The Flagler County Tea Party’s straw poll included 14 races on the Aug. 14 ballot, plus the school board’s half-penny sales tax referendum, which drew 67 percent against, a worrisome sign for the school board.
Backgrounders
Florida Consumer Confidence Up in July
Consumer confidence was up slightly in July 2012 over June, and dramatically higher than it was a year ago, a new report from the University of Florida finds.
Lane Burnsed Is Laid to Rest to the Words of Job and a Community’s Grief
Lane Burnsed, 19, was laid to rest Wednesday as hundreds of friends and family members paid their respects to his father, Capt. Jamey Burnsed, and his wife Iola, whose roots in the community run broad and deep.
Back to School Jam Returns Saturday at FPC: Uniforms, Discounts, But No Free Backpacks
This year’s back to school jam for all flagler county students will feature discounted uniforms, $5 backpacks and many other supplies, at Flagler Palm Coast High School Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Obama Crosses 50% Favorability Over Romney in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania
No one has won the White House in the past half century without winning at least two of the three states. The latest results are the strongest yet for Obama, and a worrisome sign for Mitt Romney down the stretch.
Josh Davis, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Josh Davis is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Bill Corkran, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Bill Corkran is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Sue Dickinson, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Sue Dickinson is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Colleen Conklin, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Colleen Conklin is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Deborah Laury, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Deborah Laury is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Sharon Feliciano, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Sharon Feliciano is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Don Appignani, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Don Appignani is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Marc Dwyer, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Marc Dwyer is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Craig Atack, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Craig Atack is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Melissa Moore Stens, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Melissa Moore Stens is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
W. Scott Westbrook, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Scott Westbrook is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Flagler Beach Fire Chief Gets His Job Back As Serious Allegations About City Manager Emerge
Flagler Beach City Manager Bruce Campbell retreated from plans to fire Flagler Beach Fire Chief Martin Roberts, giving him instead a three-day suspension, following a three-hour hearing that revealed a devastating series of issues surrounding the controversy and Campbell’s management of it.
When Bankruptcy and a Second Mortgage Combine Into an Opportunity for Florida Homeowners
“Bankruptcy” and “exciting news” don’t usually go together well in the same conversation. But a recent ruling by a federal court is giving Florida homeowners a window of opportunity to strip off a second mortgage, argues consumer attorney Lewis Roberts.
Synthetic Marijuana, or Fake Pot: What Is It, How Dangerous and Prevalent Is It?
Synthetic marijuana, or fake pot, is sold as a legal spice or incense herb such as K2, but is a little-understood chemical compound with potentially more severe side-effects. A briefing on the origin and meaning of synthetic marijuana.
Voter ID Laws: Your Election-Year Guide to Disenfranchisement and Fraud
Voter IDs laws in Florida and 29 other states are a political flashpoint in another close election year, pitting claims of fraud against claims of disenfranchisement. A step back to look at the facts behind the laws and issues at the heart of the debate.
Mia Bella Academy’s Young Performers Put Palm Coast on National Winners’ Map Again
Mia Bella Dance Academy, for the third consecutive year, swept the National Celebration Talent Competition in Gatlinburg, Tenn., beating out 30 other studios and over 1,000 acts.
3 Flagler Beach Commissioners Attend Closed-Door County Staff Meeting, Clouding Sunshine
Commissioners Jane Mealy, Kim Carney and Mayor Linda Provencher attended the July 12 county staff meeting on beach renourishment with the U.S. Corps of Engineers, which was closed to the public. Dennis McDonald, a candidate for the county commission, raised issues with the potential sunshine violation.
Storm Burst: Two Wrecks, 10 Victims, Most Children or Teens, Few Injuries
Five teen-agers were in a truck that overturned after hitting an electric pole (which burst into periodic flames) at Old Kings Road and Frontier Drive in Palm Coast; an older woman was at the wheel of an SUV, with four young children, that ended up upright against the trees on I-95 within an hour of the other wreck.
