The Flagler County School Board for the latest of innumerable times could not decide what to do with the money-losing Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, now projected to run a $169,000 deficit, other than ask for yet more information. But the district’s administration is making clear that it is getting tired of carrying the club with subsidies better spent elsewhere.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Flagler’s Visual Arts Struggle for Visibility With Seeming Demise of Art League and Gargiulo Foundation
Their apparent demise during the past year — the Flagler County Art League from the pandemic’s economic pressures, the Gargiulo Art Foundation from the death of artist and co-founder Tom Gargiulo in February — coupled with the retreat of JJ Graham’s Salvo Art Project and the disappearance of several exhibit spaces and other smaller galleries is leaving many area artists feeling like the proverbial tree that falls in a forest with no one to hear it.
Based in Palm Coast, Global Support Group for Rare Disease Gets Awareness Boost from Celine Dion Diagnosis
Palm Coast resident Mike West started the Stiff Person Syndrome support group almost 20 years ago. It now has 1,700 members in 34 countries, and on Dec. 7, with Celine Dion announcement that she has SPS, the disease got the broader awareness people like West have been seeking.
Should There Be Armed Civilians in Schools? Flagler District Will Survey Employees and Residents
With numerous questions still unanswered–and some unanswerable questions–the Flagler County School Board is moving forward with gauging interest from school employees and residents in arming civilians in schools as a presumed addition to the security provided by the Sheriff’s Office’s school resource deputies.
Student Removed From Buddy Taylor Middle Last Year Is Arrested for Joking About Shooting Up the School
A 14-year-old student who last year was either expelled or withdrawn from in-school attendance at Buddy Taylor Middle School over disciplinary issues was arrested today and charged with a second-degree felony for allegedly threatening to shoot up the school. An investigation found he’d had no means to carry out the act, and that he’d been joking about it in chats.
School District Will Develop Policy on Stocking Narcan to Counter Overdoses, With Broad Availability
The Flagler County School Board directed its administration to develop a policy and procedures that will make Narcan, the agent that neutralizes drug overdoses, broadly available in schools, enabling more than just school nurses to administer it if and when necessary. The district has not experienced a drug overdose among students or staff on campus in recent memory.
Mom Who Drew National Headlines Over Boy’s Beating Is Arrested for Selling Cocaine Near Day Care
Ashley Ruffin, the 32-year-old Palm Coast mother of four, drew headlines after her arrest and pleas of innocence in the alleged beating of a boy. She claimed she was defending her son. On Monday, she was arrested on a first-degree felony charge of selling cocaine near a child care center in Bunnell, where she is living in subsidized housing.
Bunnell’s Sizemore Welding Will Buy Former Sheriff’s Operations Building Ahead of Expansion
Duane Sizemore of Sizemore Welding–Bunnell’s largest manufacturer–confirmed that his company will be buying the former Sheriff’s Operation Center off State Road 100, for just over $3 million. The 36,000 square foot facility will be expanded by 15,000 square feet, and will receive a $96,000 incentive from the city.
Planned Hospital on US 1 All But Dead, Mayor Says, as Advent, Baptist and Halifax Vie to Buy Flagler Health
Flagler Health+’s plans to build a hospital on a 70-acre parcel west of U.S. 1 and Palm Coast Parkway appear to have died. And the St. Augustine-based company is on the market, with AdventHealth, Halifax Health and Jacksonville-based Baptist Health competing to buy it, according to Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin.
Yes, There May Be Hope in Breakthrough Over Dune Hold-Out, Attorney Seeks to Reassure County
Scott Spradley, the attorney Flagler County retained in a bankruptcy case against Cynthia d’Angiolini, the lone hold-out against a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to rebuild dunes in the city, sought to reassure county officials that she now has “incentive” to sign the necessary easements.
Flagler’s Cold-Weather Homeless Shelter Facing Staffing Challenge as 4-Night Freeze Coincides With Christmas
Flagler County’s all-volunteer organization that runs the county’s only cold-weather shelter is facing a steep staffing challenge this week as the National Weather Service is warning of an unusually long, bitter cold spell starting Friday night and coinciding with the Christmas weekend, when many shelter volunteers are away, visiting family. The shelter is planning to open four nights in a row.
Sheriff’s Office’s Ultra-Modern Operations Center Is Dedicated, Ending 4 1/2 Years of Nomadic Existence
Sheriff Rick Staly dedicated the $20 million, 51,600 square foot Sheriff’s Operations Center off Commerce Boulevard before hundreds today, ending four and a half years of borrowing space from the courthouse, among other locations, and closing an unhappy chapter in the county’s history.
Palm Coast’s Lee Ann Daley, 46, is Killed in Head-On Crash Caused By Man Going Wrong Way on US1
Lee Ann Daley, a 46-year-old Palm Coast resident, was killed in a head-on collision on U.S. 1 in Palm Coast when a driver going the wrong way struck her car a little before 9 p.m. Friday.
