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Backgrounders

Rezoning Would Clear the Way for 243 Apartments on Old Kings Road, Against Public Opposition

May 19, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 37 Comments

rezoning Old Kings Road

The Palm Coast Planning Board recommended approval to rezone acreage off Old Kings Road north of Town Center Boulevard for a 243-unit apartment complex. The proposal drew mis-statements by opponents of the project. A cover letter with a 100-name petition opposing falsely claims apartment dwellers do not “contribute anything to a community.”

Sharply Rising Property Values Could Net $12.3 Million for County Government, But Commissioners Want Prudence

May 19, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito at Wednesday's budget workshop. (© FlaglerLive via YouTube)

Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito projects a windfall of $12.3 million in addition to current revenue, yielding $7.5 million in new revenue for county government operations, $3.7 million for the Sheriff’s Office, and a little over $1 million between the other constitutional offices. Again, that’s assuming the county commission does not lower the property tax rate to account for the new revenue. 

Damaging Trust with Unions, Flagler School Board Rejects a Rebate to Employees that Its Own Teams Had Agreed To

May 17, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

Katie Hansen, president of the Flagler County Education Association, has suspended full-book negotiations with the district. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County school district’s teacher and service employee unions have suspended collective bargaining negotiations with the district following what both unions say is a breaking of a pledge by the district to award one-time health insurance premium rebates to employees. The unions consider that “bad faith,” breaking trust in the district, damaging what for many years had been cordial relations between the two sides, and raising the possibility of more formal measures.

Setting Aside Transparency Concerns, Flagler Beach Commission Reaffirms Support for $420,000 Dumpster Project

May 16, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

The dumpster pad outside the Funky pelican that's had no dumpster for years, because it would be too heavy for the deteriorated condition. The pad is to be rebuilt and expanded by about 50 percent through a $420,000 contract. (© FlaglerLive)

The $420,000 reconstruction and expansion of the dumpster pad outside the Funky Pelican in Flagler Beach–$450,000, including architectural drawings–will go forward, the Flagler Beach City Commission decided last week, despite questions by two commissioners and the mayor.

Looking Past Shock to Continuity, Flagler Education Foundation Appoints Teresa Rizzo Its Next Director

May 13, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Teresa Rizzo. (Flagler Education Foundation)

The Flagler Education Foundation, the school district’s non-profit support arm, appears to be making the same bet on Teresa Rizzo that it made on her late husband Joe, who had no fund-raising experience when he took over the organization, but vastly improved its its local impact between 2017 and 2022.

Flagler Beach Commission Reels from Stink Behind Blind Vote on $420,000 Repair Job at Funky Pelican

May 11, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

The dumpster enclosure outside the Funky pelican in Flagler Beah has needed repairs for years. The city commission voted to award a bid for those repairs. It did not know that it was also voting to expand the dumpster area, further blocking the view of the ocean to the north of the restaurant. (© FlaglerLive)

Last month the Flagler Beach City Commission approved a $420,500 bid to rebuild the garbage-dumpster pad adjacent to the Funky Pelican. Four of the five commissioners and the mayor did not know that the project was not merely to repair the pad, but to double the space, further blocking the public’s view of the ocean on the north side of the restaurant–and doubling what had originally been planned as a $200,000 job.

600-Day Retirement Clock Ticking for Judges Terence Perkins, Raul Zambrano and James Clayton

May 9, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, left, handing a verdict to be read by the clerk at a recent trial in Bunnell, and Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano, who served as a felony judge in Flagler for a few years, sitting in for a hearing in Bunnell a few weeks ago. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins has been the senior judge in Flagler County since 2018, taking over a courthouse in slight turmoil and returning it to a no-drama zone of docket workhorses. He will retire at the end of 2023, along with Judge Raul Zambrano, who had been a felony judge in Flagler previously, and James Clayton, currently the circuit’s chief judge.

Abortion’s Last Stand: A Post-Roe Future Is Already Happening in Florida

May 8, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Kelly Flynn stands outside her clinic, A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville in Florida. (Malcolm Jackson for Reveal)

Reports of harassment, disturbance and violence outside the state’s clinics are skyrocketing, while the federal law meant to protect clinics doesn’t cover the kind of tactics common today.

