William Whitson has managed four cities and was assistant manager of Port orange for eight years, Dru Driscoll has worked 22 years in Daytona Beach, the last few as deputy city manager and fire chief. They are seeking to replace the late Larry Newsom, who died in August.
larry newsom
Larry Newsom’s “Brighter Side of Life”: A Celebration
A celebration of the life and times of the late Larry Newsom, Flagler Beach’s city manager for the past four years and one of local governments’ more colorful personalities, featured a video tribute produced by Flagler Broadcasting’s David Ayres and Rich Savage.
In Flagler Beach, A Pitched Battle Over Taxes Is Dividing Commissioners as Administration Draws Fire
The Flagler Beach City Commission appeared ready to prevent a tax increase of any kind this year until a surprising call for another budget meeting had two commissioners questioning the administration’s motives, and those of fellow-commissioners.
Police Chief Matt Doughney Appointed Interim Flagler Beach Manager As Search for Newsom Replacement Begins
Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney will lead the city as the commission itself handles every aspect of the hiring process for the next manager over the next few months. Doughney is leaving the door open to be among the applicants for the permanent job.
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom Dies at 56 After a Series of Illnesses
Larry Newsom, who Flagler Beach City Commission Chairman Jane Mealy termed the best city manager she’d worked with among a half dozen, died this afternoon at AdventHealth Palm Coast after seesawing between serious illnesses ad recoveries over the past year.
Bryan Says City Manager’s Letter on The Gardens Made ‘Total Clowns’ of Flagler Beach Commissioners and Wants It Rescinded
Flagler Beach City Commissioner Ken Bryan was sharply critical of City Manager Larry Newsom over a letter Newsom wrote assuring The Gardens developers that the city has capacity to provide water and sewer to some 355 proposed homes along John Anderson Highway.
Chastened Over Outbursts, Flagler Beach Manager Newsom Apologizes But Also Draws Warm Support
City Manager Larry Newsom survived a humiliating and one-sided dressing down by rookie Commissioner Deborah Phillips as other commissioners and the mayor rallied around him and he apologized repeatedly for a recent outburst at a public meeting.
‘Little Old Flagler Beach’ No More as City Commission Plans on Stricter Public Meeting Rules
Though most lapses in civility have involved commissioners or staffers over the years, new rules proposed by new Commissioner Ken Bryan would significantly corral interactions between the public and commissioners and create a public no-go zone at commission meetings.
Flagler Beach Manager Larry Newsom Again on Leave; Commission Postpones ‘Behavior’ Workshop
For the second time in two months Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom is on medical leave, prompting the city commission to cancel a workshop where his and the public’s behavior at meetings were to be discussed.
Special Session Set to Discuss Larry Newsom’s “Behavior” After He Is Asked to Leave Flagler Beach Commission Meeting
The mayor asked Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom to leave a city commission meeting and start his vacation early Thursday night after Newsom had two public confrontations with constituents. Newsom said he was defending himself against insults.
Flagler Beach’s $571,000 Fire Truck Buy Delayed Until Public Can Voice Concerns In Person
The decision to delay a decision followed a 40-minute discussion on the truck by the city commission, including a presentation by Fire Chief Bobby Pace, who defended the purchase.
Flagler Beach’s Plan to Buy $571,000 Fire Truck Draws Opposition Over Timing and Recent History
The Flagler Beach Fire Department’s proposal to buy a $571,000 fire truck is triggering the sort of opposition mobilized against the 2015 purchase of a $600,000 “quint” fire truck, an odyssey that took 18 months. That truck was eventually delivered.
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom, On Sick Leave, Defends Responding to Rude Constituents Rudely
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom has been sick for over two weeks–it’s not Covid-19–and Fire Chief Bobby Pace is the interim manager for the next two to four weeks, but Newsom’s erratic interactions have caused issues with constituents and concern among officials.
Flagler Beach and Flagler County Will Close 18 Miles of Beaches Monday Morning As Florida Infections Soar
Flagler Beach and Flagler County are closing their beaches to the public starting at 6 a.m. Monday, joining a growing list of coastal communities and counties, in Florida and elsewhere, doing likewise in an increasingly strict response to the coronavirus.
