Jim Manfre is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
All Else
Don Fleming, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Don Fleming is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
Karl Tozzi, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Karl Tozzi is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
In the Race for State Attorney for the 7th Circuit, the Aug. 14 Election Will Decide It All
Incumbent R.J. Larizza is challenged by long-time Volusia County Judge Stasia Warren in the race for State Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit, which covers Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam. All registered voters in all four counties are eligible to cast a vote on Aug. 14 regardless of party affiliation.
Stasia Warren, State Attorney Candidate: The Live Interview
Stasia Warren is running against R.J. Larizza in the the Aug. 14 election for State Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit, which includes Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam counties. Warren Answers 15 questions in the Live Interview.
R.J. Larizza, State Attorney Candidate: The Live Interview
R.J. Larizza is running against Stasia Warren in the the Aug. 14 election for State Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit, which includes Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam counties. Larizza Answers 15 questions in the Live Interview.
When Good Lawyers Defend Bad Men
Melissa Moore Stens, a candidate for Flagler County judge, has been unfairly criticized for defending Paul Miller, the Flagler Beach man who shot and killed his neighbor over barking dogs. But Paul Miller should be on trial, not his lawyers–or the Sixth Amendment.
Early Voting Is On for the Primary. Go Vote.
Early voting for the Aug. 14 primary is on at the Flagler County Public Library on belle Terre and at the elections office at the Government Services Building, through Aug. 11. A full schedule, sample ballot and more.
Two Flagler School Board Races Will be Decided Aug. 14: The Live Interviews
Three-term incumbents Sue Dickinson and Colleen Conklin are being challenged by Bill Corkran and Debbie Laury in two contests for the Flagler County School Board that will be decided Aug. 14. All registered voters may vote regardless of party affiliation or address.
Seven Candidates Vying for that Flagler County Judge Seat: The Live Interviews
FlaglerLive interviewed the seven candidates for Flagler County judge: Don Appignani, Craig Atack, Josh Davis, Marc Dwyer, Sharon Feliciano, Melissa Moore-Stens and W. Scott Westbrook. The full interviews are presented.
Undiscovered Country: A Census of the Seas
Over a ten-year period, a group of international scientists studied the oceans and their inhabitants in an effort to, in part, answer the question Frank Gromling poses: how many animal and plant species live in the sea?
Small Business Saturday: Community Building One Mom and Pop Store at a Time
Small Business Saturday is about changing mindsets, supporting community businesses and keeping dollars local, writes Carol Fisher, owner of the Beachhouse Beanery in Flagler Beach.
Andy Dance: Why You Should Support Flagler Schools’ Renewal of the Half-Penny Sales Tax
Andy Dance, the school board member, explains why your vote approving the renewal of the half-penny sales tax in the Aug. 14 referendum is critical for Flagler County schools. All registered voters may cast a ballot regardless of party affiliation.
Ed Hess, Beverly Beach Commissioner and Walter Brennan Alter Ego, Died in A1A Wreck
Ed Hess was a Beverly Beach commissioner for at least 16 years, and had performed on stages and elsewhere for half a century, especially his Walter Brennan imitations.
Flagler Tea Party Straw Poll Winners: Stevens, Westbrook, Warren, Meeker, But Not Schools
The Flagler County Tea Party’s straw poll included 14 races on the Aug. 14 ballot, plus the school board’s half-penny sales tax referendum, which drew 67 percent against, a worrisome sign for the school board.
Florida Consumer Confidence Up in July
Consumer confidence was up slightly in July 2012 over June, and dramatically higher than it was a year ago, a new report from the University of Florida finds.
Whistleblowing Coach Worship: How Neil Reed Ended Bobby Knight’s Bullying
Steve Robinson, the CNN/SI managing editor who coaxed Neil Reed into blowing the whistle on coach Bobby Knight’s violence, reflects on Reed’s death and the refusal of people–from Knight’s apologists to Joe Paterno’s–to take action when they see power being abused.
Lane Burnsed Is Laid to Rest to the Words of Job and a Community’s Grief
Lane Burnsed, 19, was laid to rest Wednesday as hundreds of friends and family members paid their respects to his father, Capt. Jamey Burnsed, and his wife Iola, whose roots in the community run broad and deep.
Back to School Jam Returns Saturday at FPC: Uniforms, Discounts, But No Free Backpacks
This year’s back to school jam for all flagler county students will feature discounted uniforms, $5 backpacks and many other supplies, at Flagler Palm Coast High School Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Obama Crosses 50% Favorability Over Romney in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania
No one has won the White House in the past half century without winning at least two of the three states. The latest results are the strongest yet for Obama, and a worrisome sign for Mitt Romney down the stretch.
Fearing Rejection at the Ballot Box, County Opts to Renew Sales Tax Unilaterally
The Flagler County Commission decided not to put out a half-cent sales tax renewal to voters this year, choosing instead to renew the tax by a vote of the commission by November. The decision ensures that the tax will stay on the books, generating $4 million for the county and the cities.
Flagler Sheriff Wants Your Gun in Exchange for a $50 Gift Card; Opponents Frown
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office will hold the county’s first gun buy back on Aug. 11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Town Center. Each firearm is worth a $50 gift card, up to a maximum of three. The buy-back is made possible through a county commission grant.
Why I’d Eat at Chick-fil-A
I’d eat again at Chick-fil-A, just to send a message to the sanctimonious, self-congratulatory organizers of a boycott campaign that is targeting the business, writes columnist Bill Cotterell.
