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NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Traffic was bumper to bumper Saturday. Eastbound, that is.

And though it eased up Easter Sunday, it was still voluminous well into the night, heading out of this seaside city of 25,000.  

"It's the price we pay for the tourism," said Deb Dugas, a beachside resident who dislikes the nightitime pub crawls, which she sees as locals from Port Orange, Edgewater and DeLand looking to party.

Where else, but to the beach, would onee would find ceaseless traffic jamswith cars, SUVs, pick-ups and motorcycles.

Literally thousands of people -- locals, day trippers and tourists alike on the hard sands and embracing the curling surf the day before Easter.

"It has been that way for years," Dugas said. "You just accept that when it's a holiday like this, you might as well leave the car in the garage."

Question: Now that Gov. Charlie Crist has switched from Republican to independent, can he still win the U.S. Senate race?

"Why not? People have already formed their opinion of him regardless of whether he's a Republican or not."

Heidi Gracia, Edgewater

"Yes. He's just breaking away from the two-party system. He's got a better shot now. He's taking the right approach."                                                                                                     
Rich Adamovic, Port Orange

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick

An 8-year-old girl is being cared for at Halifax MerdicalCenter with what are being described as non-life threatening injuries after falling from a first-floor hotel balcony Tuesday night on the beachside, Daytona Beach Fire Department officials said.

Courtesy photos. Riverside Park in New Smyrna Beach was lit up for last year's Relay for Life gathering. In near left photo, remembering loverd ones and the fight against cancer is what drives the many volunteers to raise money. Next weekend's gathering will be no different.

At left is Judy Rosky, the 2010 torchbearer for Relay for Life.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Southeast Volusia Relay for Life will 'Rock the Cure' when it celebrates the 10th annual overnight event April 16-17 in New Smyrna Beach's Riverside Park. Beginning 5:30 p.m.that Friday and continuing into Saturday, it is it held annually as a major fund-raising initiative for the American Cancer Society.

Southeast Volusia Relay for Life is a life-changing event that celebrates the lives of those who have and who continue to battle cancer, remembers loved ones lost and fights back against the disease. Because cancer never sleeps, Relay events are overnight and continue for 18 hours.

We have a new commission and we all hoped for "change." This has not happened. City Commissioner Judy Reiker and Mayor Adam Barringer were newly elected in November with the mantra of holding down costs and looking out for the taxpayer.

When I initially read that the New Smyrna Beach City Commission had appointed several citizens to a budget review task force I was elated. But my elation was short lived after reading the enabling resolution. That's because City Manager Pam Brangaccio's initiative ignores the most expensive part of the budget for this task force: Union contracts.

Despite the feel-good task force, the city manager seems intent on continuing to draw money from the reserves to cover shortfalls as opposed to cutting union contract-driven expenses as propsed in her long-term budget plsan unveiled last fall.

DELAND -- Volusia County’s Solid Waste Division is hosting a household hazardous waste collection event for materials such as paint, used oils, pesticides, fluorescent lamps, car batteries and cleaning chemicals. These materials could contaminate ground water or pose a threat to the owner if kept too long.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Art Walk will be held on historic Flagler Avenue from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, April 24. Attendees can take an enjoyable stroll along the avenue while enjoying the wide variety of art works featured inside galleries, as well as by several visiting artists under canopies, and also participate in a "wine tasting."

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- An Orlando motorist in a Volvo SUV was ticketed on a charge of careless driving after running over a sunbather lying on a towel between parked cars Saturday near the South Jetty, Volusia County Beach officials said.

Udi Melamed, 33, pulled in between between two parked vehicles when he ran over Angela Kaleigh Samala, 23, also of Orlando, according to the Beach Patrol. His vision was obscured by another vehicle and he didn't see the woman lying on a towel, the report released Wednesday stated.

HOLLY HILL -- A 23-year-old Holly Hill man was killed over the weekend when he smashed into the back of a car while speeding north on U.S. 1, Holly Hill police said.