Felix is a compulsive neat freak and Oscar is a filthy slob. These two suddenly single pals strain their friendship by becoming roommates and unconsciously repeating the same mistakes they made in the marriages they just left.
Tickets are $27 for adults, $25 for seniors, and $22 for students. Performances run Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through August 8 on the Matuza Mainstage at Limelight Theatre, 11 Old Mission Ave., St. Augustine.
Tallahassee, FL – The State of Florida Commission on Ethics’ press release on the closed hearings was short and sweet for former Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland, who has for more than a year been the subject of allegations of wrongdoing by political opponents and former employees of the City of Palm Coast.
Issuing a press release on the July 23rd hearing in Tallahassee, Florida on Wednesday morning that included the highly anticipated findings regarding the city’s former mayor, it is what many residents hope will be the closure of a tumultuous chapter in Palm Coast’s brief history.
“The Commission held a probable cause hearing on multiple allegations regarding
former City of Palm Coast Mayor MILISSA HOLLAND. Probable cause was found to
believe Ms. Holland misused her public position and/or public resources to send emails
promoting her private employer from her City account to the City of Orlando. However,
the Commission found no probable cause on five additional allegations: doing business
with her agency concerning a contract from her employer; misusing her position and/or
public resources to benefit herself and/or her employer regarding emails sent to the City
of Palm Coast Council Members; misusing her position to influence the City of Palm
Coast actions regarding a technology study; doing business with her agency regarding
an event she sponsored; and misusing her public position to write recommendation
letters for her employer’s daughter. Further, the Commission rejected the recommendation of its Advocate and found no probable cause to believe that Ms. Holland had a conflicting employment or contractual relationship that created a continuing or frequently recurring conflict between her private interests and the performance of her public duties, or that would impede the full and faithful discharge of her public duties.” – Florida Commission on Ethics
The seven complaints, filed against Holland and the resulting fallout that divided the community into two camps over the allegations, highlighted the fine line elected officials must walk between actual ethics violations and perceived ethics violations. While six of the seven complaints were rejected, probable cause was found on one count, to which Holland responded with the following:
“Upon leaving the Ethics commission meeting I was extremely grateful of the outcome. Other than what I have already acknowledged and addressed to the public, the media and the Commission several months ago in regards to the 2 emails sent, I am thankful that the Commission unanimously saw through and confirmed what I have stated from the very beginning that the allegations in the complaint were shown to have no merit,” she said, further addressing the impact the allegations had on not just her personally and professionally, but on the community, as a whole.
“This was nothing more than a political stunt brought on by a few desperate people that attempted to use an entity to advance their personal interests. I am relieved that this has been exposed as nothing more than that and I look forward to resolving the one outstanding issue with the Commission. The damage however has been done and we as a community should never tolerate these baseless and malicious attacks moving forward. We must move past this as a community. We must rise above this as our future is reliant on this. It has been my distinct honor to have served this community for several years and will continue to advocate for the best of Palm Coast moving forward.”
July 28, 2021 – Flagler Executive Airport Director Roy Sieger has been installed as the chairman of the Florida Airports Council for the coming year, increasing his leadership role with the organization he has been a member of for 15 years.
“This is a great honor to lead this prestigious group of aviation industry leaders,” Sieger said. “My involvement in these additional roles has enabled me to stay abreast of the aviation industry, and assist in shaping aviation legislation that has brought favorable recognition to Flagler County and the Flagler Executive Airport.”
Florida Airports Council is the largest airport-specific organization in Florida. It is considered by industry leaders to be one of the the premier airport organizations in the nation.
“Sieger has been associated with aviation his entire adult life,” said Florida Airports Council President Lisa Waters. “This includes everything from his 20-year aviation career in the United States Marine Corps to presently serving as the Airport Director of the Flagler Executive Airport for the past 12 years.”
Sieger is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the day-to-day activities of the Fixed-Base Operator, operations, maintenance, capital improvements, administration and public safety at one of the busiest General Aviation airports in the United States.
During his tenure at Flagler Executive Airport, Sieger has been successful in obtaining Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) grant funding in excess of $50 million dollars, which was utilized to complete capital improvements projects.
“These projects are essential for economic development, critical infrastructure improvements, as well as business attraction and retention,” County Administrator Heidi Petito said. “The overall success of the Flagler Executive Airport depends on this. Roy brings a lot to the table, and the Florida Airports Council recognizes this.”
Additionally, Sieger is the Chair of the Florida Department of Transportation Continuing Florida Aviation System Planning Process (CFASPP) East Central Metropolitan Area Steering Committee.
