Volusia News Now

OAK HILL -- Mayor Mary Lee Cook has apologized to Henry Frederick, editor/publisher and founder of NSBNews.net for the illegal actions of Commissioner Ron Engele in having him removed from the previous meeting, adding all of the commissioners, including herself are "guilty" for having allowed it to happen in the first place.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Excessive is the way to describe the number of people on the search committee to choose a new president for Daytona State College: 22. And of those members, 15 are directly tied to the college either as an employee or board member.

Courtesy photos / Shane Burns, far left, is in prison for life and Montario Royals could join him, if convicted of the same charge of first-degree felony murder in the shooting death of James Tolbert of Daytona Beach. Click the attachments to read the police report and indictment.

DAYTONA BEACH -- It's one down and one to go in the prosecution of two men in the Nov. 27, 2009, attempted robbery and gunshot-slaying of 34-year-old James Tolbert outside his Daytona Beach apartment.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The fact that certain people have behaved deplorably in putting Daytona State College in the hole for nearly $1.5 million with the failed American Music Festival, the institution itself is holding strong in its educational mission. DSC has consistently ranked in the top 10% of the 1,200 community colleges across America.

PIERSON -- A 23-year-old woman reported missing from a home here Thursday night was found the following evening walking on a sidewalk along Granada Boulevard near State Road A1A in Ormond Beach, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.

Photo by Sera Frederick / Police Chief Diane Young has been dogged by a host of problems since she became the city's top cop in March 2010, including two sergeants suspended under her command.

OAK HILL -- Before she became a cop, by her own admission, Diane Young snorted cocaine 100 times and smoked marijuana. She also took quaaludes, commonly referred to as "ludes," according to results of a lie detector test she took as part of her hiring process.

The embattled police chief, beset by a host of corruption allegations by rogue cops under her command for more than a year, admitted to the cocaine and marijuana usage in writing on her application with the city eight years ago. But she left off her use of quaaludes, a highly addictive drug similar to barbiturates, known for its euphoric effects.

The discovery of the third drug was made last month by then-Mayor Darla Lauer who abruptly resigned, saying initially in a resignation letter to the city that it was because of her pending move to Alaska where her husband, an air traffic controller, has a new job. But Lauer told NSBNews.net moments after her e-mailed resignation she was "fed up with the corruption under the command of an inept chief" she never wanted in the first place because of her sordid drug history.

EDGEWATER -- A barefoot man barrelled his way into a woman's home Thursday and demanded pills before he ran off with undisclosed amount property, Edgewater police said.

The victim was accosted at 10:20 a.m. in her India Palm Drive home by a stranger as she was walking inside and forced her in the rest of the way.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Passenger traffic at Daytona Beach International Airport increased 16 percent in April, compared with the same period last year.

Last month, 54,603 incoming and outgoing passengers passed through Daytona Beach International Airport. This compares with 46,888 total passengers in April 2010. For the 12-months ending April 30, passenger traffic increased 17 percent over the prior year to 515,352.

In a previous blog, I gave President Obama failing grades across the board for his first 100 days in office. Mr. President, I now give you an A-plus for the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden. I also give an A-plus to the intelligence ops and the Navy SEALS who carried out the brave mission across the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan.

May 1, 2011, will go down in history as the day the news circled around the world in an instant:  The most wanted terrorist  on the planet, who has killed thousands of innocence people, including Muslims, during 9/11, was dead.