The Palm Coast Fire Department hosted a Gold Star Dedication ceremony in which they dedicated a Fire Engine 24 in memory of Army Corporal Raheen Tyson Heighter this past weekend.
News Briefs
FCC Environmental Begins Trash Pick-Up in Palm Coast
FCC Environmental Services Inc. begins providing trash and recycling services to the City of Palm Coast today, June 1, 2023. Residents should have received a mailer from FCC with more information about services, pickup dates, and more.
Two-Week Sales Tax ‘Holiday’ for Disaster Preparedness
The State of Florida is offering disaster preparedness financial assistance through two programs: the 2023 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday and the UNITE Florida Sheltering at Home for Recovery Continuation (SHRC) Program.
Fishing on Florida’s Historic Coast Heats Up This Summer
From fishing piers and kayak fishing to deep sea charters, fly fishing, and everything in between, there is never a shortage of fishing opportunities when you visit St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, and The Beaches – making it a top destination for anglers from around the world.
Florida Man Vandalizes 13-Foot Bunny Sculpture With His Car
A 49 year old man last week intentionally drove his car into Thunderbunny, a 14 ft blue mosaic bunny sculpture, just days after it was erected at Justin Flippen Park in Wilton Manors, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
World’s Tallest Digital US Flag Lights Up Miami Skyline for Memorial Day
The world’s tallest digital American flag coupled with the world’s most enormous electronic “Uncle Sam” image are lighting-up the South Florida skyline this Memorial Day weekend, at the 60-story Paramount Miami Worldcenter skyscraper, in downtown Miami.
Flagler Open Arms Recovery Services Receives Recovery Leadership Award
Flagler Open Arms Recovery Services (Flagler OARS) is pleased to announce that the organization was recognized with a Recovery Leadership Award this month in St. Pete Beach at the Floridians for Recovery Leadership Summit 2023.
State Urges Justices to Reject Arguments Seeking to Blocking Duane Owen Killing
Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office Thursday urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject arguments aimed at blocking the scheduled execution next month of Death Row inmate Duane Owen.
Sheriff Increases Motors Unit Staffing to Address Traffic Violations
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has increased its Motors Unit staffing from five to eight deputies in an effort to address the traffic quality of life in the community.
Detention Facility Wins 2023 American Jail Association’s Innovation Award
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility (SPHIDF) has been awarded the 2023 Innovation Award for medium-sized facilities by the American Jail Association.
Daytona Area Home Sales And Prices Are Falling
Home sales continued to cool down across the Daytona Beach area during April, along with the median home sales price.
General Surgeon Jessica Marshall Joins AdventHealth in Palm Coast
General surgeon Dr. Jessica Marshall has joined AdventHealth Medical Group and will perform procedures at AdventHealth Palm Coast.
Juneteenth Florida Arts and Film Festival in Lakeland
The Juneteenth Committee Lakeland will host the 31st Annual Observance beginning Saturday, June 17, culminating with its Inaugural Florida Arts and Film Festival in Lakeland on July 1st, 2023. This highly anticipated event commemorates Juneteenth, a significant milestone in African American history, marking the 158 years of emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States.
Joe Jacquot Latest DeSantis Acolyte Appointed to New College Board
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed Joe Jacquot to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees, after the Florida Senate failed to confirm a previous trustee tapped by the governor.
FPL’s Monthly Bills Could Fall by $4 by July
Florida Power & Light customers could see a slight reduction in their bills starting in July, under a request to reduce charges due to a decrease in natural gas costs.
State Board of Education Will Consider Book-Ban List
The state Board of Education is slated next week to consider a new rule that would lead to Florida’s education commissioner publishing an annual list of library books and instructional materials that people have objected to, carrying out part of a controversial 2022 law.
U.S. Army Col. Peggy Hengeveld Is Featured Speaker at Memorial Day Ceremony
Join Flagler County at its Memorial Day Ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday, May 29, featuring special guest speaker Peggy Hengeveld, Colonel, U.S. Army (retired).
AdventHealth Offering Physicals for Flagler County Students May 23-24
The annual Flagler County Schools Sports Physicals event will be on May 23 and 24 from 5 – 9 p.m. at Flagler-Palm Coast High School located at 5500 East Highway 100 in Palm Coast.
