John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” skated this afternoon to a Matanzas High School review committee’s 6-0 vote for retention, rebuffing a challenge to the book. It was the second book decision in a day in the Flagler district, the third in a week, counting Tuesday’s vote by the school board to retain Patricia McCormick’s “Sold.”
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Sheriff Launches Voluntary Surveillance Camera Registry Tapping Private Homes, Businesses and Agencies
The camera registry is an online portal for citizens to register their security cameras in order to help solve crimes in the community. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is hoping that citizens will register their cameras and help create a community-wide public safety ecosystem.
Skirting Ban, FPC Committee Votes to ‘Weed’ Tilt, With Same Result: the Book Is Removed
A seven-member committee reviewing a challenge of Ellen Hopkins’s “Tilt” unanimously voted this morning to remove the book from circulation at the Flagler Palm Coast High School library, but not on challenged grounds. The committee found the book did not meet criteria to be banned, but met criteria to be “weeded,” as outdated.
Tenure No Longer Tenure in Florida As University Board Rules for 5-Year Reviews
The state university system’s Board of Governors on Wednesday gave final approval to a regulation that would require faculty members to undergo post-tenure reviews every five years, amid heavy opposition from critics who argued it could lead to a “downward trend in morale” on campus.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: John Green’s Looking For Alaska, a Review and a Recommendation
John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” a novel of adolescence, friendship, loyalty and misjudgments, is among the 22 books so far this school year that a trio of individuals have sought to ban from high school library shelves. A committee meets on March 30 at 3 p.m. at Matanzas High School to decide whether to retain it or ban it.
Walmart in Palm Coast Evacuated After It Was Target of a Bomb Threat
The Walmart store at 174 Cypress Point Parkway in Palm Coast was evacuated of customers and employees this afternoon after it was the target of a bomb threat called in around 4:40 p.m.
School Board Denies Paul Peacock’s Grievance Appeal in Skirmish Over Larger Power Struggle
The grievance is a skirmish in a larger power struggle over the superintendent’s future. That struggle continues, with Peacock, school board members and now the local chamber of commerce all having played or still seeking to play a role in the board’s impending decision on whether to renew Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s contract.
Flagler School Board Keeps Sold on School Library Shelves in Unprecedented 3-2 Vote
The Flagler County School Board this evening voted 3-2 to keep “Sold,” the novel in verse by Patricia McCormick, on the shelves of Flagler County school’s high school libraries. The novel is written from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl trafficked to a prostitution house in India.
School Board Uncomfortable with Arming Classroom Teachers, But Not Other Campus Staffers
A majority of school board members today said that, while not opposed to arming school staffers, they would be uncomfortable with arming classroom teachers, as opposed to staffers or administrators beyond individual classrooms.
Appeal to Supreme Court for Stay of Gaskin Execution Cites FlaglerLive Article on Juror’s Reversal
Among other arguments, Gaskin’s lawyers cite a March 15 FlaglerLive article in which Janet Valentine, one of the 12 jurors at Gaskin’s 1990 trial, saying she regrets being part of the 8-4 votes recommending his death. Valentine would go on to be Flagler County’s school superintendent between 2010 and 2014.
Trials of Circle K Murder Suspects, Derrius Bauer and Marcus Chamblin, May Not Be Until Next Year
Layers for the defense and the prosecution told Circuit Judge Terence Perkins this morning that they may not be ready for the trial of Derrius Bauer, one of two suspects in the October 2019 killing of Deon O’Neal Jenkins, known as the Circle K murder, until next January.
George Hanns, Defeated in 2016 After 24 Years, Plans Another Run for County Commission
George Hanns had served 24 years as a Flagler County Commissioner when he lost in 2016. He wants another run at it, this time as a Republican vying for the seat Donald O’Brien is vacating, and that Palm Coast Council member Ed Danko plans a run for.
Christina Marie Coe, 28, Missing Since March 22: Located
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in locating Christina Marie Coe, a 28-year-old resident of Bunnell who left her Bunnell home at noon on March 22 and hasn’t been heard of since.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: Ellen Hopkins’s Tilt, a Review and a Recommendation
In “Tilt,” Ellen Hopkins gives us the powerful coming of age story of three very engaging, very different American teenagers. The novel is on the list of books three Flagler County residents are seeking to ban. A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee discusses the challenge on Thursday.