In a Post-Roe America, Expect More Births in a Country Where Maternal Mortality Continues to Rise

May 5, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

abortions paradoxes

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among wealthy countries. And it may get worse as abortions become more difficult to obtain, say public health experts.

Mullins Misinformation and Commission’s Sly Maneuver Frame 4-1 Vote to Scrap School Board Deal

May 3, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

The four horsemen of the school board's apocalypse: from left, County Commissioners Dave Sullivan, Joe Mullins, Donald O'Brien and Greg Hansen. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission’s vote on Monday was on a significant policy matter controlling school construction and development that was not publicly noticed until hours before Monday’s meeting. It was yet another snub to process, to the Flagler County School Board, and it was colored by disinformation and inaccuracies from Commission Chairman Joe Mullins.

Palm Coast Council Tries Again With Green Lion Café, Almost Tripling Rent, But Differences Remain

May 3, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

The Green Lion's porch in February. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council this evening will consider approving a new lease or an amended lease with the Green Lion Café at the city-owned Palm Harbor Golf Club, raising the popular restaurant’s rent from $600 to $1,665 and ending subsidies for utilities. But key differences remain between the Green Lion and the city.

Voting Precincts Will Drop from 23 to 21 as In-Person Polling Declines, Flagler Beach Will Get Early Voting Site

May 2, 2022 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County’s voting precincts will be reduced from 23 to 21 as far fewer people are turning out to vote in person on Election day itself, in contrast with sharp spikes in early voting and voting by mail. Early voting sites will increase from three to four, with Flagler Beach getting its own early voting site from here on, according to a plan by Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart.

Flagler’s All-White Juries Aren’t What They Used To Be. Thank Wokism. 

April 29, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

Assistant Public Defender Regina Nunnally, who represented Kwentel Moultrie, during Moultrie's testimony on the last day of trial last week. The jury could not reach a decision in the case. (© FlaglerLive)

It wasn’t that long ago when an all-white jury deciding the fate of a Black man accused of raping a white woman, let alone a white underage girl, would have taken no more than the few minutes necessary to sign the verdict form declaring the man guilty. That’s assuming the man made it to the courthouse in the first place. Those days are over.

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin’s State of the City Address Focuses Unyieldingly on the Upbeat

April 21, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin. (© FlaglerLive)

Hewing to tradition, Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin’s State of the City Address, his first, highlights the city’s shinier accomplishments, focusing exclusively on the bright and sunny and leaving silent all things politics and all controversies. Here’s the full text and three videos for the event.

Flagler School Board Will Clarify Student Demonstration Policy to Balance Rights and School Operations

April 20, 2022 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

The March 3 student walk-out at Flagler Palm Coast High School. (© FlaglerLive)

With some of its members still smarting from the “Don’t Say Gay” student walkouts at Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High School last month, the Flagler County School Board agreed to clarify a policy addressing boycotts and walkouts, both to preserve the rights of students to free expression and to protect school functions from disruption.

Palm Coast’s Belle Terre Park and Frieda Zamba Pool Need ‘Total Rebuild,’ But Council Is Wary of Another Expansion

April 13, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

One of several dangerous cracks running through the tennis courts at Belle Terre Park. The city's Parks and Recreation department says the whole park's facilities need a rebuild, including the swimming pool. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast with Belle Terre Park and its Frieda Zamba Pool is in the same boat as the school district with its nearby Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club: both facilities are on their last legs and need millions in repairs or construction, but the two agencies have yet to discuss cooperation. On Tuesday, Palm Coast council members were taken aback by the extent of the needs at Belle Terre Park.

Seven Years On, a Judge Signs Off on Legality of Florida’s 24-Hour Waiting Period for Abortion

April 13, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

abortion waiting period

After nearly seven years of legal battling, Judge Angela Dempsey issued a ruling Friday that upheld the constitutionality of a 2015 law that called for women to wait 24 hours after initial visits with physicians before having abortions.

Splash Pad Boondoggle at Holland Park: Council Considers Suing Builders and Scrapping $5.1 Million Amenity

April 12, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 46 Comments

Palm Coast's splash pad at Holland Park opened barely a few weeks before it had to be closed because of failures in the system. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast’s much-vaunted $5.1 million splash pad at Holland Park It opened for barely a few weeks before failing twice, closing the second time in July and soon closing for good. The failure is causing the city to threaten a lawsuit against the contractor and designer of the splash pad and consider scraping off the whole thing and replacing it with more traditional, less breakdown-prone amenities.

