By one measure, 70 percent of respondents are opposed to relaxing the commercial-vehicle rule in Palm Coast, but that’s before accounting for massive manipulation of the survey. Once weighed for such manipulations, the split is nearly dead even. Either way, the administration has no plans to submit the numbers to the council.
All Else
You May No Longer Legally Lodge Anonymous Code Enforcement Complaints, But Mandate Is Easily Evaded
The new law does not address enforcement of the identification provision, it does not set out any requirements for verification, it does not signal any penalties for people who invent names, and it imposes no requirements either on local governments in general or on code enforcement officers to do more than note whether a complainant has been identified or not.
Travis Lee, Who Sued the District Last Year, Takes Helm at Rymfire; Ryan Andrews Is New Indian Trails Principal
The three new principals’ appointments dovetail two other, less visible but influential postings at the district office and reflect the superintendent’s pronounced nod to diversity, a year after Lee sued the district, charging discrimination.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 30, 2021
A special meeting of the school board to close out financial books, a Luau at the African American Cultural Society, the continuing farewell tour of Flagler County’s Rocket Man.
Doug Courtney, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Doug Courtney is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor in the July 27 special election. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Flagler Beach Will Borrow Up to $15 Million to Finance Reconstruction of Its Ramshackle Sewer Plant
The Flagler Beach City Commission is embarking on an ambitious and expensive plan to rebuild its derelict sewer plant and position the city to stop dumping treated water in the Intracoastal by the beginning of the next decade.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 29, 2021
A quiet day in government except in court, and a Supreme Court decision not to take up a transgender case that means a similar St. Johns County case decided in favor of a student’s choice as to which bathroom to use in school is still the law in Flagler County.
Federal Judge Doesn’t Hide Distaste for Florida Law Forbidding Social Media from Banning Users
Arguing that the law would violate social-media companies’ First Amendment rights and harm their efforts to moderate content, the industry groups have asked U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle to block the law from going into effect Thursday as scheduled.
Leon Wiley Admits He Raped His Minor Step-Daughter for Years But Says Jury Was Wrong to Convict Him
Leon Norman Wiley Jr., 54, was found guilty by a jury of raping his stepdaughter since she was 12, but he argued today that he was owed a new trial because none of the abuse took place in Flagler County. The judge rejected the argument. Wiley is to be sentenced Friday to what may amount to life in prison.
Flagler Beach’s First Friday Returns in September, But Commissioners Want It Refocused on Local Businesses
First Friday will return at Veterans Park in Flagler Beach on Sept. 3, for the first time in a year and a half, but under the new sponsorship of Vern Shank, known as DJ Vern, and Surf Radio, a switch from Flagler Broadcasting’s Beach 92.7, which had sponsored the event for the past nine years.
86-Year-Old Woman Refuses to Sign Over Deed to Her House, so Granddaughter Abandons Her in Palm Coast
Amber Lynn Dodd, a 26-year-old Deltona woman who abandoned her 86-year-old grandmother at a Palm Coast gas station late Saturday night and drove on, is now facing a felony elderly neglect charge, though she has not been arrested.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 28, 2021
The Bunnell City Commission meets for a light agenda, Flagler County government’s Heidi Petito reports to work as county administrator, Jean-Jacques Rousseau turns 309.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 27, 2021
How Democratic Socialist India B. Walton managed to become the first woman–not to mention the first socialist–elected mayor of Buffalo; Flagler’s diminished drought index, Pablu Neruda’s distasteful personality.
The Insurrection: New Details Suggest Senior Trump Aides Knew Jan. 6 Rally Could Get Chaotic
Senior Trump aides had been warned the Jan. 6 events could turn chaotic, with tens of thousands of people potentially overwhelming ill-prepared law enforcement officials. Rather than trying to halt the march, Trump and his allies accommodated its leaders, according to text messages and interviews with Republican operatives and officials.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 26, 2021
A Yacht Rock Experience at the Flagler Auditorium, an odd statement from Alan Lowe about his (non) campaign manager, an interesting piece on African-American satire in the 21st century, and the Euro 2020 round of 16.
Utility Department to Perform Smoke Testing in Palm Coast’s Woodlands
This smoke testing will be done Monday through Thursday, June 28 through July 1. This test, which involves forcing smoke into the sanitary sewer lines, will check for leaks, breaks and defects in the system.
Derek Chauvin Sentenced to 22 1/2 Years in Prison for Murder of George Floyd
The sentencing marks a significant milestone in the effort to get justice for Floyd, who died begging for his life under Chauvin’s knee for more than 9 minutes on Memorial Day 2020. Three other officers present also face charges in Floyd’s death, with trials scheduled for next year.
How Flagler County’s Drunken-Sailor, All-Republican Commissioners Tried to Con You Into a Higher Tax
The Flagler County Commission’s attempt unilaterally to impose an increase in the sales tax is the latest example of a lazy, bumbling commission addicted to spending, deceptive in its methods and indifferent to the long-term public interest.
