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Project 2025 is a Bad Bet for Florida’s Future

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Project 2025 is a blueprint for Trump’s next term. It is full of recommendations for clamping down on abortion, banning pornography, abolishing the Homeland Security and Education departments, killing the Head Start program for kids, and putting the entire executive branch, including the Department of Justice, under direct control of the president — no civil service protection.

Ray Stevens, Palm Coast City Council District 3 Candidate: The Live Interview

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Ray Stevens is one of three candidates in the Aug. 20 primary election for Palm Coast City Council, District 3.  It’s an open seat, as Council member Nick Klufas is term-limited. He is running for a County Commission seat. The candidates who qualified are Dana Mark Stancel, Stevens and Andrew Warner. All registered voters in Palm Coast regardless of party or non-party affiliation may cast a ballot in this City Council race.

Flagler Beach Gets $745,000 TDC Grant for Boardwalk Rebuild That May Never Happen, Besting County and Palm Coast

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After three bracing presentations by three local governments but tortuous debate by Flagler County’s Tourist Development Council members, the council on Wednesday approved a $745,000 grant for Flagler Beach to rebuild its boardwalk near the pier even though the city has none of the remaining $3 million to build it. Palm Coast and Flagler County were at the losing end of the three-way pitch for the sizeable grant, which the tourism board offers only every two years.

Council Votes 7-2 to Deplete Tourism Fund’s $11 Million Reserves and Build Flagler Visitor Center on SR 100

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It was as audacious a plan as any that Flagler County Tourism Director Amy Lukasik presented to the Tourist Development Council this morning: take out $10.3 million out of two tourism funds’ reserves, reducing those reserves to $1.2 million, and appropriate the money for construction of the Flagler County Visitor and Eco Discovery Center on State Road 100, near the metallurgic foot bridge. The council went for it, voting 7-2 to recommend moving forward with Lukasik’s plan.

Flagler School District Yet Again Stuck at a B for 3rd Straight Year, But All Schools are at A or B

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A third of Florida’s school districts scored an A in the 2023-24 school year. The Flagler County school district was not among them. For the third year in a row, and for the 10th of the last 11th grading years, the district remains stuck at a B, one of 26 districts in that pack. Seventeen districts scored a C. None scored lower. Two districts were not graded. The Florida Department of Education released the grades today.

Janie Ruddy, Flagler County School Board Candidate District 3: The Live Interview Template

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Janie Ruddy is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 20 primary, facing Derek Barrs in District 3. The District 3 and District 5 seats are both open as incumbents Colleen Conklin and Cheryl Massaro have opted not to run again. School board elections are non-partisan races: all registered voters in Flagler County are eligible to cast a ballot in the two races–whether registered Democratic, Republican, Independent or from a minor party.

Vincent Sullivan, Flagler County School Board Candidate District 5: The Live Interview Template

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Vincent Sullivan is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 20 primary, facing Lauren Ramirez  in District 5. School board elections are non-partisan races: all registered voters in Flagler County are eligible to cast a ballot in the two races–whether registered Democratic, Republican, Independent or from a minor party.

‘I Don’t Want to Wrestle With Pigs’: Palm Coast Rejects Danko Push to Lock City Into $2.3 Million Budget Cut

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Overcoming what Council member Nick Klufas called fellow Councilman Ed Danko’s “pontification,” the Palm Coast City Council today rebuffed an attempt by Danko to remove $2.3 million from the city’s proposed budget and adopted instead a slightly reduced tax rate for next year while preserving funding for the addition of nine new sheriff’s deputies and three new firefighter-paramedics.

Flagler School District Will Negotiate Lease of Old Courthouse With the County, Eying Room for Historical Society

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The Flagler County school district’s plan to lease the old courthouse in Bunnell to shift half a dozen programs there would cost $632,000 in up-front renovations and $202,000 a year in rent and utilities. The Flagler County Historical Society had plans of its own for the old courthouse. The district will negotiate with both the county and the historical society in hopes of reaching mutually agreeable accommodations.

Andy Dance, Flagler County Commission Candidate, District 1: The Live Interview

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Andy Dance is the incumbent candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 1. Fernando Melendez is challenging him in the Aug. 20 primary. Both candidates are Republicans. Since no non-Republicans filed to run, it will be an open primary: all registered Flagler County voters from all parties or no-party affiliation may cast a ballot in this race, which will be decided on Aug. 20. There is no run-off.

