Four women witnessed the mid-afternoon break-in of a Honda in the Winn-Dixie shopping center off Palm Coast Parkway Tuesday, soon leading to the arrest of Nicholas Leblanc, a Palm Coast resident with a long but non-violent arrest record in the county.
Palm Coast
CodeRed System Credited With Locating Missing 16-Year-Old With Special Needs
Within a quarter hour of a CodeRed alert that went out to 15,214 subscribers Monday evening, a 16-year-old boy with the mental capacity of a 6 year old who’d gone missing was located in the W Section.
Barely Less Stingy, More Demanding Palm Coast Completes $30,000 Arts Grants Awards
The amount Palm Coast devotes to the arts remains woefully low, however—amounting to just 37 cents per year per resident. The grant program represents a paltry 0.11 percent of the city’s $28 million general fund budget.
“City of Palm Coast Code Enforcement Is Done Identically To Any Other City,” Attorney Says
Judging from the city’s own survey, Palm Coast residents are not quite enthusiastic about code enforcement, whose visibility is emphasized by the city’s fleet of frequent-driving trucks But the city has no plans to alter its approach.
Drugs, Weapons and Child Porn Lead to 3 Separate Arrests in Palm Coast and Bunnell
The Palm Coast teen had transmitted items flagged as child porn by the social media site Whisper, then was found to have 10 short videos of explicit sexual acts between adult men and pre-pubescent girls.
Two Palm Coast Residents Arrested in Bizarre Tale of Violent Assault on Pair of Contractors
Joseph D. Patten and Russell Cade of Palm Coast are accused of violently assaulting a pair of contractors Cade had summoned for an estimate on bathroom repairs at his house. Both men have arrest records, including, in Cade’s case, a conviction for sexually abusing a child in 2000.
Gutted Bill Restricting Red-Light Cameras Advances as Turn-On-Red Penalty Is Restored
While the restrictive proposal cleared its latest committee, 7-3, the bill’s only surviving measures would require cities to send our red-light camera notices by certified mail, and to use revenue for public safety programs.
Weekend Blotter: Palm Coast Man Accused of Assaulting Girlfriend With 4.5-Foot Sword
Charles Meyers, a 28-year-old resident of Palm Coast, is accused of wielding the sword at his girlfriend after a night out at a bar. Also, a disturbance at the Windsor assisted living facility, and more break-ins at fitness centers’ parking lots.
Another Pot Grow House Busted in Palm Coast As Critics and Lawmakers Press Legalization
Some 28 marijuana plants were seized at a house at 17 Rocking Lane in Palm Coast. As the Sheriff’s Office announced the seizure and arrest of the resident at the house, Ray Strack, a former federal narcotics interdiction agent, was speaking on WNZF about the inanity of the war on marijuana.
Chick-fil-A Phenomenon Camps Out in Palm Coast: If Grateful Dead Fans Loved Chikin
Chick-fil-A’s grand opening in Palm Coast brought with it what has become a near-cult following of groupies, overwhelmingly from out of town, who camp out for 24 hours to earn their 52 free meals. A profile of the phenomenon, and the company.
Another Accidental Shooting in Palm Coast; A Stabbing in Bunnell; An Arrest For Fake ID
The shooting took place in the Hammock after a man, fearing that a prowler he’d shooed off was going to return, was cleaning his gun, and the gun went off.
Palm Coast Votes 3-2 to End Red-Light Camera Contract in 2017 and Reduce Flashers To 5
A divided council still disagrees on the red-light cameras’ value. The city is being sued, but says the payout, should there be one, will be manageable.
What Palm Coast Won’t Do, What Other Cities Are Doing: Synchronizing Traffic Lights
Transportation experts say that revamping the way signals work will reduce congestion, save fuel costs, cut down on air pollution and make the roads safer.
Citing Taxes, Palm Coast Says County Owes City a Fire Truck to Help Mend Aging Fleet
The council heard an unusual proposal from council member Jason DeLorenzo that would reopen old wounds with the county as Palm Coast looks to simultaneously replace three fire engines that have more than 30 years’ service.
Two More Jewelry Heists Reported,
Again in Hammock and Grand Haven
The burglaries bring the total to six since last week, all of them targeting jewelry and relatively older home owners in the two distinctly higher scale areas.
Bill Banning Red-Light Camera Tickets for Right-Turn on Red Sails Through House Panel
The proposal and one like it in the Senate would further complicate Palm Coast’s troubled red-light camera program and its relationship with ATS, the private company running the local scheme. Right-turn on red tickets generate the majority of revenue.
