Register now for the Splash N Dash Aquathlon, a free, non-competitive swimming and running event for children 5 to 15, to be held beginning at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, July 6, at Belle Terre Park and Frieda Zamba Swimming Pool in Palm Coast.
Outdoors
Lawmakers Object As Florida Fish and Wildlife Prepares to Ban All Deer and Elk Imports
But lawmakers are joining some of Florida’s deer farmers in expressing concern that a growing industry will be harmed if a measure goes in effect imposing a blanket prohibition on the importation of live deer and elk to reduce the chance that potentially fatal Chronic Wasting Disease.
Flagler County Will Buy 11 Billboards on A1A and I-95 and Eliminate Most of Them By 2016
The Flagler County Commission agreed to buy 10 billboards on A1A and one on I-95 for $140,000, and eliminate all but three by 2016, retaining the one on I-95 and two on A1A to promote the county’s tourism and economic development efforts.
Flagler Scrapes Up a Few Acres of Preservation Despite Demise of Florida Protection Program
Even though it’s not been a good few years for land preservation in Florida, two areas tagged by environmentalists as Jewels of Flagler County were expanded with recent purchases as those who work to set aside land for the future struggle with diminishing budgets amid great opportunity.
Paul Bouler, 49, Found Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot at Varn Park After an Argument
Paul Pete Bouler Jr., a 49-year-old lawyer, was found dead in his car at Varn Park Saturday night in an apparent suicide by firearm, about an hour and a half after he’d left his Palm Coast home after an argument with his wife.
Palm Coast’s Arbor Day Moves Back to Central Park on May 18
Palm Coast is bringing back its rescheduled Arbor Day celebration to Central Park (from Waterfront Park), on May 18. the event will be featuring a tree give-away, butterfly release, food drive, walk and run, exhibits and activities for children including a petting zoo, character visits and rock-climbing wall. Admission and parking are free.
Flagler’s Tourism Industry Takes Its Pulse, Declares Itself Healthy, and Cheers Its “Heroes”
In Flagler County, 2,600 people work in tourist businesses, which have weathered the recession and are seeing strong, sustained activity. Flagler County’s annual Hospitality Employees Recognition of Excellent Service (or H.E.R.O.E.S.) awards lunch at the Hammock Beach Resort Thursday was an occasion for the county’s tourism industry to cheer its own.
Place Your Bids: Today Is the Final Day for Carver Gym Auction
The third annual Carver Gym auction aims to exceed last year’s total of $6,000 as the gym’s foundation hopes, beyond sustaining the gym one more year, to improve insulation and work toward adding weekend staff.
Flagler Lands Its 1st Statewide Horseshoe Pitching Tournament at New Old Dixie Park
The Flagler County Horseshoe Pitching Club will host a Florida-wide horseshoe tournament at the 18-pit Old Dixie Park the county built last year. The tournament is another addition to a growing list of specialty sports tournaments bringing visitors the county.
When Deputies Shoot Animals: An Explanation from the Flagler Sheriff’s Office
Responding to a citizen’s concerns, Commander Paul Bovino of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office explains why deputies sometimes shoot animals that are reported sick or injured, and why they don’t take them away in their patrol cruisers.
Death in the Afternoon
It was that the death rattle. You’ve heard it. We’ve all heard it if we live south of the Mason-Dixon Line. This one broke the silence of a perfect Palm Coast afternoon. But an investigation proved to be a succession of decapitated assumptions.
Wadsworth Dog Park In Flagler Beach Will Remain Closed Through the Week Over Virus Scare
The dog park at Flagler Beach’s Wadsworth Park is closed until further notice as authorities try to determine whether a dog that contracted the virulent and infectious parvovirus may have been picked up at the dog park. The Palm Coast dog park remains open.
Growls Again Over Palm Coast’s Dog Park As the City Pleads Money and Other Woes
For the third time in six years, Palm Coast users of the dog park at Holland Park are complaining to the city council of dusty, dirty, grass-less and unhealthy conditions at the park, only to hear that improvements may be on the way–but not just yet.
Experimental Plane Crashes Into Alligator-Infested Lake Disston, 2 Safely Swim to Shore
Allan Burrows, 59, and Kathrine Burrows, 51, both of Port Orange, survived after their A-22 LS fixed-wing sank into Lake Disston Tuesday evening.
