Volusia County was one of the first to install what was called charter government. That means that the county has its own mini-constitution, which in many cases overrides the state constitution.
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Freedom without discipline is anarchy.
But now’s not the time to let down our guard
Sure, the title is misleading. On the web, I expect more readers will look at the column due to the interesting title, rather than a great interest in unsavory promotions.
2021 introduces Sean King as the newly elected president of the West Volusia Branch of the NAACP.
Editor’s note: These are remarks given by Volusia County Chair Jeff Brower, upon being sworn into office Jan. 7. The written transcript was provided by Brower.
It has been telling us the truth all along
2020 ended with the launch of a really exciting new initiative to bring added focus and attention to the needs in DeLand’s Spring Hill community. It’s called Strive to Thrive, and you’ll be hearing a lot more about it in the weeks and months to come.
It is said that, when your main tool is a hammer, your problems tend to look like nails. And, if you are friends with the hammer vendor, maybe one hammer is not enough.
This fall, the School Board surprised the superintendent with a raise of more than $4,100 per month, equal to nearly $50,000 per year. I say surprise, because it was not on the agenda. You can guess why.
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
I had the grand opportunity to engage in Shop Local Saturday Nov. 28.
On Nov. 1, I woke up in a house not my own. I walked to the front door and looked out. I see beautiful old homes and trees with hanging moss, and I know I am no longer in Coconut Grove. I am now living in DeLand, a quaint little town in Central Florida. I pinch myself and say out loud, “This…
For many, if not most, Americans, the fourth Thursday of November is just a worn-out, antiquated and obsolete holiday that we “go through” just to get to the materialistic mania known as the Christmas shopping season.
Attorneys worry about chilling effect on speech
Gambling is generally not profitable for the individual investor. The rules are generally set up to favor the house, and when they are otherwise fair, there is a rake-off. Las Vegas has prospered on this principle for years because some people will gamble anyway.
As we near the end of a fierce and brutal campaign for elective offices from the White House down to the courthouse, it is worth considering what — or who — controls the governments of this world.
In recent editions of The Beacon, I have read letters with views on the Friday-night displays of citizenship and political involvement on the corners of Downtown DeLand.
I admit that I am not fond of traffic circles. Even rebranded as roundabouts, they tend to slow traffic. They also increase excitement as large trucks wobble around them.
Envisioning a bronze bust of Steve Blais placed somewhere in Downtown DeLand forges a chuckle through the sadness.
Sunday, Sept. 20, was a day laden with memories and yearning for simpler times.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg entered law school to seek an education and pursue justice, but faced discrimination instead. At a formal dinner, the dean of Harvard Law School asked the handful of women who had been accepted how they could justify taking up a seat that could have gone to a man.
It’s a beacon of hope and a bridge to love, shelter, support and transformation.
Economic development is a wonderful thing. It provides jobs, generally for relatives or other folks who might otherwise be on the dole.
BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN
While a timetable for the makeover hasn’t been established yet, we know that the intersection of State Road 44 and Kepler Road in DeLand is going to look a whole lot different. It not only will look different — the state is planning to build a roundabout — but hopefully the changes will make…
Did you know that a microchip is one of the most effective ways to ensure that a lost pet is successfully returned to its owner?
It is said that numbers do not lie. How often do we want to see final numbers on something before we make a decision?
Sometimes government intrusion gets on my nerves. I know they occasionally tap my phone lines, mainly because I get the after-the-fact notices that they had suspicions about customers. Attorney-client privilege does not much slow them down.
The month of July is in our rearview mirror, and something was missing from this past Independence Day — more than the fireworks displays.
Community unity: There’s a whole lot of that going on these days in the Spring Hill area of DeLand, and it sure is exciting to see!
Editor, The Beacon:
When we were kids, we sometimes did things we hoped our parents would not discover. We normally did it while they were away, or in the playhouse. At least we shut our bedroom doors.
Looks like they will need fresh loads of money and manure. The last time the County tried to sell a sales-tax increase, the mail-in referendum went down in flames. I commend the paving companies for their generous campaign contributions, however.
Will this Fourth of July be our last as a relatively free nation?
How are the elderly coping in the current pandemic? How about someone who’s 100 years old?
Mark Twain famously observed that, first, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then, he made school boards.
Twenty years ago, a grassroots movement in Volusia County to preserve environmentally sensitive lands and improve and expand ecological, cultural, historical and outdoor recreational facilities led to the birth of the ECHO and Volusia Forever programs.
I would like to take this opportunity to publicly share my condolences for the family of George Floyd.
While a sign of progress, building a new sewer line isn’t often cause for major celebration.
“We cannot miss the moment and cannot look a system in the face and simply call for a tranquilizing drug of gradualism. America was and is a bold experiment. But she will not be OK on her own,” said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
It has not been long since I wrote about the Avalon Park Daytona plan.
Racial justice and police accountability, now!
My coming of age was guided rather delightfully by the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I learned a lot from their thoughtful lyrics that I would not have learned from my parents, and I honed my political and pacifistic tendencies in their harmonies.
Voting by mail is good for our health, our democracy, and our soul.
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” — Alice Walker
The following article was written by DeLand City Commissioner Jessica Davis on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, about her bout with COVID-19 and her continued struggle with the new coronavirus disease.
