Florida Highway Patrol Homicide Investigator Cpl. Steven Howard, a 13-year veteran, was on patrol just north of Palm Coast Parkway when he lucked by a driver in severe distress, seizing or possibly having a stroke, and was able to immediately intervene and ensure the dispatch of a rescue unit. The woman survived.
All Else
Palm Coast OK’s 3-Year Policing Deal With Sheriff, and Extra Protection For City Commander
The $2.6 million contract for 38 deputies leaves costs virtually unchanged over the past five years. The contract builds in special protections for Mark Carman, the Palm Coast Precinct commander, as a buffer against Sheriff Manfre’s mercurial ways with staffing and reorganizations.
Youth Leadership Flagler’s 2nd Class Looking For 10th-Grade Applicants
The Flagler County Chamber of Commerce is looking for 10 future leaders of Flagler County to join the organization’s Youth Leadership Program next fall. The application deadline for current 10th graders is March 14, 2014.
Supreme Court Clears Medical Marijuana Pot Proposal; Floridians Vote On It November 4
In a significant victory for advocates of the initiative, a divided Florida Supreme Court on Monday ruled 4-3 that the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana passes legal muster and can now appear on the November election ballot, giving Floridians a direct say. Polls have shown a 3-to-1 majority of Floridians favoring legalization.
Virulent Flu Season Aside, Potent RSV Bug Is Taking a Toll on Florida Children
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, is serious and highly contagious. There’s no vaccination around to keep your little one from catching it. And its seasonal duration is longer in Florida than in any other state, stretching from mid-August to March.
Medical Marijuana Initiative Gets Needed Signature to Make November Ballot, Pending Court Clearance
With 710,508 validated signatures statewide in Florida— 27, 359 more than the required 683,149 — and reaching signature requirements in the bare minimum of 14 congressional districts, People United for Medical Marijuana beat a Feb. 1 deadline for submitting petitions to the state.
Do You TALKiT? Palm Coast Venture Looks to Revolutionize Social Media With Voice App
TALKiT, a new app created by Palm Coast’s Curtis Ceballos and that will launch on Memorial Day, aims to give voice to texting and to revolutionize the social media landscape with an innovation that has no rivals as yet. The venture is catching the attention of Flagler County’s economic development department.
Florida Is 7th Worst State For Lax Highway Safety Laws, Including Teen Protection
Florida is “missing rear primary enforcement seat belt law, all-rider motorcycle helmet law, booster seat law, 4 of the 7 teen driving provisions, an ignition interlock law, and an all-driver text messaging restriction,” according to a new report.
Crain-Brady’s Disqualification In Bunnell Is Final, But Errors Were Far From Hers Alone
Bunnell City Commissioner Jenny Crain-Brady disqualified herseolf from the March 4 election when she failed to meet a fee deadline last week, but the error unraveled a series of errors and misjudgments that run through Bunnell’s election process, and go as far as documentation released by the Supervisor of Elections.
Scott’s River of Green Swells as He Asks for $130 Million for Everglades and South Florida
The proposal comes a day after Scott announced he would recommend $55 million to restore and maintain the state’s natural springs, boosting money for the water bodies in Central and North Florida by $45 million from the current year.
California Sharply Improves Regulatory Oversight of Assisted-Living Facilities
The wide-ranging array of proposed regulations would mandate annual inspections of the facilities and increase the size of financial penalties that the state can levy for failures in care. The proposals would also step up mandatory training for assisted living employees, require facilities to employ registered nurses in some instances and demand that California post inspection results online for the public to review.
Eulogy For a Tornado: Palm Coast Memorializes December Twister in Numbers and Kudos
With a dramatic video narrated by Mayor Jon Netts and a line-up of presenters, the Palm Coast City Council heard and watched a recap of the December tornado that ripped through the city’s B, C and F Sections, with nearly final costs to property owners and to the city’s bottom line.
From Buddy Holly to Dr. Seuss, the Jacksonville Symphony Goes Winter Dance Sneetching
It’s the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra as you’ve never heard it before in two end-of-month concerts, with a tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper on Jan. 24-25, and Dr. Seuss’s “The Sneetches” on Jan. 26.
