DeSantis and state Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Friday they plan to ask the White House to include more counties in the disaster declaration signed Thursday by President Joe Biden. The declaration, in part, makes federal money available to help people in Citrus, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee and Taylor counties.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
For Charlie Ericksen, a Poignant Farewell from Colleagues and Friends in a Chamber He’d (Mostly) Loved
Flagler County government’s Holly Albanese organized a Celebration of Life of former County Commissioner Charlie Ericksen, who died on July 31. The celebration was held in the commission’s chamber last Tuesday, where some three dozen colleagues and friends and two of Ericksen’s sons attended, some of whom speaking with poignancy and candor.
Brendan Depa, Now 18, Is Transferred to the Flagler County Jail to Await Trial
Brendan Depa, the former Matanzas High School student facing a first-degree felony charge of aggravated battery in the beating of a school paraprofessional last February, has been transferred to the Flagler County jail, from the Duval Regional Detention center in Jacksonville, where he’d been held for the past six months.
Sheriff’s Michael Breckwoldt Demoted to Corporal Following Investigation of Drinking Incident at Finn’s Bar
Michael Breckwoldt, the 20-year veteran of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office who was in charge of the agency’s narcotics unit until last May, was demoted from sergeant to corporal and placed on last-chance probation for a year and a half as a result of an incident at Finn’s Beachside Pub in Flagler Beach, where Breckwoldt’s drinking led to “offensive behavior,” in violation of agency policy, and where he behaved in an unbecoming way toward patrons.
Rural Counties Begin Recovery from Hurricane Idalia: ‘As Bad as It Is, It Still Ain’t as Bad as It Could Have Been’
Category 3 Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Taylor County’s Keaton Beach area, and county Sheriff Wayne Padgett said other hard-hit areas included downtown Perry and Steinhatchee, “a little fishing village on the coast down there,” which he said had the most storm surge. “As bad as it is, it still ain’t as bad as it could have been,” Padgett said.
Great News: Brian and Hailey McMillan Buy the Palm Coast and Ormond Beach Observer
Hailey and Brian McMillan are the new co-owners of the Palm Coast and Ormond Beach Observer, an acquisition roundly applauded by the paper’s staff, community leaders and competitors. Matt and John Walsh founded the Observer in late 2009 and hired McMillan as their first editor. He’d led the paper until his reluctant departure 2022.
Hurricane Idalia Makes Landfall as Cat-3 Hurricane; Local Impacts on Flagler Limited, Evacuations Rescinded
After Hurricane Idalia became an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, it made landfall as a Cat-3 in Florida’s Big Bend this morning. Effects on Flagler and Palm Coast are expected to be limited to rain and wind gusts as the storm’s track has shifted north.
Gabriella Alo Pleads Out in Brutal, Dual Flagler Beach Attack, Leaving Herself Open to Steep Prison Sentence
Gabriella Alo, the 19-year-old woman accused, with her brother, of beating a teen and running over a woman’s foot at Wickline Park last January, pleaded to numerous charges that add up to a potential 67 years in prison, though she will likely face considerably less than that when she’s sentenced on Dec. 1. How much less is the question: she tendered an open plea to Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, who is neither softie nor sadist.
Hurricane Idalia’s Track Again Shifts North, Further Reducing Feared Flagler Impacts
Hurricane Idalia’s track shifted north again, further away from Flagler County, in the National Hurricane Center’s Tuesday evening report. That further reduces but by no means eliminates tropical storm force impacts in Flagler County, especially inland.
Hurricane Idalia: Tropical Storm Impact in Flagler Wednesday as Schools Will Close and Shelter Open at Rymfire
Hurricane Idalia will make landfall in western Florida Wednesday and rapidly transit across the state, impacting at least western Flagler County with tropical storm force winds and rain. Flagler County schools will be closed Wednesday. A combined general population and special needs shelter will open at Rymfire Elementary in late afternoon Tuesday.
