Local News Now

HOLLY HILL -- John Penny won the race for mayor outright in the primary.

John Penny Aug. 27
From your new Mayor, John Penny: I would like to thank the hundreds of people and community leaders who supported my campaign and share my vision for a bright future for Holly Hill. I owe a special Thank You to my family for supporting my campaign. It is especially gratifying to have prevailed. A three-way race poses particular mathematical challenges, so I appreciate the confidence of the voters and the fact that they voted in numbers great enough to settle the contest outright. I share their passion for Holly Hill and look forward to working together with them to improve our infrastructure, pursue positive growth and compete in the economic development arena.

6th bite victim of the year occurs near South Jetty

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 13-year-old girl from Boca Raton was bitten on the calf by a shark while body surfing Sunday afternoon in waist-deep water, a beach safety official said.

Best way to avoid getting in trouble in surf: Swim in front of a lifeguard 

Headline Surfer® video / It's a changing of the (life) guard at mid-afternoon Friday in this scene setter on the beach off the International Speedway Bouleard approach in Daytona Beach.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Always be aware of your surroundings while on the beach, especially in the surf, with rip currents on this holiday weekend. It's a good idea to swim in front of a lifeguard in case you get into trouble in the choppy waves.

Parents, & adults: Keep small children in front of you where you can see them at all times

And parents, granfdparents and other adults responsinle for small children. Always keep them in front of you where you can see them. Little ones, especially toddlers, love to chase the birds and often they aren't paying attention to what is around them, including motor vehicles in the drive zones.

These are perhaps the two greatest tips to offer for a safe beach experience on this Labor Day weekend that typically represents the end of summer.

Headline Surfer® video / Danger Zone: Little ones play in water's edge. Notice how close the little boy in the video a toddler, no older than 2 or 3, comes to the passing vehicles while pushing his giant Tonka truck across the wet sand. Though he never leaves the water's edge  in the minute and 53 seconds of this video clip.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Event sponsorships and participant registration are still available for Neighbor To Family, Inc.’s second annual “Sibling Stampede 5K Fun Walk/Run” at Sun Splash Park on Saturday, with proceeds helping improve the lives of sibling foster children in the organization’s care. 

Campaign over for Deltona City commissioner Webster Barnaby

DAYTONA BEACH -- The recount for the at-large county council primary between Webster Barnaby and Pat Northey is over. And now so is the campaign of Barnaby as Northey moves on to a November showdown with incumbent Joyce Cusack.

Photos for Headline Surfer® /

PALM COAST -- State Sen. John Thrasher easily defeated Putnam County Tea Party hopeful Derek Hankerson in in Tuesday's Republican primary in all four counties that comprise his district 6 seat. 

Though he remans a contender for president at Florida State University, his alma mater, Thrasher said his No. 1 is re-election in November when he faces Democrat Kathleen Trued, a retired St. Augustine teacher who lost to him two years ago, and fellow challenger Greg Feldman, who is running as an independent.

Headline Surfer® graphic / George Sheldon, shown far left, prevailed in the Democratic primary for Florida attorney general over Perry Thurston, but he has an uphill battle against incumbent Republican Pam Bondi, shown below, who has greater financial resources and name recognition.

DAYTONA BEACH — George Sheldon of Tampa defeated Perry Thurston of Fort Lauderdale in the Democratic primary for Florida attorney general and now moves on to face GOP incumbent Pam Bondi in November.

DELTONA -- Congressman John Mica easily won the GOP primary over three others with 72.2 percent districtwide.

The Republican from Winter Park had four times as many votes as second place finisher, David Smith, who had 18.7 percent of the votes, followed by Don Oehlrich with 5.1 percent and Kelly Shirley with 4 percent.

In terms of the actual votes, Mica had 32,076, Smith 8,312, Oehlrich 2,284 and Shirley 1,785.

In Volusia County, where Mica represents DeBary, Deltona and Orange City, he received 74.9 percent of the overall votes, with Smith second at 16.09 percent, followed by Shirley with 4.83 percent and Oehlrich with 4.1 percent.

Comeback over for Phil Giorno with third place finish

Headline Surfer® graphic / At left are the results of the Aug. 26 primary for the Volusia County Council District 5 seat showing Rich Gailey with the win, Fred Lowry, Jr., finishing second and Phil Giorno finishing third and out of the running, and all three shown from left to right. Gailey and Lowry will square off in November.

DELTONA -- Rich Gailey won Tuesday's primary for the County Council District 5 seat on the County Council, but not by enough to avoid a Nov. 4 runoff with second-place finisher Fred Lowry, Jr.

For Phil Giorno, who finished a distant third, a comeback on the dais didn't materialize and hid campaign is now over.