Nor’easter Severely Damages Flagler Beach Walkovers DOT Had Just Rebuilt
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom said the city had nothing to do with the poorly constructed walkovers, blaming the damage on the Florida Department of Transportation’s contractor. Older walkovers have withstood storms for decades.
An Outlier Keeps Flagler Beach Manager Larry Newsom’s Evaluation Just Shy of Stellar
If it weren’t for City Manager Rick Belhumeur’s rather sour, outlying evaluation, Larry Newsom would have had a comfortable “outstanding” combined score from the other commissioners and the mayor as he approaches the fourth anniversary of his tenure in Flagler Beach.
Flagler About To Sign 50-Year, $100 Million Deal to Rebuild 2.6 Miles of Dunes in Flagler Beach. It Has Only a Fraction of the Money.
Flagler County is teaming with the federal government to split the $100 million cost of dune renourishment in Flagler Beach, but the deal is fraught with uncertainties, and Flagler can only pay its first phase.
Gargantuan Egos Gone, 3 Cities’ Managers And County Get Down to Unusual Business
Flagler County’s three city managers and its commission chairman led a Common Ground panel presentation reflecting the vast change-overs at the top of local government and anticipating a new way of doing business ahead.
$22.4 Million A1A Rebuilding and Sea Wall Construction in Flagler Beach Starts in January
The Florida Department of Transportation just awarded a $22.4 million contract to a Jacksonville contractor to start construction, sea wall and dune repairs on three segments of A1A in Flagler Beach.
Flagler Beach Will End Its Lease With Ocean Palms Golf, Finding Settlement Inadmissible
Flagler Beach commissioners no longer want to work with Terry McManus, lease-holder of the city-owned golf course, and plan on either taking over the course or finding a new management firm.
Divided Flagler Beach Commission Agrees To 15% Tax Increase, 2 New Cops, 1 Fire Captain
Residents in Flagler Beach will see their second big tax increase in a row, along with a 35 percent water and sewer rate hike, a 10 percent garbage hike and a 30 percent stormwater hike.
Flagler Beach Offers City Manager Newsom 30% Raise, to $120,000; He’d Asked for 7%
City Manager Larry Newsom would get a $28,500 raise–assuming he can make the numbers work in a budget that also calls for a 4 percent across the board raise for employees and other wishes.
Flagler Beach’s Newsom, Again Short-Listed For Another Job, Also Eyes Palm Coast
Larry Newsom is short-listed as an “alternate” after four candidates for the Putnam County Administrator job, though he says he’s not likely to take it.
Countering 70% of Its Own Voters, Flagler Beach Prepares to Ban Medical Pot Dispensaries Outright
The City Commission this evening takes up an ordinance that would ban medical marijuana dispensaries anywhere in the city. The city fears not doing so would turn it into a pot hub.
Flagler Beach Again Offers Free Parking And Shuttles On and Off Island All Day July 4
Flagler Beach made arrangements to provide free parking at the Food Lion on SR100 and free shuttle service in and out of the city from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4, with additional free parking at Santa Maria del Mar Church.
Coming to Flagler Beach: No-Parking Barriers and Silt Mounds to Stop A1A Washouts
The city and the state transportation department will block off portions of A1A to parking and build silt mounds to soak up water, though some commissioners are skeptical of silt’s effectiveness.
637-Ft. Flagler Beach Pier Re-Opens Saturday, 8 Months After Hurricane Matthew Lobotomy
The Flagler Beach Pier will reopen Saturday as emergency repairs end, to the joys of a city that’s lived without its iconic amenity since Hurricane Matthew sheared 163 feet from its end and made it unstable.
Flagler Beach Pier Repair to Last a Bit Longer and Cost More as Engineers Test Loads
The Flagler Beach Pier was set to fully open May 1, but the opening date has been pushed back to the end of May, and engineering work, which won;t affect the date, will add up to $45,000 in costs.
Badcock Furniture Will Fill Old Food Lion Space in Flagler Beach, Ending 8-Year Drought
Badcock Furniture will open in mid-summer in Flagler Square, as will a sweet shop, completing a remarkable revival of that commercial strip eight years after it had become a gaping hole for business.
