DAYTONA BEACH SHORES -- With the August conventions fast approaching, President Obama must soon decide whether to keep Joe Biden as his vice president or shift to Hillary Clinton. I think that the odds favor a change.
DAYTONA BEACH -- Daytona Beach cops are currently investigating a suspicious incident where a meth lab may have been located in the 900 block of Atlantic Avenue on the beachside.
The incident began to unfold around 7 a.m. after emergency workers were summoned to 900 S Atlantic Avenue (near apartment 4) to investigate a "chemical smell."
"Officers arrived on scene and located what appeared to be an active meth lab," Daytona Beach police Detective John Creamer said.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, issued the following statement regarding the historic SpaceX mission:
“Congratulations to SpaceX for its successful launch and today’s berthing with the International Space Station. This is a historic milestone for space exploration and an important achievement for the commercial space industry."
“Congratulations to SpaceX for its successful launch and today’s berthing with the International Space Station. This is a historic milestone for space exploration and an important achievement for the commercial space industry."
Rubio continued, "We no longer live in a world where space is only explored by government agencies, and we should all take pride that an American company is the first to accomplish this mission. I know that Floridians look forward to working with NASA and our commercial partners as they continue to prove their capabilities.”
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments – the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency – had achieved this challenging technical feat.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The circumstances of the body of an 18-year-old South American flight student turning up in the parking lot of Bert Fish Medical Center is unexplained, New Smyrna Beach police said. The body was found 5:30 p.m. in the hospital parking lot, 401 Palmetto St., by a passerby, police said.
Cops had gone to Epic Aviation Flight Academy, 600 Skyline Drive, at the New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport just before noon Thursday in response to a missing person's report two days earlier.
The young man's cause of death and circumstances of his body ending up in the hospital parking lot are part of an ongoing investigation, police said.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Volusia County Council seat 3 candidate Deb Denys has embraced new tools in helping her get the word out: Internet news and social media.
"The electronic media is where readers are getting their news," Denys said. "I'm getting my message where people are sharing ideas and that's on sites like Facebook and Headline Surfer."
DELAND -- The Volusia County Council will meet with the DeLand City Commission to discuss phase two of the SunRail project, which extends commuter rail service to the DeLand Amtrak station. The meeting will be at 9 a.m. Friday, June 15, in the second-floor training room of the Historic Courthouse, 125 W. New York Ave., DeLand.
The elected officials will review the latest concept for development around the station that was proposed in the “Transit-Oriented Development Workshop Sketchbook,” completed in summer 2011. The public is invited to attend the workshop, and public participation will be permitted. For more information, please call the County Manager’s Office at 386-736-5920.
EDGEWATER, Fla. -- The decision to change the FCAT scores to accommodate students who cannot pass the test is just wrong.
ORLANDO -- After his first four years in the NBA with the Orlando Magic, Shaquille O'Neal left the Orlando Magic as a free agent for the riches of the Los Angeles Lakers. Now he may be headed to the Magic as their new general manager.
Multiple sports outlets are reporting what was first reported by ESPN's Chris Brousard who tweeted: "As first reported on @NBAonESPN, the Orlando Magic will interview @SHAQ for their vacant GM position, sources say."
Courtesy photo for Headline Surfer / Charlie Helm joins finncial consulting team of Alliance Financial Partners.
PALM COAST -- Alliance Financial Partners, Inc. is proud to announce that Charles, “Charlie” Helm has joined the financial consulting team of Alliance Financial Partners, Inc. Alliance Financial Partners, Inc., located in Palm Coast, is a full-service financial firm, locally owned and operated by David L. Fowler and Edward Herrera.
With the addition of Helm, Alliance Financial Partners, Inc. will now offer two locations: 216 S. 3rd Street, Flagler Beach and 1 Florida Park Dr. North, Suite 105-B, Palm Coast.
Helm was raised in Baltimore. He spent most of his adult life in Cleveland Ohio until relocating to Dade City, in 1985. He moved to Flagler Beach in 1989. Helm began his long, seasoned financial career as a life insurance agent with New York Life in 1958. He went on to join Monarch Life Insurance Company in 1962, where he received his Series 7, General Securities Registration.
New Smyrna Beach -- In a joint meeting between the city commission and the planning board tonight at city hall, the consensus was to consider 40 units per acre in the Canal Street area and including the North Causeway, in what is referred to as "infill" housing where dwellings could be added by building up several stories.
The Canal Street Historic District wants to add 150 housing units in addition to the 622 now there. Right now the city allows 18 units per acre, but the city officials at tonight's joint meeting saw 40 units per acre and building height capped at 5 or 6 stories. Planning Board Chairman Jason McGuirk, a candidate with no opposition so far for a seat on the commission in the 2012 elections, was asked by Mayor Adam Barringer at Tuesday's meeting for his perspective.
"It's a good question for me -- the number of the density is difficult to answer. I look at what Gail was looking at 35 units per acre," he said, referring to city planner Gail Henrikson.
