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Backgrounders

Palm Coast Plan Proposes 102% Increase in Stormwater Rates in 4 Years. Council Is ‘Uncomfortable.’

April 12, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

Ongoing reconstruction of the weir on the canal along Royal Palms Parkway, one of the most important flood-controlling arteries in the Palm Coast.

A Palm Coast government consultant is proposing a 102 percent increase in homeowners’ stormwater rates over the next four years, what would equate to an annual bill of $542–more than what some homeowners pay in city property taxes. The City Council isn’t ready to go that far, but steeply higher rates are coming.

Volusia GOP House Rep. Webster Barnaby Likens Trans People to ‘Mutants,’ ‘Demons and Imps’

April 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Florida House Rep. Webster Barnaby, A Volusia County Republican, calls trans people "demons" and "imps," and compares them to "mutants living among us on planet Earth." during a meeting of the House Commerce Committee, April 10, 2023.

Florida House Rep. Webster Barnaby, A Volusia County Republican, called trans people “demons” and “imps,” and compares them to “mutants living among us on planet Earth” during a House Commerce Committee meeting on a bill that would ban transgenders’ use of bathrooms of their choice.

Andrew Mintz, Man at Center of Head-On Crash at Flagler Beach Pier, Faces Felony Charge

April 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

Andrew Mintz in a self-portrait on his Facebook page.

Andrew Mintz, the 34-year-old Palm Coast man at the origin of a three-vehicle crash near a crowd of officials and others by the Flagler Beach pier on April 1, has been charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding police while causing injuries or property damage, a second-degree felony with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Anti-Trans ‘Bathroom Ban’ Is Quickly Moving Through Florida Legislature

April 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

trans bathroom ban

Florida could be next in line to criminalize transgender adults who intentionally enter a restroom or changing facility opposite their sex at birth, according to two bills hastily moving through the Legislature. Similar bathroom bans are advancing through legislatures around the country.

Volusia-Flagler YMCA and Mayor Alfin in Big Push to Open Y in Palm Coast in About 2 Years

April 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

The YMCA in ormond Beach has been "busting at the seems," Volusia Flagler YMCA CEO and President Chris Seilkop says, with the opening of a new YYMCA in Palm Cost now a priority for the organization. (YMCA)

The Volusia Flagler Family YMCA is working with Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin and a corps of local community members to bring a YMCA to Palm Coast, with a rough goal of having a local facility under construction or near completion in about two years.

Palm Coast Chamber’s Disinformation on Student Performance and Superintendent Draws Sharp Rebukes

April 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

flagler palm coast chamber of commerce education coup

Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt and School Board Vice Chair Colleen Conklin both issued sharply worded rebukes to rankly misinforming statements by the Flagler Palm Coast Chamber of Commerce regarding Mittelstadt’s performance in the last three years. A 3-2 majority of the school board fired Mittelstadt Tuesday, as of June 30.

For Over 2 Decades, Clarence Thomas Accepted Lavish Gifts from Billionaire Without Disclosing Them

April 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

Justice Clarence Thomas in 2017 as he was administering the oath of office to Mike Pence.

For more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from real estate magnate and Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. The extent and frequency of Crow’s apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court. His failure to report the flights appears to violate law.

Chong, Furry and Hunt in 3-2 Majority Not to Renew Superintendent Mittelstadt’s Contract

April 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 81 Comments

Rebuffing an outpouring of public support for Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt at this evening’s special meeting, the Flagler County School Board voted 3-2 not to renew her contract when it expires in June.

Focusing on Student Use, Flagler School Board Nears Closer to Ending Belle Terre Swim Club’s Memberships

April 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The Flagler County School Board's Will Furry is proposing to end the use of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club as a public-oriented club, and close its gym, while refocusing it toward student use and leasing it to some public use. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools TV)

After a decade of hesitancy and inaction, the Flagler County School Board is wading closer to turning the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club into a student-focused facility, removing its use as a membership driven club, while still leaving the door open to public use on a leasing basis.

