Volusia County / State

Courtesy photo. Aerial view of the Pavilion of Port Orange, with more than a half-million square feet of retail and office space off Interstate 95 and Willliamson Boulevard inPort Orange celebrated its grand opening Wednesday.

PORT ORANGE -- Retired home builder Alex Kajan remembers what a big deal it was when the Super Wal-Mart opened on Dunlawton Avenue nearly 15 years ago in addition to the Wal-Mart on Beville Road.

Since then, the growing city of nearly 56,000 residents have benefited from a Lowe's Warehouse, a Super Target, a Home Depot and other anchor stores and specialty chain restaurants.

But those pale in comparison to the open air Pavilion at Port Orange, a 550,000 square-foot retail and office complex complete with movie theaters.

DEBARY -- A 15-year-old boy riding his bicycle in DeBary late Friday night was struck and killed by a passing car, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

The crash occurred at about 11:34 p.m. along West Highbanks Road near its intersection with Gracie Road. A 17-year-old driver, Nicholas Petersen of DeLand, was behind the wheel of a 1997 Nissan traveling east on West Highbanks Road that hit Brian Wentwood, who was riding his bike along the street, where he lives.

Courtesy photo. Gov. Charlie Crist followed up his Tuesday night State of the State address with the following message in his weekly newsletter, Notes from the Capitol:

This evening, during my fourth State of the State Address, I called on the Florida Legislature to address essential issues for Floridians: jobs and prosperity for Floridians; continued improvements to PreK-12 schools, colleges, and universities; and re-instilling confidence in the integrity of government.

Courtesy photo/Jail mug. Dominique Ross, A Volusia County fugitive, was arrested Tuesday in Deltona.

DELTONA -- A local fugitive with a violent past eluded law enforcement for nearly 15 months. But that all came to an end early Tuesday morning when authorities nabbed 23-year-old Dominique Ross at a home in Deltona, Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Two Georgia chiropractors visiting the Daytona Beach area for Bike Week
were arrested by the Volusia County Motorcycle Anti-Theft Task Force Monday after investigators discovered that the vehicle identification numbers on their bikes had been altered, Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said.

DELTONA -- A vehicle flipped and then collided into a house on East Normandy Boulevard in Deltona early Tuesday morning, leaving the driver, 48-year-old Joy Denise Terry of DeLand, in critical condition after being revived by paramedics, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.

DEBARY -- Paul Lachelier will discuss “Communities in America” at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at DeBary Hall Historic Site, 210 Sunrise Blvd.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting online and in today's print edition newspaper that SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau died Wednesday as a result of "multiple traumatic injuries and drowning" after a killer whale pulled her underwater by her long ponytail near the theme park's Shamu Stadium.

DAYTONA BEACH -- With the heavy traffic that comes with Bike Week, Votran riders should expect numerous delays, interruptions and route deviations. Schedule delays will begin Monday, and continue
through the following Sunday, March 7.

Detours are subject to change without notice. “Votran will make every effort to notify customers as soon as the detours and route deviations are expected,” said Ken Fischer, Votran general manager. “Buses will be rerouted to secondary roads when traffic becomes congested.”

DELAND -- The Volusia County Public Library system is teaming with AARP to offer free tax assistance to county residents.

Basic federal income-tax forms are available at most Volusia County public libraries. If the library doesn’t have the form you need, a librarian can help you find it on the Internet.

AARP volunteers will offer free one-on-one counseling to help individuals prepare basic tax forms, including the 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ and other standard forms. Assistance is available for people of all ages with low and middle incomes.