Reclusive, 15-ft Beaked Whale, Likely Sick, Strands in Flagler Beach Near Water Tower
For the second time in only 10 weeks, a rarely seen whale beached on Flagler County’s sands and was put down hours later before it was to be removed from the surf and transported by truck to Orlando’s SeaWorld for a necropsy.
Behind Principal Paul Peacock’s $7,500 Grievance, a Roil of Politics and Sideshow Maneuvers
Wadsworth principal Paul Peacock’s grievance appeal for a $7,500 supplement is not a complex issue for the School Board to decide on March 28. But it is taking place amid a peripheral stew of noise, politics, and maneuvering over the superintendent’s future, plus a threat of a lawsuit, all of which will challenge the board’s ability to stick to the merits of the appeal.
How a Palm Coast Organization Is Keeping Jazz Alive in Northeast Florida
Established in Palm Coast in 1986 by Eugene (Jeep) and Muriel McCoy, the North East Florida Jazz Association (NEFJA) has been celebrating and promoting Jazz for more than 35 years. It’s marking Jazz Appreciation Month with an April 1 concert featuring trumpetist Longineu Parsons II.
Proposed 16-Home Beachside Development South of Surf Club Troubles Residents and the County
Solitude at Matanzas Shores would be built on just under 4 acres of beachside land across from the Lakeside and Las Casitas developments, on State Road A1A. County commissioners are leery, and leaning against approving allowing 16 single-family homes there.
Superintendent’s Self-Evaluation Is 2 Points Short of ‘Highly Effective,’ With Notable Gaps
If it’s not a done deal–which it may well be–the self-evaluations may be key to Flagler School Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s future, which can now fairly be called embattled as one school board member has been seeking her replacement, two have remained mum on her future, and only two have lent her support.
61-Year-Old Man Faces Animal Cruelty Charge in Killing of Family Cat
A 61-year-old resident of Lee Drive in Palm Coast was arrested Wednesday on a felony charge of cruelty toward animals, causing death, after he told sheriff’s deputies he choked and slashed the family cat. The cat died.
316-Unit Apartment Complex Off Whiteview Parkway Clears Hurdle, with Eyes on New Hospital
The Palm Coast Planning Board last week recommended approval of a 316-unit gated apartment complex on nearly 19 vacant acres on the West side of White Mill Drive and the north side of Whiteview Parkway, in the W-Section’s last remaining vast expanse of fallow land.
Sally Hunt Has Problems. The School District Is Paying the Price.
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt has a problem with truth. She has a problem with transparency. She has a problem with process. She has a problem with judgment. And she has a problem with the law. She’s also our problem. She’ll either lift this district or drag it down. Right now it’s not looking up.
A1A Protection Plan in Flagler Will Rely on Beach Renourishment, and a Sea Wall at South End
The state Department of Transportation’s much-anticipated plan to protect State Road A1A will mostly rely on existing plans by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild 2.6 miles of beach and dunes south of the pier, plans by Flagler County to rebuild beaches north and south of that stretch, and a DOT secant wall along the shore straddling the Flagler-Volusia county line.
Drone, Gas and SWAT Closed In on Armed Man on Ricker Place, Leading to Arrest After Stand-Off
Luis Ramirez, the 56-year-old man who held Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies at bay for two days before his arrest late Monday night, was severely depressed, intoxicated and threatening self-harm, and had fired at least one round from a firearm Sunday night while family members were in the house, but not at anyone in particular, sheriff’s reports say.
Palm Coast Council’s Proposed Prayer Policy Draws Out Opponents, Who Urge Silence
A few days after Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko called a constituent a “piece of crap” for allegedly being an atheist and questioning the council’s proposed invocation policy, several people addressed the council this morning, mostly to recommend silence over invocations.
