In the face of intense opposition, but also just as intense support, the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday said Yes to a new city hall. The 5-0 vote followed three hours of presentations, public comment and discussion before an overflow crowd at the Palm Coast Community Center, the largest crowd to turn up for any issue in recent memory.
Palm Coast
The Time Will Come For a New Palm Coast City Hall. This Isn’t It.
Landon and the council want their $9 million city hall the way petulant children want a new toy. But there’s a lot more arrogance than prudence in the city’s approach. So it’s pretty simple. If the city is convinced that this is a good thing for itself and for residents, just ask residents what they think. That’s a yes or no question all of us would welcome.
4th Suspect Surrenders in Trevor Blumenfeld’s Shooting in What Police Term a Pot Deal Gone Bad
Mathew Smith, 18, of Palm Coast is charged with attempted murder in the Nov. 4 shooting of Trevor Blumenfeld on Llovera Place in what police say was an attempt by four suspects to rob Blumenfeld of marijuana. The three other suspects are Matthew D. Morris, 20, and and Cameron M. Parker, 15, who were also arrested, and Raymond M. Spencer, 16, believed to have fled Florida.
Palm Coast Again Pitches New City Hall, No Referendum, as Chamber Orchestrates Support
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon on Tuesday choreographed a presentation focused on a $9 million city hall in Town Center he said can be built mostly with existing dollars–and without a referendum–as the Flagler Chamber of Commerce and the Palm Coast Observer worked on a letter-writing campaign to sway council members, who may vote on the plan next week.
They’re Not Speed Traps: New Spy Cameras on U.S. 1 in Palm Coast Aimed at Overweight Trucks
Crews last week installed video cameras on both sides of U.S. 1 between Royal Palms Parkway and Whiteview Parkway as part of a $1.2 million project to monitor the weight of large trucks. Additional cameras will go up by the northbound lanes of U.S. 1, near the weigh station.
At Hollingsworth Gallery:
Christine Sullivan, Artist of the Year
The works of Christine Sullivan, the 2013 Gargiulo Art Foundation Artist of the Year, convey an intimate connections with a sense of place and memory while exploring the pleasures of solitude. Sullivan;s exhibit opens at Hollingsworth Gallery Nov. 9, running through Dec. 3.
Justices Skeptical of Red-Light Cameras as Supreme Court Hears Case Affecting Palm Coast
With one insistent exception, Florida Supreme Court justices on Thursday strongly questioned the legality of city ordinances that permitted red-light traffic cameras that spread around Florida before 2010, when the state standardized those systems. Cities like Palm Coast may have to refund fines should the court rule against the local ordinances.
A Little Less Stingy, a Lot More Conditional: Palm Coast Approves $25,000 in Culture Grants
Eleven cultural organizations applied and all 11 got cultural grants from Palm Coast government, but with many strings attached even though none of the grants exceeds $2,370, and the total awarded is still a far cry from the $40,000 budget of six years ago.
Accused Palm Coast Carjacker Verdone Had Sought to Go to Virginia With 15-Year-Old Runaway
Swift detective work led to five felony charges against Giuseppe Verdone Jr.—who goes by “Joe”—the 22-year-old habitual Palm Coast offender accused of carjacking and severely injuring a Chinese-food delivery man Saturday before fleeing the state with a 15-year-old girl who had previously been listed as missing.
Gentle Warning Beep as Flagler’s $10 Million Emergency Radio System Approaches Its End
It’s less than eight years since Flagler spent $10 million to upgrade its county-wide communications to an 800 MHz system, to which some 1,500 radios from police, fire, municipal and county agencies are attached. That system is set to reach its official life’s end in 2017, requiring county government to start now to examine how it will replace it, and how it’ll pay for the replacement.
Charged With Assault, Thomas Merrill, 69, Denies Threatening a Woman With a Gun
Thomas R. Merrill, a 69-year-old resident of Beaverdam Lane in Palm Coast, was booked at the Flagler County jail on an assault charge after getting in an alleged altercation involving a gun with a woman who was living with him. He is the father of William Carson Merrill, the man sentenced to 25 years in prison for accidentally shooting and killing his wife in Palm Coast early last year.
Trevor Blumenfeld, 19, Is Shot While Skateboarding in Palm Coast’s LL-Section; Shooter Is At Large
Trevor Blumenfeld, 19, was shot while skateboarding in the area of Llovera Place and Lloyd Trail the Palm Coast neighborhood just south of the Flagler County Airport, just before 8 Monday evening. He was evacuated by air to Halifax hospital. His assailant was still at large.
