A reported 17,377 abortions had been performed in Florida this year as of June 2, a 45.8 percent decrease from a comparable period in 2024, according to state data.
Health & Society
DCF Threatens Reporter Investigating Hope Florida Scandal with Cease and Desist
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) has sent a cease and desist letter to an Orlando Sentinel reporter who has been digging into the Hope Florida scandal. Jeffrey Schweers, the Sentinel’s Tallahassee bureau reporter, has broken some scoops regarding the embattled charity backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis.
New Cell Towers Planned for Palm Coast Parkway East of I-95 and in Seminole Woods, as Business and Safety ‘Necessity’
Two more cell towers will rise over Palm Coast to add to the seven existing ones as the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved leasing two city-owned land parcels. One is at the future Fire Station 22 on the north side of Palm Coast Parkway near Colbert Lane–the station is under construction–the other is at 50 Citation Boulevard, co-located with the city’s Water Treatment Plant #2. Palm Coast government will generate some revenue from each, which will be built by private companies at their own expense.
GOP Bill Would Kick More Than 3 Million Off Food Stamps and Shift $14 Billion In Costs to States
The massive tax and spending bill passed by U.S. House Republicans would likely result in 3.2 million people losing food assistance benefits, and saddle states with around $14 billion a year in costs, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Democrats have argued the bill, which the House passed, 215-214 early Thursday without any Democrats in support, would cut programs for the needy to fund tax breaks for high earners.
American Doctors Are Escaping to Canada. Guess Why.
The Medical Council of Canada said in an email statement that the number of American doctors creating accounts on physiciansapply.ca, which is “typically the first step” to being licensed in Canada, has increased more than 750% over the past seven months compared with the same time period last year — from 71 applicants to 615. Separately, medical licensing organizations in Canada’s most populous provinces reported a rise in Americans either applying for or receiving Canadian licenses, with at least some doctors disclosing they were moving specifically because of the new regime in the United States.
Potentially Toxic Algae Bloom at Dead Lake by the Bull Creek Boat Ramp
The Florida Department of Health in Flagler County has issued a health alert for the presence of harmful blue-green algae toxins in Dead Lake, at the Bull Creek Boat Ramp. The alert is in response to a water sample taken on May 28. The public should exercise caution in and around Dead Lake.
DeSantis Vetoes Bill That Would Have Made Suing for Medical Malpractice Easier
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday vetoed a bill aimed at clearing the way for some people to pursue medical-malpractice lawsuits over the deaths of family members.
Why You Fall for Fake Health Information
Although there is a fire hose of health-related content online, not all of it is factual. In fact, much of it is inaccurate or misleading, raising a serious health communication problem: Fake health information – whether shared unknowingly and innocently, or deliberately to mislead or cause harm – can be far more captivating than accurate information. This makes it difficult for people to know which sources to trust and which content is worthy of sharing.
Dangerous Dog Owners Must Now Have $100,000 Liability Insurance: New Law
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law bringing harsher penalties and restrictions for owners of dogs that severely injure or kill people. The bill, known as the “Pam Rock Act,” honors a mail carrier who was mauled to death by five dogs in Putnam County in 2022. Starting July 1, owners of dogs that have attacked humans, severely injured or killed pets, or menacingly chased people will have to carry liability insurance of at least $100,000.
Palm Coast’s Golden Chopsticks Buffet Open Again 2 Days After Sanitation Inspection Ordered It Closed
Two days after it was ordered closed due to several sanitation violations, Golden Chopsticks Buffet, the less-than-one-year-old Chinese restaurant on Palm Coast’s Cypress Edge Drive, was bustling with business again today at lunch, its neon “open” sign burning red.
Flagler Cares Recognized for 10 Years of Treating ‘Every Individual with Dignity and Compassion’
The Flagler County Commission on Monday recognized through a proclamation the 10th anniversary of Flagler Cares, the social service non-profit that provides its own services, coordinates many others and houses independent organizations at its Flagler County Village at City Marketplace in Palm Coast. The proclamation is making the rounds of local governments.
Reversing Planning Board’s Decision, Bunnell Commission Clears the Way for ‘Historic’ 28-Unit Affordable Housing Project
Reversing a recommendation by its planning board and significant public opposition neighboring the proposed development, the Bunnell City Commission unanimously approved the final site plan for Phoenix Crossings, a planned 28-unit affordable-housing apartment complex for people with disabilities and other difficulties, and for the elderly. None like it exists in Palm Coast or Flagler County. The 5-year-old proposal is the work of Sandra Shank and her Abundant Life Ministries, a non-profit. The Bunnell Planning Board on April 1 recommended denial of the site plan on a 3-2 vote.
Flagler Free Clinic Earns National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics Award
The Flagler Free Clinic earned a 2025 Gold Rating from the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) Quality Standards Program. This achievement reflects the clinic’s ongoing commitment to delivering high-quality, accessible healthcare to uninsured individuals in Flagler and Volusia counties.