In Time for Idalia, Sales Tax ‘Holiday’ on Disaster Supplies in Effect Until Sept. 8
Retailers hope Floridians will stock up on storm supplies during the sales-tax “holiday” that started Saturday, particularly as the increasingly active hurricane season is bringing Hurricane Idalia through a vast portion of the state later this week. The state’s second “disaster preparedness” tax holiday of the year continues through Sept. 8.
DeSantis Wants Children to Be Ignorant, Intolerant and Narrow-Minded
In Ron DeSantis’ Florida, teachers are expected to present a version of the world in which “gender” is not to be spoken of, “gay” likewise, there’s no climate crisis — the weather’s always changing! — Shakespeare needs to be toned down, the human body is disgusting, slavery had an upside, America is the best country that ever was and ever will be, and books that challenge any of these self-evident truths must be banned.
White Supremacist Murders 3 Black People at Dollar General in Jacksonville, Before Shooting Himself
Sheriff T.K. Waters said two males and one female — all Black — were killed in the shootings, and the shooter killed himself. He had been armed with an AR-15 style rifle and a handgun, with the rifle showing several swastikas. At the time of the news conference, the shooter’s name had not yet been identified, but Sheriff Waters said the man had authored manifestos that were provided to his parents, the media, and federal agents. The sheriff referenced the “disgusting ideology of hate.”
Flagler Schools Have a ‘Subgroup’ Problem. It’s Not Blacks. It’s Not Even Students.
It is now so routine to reduce individual students to cogs among subgroups enslaved to the expectations of standardized testing that our educators have lost sight of their purpose. The state’s transformation of education into a dehumanizing machinery is to blame. So is the Flagler County School Board’s emphasis on running the district as a business, and now branding its superintendent a “CEO.” The individuality and dignity of students is lost to a damaging bottom-line mentality.
Deep Disagreements Remain Between School District and Cities and Builders Over Enrollment and Impact Fee Dues
Are Flagler County’s public schools adding students? Will the district need to build new schools? Should it be drawing money from developers today even though it has no certain plans to build schools yet? Those questions were asked and answered with varying degrees of certainty and a lot more disagreements on Thursday in the latest meeting of a joint committee of local government representatives in charge of reviewing how much money developers are required to pay to defray the cost of new school construction.
Man Arrested at Flagler Beach’s Boardwalk for Swinging Bat, Threatening Adults and a Child and Calling Himself God
Stephen Douglass Torma, 43, swung a bat as he threatened passers by on Flagler Beach’s boardwalk, damaged the boardwalk with the bat then threatened a Flagler Beach police officer and his family with harm. Torma’s spiral has been traced in his court file over the last four years.
Flagler School Board Members Meet Behind Closed Doors to ‘Debrief’ Until Attorney Breaks Them Up
All five Flagler County School Board members met behind a closed door after a press conference this morning, until the school board attorney, who had been unaware of the meeting, broke them up. One of the board member insists no business before the board was discussed, and that the meeting was intended only to tell the superintendent she had done a good job at the press conference.
School Officials Forcefully Denounce ‘Segregation’ Assembly But Steps Ahead Are Vague Beyond ‘Conversations’
The denunciations were forceful and Interim Superintendent LaShakia Moore’s air of command over the most serious crisis of her tenure as interim was evident at a press conference this morning. But the steps ahead, beyond community meetings, more encounters with parents and students, and talk of “professional learning” with school employees, are far less clear even as the district positions itself against potential litigation.
Bunnell Principal Donelle Evensen on Administrative Leave as District Faces Fallout of Segregated Assembly
Donelle Evensen, the principal at Bunnell Elementary School for mere weeks, was placed on paid administrative leave today, and Superintendent LaShakia Moore asked that a three-hour board workshop scheduled for today, where she was to be interviewed for the permanent job, be postponed.
Superintendent Lashakia Moore Issues Stronger Apology Over Bunnell Elementary’s Segregationist Assembly
Contrary to her written statement on Tuesday, today’s video statement by LaShakia Moore on the segregating of Black students in an assembly at Bunnell Elementary last week was more forceful, more clearly recognizing the breadth of the problem–as her statement on Tuesday had not–and twice included an explicit apology.