Point Pleasant Dr. Tragedy: A Brief Stand-Off Amid Tears, a Refusal of Help, Then a Gunshot
Joshua Schmidt Roberson, 23, shot himself in the head in a construction lot on Palm Coast’s Pleasant Drive early Friday morning after a brief stand-off with deputies, and after calling 911 five times in tears, but refusing help.
Palm Coast Delivery Man Carjacked and Dumped on Parkway Ahead of Assailants’ 3-State Crime Spree
Giuseppe Verdone Jr., who four years ago set off a bottle bomb at a Palm Coast bus stop, is accused with an underage girl accomplice of carjacking Ming Gong, 43, and dumping him on palm Coast Parkway before taking his car on a crime spree through Georgia and South Carolina, where Verdone and the girl were arrested.
Palm Coast Getting Fleeced of Red-Light Camera Dollars, Harming Local Economy
In September, the 43 red-light cameras in Palm Coast generated $255,740 in fines, what would work out to an annual total of $3 million. The state and ATS, the private company running the system, took more than seven times the revenue share left Palm Coast, which means that the overwhelming majority of the money is leaving the local economy.
Caught On Video, Dollar General Burglar Attacks Cigarette Machine, Fails, Then Flees
The suspect broke into the Dollar General on Palm Coast Parkway this morning. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a white male about 6 feet tall in a black hooded sweatshirt who left the store on a mountain bike after he unsuccessfully tried to break the glass pane on a cigarette machine.
Unearned Audacity: On Economic Development, Flagler Tells Voters to Drop Dead
State law requires Flagler County to ask voters permission in a referendum, every 10 years, to give new companies tax subsidies. The Flagler County Commission wants to trash that law and let a supermajority of four commissioners make the decision for voters instead. It’s the latest example of a commission more enamored of its power than in tune with voters.
Palm Coast Slams Tree Lawsuit, Citing “False, Misleading and Unsupported Allegations”
Palm Coast’w response to Dennis McDonald’s attempt to stop the alleged “impending” tree removal around the Palm Harbor Shopping Center is that no such removal is imminent, but that even if it were–and there are indications that it will soon be–McDonald should be suing the center’s developer, not the city.
Would-Be C-Section Burglar Blames Xanax; Shoplifter Sees Taser After Swiping Lego Sets
Ruben Cortes, 23, of Campbell Court in Palm Coast, was jailed for the 12th time in five years after an alleged attempted burglary on Carr Lane. A sheriff’s deputy took out his Taser (but didn’t fire it) to arrest Elliott Dixon, 19, after Dixon was seen taking bed sheets, clothing and Lego sets at Walmart, and evading a Walmart employee who tried to stop him.
Taking Competition Seriously, FPC Focuses Its Own Promotional Video on Economic Impact
An eight-minute promotional and marketing video about Flagler Palm Coast High School, produced by students, reflects the intense competition even public schools now face to stay relevant, and is catching the eye of economic development officials, who see it as a means of broadening the county’s story and potential to prospective residents and businesses.
Embry-Riddle Training Plane’s Door Crashes to Pavement at 16 College Court in Palm Coast
A canopy door from a two-engine plane belonging to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University came undone during a training run over Palm Coast’s C-Section around 4:30 p.m. Thursday and fell to earth, slamming the pavement within yards of several houses around a cul-de-sac. No one was injured on the ground, and the pilot and trainee aboard the plane made it safely back to the Flagler County Airport.
Pink Army’s Legions Take to Palm Coast for Breast Cancer Battles Past, Present and Future
Some 800 runners, walkers and cheerers gathered for Florida Hospital Flagler’s annual Pink Army Run through Palm Coast’s Town Center Sunday morning in the continuing battle against a disease that claims the lives of 40,000 women a year.
Crime Stoppers Hand Out $5,000 Reward, Largest Yet, for Tip Leading to Mobil Murder Arrest
The anonymous tipster helped lead to the arrest of Joseph Bova, who faces first-degree murder charge in the execution-style killing of Zuheily Rosado in Palm Coast on Feb. 21. Crime Stoppers upped its rewards for tips in homicide investigations from $1,000 to $5,000.
24-Ton Recycling Waste Pro Truck, Full to Capacity, Overturns in Palm Coast’s R-Section
A 24-ton Waste Pro recycling truck that was near the end of its run for the day overturned and crashed on its side on Palm Coast’s Reybury Lane at 3:15 this afternoon, slightly injury its driver, Bob Ackerman.
