How Palm Coast Got Tagged in the Jessi Slaughter Cyberbullying Affair

FlaglerLive | July 31, 2010

A Florida girls tries out for fame and becomes a poster-child of cyberbullying instead. If her story were a flag on Iwo Jima, it’d be all red.

When Even Language Is Taxing: What You Always Wanted to Know About Mills & Millage

FlaglerLive | July 31, 2010

Even John Quincy Adams complained almost 200 years ago that few people could figure out the meaning of “mills,” and he wasn’t even talking about millage rates. Here’s an explanation and some history of the most commonly incomprehensible word at tax time.

The Judge Behind the Decision Striking Down Parts of Arizona’s Anti-Immigration Law

FlaglerLive | July 31, 2010

Judge Susan Bolton, responsible for seven suits filed against Arizona’s immigration law, was recommended for the federal bench by a Republican senator, nominated by Bill Clinton and confirmed unanimously in 2000.

Florida 1 of 3 States With Top-Rated Medicare Advantage Plan. But You Can’t Enroll in Flagler.

FlaglerLive | July 30, 2010

Top-rated Capital Health Plan, a non-profit, is available only in the four-county Tallahassee area, so local Medicare members are denied enrollment.

Medicare Advantage: How Florida Rates

FlaglerLive | July 30, 2010

Florida doesn’t rate so high in a state-by-state chart showing the percentage of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries enrolled in quality plans.

County Tax Rate Going Up 15.4% Even as Revenue and Government Services Stall

FlaglerLive | July 29, 2010

The proposed 2011 property tax rate would be the highest in at least 10 years, yet collapsing property values mean government revenue will not rise at all compared with this year.

Mia Bella’s Dancers: From Non-Existent to National Champions in Seven Months

FlaglerLive | July 29, 2010

Brie Valenti opened her Mia Bella dance studio last January at City Walk, and returned from a competition in Tennessee with two national trophies this week for her students and her choreography.

School Board Candidate Peter Peligian’s Impersonation (and Tax and Claims) Problems

Pierre Tristam | July 29, 2010

It’s not just that allegedly allegedly used his identity: School board candidate Peter Peligian is not living up to his own claims of transparency and accountability.

Dull and Duller: County Commission Candidates Out-Trivial Each Other at Forum

FlaglerLive | July 28, 2010

Bob Abbott and Nate McLaughlin were not convincing candidates in an hour-long chance to shine before a large audience. And one of them is supposed to be the incumbent.

After 11 Years and Feeling “Unwelcome,” Boys & Girls Club Is Quitting Carver Gym

FlaglerLive | July 28, 2010

A day after securing a least to run its program at Rymfire Elementary, the Boys & Girls Club voted to leave Carver Gym, where it says it’s unwanted and unappreciated.

Andy Dance’s Two Masters: Voting for a Tax at the Chamber, Against One at the School Board

FlaglerLive | July 28, 2010

Dance says a perceived conflict between his positions on two tax proposals is unfortunate, but he’s still exploring the school option.

School Board Candidates Tread Gulf Between Ideal and Reality in Chamber Forum

FlaglerLive | July 27, 2010

The five candidates fielded relatively straight-forward questions but with key exceptions answered in generalities that revealed more of what they didn’t know than what they did.

News-Journal Dealer and 71-Year-Old Who “Had 2 Beers, Maybe 3,” in US1 Smash-Up

FlaglerLive | July 27, 2010

The News-Journal dealer was driving north when an elderly man who’d just been at the White Eagle Lounge pulled out of the driveway, causing the wreck. Neither was seriously injured.

In Shifty Budget, Palm Coast Projects Peter Pots Paying Paul Pots and 12-15 Lay-Offs

FlaglerLive | July 27, 2010

Next year’s city budget is heavy on shifts, cuts and one pot of money subsidizing another while keeping the tax rate where it’s been.

Speaking of Sex In (and Out of) Flagler Schools: Butterfly Project Shows Adults How It’s Done

FlaglerLive | July 26, 2010

Teens educating teens about sex, the pitfalls of young romance, and the eternity of sexually transmitted diseases, while the school district explores how to go beyond abstinence only.

Arrested for Trying to Take a Child While Impersonating Police

FlaglerLive | July 26, 2010

One of the two men is the father of a child barely a few months old, whom the two men tried to take away from her grandmother.

This Week in Orlando: Godot and Culture Worth the Miles

FlaglerLive | July 26, 2010

Mark Twain and Henry James works are still happily haunting Orlando stages, while “Waiting for Godot” is coming to the Lowndes Shakespeare Center. Plus something about a boat show? Really? Plus Haydn, Dvorak and more.

Party On: District Opens Schools to
Political Events, With Some Limits

FlaglerLive | July 26, 2010

The school board’s revised policy on school-building uses means almost any political group is welcome in off hours, as long as the superintendent approves.

More Incitement to Violence Against Florida’s Alan Grayson

FlaglerLive | July 26, 2010

A $100 reward is put out to punch Florida Congressman Alan Grayson. A death threat follows, not for the first time.

Tax-Free Days: Aug. 13-15, But Applicable Items Are Limited

FlaglerLive | July 26, 2010

Everything you need to know about the back-to-school tax-free days this year. But don’t expect to get the tax break at Disney.

Florida Tax-Free Days: The Fine Print

FlaglerLive | July 26, 2010

The tax-free holiday in all its details: what’s tax-free, what’s not, according to Florida’s tax revenue department.

Questions of Relevance and Relevant Questions Over Shooting at Sheriff’s Capt.’s House

Pierre Tristam | July 24, 2010

Wagons circled around a sheriff’s captain after we reported on a shooting at his house, revealing a disturbing double-standard when law enforcement isn’t in the best light.

Under Threat of Lawsuit from Universal^®, City Walk in Palm Coast Will Change Its Name

FlaglerLive | July 24, 2010

City Walk, the beleaguered strip mall and home to Palm Coast city offices, will change its name to get away from Universal’s trademark strips in Orlando and Hollywood.

Don’t Fall For It: The “Obama Mom” College Grant Scam

FlaglerLive | July 24, 2010

Obama mom ads are everywhere. But there’s no such thing as an Obama grant for moms, who are eligible for Pell Grants, student loans and other aid like anybody else.

Music Lessons With Caren and Paul Umbarger

FlaglerLive | July 24, 2010

Coming Soon: A Rickshaw Service for Flagler Beach

FlaglerLive | July 23, 2010

It’s zero emission. It’s available in many big cities. And it’ll be offered in Flagler Beach in August.

Palm Coast Goals: No Tax Hike, 8-10% Cuts, 10-15 Jobs Gone; City Hall Plans Unscathed

FlaglerLive | July 23, 2010

The Palm Coast City Council wants to keep property taxes the same, compensating for revenue with fees, fines, loans and reserves, and still build a new city hall.

Ormond’s River Grille Owner Closer to Taking Over Flagler Beach’s Pier Restaurant

FlaglerLive | July 23, 2010

The iconic Pier Restaurant’s lease is up in two years. The city owns it. The city will negotiate with a new owner immediately, to the displeasure of locally owned Flagler Fish Company.

Battling Referendums: School Tax Will Compete With Building Tax in November

FlaglerLive | July 22, 2010

In the wost of times, voters will be asked to approve a tax levy to continue existing funding on top of a new tax favored by the chamber of commerce for building commercial properties.