Palm Coast Councilman Ed Danko Investigated By City Over Harassment of Employees and Interference With Duties
Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko, elected last November, has been the subject of an internal inquiry triggered by allegations he harassed and bullied employees and was rude to them, records show. The investigation, which remains open, concluded in a draft report that Danko had “inappropriately attempted to influence staff’s administrative duties.” Interference would be a violation of the city charter. Danko disputes the finding.
At Flagler Airport, Freedom Fest Soars Again on Wings of Pride and Memory
A variety of historic and modern aircraft, flying and static, is coming to the Flagler County airport as part of Freedom Fest on Independence Day weekend, with bands, vendors and free admission.
The Weekend Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, June 24, 2021
At the Auditorium Saturday, “Summer Breeze: a Yacht Rock Experience,” described as “all the smooth, sleek mellow pop-rock songs of the ’70s and ’80s.” The round of 16 starts Saturday at Euro 2020.
Search Continues Amid Elusive Answers to Building Collapse in Surfside
The building in Miami-Dade County is estimated to have been at least 80 percent occupied. One fatality had been reported by midday, and at least 35 people were reportedly pulled from the site Thursday morning.
Imagination Vacation: In-Person Children’s Art Day Camps, Starting With Frida Kahlo
Imagination Vacation awaits children ages 7-11 this summer at Ormond Memorial Art Museum’s art and adventure day camps. This series of three-hour camps let children explore their creativity, style, and curiosity while having fun becoming a famous artist, mermaid, pirate, or honey bee.
County Administrator May Have to Pay Sheriff’s Lunch Back as Operations Center Is Again Delayed, Almost a Year
The opening of the 51,000-square-foot facility is now seen no earlier than the end of 2022, instead of next November. By then, the sheriff will have been exiled from the former Sheriff’s Operations Center on State Road 100 for almost four and a half years–longer than a full term in office.
Veni Vidi Vinci: Flagler Beach Detective Is Named Officer of the Year by Florida Police Chiefs Association
Flagler Beach Police detective Rosanna Vinci, on the job at the city for seven years, is the Florida Police Chiefs Association winner of the Lee McGehee Award for small Law Enforcement agencies statewide. The Flagler Beach City Commission will recognize Vinci at its meeting this evening, at 5:30 p.m., the association will do so next week.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, June 24, 2021
Flagler Beach Police Detective Rosanna Vinci will be recognized for receiving the Small Agency, Officer of the Year award from the Florida Police Chiefs Association. New rumbles in Palm Coast.
Florida Prisons Want to Ban Most ‘Routine’ Mail, Replacing It with Communal Email. Families Are Outraged.
Florida prison officials’ plan to replace prisoners’ “routine” mail with digitized versions viewed on tablet computers or communal kiosks has sparked an outcry among inmates’ families and advocates, who argue that preserving bonds with loved ones while prisoners are locked up dramatically increases later chances of success on the outside.
Flagler 3rd Graders’ Reading Scores Fall 9 Points Amid Pandemic Disruptions, But Remote Students Held Their Own
Just 59 percent of third graders in Flagler County scored a satisfactory level 3 or better on the Florida Standards Assessment in reading last schoolyear, a nine-point drop from the last time the tests were administered, but statewide students learning remote did slightly better than those learning at school.
No Acquittal This Time for For L’Darius Smith as Jury Convicts Him of Aggravated Assault in Race-Tinged Confrontation
Two brothers, 63 and 59, had allegedly called L’Darius Smith the N word in a confrontation that began with one of the men complimenting him for his Batman jacket. He picked up a baseball bat–and a conviction for aggravated assault that may now send him to prison. Four years ago he was acquitted of charges of molesting his sisters when they were young children. He still faces a burglary charge.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 23, 2021
The Flagler Tiger Bay mayoral forum is tonight at the Palm Coast Community Center, with four of the six candidates in attendance. At Euro 2020, Portugal fights for a spot in the rounds ahead, and Orwell tells us what he thinks of Hitler.
White Gen X and Millennial Evangelicals Are Losing Faith in the Conservative Culture Wars
Some of the younger evangelicals are openly questioning their religious and political traditions while the majority of white evangelicals are aging and a portion of younger evangelicals are engaging in both religion and politics differently.
Quietly, and Without Voter Say, Flagler County Readies to Raise Sales Tax on Everyone. Palm Coast Says No.
The Palm Coast City Council today rejected a request by county government to support raising the local sales tax from 7 to 7.5 percent. The rejection deals a blow to county government, which is looking to increase the tax to pay for law enforcement and fire operations, but it also replays tensions from 10 years ago when the county’s approach on the sales tax was equally clumsy and unilateral.
Crime Dropped By Half in Staly’s 1st Term, Giving Flagler 4th-Lowest Rate Among Florida Counties of 100,000 or More
Flagler County’s crime rate in 2020 fell for the 11th straight year, though it’s never fallen as sharply as it has in the last three, when it fell by half since 2017. In 2020, Flagler had the fourth-lowest crime rate in the state for counties of 100,000 or more people, aided in part by the pandemic.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 22, 2021
The Palm Coast City Council discusses whether to support a county-initiated increase in the sales tax, a mayoral forum put on by pachyderms, and Croatia takes the field against Scotland in a long-shot hope to advance at Euro 2020, on its own Anti-Fascist Struggle Day.
