The U.S. Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women has awarded Daytona State College $400,000 to continue programs educating students, faculty and staff on issues of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. DSC will work in partnership with the State Attorney, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and Family Life Centers in Flagler and Volusia.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
FWC Admits Error and Changes Policy in Response to Palm Coast Outrage Over Gruesome Killing of a Pet Deer
A trio of Palm Coast residents indignant at the euthanizing of a domesticated deer by throat-slitting in early October addressed the Dec. 5 meeting of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and got what appeared to be an immediate response: FWC, one of whose officers was responsible for killing the animal, has changed its euthanizing policy to prevent similar outcomes in future.
Flagler Beach Property Owner Liam Mackin, 70, Identified as Anti-Semitic Hate Crime Suspect Just as He Flees
Flagler Beach police identified the man allegedly responsible for a series of hate crimes against local business on Nov. 19 and 20 as Liam Mackin, a 70-year-old resident and property owner with his wife at the Bridgewater condominiums in Flagler Beach, unit E101, since 2015. He has been a local resident for 30 years. But he has fled to Ireland. Mackin deliberately and very specifically targeted businesses that were either owned by Israelis or Americans of Jewish heritage, or had business or family affiliations with Jewish concerns.
A Poisoned Tree Grows in St. Augustine
An 18-year-old migrant faces an aggravated manslaughter charge for the death by heart attack of the sheriff’s deputy who arrested him on a resisting charge, while the migrant was on a sidewalk eating dinner and speaking to his mother by phone at his motel in St. Augustine. The death of the deputy was a tragedy. The charge against the migrant compounds it with a miscarriage of justice in the making.
Jury Sides with Physician and AdventHealth in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Involving 38-Year-Old Palm Coast Man
Ending a seven-day civil trial, a six-person jury on Tuesday found that Dr. Kizhake Kurian, a cardiologist who practices in Palm Coast with AdventHealth Medical Group, was not negligent in the death of Richard Starr, a 38-year-old Palm Coast resident who had been in relative good health until a series of heart-related medical episodes in the last days of March 2018.
Palm Coast Adopts Countywide Parks and Recreation Master Plan
The Palm Coast City Council took a significant step forward in its commitment to providing residents and visitors with a high quality of life by approving the 2023 Parks & Recreation Master Plan.
Palm Coast Pledges ‘Task Force’ Action on Homes Flooding Near New Construction, But Residents Are Skeptical
The Palm Coast city administration is pledging to residents that it is taking a case-by-case approach to address concerns about flooding on quarter-acre properties seemingly caused by new construction. It has created what it calls a “task force” to address the issue. But residents are skeptical, claiming their calls or emails go unanswered, or that the city’s response is to sue neighbors, or that they’re having to shoulder their own costs of drainage improvements.
Approval of 205-Home Old Kings Village Delayed as Polo Club West Residents Say Developer Is Not Negotiating
The Palm Coast City Council is not yet ready to approve Old Kings Village, a planned 205-home development on 60 acres on Old Kings Road, 2.5 miles south of State Road 100. The proposed development is within a short distance of Polo Club West, an equestrian community significantly less dense and more lush than would be its neighboring “Village.” Residents of Polo Club West are objecting to the Village, absent wider buffers and other safeguards.
Tony Zaksewicz, Honored Matanzas High Teacher, Arrested over Walmart Theft Scheme Stretching Over 6 Months
Anthony Zaksewicz, a 45-year-old resident of Lema Lane in Palm Coast and a veteran history teacher at Matanzas High School honored last year with a state award, was arrested on felony charges in connection with an alleged thieving scheme at Walmart that stretched over six months and aggregated thefts of nearly $3,200. Zaksewicz has taught in Flagler schools for 17 years.
School Board Saves Thanksgiving Week Off for 2024-25 Calendar, But at Cost of Extending High School Day
The school day for Flagler County high school students will be longer by seven minutes each day starting next fall, with a minute added to each class period so the instructional calendar can still meet the legally required total number of class hours per semester, while the Thanksgiving week holiday is not affected. Class periods will go from 47 to 48 minutes.