Jeannette Simmons on Mental Health Month
The City recently collaborated with Jeannette Simmons, a Licensed Mental Health counselor and Chief Innovation Officer of local non-profit organization Flagler Cares, to highlight some of the most important mental health issues in our area.
Sky’s The Limit Touch-a-Truck Event Set for May 27 in Palm Coast
The third annual ‘Sky’s the Limit’ Touch-a-Truck event will be on May 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. along Park Street in Central Park featuring more than 75 vehicles from multiple agencies.
Sheriff’s SWAT Team Members Place in Top 10 at National Sniper Competition
This is the second year in a row FCSO’s SWAT Snipers have placed in the top 10 during the annual national sniper competition. This year’s competition and training was held in St. Petersburg/Clearwater
Haircuts and 10,000 Pounds of Food: Flagler Spring Fling Outreach Delivers to 90 Families
Flagler County Health and Human Services Department delivered up social services agencies and associated vendors at its May ‘Flagler Spring Fling Outreach’ that, in turn, provided haircuts, meaningful information, and 10,000 pounds of food.
From REACT to Flagler County Assist: Crucial Volunteers Rebrand
For the past four decades, Flagler County Assist REACT volunteers have supported and responded to events and emergencies in Flagler County. The organization recently discontinued its affiliation with REACT International to develop a partnership with Flagler Volunteer Services.
Palm Coast Attempts to Control Canal Weed With Grass Carp
The City of Palm Coast Stormwater & Engineering department is implementing an eco-friendly alternative method to aquatic weed biological control in the canals in Palm Coast by rehoming triploid grass carp to several locations throughout the community.
Finalists Named for Florida Supreme Court Seat
Four judges serving on the 6th District Court of Appeal — Chief Judge Meredith Sasso and Judges Joshua Mize, Jared Smith and John Stargel — are among the finalists selected by the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.
Flagler County Works with Agencies for Larger Combined Dunes Project from Pier to Gamble Rogers
Flagler County Engineering has been working with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Department of Transportation to combine two projects to expedite restoration of a larger section of dunes south of the Pier in a more cost-effective manner.
Women United Flagler Chapter Raises $30,790 at Power of the Purse
The Women United Flagler Chapter is pleased to announce the group’s Flagler Power of the Purse event held at Hammock Dunes Club on Monday, April 24th has raised $30,790.
33 Graduate Palm Coast’s 53rd Citizens Academy
The City of Palm Coast hosted the 53rd session of the Palm Coast Citizens Academy, which began on March 20 and ended on May 1. Thirty-three citizens academy participants graduated on Tuesday evening at the Palm Coast City Council business meeting.
Palm Coast Songwriters Festival Set for May 4-7
Local organizers of the Palm Coast Songwriters Festival are pleased to announce the celebration of their 5-year anniversary with nearly 40 HIT Songwriters with over 125 #1 HITS and hundreds of additional charted songs to their credit performing May 4-7, 2023. Single-day tickets are $50.
Flagler-St. Johns Scenic A1A Organization Wins National Byway Award
The National Scenic Byway Foundation congratulates the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway as the winner of our 2023 Byway Organization Award for Partnership. This is one of the Foundation’s eight national awards presented annually.
World Press Freedom Day Events Webcast from the UN on May 2
On May 2 and 3, the international community marks the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day by the United Nations General Assembly. It will serve as an occasion to take stock of the global gains for press freedom secured by UNESCO and its partners in the past decades, as well as underline the new risks faced in the digital age.
Georgia Store Clerk Shoots Suspect 8 Times After Palm Coast Robbery
Qwinntavus Kwame Jordan was shot eight times by a store clerk in Georgia and is in critical condition, hours after he allegedly robbed a gas station on Palm Coast’s State Road 100.
From Sleepy Cart Barn to 13,000 Calls a Year: Palm Coast Fire Department Celebrates 50th Year
The Palm Coast Fire Department was founded on April 3, 1973, with 36 volunteers, from the cart barn at the Palm Harbor Golf Club, responding to two calls for service the first year. The county population was 4,454. Today the department is a combination department that responded to over 13,444 calls for service in 2022 from five fire stations.
Josef Ghosn Named AdventHealth University’s New President
Josef Ghosn, Ed.D., MBA will become AdventHealth University’s third president and CEO on May 1, 2023. The university’s Board of Trustees selected Ghosn after a months-long, national search.
