Flagler County’s unemployment rate ticked up three decimal points to 4.8 percent in June as the labor force shrank a little and the unemployment rolls grew.
All Else
Gov. Scott Defends Plan to Appoint Three Supreme Court Justices in Last Days In Office
Those three members — justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince — are part of the court’s more-liberal majority, and some advocates are worried that Scott, a Republican, could tip the balance of power on the bench on his final day in office.
Weekend Briefing: Tour de Palm Coast, “Depth” at Blue Gallery, Play 60 at FPC, Price of Revenge, Calder
The annual cycling Tour de Palm Coast, dive-in movie at Frieda Zamba and by the surf in Flagler Beach, Alexander Calder’s birthday, a new show at Blue Gallery, Balzac on double-standards.
Palm Coast Council Will Decide Manager’s Future in Extraordinary Workshop on Aug. 3
The council is moving toward ending Jim Landon’s 10-year tenure. That workshop is expected to be followed with a special meeting in a matter of days to ratify whatever decision is reached on the 3rd.
Fraud Alert: Credit Card “Skimmers” Found at Four Palm Coast Gas Stations
The defrauding skimming devices have been found at gas stations along Palm Coast Parkway and Palm Harbor Parkway. There are no arrests and no suspects.
Thursday Briefing: Peers on the Pier, God Gab, Inspired Mic at Europa, JJ Graham’s Phoenix, Balzac’s Speculators
The Inspired Mic, Palm Coast’s unpredictable improv, is on at Europa, the Chamber hosts its annual Peers on the Pier party, how Trump does in fact own Obamacare now, and double-standards.
PAL and Flagler District Agree to Middle School Sports Programs, But Student Records Would Not Be Private
The Flagler Sheriff’s Police Athletic League will run several middle school sports programs this year, but participation is conditional on PAL having access to attendance, grades and progress reports.
Wednesday Briefing: Soderberg Kicks Off, Buckets of Tourism Grants, Blood Drive, Malcolm Gladwell
Blood drive in Bunnell, Nancy Soderberg launches her congressional campaign against Ron DeSantis, the tourism council considers dozens of grants, Malcolm Gladwell.
Shots Fired Outside Frieda Zamba Pool While Children’s Camp Was Still Active
A man fired two shots at a car leaving the parking lot outside Palm Coast’s Freeda Zamba pool Monday afternoon, next to Belle Terre Park. The pool was still open for another hour.
City Manager Landon’s Fate Teetering, Council Agrees to Special Meeting To Set New Course
The Palm Coast City Council will hold a special workshop likely next week to decide how to end Manager Jim Landon’s tenure as even his big severance package now appears less of an obstacle.
Tuesday Briefing: Mock Election All Day, Palm Coast’s Future, Food Truck Tuesday, Blood-and-Soil Nationalism
The Palm Coast City Council decides whether to add five cops to city streets and may talk about its manager’s future, a countywide mock election takes place at Supervisor’s office to show off new equipment.
With Sanford and Other Non-Mega Airport Posting Big Gains, Florida Passes Texas in Passengers
Florida recorded a nearly 4 percent growth in its overall outbound passenger count, from 78.07 million in 2015 to 81.17 million last year, according to annual FAA data.
Palm Coast Woman Arrested on Animal Cruelty Charge In Death of Dog and Neglect of Another
Georgia A. Rose, 39, of 16 Princess Luise Lane in Palm Coast, was arrested on a charge of cruelty to animals following the death of a young dog she had been caring for, and persistently neglectful conditions surrounding a second dog that survived.
Judge Kim C. Hammond, Legend From Seminole Gridiron to Flagler Courtroom, Dies at 72
Judge Kim C. Hammond was appointed to the bench by Gov. Bob Graham in 1979 and spent his entire judicial in Flagler County, where the county courthouse now bears his name.
Latest Republican Health Bill Cuts Costs At Expense of People With Pre-Existing Conditions
The proposal would let insurers sell health coverage outside the ACA exchanges with no provisions for prescription drugs, mental illness, hospitalization or almost any other benefit.
Monday Briefing: Al Hadeed’s Ethics Award, Rotary’s Dave Dalecki Award, Heat Index to 102, Porn at Work
County Attorney Al Hadeed receives a state ethics award, a volunteer of the year award is named for Dave Dalecki, too many people watch porn at work, Ben Carson is in Orlando.