NRA, Raging That 18 Year Olds Can’t Buy Rifles in Florida, Appeals to US Supreme Court
Calling split appellate-court decisions “intolerable,” the National Rifle Association on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a challenge to a Florida law that raised the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21. Friday’s move was the latest in seven years of legal wrangling over the law passed after a February 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 students and faculty members.
Two Florida congressional Democrats Want Hope Florida Investigated
Two Florida congressional Democrats have asked federal officials to investigate allegations that the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and Hope Florida Foundation inappropriately diverted Medicaid funds to two unrelated political committees last year.
The Rotary Club of Flagler Beach Launches Life-Saving ‘Drown Zero’ Initiative
The Rotary Club of Flagler Beach is announced the launch of Drown Zero, a life-saving initiative designed to help prevent drowning incidents in Flagler Beach.
AdventHealth Palm Coast Named one of Top 100 Community Hospitals in the Country
AdventHealth Palm Coast has been named one of the 100 Top Hospitals in the U.S. by Premier, a national health care improvement organization. This recognition highlights hospitals that deliver standout care, earn high marks from patients, and operate efficiently, all without sacrificing quality. AdventHealth Palm Coast was recognized in the Small Community Hospital category, which includes facilities that serve smaller populations but still make a big impact.
AdventHealth Palm Coast’s 3rd Robotic Surgical System Vastly Expands ‘Equity of Care’ While Improving Outcomes
AdventHealth Palm Coast’s two hospitals now have three robotic systems and four surgeons trained on them, enabling the machines’ tiny incisions and great precision to reduce recovery time and pain for patients while improving outcomes. The $2.6 million da Vinci 5, just unveiled locally, was funded through the AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation, the non-profit arm of the hospital.
Bill to Help Domestic Violence Victims Dies
Legislation that aimed to provide more resources to domestic violence victims was permanently shelved this Regular Session after failing to progress through its assigned committees. The legislation would have established an app that allows a victim to reach law enforcement without alerting the perpetrator. Boynton Beach Democratic Sen. Lori Berman sponsored the measure (SB 240).
AdventHealth Hospitals Hire More than 800 Nurses in Flagler, Volusia and Lake Counties in Past Year
Amid a national nursing shortage, the AdventHealth East Florida Division is taking action by expanding its nursing workforce, enhancing hands-on training programs, and reinforcing its commitment to exceptional patient care across its seven hospitals in Flagler, Lake, and Volusia counties. In the past year, the division hired more than 800 new nurses and opened a second center for education and simulation to help nurses gain hands-on experience before they step into a hospital room.
Students Will Be Banned from Using Cell Phones in Florida Elementary and Middle Schools
Florida lawmakers late Friday approved barring students in elementary and middle schools from using cell phones during the school day — and testing the idea in high schools. Current law prevents students from using cell phones during instructional time, but the change would expand that prohibition to throughout the school day in elementary and middle schools. Rep. Demi Busatta, a Coral Gables Republican who spearheaded the proposal, described it as “bell to bell.”
Hammock Dunes Charity Donates $100,000 to Flagler Free Clinic
The Flagler Free Clinic received a $100,000 donation from Hammock Dunes Cares, matching last year’s contribution. (The charity is not connected to Flagler Cares, the countywide social service agency and nonprofit.) The funds were raised during Hammock Dunes Cares’ Rally Auction, a two-week event in late February featuring activities such as tennis, croquet, bocce, a creek porch party, live music, and pickleball. The check presentation occurred on Tuesday, March 18, at Hammock Dunes.
Florida House Backs Off Later School Start Times
The Florida House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that would back away from a requirement aimed at starting high-school classes later in the morning. The Legislature in 2023 passed a law that would prevent high schools from starting earlier than 8:30 a.m. to help teens get more sleep.
Florida House Votes to Scrap Work Limits for Older Teens But Ban STI Treatment Without Parental Consent
Although older teens could work unlimited hours, they wouldn’t be able to get treatment for sexually transmitted infections on their own under two bills the Florida House approved Friday. House lawmakers voted on party lines both to require parental consent for health care providers to treat minors with STIs and to let 16- and 17-year-olds work full-time hours during the school year without their parents’ permission.
Florida Sues Snapchat, Alleging Social Media Platform Is Not Blocking Minors
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a lawsuit alleging that the operator of Snapchat is violating a high-profile 2024 law aimed at keeping children off some social-media platforms. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Santa Rosa County circuit court, came after a federal judge last month rejected a request by tech-industry groups for an injunction to block the law. In a federal-court filing Monday, attorneys for the state said Uthmeier “expects that additional investigations and enforcement actions will commence soon.”
