Jerry Full, one of the founding members of the Palm Coast City Council, thought, spoke and lived at speeds defying limits, and lived lives as if he would never run out of them. Full died on March 28 in Ossining, N.Y. He was 86.
Flagler
Bunnell Wants County, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach to Help Solve Its Homeless Problem
Bunnell’s First United Methodist Church is the closest thing Flagler County has to a homeless shelter, but a few residents are critical even of that limited help, claiming it’s blighting the city, while the City Commission wants county government, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach to pitch in for a solution.
Wadsworth Dog Park In Flagler Beach Will Remain Closed Through the Week Over Virus Scare
The dog park at Flagler Beach’s Wadsworth Park is closed until further notice as authorities try to determine whether a dog that contracted the virulent and infectious parvovirus may have been picked up at the dog park. The Palm Coast dog park remains open.
Experimental Plane Crashes Into Alligator-Infested Lake Disston, 2 Safely Swim to Shore
Allan Burrows, 59, and Kathrine Burrows, 51, both of Port Orange, survived after their A-22 LS fixed-wing sank into Lake Disston Tuesday evening.
U.S. Corps’ Cost to Rebuild 2.5 Miles of Beach: $39 Million and Up, Storms Not Included
The Corps of Engineers is favoring “renourishing” a 2.5-mile segment of beach from South 7th Street to South 28th Street in Flagler Beach five times through 2060 by rebuilding dunes and dumping 320,000 cubic yards of sand five times over, for $39 million. Adding another segment could add $30 million.
Flagler’s 10.3% Unemployment Is Lowest Since August 2008, Florida’s Matches 7.7% U.S. Rate
Flagler County’s unemployment rate fell sharply in February, to 10.3 percent–from 11 percent the previous month–and matched its lowest level since August 2008. Florida’s unemployment rate also continued to fall, matching the national rate, at 7.7 percent, in February while adding 7,800 jobs. Flagler continues to rank among the counties with the highest unemployment rate, […]
Wildfires Damage 2 Beverly Beach Homes and Jump A1A Before They Are Fiercely Put Down
A fire broke out at 2:25 this afternoon in the 3800 block of North Ocean Shore Boulevard in Beverly Beach, consuming parts of a beach-front house.
Between Flagler Beach and the County, a Clash of Visions Over Protecting an Eroding Shore
Flagler Beach and Flagler County may be heading toward a showdown over the fate of the eroding beach they have in common. Between now and then, the Flagler Beach City Commission itself may fracture on either side of an unresolved conflict between those opposed to protecting the beach by way of dredging up and dumping sand on it, and those willing to give that approach a shot despite its costs and uncertainties.
“So Happy You Guys Have Come Along,” Plantation Bay Residents Tell County and Bunnell
If questions lingered over Flagler County’s and Bunnell’s expensive and controversial acquisition of the Plantation bay utility, Plantation Bay residents dispelled them Thursday by enthusiastically giving their endorsement to the deal, though county and city commissioners are still facing questions from constituents beyond the development.
The Death Penalty Comes to Flagler Beach: Saturday Workshop Takes On “Broken System”
The workshop between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at Santa Maria Del Mar’s Community Hall, will feature former death row inmates Herman Lindsey (exonerated in 2006) and Seth Penalver (2012), along with several other death penalty experts and advocates for the repeal of Florida’s capital punishment.
As County Ratifies School Levy Referendum, Elections Supervisor Lines Up Concerns
Weeks, who expects a very low turn-out, is not planning on having an early-voting site for the June 7 special election, which falls on a Friday. The election may cost upwards of $100,000. The commission voted 5-0 to place the initiative on the ballot.
As Obamanomics Trickles Down, Florida’s Unemployment Rate Drops But Flagler’s Lags
Though improving, Florida’s unemployment rate is still 33rd out of the 50 states, while Flagler’s, at 11 percent, remains the second-worst in the state, after Hendry’s 11.4 percent.
