Authorities arrested Jorge Rodriguez, 61, and charged him with marijuana cultivation at 15 Wheatfield Drive in Palm Coast, where some 48 plants with a potential street value of $86,000 were discovered Monday.
All Else
For FPL Customers, Bills $20 Higher in 2013 for Nuke-Plant Construction That May Never Happen
Flagler County customers of FPL will pay an additional $1.69 a month, or $20 for the year in 2013, for nuclear-plant construction slated for the distant future, and that may never take place. It’s the third year in a row that customers are paying those up-front costs.
Out-of-Control Car Dives Into a Pond Off I-95 in a Spectacular 2-Vehicle Wreck, Hurting Two
Amber Smith of Palm Coast lost control of her Honda on I-95 this morning, slammed into another car, and flew into a large pond 10 feet below the road level, but was able to crawl out of the half-submerged car and get rescued. An intricate salvage operation ensued.
Feed Flagler Recap: $17,000 in Donations; Johnston Reclaims Fund-Raising Trophy
Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston raised $5,001, or $1 more than Flagler County Sheriff Don Fleming, thanks to a last-minute, $1 donation from George Hanns, the county commissioner.
WNZF’s David Ayres, Voice of Flagler County, Is Named One of Nation’s Top Radio Managers
David Ayres, named one of Radio Ink’s 50 top radio managers in America, steered away from his parents’ tool and die shop to take on a career in radio and TV. He’s is ending one of his more successful years after overseeing the expansion of Flagler County Broadcasting to a fourth radio station.
Natural Health Fair, Free Event, Hispanic American Club, 5 Commercial Court, Palm Coast
Natural Health Fair Join Us! Saturday, December 1st, 2012 Location: Hispanic American Club 5 Commercial Court, Palm Coast 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. There’s no entrance fee! Exhibitors will focus on different aspects of health and wellness for children, adults and seniors. There will be free giveaways and raffle prizes. Exhibitors include: Present Moment, […]
Voting Time Again as State Asks Floridians To Click on Their Favorite License Plate
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is asking Floridians to vote on one of four choices, online, starting today and until Dec. 14. The redesigned plate with the most votes replaces existing plates beginning in 2014.
Strings on Speed: Bowfire Brings Its Holiday Blaze to the Flagler Auditorium
Thursday, Bowfire returns to the Flagler Auditorium, this time with its new Holiday Heart Strings show, giving Christmas favorites the Celtic, Blue Grass, Rock, Texas Swing, Gypsy and Klezmer treatment.
Mocking the Pledge of Allegiance
A reporter is fired after only reluctantly mentioning that a city councilman refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in the latest example of ignorance replacing the very values the Pledge stands for, values that apply especially for those who choose to sit it out.
Your Homeland Security At Work: $430 Million on Radios No One Knows How to Use
DHS has spent $430 million over the past nine years to provide radios tuned to a common, secure channel to 123,000 employees across the country. Problem is, no one seems to know how to use them.
The Conservative Case Against Compromise
A Democrat and one a conservative say Republicans in Congress need to compromise so the government can “get things done,” and that it is better to do something than nothing. No. It is not, argues Lloyd Brown.
Get Set for Higher Power Bills in January as FPL Bids for Annual Increases Through 2016
A house consuming the typical 1,000 kWh would see its base monthly rate increase by $5.23, but if a state settlement is approved with FPL, there would actually be no change in net costs to customers in the coming year, but the settlement would also ensure that there would be rate increases every year for three straight years thereafter.
Rubio’s Creationism, Boys’ Body Image, a Firing Over the Pledge of Allegiance: Five Reads Friday
Marco Rubio doesn;t know how old Planet Earth is, boys are becoming as self-obsessed about their bodies as girls, a reporter is fired for not reporting a politician’s refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, a Hitchens post-script on waterboarding, and those jail bookings.
Palm Coast City Council’s Bill Lewis: Two Minutes, Six Errors, Countless Sneers
When Palm Coast City Councilman Bill Lewis took to the floor of a council meeting to correct a fact in a FlaglerLive column, which had already been corrected, he committed more than six errors of his own, including about his own personal history. Lewis’s errors bear correcting as publicly as he committed them.
In a Day of Inaugurals, 3 Governments Swear In New Members and 2 Elect New Chairmen
The Flagler County Commission, the school board and the Palm Coast City Council all either welcomed new members or shuffled their chairmanships in an annual ritual with a mixture of ceremony and consequences.
Gus Ajram, Embattled Bulldog Drive Business Owner, Collapses in Outburst Before Council
Ajram and City Manager Jim Landon have battled over Ajram’s property on Bulldog Drive for several years, in what became a personal showdown. Rather than acquire the property, the city is now diverting Bulldog Drive, at a cost significantly greater than the difference it was unwilling to pay Ajram in negotiations.
Election Post-Mortem
Democracy, or Rule of the People, is still the name of the ridiculously idealistic vision of organizing all of the infinite variations of the delightful human tadpole into a semblance of a community that functions nearly as well as a coterie of Prairie Dogs. We aren’t there yet, but we’re working on it.
14 Days On, Allen West Concedes
Thwarted in attempts to change the outcome of a razor thin race, U.S. Rep Allen West early Tuesday conceded to his Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy. The concession increases Democratic pick-ups in the House to eight, for a total of 200 seats to the GOP’s 233.
Gen. Petraeus’s Phony Heroism and Obama’s Inner LBJ: Six Reads Monday
David Petraeus as a phony hero for a phony war, Republicans’ phony math, Obama’s yin-yang as JFK and LBJ, the mounting massacre in Gaza, family leave’s better countries, trick or treating cocaine, Donald Trump’s boorishness on tape, and the Flagler County jail bookings.
The Palm Coast City Council’s Arrogance Problem
The secret, undemocratic way the Palm Coast City Council went about picking its latest unelected member is the latest disturbing example of a council’s contempt for the public, and of the maneuverings of a manager with a Donald Trump complex.
Round-Up: Election Fallout Shakes Up Florida Capitol
Republicans and Democrats began to weigh the fallout from the messy conclusion of the fall campaign, when voters were forced to stand in line for hours on end in some precincts to cast their ballots. But agreement on what caused the problem, much less how to fix it, was already proving difficult to find.
The Language of Class Warfare from Shaw’s “Pygmalion” to Sbordone’s Repertory Theatre
Language as class still has its cliques, as do all prejudices. It’s also a central theme of Pygmalion, the newest production of an old classic opening tonight (and running through Sunday) at John Sbordone’s City Repertory Theatre, at Hollingsworth Gallery.
Do Prisoners Have a Constitutional Right to Dental Floss?
In Florida, five inmates have separately sued Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw in federal court, claiming deprivation of federally protected civil rights through the denial of dental floss. The sheriff is denying it to them. Angel Castillo argues the sheriff is wrong.
Astronaut Suni Williams Enthralls 1,000 Flagler Students in a Ham Radio Chat From ISS
Suni Williams, one of the most decorated American astronauts, was 210 miles above Florida as she fielded some 20 questions for 10 minutes from students before a packed audience of 1,000 at Indian Trails Middle School today, in a thrilling, old-fashioned hook up made possible by the Flagler Palm Coast Amateur Radio Club.
In a Far More Challenging Year, Feed Flagler Struggles to Meet Needs and Expectations
Despite much lower monetary and food donations than last year, Feed Flagler intends to serve nearly 4,000 free meals and distribute more than 500 boxes of free food at 12 locations across the county, as needs have intensified. The organization is still accepting donations.
Back to Blood: Cuban Support for Democratic Ticket in Florida Was at a Historic High
Cuban-Americans voted for the Democratic candidate in historically high numbers in last week’s presidential election, a continuation of a years-long trend that could be eroding the GOP’s standing among a core portion of the party’s base in Florida.
Taking on Challenges and Skeptics, Palm Coast Arts Foundation Plants Grand Design
The Palm Coast Arts Foundation, lease finally in hand, plans to raise up to $7 million and build an events venue in Town Center, the first phase of a much bigger plan that would culminate in a $30 million, 2,300-seat performing arts center. It faces a tide of difficulties in a fractured arts community.
Protected: 27 Juillet
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Corporal Punishment: When a Religious Exemption Becomes a License to Brutalize
A harrowing recent series in the Tampa Bay Times detailed how for 30 years a handful of homes for troubled youth have used a misguided exemption in Florida law to get away with all manner of abuses by using religion as a shield.
K-8 System, Choice, Rezoning: Flagler School District Bracing for Reforms Affecting All
Major changes are coming to Flagler County schools: Rezoning, reforming and rethinking the district’s physical and intellectual boundaries. By the time it’s done—or at least implemented—students, teachers and parents will have all felt the ground beneath their feet move a little, and in some cases a lot.
Awarding Just $20,000 in Arts Grants Again, Palm Coast Agrees to Rethink Its Stinginess
Palm Coast is willing to subsidize its money-losing tennis center to the tune of $240,000 in the last two years, but is awarding just $20,000 to support just nine arts and culture organizations. Some council members (calling the small amount “a joke”) want to change that.
Don’t Expect Much Change in Stand Your Ground Law as Scott Panel Completes Work
A group tasked by Gov. Rick Scott with reviewing the state’s “stand your ground” self defense law appears unlikely to recommend any major revamping of the statute, although it will make suggestions for additional study by lawmakers.
Incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford Wants 401(k) Plans to Replace State Pensions
Calling the current pension system “old and archaic,” incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford said Tuesday he wants to revamp the state retirement program for new employees and make it more like the private sector.
Low Premiums, High Deductibles, Higher Risks: The Health Plan Gamble
The gamble of lower health premiums in exchange for higher deductibles is appealing, but people are losing the gamble and getting stuck with insurmountable expenses even as high-deductible plans are becoming more frequent by default.