Behind the Smear of Palm Coast Mayoral Candidate Peter Johnson

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Peter Johnson, a candidate for Palm Coast mayor, has been the target of the most vicious slander in Flagler County in this year’s election. The claim has been spread through an alleged screenshot of an alleged slur he used, but all the evidence gathered so far points to a fabrication intended to defame Johnson and peddled by discreditable operatives, among them one of Johnson’s opponents in the mayoral race.

DeSantis Veto of Vacation-Rental Bill Opens the Way for Palm Coast Regulations with Flagler’s as Model

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Facing pressure, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the measure a bill that deregulated local control of vacation rentals, saying the proposal would create “bureaucratic red tape” for local officials. Now, Palm Coast has another chance to write its own vacation-rental ordinance, or at least craft some city-specific regulations. City Council member Theresa Pontieri said this morning she intends to open the way for just such a proposal, with caution, as residents increasingly complain of rentals.

Secretive Data Company Getting Stiff Resistance from Flagler Beach Over Perpetual Easement at Veterans Park

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DC Blox, the Atlanta-based data company working with Palm Coast to open a data center there, is about to face stiff resistance from some Flagler Beach City Commissioners as it seeks a permanent easement through Veterans Park, one of the city’s iconic treasures. Officials are not happy with the choice they’re being given at Veterans Park, the paltry, one-time compensation the city is being offered–$100,000 per cable landing–or the way DC Blox has attempted to keep negotiations out of the public eye, especially about money.

Palm Coast Reels Back Talk of Firing Its Lobbyists as Southern Group’s Emissaries Deliver Veto-Proof Defense

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A presentation to the Palm Coast City Council today by its Southern Group lobbyists was a response to an inquisition, albeit an inquisition that, by the time the pair of lobbyists had sat down in person in front of the council, had already been sharply dialed down to a sort of Marriage Encounter session. The council critics’ aim was no longer to criticize or threaten dissolution but to learn, recalibrate and grow, especially as the lobbyists twice reminded them of Palm Coast’s record appropriation hauls of the last two years.

The Write-In Fraud

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Two people who have zero intention to run campaigns have filed to run as write-ins, closing two Flagler County Commission races to 51 percent of the electorate in cynical maneuvers to benefit Ed Danko and Kim Carney in their respective races, against Pam Richardson in one and Nick Klufas and Bill Clark in the other. The write-in fraud takes advantage of a loophole in the law that enables anyone, without paying a dime or showing any intention to campaign, to be a write-in, thus closing otherwise open primaries.

Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s Parting Legacy: a $69,000 Gift to City Repertory Theatre

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Ending its 20-year-run, the Palm Coast Arts Foundation today handed over a $69,000 gift to City Repertory Theatre, the largest gift the theater troupe has ever received and one of the largest cultural gifts ever recorded from a non-governmental organization to another in Flagler. PCAF was required to disburse its remaining funds to a kindred non-profit before closing its books.

Flagler Beach Demolishes Any County Plan To Make Barrier Island Pay Higher Tax for Beach Protection

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If the county plans any taxing method to pay for beach protection that taxes the barrier island more than it does the rest of the county, Flagler Beach will not sign off.  Four of the five city commissioners are opposed to any such plan, and the fifth is skeptical of the county’s approach. Flagler Beach is especially resentful of the county for even discussing various proposals, however preliminary, without having included Flagler Beach  in the discussions from the start. 

Historic Sweep: Flagler’s 5 Constitutionals Elected Without Opposition as Shelly Edmonson Wins Tax Collector’s Seat

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Clerk of Court Tom Bexley, Tax Collector-Elect Edmonson, Property Appraiser Jay Gardner, Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart and Sheriff Rick Staly were elected without opposition today, the first time an entire slate of constitutionals managed the feat in memory. Edmonson will take over for Suzanne Johnston, who decided to retire after 20 years as the tax collector.

Lowering Speed Limits to 25 in Palm Coast Too Expensive, But City Considers Traffic ‘Humps’ in Neighborhoods

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The Palm Coast City Council is not interested in spending $1.6 million to lower speed limits citywide from 30 to 25 mph–it would cost that much to change all the signs–and is leery about certain “traffic-calming” devices, whether speed “humps” or traffic islands. But it will consider a plan that would leave it in residents’ hands to decide whether they want speed humps in their neighborhoods.

