A comprehensive analysis of the 10 candidates for the four Palm Coast City Council seats, including mayor, illustrates to what extent voters are poised to make a choice that could either significantly shift the direction of the city, but with an uncertain destination, or maintain its course.
All Else
Palm Coast Planning Board Punts Matanzas Golf Course Development Back to Where It’d Been Stalemated For Months
City planners and the developer of a 268-home plan in the disused Matanzas Woods golf course disagree over where to place homes and ponds and whether new homes will block existing homeowners’ views. The Planning Board was supposed to break the stalemate. Instead, it threw the matter back to negotiations between planners and the developer.
Abridged by Pandemic, City Rep Theatre Season Kicks Off with Wacky Shakespeare in the Socially Distanced Park
Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre returns for the first time since the pandemic with “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” in an outdoors production at the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s venue in Town Center, with socially distanced seating.
Our Toothless Mask Mandates
Americans have gotten used to all sorts of mandates, from cleaning up after dogs to stopping at intersections. There’s no reason it should be this hard to enforce ones around the coronavirus.
Trump’s 90-Minute Insult to America
Trump at Tuesday’s debate was the proverbial bull in the china shop of democracy, and when he was done there was barely a piece of porcelain left intact. He acted as if this was one of his rallies, playing to our lowest animal instincts and insulting our intelligence, argues Michael Winship.
Enrollment Underway for Fall B Term at Daytona State College; Classes begin Monday, October 19
Enrollment for Daytona State College’s Fall B term is underway, and a team of admissions specialists are here to help future DSC students through the entire process. Classes begin on Monday, October 19 and enrollment can be completed online or by making an appointment to speak with an admissions advisor.
3 Flagler Residents Die of Covid, Raising Local Toll to 26; Health Department Expecting Rapid Tests Soon
The latest Flagler County victims of covid-19 were 67, 73 and 77. There are 16 patients with a covid diagnosis at AdventHealth Palm Coast, though covid-related numbers have declined in Flagler schools, nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Palm Coast Offering $700-Credit to Up to 360 Lower-Income Households to Help Pay Utility Bills
Palm Coast government this week launched a utility-payment assistance program designed to help families or households cash-strapped by the covid-19 pandemic to defray the cost of utility bills. Renters and homeowners are both eligible.
Despite $749 million Profit in Last Quarter, FPL Says No to Giving Covid-Strapped Customers a Break on Disconnections
Florida Power & Light, Gulf Power, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Co. filed documents at the state Public Service Commission pushing back against a proposed emergency rule change that would halt disconnections for customers who can’t pay their bills.
Flagler Beach Commission Will Lay Down 4 Conditions for The Gardens Development, Adding to County’s Pressure
Placing its full weight behind its new approach, the Flagler Beach City Commission will condition its support for The Gardens on more explicit assurances about road, utility, flooding improvements, and more certainty about a “cap” on future development.
Rick Staly, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Rick Staly is the incumbent Republican is a candidate for Flagler County Sheriff, facing retired Sgt. Larry Jones, a Democrat, in the Nov. 3 election. This is a rematch from the 2016 race, when Staly defeated Jones in a three-way race, with 54 percent of the vote.
Former Star Teacher at Palm Coast’s Imagine School Is Indicted on Child Porn Charges in Oregon
Brett Cunningham, a former elementary school teacher at Imagine School at Town Center in Palm Coast, was indicted in Oregon last week on charges of allegedly possessing and duplicating child pornography.
Amendment 2 Would Gradually Raise Florida’s Minimum Wage to $15 By 2026. GOP Leaders Want It Defeated.
If approved, the proposal, known as Amendment 2, would increase the state’s minimum wage — currently $8.56 an hour — to $10 on Sept. 30, 2021, and incrementally increase the rate each year until reaching $15 on Sept. 30, 2026.