David Ferguson, a Conservative Business Consultant, is Appointed to Palm Coast Council
David Ferguson, a 60-year-old business consultant, will fill out the two years remaining in Frank Meeker’s term, ensuring that the panel will remain an all-male fraternity until at least 2014, when the seat is one of two up for election. That of Bill Lewis, also an appointee, is the other.
Not Dead, Not Dying, and Still Shopping, But Humbled By Cancer’s Side-Effects
Almost two months into her cancer treatment, Jo Ann Nahirny–who faces surgery Tuesday–surveys the long list of side-effects, good and bad, that she’s endured, from crushing bills to the moving affection of students and friends, and am ever- loyal husband.
Obama and the Southern Tradition
Mitt Romney and his diminishing white-male-America coalition wanted to put Barack Obama in his place. He failed. But certain realities of southern tradition endure, as does a racism in American politics that coursed through the 2012 election.
Rivets on Ice: “Titanic,” The Musical, Sinks And Rises at the Flagler Auditorium Tuesday
Winner of five Tony Awards, “Titanic,” the musical–one of the most expensive Broadway productions ever–brings its sets and stories for a one-night engagement at the Flagler Auditorium Tuesday evening.
Amendment Shock: A More Tolerant Nation Is By-Passing Smug, Regressive Florida
Many of Tuesday’s 176 popular referendum that passed speak of a more tolerant, more freedom-loving nation. Except in Florida, where the Legislature’s 11 proposals put the state at odds with national trenbds–and the Florida Legislature at odds with the people it claims to represent.
Criticism Mounts as Florida’s Voting Process Shames and Embarrasses Again
Most of the state experienced problem-free voting. But in Miami-Dade County, many voters remained in line long after the race was called, with some voters reportedly waiting for more than six hours to cast a ballot on Election Day. The delay was despite the fact that half the state’s voters had already voted before Tuesday.
Global Warming and Hurricane Sandy’s Wake-Up Call
The frightening consequences of climate disruption that scientists have warned us about for decades are already here. Sandy is only the latest and most devastating incident in a pattern of extreme weather that’s become impossible to ignore, argues the Sierra Club’s Michael Brune.
How Companies Mine Your Facebook Profile, Tweets and Posts, and Sell Your Habits
Some companies record — and then resell — your screen names, web site addresses, interests, hometown and professional history, and how many friends or followers you have, according to a report released this week. Some companies also collect and analyze information about users’ “tweets, posts, comments, likes, shares, and recommendations.”
Florida Elections Roundup: Celebrations and Surprises for Democrats, Glumness for GOP
Florida Democrats hadn’t celebrated much since, well, President Obama won the state in 2008. But that changed Tuesday. Obama carried Florida again on the way to a second term in the White House, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson easily won re-election, and Democratic candidates picked up legislative and congressional seats.
At Hollingsworth Gallery:
Richard Schreiner, Artist of the Year
Richard Schreiner, the Louis CK of painting, influenced many artists in Palm Coast through Hollingsworth gallery, where he worked until his death in July. Naming him the 2012 Artist iof the Year was an easy choice for the Gargiulo Art Foundation. A new exhibit, “Richard and Friends,” celebrates his work and those he influenced, at Hollingsworth through November.
Bunnell Manager Martinez’s Pay Raise Blocked As a Commissioner Calls Him “Overpaid”
Bunnell Manager Armando Martinez had already received a 5 percent “cost of living” raise, but was eligible for a merit raise, bringing his salary to $104,470. A split commission blocked the increase.
Palm Coast Responds With Open Hearts as Hurricane Sandy Relief Trucks Fill Up Fast
Susan and Alan Wheeler wanted Palm Coast and Flagler residents to help fill a 20-foot box truck with emergency goods and drive it to Keansburg, N.J. By Friday, they’d filled up two trucks and were likely going to need a third, as Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts challenged the city and the county to fill it up, too, by evening, while Wheeler said overflows might go to Feed Flagler.
How Flagler County Democrats Killed Milissa Holland’s Shot at a Florida House Seat
Dissension, dysfunction and confusion within the Democratic Party structure proved to be fatal obstacles for Milissa Holland, a popular Democrat who lost her bid for a Florida House seat by a slim margin.
State Attorney Files Felony Charge Against Timothy Draper for Shooting a Gun at Public Park
Jeremy Blackwelder and Timothy Draper were riding around Herschel King Park off Colbert Lane late the night of Oct. 29, with two women and a child, when Draper allegedly fired a .22 from a Chevy’s window, not far from the Grand Haven community.
Daytona State Launches Social Media Course This Spring, Available Online (Naturally)
Daytona State College is offering Social Media Marketing, a college-credit, stand-alone course launching this spring semester, along with a parallel course, Advertising. Both courses will be offered online.
Central Florida Helps Democrats Erode GOP’s Legislative Majority as State Realigns
For the first time in three decades, Democrats get a net increase in Florida Senate seats. They reduced the GOP majority in the house from 81-38 to 76-44, despite redistricting, and the state’s direction appears no longer to favor Republicans as easily as it has.