Out of 72,510 registered voters in Palm Coast, only 15,486 have cast a ballot.
I know what you’re saying. So what. Why bother?
Because this is Y(OUR) city and don’t you want to have a say so in the direction for the future?
And, besides feeling like you’ve done your civic duty, you’ll get a sticker. It’s true. Some people need tangible validation, and you can join the millions of voters who vote on election day and post a selfie of themselves and their “I Voted” sticker. I do it. And you know why? Because I’m proud to have the right to vote, live in a free country and have a say so.
Yes, I know this abbreviated election has been probably one of the ugliest in recent history (seems like we say that every election and they just keep getting nastier) but don’t let it make you stay home.
If nothing else, let it fuel your vote and inspire you to vote against incivility.
And just in case you’re done, like over it, completely sick of it, because it seems like everyone is fighting, here’s a little good news.
When asked in a social media poll what you loved about your city, people named tons of things that are great about this place where we live and the people in it.
Do you know what people from all over Palm Coast said they like?
From close proximity to the beach, the cleanliness, beautiful parks, paved roads, street lights, side walks, landscaped, nice citizens, low crime, to bike trails, “it’s one of the last places on the East coast in Florida still reasonable in prices”.
They love “watching the fishies jump and dolphins pass by from the luxury of the house xoxo so peaceful .. great helpful neighbors !!!,” and that ‘My family and friends are here and I’m close to the ocean’.
It’s the “Great central FL location. Easy access to Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and even Miami by Interstate Hwy. Ocala & Gainesville are easy rides on SR40. We live incredibly close to Beaches, tourist attractions and colleges”, and “the awesomeness of the people in this beautiful community”.
What else?
“I really like how many of the shopping centers are hidden back behind trees and not right up on the road”, “I’ve lived here 35 years. It’s home to me and my family. I love living here, It’s hard to list all the reasons, but mostly all the water – ICW, beaches – boaters’ paradise. We are so fortunate to have so much right here to do – outdoor activities galore & all free! Go north and you pay for parking, beaches, bathrooms, etc. – not here. We are a wonderful little paradise in my opinion! LOVE Palm Coast, LOVE Florida.”
“It’s a regular town not a tourist location but yet you’re right by the beach so easy to get to. Easy access to Saint Augustine, Jacksonville, Daytona and even Orlando if you like.”
What does this mean?
That in spite of the mudslinging and a few really loud voices that say everything thing is bad, we have a pretty good quality of life. We’re in a great spot, and we like the amenities the city is creating for its citizens. And we actually like each other.
Today, I encourage you to take a moment and stop into your regular voting precinct and cast your ballot. We can continue on the road to progress, prosperity and promise for our city or we can regress, become stagnant and watch as opportunity passes us by while shouting at each other from the pulpit.
Palm Coast – Citation Parkway, between Seminole Woods Boulevard and Sesame Boulevard, was closed for construction in March and expected to re-open by the end of June. During construction, the crew came across an issue with a stormwater structure and a water main that required redesign. The structure that is needed has to be built and delivered from the manufacturer. This delay in redesign and materials halted construction on the project.
Citation Parkway is now expected to re-open to motorists in August and the project is estimated to be entirely completed by mid-September.
Construction includes:
Sesame Boulevard and Citation Parkway intersection will convert into one road, with Citation Parkway being renamed to Sesame Boulevard; the area that is Citation Parkway will be a two lane road with a multi-use path (sidewalk);
Replacement of culvert on Sesame Boulevard;
Access road to City property at what is known as Dry Lake;
Intersection improvements at Citation Parkway (to be Sesame Boulevard) and Seminole Woods Boulevard with the addition of a left and right turn lane on Seminole Woods Boulevard and Sesame Boulevard;
Intersection improvements at Universal Trail with the addition of a left turn lane on Sesame Boulevard;
Drainage and utility work, plus installation of some new utilities;
The City wishes to extend apologies for this unforeseen delay and the impact it has caused to residents and motorists. To check the progress of this project, visit the GIS mapping website by clicking here and scroll to the project you’d like information on. There are details that show cost, timeline, and other information.
For more information, contact customer service at customer-service@palmoastgov.com or 386-986-2360. A request can also be submitted through palmcoastconnect.com.
Media Release: City of Palm Coast. Brittany Kershaw, Director of Information & Engagement
The 16th Annual Creekside Music & Arts Festival is a regional heritage event. The festival attracts well over 15,000 people of all ages to enjoy two days of the shores of the historic Pellicer Creek bordering the Flagler and St. Johns’ county line.
