Nearly three dozen new state laws will take effect Oct. 1, including a contentious measure that will limit where homeless people can sleep. Other measures include creating a license plate for Parrot Heads living the life of the late singer Jimmy Buffett and requirements about flood disclosures for home buyers. In all, 34 laws that passed during the 2024 legislative session will take effect, with the homeless changes (HB 1365) drawing the most attention.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
In Flagler Expect More Rain as PTC9 Morphs into Helene; State of Emergency for Panhandle and West Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday declared a state of emergency for 41 counties as a storm system is expected to rapidly grow into a powerful hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. The counties do not include Flagler or its surrounding region, which is expected to be spared the brunt of the storm. But Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said Flagler could see up to 4 inches of rain on already saturated grounds over the next four days from what is currently known as Potential Tropical Cyclone 9, and will be known as Helene.
Judge Rejects ‘SLAPP’ Suit by Veranda Bay Developer Against Opponents Who’d Challenged County’s Approval
Rejecting what he saw as an attempt to silence an advocacy organization’s right to challenge development, Circuit Judge Chris France on Friday ruled in favor of Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek, ending a year-and-a-half-old lawsuit filed against the group by Palm Coast Intracoastal. France termed PCI’s action a SLAPP suit impermissible under state law, handing the grass-roots group a major victory against the chilling effect of such lawsuits on speech and participation in matters of public concern. PCI is under the umbrella of SunBelt Land Management, the company overseeing Veranda Bay near Flagler Beach.
Lawyer for Victim of Alleged Rape by Flagler Paramedic Informs County of Her Intention to Sue
A lawyer representing the victim of an alleged sexual assault as she was being transported unconscious aboard a Flagler County Fire Rescue ambulance has notified county government of her intention to sue. The notice is not a surprise. James Tyler Melady, who had worked as a paramedic with Flagler County Fire Rescue since 2018, had a checkered record and was going to be fired when he resigned in June, was arrested on Sept. 12 on a charge of sexual battery–or rape–of a patient who was passed out with intoxication and was being transported by ambulance to a local hospital the night of Oct.16-17, 2021.
A Florida Editor Told Clay Jones His Political Cartoons Were Too Political. He Responds.
Celebrated and fearless cartoonist Clay Jones, whose work has been appearing at FlaglerLive for a year, received a complaint from a Florida editor (not us) that his political cartoons were too political. His response: I refuse to change how I cartoon to the point that my work is frivolous and meaningless. Other cartoonists are doing that. Let them have it.” Clay Jones will not play nice. For good reason.
Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Referendum That Would End Limits on Palm Coast’s Borrowing Power, Calling Language Deceptive
Alan Lowe, one of the candidates for Palm Coast mayor defeated in the August primary, sued the city and the Supervisor of Elections on Friday to remove from the November ballot a charter amendment that would scrap limits on the city’s borrowing and leasing capacities. The suit argues that the amendment’s language is misleading–a point two of the four sitting council members have made, as have both remaining candidates for mayor and some of the candidates for council seats.
Mixing Self-Pity with Self-Applause, Sally Hunt Resigns For Real This Time; DeSantis Appointment Could Take Months
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt submitted a resignation letter by email early this afternoon, making good on a pledge that by November she’d be gone from the seat she’s occupied less than two years. Hobbling with self-inflicted wounds from one of the most turbulent school board tenures in recent memory, Hunt claimed her “early departure from the Board was not an intended or desired outcome.” Many of her actions in her months on the board, and her frequent absence from it, from school functions and from contact with constituents, suggested otherwise.
Flagler County’s Inventory of Homes for Sale Reaches 13-Year High as Unemployment Remains Above 4%
After rising to a three-year high last month, Flagler County’s unemployment rate declined a statistically insignificant fraction, to 4.4 percent. In one troubling indicator: The local inventory of available housing is now at 1,225 single family homes–the highest number in 13 years. It was last at that level in may 2012, when the inventory was shrinking fast in the recovery from the housing boom.