Town Hall Road Show: Residents Grill 4 Local Governments’ Heads in Freewheeling Forum
A 90-minute town hall forum brought some 50 people to the Palm Coast Community Center to grill and hear Flagler County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin, Flagler Sheriff Jim Manfre, School Board Chairman Andy Dance, and Palm Coast City Council member Jason DeLorenzo address a long list of public concerns in a rare and informal cross-agency discussion.
For Taxpayers, A Rain of Excuses From Deficit-Ridden Palm Harbor Golf Club Contractor
Since Palm Coast began running the Palm Harbor Gofl Club on taxpayers’ dime in 2009, the facility has cost close to $6 million in capital and start-up costs, and annual deficits since. Contractor Kemper Sports told the city council Tuesday that it aims to break even next year, but greater success may be elusive as golfing faces numerous challenges.
Bank of America Robber Kevin Cotterman Is Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison, No Parole
Kevin Cotterman, the 42-year-old serial bank robber who stole $805 from the Palm Coast Bank of America branch on Palm Coast Parkway in May 2012, was sentenced today (Oct. 8) to 15 years in prison, with no possibility of parole, by Flagler County Circuit Judge J. David Walsh.
Shawn Dyer, 38, Accused of Growing Pot for a Year in Seminole Woods House; 20 lb Seized
Shawn Dyer had allegedly bypassed the house on 2nd Path’s electric meter to keep an elaborate marijuana growing operation going. An estimated 6.5 pounds of packaged marijuana, worth $19,500, was found in the house, among other related items.
What The Live Grenade Looked Like On Palm Coast Parkway Crosswalk
FlaglerLive obtained an image of the grenade discovered on a Palm Coast Parkway crosswalk Tuesday evening, as the image was relayed to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad through a robotic camera. The grenade was destroyed that evening.
Runs, Flags and Shirts: Pink Armies Invading Flagler County for Breast Cancer Awareness
Highlights of this month’s Pink Army events in Palm Coast and Flagler include a 5K run or walk on Oct. 13, pink flag-raising ceremonies, and allowances, on Oct. 13, for school district students who participated in the run to wear their pink shirts instead of the required uniform.
For 3 Gallons of Gas: Suspect Chased and Arrested After Theft from Cline Construction
John Mancuso, 50, of Palm Coast faces a burglary and felony fleeing and eluding charges after allegedly stealing three gallons of gas in a 30-gallon fuel drum from Cline Construction’s fuel depot on Utility Drive, off of Old Kings Road, Wednesday evening.
Bomb Squad Removes Live Grenade Found at Belle Terre and Palm Coast Parkway Intersection
Authorities confirmed that the object found at the intersection of Palm Coast Parkway and Belle Terre around 6 p.m. Tuesday was a live grenade, an Mk 2 that the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office’s bomb squad secured and took to a different location to detonate. There were no injuries.
Elections Supervisor Accepts Compromise on Use of Community Center for Early Voting
The Palm Coast City Council was willing to make broad concessions to Elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks, including either cancelling or moving one of its meetings so she could have the use of the larger Community Center room for Election Day voting, but the council stopped short of granting her that room for all 26 days she was requesting.
A Man Is Accused of Dragging and Running Over His Girlfriend Off Palm Coast Parkway
When Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Frank Gamarra arrived at the Palm Coast Parkway scene at 8 p.m. Thursday, Toni Bater, a 50-year-old Palm Coast resident, was lying on the ground with severe injuries to her legs, arms and head and bruising to her right eye. She was in the parking lot of West Point Plaza, […]
Mysterious China Series Airs on Palm Coast Municipal TV199 Starting Sunday
Palm Coast Municipal Access Television, PCMA-TV199, usually focuses on local and regional public affairs, but–with “Marco Polo’s Shangri-La,” the first espisode in the Mysterious China series airing for the next three weeks–also shares interesting content from a diverse variety of sources.
Eighteen Months In, Palm Coast Observer Retrenches Back to Once a Week
After scoring a series of successes in the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s backyard and launching an ambitious effort to go head-to-head with the twice-weekly News-Tribune a little over a year and a half ago, the Palm Coast Observer is doing what most newspapers have had to do to survive: it’s cutting back.
Sheriff Busts Meth Lab in Palm Coast’s R-Section, Arresting Same Suspect Twice in 24 Hours
Micahel Marsh, 30, was arrested in the Friday bust at 6 Raeitan Way, where he lived with Amber Troha, 19, and others. After bonding out, Marsh was re-arrested the next day, along with Troha and Virdell Myers, 28, on charges of possessing prescription drugs without a prescription, among other charges.