Grinding Past “Mini-Surge,” Flagler Records Its 24th Covid Death as Florida Exceeds 700,000 Cases
Flagler County continues to experience a significant number of infections, though totals have fallen for two successive weeks, down to 80 in the week ending Sept. 26, from 109 the previous week and 139 the week before that, with a little over 100 tests a day being administered on average.
A Real Vaccine Before the Election? It Would Take a Miracle.
There is a small chance that Pfizer’s vaccine trial will yield results by Nov. 3. But it could still take weeks for FDA review. Here’s everything that has to happen and how to tell a political stunt from a real vaccine.
Trump Supporter’s Obscenity-Laced Video Against Democrats in Town Center Draws Sheriff’s and Bi-Partisan Rebuke
Sheriff Rick Staly called for calm in the election season after a Palm Coast man’s video of himself hurling obscenities and provoking Democrats at a Town Center rally circulated on Facebook. Democrats, Republican and Trump Club officials all denounced the video.
DeSantis Lifts All Restrictions on Restaurants and Businesses and Prohibits Local Constraints
DeSantis is decoupling for good the connection between science and public health on one hand and the economy on the other, opting exclusively for a focus on business measures in hopes of spurring consumer confidence. That confidence, however, continues to lag as individuals’ apprehensions continue to drive behavior.
Joe Mullins’s Cowering Enablers
By refusing to censure Joe Mullins for insulting Greg Hansen and Charlie Ericksen, Commissioners Donald O’Brien and Dave Sullivan are cowering enablers of Mullins’s bigotry, his bullying, his indecency. They all demeaned the County Commission and the constituents they represent.
Candidates for County Commission and Sheriff Self-Promote Unchallenged in Tame Tiger Bay Forum
It was a rare in-person forum for the candidates in this covid era, without a live audience, but the restrictive and genteel format turned the occasion into something resembling a series of short infomercials for the candidates rather than a challenging political forum.
The Gardens Development Again Rebuffed as Commission Seeks More Answers and Residents’ Buy-In
The Flagler County Commission on Monday opted unanimously to table The Gardens’ application for a 335-home development on John Anderson Highway, the latest in a series of obstacles the development has faced since reviving a plan first devised by developer Bobby Ginn a decade and a half ago.
Corinne Hermle, Flagler County Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Corinne Hermle is the Democratic Candidate for the Distritct 1 County Commission seat, facing Republican Andy Dance in the Nov. 3 election. All registered Flagler County voters may cast a ballot in the race regardless of address or party affiliation.
Flagler Sheriff’s New Real-Time Crime Center Merges Tactics, Technology and Powerful Surveillance Tools
The age of command, control, surveillance and crime-fighting in real time is here, and its nerve center at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, operational since spring, is the Real-Time Crime Center. The sheriff opened it to reporters on Wednesday.
Covid ‘Superspreader’ Night and Other Events at Social Club of Palm Coast Cause at Least 2 Deaths and Up to 50 Infections
An August 28 singing night at the Social Club of Palm Coast on Old Kings Road, where people sang and socialized, many without masks or social distancing, triggered a rare covid-19 superspreader event whose toll in infections and deaths the Flagler Health Department is still tallying.
Andy Dance, Flagler County Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Andy Dance is the Republican candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 1, facing Democrat Corinne Hermle, for the seat previously held by Charlie Ericksen. All registered Flagler County voters may cast a ballot in the race regardless of address or party affiliation.
Commissioners O’Brien and Sullivan Block Motion to Censure Joe Mullins Even as They Call Behavior ‘Unacceptable’
Don O’Brien and Dave Sullivan refused to censure Joe Mullins for insulting fellow-commissioners, saying it would be bad for Flagler’s reputation. Sullivan didn’t want to be the first chairman on whose watch a censure vote passed.
Flagler Beach Commission Makes It Explicit: The City Will Provide Water and Sewer to The Gardens Development
Flagler Beach can and will provide water and sewer to The Gardens, one of the more controversial proposed developments on any local government’s agenda. Monday evening, the County Commission was set to hear The Gardens’ development applications in one of the last hurdles before it can start building.