DeSantis Picks 4 Judges for Revamped 5th District Court of Appeal, Which Hears Flagler Cases
DeSantis named Florida Gaming Control Commission Chairman John MacIver, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Paige Kilbane, Duval County Circuit Judge Adrian Soud and Putnam County Judge Joseph Boatwright to serve on the appellate court, which will hear cases from a large swath of North Florida and Central Florida.
Flagler County Unemployment Rate of 3.2% Stays Where It’s Been Most of the Year
Flagler County’s labor force reached nearly 51,000 in August and October, falling back modestly to 50,676 in November, with an employed labor force of 49,000, out of a population of about 120,000, and 1,600 unemployed people.
Two Inmates at Flagler Jail Who Attempted Suicide Within 24 Hours Each Had a Disturbing Backstory
On Dec. 8 and 9, in the span of 24 hours, detention deputies–and an inmate in the first case–intervened and halted the attempted suicides of two inmates, a man and a woman, in unrelated incidents. Each had a harrowing back-story, suggesting that the individuals’ attempts may not be their last.
Perry Mitrano Elected Flagler’s REC Chair, Defeating Renner-Backed Jill Woolbright By Big Margin
Internal party elections are not ordinarily newsworthy. This one, however, reflects political dynamics that reverberate beyond the party and the county, especially as Republicans control all but a handful of Flagler’s elected seats, when Renner is House speaker, and in his last term, and when Republicans are cleaved by fierce divisions, in Flagler as elsewhere, over the direction of their party.
Lawsuit Cites Splash Pad Contractors’ ‘Collective Negligence’ and Bond Company’s Refusal to Pick Up Pieces
The lawsuit Palm Coast government filed to recover damages from the broken splash pad at Holland Park names three contractor, accusing them of negligence, breach of contract and warranties, and violations of Florida’s building code. The lawsuit also names the bonding company, revealing that the company has allegedly refused to comply by the bond’s terms.
Jury Convicts Rene Laso In Smiles Bar Stabbing After Propositioning Woman; He Faces Up to 30 Years
A jury on Wednesday convicted Rene Laso, a 56-year-old resident of Zachary Place in Palm Coast, on two counts of aggravated assault in the stabbing of a man and a woman at Smiles night club a year and a half ago. The incident was triggered after Laso propositioned the woman for sexual favors in exchange for $5,000.
My Massive Heart Attack, and a Bit of Advice from a Departed Medical Examiner
Former Assistant Public Defender Raymond Warren describes for the first time his 2016 experience of a heart attack and offers advice derived from what he learned deposing the late Predrag Bulic, the circuit’s medical examiner who died earlier this year of a stroke.
Flagler Public Health Officials Reassert Efficacy of Covid Vaccines as DeSantis Intensifies Denialism
In a sharp escalation of Covid vaccine denialism by a sitting governor, Ron DeSantis on Tuesday called on the state Supreme Court to empanel a grand jury to investigate alleged “wrongdoing” related to the vaccine, as Flagler County’s architects of the response to the pandemic reasserted the efficacy of the vaccine and relied on the latest science.
Flagler County Sues Cynthia d’Angiolini, Lone Dunes Hold-Out, And Her Attorney Wants Off Bankruptcy Case
Flagler County government today filed a federal suit against Cynthia d’Angiolini, the lone remaining obstacle to a dune-rebuilding project intended to protest 2.6 miles of shore and State Road A1A in Flagler Beach, asking the court to revoke the discharge from bankruptcy d’Angiolini secured only a few weeks ago. The move occurs as other steps are severely complicating–and darkening–d’Angiolini’s posture against the county, including a motion today by her bankruptcy attorney to stop representing her.
County Commissioner Dave Sullivan Is Recovering from a Stroke, Hoping to Be Home By Christmas
Days after suffering a smaller episode, Flagler County Commissioner Dave Sullivan on Dec. 7 suffered a stroke that numbed his left side and required his hospitalization since, first in Palm Coast, now in AdventHealth’s rehab facility in Ormond Beach.
Community Center Employee’s Alertness Leads to Arrest of Echo Caretaker Accused of Abusing Disabled Man
Chelsey Payne, a 30-year-old employee with Palm Coast-based East Coast Habilitation Options, known as Echo, was fired and arrested on a felony charge over the violent way she handled a client during a trip to the Palm Coast Community Center.
Palm Coast and County Launch Joint $200,000 Plan to Map Out Parks and Rec Blueprint for Future
Palm Coast government and the county are starting a nearly $200,000, eight-month process to determine how the city’s parks should grow, what they should offer and how they should be marketed to users, including city and county residents and beyond. The city is looking to add to the broader regional appeal of park facilities like the Indian Trails Sports Complex and–assuming it can recover some of its broken amenities–Holland Park.