Instructor-Pilot Lands Stalled Single Engine Plane Safely on Palm Coast Parkway
A single-engine Cessna carrying two people that developed engine trouble landed safely at 6:45 p.m. on Palm Coast Parkway, just west of Belle Terre. The plane is sitting on the road at the moment, as authorities investigate. No one was hurt.
Flagler County’s “Ulympic Games,” Set for April, Are Crying for Participants
Flagler’s “Ulympic Games” feature 10 sports over a week, April 6-13, open to anyone employed by any local government, but as a March 15 deadline approaches, only a few dozen people had registered.
Bunnell’s City Election Tuesday: From the Revealing to the Embarrassing
Incumbents Daisy Henry and Elbert Tucker are in a three-way race with challenger Bill Baxley for two seats on the Bunnell City Commission, but, to incumbents’ advantage, few people are paying attention.
Jamesine Fischer Pleads Guilty in Hit-and-Run, Will Serve 21 to 36 Months in State Prison
Jamesine Fischer Thursday morning pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident with a death, in the hit-and-run killing of 76-year-old Francoise Pecqueur in Palm Coast in November 2011.
In a Coup for Coastal Cloud, Gov. Scott in Flagler Today to Dedicate New IT Company
Florida Governor Rick Scott will join the Flagler County Commission Tuesday morning in the ribbon cutting ceremony of Coastal Cloud, a cutting-edge Information Technology consulting company to be headquartered in Flagler County.
Flagler’s West Side, Tired of Black Sheep Label, Wants Better Fire-Rescue Services
Response time to emergencies in Western Flagler County can be very long, prompting west side residents to urge county officials to set up a more permanent rescue station there. Officials have been listening, and may soon have a plan.
It’s Not Just Hotels: Flagler Seeking to Collect Bed Tax From Booming Short-Term Rentals
The Flagler’s Tourist Development Council is spearheading an effort to make sure landlords who rent homes or condominiums on a short-term basis, defined as less than six months, pay the 4 percent tourist development tax.
For the Unemployed in Flagler, Fewer Training Dollars and More Obstacles in Benefits’ Way
The rush for demand has all but sapped funding for worker training training from a Flagler County agency this fiscal year, even as Flagler continues to have Florida’s leading unemployment rate. It was 11.2 percent in December.
At Investiture of County Judge Melissa Moore Stens, A Few Tears, Some Advice and Pride
Melissa Moore-Stens, Flagler County’s first county judge not named Atack in 34 years, marked her investiture at the Flagler Auditorium Friday with family, friends and the counsel of judges, now her equal colleagues, including a few words on the etiquette of peeing as a judge.
An Insulted Flagler Beach Commission Rebuffs Holmberg’s Plan and Wants Its Money Back
The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday was offended by the shoddiness and ill-mannered presentation of Dick Holmberg, who’d received $50,000 for an analysis of the shore’s erosion problem, and as a first step to a $10 million solution he was proposing. The city decided to cut its losses instead.
Mondex Man Shoots Himself in the Head, Accidentally, After an Argument
Howard Berry, 53, a resident of 1696 Rosewood Street, was taken to Halifax Hospital Tuesday evening with a gunshot wound to the head after he had been “messing around with a gun,” he told cops, after an argument with his wife.
Cut-and-Paste: Holmberg Beach Study Falls Short of City Commissioners’ Expectations
A 42-page report by Dick Holmberg analyzing the Flagler Beach shoreline for potential installation of his “undercurrent stabilizers” to rebuild the beach’s sands drew severe criticism from city commissioners, who called it lacking, and not reflective of a $50,000 job, which the city was to pay for with county dollars.
County and Bunnell Buy Plantation Bay Utility for $5.5 Million in Hurried Late-Night Deal
The two governments late Wednesday evening jointly voted to buy the troubled Plantation Bay utility, a wreckage of a 28-year-old water and sewer system serving about 1,600 customers, most of them in Volusia County, plunging Flagler County in the utility business.