State Transportation Department Asks Flagler Beach Police to Crack Down on A1A Rock Art
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom said police officers will not suddenly arrest people who build rock structures on A1A, but will use a more friendly, educational approach.
Storm Damages Newly Repaired Dune Areas Along A1A, Stressing Urgency of Permanent Fix
Tuesday’s storm left various parts of A1A’s dunes–what’s left of them–damaged, but from an unexpected direction: officials have been fearing a breach from the ocean. The problem this time was rainwater pushing out.
Flagler Beach Pier To Be Repaired and Opened By May 1, But More Concrete Plans in Its Future
The $918,000 contract will stabilize the Flagler Beach pier but will not restore the 160 feet it lost during Hurricane Matthew. That’ll be the long-term fix, which may entail pouring concrete.
Short-Listed for Top Job in Jackson County, Flagler Beach Manager Newsom Says He’s Not Interested
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom, who’s been in the middle of a different job-hunt swirl this week, had applied for the Panhandle job last summer, just six months into his job locally, as a back-up plan, he said.
County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin Apologizes to Flagler Beach Officials Over Interference
Commissioner Nate McLaughlin apologized in person to Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom and City Commissioners Jane Mealy and Marshall Shupe over comments he claimed were misconstrued.
Why Is the County Chairman Meddling in Flagler Beach’s Business, and Why Was Flagler Beach’s Manager Job-Hunting in Bunnell?
Flagler Beach officials were perplexed and angered by County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin’s apparent interference in their city manager’s–and their city’s–business at a time when county and city are trying to work out difficult issues.
Pier Repairs, 52 Dune Walkovers, A1A: Flagler Beach Manager Newsom’s Post-Hurricane Status Report
Among other plans, Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom wants the city to have the longest pier in Florida, but getting there will take a while yet as he updates all repair plans.
Numerous Concerns, Elusive Certainties as Flagler Beach and County Governments Talk Beach Renovation
Assurances Flagler Beach was looking for–that there would be no sea walls anywhere, that the city’s beaches would have priority–proved elusive in a joint meeting with county government.
In Flagler Beach Again, Sen. Nelson Conveys Feds’ Message on Beach Fix: No Seawalls
Sen. Bill Nelson was back in Flagler Beach to tout the passage of a water bill that includes authorization for $15.6 million in federal beach renourishment dollars for Flagler County. But it’s conditional on the state not building sea walls.
Repairs on Speed: A1A Reopens to Governor’s Applause as Businesses Cheer With Relief
The remarkably swift emergency repairs to the road on a state government emergency contract to Halifax Paving turned what could have been a death knell to many businesses into a setback, now overcome.
Gov. Scott Orders State Transportation Department to Expedite A1A Reopening in Flagler Beach
The transportation department, in response to Scott’s order, said restoring traffic on A1A in Flagler Beach is now the Number 1 priority in the state. About 1.4 miles of road was damaged and closed.
Sen. Bill Nelson, in Flagler Beach, Pledges to Kick “Posteriors” to Channel Repair Dollars for Road and Beach
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the latest in a string of state and federal officials to visit the damaged Barrier Island, stressed support for a re-nourished beach and a rebuilt A1A with federal dollars covering 75 to 90 percent of the cost.
In Victory for Flagler Beach, Dreaded and Un-Scenic A1A Signs Will Not Spear the City
The state transportation department finally barred the signs from Flagler Beach and Beverly Beach after an intense campaign by city officials that reflected almost unanimous public outrage against the signs.
Flagler Beach Commission Denounces A1A Committee’s Plan for Signs on Scenic Road
Friends of A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway’s clumsily executed plan to install directional signs in Flagler Beach drew harsh and unanimous criticism from the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening.
Flagler Beach Hires Larry Newsom as City Manager, From a County 70 Times Larger
Larry Newsom, hired by a 5-0 vote Thursday night, had been assistant and interim manager in Escambia County, with a population of 350,000. Flagler Beach’s population is 5,000.
In Flagler Beach, City Manager’s Choice is Down to “Old Shoe” and “Shiny New Pair”
Flagler Beach commissioners have zeroed in on Joe Gerrity and Larry Newsom as their next city manager, but haven’t mustered the super-majority they need to offer the job to either.