Featured Acts:
Creekside 2021 brings more food vendors, art exhibits &entertainment than ever before.
From Blue Grass and Blues to Rock and Country featuring Nashville recording stars Pryor & Lee.
Also new this year, World Famous Disc-Connected K-9 Frisbee DogTeams. Rescue dogs given a new life that love to thrill the crowds with amazing speed and skills.
With nonstop live entertainment on the concert stage, people can stroll around historic Princess Place Preserveenjoying the historic buildings and waterfront views under the shady oak trees.
The legendary Charlie Cracker brings his back-woods songs and humor to Creekside with his authentic old Florida moonshine skill. Interactive, educational and fun, Charlie has been known to share a sip of his finest when the sheriff isn’t looking.
The Creekside Tavern will feature local craft beer and spirits.
The Creekside Festival is a charity event. This year’s focus to help stock up area foodbanks for the coming holiday season. Creekside is produced by Flagler Broadcasting.
Creekside is open both days 9am – 5pm with fun & activities for kids of all ages. Adult admission is $10. ATM’s on site.
*Parking and kids 12 and under free.*
Schedule of Events
Saturday Oct. 9th, 2021
• 8am gates and vendors open
• 9am – 12 Fiddle Rat (Bluegrass/Country)
• 12:30 – 2pm Anthony Wild with Gerrard (Blues)
• 2:30 – 5pm Those Guys (Classic Rock)
Sunday Oct. 10th, 2021
• 8am gates and vendors open
• 9am – 12:30 Slickwood (Bluegrass/Country
• 12:45 – 1pm Charlie Cracker & Company
• 1:30 – 3pm Pryor & Lee (Country)
From concept to card deck, graphic artist Megan Robinson and 'punslinger' Capt. Adam Morley hosted the official launch party at Sarbez in St. Augustine where the friends came up with the idea more than a year ago, on Sunday, July 25, 2021.
St. Augustine, FL – Opening the deck, it all starts with a definition.
If you’re already puzzled by the name, creators Capt. Adam Morley and graphic artist Megan Robinson make it easy to follow the clues.
“A quip is a witty remark. Also known as a joke, a one-liner or pun. Since the last one is often mis-pun-derstood, let’s define it too,” reads the very first card, and from there your adventure begins.
Imagine if you will a game like trivia but all about the jokes.
You can go official game night by keeping score or play with friends or family for the fun of it, just to see who is the real smarty pants in your group.
Punslingers On Deck
Morley, who owns Genung Fish Camp is notorious for his puns. Billing himself as a ‘punslinger’ you can usually catch one during his morning fish and tide report on the 904 Now App, but at any time in conversation, he’ll throw one out. It’s second nature.
For Morley and Robinson part of the fascination of Pop Quip! is playing with new people who don’t consider themselves particularly clever, and fun of seeing them discover new jokes.
Graphic artist Megan Robinson and punslinger Capt. Adam Morley are the driving force behind the creation and launch of the Pop Quip! game, and hosted the official launch party at Sarbez in St. Augustine, where they originally came up with the idea, on Sunday, July 25, 2021, surrounded by friends and family.
“Anybody can play. Anybody who has basic understanding of vocabulary – minimal skills required, but it’s still challenging because it takes some creativity to think about a topic and come up with the different words and terms related to that and then work it into a humorous quip,” said Morley.
“We feel like some of the best content comes from people who feel like they can’t make puns,” shared Robinson.
Drawing on focus groups when designing the game, the newbies brought their unique perspective to the table.
“Turns out they had some of the most original and hilarious content because it’s all new stuff that they’re developing on the spot,” said Morley.
From concept to card deck, graphic artist Megan Robinson and ‘punslinger’ Capt. Adam Morley hosted the official launch party at Sarbez in St. Augustine where the friends came up with the idea more than a year ago, on Sunday, July 25, 2021.
Returning to Their Roots to Launch
The idea for Pop Quip! started at the very location where they hosted their launch party on Sunday evening – Sarbez in St. Augustine, according to Morley.
“It started years ago, actually here at Sarbez, where another friend and I – pun enthusiasts, actually, yeah, there’s actual pun enthusiasts, it’s a thing, it’s all about the dad jokes – so we’re all about the puns and wanted to figure out a way to share this with more people.”
Pitching the idea of a ‘Monday Punday’ to Sarbez owners, the game night idea took off and lasted until COVID put the brakes on large gatherings.
“Imagine trivia except instead of trivia questions, we actually gave topics just like we do in our game,” explained Morley.
