Florida, Volusia County | featured news

Comedian-actor Jamie Kennedy will perform at Bonkerz in Daytona Beach.
The 45-year-old performer is known for “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment,” a hidden camera/practical joke reality TV series that ran from 2002 to 2004.
Kennedy will perform his standup comedy at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday July 29 at Bonkerz Comedy Club in Grandview Live, 640 N. Grandview Ave., Daytona Beach.
Tickets are $25 general admission and $35 VIP seating, available at grandviewlive.com and the door. There is a two item minimum purchase per person. It’s a show for ages 18 and older.

The players' union proposed a settlement on Tom Brady's four-game suspension last week that was "met with silence" by the NFL, a person familiar with the proposal said.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the NFL Players Association's offer was confidential. There is no timetable on when Commissioner Roger Goodell will rule on the New England quarterback's appeal.Several media reports indicated the union's proposal called for Brady paying a large fine, but with no suspension.

A Texas town that’s banned dancing and rock ’n’ roll is challenged by a new kid in “Footloose: The Musical,” the season-opening production of the Athens Theatre.
Based on the 1984 film, the musical will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Friday July 24 and Saturday July 25, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday July 26 at the Athens Theatre, 124 N. Florida Ave., DeLand.
Additional performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday July 30 plus July 31-Aug. 1, Aug. 6-8 and Aug. 13-15, and at 2:30 p.m. Aug.

Beginning Sunday motorists and other travelers should expect a lane closure along Palm Coast Parkway between Florida Park Drive to just west of Cypress Point Parkway. The lane closure will occur in two phases, according to a city media release. From 7 p.m. Sunday through 7 a.m. July 31 one eastbound lane will be closed, and one eastbound lane will remain open. From 7 p.m. Aug. 2 through 7 a.m. Aug. 7 one westbound lane will be closed and one westbound lane will remain open. Motorists are encouraged to watch for flaggers and work zone signs.

Brad Keselowski hit the Big Screen on Wednesday with his appearance, and three-word performance, in Sharknado 3, which appeared on the Syfy network.
NASCAR put together a digit short of Keselowski talking about his big shot at Hollywood. To watch it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARSJ6gn8W1U"> click here.
Teammate Joey Logano is also in the movie, but was given just one word. He has a bigger role in the digital short.

One of the last vestiges of the “old” Daytona International Speedway came crashing down in the teeth of a steel-toothed excavator Thursday morning.The Speedway’s 57-foot welcome sign on International Speedway Boulevard was quickly removed by a crew from Barton Malow, the primary contractor for the $400 million Daytona Rising, which will be complete in January.Speedway vice president of operations Andrew Gurtis was overseeing the demolition.“We unveiled this sign just before Speedweeks in 1994,” Gurtis said.

Tim Smith stepped down as the football coach at Atlantic High School in November, and now he is also resigning his position as the school's athletic director.Smith confirmed the move, saying that he is stepping aside, in part, because he felt he was not having the same impact with kids as the school's athletic director as he did as a coach."I could've stayed on, but my heart just wasn't into it," Smith said.

If you look at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase playoffs as a four-day PGA golf tournament, we are halfway through the second day's round with a projected cut line.There are 10 drivers, with race victories inside the top 30 of points, who have qualified for the 10-race playoff. If the Chase was determined right now, six drivers would go into the playoffs based on points.But there are seven races between now and the Chase and one squirrel in the Cup Series' attic.

ORLANDO — Lawyers for the family of a Florida A & M University drum major killed during a hazing ritual say the family has offered to settle the wrongful-death lawsuit against the university for $8 million.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the publicly funded university has been given 30 days to accept or reject the proposal sent by the attorneys for the family of Robert Champion, of Decatur, Georgia.
University officials and FAMU's board of trustees were not immediately available to comment on the proposal, obtained by the newspaper through a public-records request Wednesday.
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New Smyrna Beach has long been a popular spot for locals but recently this quaint and eclectic beach town has caught on with an influx of visitors who have put it on the map as a weekend hot spot. Over the last year Scott Steger, owner of EXIT Reality and president of the Flagler Avenue Business Association, has watched Flagler Avenue and Canal Street become a hive of activity spurred by an influx of independently-owned restaurants and businesses that are flourishing.