Palm Coasters Rate Their Town: Great Bedroom, Terrible Workplace, Measly Shopping
Palm Coast residents love their government services even as they attack them in a broad survey, but they also find work opportunities dismal and shopping and cultural opportunities not much better.
What Is the Flagler County Art League?
Since its founding by Bob Scheibel in 1979, the Flagler County Art League has provided a forum for Flagler-Palm Coast artists to showcase their work and engage the community.
Palm Coast Would End Its Red-Light Camera Program With ATS in Two Years
The city would also reduce all operating cameras from 43 to just five. But it would also see its revenue per camera drop, from the current $700 per month to $350 per month. The city’s revenue from the cameras would drop from $361,000 to $21,000.
Rash of Palm Coast Burglaries Targets Elderly and Jewelry in Sea Colony and Grand Haven
In one case, a couple was burglarized of $50,000 worth of jewelry, with three other cases’ value adding up to more than $12,000. The thefts take place during relatively brief absences of the homeowners.
In Fear of ATS: The Palm Coast City
Council’s Red-Light Camera Delusions
After coming close to suspending its red-light camera [program, the Palm Coast City Council has retreated, again exposing a willingness to do its camera vendor’s bidding before looking after its residents’ interests.
Good Samaritan Act Leads to Charges of Forgery, Grand Theft, Assault and a Stand-Off
John Sole, a 31-year-old resident of Paul Lane in Palm Coast with a brief but recurring history of trouble with the law, became allegedly violent with his mother after she could not cash fraudulent checks.
From Harry Potter to Indian Trails Complex, Quidditch Tournament Snitches In on Brooms
Quidditch doesn’t exist. At least not officially. But for two days at Indian Trails, the United States Quidditch South Regional Tournament will feature 14 teams from four states competing in the game Harry Potter made famous, and that’s now played on thousands of college and university campuses.
Palm Coast Will Borrow $30 Million to Build New Sewer Plant, Pledging No Rate Increase For 5 Years
The new plant would be financed with a 20-year loan at less than 1 percent interest, and the city’s total debt load would rise to around $200 million. It also depends on steady growth in coming years.
Palm Coast Man, 19, Charged With Raping 11-Year-Old Girl He Met on Facebook
Karl Westgate, a 19-year-old resident of Palm Coast who became a father two months ago, faces a capital rape charge and other charges of possessing child pornography after exchanging nude pictures of himself and the girl with her.
Palm Coast’s Public Access TV Changing Name and Bright House Channel, To 495
Palm Coast Municipal Access is moving from Channel 199 to Channel 495 for Bright House subscribers, and changing its name to Palm Coast Television.
City Hall Rising: Walls Go Up at Palm Coast’s Future Home
Walls built in place went up Tuesday morning on the site of the future Palm Coast City Hall in Town Center, marking a significant visual advance in the nearly $10 million project as it moves toward completion by fall.
Palm Coast May Reduce Red-Light Cameras to 5, But Won’t Scrap Program For Fear of ATS
Fearful of a lawsuit from ATS, its red-light camera provider. the Palm Coast City Council says it would reduce the cameras from 43 to five, but not eliminate them, even if it means ending all its revenue from the cameras but preserving that of ATS.
As FAA Issues Rules, New Palm Coast Drone Company Beguiles Realtors and Others
CAVU Aerial Photography, a drone company in Palm Coast since August, has been showing Realtors, communications companies and others the many uses of drone technology, which is expected to boom with the FAA’s new, more permissive rules.
After Just One Arrest in 4 Years on Prostitution-Related Charges, Sheriff’s Detectives Arrest 4 in 48 Hours
Flagler sheriff’s detectives Wednesday and Thursday arrested two men for soliciting sex, a woman for prostituting herself, and a man for pimping another woman, to a group of men who turned out to be undercover detectives.
Ex-Cop Is Charged With Torture of Daughter, 14
Stanley Wykretowicz, 38, and a 33-year-old woman, residents of Palm Coast, were jailed on a charge of willfully torturing Wykretowicz’s daughter. He faces an additional charge of battery by strangulation.
Palm Coast City Attorney Bill Reischmann Thanks Responders After Car Wreck
Palm Coast City Attorney Bill Reischmann was involved in a two-vehicle crash at Palm Coast Parkway and Clubhouse Drive on Feb. 3, as he was driving to a city council meeting.
Third General Manager in 5 Years Takes Over Palm Coast’s Troubled Golf and Tennis Clubs
Six-figure deficits that taxpayers have subsidized year after year have riddled the budgets of Palm Coast’s Palm Harbor Golf Club and its tennis center since they opened.
