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ORMOND BEACH -- Mayor Ed Kelley gave his city commission colleagues and the public a dose of reality regarding unfunded pension liability issues.

According to the minutes of the April 2 Ormond Beach City Commission meeting, the mayor said Stockton, Calif., recently became the largest city to file for bankruptcy in the U.S. Kelley said Stockton was almost a billion dollars in debt and was driven to that primarily by unfunded pension liabilities.

Frontier Communications is located at 1398 S. Woodland Blvd. as shown here in this locator.

DELAND -- Frontier Communications is celebrating its recent $2.9 million expansion with a ribbon cutting event at 2 p.m. Thursday at the call center’s headquarters, 1398 S. Woodland Blvd.

The company added 20,000 square feet and 145 jobs, bringing the building’s size to 58,000 square feet and the workforce total to 550. Along with the expansion, the entire facility underwent cosmetic and other improvements, including the additions of an employee game room for relaxation, an outdoor area with a basketball hoop and an employee fitness center.

DAYTONA BEACH -- I went to Tallahassee last week to testify before a State Senate committee on behalf of Bill 1394 which would provide certain tax advantages and abatements to the Daytona International Speedway after the Speedway invests $250 million of its own money in expansions and improvements. Next week I plan to do the same before a committee of the State Legislature.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The showy medical causes of our era are AIDS and breast cancer. While these are "not" the leading causes of premature death in our society, they’ve captured the imagination of people who have been willing to go all out to raise awareness and money.

The South Jetty, as shown in this locator map, is in the northern most part of New Smyrna Beach where surfers and sharks share the waters.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 21-year-old surfer from DeBary paddling in the waves in the South Jetty, suffered the first shark bite this year season, Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Tammy Marris said earlier today.

The surfer, whose name was not immediately available, was bitten 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Marris said, adding he suffered a minor cut to his hand.

Volusia County had eight shark bites last year, most of them near the South Jetty, where sharks as long as 5 feet, are drawn to bait fish that swirl in the swollen surf.

Expect more thunderstorms over the next 18 hours before sunny skies return Tuesday to greater Daytona Beach, according to the National Weather Service. The weather as shown at left is as of Sunday night.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The National Weather Service has issued an urban and small stream flood advisory for the Volusia County cities of New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, Orange City, Lake Helen and Deltona until 9 p.m.

The advisory was issued at 6:58 p.m. from the National Weather Service in Melboune, following a fast-moving thunderstorm.

Norman Church wins 2nd year in a row

Photo for Headline Surfer / Skipper Norman Church had history on his side and perhaps a little faith Sunday as he repeated as champion in the 2013 Lipton Cup Regatta.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Norman Church was obsessed with winning the 2013 Lipton Cup Regatta off the Atlantic waters of New Smyrna Beach. So much so that he skippered "Obsession" into victory in the Spinnaker Class.

The regatta was held Saturday and Sunday with the first day much rougher going in the choppy waters.

“Building seas became quite a challenge resulting in four competing boats retiring with equipment or crew problems on Saturday,” the Smyrna Yacht Club said in a press release. “Sunday, light and shifty easterly breezes slowly increased providing for a fair and competitive race course.”

Despite Sunday's thunderstorms, fire remains an issue on US 92, as shown in this locator map.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Firefighters contained three small spot-over fires from the Mile Marker 128 on Sunday afternoon, but  a stretch of U.S. 92, from Kepler to Indian Lake roads, remains closed.

"Troopers will monitor the highway to determine when it is safe to reopen it.," Volusia County spokeswoman Pat Kuehn said. "Residents and drivers can expect smoky conditions along West International Speedway Boulevard this morning."

The spot-overs were caused by an increase in winds and decrease in humidity in the mid-afternoon.

The fire, now estimated at 225 acres, continues to smolder and produce significant smoke, Kuehn said.  

By Pat Northey

DAYTONA BEACH -- I want you to be the first to know that I am a candidate for the Volusia County Council at-large seat for the 2014 election. I am excited to share this news with you and grateful for all your support and help during this last election season.

Editor's Note: The at-large seat on the Volusia County Council is held by Joyce Cusack of DeLand, shown here, who has not yet announced whether she will seek re-election.  Pat Northey is the first candidate to inform the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections of her intention to run for the at-large seat. She is term-limited in her district 5 seat representing greater Deltona. That seat. too, is up for grabs in the 2014 elections. Northey, who took office in January 2007, represents District 5, which includes DeBary, Deltona, Enterprise, Osteen and Stone Island. She was previously an at-large representative on the council, having twice served as its chair before voters began directly electing the chair eight years ago. 

EDGEWATER -- The sights, sounds and personal accounts of the Boston Marathon bombing make me sick to my stomach with grief for all involved and for this country. Then I heard that the race was dedicated to the Newtown, Conn. survivors and many were in the stands observing the race and I cried.

How much more can those poor people take? We in this country have spent so many years believing that these types of things can’t happen here but of late they are more and more. Nowadays, I would think twice or maybe three times before doing anything involving a large crowd of people.