The Flagler County Commission unanimously approved leasing the restaurant and bait shop at Bull Creek Campground for $1,000 a month to JMC Food Company, a consortium of three partners who run Woody’s B-B-Q in Palm Coast, including Matt Crews, Joe Rizzo and Chris Zwirn. The restaurant opens in spring.
Outdoors
GOP Lawmaker Calls State’s Surplus Land Sale Program a “Disaster”
The Department of Environmental Protection effort was created with the intent of generating $50 million and replace the defunct and once-popular Florida Forever program, but so far no money has been raised and what has become a shortened list continues to draw criticism for sites remaining under consideration.
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.
Long Creek Nature Preserve Groundbreaking Postponed to Jan. 14
The Long Creek Nature Preserve project was made possible with money from Flagler County’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands program and Florida Forever dollars. Tuesday’s public groundbreaking ceremony planned for the $1.46 million construction is being postponed, due to cold weather, to Jan. 14 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14. Construction was originally due to begin in October.
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.
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.
They Don’t Only Shoot Them: Sheriff’s Deputy Bret Wood Saves Raccoon Stuck in Tree
When a 12-year-old student on his way to school this morning noticed a raccoon stuck in a tree on Palm Coast’s Florida Park Drive, deputies were called in, and as Animal Control would not respond, deputy Bret Wood used a car jack to pry the imprisoning branches apart and free the raccoon.
Palm Coast’s Ambitions for More Parks Soar, But Development Tax to Fund Them Declines
Palm Coast’s park impact fees levied on new construction are about to decline by a few hundred dollars, though the city’s ambitious plans for new parks and recreational facilities over the next few decades are unchanged.
Jacksonville Zoo Announces Birth of Two Amur Leopards, a Critically Endangered Species
There are only three dozen or so Amur leopards living in the wild, and as such they may be the most endangered big cats in the world. The first cub was born at the Jacksonville zoo at about 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 16. The second followed at 11:15 a.m. They have not yet been named.