Rapid Response Limits Fire as Lawnmower Sets Garage Ablaze on Palm Coast’s Woodward Lane
The Palm Coast Fire Department’s rapid response–about eight minutes between the call to 911 and the time water was on the flames–helped limit the fire damage to a house at 36 Woodward Lane, where a lawnmower is believed to have started a blaze that demolished the garage.
Accused of Abusing a 4-Year-Old Boy With a Belt in April, He’s Arrested Only Wednesday
Luis Betancourt-Rodriguez was charged with child abuse after allegedly hitting a 4-year-old with a belt buckle in April, and with aggravated battery after allegedly striking a man in the face and causing him to almost lose his vision in one eye, but Betancourt-Rodriguez was not arrested until a traffic stop on Wednesday that revealed two arrest warrants.
Homes Sales and Inventory Decline a Bit in Flagler as Interest Rates Continue to Rise
After July’s buoyant home-sale figures in Flagler County, which hit a post-recession high of 243 closed sales for the month, August’s numbers are somewhat less bubbly, but the trend remains solidly positive even as interest rates creep up.
Palm Coast Data Parent Warns Grimly: Don’t Expect “Profitability in Near Term Or at All”
In the most sobering annual report to investors to date, Palm Coast Data parent Amrep Corp. raises numerous questions about the long-term viability of its operations as debt, recurring losses and competition burden its prospects–and those of what was once Palm Coast’s largest private employer.
Weekend Violence: Gun-Brandishing on Oceanshore, a Blade at White Eagle Lounge
Gregory Thilesen and Ken Guarnieri were jailed on separate charges involving the allegedly threatening display of weapons, and a Medical Examiner investigator is arrested for allegedly robbing and pawning off possessions of the dead.
Manfre Calls Story Behind Rosado Murder Arrest “Unsettling” and Still Without a Motive
Joseph Bova II was identified as the suspect in the execution-style murder of Zuheili Roman Rosado, the Mobil Mart store clerk, on Feb. 21 in Palm Coast, an alleged murder without a motive, Sheriff Jim Manfre said Friday.
Suspect Arrested in Murder of Mobil Store Clerk Zuheily Rosado, But Sheriff is Mum on Identity
The sheriff’s office is not releasing the identity of the suspect or saying who made the arrest, nor has an individual on murder charges been booked at the Flagler County jail, suggesting that the arrest was made elsewhere, possibly by another agency.
Deficit Be Damned: Palm Coast Golf Course Springs for $200,000 Golf Cart Lease
The golf cart lease the Palm Coast City Council was suddenly faced with comes after the council learned that the city’s golf course has yet to break even after four years, though they were not reminded of a $1 million expense the city shelled out for the course in 2009 that was due to be repaid to the city with course profits, but never has been.
Drinking Game in Reidsville Drive Garage Leads to a Man Shot in the Stomach
Edward Towers, Jamie Goodell and Lukas Skeans were drinking in an R-Section garage in Palm Coast and coming up with what-if scenarios when Towers took out a 9mm and put it against Goodell’s stomach. The gun went off. He was evacuated to Halifax hospital, and Towers was arrested on negligence and firing a gun in public charges.
Swipe 4 the Kids: Clerk of Court Gail Wadsworth Lauds New Credit Card Venture
It was an unusual endorsement from Gail Wadsworth, Flagler County’s clerk of court, before her Rotary Club Tuesday, but using her own office as an example, she touted the power of a new credit card transaction-fee company’s mechanism as an effective way for local businesses to raise large sums of money for their favorite children’s programs–at no new cost to businesses or customers.
At Palm Coast’s 9/11 Memorial Ceremony, Memory as Duty to the Dead, and the Living
Palm Coast’s annual 9/11 memorial ceremony at Heroes Park Tuesday morning, under a sky as blue as the blue over New York 12 years ago, drew some 150 people, including throngs of active and retired firefighters and cops.
U.S. Marshals Arrest Suspect Wanted in Bank Robberies in Flagler, Volusia and St. Johns
William Carl Styffe, 32, of Coconut Creek in Palm Beach County, was arrested by U.S. Marshals Monday as the suspect believed to have tried to rob Hancock Bank in Palm Coast on Aug. 30 and to have robbed a SunTrust bank in Volusia the same day, and a bank in St. Johns County four days later.
Snap-and-Run: Sheriff Looking for Driver Who Sheared Off Red-Light Camera Pole
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a vehicle captured on video that struck an ATS red light traffic camera pole on Moody Boulevard (State Road 100) at the intersection of Memorial Medical Parkway in Palm Coast. The pole belongs to American Traffic Solutions, the Arizona-based company that runs the red-light spy-and-snap camera system for Palm Coast.