Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, the 18-year-old migrant facing a manslaughter charge in the heart-attack death of a St. Johns County sheriff’s deputy following Mendez’s arrest on a minor charge, is now represented by Jose Baez, the Miami attorney and one of the most successful and high-profile trial lawyers in the country. Baez’s involvement and a petition that has gathered 600,000 signatures for Mendez’s release reflect the reach of the case far beyond St. Johns County, and shock over a charge that, according to the medical examiner’s conclusion, is disconnected from deputy Michael Kunovich’s heart attack.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
MAGA Has Taylor Swift’s Number
Clearly, Taylor Swift hates America, practices mind control, is corrupting the NFL and is an emissary from the Deep State, but at least people like Stephen Miller, Matt Gaetz and Mike Crispi know the score, and are saving us from the cabal.
Joe Saviak, Frequent Flier of Local Government Mentoring, Helps Palm Coast Council Launch Its Goal-Setting Season
Joe Saviak spearheaded a dynamic orientation meeting on Monday morning at the Palm Coast Community Center, guiding the Palm Coast City Council, administration, and department directors through a strategic action planning session. The City of Palm Coast has consistently undertaken an annual strategic action plan process over the past decade, a crucial initiative to address community needs and pave the way for a positive future.
Indian Trails Middle’s Giles Platt Is Flagler’s Spelling Bee Champ After Conquering ‘Apparatus,’ ‘Vicarious,’ and of Course ‘Acclaim’
It took Indian Trails Middle School eighth grader Giles Platt eight rounds, but he hoisted the 2023-24 Flagler County Spelling Bee Champion’s trophy Thursday evening after spelling apparatus and vicarious correctly. He knew he had it right even before the judges confirmed it, beaming a grin as he repeated the word, then jumping with joy as the audience applauded. Joyce Holmes, an eighth grader at Imagine School at Town Center, is the runner-up.
Flagler Beach Is Fiercely Opposed to Consolidating Library With County, But Cooperative Intrigues Even Jane Mealy
Flagler Beach on Thursday formally rejected an inquiry by Flagler County government about the possibility of merging the Flagler Beach Public Library with the county’s system. But that does not necessarily close the book on a collaborative partnership. City Commissioner Jane Mealy, the fiercest defender of the Flagler Beach library’s independence, is intrigued by the possibility of a cooperative that would preserve that independence but expand Flagler Beach residents’ access to county library resources, likely at no additional cost.
In Flagler Beach, A Lack of Consensus Even About the Discussion on Changing Mayor’s Role and Commission’s Make-Up
The Flagler Beach City Commission is heading to a Feb. 15 workshop to discuss possibly placing on a referendum questions about changing the mayor’s role to a voting one, changing commissioners’ terms, and changing the role of the chair. But the commission is more divided than not both about the questions themselves and the purpose of the workshop. That does not bode well for its outcome–at least the outcome Commission Chair Eric Cooley wants, which is to put the questions to a referendum.
He’d Burglarized Tourists’ Car at a Local Park and Bought Apple Watches with Their Cards. He Was Sentenced to Life in Prison.
Last November, Caisy Frank, a 40-year-old resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., was tried and found guilty of armed burglary, grand theft of a firearm, additional grand theft counts, and fraud, among 10 charges. On Tuesday, Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced Frank to life in prison. The severity of the sentence is a reflection of Frank’s status as a prison-release reoffender.
School Board’s Sally Hunt Is Getting Tired of All Those Celebratory Spotlights and Awareness Proclamations
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt does not seem to be enjoying her job. At least not the fun parts, the parts that give district teachers, employees and students a chance to showcase their accomplishments, the parts that give the community a voice through proclamations. They just drag on too long, and maybe they shouldn’t be part of the “business” portion of the meetings, Hunt told her colleagues at a workshop earlier this week, as she spoke from an undisclosed location, phoning it in.
Heidi Petito Gets a Combined C+ from Commissioners’ Evaluation of Her 2nd Full Year as County Administrator
It was not the strongest evaluation year for Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito, who scored a C-plus from the five combined reviews by her county commissioner bosses, despite perfect scores from two of the five. But the commissioners’ written comments to Petito generally painted a more complimentary picture than their numbers.
School Board’s Christy Chong’s ‘Cause’ Letter to Fire Attorney Is a Tissue of Fabrications, Petty Grievances and Cluelessness
The six “causes” Flagler County School Board member Christy Chong listed as reasons to fire attorney Kristy Gavin come nowhere near “just cause” as defined in Gavin’s contract. Rather, they’re petty, inaccurate, gossipy and falsified grievances that have more to do with Chong being out of her depth, her embarrassment, her hatred for the press and her contempt for transparency and the public than anything to do with the quality of Gavin’s work in nearly two decades of representing the board.