Counting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1. Each segment includes a 2022 update.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Florida set a new single-day record on Christmas Eve 2021 for the highest number of reported cases of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.
Florida had 31,758 new COVID-19 cases reported on Friday, Dec. 24, 2021, breaking a record for the most infections in a single day since the start of the pandemic in the US in March 2020, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new record was driven by the fast-moving omicron variant across the Sunshine State.
Previous to Christmas Eve, the single-day highest number of coronavirus cases was in late August, during the height of the delta variant wave in Florida, when 27,802 cases were reported.
Previous to Christmas Eve, the single-day highest number of coronavirus cases was in late August, during the height of the delta variant wave in Florida, when 27,802 cases were reported.
Tourism is seen as the driving force behind this most recent spread with cruise ships docking in South Florida ports and Christmas holiday travelers flying into Orlando, Daytona Beach, Tampa, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami.
2021 TOP 100 COUNTDOWN (so far):
8. Omicron Wave: On Christmas Eve 2021, Florida breaks single-day record for most COVID-19 cases since pandemic's start
9. Billie Egger Wheeler sworn in for 2nd term on Volusia County Council & named vice chair
10. Orlando's Tiger Woods suffers serious leg injuries in single-vehicle rollover crash near Los Angeles
11. Cops in Daytona & Port Orange and a deputy in Orlando lose their lives to COVID-19
12. 'Mr Anti-Vax' Marc Bernier of WNDB Radio in Daytona dies of COVID-19
13. Roman Reigns retains WWE Universal title during 2nd night of Wrestlemania at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium with limited fans due to COVID-19
14. Windemere cops: Orlando-area retired MLB player Johnny Damon arrested on DUI charges; wife charged with battery on a LEO
15. Volusia County had 16 shark bite incidents in 2021, 2nd-highest in 20 years, most of them in New Smyrna Beach
16. FWC: Record number of Florida manatee deaths in 2021 - mostly from starvation caused by water pollution
17. Sheriff Mike Chitwood tells TV news crews he feels no sympathy for girl, 14, fighting for her life after she & boy, 12, engaged deputies in gunfire
18. k9s Endo & Ax honored in Daytona Beach by Sheriff Mike Chitwood for heroics responding to carjacking in Deltona that saw both dogs shot
19. Dog thrown from 2nd-floor balcony of Daytona Beach motel survives & gets new leash on life with disabled military vet
20. Deltona man pleads not guilty in Seminole County court in Sanford to charges of 'upskirting' 2 women at Home Depot in Lake Mary
21. Winter Park Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy announces she's not seeking re-election to 4th term in 2022
22. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood silent on deputy arrested two years in a row on DUI charges
23. Port Orange cops: Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood hit again by a motorist on his bicycle, but was wearing his helmet this time
24. Sanford cops: 19-year-old man shot & killed behind the wheel at BP/Circle K in apparent drive-by shooting
25. NBA SHOCKER: Orlando Magic trade All Star Nicola Vucevic to Chicago Bulls, Aaron Gordon to Denver Nuggets & Evan Fournier to Boston Celtics in biggest mid-season teardown in franchise history
26. Ex-Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett, who was at the helm during the Trayvon Martin homicide, dies of lung cancer at 52
27. Daytona Beach cops: Speeding Ormond motorist killed, 5 firefighters injured in traffic crash between Pontiac & fire truck during Bike Week
28. Daytona Beach cops: Motorcyclist killed in collision with school bus during Bike Week
29. Daytona Beach Circuit Judge Steven C. Henderson succumbs to COVID in August at age 49
30. VCSO: Deltona woman charged with DUI in crash that paralyzed her 4-year-old son
31. Deltona prowling suspect caught red-handed by deputies on bodycam footage with his pants down to his knees & looking at a woman through her BR window
32. Man wanted in shooting death in New Smyrna Beach apprehended in Putnam County
