The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will open the westbound (Gulf Breeze to Pensacola) span of the Pensacola Bay Bridge on U.S. 98 to vehicular traffic by 6 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14.
The two spans of the bridge are now temporarily accommodating two east and two westbound travel lanes, but upon final completion of the project each structure will support three lanes of traffic in each direction, along with inside and outside shoulders, and 10-foot wide multiuse paths for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The waters off Santa Rosa County could see more artificial reefs in the coming years thanks to a new $1.3 million grant. As of 2021, the last time reefs were deployed, there are 557 reef modules in the gulf off Santa Rosa County.
During a Jan. 23 meeting, the Board of County Commissioners approved the $1.3 million grant, which comes from Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC). It was initially awarded during the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
If you have driven on Granada or Carlos streets in Navarre at any point in the past month, you may have noticed work being done on the lot across from the Childcare Network. There are approximately nine new cottages going in as part of a rental project called Sum Beach Rentals.
Before these cottages, which are not finished, the lot was home to a trailer park that had become dilapidated. The project to create Sum Beach Rentals began when Jeff Perrett, an entrepreneur and developer, bought the property July 15, 2022.
Richard McCool, 67, smiled broadly before making his final remark to the EMTs, dispatchers, drivers and friends gathered in his honor Friday at LifeGuard Ambulance in Milton.
“Really – from the bottom of my heart, thank you,” he said, causing laughter and applause.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents arrested Alexander Brian Freehardt, 42, of Navarre, on six counts of electronic transmission of child sexual abuse material, one count of promoting a sexual performance of a child and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device, all felony charges.
The case against Freehardt began in January when Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office received a cybertip about an online user sharing child sexual abuse material on a peer-to-peer network, according to a press release from FDLE. Investigators determined that the user was sharing the material from outside of Okaloosa County, and transferred the investigation to FDLE.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office has determined that a photo circulating on social media this week of a gun and ammo was not considered a credible threat against Navarre High School, according to Jillian Durkin, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office.
The photo, which was sent to the Navarre Press by a concerned parent, included the caption “Wednesday can’t come faster,” with a sad face emoji.
On Jan. 27, Burger King in Navarre suffered a structure fire. While no one was injured, the incident did lead to significant damage to the eastern side of the back wall of the building.
Holley Navarre Fire District, along with other nearby fire districts, responded to the fire. According to HNFD Fire Chief Kevin Lewis, the fire was in the structural elements of the building. It ran from the ground floor up into the attic and began to burn the wood trusses.
The Navarre post office, located at 1910 Navarre School Road, is going through renovations to the eastern wall of the building.
There is also work being done to the area directly adjacent to the eastern wall of the post office.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Milton Thursday to present a $2.36 million Broadband Opportunity Grant to Santa Rosa County leaders.
The popular Republican governor visited the historic Imogene Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 2, to announce the first Broadband Opportunity Grant Program awards to expand broadband internet for Florida’s underserved communities. The Santa Rosa grant will help bring high-speed internet to 791 homes and businesses in the county. Statewide, the program is committing more than $144 million for 58 projects in 41 counties, impacting almost 160,000 unserved residential, educational, business and community locations.