Once Short-Listed for Manager, Palm Coast’s Don Kewley Resigns Ahead of Firing in City’s Latest Shake-Up
Don Kewley, who’d been short-listed for Palm Coast City Manager then hired as its innovations chief, resigned before getting fired by Matt Morton, who’d hired him. Morton says he is closing down the division Kewley was overseeing and turning it over to IT for management.
No, Republicans Aren’t Hypocrites: RBG’s Death and The Wages of Power
Charges of hypocrisy are insufficient to change the course of the RBG’s replacement or, in fact, in other Republican attempt to race-bait, disenfranchise voters, or increase the wealth of the affluent.
With No Mention of Hansen or Ericksen, ‘Vague’ Joe Mullins Apology Contradicts Continuing Insults Online
Joe Mullins’s brief apology today was more focused on back-patting and dissembling his role while never taking responsibility for the abuse he’s continued to heap on Commissioners Hansen and Ericksen. The email doesn’t materially change anything, Commission Chairman Dave Sullivan said, with a discussion about Mullins set for next Monday’s meeting.
Citizens Insurance Will Likely Avoid Major Impact From Hurricane Sally
Hurricane Sally, which caused heavy flooding and other damage Wednesday in Northwest Florida, likely will not have a major financial impact on the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Sheriff’s Office Partners With 7-Eleven in 25th Anniversary Celebration of ‘Operation Chill’
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) will be collaborating with 7-Eleven Inc. for their annual ‘Operation Chill’ Campaign. For a quarter-century, Operation Chill, 7-Eleven Inc.’s longest running community service program, has given local law enforcement an opportunity to make a positive connection with kids through free Slurpee drink coupons. Each coupon can be redeemed for […]
Donna Giglio Steps Up to Lead the Palm Coast Democratic Club
Donna Giglio, retired from teaching in the Flagler County School system in 2017, has stepped up to assume the Presidency of the Palm Coast Democratic Club in the wake of Bob Coffman’s resignation to run for Palm Coast City Council.
Flagler Tiger Bay Club Hosts 2-Night Live Forum With Candidates for Sheriff, County Commission and Palm Coast Council
The hourlong forums will feature all, or nearly all, candidates running in local elections, with candidates for the Flagler County Commission and for Sheriff on Wednesday, and the candidates for Palm Coast Mayor and the Palm Coast City Council on Thursday.
Sylvia Ann Stover-Marthia, 1952-2020
Sylvia Stover-Marthia 68, of Flagler Beach passed away September 7, 2020, with her family by her side. She was born to the late Willie and Vinonia Crews on September 3, 1952 in Folkston, Georgia
Joe Mullins Again Erupts in String of Abuse Against Commissioner Hansen at 9/11 Event, Spurring Calls for Censure
Less than 48 hours after insulting Commissioner Greg Hansen at a County Commission meeting, Commissioner Joe Mullins unleashed another string of worse abuse on Hansen, to his face–at an event commemorating the death of 3,000 victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. But Commissioners Sullivan and O’Brien are resisting saying whether they’d censure him.
31 Test Positive At Grand Oaks Rehab; Flagler’s Covid Death Toll Up to 21 as Cases Spike Again to Near Peak
Two more covid-related deaths were added to Flagler’s tally and a serious spike in cases at the Grand Oaks rahab and nursing home, in schools and at social clubs has resulted in a return of near-peak case loads for the county.
America Is About to Lose Its 200,000th Life to Coronavirus. How Many More Have to Die?
As a nation, we became inured to a national death toll that has only recently dropped below a thousand people a day. Think about that. Every week, we lose far more of our fellow citizens than died 19 years ago in the most devastating terrorist strike in American history.
