- March 9, 2025
+ Unemployment increase in Flagler
Palm Coast is a state leader in job growth in a few key sectors, according to the latest employment data from the Center for Business Excellence.
The Palm Coast metro area had the highest employment growth rates in professional and business services (+15.0%); financial activities (+14.3%); and mining, logging, and construction (+12.5%) for all metro areas in Florida.
The January 2013 unemployment rate was 11.0% in Flagler County, the second highest in the state. That’s up from 10.8% in December. Lori McMullin, CBE’s director of business operations and communications, said that increase could be the result of jobs being cut after the holiday hiring season.
For more, see www.PalmCoastObserver.com.
+ Unlocked vehicles invite burglars
Between Wednesday and Thursday of last week, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received five reports of
vehicles being burglarized. Of that number, only two vehicles were locked.
Vehicle burglaries are among the most frequent complaints received by the Sheriff’s Office.
“It is so simple to make it harder for thieves to gain access to your vehicle," said Sheriff Jim Manfre in a statement. "Remove valuables from sight, roll up the windows and make sure the doors are locked.”
The car break-ins reported during this two-day period occurred in residential neighborhoods.
+ Four agencies conduct early-morning search, find lost boaters
Marineland residents may have heard the hum of a helicopter overhead early this morning as personnel from several agencies searched for overdue boaters who were found on their disabled vessel around 1:15 a.m., according to a Sheriff’s Office release.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the father of a teenager who had gone boating with friends around noon on Saturday. When she failed to return by 9 p.m., and the father was unable to contact her, he called the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies located the vehicle and empty boat trailer at Bings Landing on North Oceanshore Drive. After searching the area, deputies called in the Volusia County Sheriff’s
Office’s Air One helicopter as well as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and the FCSO Marine Patrol Unit.
The drifting boat and passengers were located by Air One on the Intracoastal Waterway near the Whitney Lab in Marineland around 1:15 a.m. The Palm Coast boat owner, Danilo Gomez, 43, explained that he, three family members and the teenager were en route home from St. Augustine when they experienced engine problems. He said the cell phone they had did not work, and he was unable to call for assistance. Deputies removed the passengers, and the boat was being moored in Marineland until the owner could make arrangements to move it.
“We are happy for the positive outcome of the search. There was great cooperation between several agencies to locate these boaters who otherwise may have spent the night drifting on the water. I want to thank everyone who was involved in this search,” said Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre.