U.S. Corps’ Cost to Rebuild 2.5 Miles of Beach: $39 Million and Up, Storms Not Included
The Corps of Engineers is favoring “renourishing” a 2.5-mile segment of beach from South 7th Street to South 28th Street in Flagler Beach five times through 2060 by rebuilding dunes and dumping 320,000 cubic yards of sand five times over, for $39 million. Adding another segment could add $30 million.
Earth Day at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park April 20 and 21
The Friends of Washington Oaks Gardens State Park will welcome all visitors from 10 am until 4 pm. This two day event will include Live Entertainment, Living History re-enactors, Environmental Groups and Arts and Crafts.
Between Flagler Beach and the County, a Clash of Visions Over Protecting an Eroding Shore
Flagler Beach and Flagler County may be heading toward a showdown over the fate of the eroding beach they have in common. Between now and then, the Flagler Beach City Commission itself may fracture on either side of an unresolved conflict between those opposed to protecting the beach by way of dredging up and dumping sand on it, and those willing to give that approach a shot despite its costs and uncertainties.
From Green to Red: With Golf Course Buy, Flagler Beach Fears Going Palm Coast’s Way
Flagler Beach officials are looking into whether the city should bid on the failed the Ocean Palm Golf Club course at a foreclosure sale, but they don;t want to repeat Palm Coast’s money-pit experience after that city bought the Palm Harbor golf course.
Repeat Folly: Florida Prepares to Boom Again By Busting Local Environmental Authority
Bills in the Florida Legislature would take away Flagler’s and other counties’ authority to ensure that development doesn’t sprawl without required infrastructure, and would virtually demolish environmental land acquisition programs. Milissa Holland argues that such bills make a mockery of local control.
Losing “Protection”
In Florida’s Environmental Agency
Some of the state’s strongest protectors of our natural resources were recently expelled from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Fifty-eight of the most knowledgeable and long-serving employees were let go in order to fulfill the governor’s promise/threat of less regulation.
That New Year Resolution to Exercise? Your Local State Park Wants You.
Rangers at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park and Faver-Dykes State Park are organizing guided walking tours on New Year’s Day for those who have resolved to exercise more.
A Rare, 26-Foot Right Whale Is Discovered Dead Just South of Varn Park
A 26-foot right whale that had been dead more than a day was discovered south of Varn Park Wednesday morning. Federal and state authorities will conduct a necropsy before attempting to bury the whale in place.
From Washington Oaks Gardens to Flagler Beach, a Drenching of Grayish Christmas Cheer
Flagler Beach’s parade packed A1A and ran for 75 minutes, while Washington Oaks Gardens’ Holiday in the Gardens drew more than 1,000 people who donated food and toys for the needy.
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.
Another Feather in Bird’s Cap as Fire Flight Rescues 2 Mud Muckers Lost Overnight
Wayne Oley, 30, and Brigett Madorma, 24, lost their ATV in the wilds of Mud Muckers’s 19,000 acres Sunday night, and were lost after that, until Fire Flight spotted them Monday morning, shivering from a cold night but otherwise fine.
Free Morgan: A Killer Whale’s Punishing Captivity Gets Its Day in Court
In June 2010, Morgan, an orca, or killer whale, was captured from the North Atlantic and rehabilitated, but instead of being returned to the wild, was sent to an amusement park. A judge may decide its fate on Nov. 1.
Snap, Crackle and Reef:
Oyster Restoration in Northeast Florida
Oysters play an critical role in filtering pollution and maintaining the coastal marine system, but their disappearance along the barrier island north of St. Augustine has created a kind of domino effect of environmental destruction. One local project involving restaurants seeks to restore oyster reefs.
Proposed Conservation Amendment: $5 Billion Over 10 Years, Without Raising Taxes
The proposed 2014 constitutional amendment, dubbed the Florida Water and Land Legacy Amendment, would set aside 33 percent of documentary tax collections for 20 years for land and water purchases, leases and restoration efforts. The taxes are collected on real estate and other legal transactions.
Deeper Knowledge from an Ocean of Films
Ocean film festivals are venues for knowledge, understanding, networking and, of course, the viewing of beautiful and important films, and they’re vital for those who want to be involved in ocean conservation, writes Frank Gromling.
