Lanshark surfing festival totally rad
Grade: A-plus
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Karen Clancy and dozens of other volunteers should be commended for their hard work in making the inaugural Landshark surfing festival such a success over the past five days.
Traffic heading east to the beach was well past the South Causeway Bridge on Saturday, a testament to the draw of the surfing contest that doled out $20,000 in cash prizes.
There is no doubt that the beach is New Smyrna Beach's greatest tourist attraction and events like this can only help fuel the local economy, including the boutiques on Flaglar Avenue and Canal Street and the local restaurants.
New Taco Bell a real treat, except for traffic
Grade: B-plus
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- "Yo quiero Taco Bell," means I want Taco Bell. Well, now we do don't have to drive all the way to South Daytona for what is arguably among the most popular fast food.
The only problem is the traffic it is generating.
There are times where vehicles are literally in idle on State Road 44 and because of the hard median, motorists heading west have to make U-turns. This already with McDonald's, Dennys, Walgreens, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Walmart makes driving a real challenge on an already congested artery. Parking is another challene at Taco Bell.
The driving lanes are narrow and backing out is a risky proposition, especially with a line of cars stuck waiting for their order. A double order lane like McDonald's has next door might alleviate the situation.
Restoration project deathknell celebration by citizens group premature
Grade: C EDGEWATER -- "ECARD is pleased to announce that the Florida Department of Community Affairs, the state agency charged with ensuring that local governments comply with the state Growth Management Act, has REJECTED the City of Edgewater’s comprehensive plan amendment for 'Restoration,' the mega-development west of I-95 that would devour Edgewater, doubling its population and opening the door to the complete urbanization of Volusia’s 'green heart' — the lands that overlie the Volusian aquifer."
The above-statement was sent out to media outlets Thursday by ECARD, the citizens group out of Edgewater that is fighting to stop the building of the massive Restoration project that would nearly double the city's population, adding 17,700 in 8,500 dwelling units along with 3.3 million square feet of workplace space, west of I-95.
The state rejected certain elements of the plan, but the city and the developers have an opportunity to redress those issues and have already done so or or are in the process of doing so. Robert Lott, head of Edgewater's economic development, president of the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce and owner of the Observer newspaper, said he believes Restoration is a sound project that will move forward with a build out projected at 18 to 20 years, a project he sees as part of the economic engine that will help build a stronger community.
The Edgewater Citizens’ Alliance for Responsible Development, of course, doesn't share Lott's vision: "(ECARD) has for several years “fought the good fight” to save Edgewater from this “sprawlopolis,” which would further bankrupt the city, destroy its small town character, cannibalize its tax base, consume its water supply and open the door to the complete urbanization of Volusia County’s 'green heart'.”
Oak Hill vice mayor calls video voyeurism charges against son 'trumped up'
Grade: D-minus
OAK HILL -- Vice Mayor Mary Lee Cook told the Orlando Sentinel in a story published Friday that her son's arrest on video voyerism charges was politically motivated.
"It's all trumped-up charges based on me being on city commission," the vice mayor of Oak Hill was quoted as saying to the Orlando metro newspaper, declining further comment.
But it was Cook, herself, who called police, according to an Oak Hill arrest affidavit, after a parent complained to her.
The vice mayor told Oak Hill cops she "had gotten information" that her son was secretly videotaping underaged girls undressing and using his tanning bed in a shed behind his residence, according to the report.
She explained to the officers that her son put the camera there to record beer thefts from a refrigerator. David R. Brown, 48, is charged with two felony counts because they involve girls under 16, Oak Hill Police Chief Guy Grasso said. A third count is a misdemeanor because that girl is over 16, he said.
While Brown, arrested Wednesday night is presumed innocent in a court of law, Cook has to deal with the adverse publicity she is bringing on herself with her statements to the media.
Mighty Metro languishes while symphony festival heats up
Grade: F-minus
DAYTONA BEACH -- It's no surprise that the Daytona Beach News-Journal has not fared well in the open market with a lone offer of $26 million, a far cry from the $305 million the newspaper was valued at just a couple of years ago.
Cox Enterprises, the minority shareholder, which won a $129 million federal court judgment against the Davidson Family, which was upheld by the appellate courts, is justified in its demands that the newspaper be sold. After all, in this economy, as the months go by, the Mighty Metro's value will continue to decrease.
The eventual osers in such a sale would be the Davidsons as well as Publisher Georgia Kasney and her lawyer-husband Jon Kanry Jr. as well as Chief Financial Officer David Kendall, under the auspices of PMV. Their profits could be in jeopardy.
Of course, the 300-plus employees already fired got their two-weeks severance and another 500 are waiting to see what happens to them.
Ironically, in Saturday's edition, the News-Journal ran a story headlined "Festival pushes to rebuild, promote area's cultural identity," regarding the London Symphony Orchestra, one of the Davidson family's former pet projects that runs April 16-May 2.
The lack of funding has been taken up by two public entities -- the city of Daytona Beach and Volusia County government, which each earmarked $500,000 in funding at a time when taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet and the school district is short millions of dollars. The Davidsons two years ago provided$1.5 million in funding, but not this time, except for its editorial presentations. The Mighty Metro blames Cox Enterprises for halting "all contributions from the company and the family," but the story makes no mention of the fact that the News-Journal Center was a financial albatross for the newspaper and that ownership's decision-making led to litigation.
Manuel Bornia, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the newly renamed Daytona Beach International Festival told the newspaper: "We will never ask the city or the county for the same level of support we received this year. But we always hope for continued support, in some form, because they have a vested interest in this."