‘There Is going To be a Homicide Tonight,’ Woman Threatens Girlfriend Before Stabbing Her
Sheila Marie Orozco, 34, who had been staying at her girlfriend’s home, is at the Flagler County jail following her arrest on accusations that she stabbed her girlfriend, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries, on Sherwood Street in the Mondex (Daytona North) late the night of Dec. 9.
April Groundbreaking for 100-Room Margaritaville Hotel in Flagler Beach, With Opening in Fall of 2024
Large-scale construction for Flagler Beach’s 100-room Margaritaville Hotel in place of the former grounds of the farmer’s market will take place at the same time as the construction of a new pier and the dune-rebuilding project on 2.6 miles of beach.
2,000 Articles, 2 Million Words, Countless Revelations in ’22: Help FlaglerLive Keep You Richly Informed in ’23
If you are reading these words right now, consider yourself very fortunate: You are NOT a resident of one of the hundreds of U.S. cities, towns and counties that have no local, reliable print or online source of news. But it takes your help to keep your community from becoming a news desert.
An Invitation From Sisco Deen to the Navy Band Southeast Concert at Flagler Auditorium
Plan to join members of the Booe/Deen family and other music lovers at the Flagler Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 18, 2022 for the Navy Band Southeast concert. The band will honor my great uncle James Brazier “Jim” Booe for his military service as a military band director in World War II.
Woman Is Tased in Courtroom After Struggling With Bailiffs and Refusing to be Handcuffed
Evone Diane Clifton, a 39-year-old resident of Hastings, was tased in County Judge Melissa Moore Stens’s courtroom at the Flagler County courthouse on Thursday (Dec. 8) after allegedly fighting and striking bailiffs and refusing to be handcuffed, moments after the judge ordered her re-arrest for failing a urinalysis test. She was supposed to enter a plea on two previous misdemeanor counts that day.
Belle Terre Parkway Road Work Near Indian Trails Middle School Will Cause Headaches Through March
Belle Terre Parkway construction near Indian Trails Middle and Belle Terre Elementary will run from Dec. 12 to March 30. The stormwater culvert pipes that run parallel to and under the southbound lane of Belle Terre Parkway must be repaired to stabilize the road and prevent more dips from forming.
Couple Face 30 Years in Prison for Orchestrating a ‘Hit’ on an Inmate at Flagler County Jail
Margaret Octavia Watkins, 37, and her boyfriend Raymond Wesley Dukes, 52, both of Bunnell, face first-degree felony charges and up to 30 years in prison each for allegedly orchestrating the brutal beating of an inmate at the Flagler County jail in June.
Ending Green Lion Era, Palm Coast Readies to Sign 5-Year Lease With Loopers at Palm Harbor Golf Course
The Palm Coast City Council at a meeting Tuesday is set to approve a five-year lease with Loopers at Palm Harbor Golf Club, replacing the Green Lion after five years. Loopers is owned by Jamie Bourdeau, who has owned Beach Front Grille in Flagler Beach since 2014.
Bunnell Elementary’s Robin Jaques Lands $10,000 Golden Grant for Literacy Initiative
Bunnell Elementary and teacher Robin Jaques are one of 11 Central Florida schools in Florida to be awarded a Golden Grant from J-Quint LLC, a franchisee of McDonald’s restaurants. Jaques’s award is for $10,000.
Flagler County Accuses Dune Hold-Out of ‘Bad Faith’ and ‘Abomination,’ and Wants Property Seized
Flagler County government is accusing the lone hold-out in a planned dune-rebuilding project along State Road A1A in Flagler Beach of “bad faith,” “fraud” and deception, and is asking a federal court to revoke her discharge from bankruptcy and enable the government to seize all but her homesteaded assets. Cynthia d’Angiolini, the 71-year-old property owner, today countered that “Flagler County is not a creditor in this case and has no standing.”
18 Arrested Out of 35 Sought in Sheriff’s Latest Round-Up of Suspected ‘Poison Peddlers’
The 11-month undercover operation started in January, culminating today with 24 search warrants and the seizure of drugs with a street value of $5.7 million. The round-up netted 18 arrests at the time of the sheriff’s announcement, out of 35 people sought. Heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, morphine, methamphetamines, marijuana and other drugs were among those seized, along with 13 firearms–seven of them rifles.
Wawa Will Rise in Place of Paul Katz Building on Palm Coast Parkway and Florida Park Drive
A second Wawa is coming to Palm Coast. It’ll be built in place of the Paul Katz Professional Building at 1 Florida Park Drive South, on Palm Coast Parkway, next year. The three-level, 35,000-square-foot Katz office building, one of the oldest and more architecturally eye-catching structures in the city will be demolished.
