Even though Palm Coast City Council candidates will be on the ballot, the city is charging the Supervisor of Elections for use of the Community Center on Palm Coast Parkway as a second early voting location in the city, raising questions about cooperation from a city that has seen its voter turnouts fall drastically over the years.
Palm Coast
A Sex Case for Romeo and Juliet’s Law, Revenge Vandalism and Caught in the Act: Weekend Round-Up
Todd Marine of Flagler Beach is accused of raping a 14-year-old girl, but the charge must be weighed against Florida’s Romeo and Juliet law. Bradley Sanguinetti is arrested in the alleged act of breaking into a car, and Tamara Natto is arrested for defacing her ex’s home with insulting suggestions.
Court Injunction Sought to Stop Palm Coast’s Tree Removal Around Palm Harbor Center
Calling Palm Coast’s tree removal illegal, resident Dennis McDonald filed an injunction in circuit court Thursday seeking to halt removals planned for road-widening and as part of a redevelopment of the Palm Harbor shopping center that may significantly alter the character of the area.
Cool to Sudden Roma Court Proposal, Flagler Sheriff Restates Preferences for Proximity
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre was surprised by an unexpected proposal from the owner of Roma Court, the chronically vacant strip mall on Palm Coast Parkway, to lease the building to the county for sheriff’s operations, and cited several factors that fall outside his preferred options.
“I Did It”: Iron Man Bank Robbery Suspect Lakhram Mahadeo of Palm Coast, Is Arrested
Lakhram Mahadeo, a 2005 FPC graduate, was arrested Wednesday at his Palm Coast home and charged in connection of the June 20 bank robbery, in which the robber wore an Iron Man mask and stole $2,300. He’s being held on $100,000 bond.
Why Palm Coast Is Alarmed: Vivint Home-Security Solicitors Dogged By History of Deception
It’s not just Palm Coast: Vivint faces recurring findings of deceptive practices and misrepresentation in several states, according to Better Business Bureau records. The company has agreed to settlement orders issued either by a court or by the state attorney generals of at least six states to end aggressive and misleading sales tactics similar to those reported in Palm Coast.
16-Year-Old Palm Coast Boy Accused of Raping 5 Year Old Is in Juvenile Justice Custody
A 16-year-old Palm Coast boy is facing a felony charge of sexual battery, or rape, of a 5-year-old boy in an incident reported to have taken place in May in the older boy’s bedroom, in the boys’ home.
Palm Coast Residents Complain About Vivint Home-Security Solicitors, But Company Disputes Claims
Residents say that solicitors for Vivint, the home security company, have told them they’ve been sent by Flagler County government or Palm Coast government to alert people that telephone lines in their area are being upgraded, and that the new telephone lines would no longer be compatible with the residents’ emergency systems. None of that is true, the city warns.
Two of Flagler District’s Newer School Buses, Valued at $200,000, Stolen From FPC Depot
The two 84-seat Bluebird buses were stolen the night of July. 27, but the theft was uncovered only today–Aug. 5. School officials say none of the bus routes will be affected when school resumes on Aug. 19. The district’s insurance will reimburse the loss. The Flagler County Sheriff is investigating the theft.
From 50 Miles a Year to 5,600 Yards: Palm Coast’s Repaving Program Scales Back, Briefly
Only four streets in the R Section will be repaved this year, beginning later this month, sharply contrasting with the 50-mile-a-year program that stretched over 10 years, but City Manager Jim Landon cautioned the city council that a more aggressive resurfacing program of perhaps 15 miles will have to be funded come next year, as streets again show deterioration.
Thieves Target Elderly Las Palmas Residents in a Rash of Credit Card Fraud and Cash Heists
The four residents at Las Palmas, the independent living facility in Palm Coast’s Town Center. are between 82 and 90 years old, and all had their credit cards or cash stolen, around the same time on July 22, likely by two women working together. Video included.
Palm Coast Council Again Warms to City Hall Scheme That Would Snub Voter Permission
City Manager Jim Landon is proposing a refurbished $6.8 million plan that would use general fund dollars to build a new city hall without raising taxes, even though $5.8 million of that–a repayment from the Town Center taxing district–could be used to lower property taxes or build other capital projects with broader public uses. Residents had roundly rejected a similar plan in 2010 and 2011, when the building would have cost $10 million.
