Daytona Beach

Photos for Headline Surfer® / Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Chevrolet has the pole for Sunday's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Sunday's line-up for the Daytona 500 features the traditional and the non-traditional.

For example, the No. 3 is on the pole. That's tradition, as it was the number of NASCAR's greatest driver, Dale Earnhardt, the 1998 Daytona 500 winner, tragically killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Winter weather in Atlanta hurt flights here, but increased fan travel interest in Rolex race had positive impact on travel

Photo for Headline Surfer® /

DAYTONA BEACH -- Passenger traffic at Daytona Beach International Airport increased 1 percent in January compared with January of last year, Volusia County officials saids. During January, 44,605 passengers flew in and out of the county-operated airport.

This compares with 44,170 travelers recorded in January, 2013. For the 12 months ending in January, traffic increased 4 percent to 608,412.

Photos for Headline Surfer® / Larry King and his wife, Shawn King, are part of the pre-race festivities for the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway.

DAYTONA BEACH - Legendary television and radio journalist Larry King will serve as co-Grand Marshal of The Sprint Unlimited At Daytona International Speedway tonight while his wife, singer Shawn King, will perform the National Anthem.

Shawn King will sing the National Anthem just prior to her husband's starting command, "Drivers, start your engines," which will be delivered alongside two race fans that will be selected earlier in day to serve as co-grand marshals.

Other major News in Works: NSB mayor to announce statehouse run, but ethics issues continue to dog him; latest on Waverly Media 

Headline Surfer photos / Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority Chairman Tom Clapsaddle, shown here at left, continues to make news since the politically-motivated ouster of his predecessor, Palmer Wilson, in October.

DAYTONA BEACH -- "Who's the rat?" was the mantra of Gene Sheldon, a member of the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority during the holidays in asking who the source was behind leaking the free lunch credit card scandal to the media.

Co-defendant's guilty plea to filing a false statement accepted by court

Photo for Headline Surfer® / James Sotolongo and Ramara Garrett and his longtime live-in girlfriend, Ramara Garrett, parents of a 9-month-old baby, are among four defendants accused of mortgage fraud involving seven homes in Volusia County valued at $13 million, according to a federal grand jury indictment. The other two accused are Christopher Mencis and Stephanie Musselwhite, shown in the inset.

ORLANDO -- A federal judge rejected -- at least for the time being -- a guilty plea for James Fidel Sotolongo that would have capped his prison sentence at five years in a deal negotiated with the U.S. Attorney's Office that had him copping to only one of 13 counts in a grand jury indictment.

News-Journal has not reported on defense motion against it 4 days ago & has ignored internet newspaper's inquiries as to merit of accusation

Headline Surfer® inset photo /

DAYTONA BEACH -- One of the remaining defendants about to go to trial in the alleged Volusia mortgage fraud case has asked a federal judge to consider polling jurors individually or even consideration for a change of venue a because of incessant coverage in the Daytona Beach News-Journal that her attorney asserts has crossed the line with "inflammatory and adverse articles published in print and on the Internet."

DAYTONA BEACH -- This Super Bowl Sunday already is a day stacking up with lots of news. The two most significant news developments are an "open letter" to Gov. Scott on pervasive corruption in Volusia County government involving Councilwoman Deborah Denys in the removal of Palmer Wilson from the SEV ad authority and an exclusive interview with Ramara Garrett and Jim Sotolongo. They are the principals in Waverly Media who are accused of mortgage fraud in federal court.

Photos for Headline Surfer® / Waverly Media park bench ads like this one at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Dunlawton Avenue in Port Orange, dot the landscape in Volusia County.

DAYTONA BEACH -- No matter where you drive along the major roadways in the county, invariably you are going to see more than a few of those eye-catching park bench ads.

Such is the successful advertising medium of Waverly Media, which literally has hundreds of benches dotting the landscape that is home to the world's most famous beach, the Daytona 500 and Florida's first 24/7 internet newspaper, HeadlineSurfer.com.