Not One Reason for Palm Coast Council’s 365% Raise for Itself Passes Smell Test

April 8, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 42 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, left, and Council member Eddie Branquinho have been at odds over the mayor's proposed quadrupling of council members' salaries. (© FlaglerLive)

The quadrupling of Palm Coast City Council members’ salaries was shoveled through hurriedly and sloppily on baseless assumptions posing as evidence. Every single one of Mayor David Alfin’s or supporting councilmen’s rationales collapses with a little scrutiny, leaving a proposal contemptuous of the public and insulting to city staff.

More than 1,500 Books Have Been Banned in Public Schools. House Panel Asks Why.

April 8, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Flagler County was among the book-banning districts. (© FlaglerLive)

From July 2021 to the end of March this year more than 1,500 books were banned in 86 school districts in 26 states. A report on book-banning in public schools found that of the banned books, 467 — or 41 percent — contained main or secondary characters of color; 247, or 22 percent, addressed racism; and 379, or 33 percent, of the books contained LGBTQ+ themes.

U.S. Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson, ‘America at Its Best,’ to Supreme Court

April 7, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice today. (Mark Warner).

Ketanji Brown Jackson will make history by becoming the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, after Democratic and Republican senators voted Thursday to confirm her to the lifetime appointment. The 53-47 vote comes just six weeks after President Joe Biden announced his nomination.

3 Incumbent Judges–Andrea Totten, Kenny Janesk and Stacia Warren–Speak (Almost) Freely at Candidate Forum

April 7, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The Flagler County Republican Club's Ed Fuller introducing Flagler County Judge Andrea Totten, Circuit Judges Kenny Janesk, who sits in Volusia and Putnam, and Stacia Warren, who sits in Volusia. (© FlaglerLive)

A Flagler County Republican Club forum Wednesday evening at the Palm Coast Hilton was a chance for the three incumbents–Flagler County Judge Andrea Totten, Circuit Judges Kenny Janesk, who sits in Volusia and Putnam, and Stacia Warren, who sits in Volusia–to speak about themselves without the strictures of their robes and in unusually personal terms, but within the bounds of Canon 7, the unique ethical rules that frame judicial races.

‘We Are In a Good Place’ as Flagler Cases Fall to 2-Year Low, But Covid Rose to 3rd-Leading Cause of Death in Florida

April 1, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

That familiar curve: Flagler County's weekly totals are back down to levels last seen in the earliest weeks of the pandemic two years ago. Click on the graph for larger view. (© FlaglerLive)

The 28 positive cases for the week ending today–an average of four a day–is the lowest weekly total since the week of June 20, 2020, and the four-week stretch of cases has also been the lowest since then. Combined with vaccinations and previous infections, the county may be in strong shape even if another variant were to pierce through, the health department director says.

How Palm Coast City Council Skirted Charter Change on Its Own Salaries Even As It Was Claiming to Clarify It

March 31, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

palm coast charter review 2018

Palm Coast City Council member Nick Klufas, like many residents, thought council members’ salaries could only be changed by charter–not, as Mayor Alfin is proposing, by mere council ordinance. His confusion reflects how the last time the council changed the charter had the effect of deceiving voters into thinking exactly what Klufas thought, even as the city was ostensibly trying to clarify the charter. It’s a revealing history of obfuscation by omission that now undermines the legitimacy of council salary increases.

At Belle Terre Swim Club, Hours Cut 28%, Rates Stay the Same, and Plans to Migrate Programs There Are Shelved

March 30, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The tennis court at the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club have been padlocked, but the courts are still standing. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County School district is planning to cut back hours at the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club significantly, including ending Sunday hours, while shelving plans to consolidate several programs onto the grounds of the club, which still has an identity crisis.