Cindy Moore and Jill Espinosa Earn School District’s Top Honors for 2013
Cindy Moore, a testing coordinator and secretary at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was named the 2014 Employee of the Year, and Jill Espinosa, a kindergarten teacher at Belle Terre Elementary, was the Teacher of the Year.
Martin Luther King’s Nightmare: The Inequality Behind Forbes’ Richest 400
The net worth of just 400 billionaires is on par with the collective wealth of our more than 14 million African- American households. Both groups possess some $2 trillion, about three percent of our national net worth, an economic injustice Martin Luther King would have decried, argues Bob Lord.
Superintendent Application Window Closes With Just 20 Applicants, Several of Whom Are Already Disqualified
It is an unusually low number for superintendent postings across the state, but not a surprising one considering the circumstances in Flagler, where Jacob Oliva is a heavy favorite, his front-runner status broadly publicized. All the applications are included.
In Latest Re-Election Ploy, Scott Proposes 10-Day Sales Tax Holiday, Triple the Usual Length
Scott announced Friday he wants lawmakers to approve a 10-day sales tax holiday in August. The extended tax-free period is the latest of the budget proposals Scott has rolled out in advance of the 2014 legislative session.
Deputies Looking For Suspect in Car Break-In at Anytime Fitness
Flagler County Detectives are looking for the public’s help in identifying a woman who broke into a parked car outside of Anytime Fitness located at 260 Cypress Edge Drive in Palm Coast just before noon on Thursday.
Teddy Roosevelt Impersonator Joe Wiegan Will Be Featured Performer at Flagler Beach Rotary Jan. 30
Joe Wiegan has taken his Teddy Roosevelt one-man show all the way to the White House, where George W. Bush invited him to commemorate the 150th anniversary of one of the nation’s greatest, most exuberant and paradoxical presidents.
Another Florida Goon With a Gun, the End of the Internet, Your Richer, Happier Friends: The Live Wire
Why retired cops are as dangerous as anyone with a gun, why the free Internet as we knew it may be over, Why your friends really are richer, happier and more popular than you, plus the smashing of Sigmund Freud, Dostoevsky’s doodles and Susan Sontag’s return from the dead.
With 3 Days To Go, Flagler Superintendent Job Draws Just 13 Applicants and Fewer Serious Contenders
Candidates may have been turned off by the school board loudly and repeatedly telegraphing its favoritism for Assistant Superintendent Jacob Oliva, with the job posting straddling the holidays and the abbreviated search process likely not helping. The applications are published in full.
Sheriff Pleads Long Punishment For Old Nemesis: Andrew Rulon Is Sentenced to 8 Years
Andrew Rulon, 41, of Palm Coast, had served seven years in prison when arrested on armed robbery charges during Jim Manfre’s first stint as sheriff in 2004. In an unusual move, Manfre appeared in court Monday to plead for a long sentence on drug and burglary charges against Rulon, who was released from prison in 2010.
A Billboard Crashes Down on A1A and Flagler Makes a Little History as “Goodliest Land”
The demolition and permanent removal of the massive billboard in a ceremony Monday afternoon is the first of up to 10 billboards the county bought and will have removed by 2016 as part of a deal to diminish visual blight along the scenic highway.
Inaugural Flagler Film Festival Draws Mixed Crowds and Promise Over 3 Days in Palm Coast
The first Flagler Film festival was held at the Hilton Garden Inn from Friday through Sunday, packing dozens of screenings of films from around the world and ending with an award ceremony late Sunday evening, and the promise of a second festival next year.
Appeasing GOP Panic Over Common Core, Gov. Scott Promises Revisions To State Standards
Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said earlier this week that her department would propose about 40 changes to the voluminous education benchmarks. The overwhelming majority of the changes Stewart is set to propose would add material to the state’s version of the standards.
Flagler Film Festival Featuring 4 Local Productions Among Dozens from Around the World
The inaugural Flagler Film Festival is scheduled for Jan. 10-12 at Palm Coast’s Hilton Garden Inn. Fourteen of the 46 submissions originated in Florida. Four from Flagler filmmakers were ultimately selected, including a horror flick filmed in Flagler Beach.
