A year in, News-Journal editor reflects on hurricanes, NASCAR, Bike Week and what's ahead

Today marks my first year anniversary as executive editor of the Daytona Beach News-Journal. It's been a heck of a ride. Early on, I had a feeling it was going to be an interesting year. In my first three months, we covered two tropical storms and a mid-term election, all of us working remotely since we didn't have an office at the time.

Things are a bit less hectic now, so I thought I would take a look back at the year that was and point out some of the most clicked-on stories and maybe offer some insight as to how we operate here.

First impressions: Why is everyone so nice?

I am not new to Florida. I lived here for about 12 years in the 1980s and 1990s. I came back after spending 20-plus years in the Washington, D.C. area. The first thing I noticed when I got here was everyone was so nice! Compared to D.C. anyway.

My second impression came while I was staying in a hotel across from the Daytona International Speedway. I'd never seen such a colossal structure. The only comparison I could think of would be the Pentagon. Certainly enough room for an NFL game, right?

When I started the job, I got a look at it up close at the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Actually, it got rained out when I was there and it was rescheduled. Coverage of the event was helmed by Ken Willis, a 38-year veteran of The News-Journal. Our website traffic was phenomenal, with two stories accounting for more than 540,000 page views.

It reminded me of when I was a kid, watching stock car racing on Sundays with my dad and my brother. NASCAR has come a long way since Richard Petty and my childhood favorite race car driver, Buddy Baker were racing around the track.

Ian hits, all hell breaks loose

In late September, Ian hit. The storm's most devastating impact was on southwest Florida. But it did a number on us, too.

My electricity went out almost immediately when winds blew down a big branch of an oak tree in my front yard and it landed on a power line, darkening my street in Ormond Beach. I ended up spending $3,500 to cut down three dead trees after the storm so it wouldn't happen again.

My power was out for about four days and I did my work from the homes of two tireless editors, Ashley Varese and David Wersinger, who had power. Covering a storm while recovering from a storm isn't easy. But we persevered. And I got off easy.

The storm dumped more than a foot of rain in the area, leading to widespread flooding, hundreds of evacuations, and at least five deaths. During the storm, we ran a live blog almost nonstop (something new to me) and stationed reporters (Brenno Carillo and Sheldon Gardner) at the emergency operations center overnight to keep up with the latest happenings.

Photographers David Tucker and Nigel Cook with an incredible 70 years combined experience, along with fearless freelancer Nadia Zomorodian, braved the elements and took hundreds, more like thousands of photos of the damage. The entire staff pitched in and we made access to our stories free as a public service.

Not again …

October was about recovering from Ian. Or trying to. November was election time. I was immediately impressed at the coverage of local races and the work of our politics expert, Mark Harper, a 20-plus-year News-Journal veteran. We stayed up late tallying results and writing and editing stories.

And then, only days later, there was Nicole. More rain, more flooding, and more power outages. But what grabbed headlines was the damage that was done to the coast and its impact on the people who lived there. Dramatic photos of homes in Wilbur-by-the-Sea falling into the ocean made national news.

The beaches, already depleted by Ian, were nearly wiped out in some places. Erosion led to instability for condominium complexes and hotels along the beaches, which were shut down for fear they may collapse. Hundreds of people were stuck in hotels or at the homes of relatives and friends.

We are still reeling from the effects of both storms as we enter the heart of hurricane season. The storm stories dominated traffic on the website for the month, drawing millions of pageviews. And as a public service, they were marked as free content.

A biker bust and a tragic accident

I spent more than six years covering Florida as a reporter, first with the Citrus County Chronicle and then with the Florida Times-Union. There was never a shortage of oddball stories. That hasn't changed.

One of them in December that drew an enormous amount of traffic was the tale of an Outlaws Motorcycle Club man who fled from police and was finally arrested after his motorcycle ran out of gas.

That same month, a tragic accident occurred when a wrong-way driver slammed into a carload of young people, killing three of them. It made international news because one of the victims was a TikTok influencer named Ali Spice. A 24-year-old man from Daytona Beach, Kyle Moser, also lost his life in the crash as did a young woman from Clearwater.

This is when I discovered the power of social media and what a part it plays in reporting these days. The family of Kyle fingered the driver of the car that was headed in the wrong direction on Facebook and started a campaign for his arrest. Using the information they provided, reporter Patricio Balona was able to identify him. More on this later.