20-Year-Old Student Kills 2, Injures 6 in Shooting at Florida State University
Two people were killed and six others were injured Thursday after a shooter, the son of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy, opened fire around lunchtime at Florida State University. The shooter, 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, also was shot after confronting police officers, authorities said during a late-afternoon news conference. News reports identified Ikner as an FSU student. Ikner is accused of using a handgun that was an old service weapon of his mother, a school-resource officer.
Florida Senate Will Vote on Prohibiting Fluoride in Local Water Services
Over objections by the Florida Dental Association and League of Women Voters of Florida, a Senate panel voted Tuesday to bar public water systems from “the use of any additive included primarily for health-related purposes.”
Team Wins $4,000 in MedNexus Challenge on ‘Becoming a Mental Health Influencer’
Bright minds, bold ideas, and a passion for mental health advocacy took center stage at the 2025 MedNexus Innovation Challenge, held April 3 at the Palm Coast Community Center. This year’s theme, “Becoming a Mental Health Influencer,” invited students to explore how social media can be used for positive change in adolescent mental health.
Florida Senate Committee Approves Ignoring Preferred Pronouns in State and Local Government
A measure (SB 440) prohibits requiring any employee to refer to another person using that person’s preferred pronouns if such pronouns don’t correspond to that person’s sex at birth. Job applications in public workplaces may only ask an applicant whether they are male or female and may not provide a nonbinary option.
AdventHealth Palm Coast Earns National Recognition for Senior-Friendly ER
AdventHealth Palm Coast is making emergency care safer and more effective for older adults. The hospital earned the Age-Friendly Emergency Department designation from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), recognizing its commitment to meeting the unique needs of seniors.
The Hidden Epidemic of Violence Against Nurses
An alarming 8 in 10 nurses face violence at work. As a result, health care workers are more than four times as likely to be injured by workplace violence than workers in all other industries combined. Despite these staggering numbers, the full extent of this epidemic may not be fully understood because nurses and other health care workers chronically underreport violent encounters.
Flu Deaths Near 7-Year High As Anti-Vaccine Disinformation Spreads
Flu-related deaths hit a seven-year high in January and February, the two months that usually account for the height of flu season, according to a Stateline analysis of preliminary federal statistics. There were about 9,800 deaths across the country, up from 5,000 in the same period last year and the most since 2018, when there were about 10,800.
Patient Attack of 2 Staffers at AdventHealth Palm Coast Highlights Dangers Facing Health Care Workers
Rolfe A. Troup, 33, of Palm Coast, who two years ago completed a probation sentence for assaulting his stepfather, was arrested again on Friday after allegedly assaulting two staffers at AdventhHealth Palm Coast Parkway, where Troup had been taken under a Baker Act. He faces two first-degree felony counts, each with a maximum penalty of 30 years. The assault highlights the generally little known reality that health care workers suffer some of the highest rates of workplace violence and injuries of any profession.
Florida Law Banning Kids off Some Social Media Prevails as Judge Refuses to Block It
A federal judge has rejected a request to block a 2024 Florida law aimed at keeping children off some social-media platforms, ruling that industry groups did not show they had legal standing to challenge the measure.
Republicans Are Slashing Health Insurance for the Poor to Extent Trump’s Tax Cut for the Rich
The House last week approved a Republican budget plan that could shrink Medicaid spending by $880 billion over 10 years, only partially paying for an extension of expiring tax cuts from President Donald Trump’s first term, plus some new ones he has promised, totaling as much as $4.5 trillion. Providers, patient advocates, disabled people, and family members are furious.
Project 2025 Is Trump’s Blueprint for Ending Health Care As We Know It
The rapid-fire adoption of many of Project 2025’s objectives indicates that Trump acolytes — many of its contributors were veterans of his first term, and some have joined his second administration — have for years quietly laid the groundwork to disrupt the national health system. That runs counter to Trump’s insistence on the campaign trail, after Democrats made Project 2025 a potent attack line, that he was ignorant of the document.
Don’t Blame Trans People for Your Own Struggles
Today, both in the United States and in many parts of the world, trans and nonbinary people — a tiny, frequently poor, and marginalized percentage of the general population — are being used as scapegoats, as symbolic threats to the “right” way of being. These constant attacks are aimed at getting struggling people to blame trans folks for their problems. And they’re designed to keep us all politically reactive, overwhelmed, and unfocused on the deep systemic failures of our society, Aaron Scott, Moses Hernandez McGavin argue.
Selfish or Selfless? When Going Childless Is an Ethical Choice.
Plenty of childless people want children but can’t have them. Other people may not want kids for personal or economic reasons. But advocates for “anti-natalism,” a relatively new social movement, argue giving birth is immoral. They push back against the idea that childlessness is selfishness. They believe they are protecting their unborn children, not neglecting them: that childlessness is the ethical choice.