Amendment 5: I’m Homesteaded. I Don’t Need Another Perk To Deepen Inequalities and Hurt Local Governments.

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A yes vote on Florida’s Amendment 5 on this November’s ballot means that every year, the second of two $25,000 exemptions will increase according to the previous year’s inflation rate. The indexing is not only unnecessary–the Save Our Homes cap on taxes already does that–but it’s another pander that will deepen disparities at the expense of local governments, businesses, renters and agricultural properties, all of whom will have to make up for lost revenue. 

Beach Dredging and Rebuilding Project Will Take 4 Months, Not 9, and Flagler Beach Will Be Spared Detours

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In a boon for a city besieged by construction, the contractor starting work on Flagler County’s first-ever beach-renourishment project within days informed Flagler Beach officials that the dredging will start at the south end of town and move north, will not use Veterans Park as an equipment staging area, and will not require traffic detours downtown, as had been previously planned. 

In Sharp Retreat, Flagler Rejects Countywide Beach Tax to Focus on Barrier Island Only, and on Informing Public

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A week after approving a plan in principle that would have imposed a new tax on almost all residents countywide to raise $7 million a year for beach protection, the Flagler County Commission today stepped back sharply from that plan, acknowledging that it had not done the necessary “outreach” to the public or to other local governments to ensure its success.

Sheriff: Increase School Board’s Cost Share of Campus Deputies to 60%, Lower County’s Share to 40%

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The Flagler County Sheriff is recommending to the County Commission that the 50-50 cost share for school resource deputies, or SRDs, between the School Board and the County Commission be changed. Staly is recommending that the School Board shoulder 60 percent of the cost, adding $300,000 to the district’s budget, while lowering the county’s responsibility an equal amount. 

In Florida and Elsewhere, New GOP Rules Hostile to Voter Registration Threaten Fines and Criminal Penalties

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Republican lawmakers in Florida , Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and Texas have enacted a variety of voter registration laws over the past four years. The measures add new requirements around registering and communicating with voters and threaten hefty penalties for violations. The stated goal of the new laws is to prevent fraud, but in the absence of any evidence of more than very rare fraud some voting rights groups contend their real purpose is to dampen participation by likely Democratic voters.

Sprawling Vacation Rentals Becoming a Nuisance to Palm Coast Residents. City’s Answer: ‘Our Hands Are Tied.’

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As resident after resident complained about short-term renters next door–the noise, the partying, the traffic, the garbage, the unexpected–the Palm Coast City Council chambers Tuesday evening sounded more like a scene transplanted from the County Commission a decade ago, or legislative committees in Tallahassee every year since. But the legislature just passed a new law that forbids cities like Palm Coast from imposing stricter regulations on vacation rentals than they would on permanent residents.

For Flagler County, New Tax to Raise $7 Million a Year to Preserve Beaches Concedes Realities of Climate Change

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Monday’s milestone by the Flagler County Commission–seeking a new funding mechanism to rebuild and maintain the county’s 18 miles of beaches–was the culmination of a four-year process. It would put in place a method to pay for expected beach maintenance for decades as the county faces a new reality of rising seas and relentless erosion. Here’s how consultants arrived at the proposal, and what it would pay for.

Sea Level Rise Make Florida’s ‘Beach Renourishments’ More Frequent, Expensive and Vain

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The barrier islands keep moving, which foolish humans label “beach erosion” as they keep trying to bend nature to their will by trucking or dredging in lots of sand from somewhere else for millions of dollars. The Corps of Engineers, the government agency in charge of playing in such big sandboxes, always claims they’re “saving” the beach from disappearing. They aren’t. They’re just saving a lot of people’s investments as “fiscal conservatives” spend tax money on beaches sure washed away in the next storm.

Lured by State’s $3,000 ‘Civics’ Bonus, Thousands of Florida Teachers Train in Christian Nationalist Tenets

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Training materials produced by the Florida Department of Education direct middle and high school teachers to indoctrinate students in the tenets of Christian nationalism, a right-wing effort to merge Christian and American identities. Thousands of Florida teachers, lured by cash stipends, have attended trainings featuring these materials.