From Head Football Coach at Flagler Palm Coast High School to Prolific Novelist: Caesar Campana’s Afterwords

March 25, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Caesar and Monica Campana, both of whom are retired educators from the Flagler County school district, Monica as a long-time librarian at Indian Trails Middle School, Caesar as a football coach and English teacher at Flagler Palm Coast High School. (© FlaglerLive)

Caesar Campana was Flagler Palm Coast High School’s head football coach and an English teacher. Since his retirement, he’s published four novels, all exploring rather dark themes, a book of stories and poems and a memoir, with his wife, Monica Campana, who retired as a librarian at Indian Trails Middle School, as his editor. We caught up with the Campanas in the Hammock.

Plan for 100-Room Hotel in Flagler Beach Is Revealed, Drawing City’s Approval and Concerns Over Parking and Beach Use

March 25, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

The Compass Hotel in a rendering presented to the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday.

The Flagler Beach City Commission unanimously approved construction plans for the Compass Hotel, as it will be called, downtown, in place of the farmer’s market, but commissioners raised concerns about the hotel’s use of its portion of the beach and about parking.

County Commission Declares ‘Dangerous’ 2 Dogs Who’d Been Terrorizing Hammock Neighborhood Since 2017

March 23, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 29 Comments

Zelda, post-surgery. The dog is one of several that have been victimized by a pair of German shepherds in the Hammock that on Monday the Flagler County Commission declared dangerous. (Flagler County)

The Flagler County Commission Monday unanimously voted to approve an order declaring a pair of German shepherds in the Hammock “dangerous,” and requiring the dogs’ owner to abide by rules severely restricting the dogs’ freedom. The dogs had been terrorizing the neighborhood, injuring other dogs and their owners since 2017.

County Finally Ratifies School Board’s Higher Impact Fees After Months of Obstruction on Builders’ Behalf

March 22, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

It'll cost $1,850 more to build. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission late Monday night voted 5-0 to approve the first increase in school impact fees in 17 years, ending a seven-month confrontation between the commission and the school board as the commission refused to approve the board’s initial request for an increase and further pushed for exact concessions favoring home builders the school board was not willing to make. The new fees start in September.

Covid’s ‘Silver Lining’: Research Breakthroughs for Chronic Disease, Cancer, and the Common Flu

March 20, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

It may yet prove to be worth it. (© FlaglerLive)

Building on the success of mRNA vaccines for covid, scientists hope to create mRNA-based vaccines against influenza, Zika, rabies, HIV, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which hospitalizes 3 million children under age 5 each year worldwide. Researchers see promise in mRNA to treat cancer, cystic fibrosis, and rare, inherited metabolic disorders, although potential therapies are still many years away.

Sunshine Sunday: Keeping Open Government From Eclipse in Florida

March 20, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

sunshine sunday open records florida

Today, there are 1,138 exemptions to Florida’s open government laws, almost 200 more than 20 years ago, and growing. The public cannot simply rely on the good-natured commitment of those in government to safeguard transparency. Sunshine Week is the collective national effort to keep government doors to the public open, and its roots began in Florida.

A Fringe Legal Theory Could Reshape State Election Laws

March 19, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

fringe election rules theory

The U.S. Supreme Court this month left open the possibility that it could endorse a fringe conservative legal theory–the “independent state legislature doctrine”–that would give state legislatures unchecked powers over election rules before the 2024 presidential election.

Man Accused of Terrorism Embroils Palm Coast Organization in Controversy Over Ukrainian Orphans

March 18, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Matt Shea, a 47-year-old resident of Spokane, Wash., with ties to far-right militias and hate group, connected his trip to Poland with a Palm Coast-based organization that facilitates adoptions of Ukrainian children. He appeared in an interview on a Polish television station.

A Palm Coast non-profit called Loving Families and Homes for Orphans, caring for Ukrainian children, is being unfairly tarnished by the involvement with the non-profit of Matt Shea, a Spokane, Wash., man accused of domestic terrorism and tied to hate groups, the husband of the non-profit’s leader says. 

8 Candidates, Most With Strong Credentials, Apply to Fill Palm Coast Council Seat Vacated by Barbosa

March 16, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

palm coast council candidates

The eight applicants for appointment to the District 2 seat of the Palm Coast City Council are Tony Amaral Jr., Bob Coffman, John Fanelli, Larry Gross, Hung Hilton, Carl Jones Sr., Perry Mitrano and William Schreiber. The council meets in special session on March 22 to consider making the appointment, which must be final by the end of the month.