Palm Coast Council Ready To Fire Or Push Out Jim Landon, Dismissing His Secretive “Succession” Ploy
Four Palm Coast City Council members have lost confidence in Manager Jim Landon and want him gone, with severance issues an obstacle. He wants to stay two more years and appoint his successor.
Alleged Meth Lab Busted on 2.5-Acre Property With 9 Buildings in Mondex, 5 Arrests
The search was conducted at 2345 Blueberry Street, netting the arrest of Gage Ryan Watts, 21, and four others before an extensive search operation that uncovered meth labs.
Trump Lawyer Marc Kasowitz Threatens Stranger in Emails: “Watch Your Back, Bitch”
Marc Kasowitz, President Trump’s personal attorney on the Russia case, threatened a stranger in a string of profanity-laden emails Wednesday night.
Weekend Briefing: Dawsey Speaks to Drug Court, Kids Fishing Clinic, Movie in the Park, Selfies Psycho
The bogus claims of Obamacare’s collapse, Flagler’s Sportsfishing Club’s Kids Clinic, Jeff Dawsey speaks to Drug Court, movie in the park, Santa poker run, Bach’s brassy Little Fugue.
Hypocrites on Crack
Thursday evening, Flagler Beach Commissioners Jane Mealy, Marshall Shupe and Joy McGrew flipped off voters and voted for a prohibition on medical pot dispensaries.
End of Citrus as We Squeezed It: Florida Harvest Is Lowest in Decades
Florida’s struggling citrus industry shows the orange crop falling 16 percent from the previous season — which, itself, had been at a five-decades low.
Countering 70% of Its Own Voters, Flagler Beach Prepares to Ban Medical Pot Dispensaries Outright
The City Commission this evening takes up an ordinance that would ban medical marijuana dispensaries anywhere in the city. The city fears not doing so would turn it into a pot hub.
Palm Coast Aldi Draws Hundreds Before Doors Open in Grocery Wars’ First Local Salvo
The Palm Coast opening of Aldi, the discount grocery store, generated unusual excitement and crowds this morning, signaling a coming disruption in the grocery-chain business.
Thursday Briefing: Aldi Opens, Heat Index to 103, Flagler Beach’s War on Medical Pot, Heretics
Grocery shoppers of the Palm Coast-Flagler world unite today as Aldi opens its SR100 store in earnest, Flagler Beach considers banning all medical pot dispensaries.
Fireworks Stolen in Burglary From Bunnell Shop Blamed For Severe Injuries to 2 Boys
Fireworks that had been altered or corrupted and that injured two boys, ages 7 and 8, were traced to a burglary from a shop off U.S. 1 operated by Brett Lyons for one month a year.
Phillip Haire, Accused of Shooting at Cop and Parents, Threatened a Hit on Judge Moore-Stens
Palm Coast’s Phillip Haire threatened Judge Moore-Stens’s life claiming she had put out a hit on him, and that she was scared because he’d flicked her off at his first appearance.
Wednesday Briefing: Phillip Haire Pre-Trial, Thoreau at 200, President’s Service Awards to COPs, Blood Donations
Phillip Haire, the Palm Coast man accused of shooting at his parents and a cop, has his first pre-trial, “Creatures of the Black Lagoon” is screened in a Centennial celebration, cultural grants, Thoreau turns 200.
There’s No Good Reason for Your Boss to Make 347 Times What You Do
It’s business executives through outsized CEO pay — not movie stars, professional athletes, or heiresses — who grabbed the dollars that once flowed to the American worker.
Lawyer For Inmate Scheduled To Be Executed Accuses Pam Bondi of Hoodwinking Him
A lawyer for a Death Row inmate scheduled to be executed next month is accusing Attorney General Pam Bondi of hoodwinking him into agreeing to a delay in a U.S. Supreme Court review.
Discount Grocer Aldi Opens Its Palm Coast Store Thursday on State Road 100
Aldi’s prices are at significant discount as stores forego frills and luxuries for Aldi-brand products, customers who bag their own groceries and Costco-like shelving systems.
Tuesday Briefing: Domestic Violence Task Force, Extra Deputies, Flagler Beach Blueprint, Heat Index to 105
Sheriff Rick Staly makes his pitch to the Palm Coast council for five more cops, the School Board talks about an agreement with UF to accommodate IB online classes.