R-Section Man Brandishes AK-47 at Solar Contractors and Orders Them to Leave. He’s Charged With a Misdemeanor.
Roland Littlefield, 53, of 17 Regent Lane in Palm Coast, thought a group of people in a car who were working for a solar company were “casing” the neighborhood, so he allegedly pointed his AK-47 assault rifle at them and ordered them to leave. Similar behavior is typically charged as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony. Littlefield was charged with using a firearm while drunk, a second-degree misdemeanor .
104 Single-Family House Subdivision Approved for Palm Coast’s L-Section as Planning Board Raises Flooding Cautions
The Palm Coast Planning Board on Wednesday approved the master plan for Matanzas Park, a 104-house subdivision in Palm Coast’s L-Section. The subdivision will fill a 26-acre rectangle–if not almost a square–rimmed by Londonderry, London and Longfellow drives, all of which are built up, with houses abutting the subdivision’s property. Some 40 percent of the acreage in the proposed subdivision is wetlands, which will be eliminated but for a pond in the middle of the site. The board raised some cautions about potential flooding in and around the subdivision.
Flagler School Board Makes ECGs Mandatory for Student Athletes as Sally Hunt, In Shift, Provides Swing Vote
The Flagler County School Board Tuesday became only the sixth or seventh district out of 67 in Florida to make ECG screenings for student athletes mandatory at least once in their four years of high school. The 3-2 vote followed 75 minutes of often heart-wrenching personal pleas from parents whose children suffered or died from heart defects, and the divided board’s at times contentious disagreements over whether to include an opt-out in the requirement, especially between Will Furry, the board chairman–and opponent of a mandate–and Colleen Conklin, its chief advocate.
Sheriff’s Reorganization Nets $650,000 in Cost Reductions, Helping to Fill Shortfalls in Employee and Inmate Healthcare
With the approaching retirements of Division Chiefs Kim Burroughs and David Williams, Sheriff Rick Staly asked his Executive Team to conduct a critical review of their responsibilities and provide him with suggestions to enhance the Sheriff’s Office.
Ex-Paramedic Accused of Raping Patient in Ambulance Is Denied Bond; County Issues New Rescue Protocols
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins this morning agreed with prosecutors and granted the sate’s motion to deny bond to James Melady, the former Flagler County paramedic facing a rape charge stemming from his alleged assault of a patient he was caring for in a county ambulance during an October 2021 emergency call, an assault he video-recorded on his phone. New ambulance protocols now require two people to be with the patient, and will add video surveillance.
‘I Don’t Have a Lot of Pick-Me Up Sort of Topics,’ U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg Tells Flagler Tiger Bay in Fentanyl-Laced Talk
In contrast with Flagler Tiger Bay President Jay Scherr’s irradiating exuberance, U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg’s lunch talk to the club today–including a rare, full complement of the county’s circuit and county benches–was decidedly downbeat, like the Deuteronomy of heroin, opioids and fentanyl and the concurrent hockey-stick-shaped graph of overdose deaths since 2000 in Florida.
Annexation Into Flagler Beach of 2,700-Home Development Crosses Key 1st Hurdles, With Some Public Opposition
The Flagler Beach City Commission Tuesday night substantially moved forward with the annexation of Veranda Bay, a 2,700-home development along John Anderson Highway that will double the city’s population, hugely increase its tax revenue but also likely change its identity, its politics and its center of gravity as well as the character of its unincorporated surroundings by the time it’s built out near the middle of the century.
Danko’s Abuse of Mayor and Attorney Almost Hijacks Interviews for Council Appointment, But Some Applicants Still Shine Through
Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko grilled applicants for an appointed position on the council on their political and ideological leanings, asked they’d vote on a charter amendment, berated, ridiculed and all but insulted the city attorney for cautioning him about partisanship, blustered and bellowed about “freedom of speech” while disparaging mayor David Alfin. The meeting then settled into a more civilized interview process through which some of the applicants distinguished themselves.
FPC’s Dylan Osborne, 17, Killed in Belle Terre Parkway Crash; Man, 60, Dies in Crash from Apparent Medical Episode
Dylan Osborne, a 17-year-old Flagler Palm Coast High School student on a bicycle, was killed in a collision with a dump truck and at a separate location in Palm Coast a 60-year-old man was died in an almost simultaneous three-vehicle crash in mid-afternoon Monday.
Thrill-Seeking P-Section Prowler, 29, Arrested on Aggravated Stalking Charge After Peering Into Girl’s Bedroom
Damon Smith, 29, who served two years ion probation for a bomb threat at FPC in 2013, was arrested on an aggravated stalking charge Saturday after he allegedly peered into a 14-year-old girl’s bedroom and twice prowled around the girl’s P-Section property in Palm Coast in early evening. The girl’s father was waiting for him with a baseball bat the second night.
Palm Coast Council Seat Vacated by Heighter Draws 11 Applicants for Appointment Ahead of Today’s Interviews
Twelve candidates have applied in hopes of appointment to the Palm Coast City Council seat Cathy Heighter resigned last month, two of whom have previously been appointed to local elected boards–including one who served on the City Council–and two who served on government advisory boards. One applicant did not qualify because she does not live in District 4, so 11 applicants will be interviewed when the council convenes at 1 p.m. today.
Familiar Recruiter Returns to Palm Coast to Lead Search for Next City Manager
Strategic Government Resources Vie President Doug Thomas had last been in the Palm Coast City Council chamber in the fall of 2018, when his Texas-based recruiting company led the search for the manager that was to replace Jim Landon. The search and the council at the time landed on Matt Morton, the sharp-minded manager whose tenure had the misfortune of ill-timing with rancid politics in the city and Covid’s poisons beyond it. He was gone just after his second anniversary.
Flagler Beach Prepares to Annex Veranda Bay, Adding 2,700 Housing Units and Doubling City’s Size by 2044
The Flagler Beach City Commission holds a special meeting Tuesday to consider the annexation of Veranda Bay, the 800-acre development on the two sides of John Anderson Highway that, when it is built out in 2044, would total 2,735 housing units and 5,100 residents–equal to the current city population–over half a million square feet of commercial space, and a new, walkable downtown. The city’s planning board unanimously recommended approval. Opposition has been limited.
Mandatory ECGs for Flagler County’s Student-Athletes: It’s About Life, Not ‘Parental Rights’
For the past few years AdventHealth has made free ECGs a voluntary part of student athletes’ physical. Wednesday evening the Flagler County School Board is voting on whether to make ECGs mandatory. Three board members–Will Furry, Sally Hunt, Christy Chong–are opposed. They say an ECG should be a parent’s choice. They’ve wrapped the issue under the banner of “parental rights,” as if ECGs were the same as masking during Covid, or whether to teach kids sex-ed. Their reasoning is flawed, and may cost lives.
Florida’s Write-In ‘Loophole’ Disenfranchised 2 Million Voters in August. Why Aren’t Lawmakers Fixing It?
Florida has just had party primaries in which an estimated 2 million eligible residents were barred from voting in some state and local races by an indefensible little gimmick commonly known as the “write-in loophole.” It’s a legal fiction both parties refuse to fix because, every now and then, it comes in handy for them.
Greg Blose’s Sudden Exit from Chamber Was Preceded by Bitter Letter to Board About ‘Toxic and Unethical Behavior’
In a lengthy and detailed letter days before his sudden exit as leader of the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce, Greg Blose described what he perceived as serious problems in the organization, including “toxic and unethical behavior” among the chamber leadership and an attempt to undermine him with his staff. Blose’s tenure ended this week after four years.
Ex-Paramedic James Melady, 37, Charged with Raping Unconscious Patient in a Flagler County Fire Rescue Ambulance
James Tyler Melady, a 37-year-old resident of 100 Navigator Drive in Daytona Beach and former paramedic, was arrested and jailed in Volusia County early today on a charge of raping an unconscious woman in a Flagler County Fire Rescue ambulance during a service call in 2021.
Jesus Christ – He’s a She! City Repertory Theatre Stages All-Female Version of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’
Here comes City Repertory Theatre with its all-female version of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which opens the Palm Coast troupe’s 14th season with performances tonight and through Sept. 29 in its newly renovated black box theater at City Marketplace. The she-Jesus – at least the one based on Webber’s musical – first reared her head in the 20-teens when Juilliard grad and soul-jazz-musical theater singer Morgan James had a dream that she was singing the role.
A Gender-Miracle Superstar, Shakespeare, Neil Simon and More fill City Repertory Theatre’s 14th Season
When City Repertory Theatre opens in 14th season on tonight with “Jesus Christ Superstar,” patrons will be greeted by a newly renovated venue space at CRT’s black box theater in Palm Coast’s City Marketplace. The new seating risers and new paint, says founding director John Sbordone, are courtesy of a $69,000 gift bequeathed to City Rep by the Palm Coast Arts Foundation. Here’s a look at City Repertory Theatre’s 2024-2025 season.
County Approves Old Dixie Motel’s Plan for ‘Hotel Henry’ Even as Harsh Disputes in Court Continue
Flagler County government still doesn’t think the owners of the ruin known as the Old Dixie motel are admirable people by any stretch. But the Flagler County Planning Board on Tuesday finally approved on a 6-1 vote the owners’ site plan for a refurbished “Henry Hotel.” The vote does not end the county’s three-year-old legal dispute with the owners nor does it scrap the county’s pending order to demolish the motel–unless construction begins swiftly and proceeds earnestly.
BJ’s Wholesale Club Opens Palm Coast Store on Sept. 20 as State Road 100 Girds for Crush
BJ’s Wholesale, a 103,000 square foot store, anchors the Cornerstone at Seminole Woods shopping center on State Road 100, with an archipelago of gas pumps that opened earlier this month, Miller’s Ale House that opened last month, a LongHorn Steakhouse and a Chase bank opening soon, and a yet-unnamed chicken restaurant slated for the near future.
Cell Tower Planned to Improve Coverage for Developments Along U.S. 1 and B Section in Northwest Palm Coast
Bronx House Pizza Parking Lot Approved Over Objections as Owner and Planning Board Member Attacks Resident
Though stand-alone parking zones are not allowed in the Hammock, the Flagler County Planning Board Tuesday evening voted unanimously to approve a special exception allowing Bronx House Pizza to operate a valet parking lot south of 17th Road to alleviate overflow parking. Planning Board member Mike Goodman abstained from the vote, since he co-owns Bronx House Pizza. He did not abstain from a personal and–in the words of attorney Dennis Bayer–a “highly inappropriate” tirade against Dennis Clark, a Hammock resident and the chair of the Scenic A1A committee that opposed the parking lot plan.
Kamala Harris? Don’t Bet on the Hype.
Kamala Harris followed a script Tuesday. It was a solid, made-for-TV script. It wasn’t a knock-out. Trump lost from own goals, which his flagellant faithful always forgive him. If you’re a Harris fan you probably shouldn’t raise your hopes even with that Swift endorsement. It’s not just the electoral college. It’s an electorate inebriated on phony nostalgia, desperate for a nonexistent fantasy that Trump can nevertheless sell like bibles and steaks.
Astor Defence, a British Manufacturer of Military Packaging, Is Opening Plant in Palm Coast with 30 Jobs
Astor Defence, an England-based military contractor that makes ammunition containers, bomb pallets, mortar packs and other military packaging, will open a manufacturing facility at 15 Hargrove Grade in Palm Coast, where it is expected to be operational by January with 30 mostly local jobs. It’ll be the company’s first American site. The company will not be getting any tax benefits or incentives.