Surging Private and Home School Enrollment Shelves One of Flagler District’s 2 Planned New Schools for Now
The Flagler County school district will start planning for a third high school during the 2024-25 school year. But plans for a new middle school, originally projected for the end of the decade, have been pushed out beyond that horizon for now as enrollment is not meeting expectations.
Flagler School Board’s Colleen Conklin and Cheryl Massaro Will Not Run for Re-Election in 2024
Colleen Conklin’s and Cheryl Massaro’s decision will have far-reaching consequences, ensuring that the new board in 2024 will have the shortest combined experience on the board in at least two decades and a half and giving the culture-war hard-right another opening to win a majority.
Billing Herself as ‘Fiercely Independent,’ Dr. Wendolyn Sneed Will Be District’s Next Medical Examiner
A panel of powerful law enforcement, judicial and medical officials today unanimously chose Dr. Wendolyn Sneed, the chief medical examiner in Palm Beach county, as the next chief medical examiner for Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam counties, one of the most powerful, least visible jobs in the judicial system. The job pays $320,000 a year.
18 Years in the Works, Commerce Parkway Connection from SR100 to US1 Is Finally a Go
The $15 million two-lane road (utilities included) will connect State Road 100 to U.S. 1 around Bunnell’s east side, with construction expected to start next summer. The County Commission cleared the project on Monday.
Flagler County Gets $5 Million for Emergency Sand, But It’ll Rebuild Barely 2 Miles of Skinny Dunes
Flagler County government secured $5 million in state dollars for emergency sand to rebuild shoreline eviscerated by recent storms. The money will only allow for about 2 miles of thin, not very durable dune reconstruction, but an additional $5 million is expected in federal funds for thicker dunes, but on a much shorter stretch of shore.
Flagler’s Kindergarteners Have Florida’s Highest Rate of Religious Exemptions from Immunization
Flagler County’s kindergarteners enrolled in public schools have the highest rate of exemption from immunization on religious grounds in Florida–5.5 percent, according to a new report by the Florida Department of Health. It now appears that disinformation about Covid vaccines, which played a large role in keeping the Covid-immunization rate below 70 percent, is infecting trust in other vaccines. That trust is being undermined even by the Florida Department of Health.
In Stunning Revelation, Dune Hold-Out Had Filed for Bankruptcy–and Not Disclosed Parcels’ Value; County Now Has Leverage
Cynthia d’Angiolini, the only property owner holding out from signing an easement to allow a dune rebuilding project in Flagler Beach, had failed to disclose the value of the two parcels in question in a federal bankruptcy proceeding. That now gives the county great leverage to win her signature, since she now may have to pay creditors a five-figure sum, which she does not have, enabling the county to bail her out–and get her signature.
Sheriff and FBI Warn of Holiday Scams, Now Targeting Three Quarters of Adults
Three-quarters of U.S. consumers have experienced or been targeted by at least one form of fraud that can be tied to the holidays, including requests from (often fake) charities, online shopping scams and fraudulent communications about shipping problems.
Matanzas High Teacher Calls Bathrooms a ‘Privilege’ and Threatens to Close Them. District Disavows the Sign.
School officials disavowed a sign calling toilet access a “privilege” and threatening to shut down bathrooms at Matanzas High School. The sign was the work of a teacher frustrated by vandalism and students spending too much time in bathrooms, not school or district policy, officials said, but it’s also a reflection of an ongoing problem with vandalism in school bathrooms, largely attributed to a TikTok “challenge.”
Drawing 90 Boats, Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade Turns Intracoastal Into River of Cheer
Perhaps a million lights garlanded over boats of all sizes created shooting stars, swooping airplanes, giant Santas, soaring Christmas trees, Grinches, and even dinosaurs, turning the Intracoastal and other parts of the route into rivers of holiday cheer for thousands of spectators lining the parade route.
Nicholas Ceraldi, 50, Is Killed After His Motorcycle Strikes Two Deer in Palm Coast’s F-Section
Nicholas A. Ceraldi, a 50-year-old resident of Firethorn Lane in Palm Coast, was killed shortly after midnight this morning when the motorcycle he was driving struck two deer on his street.
America Wins World Cup of Orientalism
It’s been a perplexing World Cup. Should we be watching this thing? Should we be enjoying it? Shouldn’t we be getting outraged about human rights, LGBTQ rights, the death of migrants, environmental impacts? The questions reflect back on our own prejudices and stereotypes as much as they raise legitimate questions about Qatar’s right to host the biggest sports tournament in the world.
In Local Interview, Paul Renner Repeats Baseless Claims About Drag Queens and ‘Sexualization’ Of Children
Rep. Paul Renner, the Palm Coast-based Republican just elected Speaker of the House, returned to his criticism of “drag queen storytime” today in an interview on WNZF, repeating controversial–and baseless–claims that some parents are more interested in defending drag queens than ensuring that children learn to read.