Coastal Cloud, a Next-Generation Computing Management Firm, Unveils Plan for 100 Jobs
Coastal Cloud is a newly-formed subsidiary of Graphene LLC, a computing consultancy, that will provide cloud-based data management services while hiring locally some 100 jobs over three years, at an average wage of $46,500, the company announced to the county’s economic development council today.
Flagler’s Tourism Council Would Relax Rules Governing Subsidies for Special Events
The changes, affecting $100,000 in bed-tax dollars county government, through the tourism council, awards organizations that put on special events, would dispense with the requirement that organizations spend the money advertising their event, and would allow them to spend it on incidental expenses that may be more difficult to track.
Let’s Holster Incendiary Rhetoric and Get Flagler Started on Meaningful Gun Talk
Flagler County must have an honest, open dialogue about the place of guns in our community, Milissa Holland argues, but to do so the extremists on both sides must be willing to calm down and let reason facilitate the dialogue.
Public Employees Lose as Florida Supreme Court Upholds 3% Pension Dip
Last Updated: 12:55 p.m. The Florida Supreme Court, in a much-anticipated but very divided 4-3 ruling, today sided with the Legislature, and against public employees, by upholding a 2011 law that requires all public employees to contribute 3 percent of their pay to the Florida Retirement System, a pension fund. In a majority opinion by […]
Citing “Sorry State of Affairs,” Sullen Flagler Library Board Asking for a New Tax to Survive
The Flagler County Library Board of Trustees chairman’s report to the county commission this evening is sullen and frustrated in tone, and at times directly critical of the commission for too stingily supporting the library over the past few years. It will also ask for the creation of a new taxing district to support the library.
John Thrasher, Travis Hutson, Plus One: Airing Out Flagler’s Legislative Delegation
The inaugural guests on Milissa Holland Live Friday on WNZF will be Holland’s ex-opponent Rep. Travis Hutson, and Sen. John Thrasher, as Holland hosts an informall follow-up to December’s at-times contentious legislative delegation meeting on short-term rentals and other issues of local concern.
Quoting—and Misquoting—Jefferson, Sheriff Vows Agency Will Breathe Air of Integrity
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre’s swearing-in featured a large-tent invitation and sharp contrasts of style and intentions with the eight years of Don Fleming, but also a reminder from Manfre that imperfection is universal.
New Sheriff In Town: Jim Manfre Wastes No Time Firing, Demoting and Reorganizing
Even before he was to be sworn in at noon Tuesday, Sheriff Jim Manfre had radically reorganized the sheriff’s office in a manner bound to stir a mixture of resentment and approval, signaling an aggressively ambitious agenda.
Questions and Costs Abound as Flagler Moves to Acquire Troubled Plantation Bay Utility
Flagler County commissioners had more questions than answers even as they approved going ahead with a $5 million acquisition of the deteriorated Plantation Bay water and sewer plant, and throwing the county, in a hazy partnership with Bunnell, in the utility business for the first time.
Mondex’s Kenneth Morrow Is Shot and Killed in a Suicidal Confrontation With Volusia Cops
Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies attempting to negotiate with a suicidal man armed with a handgun opened fire and killed 52-year-old Kenneth Morrow of Daytona North Wednesday evening in Ormond Beach after Morrow “advanced” on deputies while brandishing a gun, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
In Prenup Haggling, County and Bunnell Agree to Split Old Courthouse, With Sheriff in Annex
In an at-times tense joint meeting between the Flagler County Commission and Bunnell’s commission, the two sides agreed to cede the old courthouse to Bunnell for a city hall, but the courthouse annex would remain in county ownership, and be turned over to the sheriff as a new headquarters.
Less Than 5 Months In, Charter School Closes, Upending Parents, District and County
Global Outreach Charter Academy opened hurriedly at the Flagler County Airport in August, with generous lease terms from county government and accommodations from the school board, only to tell its 122 students and staff on New Year’s Day that the school was out of business.
