DAYTONA BEACH -- Dan Francati, the general manager of the Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room, was unanimously approved earlier Tuesday as the chairman.
Michael Kardos was named vice chairman and Steve Farley as secretary-treasurer. All three terms are a year apiece.
DELAND -- The West Volusia Advertising Aurthority has installed new officers on its board of directors. Bill O'Connor was named chair, Sharon Hughes was selected as vice chair and Doug Little as the treasurer. The appointments were made earlier in the day Wednesday.
Photo for Headline Surfer / George Markert, an administrator with 28 years of service with the Rochester, N.Y., police force is New Smyrna Beach City Manager Pam Brangaccio's choice to be the new police chief here.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- After an extensive three-month search and interview process, New Smyrna Beach is ready to welcome a new police chief.
“We conducted a very thorough search to make the right decision,” said Pam Brangaccio, New Smyrna Beach city manager. “We interviewed several very qualified applicants extensively. In the end, the best fit for New Smyrna Beach was clear.”
Brangaccio will appoint George E. Markert subject to confirmation by the City Commission at Tuesday night's City Commission meeting.
Headline Surfer photos by Henry Frederick / Two years ago, the WWE held a house show at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach featuring stars like John Cena as shown at far left, with fellow wrestler John Morrison. Such shows are few and far between.DAYTONA BEACH -- The WWE could be setting up shop in Orlando with a new developmental training facility, which would be great news for those who love professional wrestling with rising stars such as Ryback and the trio of Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, collectively known as "The Shield."
Such wrestlers came from developmental facilities in other parts of Florida. "WrestleZone.com reports such a facility in Orlando would "hold five wrestling rings, which will allow for much more ring time for developmental wrestlers."
Despite Sunday's thunderstorms, fire remains an issue on US 92, as shown in this locator map.DAYTONA BEACH -- Firefighters contained three small spot-over fires from the Mile Marker 128 on Sunday afternoon, but a stretch of U.S. 92, from Kepler to Indian Lake roads, remains closed.
"Troopers will monitor the highway to determine when it is safe to reopen it.," Volusia County spokeswoman Pat Kuehn said. "Residents and drivers can expect smoky conditions along West International Speedway Boulevard this morning."
The spot-overs were caused by an increase in winds and decrease in humidity in the mid-afternoon.
The fire, now estimated at 225 acres, continues to smolder and produce significant smoke, Kuehn said.
Photo for Headline Surfer / Skipper Norman Church had history on his side and perhaps a little faith Sunday as he repeated as champion in the 2013 Lipton Cup Regatta.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Norman Church was obsessed with winning the 2013 Lipton Cup Regatta off the Atlantic waters of New Smyrna Beach. So much so that he skippered "Obsession" into victory in the Spinnaker Class.
The regatta was held Saturday and Sunday with the first day much rougher going in the choppy waters.
“Building seas became quite a challenge resulting in four competing boats retiring with equipment or crew problems on Saturday,” the Smyrna Yacht Club said in a press release. “Sunday, light and shifty easterly breezes slowly increased providing for a fair and competitive race course.”
Expect more thunderstorms over the next 18 hours before sunny skies return Tuesday to greater Daytona Beach, according to the National Weather Service. The weather as shown at left is as of Sunday night.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The National Weather Service has issued an urban and small stream flood advisory for the Volusia County cities of New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, Orange City, Lake Helen and Deltona until 9 p.m.
The advisory was issued at 6:58 p.m. from the National Weather Service in Melboune, following a fast-moving thunderstorm.
The South Jetty, as shown in this locator map, is in the northern most part of New Smyrna Beach where surfers and sharks share the waters.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 21-year-old surfer from DeBary paddling in the waves in the South Jetty, suffered the first shark bite this year season, Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Tammy Marris said earlier today.
The surfer, whose name was not immediately available, was bitten 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Marris said, adding he suffered a minor cut to his hand.
Volusia County had eight shark bites last year, most of them near the South Jetty, where sharks as long as 5 feet, are drawn to bait fish that swirl in the swollen surf.
Frontier Communications is located at 1398 S. Woodland Blvd. as shown here in this locator.DELAND -- Frontier Communications is celebrating its recent $2.9 million expansion with a ribbon cutting event at 2 p.m. Thursday at the call center’s headquarters, 1398 S. Woodland Blvd.
The company added 20,000 square feet and 145 jobs, bringing the building’s size to 58,000 square feet and the workforce total to 550. Along with the expansion, the entire facility underwent cosmetic and other improvements, including the additions of an employee game room for relaxation, an outdoor area with a basketball hoop and an employee fitness center.
ORMOND BEACH -- Mayor Ed Kelley gave his city commission colleagues and the public a dose of reality regarding unfunded pension liability issues.
According to the minutes of the April 2 Ormond Beach City Commission meeting, the mayor said Stockton, Calif., recently became the largest city to file for bankruptcy in the U.S. Kelley said Stockton was almost a billion dollars in debt and was driven to that primarily by unfunded pension liabilities.
