Rhiannon Gross lives in a modest house in Palm Coast’s R Section with her two-and-a-half-year-old son. She came home earlier this month to a house robbed of presents under the Christmas tree and of all her electronics and jewelry.
Palm Coast
Palm Coast Seethes as Flagler Ends Hammock Dunes DRI’s Obligations to County and City
The Flagler County Commission closed the books on the 28-year-old Hammock Dunes “development of regional impact,” angering Palm Coast over developer dollars the city contends should still be paid for widening Palm Harbor Parkway.
“Celico Way” Will Have Only Second Billing as Palm Coast Resists Full Name Change
The name will appear below “Kings Way,” in smaller letters. Friends and supporters of the late Sgt. Frank Celico, the Flagler deputy who died in September at 33, wanted to rename the street near the Dunkin Donut where Celico spent many of his waking hours.
Of Art and Soul: Erin Walker’s Pottery Studio For All Creators Coils Into Palm Coast
The Art and Soul Studio at 25 Pine Cone Drive in Palm Coast is recreational paint-your-own-pottery shop for all ages and many occasions, including birthday parties and Wednesdays’ Wine-d Down, a bring-your-own-wine ladies night.
Palm Coast Accepts Garbage Hauling Bids But Doesn’t Open Them Publicly
The method continues a pattern that’s been less than transparent since fall when the city manager recommended renewing the contract with Waste Pro and skipping the bidding process.
Flagler’s 7 Governments Gather to Hear How Well Their Economic Development Is Doing
Despite enduringly high unemployment and a year of fraying rather than unity among local governments, the county hosted an intergovernmental summit Tuesday that piled back-patting on exclamation marks.
Palm Coast Would Underwrite Small Business Loans With Tax Dollars as New Incentive
The city’s loan-guarantee program would set aside $55,000 for existing, for-profit businesses looking to expand–or survive. The program is part of a series of economic development initiatives centered around the seven-month-old Business Assistance Center.
“More Teaching, Less Yelling”: A New Spring Flag Football League for Palm Coast
Developed by former NFL linebacker Sam Sword in conjunction with Palm Harbor Academy and Palm Coast, the $40-per-studen spring league is intended to be an affordable alternative for children intersested in playing. Palm Coast already has another, well-developed flag football league.
Cop Escapee Michael Testa Turns Himself In
Michael Testa, 21, who escaped from a cop car where he’d been held after being stopped on suspicions of dealing in stolen property, had just finished writing a statement and was complaining that his bond amount would keep him in jail forever.
Horse-Powered Trio of Neo-Expressionists Bring Their Brash to Hollingsworth Gallery
Artists Pat Zalisko, Karlene McConnell and Melissa Mason, who share a reformed barn of a studio in New Smyrna Beach, exhibit all new work–energetic, serene and spontaneous–in a month-long exhibit at Palm Coast’s Hollingsworth Gallery, opening Saturday.
A Suicide in Walmart’s Parking Lot; Victim, 28, Was Connected to Tuesday’s Cop Escapee
Mike Saunders, 28, was found dead in his car in the Walmart parking lot Wednesday, of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. He had been at the wheel of the same car, with Mochael Testa, when Testa was arrested near Marvin’s Gardens the day before–and escaped from a cop car.
Palm Coast’s Strathmore Deli Closes, Citing Overhead; Another Strip Now Stressed
Strathmore Deli, renamed Best Bagels & Deli, was the high-traffic anchor for the Parkway Plaza strip between Plam Coast Parkway and Cypress Point. Its abrupt closure four years after it opened is rippling with consequences.
Miser City: Palm Coast’s Support for The Arts Is 27 Cents Per Year Per Resident
Palm Coast’s city council says the times require stinginess. Community arts and culture leaders say the city is short-sighted and doesn’t recognize the economic boost and improved city profile cultural events provide.
Charges Dropped: European Village Store Owner Was Falsely Accused of Gun Assault
Dan Ferrena, owner of Palm Coast Gold Buyers at European Village, was falsely accused of threatening a customer and his children with a gun. Ferrena now faces a long road to expunge his record.
Palm Coast Lights Up Its First Communal Christmas Tree to Strings of Jazz and Joy
The redcedar, 18 feet high when planted in January, towered and twinkled the moment Santa lit it to cheers and applause Thursday evening in Town Center what Mayor Jon Netts termed a new holiday tradition for Palm Coast.
Distracted Driver Kills Josefina Reid, 54, As She Jogs; 6th Road Fatality in 20 Days
Driver Antonio Castanheira, 35, was looking back at two children in the backseat of the car he was driving when he struck Josefina Reid as she jogged in broad daylight on Sesame Boulevard in the Seminole Woods section of Palm Coast Wednesday afternoon.
Palm Coast Opts to Keep Red-Light Cameras On Despite Legal Cautions and Dearth of Evidence
Despite little money generated from red-light cameras, potential legal challenges and no hard evidence that the cameras improve safety, the Palm Coast City Council decided to stick with its 10 spy-and-snap cameras for now.
Feed Flagler: Community-Wide Celebration Wraps-Up With 3,000 Meals Served
We’re reporting live this afternoon from various Feed Flagler locations as the community-wide Thanksgiving celebration takes place from 3 to 6 p.m.
Palm Coast Observer Bucks Bleaker Newspaper Trends As Weekly Nears 2-Year Mark
The Palm Coast Observer’s latest audit shows a weekly print run of 25,000 and a household reach in Palm Coast exceeding 60 percent, compared with the News-Journal’s daily reach of 20 percent.
DeLorenzo and McGuire, Palm Coast Council’s Newest, Pick Up Where Pit Bulls Left Off
Mayor Jon Netts and council members Jason DeLorenzo and Bill McGuire were sworn in today, and two brief, emotional speeches over, McGuire cast his first dissenting vote as the council took up mundane and mordant business.
Pit Bull Attacks, Mystery Traffic, Angry Neighbors: The Battle Over Farraday Lane
Two dogs are dead following a pit bull attack on Farraday Lane, the second in four months, leading neighbors to mount a campaign against residents in a duplex on the street–who call the campaign unfounded and based on stereotype and hearsay. Residents are taking their case to the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday.
Lazy, Cheap, Irresponsible Palm Coast
This week’s dismal voter turn-out for the Palm Coast election is a reflection of a city and a council that mirror each other in laziness, misplaced penny-pinching and indifference to civic engagement where it actually matters.
Moorman and Cross Concede, McGuire Puts Landon on Notice: “He Should Be Nervous”
The Palm Coast City Council is gaining two outspoken voices at odds with the council’s laid-back make-up until now, while Jon Netts is the last member of the council who’d voted to hire Jim Landon, raising questions about the city manager’s future.
McGuire Ahead of Moorman by 54 Votes, DeLorenzo Ahead of Cross by 37
Our earlier report that Holsey Moorman had won the election may have been premature. An additional tally by the Supervisor of Elections, this one including absentee ballots, shows McGuire beating Moorman by 54 votes, and Jason DeLorenzo beating Dennis Cross just under 40 votes.
Too Close to Call: Early Voting Gives Slim Lead to Moorman, Cross and DeLorenzo Closer
Results of the Palm Coast City Council election between Holsey Moorman and Bill McGuire, and Jason DeLorenzo and Dennis Cross.
Turnout for Palm Coast Election Poor To Dismal Again as Polls Close; Results Soon
By 4 p.m., tallies–including early voting and absentee–had still not totaled the 5,248 voters who turned out for the mayoral election in September, the worst in the city’s history by turnout.
On Election Eve, DeLorenzo Contributions Surge–Including $100 from Waste Pro Rival
The latest campaign-finance reports cover the last two weeks of October. The donation to DeLorenzo from waste hauler Republic’s marketing manager was recorded eight days after the one from Waste Pro.
Veterans Day Ceremonies in Flagler and Palm Coast’s Heroes Park
This Friday’s Veterans Day ceremonies will be held at 8:30 a.m. at Palm Coast’s Heroes Park and at 10 a.m. in front of the county administration building in Bunnell.
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter
A car stolen at Florida Hospital Flagler (and recovered), an arrest at McCharacter’s turns violent, a fight at Finn’s turns violent, too, horny Halloween teen shoplifters, and more.
Bill McGuire: The Live Interview
Bill McGuire is running for Palm Coast City Council against Holsey Moorman. He answers 14 questions and a few follow-ups on a broad range of issues.
Palm Coast City Council Election:
The Live Candidate Interviews
For background on the Live interview, go here. For the Charlie Ericksen interview, go here. And if you’d like to take the Palm Coast mayor poll, or see those results, go here.
Jason DeLorenzo: The Live Interview
Jason DeLorenzo is running for Palm Coast City Council against Dennis Cross. He answers 14 questions and a few follow-ups on a broad range of issues.
Dennis Cross: The Live Interview
Dennis Cross is running for Palm Coast City Council against Jason DeLorenzo. He answers 14 questions and a few follow-ups on a broad range of issues.
200 Opponents of a Matanzas Woods Complex Tantalized By City Hints of a Solution
Palm Coast Manager Jim Landon told opponents of the Sawgrass Villas project that the city might entice the bank that owns the land to open a branch on SR100, buying city land and enabling the city to buy the Matanzas Woods property.
Disses and Disclosures As DeLorenzo Agrees to Give Back Waste Pro’s $500
There’s nothing “fair and balanced” about local media’s failure to have reported on the $500 Waste Pro donation to DeLorenzo before it was pointed out to them–or continuing attempts to paper over the ethics and judgment breach with partial rationales.
4 Life Terms as Jury Finds Bloods Gang Leader Brandon Washington Guilty on All Charges
Brandon Elshawon Washington was found guilty of second degree murder, racketeering, armed burglary and attempted home invasion by a jury that deliberated just two hours after an eight-day trial. He was sentenced to four life terms.
Early Voting for Palm Coast Council Exceeds Previous Election’s With 5 Days to Go
By day’s end Tuesday 1,862 votes were recorded, exceeded by 148 the total early-vote tally in last month’s mayoral race, though turnout remains low relative to Palm Coast’s 50,000 registered voters.
Occupy Flagler Awakes the State Today as Movements Merge in Defense of Middle Class
The Occupy Flagler-Awake the State demonstration is taking place today at Belle Terre Parkway and Palm Coast Parkway, on the Kohl’s side of the street, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Council Candidate DeLorenzo Takes $500 From Waste Pro Even as City Mulls Garbage Contract
Jason DeLorenzo defended the decision to take the money, one of two of his largest contributions, saying he hadn’t seen it as a conflict nor had he thought about it, but conceding in retrospect that it was “a bad decision.”
Flagler 911: The Live Crime Blotter
Squatters arrested on Milwaukee Ave., chasing an undocumented alien in Holland Park, midnight obscenities in the Mondex, a probation violation on speed, and the usual thefts from unlocked cars.
Drawing Mayor’s Rebuke, Palm Coast Manager’s Trash Talk Skips Agenda Notice
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon drew up bid restrictions for the city’s $35 million trash contract designed to favor Waste Pro, the current hauler, while virtually disqualifying others–and preventing two potential new city council members from having a say in the contract.
Ethics Commission Finds Against Oel Wingo, ex-Palm Coast Deputy Manager, on Various Charges
The Florida Ethics Commission found probable cause that Oel Wingo, in her brief tenure as Holly Hill city manager last year, misused her position, falsified and destroyed public records. Wingo served in Palm Coast for a decade.
The Live Poll: Palm Coast City Council Elections
The Palm Coast City Council Elections: Dennis Cross and Jason DeLorenzo in one race, Bill McGuire and Holsey Moorman in another. Come cast a vote in the Live Poll then cast a real one at the real polls.
Andrew Young, a Civil Rights Star, Glitters Over African American Cultural Society’s 20th
Andrew Young headlined Palm Coast’s African American Cultural Society’s 20th anniversary celebration Sunday with humor, a little Martin Luther King memorabilia, and a lot of pragmatic hope about American culture.
Cole Bros. Circus Comes to Palm Coast Trailing History of Violations and Animal Abuse Charges
Cole Brothers Circus owner John Pugh pleaded guilty in February to violating the Endangered Species Act and the circus was fined $150,000, and both face a long list of animal abuse and neglect charges from the USDA.
Palm Coast Pinch-Hits for Troubled Marathon Promoter Dean Reinke, Securing TDC Grant
Half-Marathon promoter Dean Reinke’s Dean Reinke Sports Group attempted three times to get Tourist Development Council subsidies in the last two years and was turned down because of deceptive practices. Palm Coast government stepped in and got the grant for the January event.
Night Clerk at Microtel on Old Kings Road Tied and Robbed at Gunpoint
The armed robbery at Microtel a little after 3 a.m. Monday is the second armed robbery in a 1-mile radius in six days. Last week, a resident of the Woodlands was robbed at gunpoint while walking nearby.
Mike Taschler, Palm Coast Data VP and COO, Is Out as Revenue Continues to Fall
Taschler’s departure follows less than three months after the resignation of Palm Coast Data CEO John Meneough, and three weeks after the company posted another steep revenue decline.
Pink Armies Invade Flagler In Varieties Of Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns
The Flagler County fire department, Palm Coast government, Florida Hospital Flagler, schools and organizations are all in on raising awareness to battle breast cancer in October.
Daily Wadsworth Elementary Jam On Parkview Drive Should End as No Parking Signs Go Up
For several years, Parkview Drive along Wadsworth Elementary has turned into a hazardous, child-crossing parking lot as school lets out. Soon, No Parking signs will go up along the two-lane road, to the displeasure of some and relief of others, in hopes of ending the hazard.