The Slow-Motion Lynching Of President Barack Obama
If this country will lynch a brilliant, civil, kind, humble, compassionate, moderate, articulate, black intellectual we’re lucky enough to have in the White House, argues Frank Schaeffer, we’ll lynch anyone. What chance does an anonymous black man pulled over in a traffic stop have of fair treatment when the former editor of the Harvard Law Review is being lynched?
In a Victory for Flagler, Senate Measure Restoring Local Authority to Regulate Vacation Rentals Moves Ahead, With Long Way to Go
The proposal has a long way to go. It hasn’t yet been heard in the House, and must still clear several committees in the Senate before it reaches the Senate floor—if it does. It can die along the way. But Sen. John Thrasher’s backing is no small momentum, nor is Thursday’s 8-0 committee vote, including five Republicans and three Democrats.
Proposed Law Would Halt New Red-Light Cameras and Cut Fines By Half to End Profits
Besides no longer allowing municipalities and counties to install red light cameras after July 1, the proposal would cut fins to $83 and allow local governments to impose only a $25 surcharge on tickets to fund the existing systems, which would be allowed to continue. That would lower Palm Coast’s and its private provider’s take by two thirds, likely rendering the system too expensive to run.
Again Breaking a Pledge, Children’s Advocacy Center Sets Ultimatum On Rape-Crisis Intervention as Top Cops Scramble
The Children Advocacy Center’s promise in July to provide rape-crisis exams to adults in Flagler and Volusia counties turned out to be relatively hollow, and was followed by an ultimatum that the CAC would get out of the business altogether by June, triggering a furiously critical response from State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Sheriff Manfre and other local top cops.
Preparing For the Next Hurricane: Flagler Firefighters Join Statewide Rescue Exercises
A seven-member team from Flagler County Fire Rescue is taking part today in statewide disaster-preparation exercises in Palm Beach County, honing skills that could be used locally or whenever a disaster strikes in the state, and a statewide response calls on Flagler to offer assistance.
As State Mulls Review, Christians and Atheists Agree: Keep Florida Capitol a Free Speech Zone
The threat of a lawsuit is hovering over the state’s rejection of a satanic display, and the rotunda exhibit policy is set to undergo a staff review. But the prevailing view among those who have recently jumped at the chance to use the public floor space to express their beliefs is to simply let everyone have their say.
Temperatures Fall Less Than Feared, to 28 in Palm Coast; Freeze Warning Renewed Tonight
Tuesday night and Wednesday morning a light freeze is still expected locally, especially in the northern part of the county, with low temperatures in the upper 20s or low 30s inland again exposing plants and pets to cold hazards, and the duration of sub-freezing temperatures expected to last between four to six hours.
Sports Events Specialist Matt Dunn Is Named Tourism Director in Place of Georgia Turner
Matt Dunn, 39, named Vice President for tourism today–he’ll be in charge of a $900,000 budget controlling Flagler’s marketing–owned his own events company in St. Johns County, worked with Flagler’s tourism council previously, and was Executive Director of the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Ocala/Marion County Sports Commission.
Palm Coast and Flagler Prepare For Hard Freeze Warning Ahead of Coldest Night in Years
A hard-freeze warning is in effect for Palm Coast and Flagler County overnight Monday to Tuesday, with temperatures falling to the mid-20s in Palm Coast and the teens inland. Wind chill will make temperatures feel much lower. Residents must take precautions to protect themselves, their animals and affected vegetation. A local homeless shelter will be open all night.
14 For ’14: What Will Command
Florida’s Attention This Year
From the governor’s race to the economy to gambling to common core and the continuing battles over health care, here are some of the issues that will dominate the political landscape in the year ahead, some of which focusing the nation’s eyes on Florida yet again.
Florida Hospital Flagler CEO: State Must Extend Medicaid to Working Poor
The Florida Legislature still has the opportunity this year to draw down $51 billion in federal dollars already sent to Washington to help pay the cost of health insurance for those who cannot afford it, argues Floridfa Hospital Flagler CEO Ken Mattison.
