Al Everson

BEACON FILE PHOTO; CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS FOR SPARTON — The exterior of Sparton Corp. in DeLeon Springs.

VIDEO SCREENSHOT OF DELTONA COMMISSION; BEATING A DEADLINE — Deltona Planning and Development Services Director Jordan Smith, at front left, addresses the City Commission regarding the necessity of adopting an ordinance setting standards for rental-dwelling properties under Florida’s Live Local Act. The state’s Live Local Act, first enacted in 2023 and amended by the Legislature in 2024, provides for property-tax exemptions for as long as 30 years for qualifying residential properties as an incentive for the development of affordable housing. From left on the dais are City Commissioners Emma Santiago and Dori Howington, Vice Mayor Davison Heriot, Mayor Santiago Avila Jr., and City Commissioners Stephen Colwell and Nick Lulli.

With the arrival of a new year comes word of steadily rising values and prices for land, homes and buildings throughout Volusia County.

BEACON PHOTO/AL EVERSON; EXITING WITH MIXED EMOTIONS — With Florida Sen. Tom Wright, R-Port Orange, by his side, retired Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Robert Watson, left, holds a certificate of appreciation to him Jan. 3, in honor of his work as director of Volusia County’s Veterans Services.

ROAD RAGE, ANYONE? — The M5 Stuart tank, shown here in different hues of olive drab, was a light armored vehicle used by the U.S. Army and U.S. allies, including Great Britain, in World War II. PHOTOS COURTESY CITY OF DEBARY

Volusia County’s program of doling out dollars for a variety of nonprofit cultural groups is safe and remains intact at least for another year. Despite calls to eliminate annual grants […]

BEACON PHOTO/AL EVERSON; IMPASSABLE — Large chunks of asphalt mark the spot where Hurricane Milton’s heavy rains wrought heavy damage to Monastery Road. The road is still barricaded, while city officials await designs from consulting engineers as a necessary first step toward applying for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

BEACON PHOTO/AL EVERSON; SOSA SPEAKS — Former Deltona CIty Commissioner David Sosa takes the floor of the Deltona City Hall chambers to lambast the City Commission for new restrictions on the public-comment portion of the governing body’s deliberations.

BEACON PHOTOS/AL EVERSON; YES, THE COUNTY IS WET — Volusia County Public Works Director Ben Bartlett delivers data detailing increased rainfall in recent years and the greater frequency of storms — such as hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022 and hurricane Helene and Milton in 2024 — that have dumped heavy rains on the area.

There was a rather large but somewhat brief electric outage in DeLand on MLK Day. Approximately 11,000 customers of Duke Energy were without electricity during the mid-morning of Jan. 20. […]