Ex-Condo Association President Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Secretly Filming Women

April 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Robert William Orr.

Robert William Orr, the former president of the Las Brisas Condo Association arrested on numerous charges of secretly capturing video of residents and guests, was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison followed by three years on sex-offender probation. 

‘Promises Made and Kept’: ESE Parent Advisory Council Voices Unanimous Support for Superintendent

April 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

It's been working to students' advantage. (Aaron Burden on Unsplash)

The parent-members of Flagler Schools’ ESE Parent Advisory Council (or EPAC) voted unanimously in support of the renewal or extension of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s contract, issuing a letter outlining the superintendent’s achievements and cautioning against yet more instability.

I Served on Flagler’s School District Book Review Committee, Only to Be Silenced

April 2, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

nowhere girls amy reed banned in flagler schools

One of 14 members appointed by the Flagler school administration to a district-level committee to review the challenge to Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls” describes the experience of being part of a 14-0 decision to retain the book, only to be overruled by the superintendent, who banned the book.

Peacock Sent Sally Hunt Script on Firing Superintendent Even as She Claimed ‘Due Diligence’

March 31, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

The text showing the image of the script on how to fire the superintendent that Paul Peacock, the principal at Wadsworth Elementary, sent School Board member Sally Hunt during a workshop on Feb. 22. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt and Wadsworth Elementary Principal Paul Peacock were orchestrating the firing of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt as far back as February 22, a text Peacock sent Hunt two hours before a school board meeting shows. All along, Hunt claimed she was doing her “due diligence,” and that she had not made up her mind.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: John Green’s Looking For Alaska, a Review and a Recommendation

March 29, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

John Green published Looking for Alaska in 2005. The cover doesn;t show it well here, but the origin of the smoke is not a cigarette, though there is plenty of smoking in the book, but a candle that has just been extinguished.

John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” a novel of adolescence, friendship, loyalty and misjudgments, is among the 22 books so far this school year that a trio of individuals have sought to ban from high school library shelves. A committee meets on March 30 at 3 p.m. at Matanzas High School to decide whether to retain it or ban it.

Appeal to Supreme Court for Stay of Gaskin Execution Cites FlaglerLive Article on Juror’s Reversal

March 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Louis Gaskin, right, who is to die by lethal injection on April 12, appeared by zoom from the state prison in Raiford for a court hearing in Bunnell before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

Among other arguments, Gaskin’s lawyers cite a March 15 FlaglerLive article in which Janet Valentine, one of the 12 jurors at Gaskin’s 1990 trial, saying she regrets being part of the 8-4 votes recommending his death. Valentine would go on to be Flagler County’s school superintendent between 2010 and 2014.

George Hanns, Defeated in 2016 After 24 Years, Plans Another Run for County Commission

March 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

George Hanns had served 24 years as a Flagler County Commissioner when he lost in 2016. He wants another run at it, this time as a Republican vying for the seat Donald O’Brien is vacating, and that Palm Coast Council member Ed Danko plans a run for.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: Ellen Hopkins’s Tilt, a Review and a Recommendation

March 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

tilt ellen hopkins

In “Tilt,” Ellen Hopkins gives us the powerful coming of age story of three very engaging, very different American teenagers. The novel is on the list of books three Flagler County residents are seeking to ban. A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee discusses the challenge on Thursday.

Behind Principal Paul Peacock’s $7,500 Grievance, a Roil of Politics and Sideshow Maneuvers

March 24, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

paul peacock flagler school board

Wadsworth principal Paul Peacock’s grievance appeal for a $7,500 supplement is not a complex issue for the School Board to decide on March 28. But it is taking place amid a peripheral stew of noise, politics, and maneuvering over the superintendent’s future, plus a threat of a lawsuit, all of which will challenge the board’s ability to stick to the merits of the appeal.