Bomb Squad Disarms Report of Grenades After Swarming Around House of Murder Suspect in Woodlands
The house at 20 Blare Drive, the scene of a murder by gunshot last week, drew authorities again today, including a bomb squad, after a resident reported finding a crate of grenades inside. But the crate ended up containing only ammunition.
School Board Will Hold 3-Hour Interview of LaShakia Moore for Superintendent, But Hopes You Won’t Attend
The Flagler County School Board is holding one of its most important public meetings of the year Thursday, between 9 a.m. and noon. Misleadingly referring to it as a “retreat,” the board will hold an extended interview with Interim Superintendent LaShakia Moore to determine whether it should end its search for a permanent superintendent and appoint Moore in September. Some members of the School Board would rather you did not know about the meeting, and did not attend.
Lyonel Jeune, 65, Arrested on 1st Degree Felony Charge in Hit-and-Run Death of William Rembert, 56
Lyonel Jeune, a 65-year-old resident of Beacon Mill Lane in Palm Coast, was arrested over the weekend and charged with a first-degree felony in the hit-and-run death of William Joseph Rembert, 56, on Dec. 1, 2021, at Palm Coast Parkway and Leanni Way, near Belle Terre Parkway. The charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison on conviction.
Flagler Tiger Bay Roars Farewell to Founding President Greg Davis After Five Years
Greg Davis stepped down as Flagler Tiger Bay’s first president after five years in a farewell at the Palm Coast Community Center. Davis, Don Madden and others established the club over five years ago as a non-partisan forum that champions discourse and civility over polemic.
Flagler County Beats Sharp Retreat on Raising Sales Tax or on Increasing Road Levy on Daytona North
It’s messaging in a bit of a shamble, the Flagler County Commission on Monday beat a retreat on two fronts: it will not seek cities’ support in an attempt to raise the sales tax an additional half penny. And it will not raise the special tax Daytona North residents pay for road maintenance. Both issues had been controversial. The retreats underscore a combination of lacking, poor and conflicting messaging from the County Commission on one side and a rueful public reaction to both proposals on the other.
Dad Accused of Neglect as 4-Year-Old Child Wanders Across SR100 Against Traffic in Middle of Night
Christian Zaborowski, the 22-year-old father of a 4-year-old boy, faces a felony child neglect charge after authorities accused him of leaving his front door unlocked and being unaware that his son had wandered out of the apartment and onto State Road 100 after midnight Monday, where a vehicle came to a dead stop just before striking the child.
Black Students at Bunnell Elementary Are Told Of ‘Early Grave’ If They ‘Clown’ Around and Don’t Perform
Bunnell Elementary’s Black 4th and 5th graders on Friday were singled out in two assembles, told that if they didn’t bring up their test scores, they could end up in jail, shot or dead, they were paired off to compete academically against each other, and the winners would get McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A. Their parents were never told. Parents are outraged. The superintendent acknowledges that while raising test scores is essential, the situation was mishandled.
Palm Coast Approves Doubling Housing Units to 845 at Lighthouse Harbor on Colbert Lane, Part of Future ‘Village’
The council approved several deviations from the Land Development Code to accommodate the developer, which is part of the Marina Village collection of developments. Between Marina del Palma’s 615 units to its immediate north and a 240-unit apartment complex immediately to the west of Colbert Lane, the cluster of new developments will add 1,400 housing units.
Flagler County Jail Wins National Innovation Award for Initiatives Preparing Inmates’ Re-Integration
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s jail has been awarded the 2023 Innovation Award for medium-sized facilities by the American Jail Association. Sheriff Staly, Court and Detention Services Chief Dan Engert, and other Detention Services members accepted the award at AJA’s 42nd Conference and Jail Expo in Omaha, Nebraska during the awards banquet.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate, While Still Low, Hits 18-Month High as Workforce Surges
Flagler County’s unemployment rate in July was 3.7 percent, still very low by historical standards and still considered full employment by economist’s standards. But it was the highest rate in 18 months, going back to January 2022, when unemployment was at 4.1 percent.
