Local News Now

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Carl Persis is on top in the race for Volusia county chair with Jason Davis a distant second and power attorney Ted Doran on the outside looking in with half the precincts reporting.

Deb Denys is leading in the district 3 county council race with Jim Hathaway a close second and Justin Kennedy a distant third. In the race for state attorney, Stasia Warren is well ahead of incumbent RJ Larizza in Volusia County, but these preliminary results don't include Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A motorist and his passenger were critically injured early this morning when he lost control of his small pick-up truck while southbound on US 1 near Creekside Circle, just south of the three bridges area, crossed into the northbound lanes and smashed head on into a tree, police said. 

Here is a synopsis of the 2:11 a.m. Tuesday crash as described by Sgt. Shane Riggle in his report: "The driver lost control of the vehicle and crossed the median into the northbound lanes. The vehicle continued across the roadway until it struck several signs and a large tree head on. The male driver and a male passenger were seriously injured in the crash."

This message alert from the Utilities  Commission of New Smyrna Beach's website during Saturday night's power outage has not been updated.

New Smyrna Beach -- An official with the Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach this afternoon was unable to provide information on how many customers lost power with Saturday night's lightning strikes that impacted a transmission line or even when it was fully restored.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Just how many people were without power or for how long resulting from Saturday night's thunderstorm is anybody's guess because media inquiries went unanswered.

As Headline Surfer reported exclusively, lightning from a fast-moving thunderstorm rolling through the city, struck a substation transmission line and knocked out power for customers in parts of the city.

ORMOND BEACH -- You know Mitt Romney made the right pick for vice president because the liberal left is already going bananas trying to discredit and smear Paul Ryan.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Mitt Romney may try to come off as an average Joe with a jacket and no tie in introducing VP running mate Paul Ryan, with jacket and no tie as well. How boring.

Let us show you how candidates for office In Volusia County go about making an impression. A big impression! With Facebook, anything is possible. 

Take County Council dist. 2 incumbent Joshua Wagner, for example. Why wait for the water to break? After all, the primary is less than 72 hours away.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The Typical Story: Peter is a married, 35-year-old. His wife, Susan, is a sales rep., who spends several days each week on the road. Both report that their sex life was great until just a few years ago, and Peter is not sure what happened.