Volusia News Now

'Lost' treaty under water

ORMOND BEACH -- Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampsire, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Rob Portman of Ohio and Johnny Isakson of Georgia were among the 34 brave souls in the U.S. Senate to give the “Law of the Seas Treaty” the deep six.

“Proponents of the Law of the Sea treaty aspire to admirable goals, including codifying the U.S. Navy’s navigational rights and defining American economic interests in valuable offshore resources. But the treaty’s terms reach well beyond those good intentions,” Ayotte and Portman wrote in a Monday letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

English should be the only language on voter ballots

I received my absentee ballot today and it is in both English and Spanish. It raises my hackles to see that on my so-called American ballot. As all of you who read my blog know, I am against anything, but English being used in this country for road signs, voting ballots or anything else including in Walmart on the signs there. You want to live in and be American, then learn the language.

Deputies looking for gunman in drive-by who shot a man outside a Holly Hill bottle club

Shooting victim Jeffrey HanksHeadline Surfer video produced by Sera Frederick / Warning: Video may no be suitable for all age groups. Surveillance video shows a man being shot outside the Papis Bottle Club, 1376 N. Nova Road, just outside the Holly Hill city limits early Friday morning.

HOLLY HILL -- Volusia County Sheriff's deputies are on the lookout this weekend for a gunman who opened fire early Friday on a man outside a bottle club -- bullets striking his leg and hand early Friday.

George Zimmernan's attorneys demand removal of Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester, saying he's biased

Newspaper Section
Media pool photos by Orlando Sentinel / Accused killer George Zimmerman and his attorney, Mark O'Mara, are shown here in the June 29 bond hearing at the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford where Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester heard arguments on why he should be granted bail after his truthfulness was called into question about his finances. The judge on July 5 granted $1 million bail. 

SANFORD -- George Zimmerman's attorneys want Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester disqualified from proceedings in the second-degree murder charge against him in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, saying the court is biased against him and because of that, he cannot get a fair trial.

Zimmerman's $1M bail means the defense doesn't have to force the state's hand with 'speedy trial' provisions

Newspaper Section

Headline Surfer video produced by Sera King / Mark O'Mara, lead defense counsel for accused murderer George Zimmerman in the gunshot slaying of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, addresses the media after the latest bail hearing at the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford, Florida. 

 

By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer

SANFORD, Fla. -- Had the judge in the George Zimmerman murder trial refused bail -- which he ultimately set at $1 million -- his defense team could have resorted to a legal maneuver that would have ramped up the high-profile case even more for both sides: a demand for a speedy trial.

Legalese: Florida's Speedy Trial provisions

Newspaper Section

Had George Zimmerman not been released on bail, his defense team could have forced the state to take the case to trial within six months as opposed to the standard year or more in both sides preparing for a trial showdown.

Here is a boiler plate on a defendant's rights to demand a speedy trial:

Florida Highway Patrol: 7-year-old boy struck and killed in hit-and-run in greater Orlando

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Newspaper Section

Location of fatal hit and run of 7-year-old boyORLANDO -- A 7-year-old boy was struck by at least one vehicle late Monday night in the westbound lanes of Silver Star Road near Orlando West Drive in Pine Hills and pronounced dead at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children a short time later in an apparent hit-and-run, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

"At this time troopers are sorting out who left the scene," FHP spokesman Sgt. Kim Montes said of the 10:15 p.m. fatality.

Gov. Rick Scott appoints three Daytona-area lawyers to the 7th judicial circuit nominating commission

Attorney Raven SwordAttorney Katherine Hurst MillerPrivate attorneys Raven Sword and Katherine Hurst Miller, shown left to right respectively, along with assistant public defender Steven Gosney, will have a hand in helping to choose candidates to serve on the bench in Volusia, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties.

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott today announced the appointment of Steven N. Gosney, Katherine Hurst Miller and Raven E. Sword to the 7th judicial circuit nominating commission.

Pride of Pierson Chipper Jones in 2012 MLB All-Star speech: 'I am not going out losing my last one'

Chipper Jones Chipper Jones, shown here in a photo from his website, was all smiles at Tuesday night's MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City, Mo., hitting a single in the 6th inning.

PIERSON -- Chipper Jones -- the pride of Pierson, Florida --  rallied his National League All-Stars in a pre-game speech Tuesday night before they took to the field in Kansas City and shut out their American League counterparts, 8-0.