Proposed 16-Home Beachside Development South of Surf Club Troubles Residents and the County

March 23, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 30 Comments

Solitude at Matanzas Shores would be built on just under 4 acres of beachside land across from the Lakeside and Las Casitas developments, on State Road A1A. County commissioners are leery, and leaning against approving allowing 16 single-family homes there. (© FlaglerLive)

Solitude at Matanzas Shores would be built on just under 4 acres of beachside land across from the Lakeside and Las Casitas developments, on State Road A1A. County commissioners are leery, and leaning against approving allowing 16 single-family homes there.

Superintendent’s Self-Evaluation Is 2 Points Short of ‘Highly Effective,’ With Notable Gaps

March 23, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt's future in the district is more hidden than she would prefer. (© FlaglerLive)

If it’s not a done deal–which it may well be–the self-evaluations may be key to Flagler School Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s future, which can now fairly be called embattled as one school board member has been seeking her replacement, two have remained mum on her future, and only two have lent her support.

A1A Protection Plan in Flagler Will Rely on Beach Renourishment, and a Sea Wall at South End

March 21, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Much of the responsibility for the protection of Flagler County's beaches and State Road A1A will fall back on the county and the U.S. Army Coros of Engineers. County Engineer Faith al-Khatib, left, and the Army Corps' Jason Harrah, third from left, were at a public meeting Tuesday evening where the state Department of Transportation presented its latest plans for A1A protection. (© FlaglerLive)

The state Department of Transportation’s much-anticipated plan to protect State Road A1A will mostly rely on existing plans by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild 2.6 miles of beach and dunes south of the pier, plans by Flagler County to rebuild beaches north and south of that stretch, and a DOT secant wall along the shore straddling the Flagler-Volusia county line.

Staffing Pressures Reduce Flagler Public Library Hours from 57 to 52 a Week

March 20, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Stacks at the Flagler County Public Library, where hours are being reduced slightly, and simplified. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Public Library on Palm Coast Parkway will be open for five fewer hours starting April 3, as weekly total hours will fall from 57 to 52, with a more simplified schedule.

Belle Terre Swim Club’s Finances Are Not as Dire as Projected, Club Advocate Says

March 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

The Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club's fate has been uncertain for years, as it is again this year, and with it the ability of organizations like the Synchro Belles to use the facility's pool for training. (© FlaglerLive)

Doug Courtney, a member of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club’s advisory committee, questions the school district’s claims that closing the club to public use would be a financial benefit.

A Series of Frantic Hearings at Bunnell Courthouse Are Preceding State’s Killing of Louis Gaskin

March 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Louis Gaskin, right, who is to die by lethal injection on April 12, appeared by zoom from the state prison in Raiford for a court hearing in Bunnell before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. (© FlaglerLive)

Nearly half a dozen hearings are taking place at the Flagler County courthouse between this week and next in the case of Louis Gaskin, who is scheduled to be executed by the state on April 12. The hearings are last-minutes attempt either to delay or to annul the execution, but the likelihood of success is beyond the realm of hail Marys.

Sally Hunt Courted Ex-FPC Principal Dusty Sims for Superintendent Outside School Board’s and Public’s Purview

March 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 37 Comments

Dusty Sims, left, when he was a principal at Flagler Palm Coast High School, and School Board member Sally Hunt. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt has been courting Dusty Sims, the former Flagler Palm Coast High School principal, as a replacement for Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt, without the school board’s approval or knowledge, and before Mittlelstadt’s fate is decided. Hunt’s maneuvering contradicts pretenses of neutrality at school board meetings.

Janet Valentine, a Juror and Future Superintendent, Regrets Voting for Gaskin’s Death. Prosecutor Does Not.