Palm Coast Begins Conversion to LED Street Lights In Latest Push For Conservation
Palm Coast won’t retrofit its 3,000 street lights to LED just yet, but all new installations will be LED, and in a year or 18 months may consider a broader retrofit program if the investment shows solid savings over time.
Elderly Woman Strikes Cyclist on Florida Park Drive, Asks If He’s OK, Then Drives Off
Jordan Tyler, a 22-year-old resident of Ferdinand Lane in Palm Coast, was struck and injured by a sedan at Florida Park Drive and Farrington Lane. Authorities are looking for an elderly woman who was at the wheel of the car.
Palm Coast Close To Suspending Red-Light Camera Program as Legal Challenges Mount
By all appearances from the council’s discussion this morning, the council is ready to end its program as it is now configured, with a final decision to be taken on March 3.
South and West Palm Coast Getting 2, Possibly 3 New Gas Stations, With First Opening in June
A gas station on Pine Lakes Parkway and Wynnfield Drive will open in June while Race Trac is securing permits to open a station on SR100 and Seminole Woods Boulevard.
“I’m So F— Sorry”: In 911 Call of AK-47 Shooting, Regret and Worries of Going to Jail
In the 911 call, Brandon Williamson describes how he shot his friend Shane Huber and apologized repeatedly as Huber sat or stood near him for 8 minutes before deputies and paramedics arrived.
The FBI’s Palm Coast Visit and Jim Landon’s Accuracy Problem
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon Tuesday accused local media of mis-characterizing the FBI’s recent interview of two city officials, but it was Landon who distorted the record and derided the local press in a way he never would dare—or that council members should never tolerate—if he were referring to any other local business.
18-Year-Old Shot With AK-47 In House Across From Wadsworth Elementary in Apparent Accident
18-year-old Shane Huber of Palm Coast was shot in the chest with an AK-47 Tuesday afternoon at a house on Parkview Drive, across the street from Wadsworth Elementary. The school by then had let out.
Judge Orders Dennis McDonald and Attorney to Pay Palm Coast $15,900 Over Frivolous Suit
Circuit Judge Michael Orfinger’s order calls for the sum to be paid equally by McDonald and his attorney. The decision signals to local anti-government activists that governments will not leave certain attacks unanswered.
Palm Coast Mother Charged With Child Abuse For Tasing Her 15-Year-Old Son
Rhonda Gulsen, a 54-year-old resident of Fairfax Court in Palm Coast, before allegedly tasing her son, had egged on a relative who was beating on the 15-year-old boy.
Ex-Felon Arrested in Palm Coast’s P-Section For Owning Assault Rifle and Selling Pot
Anthony DiBella, 55, of 23 Pilgrim Drive in Palm Coast, was arrested this morning for selling marijuana out of his garage and owning an assault rifle despite a felony conviction for robbery in 1980.
Previously Accused of Bigamy, Palm Coast Man Is Arrested on Child Porn Possession Charges
Paul Wayne Stout, a 47-year-old resident of Patchogue Place in Palm Coast, was arrested Wednesday after an FDLE investigation dating back to last summer.
For Flagler and Palm Coast Officials, Mandatory Ethics Class Puts Primer on Common Sense
The session produced discussion, questions and derision that revealed the gulf between what the law requires and what officials tend to know, with lacking agreement on what even common sense might mean.
Ray Peter Takes Over for Joe Roy at Palm Coast’s Business Assistance Center
Raymond Peter, 68, a consultant and certified business analyst at the Palm Coast office, takes over region’s management of the Florida Small Business Development Center at UCF. Roy remains in a diminished capacity.
For Palm Coast, Florida Park Drive’s Heavy Traffic Is an Old Bane Without Ready Solutions
Residents along Florida Park Drive have complained year after year about the heavy traffic, the noise and the pollution, but Palm Coast officials say there’s little they can do legally to alleviate an old ITT mistake.
Palm Coast’s Holland Park Closing For Rest of the Year For Major Reconstruction
the $4.28 million project will take 15 months and will result in better lit courts, a bigger playground, new restrooms, a refurbished dog park, a new loop road to exit the park and a perimeter trail, among other improvements.
FBI Agents Interview 2 Palm Coast Employees In Inquiry Over Tony Capela Issues
Palm Coast officials downplayed a 90-minute interview by two FBI agents of a public works division manager Wednesday and a briefer interview with the public works director, saying it’s related to settled matters in connection with ex-streets superintendent Tony Capela.
Second Armed Robbery in 2 Days Hits Palm Coast Store, This Time at 7-11 Near Starbucks
Thursday evening’s robbery took place at the Mobil station and 7-11 convenience store on Palm Coast Parkway, near Starbucks and Old Kings Road. No one was hurt. The robber escaped with about $94 in cash.