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NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A public meeting is set for Sept. 5 to discuss the Causeway Landings affordable housing development proposed at the former Food Lion Shopping Center in the 100 block of the North Causeway

The meeting will begin at 5 p.m., a Wednesday, at the Brannon Center, 105 S. Riverside Drive.

David Glunt of Madden Moorhead & Glunt Civil Engineers has requested the meeting to present the project, which is proposed at the 14-acre site.

A kitchen fire in an apartment turned deadly for a Port Orange man early Saturday.

PORT ORANGE -- A man died early this morning in an apartment fire contained to his residence in the Grove Apartments on Clyde Morris Boulevard, Port Orange police said.

Here is a synopsis of the 1:42 a.m. fatality as reported by police Lt. David Meyer: "The Port Orange Fire Department responded to a fire at the Groves Apartments 3780 Clyde Morris Blvd., Port Orange. Upon arrival the fire was found to be contained in a single upstairs apartment of Building # 14. The lone male resident of the apartment was transported to Halifax Hospital where he was pronounced deceased."

Meyer added, "The fire appears to have originated in the kitchen area of the apartment and does not appear to be suspicious in nature. The identification of the deceased is pending notification of the next of kin."

Volusia County Council dist. 4 candidate retains 2nd-place finish for November runoff

Courtesy photo / Councilman Joseph Perrone knows firsthand that every vote counts, especially in a small town like Ponce Inlet as affirmed by a manual ballot recount Friday.

DELAND -- Two races from Tuesday's primary went unchanged after recounts Friday.

Ponce Inlet Town Councilman Joseph Perrone won re-election over Joe Villanella by one vote in a recount Friday confirmed, unchanged from Tuesday's primary giving him the win, 609 to 608.

In another race requiring a recount, Shannon McLeish of Ormond Beach held onto her 27-voter margin over third-place finisher Jay Young for the right to go against Volusia County Council Council dist 4 primary primary winner Doug Daniels in the Nov. 6 runoff.

Frank Bruno and Dorothy Hukill are vying for the newly created dist. 8 state senate in the Nov. 6 general elections. 

OCALA -- It could be an election horse raise to the finish between Democrat Frank Bruno and Republican Dorothy Hukill in the newly-dawn dist. 8 state senate seat that comprises parts of Marion, Lake and Volusia counties.

After all, Ocala, the Marion County seat, is "horse capital of the world" and its motto is "God be with us."

With those all-American labels, the city of Ocala is the ideal place for a good ol'-fashioned political battle in the November general elections between Democrat Frank Bruno and Republican Dorothy Hukill for the newly created dist. 8 state senate seat.

Edith Shelley, the zone 1 Daytona Beach City Commissioner, won Tuesday's primary in the race for Daytona Beach mayor with Derrick Henry, finishing second. This sets the stage for the Nov. 6 general election showdown.

DAYTONA BEACH -- In thanking his supporters for his second-place showing in the primary for Daytona Beach mayor, Derrick Henry is counting on party identification for the vote in the Nov. 6 general elections, even though that race is non-partisan.

Henry, a Democrat, finished second in Tuesday's primary to City Commissioner Edith Shelley among four contestants. The primary vote was just a warm up for the big prize for the 2012 candidates for elective office. And Henry wasted little time in establishing party identification through President Obama, though he didn't mention him by name.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The outcomes of Tuesday’s primary races settled out just about where I‘d anticipated. Once again, name recognition appears to be a decisive factor with Volusia and area voters.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Carl Persis is on top in the race for Volusia county chair with Jason Davis a distant second and power attorney Ted Doran on the outside looking in with half the precincts reporting.

Deb Denys is leading in the district 3 county council race with Jim Hathaway a close second and Justin Kennedy a distant third. In the race for state attorney, Stasia Warren is well ahead of incumbent RJ Larizza in Volusia County, but these preliminary results don't include Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties.