Local News Now

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Kerri Harris was pleased her 8-year-old daughter could see first hand the benefits of living in a world where recycling and conserving resources can make for a better world.

"I think it was awesome," the New Smyrna Beach mom said of the two-day "green Fair" at Riverside Park that concluded Sunday. "The only complaint I have is there could have been more advertising because there aren't a lot of people here."

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- When No. 5 Florida hosts the unranked Miami Hurricanes 8 p.m. Saturday in the Swamp, Harvin Clark will be rooting for his beloved Gators. Clark will always be a hero to New Smyrna Beach fans, especially if they are also Gator fans.

However, his role as arch villain to Miami fans nearly four decades ago will never die.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Who wants to strike it rich? Who wants to enjoy great food and drinks and dance the night away with the chance to win thousands of dollars?

This is your chance to become a thousandaire and support the many local diverse needy children's programs funded by the Southeast Volusia chapter of Kiwanis through its largest fundraiser, "Strike It Rich."

The 2008 Kiwanis Club "Strike It Rich" Fundraiser is 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Brannon Center. Tickets cost $125, which admit two people. There is a limit of 400 tickets sold.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- So what is a working gal supposed to do on Labor Day? Well, work silly.

Just ask Marion Free, dining room manager at Ruthy's restaurant.

"It's just like every other day," said Free, one of two waitresses serving the customers at the bustling restaurant on West Canal Street. "I'm just not going fishing like everyone else."

Grace Ann Fritchie, 63, of New Smyrna Beach, died Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008. She was a retired flight attendant for Delta Airlines. 

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Mayor Sally Mackay is keeping her fingers crossed that flooding will be kept to a minimum and that the beach holds up as Tropical Storm Fay lumbers this way, about 15 miles south of New Smyrna Beach as it makes its expected northwest path to the Florida Panhandle.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Inside the cozy confines of Denny's restaurant on State Road 44, Robert "Chip" Higgins wasn't impressed by what he saw of Tropical Storm Fay just before 2 this morning as wind gusts of up to 40 mph and precipitation picked up outside.

"I think it's going to rain a bit and that's it," said the 29-year-old server from Edgewater as he waited on a handful of patrons. "I think it's been overblown by the media. Hey, good pun."