Volusia News Now

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.

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

ORANGE CITY -- A man died this afternoon after an apparent scuba diving accident at Blue Springs State Park, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.

The Sheriff's Office was called at 2:52 p.m. after the fatality.

"The man was transported to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City where he was pronounced dead," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught told Headline Surfer. "Meanwhile, his diving partner was transported to Florida Hospital Orlando for treatment. The Sheriff's Office will be investigating the death as is standard procedure but no foul play is suspected. The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of next of kin."

Former Daytona Beach Mayor Richard Kane loves the music

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Perhaps the last person you'd expect to find in New Smyrna Beach is a retired Daytona Beach mayor who left politics 39 years ago.

And he's the first to admit he rarely ventures down to New Smyrna, with one exception.

"The New Smyrna Beach Jazz Festival," said Kane, Daytona mayor from 1969-'74, who was at the Garlic on the final Sunday of the three-day festival that ended on this Sept. 29 evening.

The festival featured a variety of jazz ensembles at more than a dozen locales throughout the city, from restaurants to bars and the Brannon Center.

The NSB jazz festival is among the more traditional tourism activities offered by the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority, which is offering 30 events, that began Sept. 27 with the festival and culminates with a Turkey Day 5k beach run, coastal market and wine walk.

DAYTONA BEACH -- The man shot outside Papi's Bottle Club early Saturday has died and the case is now being investigated as a murder, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.