7 Republican Mirrors Racing for Congressional District Seat that Includes Flagler
The contest to become the Republican nominee for the new and open congressional District 6 seat is cluttered with seven Republicans who largely agree on staple issues from taxes, to guns to Obamacare.
Josh Davis, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Josh Davis is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Bill Corkran, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Bill Corkran is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Sue Dickinson, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Sue Dickinson is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Colleen Conklin, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Colleen Conklin is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Deborah Laury, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Deborah Laury is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
A Vigil of 300 Flickers with Solidarity and Sorrow For Meredith Smith and Lane Burnsed
Some 300 people turned out Sunday evening on the sands of Flagler Beach, including the parents of Meredith Smith and Lane Burnsed, the teens killed in a wreck on I-95 Thursday. The crowd was mostly young, emotional and subdued.
Slipping the Surly Bonds of Earth On the Hovers of Ospreys
Watching wild birds, ospreys especially, is one of Frank Gromling’s favorite things to do, linking back to a romance with the thrill of flying flying that takes its inspiration from John Magee’s “high untrespassed sanctity of space.”
Sharon Feliciano, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Sharon Feliciano is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Don Appignani, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Don Appignani is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Marc Dwyer, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Marc Dwyer is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Craig Atack, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Craig Atack is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Melissa Moore Stens, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Melissa Moore Stens is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
W. Scott Westbrook, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Scott Westbrook is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Florida Book Award Winner Caren Umbarger at Flagler Beach’s Beanery Saturday
Caren Umbarger, who won the bronze medal for fiction for “Coming To” in the 2011 Florida Book Award, will be talking about the book and reading from it at the Beachhouse Beanery Saturday, July 28, at 1 p.m.
Families Mourning Loss of Meredith Smith, 17, and Lane Burnsed, 19, Killed in Wreck
Meredith Smith, 17, and Lane Burnsed, 19, killed on I-95 in a three-vehicle accident Thursday, had attended Flagler Palm Coast High School. Three other people were critically injured.
Flagler Beach Fire Chief Gets His Job Back As Serious Allegations About City Manager Emerge
Flagler Beach City Manager Bruce Campbell retreated from plans to fire Flagler Beach Fire Chief Martin Roberts, giving him instead a three-day suspension, following a three-hour hearing that revealed a devastating series of issues surrounding the controversy and Campbell’s management of it.
When Bankruptcy and a Second Mortgage Combine Into an Opportunity for Florida Homeowners
“Bankruptcy” and “exciting news” don’t usually go together well in the same conversation. But a recent ruling by a federal court is giving Florida homeowners a window of opportunity to strip off a second mortgage, argues consumer attorney Lewis Roberts.
“All Done With Pure Heart”: A Defense of Flagler Beach Chief Martin Roberts
Patricia Sigman, a long-time, Orlando-based labor and employment attorney, ended Flagler Beach Fire Chief Martin Roberts’s three-hour disciplinary hearing with a searing indictment of the the city administration and an earnest defense of Martin, who nhad kept silent throughout the month-long controversy. Here’s Sigman’s complete closing.
Countering 2 Precedents, Florida Court Rules Pregnancy Discrimination Is Not Illegal
Appeals courts in 1991 and 2008 had clearly stated that either the state law’s intent forbids discrimination or federal law, which explicitly forbids it, preempts state law. Yet the appeals court in Miami ruled against a woman fired from her real estate job after she got pregnant.
Elian Gonzalez Affair Returns to Haunt Don Appignani, Flagler County Judge Candidate
The Florida Bar publicly reprimanded Don Appignani in 2002 over a conflict of interest charge when he was a labor attorney for INS employees, following his role representing INS employees involved in the Elian Gonzalez affair. Appignani disputes most of the findings to this day.
Palm Coast Takes a Deeper Drag
At Synthetic Marijuana Regulation
Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts and council member Frank Meeker want Palm Coast and other local governments to jointly tackle the legality of synthetic marijuana even as states are gradually adopting bans on fake-pot sales across the country.
Synthetic Marijuana, or Fake Pot: What Is It, How Dangerous and Prevalent Is It?
Synthetic marijuana, or fake pot, is sold as a legal spice or incense herb such as K2, but is a little-understood chemical compound with potentially more severe side-effects. A briefing on the origin and meaning of synthetic marijuana.
Florida Tourism Lull Predicted, Slowing Local Growth, as Euro Zone Economies Suffer
Economic woes in Europe will trickle across the Atlantic over the next few years as potential international guests stay home or see their native currency buy less once they arrive, a panel of economists estimates.
When Even Sheriff Fleming Is a Bystander to Rumors’ Wreckage
A verbal altercation involving Sheriff Don Fleming’s step-daughter and another woman at European Village began a series of events that caused the firing of the woman and her boyfriend, both waiters at Mazzaluna. Charges that Fleming had retaliated are unsubstantiated.
Voter ID Laws: Your Election-Year Guide to Disenfranchisement and Fraud
Voter IDs laws in Florida and 29 other states are a political flashpoint in another close election year, pitting claims of fraud against claims of disenfranchisement. A step back to look at the facts behind the laws and issues at the heart of the debate.
Florida House Candidate Bardley Maxwell Wants Government Employees’ Salaries Kept Secret
Florida House candidate Bradley Maxwell wants to state workers’ salaries and benefits kept secret. He also wants personnel files kept sealed from public view. Maxwell is challenging two-term incumbent state Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee.