News Archive

(By Jim Saunders) The Escambia County School Board on Monday urged a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit filed by authors, a publishing company, parents and a non-profit organization challenging the removal or restriction of books in school libraries.

Former Santa Rosa County Commissioner Don Salter passed away Sunday morning, August 20, 2023. Salter served District 3 for 20 years before retiring in 2020. Salter, who was born on a farm in Jay in 1947 and remained there, said when he took the chairman’s gavel for the board of county commissioners at the beginning of 2020, he was hoping for a peaceful last year.

There are several hundreds of thousands of books in Santa Rosa District Schools, according to Ruth Witter, the district’s coordinator of libraries. Over the past year, the school district has been working to review and vet books available to students in accordance with several laws passed in the past two years by the Florida state legislature.

From revamping and rebuilding the children’s park to the removal of the duck pond, Navarre Park has undergone drastic changes in the past few years and according to County Commissioner Colten Wright, there will be more coming. At the Aug. 3 Tourist Development Council meeting, Wright told the council the dock at Navarre Park may soon be getting a long awaited upgrade.

The Coastal Wrestling Federation will honor Van Golston — who wrestled as Van Christopher — at its event Voltage: The Tribute, on Saturday at Santa Rosa County Auditorium. Tickets are $10. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the program starting at 7 p.m.

Santa Rosa County Animal Services is hosting Community Cat Days for Santa Rosa County residents Tuesday, Aug. 22, and Wednesday, Aug. 23, at Santa Rosa County Animal Shelter, 4451 Pine Forest Road in Milton. Up to 30 stray/feral cats will be accepted for free spay and neutering through community cats program funding.

A Gulf Breeze man was arrested after he allegedly swindled money from Greensmith Construction Group. Andrew Patrick Wallace, 37, was charged with forgery of or altering a public record, fraud impersonating someone to obtain property and fraud swindling to obtain property worth more than 20K and less than 50K.

The Naval Aviation Museum Foundation (NAMF) is delighted to announce a recent contribution of $20,000 from Florida Power and Light Company (FPL) towards the museum’s new Homeschool Academy. The check presentation ceremony took place on the base Friday morning, Aug.11.

Homeschool Academy: The Museum Classroom was initiated by NAMF in January 2023, with a focus on families homeschooling children aged 5 to 18. FPL’s generous grant will enable NAMF to extend the program’s reach throughout the entire school year, benefiting the homeschooling community.

On Aug. 11, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the extension of the already record 2023 recreational Gulf red snapper season by 17 days, adding every Friday through Saturday in September, Labor Day and Thanksgiving Day to the previously announced season.

The Florida Department of Health in Santa Rosa County (DOH-Santa Rosa) has issued a water quality advisory for Navarre Park located at 8513 Navarre Parkway in Navarre. The health department advises against any water-related activities at this location due to the potential for high bacteria levels. Bacteriological sampling conducted during regular water quality monitoring showed that the level of bacteria exceeds the level established by state guidelines.