A Rape Allegation at Heart of Divorce Between Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland And Sheriff’s Ex-Chief Deputy
Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland in court filings alleges ex-Flagler Sheriff Chief Deputy David O’Brien repeatedly raped her while she was unconscious in 2013, shortly before their separation.
Faint Glimmer On Bleak Landscape: Amounts of Opioids Prescribed Falling Since 2010
Still, the amount in 2015 is three times higher than at the turn of the century, and there are wide disparities in prescription trends across the country.
Monday Briefing: Flagler Sheriff Centennial, Heat Index 101 to 105, County Budget, Transitional Housing
The Sheriff’s Office marks its centennial with a gathering of many living ex-sheriffs, the Bunnell City Commission hears an appeal objecting to transitional housing, Thoreau’s bi-centennial.
Elections Supervisor’s Plea to Flagler Voters: Stay Registered Despite Commission’s Data Grab
In an open letter to Flagler County’s registered voters, Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart says the federal commission’s data grab through the state should not diminish their trust in the system.
Flagler Voters Opting to Cancel Registration in Response to Trump Commission’s Sweeping Records Request
Flagler County through the state will comply with Trump’s federal commission request for vast amounts of voter registration information, but the decision is causing a backlash.
Why The Obsession Against Smokable Medical Pot? John Morgan Wants To Know.
Morgan bankrolled the medical-marijuana ballot initiative and repeatedly threatened to sue over smoking, which he says was permitted in the amendment supported by more than 71 percent of Florida voters last fall.
Owner of Group Home on Palm Coast’s Braddock Lane Faces 5 Felony Counts for Elderly Neglect
Two residents at the group home had to be hospitalized and three evacuated from a house where the air conditioning hadn’t worked for two days, and the indoor temperature hovered around 91.
Plane Forced to Land in Field Off County Road 304, Two People Escape Injuries
A single-engine plane was forced to land in a vacant field off of County Road 304 at 10:45 this morning, with two people on board. Neither was injured.
Weekend Briefing: Heat Index at 103 to 107, First Friday in Flagler Beach, Getting to “Work” at FCAL, Hemingway
Too much heat Friday, six original artists at the Flagler County Art League, Luce on liberalism, a sentencing for food stamps fraud, immigration’s effect on the United States.
It’s About “Work”: Palm Coast Artists Hold Their Heads Up In New Art League Exhibit
An exhibit opening at the Flagler County Art League Saturday and sponsored by the Gargiulo Art Foundation challenged six artists to show their work mettle and make do with heads in two hours.
A School Board Will Sue the State Over Charter-Tilted Education Bill Most Districts Opposed
The new law overhauls swaths of state education, dealing with everything from mandatory recess for elementary school students and standardized testing to charter school funding and teacher bonuses.
Thursday Briefing: Flashing European Village, Lincolnville Brass Band, North Korean Nightmare Scenario
European Village flashes its name, the Lincolnville Brass Band at St. Augustine’s weekly summer outdoors concerts, North Korea’s missiles, Why instruments don’t all sound alike.
School District Advised to Cut Down on Car Riders and Push Bus Riding Instead, For Safety
Detailed studies for each of the Flagler district’s elementary and middle schools reveal problematic safety issues with too many car riders, too few sidewalks, and disobeyed traffic laws.
Armed Robbery at Space Coast Credit Union on Palm Coast’s Leanni Way; Robber Gets Away
The man who robbed the bank got away, either on foot or in a vehicle, triggering an intense search localized around the Bank and Palm Coast’s B-Section.
Wednesday Briefing: Heat Index 99 to 103, Secretly Recording an Assailant, Trudeau for President, McCarthy’s Road
A Lawyer for Aaron A. Whitley, the 42-year-old Palm Coast man accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl, will argue that her secret recording of his alleged actions was illegal, Cormac McCarthy’s Road.
Your Papers Please: Trump Commission Demands Massive Amounts of Voter Data
A Trump commission has asked all 50 states for copies of their voter records which often include names, addresses and ages. The commission has said it intends to make the information widely available.
At Flagler Beach Pier, A Modest Re-Dedication For a Truncated Treasure
Officials from three governments gathered Saturday morning for a warm-hearted ribbon-cutting at the beleaguered Flagler Beach Pier, with eyes on a future structure.
Flagler Beach Again Offers Free Parking And Shuttles On and Off Island All Day July 4
Flagler Beach made arrangements to provide free parking at the Food Lion on SR100 and free shuttle service in and out of the city from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4, with additional free parking at Santa Maria del Mar Church.