A helicopter, sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers are searching for Doreen Marie O’Connor, 50, in Palm Coast. She is believed to be suicidal.
All Else
Three Vying for 2 Seats on Bunnell Commission Take On Policing, Code Enforcement and Pot
Incumbents Bill Baxley and Elbert Tucker and challenger Jan Reeger appeared Monday in the only candidate forum ahead of the March 15 election, responding to a range of questions that showed them more in agreement than in opposition.
Tuesday Briefing: A Raise for Jim Landon, Safer Bus Stops, Early Voting Continues
The Palm Coast City Council will discuss a raise for city manager Jim Landon, still the highest paid city or county executive in local government, along with a few other matters.
Utilities’ Proposed “Smart Solar” Amendment Draws Smarter Questions From Justices
A utility-backed measure intended to put existing solar-energy regulations into the state Constitution drew indications of skepticism and support Monday from Florida Supreme Court justices.
Weekend Blotter: Accusations of Child Abuse And of Assault on a Pregnant Woman
Gunnar Galambos, 22, is accused of strangulation battery and child abuse involving a 5-week-old. Anthony Vangordon, 20, is accused of assaulting the pregnant mother of his child.
Flagler Hikes Together: “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk” Kicks Off Annual Readers’ Events
Flagler Reads Together, the annual March event, began Friday with Ben Montgomery speaking of his book, “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk,” this year’s featured title, before 84 people at the Flagler County Public Library.
Monday Briefing: Bunnell Candidate Forum, Early Primary Voting, Louis CK and Beck On Heil Trump
Early voting for the presidential primary continues in Flagler at three polling sites, the three Bunnell City Commission candidates vying for two seats in their March election are in their only forum this evening, and Louis CK and Glenn Beck each call Trump Hitler.
Republicans On Crack
The crack-up is upon us. The locks have popped. The insane asylums have emptied. The loons are casting ballots. And Mitt Romney’s string quartet is arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Troubled Florida Department of Corrections Asks for 734 More Positions for Security. Lawmakers Say No.
The department has been reeling from a series of reports about issues such as contraband smuggling and abuse of inmates. The new jobs were part of an effort by the department to have corrections officers work eight-hour shifts instead of 12-hour shifts.
SWAT Team Serves Search Warrant at House of Man at Center of Puppy-Shooting Controversy
Neighbors have accused Miles Smith, 31, whose house was being searched, of shooting a puppy and texting an image of it, dead in his bathtub, to the dog’s former owners. Smith denies he shot the dog.
Flagler’s Athletic Directors Concerned By Proposed Law Facilitating Student-Athletes’ Transfers
The bill, SB 684, which has drawn little attention, would ease the path for student-athletes looking to transfer, which would benefit big schools at the expense of smaller schools.
Florida House Overwhelmingly Approves Use of Full-Strength Pot for Terminally Ill, 99-16
The measure approved Thursday, in part, would likely lead to more licenses for nurseries that would be able to grow, process and distribute the full-strength and non-euphoric types of pot.
U.S. Economy Adds Robust 242,000 Jobs, Leaving Unemployment Rate at 4.9%
After a relatively weaker December, when only 172,000 jobs were created, the job market resumed the late 1990s-like pace it has maintained for most of the past two years.
Weekend Briefing: Early Voting Begins Saturday, Flagler Reads Together Kick-Off, Volusia Decriminalizes Pot Bits
Flagler Reads Together kicks off today with Ben Montgomery, author of the chosen book, at the public library, early voting in the presidential primary begins Saturday.
Ex-Flagler Superintendent Delbrugge’s Son and Daughter Arrested For Stealing Girl Scout’s Cookie Money
Nicholas Delbrugge, 20, and his sister Ashley Winters, both former residents of Flagler County and the son and daughter of former Flagler School Superintendent Bill Delbrugge, were arrested this evening in Deltona and charged with snatching a a girl scout’s cookie money from her hands four days earlier.
District and Palm Coast Will Redesign Some Bus Stops in 1st Step To Counter Crashes Involving Children
Some of the county’s 600 bus stops will be redesigned to include a $1,200 “pad” where students should wait for buses, while an education campaign will target students in elementary and middle schools.
Gov. Scott Sought $1 Billion in Tax Cuts. Senate Cuts It Down to $129 Million.
The new tax-cut package will combine with about $290 million earmarked to hold down local property taxes that would otherwise go into the state’s school-funding formula.
