Top 100 Stories

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Volusia County spokeswoman Shelley Szafraniec asks: "Are you curious about Volusia County’s estuaries, oysters, mangroves,
and common problems associated with invasive plants?"

Then she encourages you to make plans to attend a Chicken Island restoration workshop from 10 a.m. - noon Saturday, April 4, at the Marine Discovery Center, 162 N. Causeway.

The workshop, formatted as a demonstration, will feature activities such as oyster-mat making, a tour of the greenhouse, and information on the roles of oysters and red mangroves in the estuary.

I saw a headline the other day that got me thinking. It said something to the effect that President Obama is going to make sure there are more higher paying jobs available in this country.

Do we need more higher paying jobs? Haven’t the higher-paying job people put us in this mess? If we think back to after World War II and the guys came home, suddenly we needed more houses, more infrastructure, more hospitals for the birthing of the Baby Boomers and on and on.

DELAND -- Reporting non-emergency crimes such as theft and vandalism to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office can now be done from the comfort, convenience and privacy of a computer, agency spokesman Gary Davidson said.

The Sheriff's Office has launched a new service that gives residents the option of filing certain reports
on-line. The service can be used to report harassing phone calls, lost property, theft, vandalism and identity theft as long as there are no
known suspects. Users must be at least 18-years-old to file a report.

Attention parents: There is an opportunity of lifetime for your children to fish a youth tournament fashioned after a real fishing tournament on May 16. Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Florida's Mid Coast Chapter, which encompasses Volusia, Flagler, St. John's and Seminole counties and south to Titusville in Brevard County will hold its inaugural Youth Inshore Classic Fishing Tournament on that date.

This will be a full scale adult style tournament, but is for anglers 17-years-old and younger. It is a "Catch, Photo, and Release" targeting only Redfish, Trout and Jack Crevalle.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Taking advantage of New Smyrna Beach's scenic and environmental beauty, the city's water taxi service is increasing its fares from $12 to $15 as of Wednesday as it transitions from a grant-operated program to a community-backed entity.

The Marine Discovery's taxi off the North Causeway provides 45-minute trips on the Intracoastal waterway to Inlet Harbor in Ponce Inlet, where along the 12-mile route, seafarers get an up-close view of dolphins, birds and other acquatic life, as well as breath-taking vews of the shoreline

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Habitat for Humanity welcomes everyone to its second annual Casino Night at Gilly's Pub 44 on Saturday, April 11.

Tickets are $20 per person, which includes 2,000 gaming bucks, free food all night, open bar during the first hour and drink specials all night. The event starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m., at Gilly's Pub 44, 1889 State Road 44, across from the NSB Regional Shopping Center.

There will also be a silent auction, a 50/50 drawing, door prizes and a 5-day vacation giveaway as well as a huge cheer basket.

DELAND -- The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Volusia County a $2.4 million grant to improve efficiency and reduce fossil fuel emissions. The grant allocation, announced Friday, was provided by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, which is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

DELAND -- There is no immediate danger from two wild fires burning in Volusia County -- one in Daytona Beach and the other in DeLand -- though both continue to generate significant smoke, officials said this morning.

Firefighting crews from the Division of Forestry and Volusia County Fire Services, and personnel from Plum Creek Timber Company and the St. Johns River Water Management District, continue to work daily on the fires -- in Tiger Bay State Forest on Indian Lake Road in Daytona Beach, and Woody Tract, (between I-4 and U.S. 92, in DeLand.

DAYTONA BEACH -- A 30-year-old Maryland woman fell eight stories to her death overnight at a beachside hotel, becoming the second balcony-fall fatality in less than a week, Daytona Beach police said.

Heather Crawford of Frostburg, Md., who had rented a room with her boyfriend at the LaPlaya Resort, 2500 N. Atlantic Ave., was either standing or sitting on the railing of the balcony of just before 3 a.m. when she apparently fell to her death, according to police, who said no foul play is suspected.

DELTONA-- A 2-year-old Deltona girl drowned Friday evening in the family backyard pool while her mother was resting in bed and had thought she was with her, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

"The mother was resting in bed while her five other children, ages 8 to 14, were playing and cleaning house," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. "The mother told
Sheriff's investigators that she had the toddler in bed with her, but the girl apparently got up when the mother had fallen asleep.