Volusia County | featured news

DAYTONA BEACH -- The floodwaters that poured into the west wing of the Museum of Arts & Sciences in May 2009 might have been the best thing that ever happened to that corner of the building, which housed everything from Cuban art to a planetarium.Pretty much no one saw it that way six years ago, when the low-lying west wing was swimming in 31 inches of murky water.

PALM COAST — Now that the city is deep into its budget season, Palm Coast City Council members unanimously agreed Tuesday to set a maximum tax rate for 2016.Council members voted 5-0 to set the tentative property tax rate at $4.24 per $1,000 of taxable property value.

DAYTONA BEACH - A man wanted in shooting of an 18-year-old in the leg in front of the teen's mother, has been arrested, Daytona Beach police said Tuesday.Travis Thomas, wanted on a warrant for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail with no bail allowed, police said.Investigators said Thomas shot Corry Harris early Saturday in an argument at the corner of Oak and Adams streets. The shooting left the teen with a bullet wound to the back, police said.On Monday, police were called at 2 p.m.

Last summer, Ivana Boyd tore the meniscus in her right knee, a "freak injury" during conditioning drills near the end of the school year at Flagler Palm Coast.The injury was severe, with an initial prognosis of a six-month recovery.But the physical pain subsided more quickly than anticipated, and the injury did not require surgery. Instead, it was Boyd's confidence that sustained the most damage in her junior year."I was ready physically. But I feel like, mentally, I was never ready," Boyd said.

FLAGLER BEACH — Ray Black Jr. is young man in constant motion, whether he's behind the wheel of the No. 07 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series or sitting at a table in a beachside restaurant to grab lunch.The last time we saw the 24-year-old driver, he was jubilant on pit road after a fifth-place finish in the Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway.Black, who now stands 11th in points, has spent the last week prepping for Wednesday night's truck race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.It is the only dirt course on any of NASCAR's three national series.

PALM COAST - Travelers should expect a lane closure from 8 p.m. Wednesday through 7 a.m. Friday along eastbound Palm Coast Parkway, beginning at Old Kings Road to the CVS Pharmacy. One eastbound lane will remain open.The lane closure is required in order for the contractor to install a mainline water pipe across Palm Coast Parkway, according to a media release from the city.Lane closure information is posted to the Palm Coast Parkway Widening Project website at PalmCoastPkwy.com. The project hotline number is 1-800-515-9194.

BUNNELL - Flagler County sheriff's deputies are investigating reports of graffiti vandalism in Palm Coast's L-section over the weekend and are trying to determine if the incidents are related.One of the incidents involved several swastikas and the letters "KKK" being spray painted on a Palm Coast road, reports state.According to a Sheriff's Office report, someone spray-painted racial slurs and offensive symbols on the pavement along Lakeview Boulevard just south of Laramie Drive. Deputies responded to the intersection just after 8:20 a.m.

BUNNELL - "STEM" stands for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics and the 4-H Marine Science STEM summer day camp at the Flagler Extension Service offered all four in abundance, along with a fifth element - fun.The 4-H program has offered a Marine Science camp every summer for children ages 8 through 12, but last week's camp was designed for ages 12 to 18.“I shifted my age bracket this year so I could do more sophisticated stuff with them,” said Sea Grant Agent Maia McGuire.

Touching on the different approaches to harnessing the creativity of an artist, the Flagler County Art League welcomed artists Tom Gargiulo, Rachel Thompson and Skip Westphal during a public workshop Saturday.Led by Gargiulo, CEO of the Gargiulo Art Foundation, each artist spent time walking fellow artists and connoisseurs through the processes of creative development.Injured in a serious bicycling accident a year ago, Gargiulo used his recovery time to delve back into painting, creating a 13 panel abstract piece which hung slighly askew in the art league's show room.His template for working

Masked home invaders terrorized a DeBary man at gunpoint Tuesday, beat him and locked him up in the trunk of his car, sheriff's investigators said.The 61-year-old man said the suspects came to his mobile home in the Highbanks Mini storage compound around 12:30 a.m., shouting his name and asking for help. When the man opened his door, two suspects pushed him into a corner and demanded money, said sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson.The DeBary resident suffered several cuts to his head and was taken to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City.