33. 2020-21 NBA Draft: Orlando Magic get two quality 1st round picks with G Jalen Suggs and F Franz Wagner at No.'s 5 & 8, respectively
34. Attendance abysmal for paid Donald Trump-Bill O'Reilly 'History Tour' in mid-December at Orlando's Amway Center
35. Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young fires cop arrested on aggravated battery charge in off-duty stabbing outside New Smyrna bar
36. Altamonte Springs cops: 3 brazen thieves steal $13,000 worth of wigs from Sassy Sista's Boutique
37. Daytona Beach cops: Man arrested on 1st-degree murder charges in brutal machete & scissors attack on elderly landlady; state to seek death penalty
38. Daytona Beach cops: Homeless man charged with 2nd-degree murder in bludgeoning of another homeless man; accused later found unfit to stand trial
39. Daytona Beach cops: Car dealership employee arrested on murder charges after taking vicious swing with metal bat & deliberately striking a co-worker in the head
40. Longwood cop fired for harassment after allegedly hugging a co-worker against her will as a means of mocking her fear of COVID
41. Multimedia: No takers for Sheriff Mike Chitwood's record-breaking $50,000 reward for info leading to an arrest in the murder of DeLand HS cheerleader Laralee Spears 27 years ago
42. Multimedia: Oak Hill woman arrested on animal cruelty charges after throwing ex-boyfriend's crated cat into Intracoastal Waterway to drown, but the feline was rescued
43. Drunk DeBary man arrested on animal cruelty charges for shooting family dog between the eyes after he was bit during an argument with girlfriend; miraculously pit-bull mix survives
44. Holly Hill biker and veterans advocate 'Crazy Eddie' Colosimo, 79, dies from COVID-19
45. New Smyrna Beach resident & amateur photog Sylvan McElroy marvels at SpaceX launch
46. Daytona Beach cops: Three men arrested on multiple felony charges in dogfighting ring; 42 pit bulls rescued
47. Heritage Middle School staffer in Deltona arrested on child abuse charges after allegedly smoking weed with 14-year-old student
48. Gruesome death: Ex-con Christopher Trull of Oak Hill decapitated & legs severed in apparent suicide by train
49. Orlando Cops: Alleged drug dealer arrested in mid-December in Fentanyl-related triple homicide after 3 addicts found dead in apartment
50. Double homicide highlighted in People magazine: Who killed a Sanford woman and her boyfriend?
51. 'Little Dom' Kurek attention getter at New Smyrna Beach Christmas Parade with total toddler cuteness
52. With his Tampa Rays jettisoned from the MLB playoffs, Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette went to Plan B - the Atlanta Braves - who won the World Series
53. New Smyrna Beach's Ellen Darden proud of son-in-law John Smoltz, MLB Hall of Famer & baseball analyst on Fox World Series coverage
54. Deltona car break-in suspect leaves pizza trail of clues for responding deputies and a trip to jail in handcuffs
55. Keith Appling a footnote in Orlando Magic history, awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges in Detroit
56. Embry-Riddle College student from Chicago charged With multiple counts of child porn here in Daytona Beach
57. Multimedia: Man wanted on federal warrant tries to escape cops by jumping into the Intracoastal Waterway in Edgewater; transported to jail soaking wet
58. VCSO deputy arrested on domestic violence charges involving fellow deputy, his girlfriend
59. Elderly Daytona motorist dies shortly after he's pulled from vehicle fully submerged in pond following accident
60. Loveable dog 'Midnight' survives being stabbed by DeLand man described as suicidal and Baker-acted; dog recovering from cruel act
61. Orlando felon sentenced to seven years plus in federal prison for possessing a short-barreled rifle and aggravated identity theft
62. DeLand police K9 Daro retires from the force
63. Red dot guns added to Daytona Beach Shores Public Safety's arsenal
64. Deltona man arrested on felony fraud charges back in October by arranging for theft of his black 2020 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special in attempt to cash in on $30,000 insurance payout
65. $25,000 reward put up to smoke out alleged Orlando-Daytona serial rapist in hiding or a decade who preyed on women back in the '80s, '90s