County Approves Spending Extra $500,000 for ‘Gem of a Site’ as Future Visitor Center on SR100
Flagler County’s future visitor center got its biggest boost today on two grounds: The County Commission all but approved locating the center on State Road 100, next to the future pedestrian bridge and heritage trail. And it approved contributing an additional $500,000 as a local match for a hoped-for $8 million federal grant to build the center.
Staffing Pressures Reduce Flagler Public Library Hours from 57 to 52 a Week
The Flagler County Public Library on Palm Coast Parkway will be open for five fewer hours starting April 3, as weekly total hours will fall from 57 to 52, with a more simplified schedule.
Judge Perkins Denies Further Hearings and Claim of ‘Manifest Injustice’ in Gaskin Death Penalty Case
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins this morning in Bunnell denied the defense’s motion for an evidentiary hearing on Tuesday, ending Gaskin’s last possible effort to prevent his killing. The state Supreme Court and a last-minute commutation by the governor are the only remaining possibilities, but they are beyond the remote.
Ron DeSantis’ Amazing, Awesome, Heroic Life
This is the book wrote by me, Ronald Dion DeSantis, aged 44-½. I wanted to call it “My Struggle,” but Casey said that wasn’t a good idea. So, we gave it the title “The Courage to be Free.”
Any Private or Home Schooled Student Would Be Eligible for $8,000 in Massive Expansion of ‘Vouchers’ at Public Expense
The Republican-controlled House passed a measure that would make every Florida student –in private school, religious schools or home-schooled–eligible for $8,000 in taxpayer-backed school vouchers, as Democrats and other critics slammed the expansion as a “coupon for millionaires.”
Belle Terre Swim Club’s Finances Are Not as Dire as Projected, Club Advocate Says
Doug Courtney, a member of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club’s advisory committee, questions the school district’s claims that closing the club to public use would be a financial benefit.
Matanzas Aide Attacked by 17 Year Old Had Reported His Threats As Far Back as August
Joan Naydich, the 58-year-old Matanzas High School paraprofessional attacked by one of her students on Feb. 21 had alerted the classroom teacher as far back as late August of the student’s aggression and belligerence, according to a petition for an injunction she filed at the end of February.
Scapino Walks This Way Into City Repertory Theatre’s Farce, Ameliorating Molière
In “Scapino!,” the servant Scapino schemes to manipulate his authoritarian master Geronte and a rival patriarch away from disrupting the romances of their offspring. It’s a “a free-for-all farce,” in the words of City Repertory Theatre Director John Sbordone.
Starting Palm Coast Council Meetings with ‘Invocation’ Would Be Unnecessarily Divisive
At a time when communities are divided enough by party, ideology, color and sometimes geography, the Palm Coast City Council’s proposal to start its meetings with a prayer, or invocation would add yet more divisiveness, when the council should be celebrating residents’ shared humanity and basic decency.
A Series of Frantic Hearings at Bunnell Courthouse Are Preceding State’s Killing of Louis Gaskin
Nearly half a dozen hearings are taking place at the Flagler County courthouse between this week and next in the case of Louis Gaskin, who is scheduled to be executed by the state on April 12. The hearings are last-minutes attempt either to delay or to annul the execution, but the likelihood of success is beyond the realm of hail Marys.
20-Year-Old Palm Coast Man Charged With Robbery of a Door Dash Delivery Man
Jakeem Washington-Howell, a 20-year-old resident of Breeze Hill lane in Palm Coast, faces a second-degree felony robbery charge that carries a maximum of 15 years in prison on conviction following an alleged robbery of a Door Dash delivery man Tuesday night.
Sally Hunt Courted Ex-FPC Principal Dusty Sims for Superintendent Outside School Board’s and Public’s Purview
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt has been courting Dusty Sims, the former Flagler Palm Coast High School principal, as a replacement for Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt, without the school board’s approval or knowledge, and before Mittlelstadt’s fate is decided. Hunt’s maneuvering contradicts pretenses of neutrality at school board meetings.
Janet Valentine, a Juror and Future Superintendent, Regrets Voting for Gaskin’s Death. Prosecutor Does Not.
Janet Valentine, who would become Flagler school superintendent 20 years later, was one of the jurors who recommended the death of Louis Gaskin in 1990, a vote she now regrets. Gaskin is to be put to death in April. John Tanner, the State Attorney at the time, has no regrets for seeking the death penalty.