March 15, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

John Tanner, still an attorney in private practice, seen at the podium here in a 2016 case, was for 16 years the State Attorney in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, and the prosecutor who tried the Louis Gaskin murder cases in 1990 before Circuit Judge Kim Hammond. (© FlaglerLive)

Janet Valentine, who would become Flagler school superintendent 20 years later, was one of the jurors who recommended the death of Louis Gaskin in 1990, a vote she now regrets. Gaskin is to be put to death in April. John Tanner, the State Attorney at the time, has no regrets for seeking the death penalty.

In Riveting Discussion on Prayers at Meetings, Palm Coast Council Defers to ‘Neutral’ Caution

March 14, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

palm coast city council prayer invocation

The Palm Coast council discussed a proposed prayer policy today  in what turned into an unusually absorbing and equally civil hourlong seminar on the First Amendment, the limits of expressions of belief in government settings, and the unintended and potentially offensive consequences of an open-invocation policy. 

Would-Be Book-Banner Appeals Nowhere Girls Decision Even Before 14-0 Vote to Keep It

March 13, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

The 14-member appeals committee meeting this evening in Bunnell. It was facilitated by Lashakia Moore, the assistant superintendent. (© FlaglerLive)

A 14-member district committee voted unanimously this evening to recommend keeping Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls,” a book deconstructing high school rape culture, on the shelves at Flagler Palm Coast High School and Matanzas High School. The woman challenging the book filed an appeal to the school board even before the superintendent has weighed on.

Flagler District Wants Earlier High School Start Time Just as State and Research Go the Other Way

March 13, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

high school start times

A disconnect is developing between the Flagler County School Board and a proposed state law to push middle and high school start times later. The Flagler board favors a later start time for middle schools. But it’s pushing an earlier start time for high schools.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: Amy Reed’s The Nowhere Girls, a Review and Recommendation

March 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Amy Reed's "The Nowhere Girls" was published in 2017. It has been frequently banned in various school districts and is facing an attempted ban in the Flagler County school district.

Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls,” a 2017 novel on high school rape culture and three girls’ attempt to counter it, is a #MeToo manifesto for young adults. It’s up for banning from Flagler schools. This review is a guide.

The Winner of a Historic Landslide and Prodigal Everyman Get Busy on Diverse Flagler Beach Commission

March 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Scott Spradley's and Rick Belhumeur's swearing-in Thursday at the Flagler Beach City Commission drew more lenses than usual, as had the election: Spradley won with over 1,000 votes, nearly twice as many as Belhumeur in second place and more than any candidate previously. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission reconstituted with Scott Spradley and Rick Belhumeur Thursday. As a group, and with Jane Mealy still its reigning dean, the commission combines experience and youth, business, law, academia, real estate, labor and Belhumeur’s Everyman.

Teens-In-Flight Makes Plane-Piloting Dream Come True for Terminally Ill 16 Year Old

March 9, 2023 | Michael Lewis | 8 Comments

Austin Booth at the controls. (Contributed)

Austin Booth has been afflicted with numerous illnesses since birth and was given only eight or nine years to live. He’s now 16, and last week he took off from Flagler County airport at the controls of a Teens-in-Flight Cessna, making a lifetime’s dream come true.

School Board Will Decide Superintendent’s Fate in April as Back-Channel Jockeying Intensifies

March 8, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

School Board member Sally Hunt. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County School Board agreed to vote on whether to extend or not renew Superintendent Cathy Mittlestadt’s contract on April 18, but each member will have filed evaluations and discussed them by April 4, when the superintendent’s fate should be clearer.

‘Our Ambitious Agenda Is Well Underway,’ Renner tells Joint Legislative Session

March 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard–Cmdr. George Bender and deputies Mike Spinelli, Brian Jackson and Jeremy Chambers–presented the colors before the 10 a.m. session of the Florida House this morning. (Ava Hanner/FCSO)

House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, made remarks to the House on the opening day of the 2023 legislative session. Sheriff Rick Staly and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard were Renner’s guests.

