Last year the Palm Coast City Council threw a curveball to city management by passing a rollback millage rate, a provision that prevents homeowners from having to pay increased property taxes even as their home appreciates. The measure’s immediate effect on city business is a reduction in revenue from prior projections, as the city often budgets for a modest bump in property taxes as homes increase their worth. The longest-running champion of holding the line on these taxes, or even decreasing them, is Vice Mayor Ed Danko. The City Council has entered preliminary discussions about where they’l ..read more

The latest figures on gas prices across the state of Florida show that the average cost of a gallon of gas is finally starting to inch downward, following a period of consistent increases. The data, released by AAA spokesperson Mark Jenkins, shows a 16-cent decrease over a one-week span in the average cost of gas, followed by a nine-cent jump back up, leaving Florida motorists with a seven-cent decrease in the aggregate. The average cost of a gallon of gas in Florida was listed at $3.57 as of Sunday, according to Jenkins. That price is three cents below the mark this time last month, and a dim ..read more

Four people were wounded with non-life-threatening injuries when a gunman opened fire on Seabreeze Blvd in Daytona Beach on Saturday, the Daytona Beach Police Department announced. The DBPD initially revealed to the public that they were investigating a shooting, and that four victims had been wounded. They have since announced that a suspect has been taken into custody. The suspect, 21-year-old Misael Maldonado, was arrested after a brief police pursuit in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. He was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on four counts of attempted murder, plus one co ..read more

The Flagler Free Clinic will now be offering its services to a wider array of people, the clinic announced in a statement on Wednesday. The change comes as a result of new legislation passed in Florida, the statement says. The biggest change to the system is that the maximum annual income for one to be eligible for the free clinic’s services has increased from 200% of the federal poverty level to 300%. According to the federal government’s online healthcare portal, that number is $15,060 for an individual, $20,440 for a family of two, $25,820 for a family of three, and $31,200 for a family of ..read more

At a press conference in Naples on Tuesday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a piece of legislation to increase research toward Florida’s red tide crisis. The move came alongside a promise to spend $1.5 billion in environmental restoration in the Everglades, plus a $100 million commitment to support Florida’s Wildlife Corridor. “I am proud of our investments in land conservation to conserve and connect Florida’s natural landscapes, preserve working lands, and provide for the safe passage of Florida’s endangered species,” DeSantis said. “I am also happy to sign legislation continuing research effor ..read more

For the third straight month, the unemployment rate in Flagler County is at 4.1% according to data released by the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce. Its trend over the last year has been a steady crawl upward, with the figure this time last year coming in at 3.2%. The overall number of Flagler residents currently working, either within the county or out of it, did increase a bit month over month. The figure for February 2024 showed 49,742 working residents, which went up by 134 to 49,876 in the March 2024 numbers. There were ten fewer residents seeking employment by these same n ..read more

Four men were arrested on Thursday in Palm Coast on drug charges and other offenses, including a formerly convicted murderer who was out on inmate release. All four were taken to the county jail after they were seen conversing in two separate vehicles, and were later found with drugs and weapons, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office says. The incident began when a FCSO deputy spotted the two vehicles parked at the Circle K gas station on SR-100: a white Dodge Durango and a blue Chevrolet Malibu. The deputy at first suspected the Durango had illegal window tint, leading him to initiate a traffic ..read more

Flagler Schools is preparing to end the 2023-24 school year, with graduation approaching in about a month. In anticipation, a spokesperson with Flagler Schools has released the schedule of events to cap off the year. Headlining the packed month of May are the back-to-back graduation ceremonies at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center, where high school seniors at Matanzas High School and Flagler Palm Coast High School will walk the stage and receive their diplomas. The Ocean Center is the traditional home of graduation for both MHS and FPCHS, though the schools held their graduation at Daytona Intern ..read more

Max Azzarello, a St. Augustine resident and self-described research investigator, was hospitalized Friday after setting his own body on fire outside of a New York City courthouse where former President Donald Trump is currently on trial. His identity, reported by several major media outlets, has revealed ties to a conspiracy-heavy Substack blog in which he detailed the rationale for his violent demonstration. “My name is Max Azzarello,” he begins in a post put up the same day as his self-burning. “I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhat ..read more

Bob Graham, Florida’s former Governor and U.S. Senator for over two cumulative decades, has passed away at 87 years old. He died while residing in a retirement community in Gainesville, with the Tallahassee Democrat listing his cause of death as ‘old age’. Graham is the fourth most recent Democrat to hold the governorship of Florida, a post he held from 1979 to 1987. He then resigned to successfully run for U.S. Senate, which he held from 1987 to 2005. From 2001 to 2005 he formed a Democratic hold over the state’s Senate seats alongside Bill Nelson. Before his career in politics, Graham was bo ..read more