Volusia News Now

Headline Surfer photo by Henry Frederick

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Meet surfer Marina Canova, 19, of Gainesville.

She enjoys the challenges of surfing the waves and when she returns to shore, the hard-sand beach where the convenience of parking means not having to lug the board, the blanket and cooler too far.  

PORT ORANGE -- With the first day of school right around the corner, many families will be finishing their back-to-school shopping soon. To provide relief during this important time, the Florida Legislature is bringing back the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday this year. I'm happy to have supported this legislation, which will save Florida families millions of dollars and provide a boost to our local economy.

Media pool photos by Orlando Sentinel / Accused killer George Zimmerman and his attorney, Mark O'Mara, are shown here in the June 29 bond hearing at the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford where Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester heard arguments on why he should be granted bail after his truthfulness was called into question about his finances. The judge on July 5 granted $1 million bail. It was comments made by the judge in his bond order that riled Zimmerman's attorneys and prompted them to request he step down.

SANFORD -- The judge in the second-degree murder case against George Zimmerman is standing his own ground by refusing a defense motion to step aside. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. issued his ruling this morning dismissing the defense request by defense counsel Mark O'Mara who had charged the judge was biased against Zimmerman because of remarks he made at his second bond hearing last month.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Bethune-Cookman University will open its 2012 football training camp Thursday at the New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex while enhancements to its on-campus facilities in Daytona Beach near completion.

Inclement weather delayed renovations, including a re-sodding of the practice field, in addition to a new practice track, pole vault and jump pits for the track and field program. When it became apparent that on-campus facilities would be not be available, the B-CU administration employed its contingency plan.

"We've exercised the option of relocating the first two weeks of practice," said Lynn W. Thompson B-CU's director of athletics. "We're honored that the City of New Smyrna Beach has welcomed our program and has extended its facilities to us."

Fire Chief David McCallister said he doesn't have the resources to follow up with alerting the media that a tragic situation has resulted in death as was the case over the weekend wuith a 9-year-old girl ewho died of severe burns in a shed fire.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Fire Chief David McCallister confirmed the 9-year-old girl badly burned Friday night after she and an 8-year-old boy also burned playing with lighters in a backyard shed in the 300 block of Conrad Drive died the following day at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando died Saturday, but added he doesn't know when she was pronounced dead.

He also said he didn't even have information readily available even as to even the victim's name who was flown by helicopter to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando while the boy was transported by ambulance to Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach. "Right now I don't have any official documents to go on," McCallister said in a return telephone call to Headline Surfer just after 11 a.m., three hours after the internet newspaper called his office at least three times.

New Smyrna Beach Fire Chief David McAllister has not returned calls as to why the death of a 9-year-old girl Saturday from injuries suffered in a fire the night before had not been relayed to the media for at least two days.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Numerous media outlets throughout Florida and across the country are reporting the death of a 9-year-old girl who succumbed to her injuries Saturday after she and an 8-year-old boy were apparently playing with one or more cigarette lighters in a backyard shed.

The stories are being generated from an AP re-write story. Headline Surfer placed two calls to the office of Fire Chief David McCallister, the first at 8:15 a.m. that went straight to voice mail and the second taken by his administrative assistant at 8:30 a.m., saying she had heard the voice mail message and sent him a message, but hadn't heard back from him.

For two years, traditional media has had the opportunity to tell you what really led to the deaths of two toddlers on the "World's Most Famous Beach." We'll tell you how and why in our upcoming investigative series that looks at beach driving and the politics behind it.

Headline Surfer has sifted through thousands of pages of public documents since those deadly accidents and talked to countless beach goers and leading county officials on video, including a walk-through in front of Sun Splash Park in Daytona Beach with County Chair candidate Carl Persis, the architect of recent driving restrictions. 

Headline Surfer photo by Henry Frederick / Daytona Beach News-Journal Editor Pat Rice, as shown here in a July 24 debate in New Smyrna Beach, will moderate his newspaper's final primary season debate tonight in Flagler County.

DAYTONA BEACH -- The Daytona Beach News-Journal will hold the final of its four public candidate debates tonight in Palm Coast at Daytona State College's Flagler/Palm Coast campus, Alan Smolen Amphitheater, 3000 Palm Coast Parkway Southeast.

The newspaper's debate session begins at 5:30 p.m. with a public-candidate meet and greet, followed by a debate for Flagler County sheriff between incumbent Don Fleming and fellow Republicans John Pollinger and Ray Stevens and Democrats Karl Tozzi and Jim Manfre, former sheriff.

The series of media debates are a lead-in to early voting that begins Aug. 4-8, followed by the Aug. 14 primary. The News-Journal has promoted its "partnerships" with Daytona State College in three of the debates and Stetson University in DeLand for the fourth, featuring the candidates for Volusia county chair.