Volusia News Now

This 10-acre  vacant beachfront property at 801 S. Atlantic is on the fast track for a $100 million Hard Rock hotel and cafe expected to open just in time for the 2016 running of the Daytona 500.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Like a gourmet meal, a Hard Rock hotel/cafe complex is going to be sandwiched between the World's Most Famous Beach and the super speedway with the high banks where they run the Great American Race.

Headline Surfer videos produced by Serafina Frederick / Then-County Chair Frank Bruno gives his 'State of the County' address in 2012 at the Ocean Center. Jason Davis gives his first Thursday. 

DAYTONA BEACH -- It might be a tall order to expect Jsason Davis to deliver his first state of the county address Thursday with the glitz and the glamour that were the calling cards of his predecessor, Frank Bruno.

Marketing guru took over in wake of scandal

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Tim Hamby, the executive director of the Southeast Volusia Advertising, hired last year in the wake of the Nicole Carni scandal, officially tendered his resignation this morning in favor of a new marketing job much closer to his Ponte Vedra home that will pay him in excess of six figures in salary and benefits.

"It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," said the 49-year-old Hamby, in a telephone interview with Headline Surfer while he was en route to the New Smyrna Beach Visitor's Center where the ad authority is based. "There were a lot of factors to consider, including my wife and my daughters and moving and the salary and benefits were something the ad authority would not have been able to match."

VCSO: Suspect driver and vehicle located this morning, but no charges yet

DELTONA -- An apparent drug deal in Deltona went horribly wrong late Sunday afternoon, resulting in the death of an 18-year-old man who was dragged down the street by a fleeing motorist, an official with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

The victim was identified as Tristan De Joy, who witnesses reported walking late Sunday afternoon to the end of Sonnet Court, the same Deltona road where he lives. Next, a pickup truck was spotted driving to the end of the street, where De Joy was.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- NSBNews.net was a dream come true five years ago for a journalist who wanted to report the news and make a difference. Today, it has evolved into Headline Surfer, a hard-charging and multi-award-winning 24/7 digital newspaper accessed around the world.

Headline Surfer snapshot graphic / For unforseen emergencies, the town of Ponce Inlet has turned to 'Code Red' to alert citizens and merchants.

PONCE INLET -- The municipality has instituted a rapid emergency notification service called CodeRED, which distributes emergency messages via telephone to targeted areas or the entire town at a rate of 1,000 calls per minute, according to a press release on Ponce Inlet's website.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Joie Chitwood, president of Daytona International Speedway doesn't want a repeat of the crash on the super speedway in February that sent debris flying into the stands, including a tire that resulted in nearly 30 spectator injuries.

Headline Surfer photo by Henry Frederick / This surfer loves the curling waves of the Atlantic Ocean at New Smyrna Beach as shown during high tide. In the inset is the tide report for Thursday April 25, for Volusia County beaches.

DAYTONA BEACH -- The surf water temp taken by Volusia County lifeguards at the World's Most Famous Beach has been holding in the mid to upper 60s. Waves are 2 to 4 feet and choppy and the current is moving slowly to the south.

Headline Surfer graphic / Here is a snapshot of Daytona Beach area MLS condo sales for March 2013, compared to the same month in 2012.

DAYTONA BEACH -- 99 condos were sold in the Daytona Beach area with an average sales price of $193,470 for the month of March, a marked increase over the same time a year ago, according to the Daytona Beach MLS.

PORT ORANGE -- The Florida Department of Transportation is holding a public information meeting from 7 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 2, at the Port Orange Adult Activity Center, 4790 S. Ridgewood Ave., regarding plans to provide operational improvements along South Ridgewood Avenue, also known as U.S. 1.