Volusia-Flagler Non-Profit Hosting Annual Eating-Disorder Symposium on Feb. 15
COPE–Community Outreach for the Prevention of Eating Disorders–is hosting its annual public health symposium for education, awareness and prevention of eating disorders, Saturday, Feb. 15, at Renew Yoga Studio at 220 S. Beach Street in Daytona Beach.
Obamacare’s Beheadings, Edward Snowden’s Innocence, Jerry Springer’s Crist and W.S. Merwin: The Live Wire
Obamacare’s beheadings: setting the record straight, the Times wants clemency for Edward Snowden, the cost of a single American soldier, The wonders of Steven Wright and W.S. Merwin, prison news and Kevin Klein on Las Vegas.
Flagler Tax Collector Launches Weekly Hearings For Drivers With Revoked Licenses
Flagler County Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston’s office will enable drivers who’ve had their license revoked to have a hardship hearing in Bunnell starting Jan. 7, rather than have to go to Volusia County for the hearing.
A Flagler Farewell to 2013: The Local Year in Review
A tornado, plane crashes and mishaps, Flagler County going bonkers for clunkers, a spate of murders in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach’s firehouse follies, Bunnell’s reality show: 2013 is ending not a moment too soon. But first, a review.
Wallace Weeks, 90, Retired Manager of Flagler Farms, Dies
Wallace Weeks, 90, of Bunnell and retired manager of Flagler Farms, passed away Monday, December 30, 2013.
Record-Breaking Skateboard Mile Among 3 Saturday Races in Flagler Beach and Palm Coast
The International Distance Skateboard Association is hosting a one-mile skateboard race down A1A for the Guiness record, along with a longboard half-marathon starting at Wadsworth Park and a kids and beginners challenge, all Saturday morning, Jan. 4.
Your Ad Here: State Negotiating For Advertising Along Florida’s Prime Nature Trails
New York-based Bikepath Country has offered to give the state 30 percent of any revenue over 15 years in exchange for making signs and seeking corporate sponsors for the controversial program, which went into effect more than a year ago.
Solar Panel Users as Freeloaders: ALEC Network’s State Lobbyists Attack Homeowner and Business Subsidies
According to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative network better known as ALEC, our solar panels make us “free riders.” What? Yes, according to ALEC, an organization that specializes in getting the right-wing agenda written into state laws, people like me who invest in energy-efficiency and shrinking our carbon footprints ought to be penalized, writes Isaiah J. Poole.
Ryan Peeling of FPC One of Two Teens-In-Flight Students Admitted to Embry-Riddle
Two Teens-In-Flight students–Ryan Peeling of Flagler Palm Coast High School and Cora Rand of Seabreeze High–have earned admission at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University for the Fall 2014 session, with scholarships.
Obamacare Dilemma:
High Deductibles vs. “Huge Fear”
Going without insurance “is like gambling,” says a 43-year-old social worker. But the high deductibles of Affordable Care Act plans make them a hard sell, as the plans sold on the exchange are not as generous as employer-sponsored insurance.
Fuel Truck Explodes in Collision With Another Truck on I-95, Killing One; I-95 Shut Down North of Palm Coast Parkway
A wreck involving two tractor trailers and resulting in at least one fatality shut down I-95 in both directions in Palm Coast at 3:45 a.m. Tuesday. Southbound lanes reopened at 7, but northbound lanes will remain closed as the roadbed has been destroyed by the fire.
Lt. Gen. Mikhail T. Kalashnikov and the AK-47: Half an Obituary
Lt. Gen. Mikhail T. Kalashnikov, the designer of the AK-47, the world’s most popular machine gun among soldiers, mercenaries and militiamen, died on Dec. 23. A brief history of the AK-47.
Palm Coast Man Charged With Raping 8-Year-Old Girl; Bunnell Man Charged With Statutory Rape
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Gregory Selts of Palm Coast and Dante Mobley of Bunnell in unrelated cases between Dec. 19 and 22 involving the rape of children—in Selts’s case, a girl who claims she was raped when in first grade in Palm Coast, and in Mobley’s, the case of an alleged statutory rape of a 14-year-old in Bunnell.