Flagler County Graduates Second Leadership Academy Class
Flagler County Leadership Academy 2021 Graduates: Matt Adams; Jordan Butler; Holly Durrance; Nathan Hockenberry; Nealon Joseph; Joe King; Michael Lagasse; Gina Lemon; Trevor Martin; Christina Mortimer; Michael Orlando; Ashlee Ouellette; Darlene Pardiny; Tishia Peterson; Ryan Prevatt; Roy Sieger; Amy Stroger; and, Jason Wheeler.
Supreme Court Upholds Religious Liberty Over LGBTQ Rights and Nods to Bigger wins for Conservatives Ahead
Last week’s Supreme Court ruling is narrow, but it means that any unequal treatment of religious groups will be regarded as a violation of the First Amendment, even if it comes at the expense of the dignity of LGBTQ citizens.
State Workers Across the Nation Had a Holiday for Juneteenth, but Not in Florida
Even with short notice after the president signed the federal holiday into law, some states were able to manage authorizing a paid day off Friday for their state employees. Gov. Ron DeSantis could have granted state workers a paid holiday. He did not.
Reagan’s Legacy for Women
The Reagan “vision” for America, with its disproportionately negative impact on the female half, is now firmly embedded in Republican dogma. The 40th president envisioned a world where women would never be granted equality under the U.S. constitution, where abortion was illegal, and where equal employment laws would be history, argues Martha Burk.
Florida and Seven Other States, All Republican-Controlled, Enact Anti-Protest Laws
Eight states have passed laws cracking down on protest activity since Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the United States last summer, according to the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, which tracks such legislation. Similar bills are pending in 21 states, according to the Washington, D.C.-based center.
With Nod to Continuity, Not Salinas, County Appoints Heidi Petito Interim Administrator for 3 Months
The Flagler County Commission this evening appointed Heidi Petito interim manager for at least the next three months, or long enough to shepherd the county through budget season, but likely for much longer, the commission being uninterested in laboring over a successor. It was a surprise: Jorge Salinas, brought on as chief of staff in January, was widely expected to be named interim. Instead, he now says he is no longer interested in the top job.
Flagler Mosquito Control Launches Plan that would Expand Spraying to Entirety of County By 2026
The plan would expand taxing for mosquito control of property owners countywide. Currently a property with a taxable value of $150,000 pays around $24 a year for mosquito control. Currently the district boundaries include Palm Coast, Bunnell, Flagler Beach and Beverly Beach.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 21, 2021
The Flagler County Commission bids farewell to Administrator Jerry Cameron and likely appoints Jorge Salinas as its next interim, Flagler Beach’s golf course manager goes on trial for insurance fraud and DUI, a word about Al Hirschfeld, Obamacare and LBJ’s bombing angst.
Deputies and Firefighters Talk a Suicidal 17-Year-Old Girl Off the Ledge at Palm Coast Parkway and I-95
Four public safety agencies this morning cooperated in literally talking a 17-year-old Palm Coast girl off the ledge on the I-95 overpass at Palm Coast Parkway. The incident shut down I-95 northbound and the parkway’s eastbound traffic in the 6 and 7 o’clock hours this morning before it was resolved without harm to anyone.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 20, 2021
A few thoughts on Father’s Day from Roth’s Levov to Bertrand Russell. Last day for two plays at CRT and the Flagler Playhouse. Richard Rorty on how “Each new generation of students ought to think of American leftism as having a long and glorious history.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, Juneteenth 2021
It’s Juneteenth, but this being Flagler County, and an AACS virtual program aside, you wouldn’t know it. The stages at City Repertory Theatre and the Flagler Playhouse are lit up tonight. And it’s a day of superpowers at Euro 2020.
Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Conservation Program Releases 5 Endangered Sea Turtles in Ormond Beach
The fruits of The Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Conservation Program labor were realized with the release of five rehabbed sea turtles including two Kemp’s ridley and three greens yesterday in North Ormond Beach.
Woman Claiming She was Drugged and Raped Sues Palm Coast Doctor Gerard Abate; Criminal Investigation Open
A woman is suing Gerard Abate, a 67-year-old Palm Coast physician who runs his own medical consultancy, over claims he drugged, raped and exposed her to a sexually transmitted disease after meeting her on a dating site in 2017. A potential criminal case against Abate is pending, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
Florida Supreme Court Justices Again Reject Recreational Pot Amendment Despite Strict Regulatory Language
Justices, in a 5-2 decision, said a proposal by the political committee Sensible Florida included ballot wording that would mislead voters. By the same margin, the court in April rejected a recreational-pot proposal by the committee Make It Legal Florida.
The Weekend Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, June 18, 2021
UNF-Mednexus-Palm Coast’s new director Miriam Griffin is on Free For All Fridays, “All in the Timing” at the black box theater by the Flagler Auditorium, Frank Bruni says goodbye with a mea culpa.
Biden Signs Law Making Juneteenth a New Federal Holiday
“Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names—Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at the White House signing ceremony, noting that the White House was built by slaves. “And today, a national holiday.”
