Volusia News Now

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Catching a glimpse of the live proceedings on an overhead-TV in his Gator Beach & Sports apparel store across from the Ocean Walk on A1A, Paul Politis wasn't surprised University of Florida and ex-New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found guilty of murder Wednesday in a Fall River, Mass. courtroom.

Headline Surfer® graphic / The locator map at left shows the area south of the 500 block of Osteen-Maytown Road where the body of a man was found floating in shallow water on Aug. 1, 2014. 

 OSTEEN, Fla -- A body found floating in a water-filled pit on a Saturday afternoon on the first day of August turned out to be that of a homeless man who was spotted by a bystander.

The victim was identified as 56-year-old Robert Lewis Williams, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.

Witnesses said they saw Willims going into the shallow water, perhaps to cool off from the hot Florida sun the afternoon before.

"Williams (had) family who live close by where the body was found, but he had no known permanent address," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. 

Videos by IndyCars for Headline Surfer® / 1st video: Highlights of the 2014 running of the Indianapolis 500, including several crashes and the dramatic finish that saw the Ryan Hunter-Reay take the checkered flag in the second-closest finish ever. 2nd video: Post-race interviews with Hunter-Reay and several other drivers. 

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Florida racer, Ryan Hunter-Reay, driving the No. 28 for team owner Michael Andretti, won the Indianapolis 500 in a nail-biter over Helio Castroneves.

Photo for Headline Surfer® /

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Firefighters in this seaside city raised $8,651 during the Labor Day weekend to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

As part of the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association’s charity boot drive, firefighters braved the heat and stood at the intersection of Old Mission Road and State Road 44 on Aug. 30-31, with their boots at the ready. And passing motorists graciously donated money to help children and families who have been affected by muscular dystrophy.

Photo for Headline Surfer® /

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- For the second year in a row, New Smyrna Beach Police Motor Officer Josh Holloway earned top honors at the annual Space Coast Motorcycle Rodeo the weekend of Oct. 11 in Melbourne.

Holloway walked away with several awards including “Mr. Rodeo” – the top rider award.

The New Smyrna Beach motors cop's riding achievements skill comes in at No. 73 in the HeadlineSurfer.com countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2014.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- He was the countywide face of politics for 20-plus years, his last eight as the first-ever elected county chair, before he stepped off the dais for good in 2012.

So, it is only fitting that Frank Bruno has been chosen as the very first inductee of the Class of 2015 HeadlineSurfer.com Hall of Fame. When all is said and done, there will be 100 entrants in the inaugural class. 

Most of the inductees are individuals, though more than several inductees are comprised of groups of indivuals, or as entities such as a company or a longstanging tourism event or special cause. 

Photos for Headline Surfer® /

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla -- A 2:13 a.m. traffic stop for an expired tag in the 900 block of Maple Street resulted in the arrests of three women on narcotics charges, resulting in their transport to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach where they were booked, pending first appearances later today.