Local News Now

Photo for Headline Surfer® / 

BUSHNELL, Fla. -- A scenic byway promoting ecotourism and history will be featured Jan. 25, as a ribbon cutting is held to celebrate the Scenic Sumter Heritage Byway's designation as an official Florida Scenic Highway.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Volusia County government is among myriad taxpayer-funded revenue sources that is a staple of advertising for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the traditional print medium that has supported its positions as demonstrated by the recent coverage of the continuing scandal in the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority and the hiring of attorney Jon Kaney to investigate Waverly Media.

LAKE MARY -- The 162-game suspension handed out today against New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for the upcoming season, including any post-season games, may be a major blow to the Yankee line-up, but it is a big victory for Major League Baseball and for the fans.

For Headline Surfer® /

DeLAND -- WFTV was the first media outlet today to provide news on an attempt by County Chair Jason Davis to have three Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority Board members removed for violating Florida's government in the Sunshine Law by communicating with each other in a series of e-mails in support of their executive director, caught using the agency credit to pay for meals for himself and others.

Headline Surfer locator / New Smyrna Beach police didn't have much to go on in trying to find a gunman who Jimmy Lee Clark, Jr. , a convicted drug dealer shown here, claimed shot him in the ankle in July while robbing him of of his money.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A an ex-con who did three tours in prison for dealing cocaine man was transported to Bert Fish Medical Center on July 27 with a gunshot wound to an ankle after he claimed he was robbed of his money by another African-American man he claimed he didn't know. The shooter was never caught, New Smyrna Beach cops said.

The shooting comes in at No. 80 in the Headline Surfer® countdown of the top 100 stories of 2013.

Photos for Headline Surfer® / Stetson University was ranked prominently on a national level by US News & World Report, Washington Monthly and MilitaryFriendly.com in a news release issued in early September.

DELAND – Stetson University again earned national recognition for its rigorous academics, commitment to social mobility and service, and military friendliness by ranking among the top universities in recent national surveys, according to US News & World Report and two other publications.

Photos for Headline Surfer®

HOLLY HILL -- What sparked a fight that led to a man's death after he was pushed through a plate glass window outside Brown's Billiards over the weekend is a mystery as three men accused of second-degree murder remain held without bail at the Volusia County Branch Jail.

"The reason the fight is unknown and currently under investigation," Holly Hill Police Chief Mark Barker told Headline Surfer® Wednesday.

Graphic for Headline Surfer® /

DAYTONA BEACH -- Officials with Daytona International Speedway are keeping their fingers crossed that a bill unanimously passed today by the Florida Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee providing $60 million in tax incentives for the Speedway will continue making its way through the Legislature and eventual passage in the Spring.

The bill would provide tens of millions more for other sports stadiums throughout the Sunshine State, including the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars as well as a new soccer facility in Orlando.

"We're certainly thrilled the bill passed in the Senate committee," Speedway spokesman Lenny Santiago told Headline Surfer® in a telephone interview this afternoon.