Ray Stevens Assault on John Pollinger Mutates, This Time Invoking 9/11 Decisions
Fresh from losing a suit attempting to boot John Pollinger from the Republican ballot for sheriff on Aug. 14 (the decision is on appeal), the Ray Stevens camp is criticizing a Pollinger decision to keep officers from going to Ground Zero after 9/11, though the record overwhelmingly supports Pollinger’s decision.
Flagler Beach Fire Chief Martin Roberts Faces Firing on Insubordination Charge
Flagler Beach City Manager Bruce Campbell told Martin Roberts he’d be fired pending a pre-disciplinary hearing on July 17. Roberts had served as chief since November 2005. He was at the center of a controversy over unauthorized trips.
Richard Schreiner, 1945-2012
Richard Schreiner, Palm Coast’s most provocative artist, died today (July 12) at his home. Schreiner, 67, had been battling a debilitating disease in the last few months. He was the subject of the largest-ever retrospective at Hollingsworth Gallery just last month.
Pollinger Will Remain on Aug. 14 Ballot as a Republican as Judge Craig Denies Challenge
John Pollinger will remain on the Aug. 14 ballot as a Republican candidate for Flager County Sheriff, Circuit Court Judge Dennis Craig ruled Tuesday afternoon, denying a challenge by Anne-Marie Shaffer, a supporter of candidate Ray Stevens, to bar him from the Republican ballot.
Divided Palm Coast Council Buries
Home-Based Baking Start-Ups For Good
For a Palm Coast City Council that has been preaching the virtues of entrepreneurship and small business, the 3-2 vote reasserted council members’ priority for residential neighborhoods and freedom from the risks of new business.
FlaglerLive Is Moving–Again
Just as we did a year ago, FlaglerLive is moving to a new server yet again, this time a dedicated one, because readership keeps outgrowing our old accommodations. We ask for your patience over the next 72 hours. And donations.
Discover Your Treasures: Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
Washington Oaks Gardens State Park is the dean of Flagler County parks: a 476-acre spread on both sides of State Road A1A, rich in history and intimate paths for solitary walks or preludes to more than a kiss. A renewed look, with an image gallery, at a particular Flagler treasure.
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Reform, a Major Victory for Obama and the Uninsured
Chief Justice John Roberts joined the left of the U.S. Supreme Court in upholding the 2010 health care reform law, including the individual mandate. The Roberts ruling narrowed the allowance under tax rules, as opposed to the commerce clause. But the entire law was upheld.
In a Victory for Rick Scott, Federal Judge Clears Path to a Limited Voter Roll Purge
It is the first significant ruling in the legal battle over Gov. Scott’s effort to remove allegedly ineligible voters from the rolls. At least two other lawsuits have been filed against Florida.
Florida’s Hispanics Like Obama Over Romney By Big Margin, Dimming Rubio’s VP Appeal
Hispanic voters in Florida, traditionally Republican, prefer Obama over Romney by a 56-32 margin, buttressing the president’s advantage among Independents.
Red-Light Camera Ticket Revenue:
Palm Coast, 14%, Private Company, 86%
American Traffic Solutions, which runs Palm Coast’s red-light traffic cameras, will make up to $4,250 per camera per month, while Palm Coast makes just $700. Still, the Palm Coast City Council is ready to sign a seven-year deal.
Replacing Meeker: Palm Coast Council Will Appoint Successor Rather than Hold Election
Frank Meeker’s decision to serve until November as he runs for the county commission means the Palm Coast City Council cannot hold an election to fill out the two years of his term, but will instead appoint a replacement in November.
Florida Professors Still Can’t Travel to Cuba On State’s Dime; Low IQ Execution Cleared
Three Florida cases are the many the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear, which means a ban on Florida university faculty’s travel to Cuba stands, as does Florida’s authority to execute a Daytona Beach murderer with an IQ of 70.
Lord of the Flies On a School Bus: The Bullying of Karen Klein
Karen Klein is the 68-year-old school bus monitor from Greece, N.Y., cruelly bullied by seventh graders and recorded on a YouTube video that went viral. The middle schoolers are acting out the persecuting spirit that christens their daily lives.
Wire Essentials, June 22: Banning College Football, Joking About Obama’s Blackness
Last Updated: Friday, 1:57 p.m. Banning college football: a debate, the Chamber of Commerce is undefeated at the US Supreme Court, the state of poverty in America, religious freedom as a license to discriminate, heckling and joking about Obama, press freedom’s scorecard.
The Live Poll: Obama-Romney
Take the poll: Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are battling for Florida’s 29 electoral votes, which are more essential to Romney than they are to Obama: Romney can’t win without them, Obama can.
Mike Pius, Firefighter Just Back from Winning Gold in Europe, Is Seriously Hurt in Wreck
Lt. Mike Pius, one of the more popular and decorated Flagler firefighter-paramedics, suffered several broken bones and may be out six months following a wreck in St. Augustine, after a truck cut through Pius’s right-of-way. Flagler Fire Chief Don Petito said the firefighter brotherhood kicked in immediately after the wreck.
Poll Pots: Floridians Like Stand Your Ground, And Like Voter Roll Purges Even More
A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Floridian voters support the Scott administration’s ineligible-voter purge by 60-35 percent, and approve the stand your ground law by a 56-37 margin.
Democrats Outpacing Republicans In Florida Registrations, But Not in Flagler
More Democrats than Republicans registered to vote in Florida in May, driven by women and Hispanics, but Independents continue to make the biggest gains, and in Flagler County, Republicans have widened their registration lead to a full percentage point.
Adult and Community Education Summber B Class Registration Now
The Flagler County Schools’ Adult & Community Education Department announces the beginning of the Summer B 2012 semester of classes. Summer B Session will begin July 9, 2012. Students may register by phone from June 18 – 29 by calling (386) 597-5480. After June 29, students may register at any Adult & Community Education Center, with locations throughout Flagler County including the Belle Terre Swim & Racquet Club, 73 Patricia Drive, Palm Coast, the A1A Center in the Hammock, and Flagler Technical Institute, 1 Corporate Drive, Palm Coast.
Riley Eddy
Little Miss Flagler County Contestant (2012)
Riley Eddy is a Little Miss Flagler County contestant in the 5 to 7 year old category of the 2012 Flagler County Pageant.
Florida and Flagler Back to Anemic Job Growth as Unemployment Stalls, Reflecting U.S. Trend
Florida added just 5,300 jobs in April, and the state unemployment rate would have risen back sharply had the labor department not revised its April figures to show a much higher unemployment rate than it announced last month.
Wire Essentials: June 15
Voter purge deja vu, tea party versus Ronald Reagan, quitting Microsoft in song, when Indianapolis was nuked, Romney’s bullying problem, Marco Rubio votes against food stamps, Fifty Shades of Gray’s origins, and more.
Stop and Frisk Follies
Stop and frisk is a constitutionally suspect police tactic that entails stopping and searching an individual for weapons arbitrarily. The practice disproportionately targets blacks and Latinos while yielding a minimal number of weapons–usually on whites.
Flagler School District Won’t Lift Facebook Ban, But Cracks Are Beginning to Appear
Facebook is blocked on Flagler County school district networks, though students and faculty access it anyway by bypassing the network on phones, and the district, which prides itself on technology uses, is considering lifting the ban during after-school activities.
Florida Prison Sentences Lengthen an Average Of 166% Since 1990, Most By Far in U.S.
Costing Florida taxpayers $1.4 billion a year, Florida’s prisons have some of the highest incarceration rates in the nation, too, even though the state still has the nation’s ninth highest violent crime rate, suggesting a poor return on investment.
Calling Their Tactic “Legal but Immoral,” Jim O’Connell Asks Flagler’s Write-Ins to Withdraw
In an open letter to write-in candidates in coming elections, Jim O’Connell, the former Flagler County Commissioner tells the write-ins their presence on the ballot will deny 40,000 voters their right to vote.