- December 15, 2025
+ FCAT scores fall dramatically statewide
After the state increased the passing grade from a 3 to a 4 on the writing portion of the FCAT, the passing rate dropped from about 80% in 2011 to about 30% in 2012 in fourth, eighth and 10th grades, according to preliminary data. A state-level meeting was scheduled for Tuesday to discuss the results. Individual school results have not yet been released. Check www.Palm CoastObserver.com for more.
+ P-section man to sue city for allegedly killing his lawn
Richard Falbo’s lawn at 44 Patuxent Lane is not pretty. And he says it’s the city’s fault.
“The city dug out the swales a year and a half ago,” he said, referring to a neighboring vacant lot. “And they put some garbage sod in. The swales are full of weeds. They cut the lawn with their mower, and they blow all the debris out from the lawnmower. That just killed my lawn.”
And so, Falbo got an attorney, and he’s going to court Friday, May 18.
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon said the city mows the swales on about 18,000 vacant city lots and, in fact, people complain about the city not mowing often enough. Landon indicated there is likely another explanation for the lawn’s appearance and the city doesn’t intend to pay Falbo.
Falbo said the city is making a “big mistake.” Because of the legal fees as a result of his lawsuit, the city is “costing the taxpayers a tremendous amount of money,” he said.
“If you see my lawn, you would take them to court, too,” Falbo continued.
+ B-section man arrested for stealing, pawning jewelry
Ismael Toro, 33, of the B-section in Palm Coast, was jailed May 9 on charges of stealing jewelry and then selling it to a pawnshop and a gold buyer.
The victim met a deputy at a pawnshop and then a jewelry store and positively identified several items of jewelry that had been stolen from her home April 25, and then sold to the pawnshop for hundreds of dollars.
Toro signed the transaction sheet. He was charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors.
+ Correction
“Aladdin Jr.” opens Saturday, May 19.
+ Public Meetings
Palm Coast City Council — a joint workshop with Flagler County Board of County Commissioners, about impact fees, is 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 22, at the Palm Coast Community Center.
