Archive

June 18, 2009: Michael R. Wade and Neaka M. Warren, Edgewater; Christopher J. Sabella and Samantha A. Burch, Oak Hill.

Washington, DC -- Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, defended NASA's human spaceflight program and the thousands of Central Florida jobs it supports by voting today against drastic cuts to exploration funding.

Kosmas, the first-tem congresswoman representing the 24th district, voted no on the FY 2010 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill, which provides only $3.3 billion for exploration, $670 million less than the President Obama's budget request.

DAYTONA BEACH -- An ex-convict is heading back to prison for another 15 years after his trial convictions today in the beating of a prostitute in a vacant lot on South Beach Street last September.

A jury found Michael Edward Beach guilty of three separate counts: battery, aggravated battery and false imprisonment.

DELAND -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office teamed up with local and state law enforcement Thursday in a crime suppression operation in West Volusia that resulted in 40 arrests and 89 traffic citations.

The eight-hour sweep through DeLand, Orange City, Deltona and DeBary netted arrests for everything from open warrants and traffic offenses to possession of marijuana, Hydrocodone and steroids," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said.

Courtesy photos. A man approaches the counter at the Super 8 Motel in Ormond Beach Thursday night, then jumps over it and rifles through the cash register with a clerk sitting right there. She was unharmed.

DELAND -- A third person in Volusia County has been confirmed as suffering from swine flu, according to a story published Friday on the Orlando Sentinel's Web site.

"A spokeswoman for Florida Hospital DeLand said a patient whose identity is not beingdisclosed was admitted for a pre-existing chronic medical condition and was at high risk for complications," the Sentinel reported. "The patient was listed in critical condition."

Florida has had 562 cases of swine flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. A 9-year-old boy from

DELTONA -- A woman clerk was shoved by a gunman when she initially refused his demand for cash at a Deltona convenience store early Thursday morning, before he reached over the counter and took money, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

There were no shots fired or any serious injuries in the 1:42 a.m. robbery at the Kangaroo Store, 2910 Howland Blvd.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Tuition at Daytona State College is going up 8 percent this fall, a measure approved Thursday by the college's Board of Trustees.

The tuition hike is allowed by the Florida Legislasture because of shrinking funds to support the college's $85 million budget. A full-time student will pay close to $3,000 for two semesters, an increase of more than $300 over this year.

DSC also has a branch campus in New Smyrna Beach.