Top 100 Stories

NEW SMYRNA BEACH – This seaside tourist city's native son, Jim Hathaway, is seeking a second two-year term as New Smyrna Beach's mayor.

Hathaway was initially elected mayor in the 2014 general elections, easily defeating then-City Commissioner Jack Grasty in the non-partisan race.

“Serving as the mayor of New Smyrna Beach is a tremendous honor,” Hathaway said of his announcement in an email this morning to Headline Surfer®, “but it also requires tremendous dedication to tackle some very serious issues facing this city. There is a lot more work to be done, and I am asking the citizens for another term to continue working towards a better community.”

EDGEWATER, Fla. -- Here we go again folks: Donald Trump used every trick in the book to convince disenfranchised Republicans that he was a "man of the people" by telling the legion of these disgruntled,voters just what they wanted to hear.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Gov. Rick Scott today removed the word "acting" from the job description for Dr. Celeste Philip, the state surgeon general and secretary of the Florida Department of Health.

Philip has served as Florida's acting surgeon general since March. She's also a one-time assistant director of the Volusia County Health Department.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The race for the face of Volusia County government has gotten ramped up with the driving force behind keeping cars on the beach seeking the chairmanship of the County Council in the 2016 elections.

Greg Gimbert, leader of the political action committee, Let Volusia Vote, joins an already-crowded field for the lead post on the seven-member elected body that sits on the dais of the Frank T. Bruno Jr. County Council chambers in DeLand.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A motorist was shot and killed by one of two deputies after he refused to put down a gun he reached for while seated in his car on the side of the road in the 1400 block of SR 415 in rural Osteen, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said, but a full 24 hours later on Sunday night, there were far more questions than answers as to the use of deadly force.

DELAND, Fla. -- The DeLand City Commission meets 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 120 S. Florida Ave. For more information, please call 386-626-7000.

DELAND, Fla. -- The DeLand Planning Board meets 5 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 120 S. Florida Ave. For more information, please call 386-626-7000.

DELAND, Fla. -- The next installment of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office's 90-minute "Coffee With A Cop" program is scheduled for 8 a.m. Friday at the McDonald's restaurant in the Brandywine Plaza just north of the DeLand city limits.

The 2-year-old program is part of a national initiative to further dialogue between law enforcement and citizens without heavy lectures or hidden agendas.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Often times, running for elected office becomes convoluted in numbers.

Consider the candidacy of State Attorney R.J. Larizza was returned to office for a third consecutive four-year term at high noon Friday in the Seventh Judicial Circuit when qualifying ended and he had no challengers. 

Third, four, seventh -- that's a mishmash of numbers that help define the office sought, such as the length of time and jurisdiction. But here's a number that perhaps is most impactful for this particular office: $116,379. 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Looks like the Hard Rock Hotel – you know, the project that was billed as a panacea for every problem facing Volusia County from beachside blight to head lice – has been “put on hold” for the foreseeable future.