Ethics Commission Clears Palm Coast’s Tony Capela of Corruption or Favoritism in City Work
Ex-employee Terry Geigert had made six allegations against Tony Capella, Palm Coast’s public works superintendent, charging he favored RoadTek, a friend’s company, in no-bid contracts, sold his house for cash to the company owner, and fired Geigert in retaliation for whistleblowing.
Eight Palm Coast Businesses Targeted by Vandalism in Early-Morning Glass-Breaking Spree
Subway, Sharps Liquor and Lovely Nails at the Flagler Plaza shopping center, and Europa Salon and Spa, Scrapbook etc., Pet Spa, Colletti’s Italian Deli and Lilly Green Children’s Boutique on Utility Drive all had their glass doors or windows shattered within a short time span between 4 and 5 a.m. Monday morning.
Massive Fire Demolishes a House on Palm Coast’s Woodhaven Dr., But 3 Dogs Are Saved
A massive fire engulfed a single-family house at 121 Woodhaven Drive, off of Pine Lakes Parkway, in Palm Coast at around 11:50 this morning. There were no occupants in the house at the time, but two dogs were rescued after the fire started.
Justin Boyles and Charles Massey Indicted on 1st Degree Murder; May Face Death Penalty
A St. Johns County grand jury indicted Justin Boyles, 24, and Charles Massey, 38, both of Palm Coast, murder and kidnapping charges in the killing of Edward Scott Mullener on June 13 or 14. Since Mullener’s charred boidy was found in St. Johns, that’s where the court proceedings are unfolding.
Flagler Homes’ Median Sale Price Up 28% Over Last Year as Investors Keep Buying
Sales closed on 200 single-family homes in June in Palm Coast and Flagler County, half those for cash as investors continue to buy homes. The median price of $144,500 is the best showing since February 2009. The median number of days those homes spent on the market was 71, an increase of eight days from last year.
‘The Struggle Continues’: Civil Rights Generation Shows Palm Coast How It’s Done in 100-Voice March
Some 100 people, most old enough to have lived through the civil rights era, walked for almost 4 miles on Palm Coast Parkway Saturday morning, singing and showing their solidarity with Trayvon Martin’s family and their opposition to Florida’s stand your ground law. Several had taken part in marches dating back to the 1963 March on Washington.
Trayvon Martin Solidarity March in Palm Coast Saturday as Protests Elsewhere Continue
The Saturday morning march in Trayvon Martin’s memory is being organized by Valerie Ottley, a retired Palm Coast resident of 22 years who is herself a neighborhood watch coordinator. The march will start at 8:30 a.m. at Kohl’s on Belle Terre Parkway and follow a course down Palm Coast Parkway to U.S.1 and back.
Car-Battery Explosion and Fire Injure 7 in Westminster Dr. House in Palm Coast; Drugs Suspected
Shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday, an explosion and resulting fire was reported at 33 Westminster Drive in Palm Coast, severely burning one person, sending four to a local hospital, with three others sustaining minor injuries. Authorities at the scene were suspecting drug activity in the house.
6-Mile Tour de Palm Coast Highlights New Sculptures and Trail Riches
A cycling tour, a discovery of the four new ‘Flight of Life’ sculptures of herons at Waterfront Park, and interactivity with the city’s new QR codes along its Waterfront trail highlight the annual Tour de Palm Coast Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m.
Vigilante Car Chase: 2 Men Jailed For Pursuit Through Shopping Center Parking Lots
Michael Marsh and Andrew Hubbard of Palm Coast face aggravated assault charges after pursuing another man in their car through Walgreens, Publix and Winn Dixie parking lots in Palm Coast Tuesday.
Edifice Complex: Palm Coast Council Should Forget About Gang of Six’s Geezer Gimmick
The Gang of Six–the former Palm Coast City Council members wanting to build a new city hall–are showing their age with the outdated nature of their idea, argues Merrill Shapiro. The council should forget their proposal and focus on the challenges of a rapidly changing city and society.
Love Triangle Gone Awry Said To Be Trigger of Gruesome Killing of Ed Scott Mullener
Details of the police investigation into the torture and killing of Edward Scott Mullener in Palm Coast’s Hammock on June 13 point to a love triangle between Mullener, Antoinette Heart and Justin Boyles. Boyles and Charles Danny Massey face first-degree murder charges.
2 Palm Coast Men Charged With 1st Degree Murder in Torture and Killing of Edward Mullener
Justin Adam Boyles, 24, and Charles Danny Massey, 38, both of 6 Holly Road in Palm Coast, allegedly beat and tortured Edward Scott Mullener of Palm Coast in mid-June before setting him on fire in his car in Flagler Estates. His smoldering car was discovered the morning of June 14. They face first-degree murder and kidnapping charges.