Flagler Beach Commission Votes 5-0 to Break Ocean Palms Golf Lease and Seek New Management Company

March 11, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Tiffany "Belle" McManus and Bruce Godwin of Flagler Golf Management making their case before the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening in a 90-minute hearing that did not go their way. The commission voted to terminate the city's lease with the company after seven years. (© FlaglerLive)

Seven years into a rocky marriage that never lived up to its promise and twice before verged on dissolution, the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening finally ended its relationship with Flagler Golf Management, the company that since 2015 had managed Ocean Palms Golf Club, the city-owned, nine-hole golf course framed by scores of homes at the south end of town.

Flagler Planning Board Rejects 1,200-Home Eagle Lakes Development Over Unresolved Differences

March 9, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Michael Chiumento III, the attorney representing the Eagle Lakes developer, at a December neighborhood meeting on the proposal, when opposition was apparent. The focus and tone of the opposition has not changed since. (© FlaglerLive)

The county and the developer have a 126-home difference on how many homes may be built, traffic questions affecting Old Kings Road remain, and several planning board members felt the Eagle Lakes application was not ready. But the matter now goes before the County Commission, which may vote on the development on April 4.

A Storied Gay-Pride Flag Doubles Down Outside FPC as Veterans Lead Protest of Student Leader’s Suspension

March 8, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Demonstrators protesting the law dubbed "Don;t Say Gay" outside of Flagler palm Coast High School in March. (© FlaglerLive)

Military veterans from Key West and Washington, D.C., led a protest that drew 30 people outside Flagler Palm Coast High School at dawn today in protest of the school suspending student-leader Jack Petocz last Thursday after he led an anti-“Don’t Say Gay” walkout and distributed gay-pride flags. Petocz’s suspension ended today.

Ukraine and the Fallacy of ‘All Lives Matter’

March 6, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

all lives matter ukraine

Every war brings out the best and the worst in human beings. Ukrainian resistance has been heroic and inspiring as Russia carries out its war crimes. But there’s also a strong element of bias at work in the public reaction. You know, the way a blue-eyed blond child gone missing will get page one sympathy while a missing Black child will be ignored. 

Flagler Beach City Commission Election Profile: 2 Incumbents Speak Experience as a Newcomer Promises

March 5, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

The three candidates for the two seats in the March 8 Flagler Beach election for City Commission. From left, newcomer James Sherman, incumbent Jane Mealy, first elected in 2016, and incumbent Rick Belhumeur first elected in 2016. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Woman’s Club on Tuesday hosted a forum for the three candidates running for Flagler Beach City Commission–incumbents Jane Mealy and Rick Belhumeur, and newcomer James Sherman. Here’s a complete report and analysis of the evening.

Court Says City-Owned Golf Course Managed By a Private Company Can Be Required to Pay Property Taxes

March 4, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Flagler Beach's privately-run, city-owned Ocean Palms Golf Club has never paid property taxes. A court decision this week suggests local property appraisers may legally deny a local government's exemption for such privately run amenities. (© FlaglerLive)

The court decision could potentially have ramifications in Flagler Beach, where the city owns Ocean Palms Golf Club, a nine-hole golf course, but has been leasing it to a private company since 2015, tax-free. The decision this week suggests local property appraisers may legally deny a local government’s exemption for such privately run amenities.

‘Say Gay! Say Gay! Say Gay!’ FPC Students Chant in Walkout Protesting Bills; Organizer Jack Petocz Is Suspended

March 3, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 50 Comments

Jack Petocz, left, at the height of the walkout he organized this morning at Flagler Palm Coast High School, an hour or two before he was suspended pending an investigation. (© FlaglerLive)

Hundreds of students at Flagler Palm Coast High School staged a 12-minute walkout this morning to protest bills nearing passage in the Legislature that would silence educators’ freedom to discuss certain topics, including gender identity, sexual orientation and certain anti-racism themes. Jack Petocz, the organizer of the protest, was suspended after the event.

Walmart Voids Trespass Warning Against Ex-Councilman Victor Barbosa

March 3, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Victor Barbosa in the asset protection office as a sheriff's deputy wrote him a trespass warning on Feb. 27, in a still from a body camera video.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has voided the Feb. 27 trespass warning against ex-Palm Coast City Council member Victor Barbosa after receiving a request to do so from a Walmart employee.