Florida Conservation Groups Mobilize for National Public Lands Day Saturday
A coalition of Northeast Florida’s leading conservation organizations are using this occasion to raise awareness about the importance of publicly-owned conservation lands and to encourage the community to explore, volunteer and advocate for the protection of these vital natural resources.
Shark Finning, Carnage of Luxury
Shark fin soup is considered an aphrodisiac and sign of wealth. Asia’s exploding middle class is resulting in a carnage of some 70 million sharks a year, killed just for their fins.
Ocean Publishing’s Gromling Speaking at BLUE Ocean Film Festival
Frank Gromling, owner and publisher of Ocean Publishing in Flagler Beach, will present a talk at the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Summit in Monterrey, Calif., on Sep. 25, entitled “Films to Books, How to Do It Without the Pain.”
Mulligan: County Re-Enacts Beach Dredging Meeting It Had Closed to the Public in July
A citizen had complained in July to the Flagler County Commission about a closed-door meeting on beach dredging proposals between the county administration and the U.S. Corps of Engineers that had nevertheless included three elected members of the Flagler Beach City Commission. Monday’s meeting was a redo for the public’s benefit.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Charts Next Steps For Expanded Panther Population and Range
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), working in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, plans to document where panthers are roaming beyond south Florida and develop the best practices to help people and panthers coexist.
Follow the Lead of Flagler Beach’s Restaurants: Trash the Styrofoam
Restaurants in Flagler Beach, among them the Turtle Shack and the Flagler Fish Company, decided to drop the use of Styrofoam and adopt all-recyclable containers, taking a lead other local businesses should follow, Frank Gromling writes, given Styrofoam’s polluting and carcinogenic properties.
S.E. Cline Lands $216,000 Contract With Flagler, Hold the Controversy
S.E. Cline was one of two bidders to out improvements to the River to Sea Preserve park in northeast Flagler. County commissioners approved the contract unanimously.
Prodigal Turtle: Kemp’s Ridley, Smallest of the Seas, Digs First-Ever Nest in Flagler Sands
Once endangered, Kemp’s ridley turtles, usually nesting in the Gulf of Mexico, have flourished, and one made a landing in Flagler Beach, digging only the sixth documented nest in Florida, and the very first in Flagler County.
Share Your Florida Panther Sightings and Photos
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has launched a new website that makes it easy for citizens who spot Florida panthers to share the information and pictures online.
Florida Is 6th Worst Toxic Polluter from Coal-Fired Power Plants Despite Natural Gas Gains
Coal-fired power plants in Florida expose residents to toxic pollution at the sixth highest rate in the nation even as natural gas now accounts for almost two-thirds of the state’s power generation, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Drought, Wildfires and the Hottest Month Ever: July Scorched American Earth
July 2012 was the hottest month ever in the contiguous United States, after a June that was the hottest in the northern hemisphere, in 132 years of record-keeping. The effects of global warming are especially pronounced in the polar regions.
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?
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.”
Tired of Waiting, Florida Audubon Sues Management District Over Everglades Pollution
Florida Audubon Society on Friday filed legal petitions to force the South Florida Water Management District to enforce more-stringent laws put in place five years ago to reduce phosphorus levels in the Everglades.
A Lifeguard’s Soul,
Outsourced to the Bottom line
Thomas Lopez was fired by Jeff Ellis and Associates, the private company to whom Hallandale Beach outsourced its lifeguard services, when Lopez tried to save a drowning man beyond his jurisdiction. It’s an example of privatization’s immoral priorities.
When Oceans Heal:
In Praise of the Jimmy Miller Foundation
The Jimmy Miller Foundation is a non-profit organization helping people challenged by physical and mental illness, including through the Wounder Warrior Project.
Discover Your Treasures: Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
Washington Oaks Gardens State Park is the dean of Flagler County parks: a 476-acre spread on both sides of State Road A1A, rich in history and intimate paths for solitary walks or preludes to more than a kiss. A renewed look, with an image gallery, at a particular Flagler treasure.
Oceans on Acid: How a Greenhouse Gas May Be Taxing the Seas
The surge in worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide–a greenhouse gas–may be overtaxing oceans, which can absorb only so much of it before altering their acidification, and affecting marine life.