Florida, Daytona Beach | featured news

The heat is expected to subside only slightly in Volusia and Flagler counties Friday as the forecast calls for a high of 88 degrees and rain in the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.The chance of rain will be as high as 80 percent during the day, backing down to 40 percent at night and a low temperature in the mid 70s. A similar forecast is expected for the weekend.No traffic alerts or crashes were being reported on the highways Friday by the Florida Highway Patrol.

ORMOND BEACH – When Dale Alfredson was a 12-year old Boy Scout 51 years ago, his troop was in the midst of a compass reading project and painted a compass on the floor of the Ormond Yacht Club, where Troop 74 held their weekly meetings.

AMVETS Post 2 Ladies Auxiliary will host Christmas in July from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at the post home, 1209 S. Ridgewood Ave., Edgewater. For information, call 386-402-7602.

The Port Orange Camera Club is sponsoring a photo contest in partnership with the 2015 Port Orange Family Days. Photographers from Volusia County are invited to participate in the primary, 13 and up or junior divisions, 12 and under.More than $700 in prizes will be awarded. The Port Orange Camera Club will be accepting photo entries through 5 p.m., Sept. 16. Awards will be presented on the stage at the Port Orange Amphitheatre, City Center. For information and entry forms, visit portorangecameraclub.com or familydays.com. 

Calvary Chapel West Volusia will host an ice cream sundae Vacation Bible School from 10 a.m. to noon, July 27 and Aug. 3, 10, and 17 at 2225 S. Woodland Blvd., DeLand. Each week children will build ice cream sundaes as part of their learning. To register, email pastor@ccwv.us.

For too many Volusia and Flagler county residents, health care is something they only try to access when they’re very sick — and “the doctor’s office” is the closest hospital emergency room or urgent-care center.That’s a problem, in many ways. People with chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes don’t get the care they need to keep their health from deteriorating. Visiting emergency departments can result in big bills those patients can’t afford to pay.

We listen to campaign speeches and then we elect our local representatives. Rather amazingly, the day after they are elected, they all have a new mandate — seek revenue. I don't remember any speeches about that.
To get revenue, they must give up incentives. Incentives come in many forms: money, no-driving zones on the beach, etc. Politicians seem to have never taken an arithmetic course where they figure out the return on the incentives.
Our Volusia County manager seems to understand this form of math, but it does not stop politicians from giving up the incentives.

Do not worry about Donald Trump becoming president. Worry, instead, about what his current — emphasis on current — stratospheric standing in the polls says about two things: the Republican Party and the other GOP candidates.Granted, the latest Post-ABC News poll has Trump at 24 percent among Republican and Republican-leaning voters. He was at 4 percent on May 31. The chart for the rest of the crowded field looks like a flat-line electrocardiogram.Who are these Trump supporters? The Post poll indicates they are not the most ideologically extreme.

LAFAYETTE, La. — A lone gunman sitting in a packed movie theater stood up and began firing into the crowd, killing two and injuring at least seven others Thursday night before fatally shooting himself, authorities said.
Police described the shooter as a 58-year-old "lone white male" but did not immediately disclose his name. They later identified his car and evacuated the area after spotting something suspicious inside the vehicle.