfonso Joseph after his sentencing today. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 29, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

Not fired yet. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

A reconstruction of the portrait believed to be of the man found on May 28, 1980.

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

November 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

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

November 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Ja'vere Justin Lumpkins moments after he agreed to plead out his case this morning in court. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

November: Lori Vetter Bowers' photograph for the Florida Association of Counties' 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

November 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Assistant Public Defender Bill Bookhammer, left, and his client, Willie Gardner, were not having much luck before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Christian A. Betancourt.

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

November 26, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 38 Comments

flagler school board zealotry

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’

November 22, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Assistant State Attorney jason Lewis addressing five new recruits for the Flagler County Sheriff's Office and the Flagler Beach Police Department last Friday on courtroom conduct during trials. He had blunt words for the recruits. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 22, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

The Flagler Beach Police Department issued surveillance camera stills of the person believed to have painted anti-Semitic graffiti on two businesses' walls in the city on Nov. 20.

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

November 21, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Alyson Spradley addressing the City Commission at Tuesday's special meeting. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 21, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Thoughtfulness, long in exile, takes up the gavel at the Flagler County Commission: Andy Dance was voted chairman. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 21, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Always just a tad, just enough off kilter to put a smile on people's faces: Jason Wheeler will be leaving the Flagler County school district after eight years as anchor of its communications department. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 20, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

The Flagler County Commission this evening. In 2018, Donald O'Brien, left, had voted against the original lease amendment that led to the lawsuit. Greg Hansen, center, and Dave Sullivan, right, had voted for it. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 20, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Jeff Davies, the now former member of the Contractor Review Board, addressing the County Commission about his qualifications, with Heather Haywood, a member of the county's planning board, seated. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler County TV)

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

November 20, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The quarter century old skate park at Wadsworth park has steel ramps that rust in the salty air, and that, overall, is in dire need of renovation. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 20, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Donavan Matthews.

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

November 18, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

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

November 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Fireworks off the pier again? On New Year's? It may not be so far fetched, though maybe not from that far out on the rickety pier. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Brandon Washington today before leaving court. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 30 Comments

It won;t look exactly like that, but close: the developer of a 216-apartment complex planned for Old Kings Road, halfway between Palm Coast Parkway and Town center Boulevard, said it will look similar to the development pictured above.

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

November 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The sheriff showed pictures of the gun, including an image of Nelson holding the gun "while trying to be frankly a punk gangster," Staly said.

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

November 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 94 Comments

A view of the "peninsula," as seen from Captain's BBQ at Bing's Landing, where the restaurant will build a 5,000 square foot building, with the county picking up $400,000 of that cost. The picture above was taken during training involving Flagler County Fire Rescue and the county's emergency helicopter. (© FlaglerLive)

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

November 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

palm coast community cats tnr

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

November 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Kiarra S. Strickland.

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.

November 14, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

realtor signs rights of way palm coast free speech

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.

November 14, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 51 Comments

Costly waste: Palm Coast's water and sewer infrastructure doesn't come cheap. (© FlaglerLive)

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.

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