With Average Gas Price in Florida at $3.57 a Gallon, Some Begin to Change Driving Habits

March 3, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

gas prices AAA

The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine caused oil prices to surge above $110 a barrel for the first time in a decade. Oil is now $19 a barrel more than Friday’s settlement.  An increase of that magnitude could signal a 40-50 cent jump at the pump.

Ultimatum from Flagler Beach, Husband in Prison: Ocean Palm Golf’s Unintended Owner Tells Her Story

March 2, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Speaking publicly for the first time since she took over management of the city-owned Ocean Palms Golf Club in Flagler Beach, Belle McManus says she had no intentions to be at loggerheads with the city, and is hoping to resolve all differences. The city has issued an ultimatum that could lead to a severing of the lease after seven years. (© FlaglerLive)

Belle McManus had to take over the city-owned, privately managed Ocean Palms Golf Club in Flagler Beach after her husband was imprisoned on a DUI conviction. The city and the golf course already had rocky relations, and now the golf course faces a lease termination ultimatum. McManus describes her attempts to save the business in her new, unexpected role.

Signal Shift: Flagler Health Department Ends Covid Testing As Cases Fade; Deaths Increase by 15 in 2 Weeks

February 28, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

covid flagler

The end of operations at the airport–or at the department itself–signal the Health Department’s shift back to what it is calling “normal,” pre-pandemic operations, exactly two years after mobilizing for the first covid surge.

Think Twice Before Scanning That QR Code

February 27, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Stained code windows. (Mitya Ivanov on Unsplash)

Scanning a Quick Response, or QR code, is convenient and easy. And it is contactless, which can make people feel safer. But cybersecurity experts say QR codes also created new opportunities for fraudsters, who can tamper with them and direct victims to malicious websites to steal their personal and financial information.

Cost and Location Questions Arise Over County’s Push for Visitor Center on A1A and South 9th Street

February 24, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 39 Comments

Flagler County's tourism bureau proposed buying this corner lot on A1A and South 9th Street in Flagler Beach when its director discussed it before the Tourist Development Council, but the site was left unmentioned in a presentation to the County Commission this week. (© FlaglerLive)

The chairman of the Flagler Beach City Commission and the chairman of the county’s tourism council, who also sits on the County Commission, both have questions about the location and the cost of building a potential visitor center the county’s tourism division is eying for South 9th Street and State Road A1A in Flagler Beach.

Residents of Hidden Lakes and Toscana Appeal Palm Coast Approvals of 2 Self-Storage Lots on Old Kings

February 23, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

A rendering of one of the two self-storage facilities proposed for Old Kings Road that residents of the Toscana and Hidden Lakes subdivisions are now contesting.

A group of Palm Coast residents in the Toscana and Hidden Lakes subdivisions off Old Kings Road have filed an appeal of a decision by the Palm Coast Planning Board clearing the way for a self-storage facility on Old Kings Road. The same group is preparing to file a civil suit in circuit court seeking to quash decisions by the planning board and the Palm Coast City Council clearing the way for both that facility and another like it nearby.

Dozens of Anti-Semitic Fliers Tied to ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Appear in Palm Coast and Ormond Beach

February 23, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

Some of the anti-Semitic fliers in sandwich bags picked up in Ormond Beach on Tuesday. Some 50 similar fliers were picked up by Flagler County Sheriff's deputies in Palm Coast's C Section on Tuesday.

The fliers, which authorities and the Anti Defamation League do not consider criminal, have been appearing at least since December in neighborhoods in Surfside, Miami, San Francisco, Denver, Las Vegas, Kenosha, Wis., Cartersville, Ga., towns in Texas, and California, according to press reports and a tally by the ADL.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on Ukrainian Nationalism and Separatism

February 22, 2022 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

A mural of Aleksandr Solzkenitsyn as a "Zek," or prisoner, in the Soviet gulag. (Thierry Ehrmann)

“Russia and the Ukraine are united in my blood, my heart, my thoughts,” Solzhenitsyn wrote in The Gulag Archipelago half a century ago. “But from friendly contact with Ukrainians in the camps over a long period I have learned how sore they feel. Our generation cannot avoid paying for the mistakes of generations before it.”

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