No Forensic Audit for Palm Coast, But Council Explores Citywide ‘Risk Assessment’ for $45,000
The Palm Coast City Council agreed today to set aside any considerations of anything like a forensic audit, which would cost an estimated $500,000, and instead conduct a citywide “risk assessment” that could point to vulnerabilities, if any. The approach would placate what few members of the public have been asking for while resulting in a useful exercise for the city, according to some of the council members.
Former Mondex Man Convicted of Unlawful Sex Returns to Ask for a New Trial, Arguing More Bizarre Claims
Four and a half years ago Tonda Royal, 54 at the time, testified in his defense that he’d never had sex with a 16-year-old girl in his camper in the Mondex, or Daytona North, even though his DNA was found in her. He claimed it was a conspiracy, that another girl had gotten hold of his sperm and passed it to the alleged victim, who then inserted it in her to incriminate him. He claimed that racial motives were behind the conspiracy. Royal was back in court today, arguing that he was owed a new trial because his defense attorney, Regina Nunnally, had been ineffective.
Bronx House Pizza in Hammock Sees Valet Parking Lot as Solution to Overflow, Scenic A1A Sees Hazards
Almost since it opened several years ago, Bronx House Pizza in the Hammock has been the victim of its success: its popularity has grown in proportion to neighborhood parking headaches as rights-of-way became de-facto parking zones. On Tuesday, Bronx House Pizza goes before Flagler County’s Planning Board, seeking approval of an overflow parking lot it would build south of the restaurant, but not contiguous to it, on four lots totaling 20,000 square feet south of 17th Road. It’s facing opposition.
Flagler School Board’s Lease of Old Courthouse Hides Sharply Higher Costs and Falling Enrollment
When the Flagler County school district administration first proposed last May to lease the old courthouse in Bunnell, it did so under the rosiest of assumptions: that the lease would allow the district to consolidate half a dozen programs under one roof, that it would create more classroom space at some of its elementary schools, and that it would save money. By the time the School Board approved the proposal last month, and the County Commission followed last week, only one of the three propositions was true.
Kidnapping, Child Abuse, Aggravated Battery: 2 Men Face Charges in Separate Domestic Incidents That Spiraled
Justin John Peralta, a 40-year-old resident of Richmond Drive in Palm Coast, and Steven McSwain, 47, of Cranberry Avenue in Bunnell’s Mondex, are at the Flagler County jail on grave charges resulting from unrelated domestic violence incidents that spiraled out of control just before the weekend.
Ron DeSantis Is Getting Angrier, and He’s Taking It Out on Florida
DeSantis was always a rage-hampered homunculus, but now that he’s been humiliated on the national stage and his presidential aspirations squashed like a palmetto bug, he’s only gotten angrier. And he’s taking it out on Florida.
Fringe in Check, Palm Coast Approves More Expansive Budget with Slightly Lower Tax Rate, No Rollback
Palm Coast City Manager Lauren Johnston’s proposed budget and tax rate for the year starting Oct. 1 survived almost intact Thursday evening as the council, keeping its swaggering fringe in check, approved in a series of 3-1 votes a $61.2 million general fund budget with a $5.3 million increase and a slightly lower tax rate, but nowhere near the so-called rolled-back rate.
Fewer Problems at Bulow RV Park, But Evictions and Code Violations Loom as Deadline Approaches
The conflict between residents of the Bulow RV Park off Old Kings Road is not as intense as it was last year. Numerous issues have been resolved. But some problems persist, with more than a dozen residents still out of compliance with county and park rules, and with water pressure and water cleanliness issues now coming to the fore. The county continues to attempt to mediate a solution, with limited success. In the assistant county attorney’s characterization, the matter can be “intractable.”