Former Matanzas High Student, 16, Charged as Adult in Alleged Sex Assault of Girl During Class

March 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Marshall Thomas appearing from a Duvall County juvenile jail by zoon on an overhead television screen in Circuit Judge Terence Perkins's courtroom this afternoon in Bunnell. (© FlaglerLive)

When Marshall Thomas, 16, was arrested on charges of stealing guns and making written threats to kill in January, authorities did not disclose that he had months earlier been arrested on a sexual assault charge involving a 15-year-old student at Matanzas High School. Thomas has now been charged as an adult on all five charges from both incidents and faces up to 45 years in prison.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: McCormick’s Sold, a Review and a Recommendation

March 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Patricia McCormick's "Sold" challenged for banning in Florida

Patricia McCormick’s “Sold,” about the experiences of a 13-year-old girl sold into sexual slavery, is among the 22 books that a trio of “moms for liberty” have sought to ban from high school library shelves. A school committee voted to keep the book. The banners appealed the decision to a district committee, which meets on March 6. The following review is presented as a guide.

Florida Legislature Is Set to Push Sweeping Changes to Legal System, Favoring Business and Government at Individuals’ Expense

March 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Paul Renner, the Palm Coast Republican and House Speaker, is enthusiastically leading a House that has lurched further to the right than under any administration since the Jim Crow era. (© FlaglerLive)

Paul Renner, the Palm Coast Republican and House Speaker, is enthusiastically leading a House that has lurched further to the right than under any administration in generations as the Legislature seeks to revamp the state’s litigation system, favoring businesses at the expense of individual consumers.

Matanzas Assault Case: A Miscarriage of Justice Hardens Before Our Eyes

March 2, 2023 | Pierre Tristam | 121 Comments

brendan depa miscarriage justice

The public reaction to 17-year-old Brendan Depa’s assault of Joan Naydich at Matanzas High School is mostly compassionate and balanced. The more strident reaction among elected officials–the State Attorney, school board members–is not not. Elected officials are not only exploiting the situation. They’re exploiting Depa. They want blood.

Parents Paying Steep Extended Day Fees Are Subsidizing the Belle Terre Swim Club

March 2, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club is less and less visible. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County School Board is facing a deficit this year of $180,000 at the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club. The board continues to agonize over ways to keep the facility or redefine its uses without continuing the deficits, which are being subsidized out of the district’s extended day program–a costly program to working parents.

In Flagler Beach, 5 Commission Candidates Play Forum Softball Ahead of March 7 Election

March 1, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The five candidates in the March 5 Flagler Beach election at last week's forum at the Flagler Woman's Club, on Feb. 21. From left, Doug O'Connor, Scott Spradley, incumbent Deborah Phillips, Rick Belhumeur and Bob Cunningham. (© FlaglerLive).

There were no surprises at the only forum for Flagler Beach City Commission Candidates. The questions–at least the nine that were asked–were generally un-challenging, unspecific and at times corny. The candidates are Rick Belhumeur, Bob Cunningham, Doug Bruno O’Connor, Deborah Phillips and Scott Spradley.

Against Policy, Flagler’s Book-Challenge Appeal Panels Dim Faculty and District Vote to Minority Status

February 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Assistant Superintendent Lashakia Moore at a Feb. 6 community meeting where most of the non-district employees looking to be appointed to book-review committees heard an orientation. The committee members were culled from that group. The first such appeals committee meets on March 6. (© FlaglerLive)

A Flagler County school district-level committee will meet for the first time on Monday to take up the appeal of a decision not to ban the novel “Sold” from school library shelves. The make-up of the committee is not in line with school board policy, giving parents and community members a lopsided presence at the expense of district staff and faculty.