A mercy killing gets national attention

In January, another sad story made news far beyond Volusia and Flagler counties. A 76-year-old woman fatally shot her terminally ill husband at AdventHealth hospital in Daytona Beach in an alleged mercy killing. Initially charged with first-degree murder, the charges were reduced to assisting self-murder/manslaughter.

The alleged crime brought up the issue of "death with dignity" laws in the states. One was proposed in Florida but did not go anywhere. This case is ongoing.

Video goes viral

In February, another local story went national when a very large and powerful autistic 17-year-old student attacked and seriously injured a teacher's aide at Matanzas High School. The beating was caught on video and it quickly went viral.

I was reminded that while this is a thriving area, it still has a small-town feel about it.

I happened to bump into the victim of the attack at the Volusia-Flagler-St. Johns High School Sports Awards in which I played a small role. Joan Naydich, who says she did NOT take away the young man's video game, asked for a photo of her son, a terrific bowler, from the event and we were happy to oblige.

The story raised questions about when and whether it is ever OK to name a minor in a story. In Florida, that information is public when the crime is a felony. Given that and the fact that the young man was being tried as an adult, I decided to name him. The case continues, covered by the tireless Frank Fernandez, who covers courts as well as Flager County.

Also in February, our hard-working sports staff, led by our then-new editor, Ryan Pritt, and Willis cranked out story after story during Speedweek and the Daytona 500 which attracted an enormous audience. The sports staff and our photographers were relentless in their coverage.

Ryan, by the way, has served double duty as a bit of a music critic. An avowed fan of heavy metal, he wrote a guide for attendees of the Welcome to Rockville concert which happened later in the year of the best albums by the top acts. It was a fan favorite.

When you have a small staff, hardly anyone has one job.

Welcome to Bike Week

In March, staff braced me for what would be my first Bike Week. Roughly 400,000 people attended. Or invaded, depending on your point of view. Motorcycles thundered through the city over a 10-day period. While the locals may not like the noise and traffic so much, local leaders and businesses appreciated the economic shot in the arm that was provided. Tourism reporter and jack-of-all-trades storyteller Jim Abbott covered the event.

A grim assignment

In April, Frank had the grim duty of reporting on the execution of "ninja killer" Louis Gaskin from Raiford State Prison near Jacksonville.

Also in April arrests were made after a seven-month investigation into the tragic triple-fatality crash on State Road 44 mentioned previously. The driver of the car going the wrong way, Thomas Petry, was charged, but so too was the driver of the other vehicle, Devin Perkins, of New Smyrna Beach, to the surprise of many. Both men await trial.

Prank goes viral, terrifying high schoolers everywhere

In May, Coral Springs police arrested an 18-year-old high school student for posting on social media a threat to shoot up a school, causing panic throughout Florida and even the nation. Such "pranks" are all too common across the country and in our communities.

They also raise some ethical issues when it comes to coverage. By writing stories about them don't we just give them more exposure? Probably, yes, but I felt in this case, it was a cautionary tale for young people everywhere. What seems like a harmless prank can land you in jail. The young lady arrested faced 19 charges. She said her actions were supposed to be funny.

Potty training and secrecy

In June, after weeks of digging, Mark Harper broke a story about how a 3½-year-old child having difficulty getting potty trained was brought to the Daytona Beach Shores Public Safety Department on successive days last October and placed in jail. This was another story that went national.

Oddly enough, the story was as much about secrecy as anything else. The records of the alleged event were sealed. The News-Journal with the Florida Center for Government Accountability successfully went to court to obtain them.

July was a relatively quiet month, for us, anyway. And August? You can almost feel the tension as everyone holds their breath heading into peak hurricane season.

Our top story by far this month was from the USA Today Network's Cheryl McCloud, who reported on two weather systems showing potential for development in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. The tropics are no longer quiet, she wrote.

It's not all about clicks

So that's the year that was, based on stories that got the most pageviews. But some of our best reporting, however, doesn't get as much attention.

Like Clayton Park's amazing investigative report on conflicts of interest among builders and developers in the state legislature. Or Eileen Zaffiro-Kean's report on how difficult it is for pregnant women on Medicaid to get prenatal care.

There are dozens more examples and there will be more to come.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: News-Journal editor reflects on hurricanes, NASCAR, Bike Week and more