In Riveting Discussion on Prayers at Meetings, Palm Coast Council Defers to ‘Neutral’ Caution
The Palm Coast council discussed a proposed prayer policy today in what turned into an unusually absorbing and equally civil hourlong seminar on the First Amendment, the limits of expressions of belief in government settings, and the unintended and potentially offensive consequences of an open-invocation policy.
Ky Ekinci, Champion of Small Businesses and Office Divvy Co-Owner, Dies at 53
Kayhan Ekinci, the co-owner of Office Divvy and former co-owner of the Humidor, who was known to most as Ky, died on Sunday afternoon after he collapsed while jogging near Water Tower Road in the Cypress Edge area of Palm Coast. He was 53.
Louis Gaskin, Convicted for 2 Murders in R-Section in 1990, to Be 1st-Ever Execution of Flagler Resident
Louis Gaskin, a murderer known as the “Ninja Killer,” is set to be killed by lethal injection on April 12 for the 1989 murders of Robert Sturmfels, 56, and Georgette Sturmfels, 55, on Ripley Place in Palm Coast.
Would-Be Book-Banner Appeals Nowhere Girls Decision Even Before 14-0 Vote to Keep It
A 14-member district committee voted unanimously this evening to recommend keeping Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls,” a book deconstructing high school rape culture, on the shelves at Flagler Palm Coast High School and Matanzas High School. The woman challenging the book filed an appeal to the school board even before the superintendent has weighed on.
Citing ‘Reason Above Prejudice,’ Superintendent Upholds Recommendation to Keep Sold on School Shelves
Citing “principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice,” Flagler School Superintendent Cathy Mittlestadt upheld the recommendation of a district appeals committee to keep Patricia McCormick’s “Sold,” on human trafficking, on library shelves at high and middle schools.
Flagler District Wants Earlier High School Start Time Just as State and Research Go the Other Way
A disconnect is developing between the Flagler County School Board and a proposed state law to push middle and high school start times later. The Flagler board favors a later start time for middle schools. But it’s pushing an earlier start time for high schools.
Road Rage Stabbing on I-95 Leads to Arrest of Felon Out on Bond for Another Stabbing
Michael Marsh Jr., who faces a felony charge stemming from the stabbing of a truck driver on I-95, is a felon many times over in the past dozen years and a former state prison inmate who was out on bond at the time of the road rage incident–on an aggravated battery charge involving a stabbing.
How Cupcake Café’s TikTok of Mr Keith’s Surgical Cake Order Went Viral in Whirls of Good Wishes
TikTok clips by Theresa Tazewell, owner of Cupcake Cafe in Palm Coast, went viral as she documented customer Keith’s wish to pay for his wife’s birthday cake in advance for fear that he might die during surgery. He survived, and was lavished with millions of good wishes from a round the globe through Tazewell’s TikToks.
Michael Rickman Performs Beethoven’s 2nd Piano Concerto in Daytona Solisti’s Final Concert
The Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra’s annual Beethovenfest concert on March 26 will celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven with the first full-length orchestral piece the composer ever wrote: Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring pianist Dr. Michael Rickman, an internationally acclaimed pianist.
Severe Thunderstorm Potential Sunday Night Into Monday
A Low-pressure system and accompanying cold front will generate strong to severe thunderstorms Sunday afternoon into Monday in Northeast Florida and Southwest Georgia. The squall line is expected over Flagler County between 11 p.m. this evening and 8 a.m. Monday. after 7 p.m.
A Motorcyclist Is Killed, Another Is Critically Injured in Separate Crashes in Flagler
As Bike Week was entering its closing weekend, a motorcyclist was killed and another was critically injured Friday in separate crashes in Flagler County, the first in Palm Coast, the second in Bunnell.
Challenged in Flagler Schools: Amy Reed’s The Nowhere Girls, a Review and Recommendation
Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls,” a 2017 novel on high school rape culture and three girls’ attempt to counter it, is a #MeToo manifesto for young adults. It’s up for banning from Flagler schools. This review is a guide.