Thursday Briefing: Palm Coast Fire Chief Beadle Is Elks’s Citizen of the Year, Romney Panic, Dr. Seuss Night at Rymfire
The Elks name Palm Coast Fire Chief Mike Beadle their Citizen of the Year, Mitt Romney on the end of the world as Republicans know it, Dr. Seuss takes Rymfire, Samatha Bee explains the war on women.
With Curt Emphasis on “NOW,” Palm Coast Mayor Wants Radio Answers from County
For Netts, usually a model of decorum and grace, it was an unusually demanding letter over an issue that has created simemring tensions between the county and city managers for months.
In a First, Flagler’s Early Voters Will get Ballots Printed On Demand, Saving Money and Paper
The old approach of printing surplus ballots creates costly redundancies and, eventually waste: unused ballots are discarded. That approach will still be used on election days.
Wednesday Briefing: Avoid Old Kings Road in F Section, Centra Care’s Grand Opening, Cop Shootings in LA
Old Kings Road’s southbound lane just south of Forest Grove Drive will close most of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, another groundbreaking for a Florida Hospital Flagler facility.
A Dog Is Shot Dead in Palm Coast’s W-Section, Triggering Murky Investigation–and Fear
The Flagler County sheriff’s office is investigating the strange case of a three-and-a-half-month-old puppy killed apparently by gunshot sometime late Saturday or early Sunday as accusations fly between two neighboring households in Palm Coast’s W Section.
2015 Flagler Jail Bookings and Sheriff’s Crime and Incident Reports (Archived)
Archived 2015 Flagler County jail bookings, day and night shift commanders’ crime and incident reports investigated by Sheriff’s deputies and archive.
Gary Smith, 53, of Palm Bay, Killed in 2-Vehicle Crash on I-95 in Brevard
Gary Smith, 53, of Palm Bay, was killed and Justin Looman, 29, of West Melbourne was seriously injured in a crash involving the men’s two Jeeps on I-95 in Brevard early the morning of March 1.
In Major Shift, Florida Senate Panel Approves Use of “Full-Strength” Pot for Terminally Ill
The bill, in part, would likely lead to more licenses for nurseries that would be able to grow, process and distribute the full-strength and non-euphoric types of pot.
Tuesday Briefing: School Board Haggles Over Talking Rules, Little League Pitches to Palm Coast Council
The Flagler County School Board will hold a refresher on its own parliamentary rules following the controversial end to a previous meeting’s discussion. Palm Coast Little League appear before the city council, also in a follow-up to a controversy late last year.
Firearm Flagler: 3 Separate Gun Incidents Land 1 in Hospital With Gunshot Wound and 2 in Jail
A Palm Coast man shot at his wife and son through their front door on Kathleen Trail, a man was taken to Florida Hospital Flagler with a gunshot wound to his leg after a Seminole Woods party, and an ex-boyfriend allegedly threatened to shoot his girlfriend as he held a 9 mm gun during an argument.
FPC Will Launch a Firefighter-EMT Academy, Filling a Recruiting Gap for Fire Departments
The Fire Leadership Academy is designed to appeal to students who may be losing interest in school while giving the county’s and cities’ fire departments a reliable recruiting ground of new firefighter-EMTs.
“Spotlight,” the Oscars’ Best-Picture Upset Winner, Gets Investigative Journalism Right
Unlike many films about reporters, “Spotlight,” about the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sex abuse by priests, accurately depicts the frustrations and joys of breaking a big story, from the drudgery of spreadsheets to the electric thrill of revelatory interviews.
Monday Briefing: The Flagler Youth Orchestra’s Strings Around the World Concert, Reporting Poverty
The 350 musicians of the Flagler Youth Orchestra take the stage at the Flagler Auditorium tonight at 7 p.m. for their 32nd concert, a new book about evictions is a shocking revelation about poverty in America.
William Lavender, 92, Dies in Wreck as Car Crashes Into McDonald’s on Belle Terre
William Lavender, a 92-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s P-Section, died of a heart attack Sunday afternoon as his car crashed into a McDonald’s, slightly injuring three patrons.
Florida Court Clears Way for 24-Hour Waiting Period Before an Abortion
Florida joins 27 other states with waiting periods. Opponents say the law would impose hardships on women seeking abortions because it would force them to miss work, lose wages and pay for additional child care and travel.
Flagler’s Aveo Pandering: The Artful Way To Do a Groundbreaking, and the Bogus Way
It was rank manipulation when Aveo Engineering, county government and Rick Scott pretended to break ground on a factory at the Flagler County airport three years ago. It was never built.
Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants: Flagler Sheriff Says Yes, But Local Opinion Is Divided
A dozen states have legalized issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, primarily as a safety measure, but Flagler officials reflect state opinion that has prevented such legalization from taking place in the Sunshine State.
Weekend Briefing: Community Cats Conference, Bands Showdown, “Unnecessary Farce” at Playhouse
An unusual conference of cat volunteers and caretakers at the Humane Society, 45 concert bands at the Flagler Auditorium, a new play at the Flagler Playhouse.
With 3 Weeks to Go Before Florida Primary, Trump Is Thumping Rubio By 16 Points, on Rubio’s Turf
The New York real-estate mogul holds a commanding 44-28 percent lead over Rubio among likely GOP primary voters, the Quinnipiac University poll found. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas came in third with 12 percent.
Chamber Crystal: How Pot, Trump, and Independents Will Affect Elections in Flagler and Florida
Marian Johnson of the Florida Chamber of Commerce gave a Flagler County group of candidates and business interests an overview of the election season ahead Thursday at the Hilton Garden Inn.
Palm Coast Concedes: Keeping Golf Course At Taxpayers’ Expense No Longer Tenable
The Palm Coast City Council wants to explore leasing out the Palm Harbor Golf Club and the city tennis center, or possibly managing both itself, rather than keep pouring taxpayer subsidies into operations that have lost money for eight years.
Thursday Briefing: Chick-Fil-A Wants a Beautification Award, The Chamber’s Take on Florida Politics, Foxman’s Drug Court
Chick-Fil-A thinks it should get an award for handsome landscaping on Palm Coast Parkway (though city regulations also deserve credit), and a Florida Chamber of Commerce adviser talks politics at the Hilton Garden Inn at noon.
Put Away Your Glocks, Backyardigans:
Gov. Scott Signs Bill Banning Urban Gun Play
Scott’s signature Wednesday comes nearly five years after the governor signed into law a measure that voided all local firearms restrictions.
School District’s Decision to Demolish Old ITT Building Triggers Upheaval Behind the Scenes
A board member pledged to call the attorney general over the improper end of the discussion surrounding the 3-2 vote last week, and the company picked to demolish the building lost the license enabling it to do so.
Too Many Questions Beg The Answer: End the Death Penalty in Florida
Rick Scott shouldn’t plan on signing any more death warrants soon, if ever, argues Martin Dyckman, even as the Florida House “cured” what the U.S. Supreme Court specifically found wrong with Florida’s death penalty.
With the Wag of a Tail: 9-Year-Old at Imagine Publishes Her First Book of Stories
Anjali Anabel Tomerlin, a third grader at Imagine School at Town Center in Palm Coast, has written, illustrated and published her first book, “With The Wag Of A Tail: Boston Terriers.”
For 2nd Time in 4 Days, Deputies Disarm Assailant at Gunpoint, This Time a 15 Year Old
A 15-year-old boy rushed a sheriff’s deputy with a knife in an R-Section confrontation Tuesday, before he dropped the knife at gunpoint. The incident had followed a confrontation between the boy and his grandparents.
Wednesday Briefing: No Salary Hike for Council, Walesa in Miami, the Devil in Ted Cruz
A rather dull day in Flagler when the most notable event is the county’s economic development council self-critiquing its website. In Miami, however, Lech Walesa will be talking at Florida International University.
Bee Gees Tribute Band Stayin’ Alive Returns to Flagler Auditorium March 4
Back by popular demand one of the world’s most popular Bee Gees tribute band, Stayin’ Alive, returns to the Flagler Auditorium on March 4 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $29 for adults, $18 for youth.
As Palm Coast Surveys Residents Yet Again, For $13,000, Council Members Question the Point
Several council members criticized the latest survey of Palm Coast residents–its small sample size, its limited uses, and whether it should be an annual exercise anymore.
Citing Home Rule, Bunnell Opposes State Move Forcing Cities to Alter Election Schedules
Voter turnout in Bunnell city elections has been notoriously low. A state proposal aims to change that by forcing cities like Bunnell to adopt different election schedules. The Bunnell City Commission is opposed.
The Agony of Hillary Clinton
This impressive, remarkably intelligent woman just doesn’t have the feel for politics that is demanded at the highest levels. For one thing, she’s simply not a very good politician.
Tuesday Briefing: Entrepreneur Night at New Europa, More Bottle Club Fizz, Hotel California
Entrepreneur Night kicks off at 5:30 p.m. at the New Europa at European Village, the Palm Coast council again agonizes over bottle clubs and its beleaguered golf and tennis operations.