Waterfront Park Finds Its Latest ‘Paddle Straight to Paradise’ as $1.2 Million Boat Pad and Launch Open
The new boat ramp at the very popular Waterfront Park is part of a $1.2 million project adding access for non-motorized boats to the Intracoastal Waterway, which the city celebrated with a ribbon-cutting today. The next phase of the project is construction of an 80-space parking adjacent to the launch.
Collin Calvert, 21, Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison Over Armed Robbery of Palm Coast Store for Strip Joint Money
Colin Calvert, the 21-year-old man who stole a rifle, robbed a Palm Coast convenience store of nearly 5,000 in cash, which he put in a Happy Meal box, spent all the money at a strip joint, then burglarized a gun store, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, followed by five years on probation.
Charlie Ericksen Jr. Is Laid to Rest With Military Honors and Solemn Salutes at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery
Charlie Frederick Ericksen Jr., the former Flagler County commissioner, U.S. Army Lieutenant and father of three who died on July 31 in Celebration, was laid to rest at Cape Canaveral National cemetery with military honors this afternoon following a solemn ceremony attended by family, a few friends, and a few Flagler County officials past and present.
300-Unit Apartment Complex Going Up Next to Imagine School at Town Center, One of 2 Planned There
A high-end, gated, 300-unit apartment complex is going up on the 27-acre squarish parcel across the street from Imagine School at Town Center. It is to be the first of two such apartment complexes in that area. The complex is to be called The Legacy at Palm Coast Town Center.
Man Found Shot and Roped with Weights in Intracoastal in 1997 Is Identified as Robert Bruce McPhail
It took 26 years, but the man found murdered and floating in the Intracoastal Waterway in September 1997 has finally been identified as Robert Bruce McPhail, a 58-year-old boater originally from Kenora-Winnipeg area of Manitoba in Canada, who’d moved to South Florida in the mid-1990s. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s Cold Case Unit’s detective Sarah Scalia cracked the case with Othram, a forensic sequencing laboratory.
From Pier to Walkovers to Sea Walls to Paving and Dunes, an Update on A1A’s Numerous Projects Ahead
As the Florida Department of Transportation, Volusia County, Flagler County and the City of Flagler Beach continue to move forward with several projects along State Road A1A, the transportation department today issued the following update on the numerous projects ahead, with relevant links to each project details.
Palm Coast Approves 275 Town Homes Over Objection of Tax-Base Shift From Commercial to Residential
The 4-1 vote, with Council member Theresa Pontieri in dissent, led to a discussion–if not a debate–on what has become routine in the city’s ongoing residential development boom: time after time, land zoned for commercial use is being re-zoned for residential uses. In this case, the rezoning is taking place despite going against the city’s own Land Development Code in one regard: the town homes will be smaller than the code calls for.
Congestion Ahead: Palm Coast Approves 4-Laning of Old Kings North and 7 Safety Projects on Belle Terre Parkway
Get ready for some new traffic disruptions around some of Palm Coast’s busiest arteries: Old Kings Road North, just past Kings Way, and along Belle Terre Parkway from south of Buddy Taylor Middle School to Royal Palms Parkway as construction crews take on a series of critical road improvements that, once done, will make traveling safer and swifter.
Challenged by Staffer, Palm Coast Council Awards $8.2 Million to Same Firm Dragging Belle Terre Bridge Project
Carmelo Morales, a rank-and-file city engineer, charged city council members with “micromanaging” an $8.2 million stormwater contract with the same firm building the Belle Terre Parkway/Buddy Taylor walkway and storm pipe, and risking leaving the city begging for contractors. But in the end, the council approved the contract and conceded Morales’s point, with caveats.
Flagler School Board Suspends Search and Prepares to Hire LaShakia Moore as Permanent Superintendent
The Flagler County School Board this afternoon agreed to suspend its search for a new superintendent and instead set in motion several steps that would lead to the appointment of Interim LaShakia Moore as the permanent district superintendent come September or October.
Security First Insurance Accountant Samantha Rae Link Arrested in $1.5 Million Embezzlement Scheme
An investigation by the State Attorney’s Office and Ormond Beach police led to the arrest last week of Samantha Rae Link, a 31-year-old Daytona Beach resident and former accountant at Security First Insurance, on two first-degree felony counts of fraud and grand theft. The investigation revealed that Link allegedly stole $1.5 million from the Ormond Beach insurance company.
33% Increase in Flagler’s Population, 0% Increase in District’s 9 Public Schools’ Enrollment Over Past 17 Years
Flagler County schools’ nine traditional campuses are again enrolling almost as many students as they did last year, and as many as they have each year for the past 17 years, as charter, private, parochial, online and home school enrollment continues to encroach on the district’s numbers. The figures have big implications for funding, school impact fees and school construction.
Homeowner, 85, Arrested on Murder Charge in Shooting Death of Mark Ruschmeier, 36, in Long-Running Dispute
Charles Kidd Jr., 85, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge this afternoon following the early morning shooting death of 36-year-old Mark Ruschmeier, who has lived with Kidd at Kidd’s Blare Drive home in Palm Coast’s Woodlands for at least a decade.
Time for Flagler County Government To Appoint a Citizen Advisory Group
As Flagler County government appears to flail between budget shortfalls and a call for a new tax, it may be time for the county to do what St. Lucie County has been doing for years: appoint a citizen advisory group of resident volunteers with business experience to review future budgets and advise the commissioners.
In Palm Coast Sheep, Not Chicken, May Safely Graze
The Palm Coast City Council’s rejection of a pilot program that would have allowed chickens in a handful of backyards is disappointing. But the council since its earliest days has tended to run the city more as a homeowners association bound to conformity and the somnolence of residents out to pasture rather than as a vibrant city welcoming of differences, innovation, young and working people.
School District’s Cost for Security at Alternative School with 2 Teachers and 25 Students: $142,500
The Flagler County school district is paying $142,500 a year for security at its relatively new alternative school on the campus of Flagler Palm Coast High School–an alternative school with just two teachers and an average of 20 students per quarter, some of them virtual, and that operates only four days a week.
Sheriff’s Deputy Hospitalized During Investigation of DUI Suspect’s Cocktail of Drugs, Including Fentanyl
George Clemons, 61, was arrested on numerous charges for drugs, DUI and hit and run, while one of the deputies investigating the case, Nick Huzior, had to be hospitalized after talking ill while field testing the substances found in Clemons’s truck.
Minor Electrical Fire Outside Next Door Bistro Briefly Shuts Down Popular Restaurant in Flagler Beach
A small electrical fire outside the Next Door Beach Bistro in Flagler Beach late this afternoon sent smoke inside the restaurant and caused it to close for the rest of the evening. But crews quickly put out the fire. There were no injuries and damage was limited to the electrical equipment outside
Palm Coast’s Saltwater Canals in Better Shape Than Feared, Narrowing Debate to ‘Spot Dredging’ and Cost
A long-anticipated analysis of Palm Coast’s 26 miles of saltwater canals, the second since 2005 in the canals’ half-century history, revealed to some surprise that the canals are in better shape than expected. While that diminishes the urgency, breadth and cost of necessary dredging, dredging would still be necessary and expensive regardless.
Flagler Schools Drop AP Psychology as State Sends Conflicted Signals Over Gender and Sexuality Unit
In Flagler County, where students returned to school today, AP Psychology, one of the more popular courses in Flagler Palm Coast High School’s accelerated curriculum, will no longer be taught. Students have been automatically shifted to the IB course in a pre-emptive move against the state’s conflicting messages about whether the AP course was legal to teach in its entirety of not, and a local school board with members eager to fuel the state’s culture wars.