Robert Lott

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- He was once the kingpin of Flagler: the financial planner, one-time chamber president and owner of the now-defunct weekly Observer newspaper.

That is until Robert Lott landed in bankruptcy court last year, having owed more than half a million bucks to his creditors, including two widows, one of them 82 years old who sued him alleging he defrauded her. So here was Lott, same short-sleeve ratty shirt and worn-out tan pants, taking it upon himself to escort Headline Surfer from the Brannon Center during a fundraiser of the New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater Rotary clubs.

NSBNews.net photos by Henry Frederick / The weekly Observer newspaper had been a fixture in New Smyrna Beach for nearly a century where members of the public could stop by and look at the archives, chat with the editor or take out an advertisement. All of that changed six weeks ago when Michele and Robert Lott moved the operation from Flagler Avenue to their Edgewater home. To date, they haven't told their own readers why.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The weekly Observer newspaper has reached a new low, even in this economy.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The fallout from the firing of Steve Dennis as executive director of the Southeast Chamber of Commerce continues five months later. A prominent businesswoman has quit the organization in support of Dennis while critics continue to question how Dennis can remain with the CRA despite the fact he no longer works, owns a business or even lives in the district.