Milissa Holland Live: Former Commissioner Launches WNZF Show and FlaglerLive Column
Milissa Holland Live begins airing Fridays at 10 a.m. on WNZF on Jan. 9, and Holland’s FlaglerLive column begins running on Jan. 2 (every Wednesday) as the ex-commissioner aims to foster serious and sustained conversations on the most important state and local issues of the day.
When Flagler’s Firefighters Are A Lot More Than First Responders
When the author’s father died at an assisted living facility in Palm Coast two years ago, paramedics had to be called in to take care of his aunt’s panic attack. What followed illustrates our first responders’ routine and largely unheralded heroism.
For Needy Children’s Christmas, Flagler Fire Fighters’ Union Answers the Call of the Year
Kyle Lockwood, a firefighter-paramedic with Flagler County Fire Rescue, organized a gift drive for 42 of the county’s neediest children and, with colleagues, delivered the gifts to children and their families Friday in the courthouse parking lot.
Florida Unemployment Falls Sharply to 8.1%, But Flagler’s Edges Back Up to 11.4%
Florida’s unemployment rate dropped sharply in November, to 8.1 percent, from 8.5 percent last month–and 10.1 percent a year ago–but Flagler County’s unemployment rate rose a decimal point, to 11.4 percent.
A Rare, 26-Foot Right Whale Is Discovered Dead Just South of Varn Park
A 26-foot right whale that had been dead more than a day was discovered south of Varn Park Wednesday morning. Federal and state authorities will conduct a necropsy before attempting to bury the whale in place.
Sheriff Fleming Restores to Full Rank Deputy Accused of Skimming Time, as Others Dissent
An internal investigation of Sgt. Jamie Roster, based on testimonies from men he supervised, had found him to have falsified time sheets for more than $8,000. The settlement between Fleming and the PBA means Roster will serve a one-day suspension without pay and be returned to full Sergeant duty in charge of the men who’d reported on him.
15 Flagler County Rotarians Receive President’s Service Award, Highest Volunteer Honor
The Rotary Club of Flagler County is not exactly Obama country, but 15 of its 70 members (all past presidents) were surprised Wednesday evening when they received the presidential award, presented to those who’ve logged more than 4,000 volunteer hours in their community.
Conflict Over Hammock Vacation Rentals Dominates Legislative Meeting, To Little End
Florida House freshman Travis Hutson and John Thrasher, both Republicans and the sum total of Flagler County’s legislative delegation, listened to almost two hours of direct lobbying and appeal from local leaders and residents Tuesday evening in Bunnell, but distanced themselves from the evening’s most contentious issue: vacation rentals.
Florida Hospital Flagler CEO David Ottati in Awe of EMS Response at Trauma Wreck Scene
Florida Hospital Flagler CEO David Ottati witnessed the wreck of motorcyclist Brian Davis on john Anderson Highway Friday night, called 911, assisted the victim, then was in awe of Flagler County Fire Rescue’s paramedics at work as he’d never seen them beyond the hospital.
Palm Coast’s Plan to Install Red-Light Spy Cameras on SR100 Faces New Obstacle
Flagler County runs the lights’ infrastructure, and must give its permission to Palm Coast to plug in its spy-camera system. The county, which opposes cameras on SR100, won’t grant permission.
As New Commission Chairman, Nate McLaughlin Quickly Flexes Unyielding Muscle
In a tense few minutes at this week’s Flagler County Commission meeting, McLaughlin refused to yield to Barbara Revels’s repeated request to hold on to her membership on the Public Safety Coordinating Council, which McLaughlin took over, as he did that of the powerful Tourist Development Council.
Doug Baxter, Flagler Chamber President Since 2007, Resigns Unexpectedly; DeLorenzo Leads
Doug Baxter was president since 2007. Rebecca DeLorenzo is taking over for now. The chamber was facing some financial issues, and the resignation was not internally as surprising as it appears from beyond the chamber walls.
Feed Flagler Recap: $17,000 in Donations; Johnston Reclaims Fund-Raising Trophy
Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston raised $5,001, or $1 more than Flagler County Sheriff Don Fleming, thanks to a last-minute, $1 donation from George Hanns, the county commissioner.