Palm Coast Proposes to Increase Its General Fund Budget by $700,000 and Add 9 Positions
For the first time in seven years, property values have increased in Palm Coast, if only fractionally. Even so, residents will likely see a small property tax rate increase that for most would mean a slightly higher tax bill as the city continues to balance tight budgets with residents’ demands for services, and loosen the tight belt somewhat.
Palm Coast Council Sniffs at Gang of Six Push for New City Hall, Opting for Rental Analysis
At least three council members are opposed to a new city hall, citing timing and the absence of a referendum, and in one case ridiculing a proposal put forth by aged and former council members pushing for a new building. But council members want clearer numbers about their options as the city’s three-year lease on its City Market Place digs nears expiration in November 2014.
Weekend Mayhem: Machete Attack Over Voodoo, Child Abuse, Hit-and-Run; 3 Jailed
Three unrelated but violent incidents in Palm Coast capped a July 4 weekend by landing three of their alleged perpetrators–Jordan Marrero, Sean Goodison and Roodlyn Mompremier–at the Flagler County jail. All three incidents took place within a span of seven hours on Friday (July 5), between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m, but one of the suspect was not arrested until the next day, and another suspect remains at large.
Independence Day Weekend Ruffles Tricolor Blasts From Palm Coast to Flagler Beach
Palm Coast celebrated July 4 with a complete reading of the Declaration of Independence at Heroes Park before Flagler Beach let loose with its parade, its booze, food and fights, though only one person ended up incarcerated against his will, and mostly for his benefit.
It’s Back: Gang of Six Ex-Council Members Want Palm Coast to Build a New City Hall
Ex-Mayor Jim Canfield leads the group of ex-council members asking the Palm Coast City Council to appoint a commission to study the financing and building of a new city hall. Despite warnings of the consequences from one of its own, the council agreed to take up the matter next week.
Wreck on Palm Harbor Parkway Sends 5 to Hospital, Including 3 Children and 83-Year-Old
Just as authorities were alerted to a wreck and chlorine spill at Old Kings Road and SR 100, a violent wreck involving two cars took place at the opposite end of town, along Palm Harbor Parkway, closing a segment of that road. The wreck sent five people to Florida Hospital Flagler, including three children and an 83-year-old man. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
3 Wrecks That Left 2 Dead and 1 Severely Hurt Result in Light Fines, Stunning Survivors
Cyclist Frederick Martinez and driver Eduardo Luis Pacheco were both killed in separate wrecks on State Road 100 this year, and cyclist Terrance Conley was severely injured on palm Coast Parkway. The men responsible, including a Flagler sheriff’s deputy, were sentenced today to $500 fines in two cases, and a $1,000 fine in the deputy’s case, but they face no community service hours or suspension of driving privileges.
July 6 Palm Coast Splash N Dash: Free Swimming and Running Event for 5 to 15 Year Olds
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.
Palm Coast Sours on Traffic Cameras, Calling Fines “Outrageous,” “Overkill” and “Unfriendly”
In a surprising and radical shift, Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon used harsh words to describe the city’s red-light camera program, saying that while the system makes intersections safer, its harsh punishments are out of proportion with the crime, and Palm Coast’s drivers–and the city’s image–are suffering as a result. But he is less clear on how to improve the system, which he does not want dismantled.
Covington Lane Homicide Victim Identified as Dennie Cayton, 60; He Was Stabbed
60-year-old Dennie Keith Cayton’s badly decomposed body was found on Jan. 11 in marshes behind the house at 16 Covington Lane in Palm Coast. He had been stabbed to death. While police suspected his identity early on, his body was not positively identified until after a bone examination at the University of Florida.
Armed Robber in Iron Man Mask Targets Palm Coast’s Wells Fargo Bank and Flees North (Video)
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office reports that a black male, about 5 feet, 4 inches tall, entered the Wells Fargo bank, brandished a handgun and demanded money. He was described as wearing a tan jump suit, an Ironman Mask, tan boots, gloves and a red and black backpack.
Shanghaied Water Rates: What Palm Coast Has in Common With China’s Largest City
A seemingly outlandish comparison between the two cities turns out to be much less so–and much more instructive–when comparing the similarities of the two cities’ utility challenges, and the limited ways they can go about addressing them without, in the end, making the rate-payer pay.