Matanzas Student Who Attacked Aide Was Arrested 3 Times for Battery Before; Other Cases Examined

February 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 33 Comments

Matanzas high teacher aide incident

Brendan Depa, the 17-year-old special education Matanzas High School student whose assault of a paraprofessional at Matanzas High School school last week has drawn international attention, was arrested three times on battery charges when he was 13. His case recalls that other violent incidents that did not draw anywhere near the harshness he faces.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: Malinda Lo’s Last Night at the Telegraph Club, a Review and a Recommendation

February 27, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Malinda Lo’s “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” is among the 22 books that a trio of “moms for liberty” have sought to ban from high school library shelves. A joint committee of Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high school faculty members and parent representatives meets on March 7 to decide whether to retain it or ban the book. The following review is presented as a guide.

One Texas Judge Will Decide Fate of Abortion Pill Used by Millions of American Women

February 25, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Federal District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Donald Trump appointee, has shaped his decisions from his religious beliefs. (Wkimedia Commons)

By filing a lawsuit in Amarillo, the Alliance Defending Freedom was almost guaranteed to draw U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a President Donald Trump appointee who worked as deputy general counsel at First Liberty Institute, a conservative nonprofit advocating for religious liberty, before being confirmed to the federal judiciary in 2019.

Superintendent’s Fate Darkens as Sally Hunt, Board’s Swing Vote, Turns Agnostic on Mittlestadt’s Future

February 24, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

School Board attorney Kristy Gavin, left, discussing timelines regarding Superintendent Cathy Mittlestadt, left. The contract expires at the end of June. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools video)

Flagler County Superintendent Cathy Mittlestadt’s future in the district became less, not more certain, with the school board’s latest discussion of her contract, which expires at the end of June: Board member Sally Hunt, the swing vote, is uncertain on the superintendent’s future.

Why Is DeSantis Protecting Our Kids from ‘Literature’?

February 18, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

A book-burning in 1930s Germany. (National Archives and Records Administration, College Park)

Books are filthy. Yet liberals want your children to read them. Why? So your children will become drag queens, tree huggers, NPR listeners, Lizzo fans, soccer watchers, trans activists, vaccine takers, election denier deniers, AP class takers, and America haters.

Palm Coast Residents’ Doubled Stormwater Fee Could Reach $542 a Year by 2027

February 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 56 Comments

The ongoing, $1.5 million weir replacement on a canal along Royal Palms Parkway, part of the city's stormwater system. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast resident’s $22.27 monthly stormwater fee would increase to $45.16 over the next four years if the city follows its consultant’s recommendation. Some residents would pay more in stormwater fees than in city taxes. Even lesser options would result in sharp increases, and no increases are not an option.

The Black Flamingo Thwarts Book Ban as Matanzas and FPC Vote 10-0 to Keep It on Shelves

February 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

Hardback copies of Dean Atta's The Black Flamingo were all over the semi-rectangular table along which sat the 10 members of the joint review committee Thursday afternoon in Room 3A at the Government Services Building. The line on the shirt of one of the committee members reads: "Reading makes your mind grow." The shirt has not, so far, been the target of a challenge. (© FlaglerLive)

A joint review committee from Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast high schools voted unanimously Thursday to keep Dean Atta’s “The Black Flaming” on the two schools’ library shelves. It is the second time in a little over two weeks that the committees rejected a challenge by one of the three individuals targeting 22 books for bans so far this year.

Judge Tosses Challenge to Law Restricting Gender and Sex Orientation Discussions in Class

February 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

THat's more like it. (Florida Memory)

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed a revised lawsuit filed by students, parents and teachers, ruling that the plaintiffs had not “alleged sufficient facts” to show they had legal standing to challenge the law.

Book Challenge in Flagler Schools: Dean Atta’s ‘The Black Flamingo,’ a Review and a Recommendation

February 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The book's cover as it appeared in the United States, left, and in Britain, where it originally published in 2019.

Dean Atta’s “The Black Flamingo” is among the 22 books a trio of individuals have sought to ban from high school library shelves. A joint committee of Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high school meets today to decide whether to retain it or ban it. The following review is presented as a guide.

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