Joseph Horovsky, 21, Is Charged with a Life Felony on Accusations of Molestation of a 10-Year-Old Relative
Joseph Horovsky, a 21-year-old resident of 11 Wasserman Drive, was arrested Wednesday and charged with lewd and lascivious molestation, and today, in a filing by the State Attorney’s Office, was charged with molestation of a child younger than 12, a felony punishable by up to life ion prison. He was placed under arrest at his home and booked at the Flagler County jail on no bond.
Palm Coast Tries to Police Short-Term Rentals, Balancing Property Rights Against Residents’ Aggravations
Responding to a surge of vacation rentals in certain parts of the city, especially the C-Section, and complaints from permanent residents around the rentals, the Palm Coast City Council will soon adopt regulations limiting occupancy, setting registration fees and restricting the parking of recreational trailers or boats. But the city continues to face competing tensions from permanent residents aggravated by the disruptions of vacation rentals and operators of the same rentals, who say the city is jeopardizing their livelihood.
Free EKG Could Save a Student Athlete’s Life. School Board’s Furry, Hunt and Chong Oppose Mandating It With Physical.
To play sports in Flagler County, high school students must pass a physical. A 10-minute ECG or EKG is an option regularly provided by AdventHealth, but not a requirement. The Flagler County School Board’s Colleen Conklin wants to make it part of the physical. Fellow-Board members Will Furry, Christy Chon and Sally Hunt are opposed, saying that should be a parent’s decision. The board is voting on the options later this month.
Palm Coast Council’s Pontieri’s ‘Warning Shot’: Why Are Taxpayers Paying for Infrastructure Benefiting Landowner?
Palm Coast City Council member Theresa Pontieri said the $105 million the city received in state appropriations for road construction west of U.S. 1 is money subsidizing “the current multi-billion dollar landowner,” a reference to Rayonier, the timber and land management company that owns most of the land in the expansion area. She cited development documents that require the developer to build a sports complex and road extensions that the city is currently scrambling to pay for.
Attempt to Delay Borrowing Referendum Fails in 2-2 Vote as Council Splinters and Public Rebels
The Palm Coast City Council is at war with itself over a proposed referendum that would remove borrowing limits the city has had to comply with for 25 years. If the city is hoping for a successful outcome in November, this is not the way to go about it, especially for a mostly lame-duck council, three of whose members were rejected by voters and a fourth who just resigned. For all the grim writing on the wall, an attempt to remove the proposed referendum from the Nov. 5 ballot and let the new council rewrite it more clearly and with additional guardrails failed in a 2-2 vote Tuesday evening.
15 Years in Prison for Joseph Siano, Who Killed Lee-Ann Daley Driving Wrong Way on US1, His 3rd DUI in 9 Years
Joseph Siano, 65, today was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the drunk driving killing of Lee-Ann Daley, the 46-year-old mother of three, as Siano drove the wrong way on U.S. 1 a few days before Christmas in 2022. He had cataracts, and his blood-alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit.
County Bans Smoking, Vaping and Toking In Parks and Public Recreation Areas, With an Exception for Cigars
Mirroring Flagler Beach, which passed a similar ordinance two years ago, the Flagler County Commission today approved on first reading a prohibition on smoking or vaping in any public park or public recreation area, with a notable exception: unfiltered cigars. While the ban applies to county-owned portions of the beach, it does not apply in most portions.
Father Who Secretly Took Video of 12-Year-Old Daughter in Bathroom Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison, 8 on Probation
Tyler Jon Habdas, the 31-year-old former Palm Coast resident who’d secretly taken video of his 12-year-old step-daughter in the bathroom over six months, was sentenced to five years in prison and eight years on sex-offender probation today. A jury found him guilty of video voyeurism and other charges in a July trial.
You May No Longer Pay Bills at Palm Coast’s Utility Drive Lobby After Oct. 18
Palm Coast government’s Customer Service Utility lobby at 2 Utility Drive will be permanently closing on October 18. The move will help the city free up customer service representatives to serve people on the phones to cut down on hold times, which has significantly increased in recent years, a city spokesperson said.