Sniping Over for Now, County and Palm Coast Appear to Move on Matanzas Woods Exchange
Palm Coast has the money to acquire properties affected by the Palm Harbor extension, but the city doesn’t yet have the money to build the extension toward the planned Matanzas Woods Parkway interchange at I-95. That hinges on the county making good on a series of promises.
Palm Coast Pledges to Stick to $158 Red-Light Camera Fines and Tackle Vanished Payments
The Palm Coast City Council will forego adopting steeper fines, of up to $408, for red-light camera tickets, but it has yet to find a solution to a problem particular to the city: the large number of people who pay their tickets but whose payments appear never to register with ATS, the company managing–and profiting from–the system, causing drivers headaches and additional costs.
40-Ton Tanker Truck Overturns on Palm Coast Parkway, Which Closes for Several Hours
After 11 or 11:30 a.m. Friday, the westbound lanes of Palm Coast Parkway will be closed to traffic for one to two hours, from Old Kings Road west, as crews right a tanker truck that overturned on the parkway. There were no injuries, and no environmental hazards.
Argument and Death Threat Preceded Store Clerk’s Murder By a Week, Lawsuit Alleges
A lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of Zuheili Roman Rosado, the store clerk murdered at the Palm Coast Mobil convenience store in February, alleges that the gas station owner had witnessed an argument at the store between Rosado and a man who threatened to kill her, a week before the murder. The suit seeks compensatory damages from the gas station owner over claims of negligence and fraud.
A Pastor Reflects on Two Church Community Friends: Leonard Lynn and His Murderer
Rev. Beth Gardner, the pastor at Bunnell’s First United Methodist Church, heard the news of Leonard Lynn’s murder 10 minutes before services Sunday. He had been a member of her church community–as was his murderer, Erick Niemi.
Leonard Lynn Murdered In Savage Beating Three Days Before Authorities Found Him
According to his confession, Erick Niemi knocked Leonard Lynn’s head against the floor and choked him for 1 to 2 minutes Wednesday, killing him then–and, until his arrest Saturday night, remaining in the house for three days after Niemi had locked the lifeless body in a bedroom.
Man Is Killed at 26 Ryken Lane in Palm Coast, Suspect Charged With 2nd Degree Murder
Leonard Lynn, 76, was killed at 26 Ryken Lane in Palm Coast. Erick Niemi, a roommate, has been charged with second-degree murder. The murder was discovered Saturday evening. Niemi was picked up not far in the van he’d allegedly stolen from Lynn.
Gas Station Murder Victim’s Employer Is Jailed on Workers Compensation Fraud Charge
Zuheily Roman Rosado’s assassin remains at large. But on Friday, her employer, Mohammed Ansari, was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of workers compensation fraud. His lapsed policy may have cost Roman’s family up to $157,000 in lost death benefits.
Palm Coast’s Jim Landon Gets Top Career Award from Statewide Association
It is indicative of the persistent pettiness of the rivalry between Flagler County and Palm Coast that when the county sent out the announcement of its own deputy administrator receiving a state award earlier this week, it left silent the—somewhat more significant—award that went to Jim Landon, the Palm Coast City Manager.
Rediscovering Color, Palm Coast May Relax Restrictions on Homeowners’ Paint Schemes
Palm Coast isn’t about to go Miami Beach, but the City Council approved going ahead with a plan by the Flagler Homebuilders Association and its own administration to broaden allowable colors homeowners may use to paint their own houses, a restriction that has often vexed newcomers unused to a city government controlling private property to that extent.
81-Year-Old Stabs His Caretaker in a Clash Across the Street from Mayor’s House
August T. Lindquist, 81, was jailed on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge Monday night after stabbing his caretaker outside his home on Flintstone Court, across the street from Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts’s home. Linsquist is in the early stages of dementia, when violent outbursts are not uncommon.
Palm Coast Mayor Netts Would “Violently Protest” Raising Red-Light Fines From $158
New legislation gives local governments like Palm Coast authority to raise red-light camera ticket fines to $408 if a drivers contests the ticket and loses. Netts’s opposition signals a slight but discernible shift in the mayor’s thinking about red-light cameras.
Palm Coast Man Jailed After Feared Child Abduction at Bunnell Day Care Center
George Fredericks, a 63-year-old resident of Ridley Lane in Palm Coast, was charged with battery after witnesses said he shook a child’s arm at A Little Preschool House, a day care center in Bunnell, Thursday afternoon.