Enterprise Florida Elimination Moves Forward as DeSantis Plans Trip with Agency
A House plan to eliminate the business-recruitment agency Enterprise Florida and relocate tourism-marketing efforts also would lead to a change in the name of the state Department of Economic Opportunity.
Dune Restoration Will Extend from Beverly Beach to Varn Park Over Next 10 Weeks
Dune restoration work for the next 10 weeks – weather permitting – will extend from Beverly Beach to Varn Park as part of Flagler County’s ongoing emergency sand operations.
Wadsworth Elementary’s Karter Consolazio’s Alertness Earns Him a Sheriff’s Scholarship
Sheriff Staly and Deputy Erlandson presented Karter Consolazio with a certificate for a scholarship to attend the FCSO Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Academy this summer.
Stetson Names Elizabeth Skomp New Provost and Vice President
Stetson President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD, announced that Elizabeth Skomp, PhD, will serve as the university’s next provost and vice president of Academic Affairs.
Flagler Beach Rotary Buys City Police a $10,000 Emergency Response Trailer
The Rotary Club of Flagler Beach is pleased to announce that the club has purchased a new Emergency Response Trailer for the City of Flagler Beach.
Scattered Strong to Severe Thunderstorms Today in Flagler
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville cautions that today–Thursday–will bring unsettled weather to the Flagler-Palm Coast region.
Flagler Youth Orchestra’s Final Concert of Season at Auditorium on April 26
The Flagler Youth Orchestra performs its third concert of the 2022-23 season on Wednesday, April 26th, at 7 p.m. at the Flagler Auditorium in Palm Coast. Conductor Joe Corporon and fellow associate conductors of the FYO will lead five orchestras with more than 300 string musicians — a cross-section of public, private and homeschooled students.
Housing Fair and Financial Wellness Clinic on April 22
The public is invited to attend a housing fair and financial wellness clinic to learn about various programs available for down payment assistance, owner-occupied rehabilitation, mortgage products, strategies to avoid foreclosure, and to learn about the Fair Housing Act and individual rights and responsibilities.
Free Community Emergency Response Team Training Begins April 24
Learn basic disaster and emergency response skills – such as disaster preparedness, fire safety, and basic first aid – at the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program, which begins on April 24.
Flagler County and Cities Launch Collaborative Economic Development Initiative
Flagler County has been meeting with municipalities as part of an economic development initiative to create a single, unified plan aimed at diversifying the tax base for the benefit of all its residents.
Bill Shielding Businesses and Insurance Companies from Lawsuits Is Now Law
After the Senate gave final approval Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday quickly signed a bill aimed at helping shield businesses and insurance companies from lawsuits. DeSantis formally received the bill (HB 837) on Friday, and the House and Senate websites said he signed it.
Proposed Law Would Keep DeSantis’s Travel Records Secret
The bill would create a public-records exemption for records held by law-enforcement agencies related to “transportation and protective services” provided to the governor, the governor’s immediate family, visiting governors and “other persons as requested by certain state officers.”
Tara Gugliara and John Aguiar Named Vice Presidents at Intracoastal Bank
Bruce Page, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, today announced the promotion of Tara Gugliara to Assistant Vice President/Assistant Manager, Volusia Banking Center for the Bank. Last week, Page announced the appointment of John Aguiar as Vice President/Business Relationship Manager for the Bank.
Florida Gas Prices Spike Above National Average, But Relief May Be on the Way
In Palm Coast, regular, unleaded gas was selling for 3.45 to $3.49 a gallon at most stations along State Road 100, but lower gas prices are expected soon, with oil prices dropping to their lowest level in over two years.
NASCAR’s Hailie Deegan and AdventHealth Partner to Mark Women’s History Month
AdventHealth is launching a platform in March during Women’s History Month to celebrate the women working in NASCAR, including women drivers and the business professionals who serve as the backbone of race teams, tracks, agencies and media organizations.
Varn Park Will Close for 3 Months as It Turns Into Latest Dune-Rebuilding Staging Area
Varn Park will be closed beginning March 27 for about three months as Flagler County undertakes two emergency sand operations – the first in Painters Hill and Beverly Beach, and the second north through the park into the Hammock Dunes Homeowners Association property.