Vehicle found abandoned in Sanford

Headline Surfer graphic / An alert cab driver used a little trickery on Sunday to escape from a gun-toting customers, but had his taxi stolen at the intersection of Volusia and Graves avenues in Orange City 8 a.m. Sunday as shown at left.

ORANGE CITY -- A taxi driver was held up at gunpoint early this morning and ordered to drive a man and woman to Orange city before he escaped at the intersection of Volusia and Graves avenues, A Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.

The 2002 Dodge Caravan was later recovered abandoned in Sanford and the duo remain at large.

Headline Surfer, greater Daytona Beach's 24/7 internet newspaper, among 3 dozen media outlets with seating for high profile case

Pool photo by Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel / for Headline Surfer /

SANFORD -- Security will be extremely tight when jury selection gets under way this morning at the Seminole County Courthouse for George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin -- the high profile case that galvanized the nation with gun rights advocates on one side and claims of racism on the other side since the victim was a 17-year-old black youth and an arrest wasn't immediately forthcoming leading to nationwide protests.

Promoted in September by Wisconsin parent company Utility Equipment Leasing Corp.

Photo for Headline Surfer / Utility Equipment Leasing Corporation Appoints Ron Starks as Service Mechanic for the Sanford, Florida Service Center Starks brings With more than 25 years of experience in utility equipment maintenance and dedication to customer service, Ron Starks has been promoted to service mechanic for Sanford-based Florida Service Center.

SANFORD -- Meet Ron Starks, promoted last September by the Waukesha, Wisc.-based Utility Equipment Leasing Corp., as service mechanic at its Sanford Service Center, serving the Southeast states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Starks was tasked with providing road service in addition to support at the Sanford Service Center.  He has more than 25 years experience in aerial equipment service throughout the Southeast, the latter 10 years providing primarily road service.

Grade: A

Gov. Rick Scott appointed Jacksonville area State Attorney Angela Corey as special prosecutor to head the state's investigation into the Feb. 26 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

The governor also announced that Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll will oversee a task force to study the merits of the "Stand Your Ground" law, which Sanford police cited as the reason George Zimmerman wasn't charged in the killing of the 17-year-old Miami boy.

Media and race baiting deplorable

Grade: F

DELAND -- Having already held a student rally in support of justice for Trayvon Martin, Stetson University will again be the setting for more dialogue.

Stetson University’s Diversity Council will host a panel discussion to address the Feb. 26 shooting death in Sanford of the 17-year-old Miami teen and the implications this incident might have on society's understanding of what has been called a post-racial, or a color-blind America.

This panel discussion, which is open to the public, will be held on 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Rinker Auditorium, inside the Lynn Business Center, 345 N. Woodland Blvd.