In spite of growth that added 16,000 new residents to the county in three years, in spite of Palm Coast, the county and Flagler Beach issuing certificates of occupancy for some 3,200 housing units in 2023 alone, and in spite of similar growth trends in 2024, Flagler County schools are simply not attracting enough students to reflect that growth.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Palm Coast Takes a Step Closer to Utility Tax, But Only If Voters Approve in a Binding Referendum
The Palm Coast City Council today took its closest step in 25 years toward a utility franchise fee, an additional levy that would raise your power bills by up to 10 percent. Public opposition has defeated such fee proposals four times since 2011. But the council is leaving it to the voting public to decide what the fee should be, or if there should be a fee at all. The fee must be contingent on a future referendum. And the referendum must be binding.
Seeing Record $82 Million Haul from State as Failure, Palm Coast Is on Brink of Firing Its Powerful Lobbyist
Disappointed by the performance of its lobbyist in Tallahassee despite netting $82 million in state appropriations this year, the Palm Coast City Council is on the verge of firing Southern Group, one of the state’s most powerful lobby firms. Council members spoke as if legislative appropriations were either the city’s due, or that securing them were a science that lobbyists know or don’t know. But that’s more fancy (or hubris) than truth in a whorl of politics, trade-offs and, in the governor’s case, often inscrutable vetoes.
LongHorn Steakhouse Opening Later This Year Near Miller’s Ale House at BJ’s Warehouse Shopping Center
LongHorn Steakhouse is building a 5,780 square-foot restaurant in one of the three businesses opening along State Road 100 in Palm Coast, in the BJ’s Warehouse shopping center opening later this year. The other two are Miller’s Ale House and Chase Bank. Two remaining spots have not been filled. Miller’s Ale House may be the first to open as soon as next month.
At ‘Monumental Groundbreaking’ for Beach-Rebuilding, Shovels of Praise, But Not a Word About Climate Change
Federal, state and local officials gathered at veterans Park in Flagler Beach under a broiling sun this morning for the groundbreaking of the $27 million beach-rebuilding project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a project 20 years in the making. Officials exchanged heaps of praise, but a principal reason behind the project–climate change–was left unspoken in a state where the words are now banned.
Palm Coast Launches Swale Maintenance Pilot Program in P-Section, Along with ‘Progress’ Page
The City of Palm Coast announced a new pilot program by the Stormwater and Engineering Department aimed at improving swale maintenance across the community. This initiative targets specific problem areas by selectively regrading and resodding high spots in swales, providing solutions without the need for complete overhauls. This program is part of the city’s ongoing commitment to enhancing infrastructure and services for residents.
Brian Pirraglia Indicted on 1st Degree Murder Charge in Fentanyl Overdose Death of Brian Oshea, 39
The same day Brian Oshea completed a jail sentence for drug possession, he returned to his former home and overdosed on fentanyl that belonged to Brian Pirraglia, who last week was indicted on a first-degree murder charge.
Palm Coast’s Greg and Amy Pacheco Face Felonies in Road Rage Assault; 3rd Rage Arrest in 2 Years for Greg
Greg Allen Pacheco, 52, and his spouse Amy Lynette Pacheco, 46, are at the Flagler County jail facing felony charges stemming from a road-rage incident on the Hammock Dunes bridge on Tuesday. For Greg Pacheco, it is the third time in two years that he faces charges following similar confrontations with other drivers. He was prosecuted only one of the two times.
Historic Sweep: Flagler’s 5 Constitutionals Elected Without Opposition as Shelly Edmonson Wins Tax Collector’s Seat
Clerk of Court Tom Bexley, Tax Collector-Elect Edmonson, Property Appraiser Jay Gardner, Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart and Sheriff Rick Staly were elected without opposition today, the first time an entire slate of constitutionals managed the feat in memory. Edmonson will take over for Suzanne Johnston, who decided to retire after 20 years as the tax collector.
Lowering Speed Limits to 25 in Palm Coast Too Expensive, But City Considers Traffic ‘Humps’ in Neighborhoods
The Palm Coast City Council is not interested in spending $1.6 million to lower speed limits citywide from 30 to 25 mph–it would cost that much to change all the signs–and is leery about certain “traffic-calming” devices, whether speed “humps” or traffic islands. But it will consider a plan that would leave it in residents’ hands to decide whether they want speed humps in their neighborhoods.