Federal Judge Blocks ‘Catastrophic’ Cut to NIH Grants
A federal judge on Monday blocked the National Institutes of Health from changing the percentage that universities and medical schools pay in facilities and administrative costs, blocking a decision that was rebuked by academic institutions throughout the country and members of Congress. Judge Angel Kelley of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts entered the brief, two-page order, which “shall remain in effect until further order of this Court.” Kelley set an in-person hearing date for Feb. 21.
Federal Office on Violence Against Women Removes Grant Opportunities from Website
The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has removed from its website all information on current funding opportunities and directs visitors not to finalize any applications. This adds to the fear of nonprofits that work to help victims of gender-based violence [like Flagler County’s Family Life Center] that a major funding source may dry up.
Senate Proposal Expands Opportunities for Children with Autism and Their Families
The bill (SB 112) filed by Sen. Gayle Harrell, expands a health care grant program established by the Legislature last year to include free screening, referrals, and related services for autism. It also creates two education-related grant programs: one for specialized summer programs for children with autism and the other to support charter schools exclusively serving them.
Ag Commissioner on Heat-Related Farm Deaths: Blame Humans, Not Climate
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson told state lawmakers Tuesday morning that human error was to blame for heat-related deaths on farms, which he described as few and far between. Florida’s sweltering heat became one of the hottest topics for lawmakers last year as the Republican-led Legislature passed a law prohibiting local governments from enacting their own heat-safety protections for employees.
Education Department Kills Biden’s Title IX Protections Against Gender-Based Discrimination
The U.S. Department of Education said Friday it is scrapping a Biden administration rule about gender-based discrimination in education programs. The department will use a previous rule about enforcement of Title IX, a landmark 1972 law that bars discrimination in education programs based on sex. In 2020, the Flagler County School Board revised a policy that added “gender identity” to the list of explicit protections in the school district’s anti-discrimination policy. That wording may now be in question.
Want To Be a Health Influencer? Join 2025 MedNexus Innovation Challenge
The University of North Florida (UNF), in partnership with the City of Palm Coast and Flagler Schools and sponsored by AdventHealth, has announced the 2025 MedNexus Innovation Challenge. This exciting competition offers regional high school students the opportunity to pitch innovative solutions to Florida’s evolving healthcare needs while competing for scholarship prizes. This year’s theme, “Becoming a Health Influencer,” challenges teams of four high school students to develop strategies leveraging social media to positively influence adolescent health.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Calls Undocumented Immigrants ‘Dirtbags’
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, was in New York City, accompanying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in arrests across the city. In a video posted to social media, Noem — clad in a vest labeled POLICE/ICE — said she was in the city “to get the dirt bags off our streets.”
Pioneered in Palm Coast: A Decade of Robotics at AdventHealth
A decade ago, AdventHealth introduced the area’s first surgical robot in Palm Coast. Today, this program has grown to include a fleet of 17 robotic surgery devices across the AdventHealth East Florida Division, offering patients robotic surgical procedures in multiple specialties.
Old Dixie Motel Owners Have 5 Months To Secure Building Permits or Face Demolition by County’s Order
A special magistrate gave the owners of the neglected Old Dixie hotel five months to secure four permits from Flagler County or face demolition of the property. The decision by the magistrate, Sean McDermott, amounts to a further life extension for the hotel property, yet again frustrating the county’s attempts since last March to demolish a building it considers to be a nuisance and a danger to public health.
Protesters Disheartened and Disbelieving at an Abortion-Rights Rally in St. Pete: ‘Florida Is Gone’
Two months after a proposal to repeal Florida’s six-week abortion law and enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution failed to gather the 60% required for passage, more than 100 people gathered Wednesday on four street corners in downtown St. Petersburg to advocate for the cause. But it was a dispirited and disbelieving protest.
AdventHealth CEO Audrey Gregory Cautions Employers of Labor Crunch Ahead, and to Prize Workers Accordingly
A labor crunch is tightening the job market all over America from IT to education to retail, but more especially in restaurants, hotels, construction and healthcare, AdventHealth East Region Executive Vice President and CEO Audrey Gregory told a sold-out audience at today’s Flagler Tiger Bay Club monthly lunch. The way to manage through it is primarily to nurture and value existing employees, to further their education at the company’s expense, to move them up, and to pay them better.
Vincent’s Clubhouse Spurs Opportunities for People with Disabilities, Bridging Needs Beyond School District
Vincent’s Clubhouse Enrichment Center at Palm Coast’s European Village is an evidence-based program focused on vocational and life skills training, personal development, hygiene, financial skills, marketplace skills, and literacy for adults and younger people. But it was not until late last year, after years of evolution and growth, that Vincent’s Clubhouse’s nomadic years ended with the opening of its permanent home, a 1,600-square-foot facility–what would otherwise be a shopfront–at European Village, with a faculty of five and 20 adult “members” enrolled.