Local News Now

Was longest-serving member of the House until his death

Photo for Headline Surfer / Florida's longest serving Congressman, CW Bill Young, shown here at left, died Friday. He was 82.

ORLANDO -- Gov. Rick Scott issued a statement earlier tonight from Orlando regarding today's passing of Florida U.S. Congressman C.W. Bill Young, 82, and the the longest-serving Republican in the House, who had been hospitalized in recent weeks at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

“Ann and I join all Floridians as we mourn the passing of Representative Bill Young," Scott said in a statement e-mailed to Headline Surfer and other Florida media outlets.

Photo for Headline Surfer / At left is a Florida DOT webcam shot of I-4 at S.R. 46, earlier tonight, where highway construction has now been completed.

SANFORD – A major construction project on Interstate 4 in the Sanford area is now complete.

The project includes a new loop ramp at State Road 46 as well as a 3.5 mile-long section of roadway along the interstate called a collector-distributor, which eliminates weaving among exiting and merging traffic on the interstate itself.

No details released on double-track fatality by Daytona Beach PD

DAYTONA BEACH -- Two motorcyclists are confirmed dead after crashing into each other on the track during a riding school demonstration Thursday as part of Biketoberfest, an official there confirmed.

"Yes, there were two deaths,"DIS spokesman Lenny Santiago told Headline Surfer just after 3 p.m. today, adding details of the double fatality are contained in a Daytona Beach police report, which he was earlier told police were distributing to media.

Headline Surfer video by Henry Frederick / A man and woman take off on their chopped Harleys on Main Street in Daytona Beach. Check out how the woman biker handles the steering with her high-rise handlebars like a piece of cake.

DAYTONA BEACH -- More and more women are riding their own bikes at the motorcycle rallies in and around Daytona Beach.

Headline Surfer photo / Palmer Wilson, shown here (far left) at the Aug. 8 meeting of the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority in his then-role of chairman  was fired later that day by the County Council only to be re-instated two weeks later in a unanimous vote. Then he was removed a second time Thursday in yet another 4-3 vote.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Six days before the County Council removed Palmer Wilson from the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority on Thursday in a 4-3 vote led by Deborah Denys an unprecedented second time, another member of the tourism board asked that re-reconsideration of funding for two local chambers be added onto the agenda for today's meeting.

The request to have the funding discussed was requested by fellow SVAA board member Tony Stagni and approved by the executive director, Carl Watson, without the knowledge or consent of Wilson, who was chairman until his ouster.

Photo for Headline Surfer / Dawn Marie Abraham, a married mother of five, lost her life under bizarre circumstances that remain unanswered more than four years later.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Because she couldn't afford to make the $150 bail at first appearance following her April 8, 2009 misdemeanor DUI arrest, a 41-year-old Ormond Beach woman she spent six days locked up in the Volusia County branch jail.

The tragic circumstances of Dawn Marie Abraham's death, comes in at No. 483 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the Top 500 Stories as part of the 24/7 internet newspaper's 5th anniversary.

CRESCENT CITY -- Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday the appointment of Jeovanny Palencia to the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council, Region Four. Palencia, 30, of Crescent City, owns and operates of Geo's Autos. He fills a vacant seat and for a term that ends Oct. 1, 2015.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Already known as the shark bite capital of the world, New Smyrna Beach has another creature making headlines: a 5-foot-long rattle snake spotted in the surf.

DAYTONA BEACH -- NASCAR legend and two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott's lap speed record in qualifying that stood for 26 years has finally been broken by a hot shot driver in a flashy sports car.

Tourism-related stories trend well

Headline Surfer graphic / Feature tourism stories promoting the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority continue to show strong placement in the major online news directories and search engines as demonstrated here.

DAYTONA BEACH -- For the first time since Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway back in February, Headline Surfer experienced tremendous surges in visitors Wednesday evening that forced the 24/7 internet newspaper's server in Dallas to shutdown periodically between 9-11 p.m. Wednesday because of tremendous increases in visitors.