“Then we played a song and gave teams the length of that song to come up with their best quip or pun, dad joke, innuendo, whatever, and after the song ended, a representative from each team would come up to the stage and deliver their best joke related to that topic. We had guest judges. It was a whole production and hilarious content came from it,” he said.
“It’s kind of like amateur comedy night but a little bit easier because it gives you the topics and time to come up with your joke. It makes it a lot of fun and super easy for people to get into comedy and making jokes, having a good time and laughing.”
Bill and Gaye Jones attend the Pop Quip! Launch Party at Sarbez on Sunday, July 25, 2021.
After the pandemic, they decided to create a ‘play at home version’ and the rest is history.
Robinson put her graphic arts skills to work, designing the game cards, packaging, website and Kickstarter promo for Pop Quip!
“I’ve pretty much been involved in everything since the beginning and helped design everything from start to finish,” said Robinson modestly.
“I knew I wanted it to look kind of like Pop Art – Pop Quip! Pop Art, so I kind of went with that, bright, fun, happy colors. It was a blast.”
With a round of comedians entertaining friends and family out for the launch, the pair said they would like to see the game sold in local retailers in addition to the digital Kickstarter campaign that surpassed its goal before the official launch.
Internationally touring comedian Paul Jensen headlines the launch party at Sarbez on July 25, 2021.
“We’re hoping to get picked up by different stores, get into different retailers, we’re hoping to go nationwide,” said Morley.
In a post-COVID world, the game is one more way for people anywhere to stay connected. Playing it at home or at a venue, virtually, or a combination of both, it’s all about having fun and making people laugh, one pun at a time.
“Depending on the crowd you’re playing with, you get anything from a super simple one-liner to a really elaborate cascading string of puns, and it’s just so much fun,” said Morley. “By the end we’re all laughing and the content is just gold.”
If you’ve ever looked at a photo line up of stills for the latest show presented by any number of community theaters across the region, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the work of photographer extraordinaire Mike Kitaif.
As this week’s The Big Five guest, we finally meet the man behind the lens.
How did you get into photography?
Photography has been a hobby since high school. Several of my friends had cameras and we were always trying to buy the best cameras we could afford. I surfed, raced motorcycles and raced sailboats so there was always great material to photograph. Nightlife sometimes consisted of low light photography which I fell in love with. We would go downtown when all the shops were closed to photograph low light street scenes.
I have worked in the photogrammetry field for many years which involves making measurements from photographs. Along the way, I started writing software to help collect 3D data from photographs and I formed several companies during that time. In 2005 we were awarded a NASA contract to supply software that made measurements on the Space Shuttle while in flight. We worked the last 22 Space Shuttle missions with NASA. They are still one of our clients and we are currently helping them position cameras on Moon and Mars landers to produce 3D video on descent and 3D maps after touchdown.
Along with theater photography, I am one of the photographers for the UCF Marching Knights. To be in the middle of the band with a camera stuck to your face and hear their sound is a very exciting experience. There is so much energy. The photos of the band never do it justice. You have to hear it.
Both my wife and daughter are actresses. Some years ago, I tried to photograph my daughter at school functions and plays. It was very difficult but it made me fall in love with theater photography. The first theater photos were pretty bad and I appreciate the theaters for letting me learn on their time.
What do you enjoy most about being behind the lens?
The world goes away when you’re behind the lens and you focus on the small slice of life in front of the camera. I find the most interesting subjects to photograph are people. I also find that people are at their finest when they are on stage being someone other than themselves. It makes incredible material for photographs.
What has been your biggest challenge when shooting the arts around the region?
My favorite theme is theater dress rehearsals but it is the most challenging. You’re always starved for light and the available light is normally dim and changing. Add to this, actors and(or) dancers that are moving. Plays tell a story and to tell a small part of that story in the small fraction of time that is a photograph is the ultimate, but elusive, goal. Once in a while, you will get a photo that captures the heart and soul of a scene that makes it all worthwhile.
Is there anything on your bucket list you’d love to photograph?
My dream would be to photograph a dress rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
Another item on the list, although a dangerous one, would be to photograph a street riot, preferably at night.
What advice would you give aspiring photographers?
Learn the basic rules of photography to know why you like a photo. Look at the ads at the beginning of any high-profile magazine. The photos there are taken by very good photographers. After learning the basic rules, be prepared to break them. I fall back on the basic rules when I don’t know what to do with a scene in front of me.
I once worked with a great photographer and I asked him how to become a better photographer. He could have told me 1000 different things but responded with two words which were “take photos”.
Another piece of advice is don’t take too much advice from other photographers (including me). Find your own way.