66. Altamonte Springs man arrested Dec. 27 after allegedly threatening to pull his daughter out of Winter Springs High School by “shooting anybody” who got in his mother (expletive) way
67. Walt Disney World Day proclaimed by Jerry Demings and Buddy Davenport, the mayors of Orange County & Orlando, respectively
68. Deltona-area man arrested on animal cruelty charges after allegedly killing ex-tenant's pet Boa python by pouring acid on it & strapping tank top so it couldn't escape
69. Sanford cops: 16-year-old boy shot & killed in Aug. 12 drive-by shooting
70. Dr. Victor Herrera, chief medical officer for AdventHealth Orlando, sounds alarm: 'Too many unvaccinated patients are critically ill & dying of COVID-19'
71. Embry-Riddle student apparently despondent over failing grades arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot up the campus
72. FWC: Lake Helen man arrested on felony charges for allegedly forcing a lawn cutting blade into an alligator that had to be euthanized & destroying a gator egg nest with his mower
73. Winter Springs Woman gets 8 years in federal pen for embezzling $1.16 million from her employer; using the dough to buy a BMW & a Porsche
74. Port Orange cops: Man arrested on a warrant in December accusing him of sexually abusing 2 girls, ages 14 & 11; jailed on bonds totaling $1M
75. Remembering late 4-time Indy 500 champ Al Unser's crash in '78 race at Daytona where his airporne car just missed bellyflopping into Lake Lloyd
76. Three-time Indy 500 champ Bobby Unser, who briefly led the 1969 Daytona 500, died in May at 87
77. Daytona Top Cop Jakari Young: 60-plus individuals busted in Operation Pay Dirt focused on illicit drug & gun sales
78. Two Daytona Beach drug conspirators sentenced to federal prison for distributing cocaine, heroin & fentanyl
79. Reax of pol. consultant to false rumor that Daytona blogger turned-child sex perv David Lee Davis had died in prison: 'Let the guy rot'
80. Daytona Beach cops: Man shot in the leg after engaging officers in gunfire during dramatic 7-hour standoff near Westside Elementary School
81. It was Happy Easter 2021 to Y'all near and far from pro-wrestler-turned-politician Matt Morgan & his family here in Central Florida
82. Daytona Beach cops: Murder of 23-year-old city man found shot to death near the back of an apartment complex in August remains unsolved
83. Deltona's Ann McFall, who held several prominent Volusia County leadership posts, passed away in April at age 68
84. Team Rebuild Continues: Orlando Magic & head coach Steve Clifford mutually agree to part ways
85. Towering bridge iconic sight in tourism-driven Daytona Beach trying to emerge from year-long dreadful pandemic
86. Judge sentences Orlando man to 50 Years in federal prison for sexually exploiting children via the Internet
87. Daytona Beach PD's Craig Capri new top cop in Eustis
88. Wayne Taylor Racing wins Rolex 24 at Daytona for third consecutive year
89. 2016 COLD CASE: Sanford cops ask public's help in solving Halloween murders of 2 brothers gunned down in mom's home by a masked intruder
90. Forough B. Hosseini Hall newest addition to Daytona State College
91. Daytona Beach cops: For the 2nd time in a year, a beachside motel is raided in effort to quell drug dealing
92. Daytona Beach cops: Woman arrested 2nd time in four months for allegedly using her North Street residence to sell drugs
93. Casualty of the pandemic: Iconic Little Drug Co. in New Smyrna Beach closing its doors
94. Daytona Beach cops: Titusville man killed in traffic crash after ignoring a stop sign and colliding with another vehicle
95. It's Boss Time: WWE Superstar Sasha Banks waves the green flag as honorary starter of the Daytona 500
96. Daytona Beach cops: 4 men arrested in early morning drug raid
97. Intracoastal Bank in Daytona Beach and Palm Coast promotes two up-and-coming execs
98. Venerable Oak Hill Commissioner Linda Hyatt takes to social media to call out the Daytona Beach News-Journal on a badly-misspelled headline
99. Nikola Vucevic lone Orlando Magic player named a 2020-21 NBA All-Star
100. Sanford cops: Man arrested in domestic shooting incident at sprawling Village Lakes Apartments
2020 TOP 100 COUNTDOWN (final):
1. Volusia County Council's Heather Post blatantly lied to the public about past illicit drug us
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via
HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. AWJ:
