ORMOND BEACH
FOOTBALL FAMILY PAGE 9A
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
FREE • THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2019
VOLUME 7, NO. 32
What you need to know about your May 1 ballot Ormond Beach voters to decide commission term lengths, limits.
Cross at your own risk FDOT says North Nova Road is hazardous. Improvements in the works. PAGE 3A
Shovel ready
PAGE 3A APRIL 25,
2019
HEALTH
MATTERS
You are what you eat
Palm Coa
st’s Clean Eats Kitchen PAGES 2B3B
Farmers mar
ket in Port Oran
PAGES 4B-
Ormond man
PAGE 6B
5B
starts Life is
ge
Ketaful
INSIDE REMEMBERING VIETNAM
Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Veterans visit Seabreeze High School. PAGE 4A
Deputy City Engineer Shawn Finley; Commissioners Susan Persis, Dwight Selby, Rob Littleton and Mayor Bill Partington; Karl Hankin; former utilities manager Dave Ponitz; and City Engineer John Noble.
PROTOTYPE BOOKSTORE
City breaks ground on $2.9 million reuse water project in Breakaway Trails PAGE 2A
Books and more, plus other business news. PAGE 5A
YOUR TOWN
EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT FOR DOWNTOWN
Ormond Beach residents embrace the green. PAGE 12A
COMPLAINT ‘LEGALLY INSUFFICIENT’ A complaint filed against the Ormond Beach Observer related to advertising before the 2018 election has been found “legally insufficient” by the Florida Elections Commission. The complainant, Lori Bennett, of Ormond Beach, claimed that the Observer had illegally given discounts to the Ormond Proud Political Action Committee. The FEC stated that discounts are illegal to candidates only, not PACs. Bennett also accused the newspaper of failing to collect payment from candidates before ads were published. The FEC stated that the newspaper is not obligated to collect payment before publication. Previous coverage: shorturl.at/jKNX6.
PROTESTERS MOBILIZE ON GRANADA BRIDGE Sign wavers urged the public to vote against the proposed county sales tax and four-year terms for Ormond Beach City Commission on the west end of the Granada Bridge on April 17. The group leader, Amy Demeo, said local governments should stop providing large companies with millions of dollars in incentives instead of increasing the sales tax. For City Commission terms, she said two years are long enough. The organizer, Ormond Beach Action Group, plans to have a sign-waving event for the next three weeks. — Wayne Grant
The public got a chance to have their say on plans for the downtown at a meeting April 17 at the Anderson-Price Memorial Building. The city is currently updating the Downtown Master Plan, covering Granada Boulevard from the ocean to Orchard Street and a few blocks north and south. The first speaker from the audience of about 30 people asked if the Master Plan was concerned with impact on people who already live in the community and have to deal with traffic. “We absolutely are,” said Peter Sechler, of GAI Consultants. “We’re working on walkability and pedestrian crossings, especially on
Granada. We’d like to slow down traffic so people can see what’s there.” Another speaker, identified as Erline, said there are plenty of activities for seniors, but not enough for young people. She also said when people walk, they fear crossing Granada Boulevard and U.S. 1 so there should be safe pedestrian crossings. The environment and parking were other concerns. Sechler said the committee wants to hear what citizens value about the downtown and what should be improved. To add an opinion to the survey, go to shorturl.at/dnpEM. There will be another public meeting at 6 p.m. May 15, at the AndersonPrice building.