Palm Coast Council Approves ‘Luxury,’ Woods-Ringed 256-Apartment Complex on West Side of W-Section
The development of 12 three-story buildings on 92 acres of woodlands and lakes near U.S. 1 in Palm Coast has drawn little attention and none of the opposition that traditionally barnacles to large apartment complex proposals in the city.
Haunted by Covid, Palm Coast and Sheriff Prepare for Halloween With Balance of Tradition and Safety
While such standard events as the Palm Coast Fire Department’s Hall of Terror have been cancelled, Parkview Church’s mega trunk-or-treat event will unfold as a drive-through version, and the sheriff is adding a drive-through event in early October.
County and City Taxes Will Stay Flat for Most Homesteaded Properties Except for Spike in Bunnell
Residents of Flagler County and each of its cities will again see little to no change in their property tax bills next year as governments are adopting tax rates that either stay flat or roll back a little, with the exception of Bunnell.
Save Lives. Fill Out Your Census.
Certain communities — such as rural, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, immigrant, and LGBTQ folks — are especially likely to be undercounted. Some experts warn this year’s census could be the worst undercount of Black and Latinx people in 30 years.
Joe Mullins Fires Demeaning Personal Insults at Commissioners in a Meeting, Repeating ‘Dangerous’ Pattern
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins called fellow-Commissioner Greg Hansen a “fat sonofabitch” and Charlie Ericksen a “useless old man” at a meeting Wednesday just months after Ericksen had felt so threatened by Mullins that he called on Sheriff Staly for help.
Opponents of The Gardens Development Win Commissioners’ Concern Even as They Lose Appeal
Preserve Flagler Beach, a group largely opposing the proposed 335-home Gardens development on John Anderson Highway, lost a procedural battle but gained commissioners’ sympathy and concerns on substantive grounds in a hearing Wednesday.
Bars May Reopen Monday at 50% Capacity Indoors, Full Capacity Outdoors
Bars and craft breweries were among the businesses ordered to go dark in March by DeSantis in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness known as Covid-19.
Heroes
If Flagler County had a Nobel Prize, Flagler Health Department Chief Bob Snyder and Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director there, would have won it this year for their management of the coronavirus pandemic, absurd claims against them notwithstanding.
FPC and Matanzas Face Off Sept. 18 on Gridiron as Fall Sports Return and Uncertainty Outnumbers Fans
Attendance at FPC will be limited to 640 people in the stands, or about 13 percent of the stadium’s capacity of 5,000. No tickets will be sold at the gate, no interactions between fans and athletes will be allowed.
Joey Renn Jr., 21, Charged With Vehicular Homicide in Death of Logan Goodman, 14, in Woodlands
Using video footage, a traffic homicide investigator clocked Joey Renn going 109 miles per hour on his Suzuki motorcycle before impact after failing to negotiate a curve in Palm Coast’s Woodlands.
County Commission Meeting Turns Circus as Defiant Anti-Maskers Spread Falsehoods Before They’re Asked to Leave
A group of anti-mask militants held up the county commission meeting for 30 minutes today before addressing the panel in brews of misinformation, social media memes and alternative facts and calling for the removal of the Health Department’s Bob Snyder and Dr. Stephen Bickel. The commissioners explicitly rebuffed the militants in turn.
Trimming Budget and Rancor, Flagler Beach Commissioners Agree to No Tax Increase Next Year
In recognition of residents’ difficulties with Covid-19, Flagler Beach city commissioners agreed to a net-zero tax increase next year, which will translate to a modest tax decrease for many property owners, or some increase for those who aren’t homesteaded and whose assessed values have shot up.
Flagler Sees 3 More Covid Deaths, New Spike in Cases and Hospitalizations; 14 Cases at Old Kings Elementary
There’s been 184 new cases in the last 14 days alone in Flagler, and 28 positive cases in the Flagler County school district through today since school reopened on Aug. 24, half of them at Old Kings Elementary, as a renewed spike has the local health department chief concerned.
