Local News Now

Photo for Headline Surfer® / Members of the Stetson University sand volleyball team stand tall.

DELAND -- For the second straight year, the Stetson sand volleyball program was selected as a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award.

The Stetson sand volleyball team's accolades come in as the No. 63 story in the Headline Surfer® countdown of the top 100 stories of 2013.

The academic award is presented annually in August to volleyball programs that maintain at least a 3.3 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

The Hatters completed the 2012-13 academic year in with a 3.40 team GPA.

Headline Surfer graphic / Blue Spring State Park, winter home of manatees for its warm waters, is where a scuba diver lost his life in a diving accident on Oct. 9.

ORANGE CITY -- A 36-year-old Edgewater man died in October in a scuba diving accident at Blue Springs State Park.

The victim was identified as Samuel Slack, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.

Slack was pronounced dead at 3::43 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City. The Sheriff's Office had been called at 2:52 p.m. in responding to the fatality, agency spokesman Brandon Haught said.

Ebony Wilkerson, 32 and pregnant, is shown here at first apperance Saturday at the Volusia County Branch Jail courtroom in Daytona Beach before County Judge Shirley Green where she was ordered held on $1.2 million bail on three counts of attempted first-degree murder of her three children, ages 3, 9, & 10, after purposey driving her minivan into the Daytona  surf.

DAYTONA BEACH -- As she drove her minivan into the rough ocean surf at Daytona Beach, 32-year-old Ebony Wilkerson locked the doors of her 2012 Honda Odyssey, put up the windows and told her three frightened children --ages 3,9, & 10 -- to close their eyes and go to sleep.

DAYTONA BEACH -- What better way to spend your Monday after winning the Daytona 500 if you're Dale Earnhardt, Jr. than topping it off with an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman?

That's two nights in a row of Junior basking in the glory of his second Daytona 500 championship that ended a decade-long drought in Victory Circle.

Editor's Note: This write-up by Michael W. Gerowchowski is being published exclusively in the Sunshine State via HeadlineSurfer.com as a public service for online readers.

By Michael W. Grochowski

ATLANTA -- Spring is officially here. Before you get started with your spring cleaning, perhaps another matter deserves some dusting off—that long-term financial plan. April is National Financial Literacy Month—the perfect time to spring into action when it comes to planning your financial future.

Headline Surfer® celebrating 5th anniversary by recognizing outstanding individuals

Photo for Headline Surfer® /

DAYTONA BEACH -- Bike Week starts Friday and what better way to introduce the nation's largest motorcycle rally than recognizing Michael Politis, selected as one of the Headline Surfer® recipients of a lifetime achievement award for service to greater Daytona Beach for his motorcycle safety advocacy and biker rights.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.  -- The future is now at Daytona International Speedway, thanks to two historic votes in less than 24 hours involving municipal and county governments.

Graphic for Headline Surfer® / The snapshot map shows the portion of Budinger Road in St. Clouds where the speed limit was increased to 30 mph.

ST. CLOUD, Fla. -- It's now legal to drive 5 mph faster on a stretch of Budinger Road between Profress Bouelvard and 17th Street for a maximum speed of 30 mph, according to city officials.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will hold a public Scoping Meeting 6 p.m.Thursday, March 20, at the Kissimmee Civic Center, 201 East Dakin Ave.

The purpose of these scoping meetings is to provide the public an opportunity to learn more about the Commission's environmental review process, and to verbally comment on the SMP Project. Representatives from Sabal Trail, FSC, and Transco, as applicable, will be present one hour to each scoping meeting to answer questions about the respective SMP Project component. Affected landowners and other interested parties are encouraged to attend and to give their comments on the issues they believe should be addresses in the EIS.

YouTube upload / Video by Simon Besmer / Volusia County Beach Patrol rescues occupants of this motor vehicle, swept into the surf in Daytona Beach on Tuesday afternoon near the Silver Beach Approach. A rescuer carries two of the children to shore in the snapshot at left.

DAYTONA BEACH -- A South Carolina woman drove her van into the surf with her three children inside just south of Silver Beach, before all were rescued and the vehicle became completed submerged.

One of the children reportedly told rescuers, "Our mommy's trying to kill us, please help."