News Archive

In the early weeks of the pandemic, there was one item everyone wanted and no one could find – hand sanitizer.

Shelves were empty. Online sales were back-ordered. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer was recommended to help protect individuals from the new virus.

Two teenage boys are safe from human traffickers after a traffic stop and arrest yesterday afternoon in Santa Rosa County. The boys, ages 17 and 14, are citizens of Guatemala who were recently smuggled into the country from Mexico into Texas.

It started as a headline that most people didn’t read. The “novel coronavirus” was first detected overseas and despite officials warning of its likely spread, many Americans were unconcerned. On Jan. 20, the first case was identified in the United States.

Six weeks later, an elderly Santa Rosa man became Florida’s second fatality. He had a history of international travel and preexisting health conditions, according to information released by the governor.

In the wake of a Skanska USA barge breaking loose the weekend before Christmas, the Florida Department of Transportation has asked the company to review all mooring and securing methods, according to the latest FDOT report.

In the season leading up to Christmas, Gary Diamond worked in package delivery to make extra money to buy presents for his family.

Diamond, who had worked his way up to captain at the Navarre Beach Fire Rescue, was that way – always taking care of others.

So it makes sense that when he died early Saturday morning, during a domestic incident in Molino, he was putting other people’s needs ahead of his own, family members  say.

Our community reporter Kaitie Meyer sat down with Santa Claus as he shared some seasonal memories throughout the years.

Although we all know Santa Claus calls the North Pole his home, the big man in red also has a home in Holley by the Sea.

Portraying proposed changes to the Santa Rosa County comprehensive land-use plan as a significant threat to potable water safety and supply, the Holley-Navarre Water System board of directors decided at their December monthly meeting to intensify the utility’s opposition campaign.

]The proposed land-use amendment would permit borrow pit expansion, which was requested by some pit owners.

Fairpoint Utility, the collective of water utilities for south Santa Rosa County, announced a new strategy for stopping repeal of water well protections.

A press release issued Dec. 22 addresses a vote by the board of county commissioners (BCC) Dec. 10 to repeal a section of the Comprehensive Plan that would allow expansion of a borrow pit and vegetation dumping over the wells that supply water to all of south Santa Rosa.

Taking a chilly dip on New Year’s Day has become a tradition in Navarre over the past several years.

After a celebratory evening of ringing in the New Year the night before, hundreds of Navarre locals and tourists typically submerge themselves in sub-60-degree water for a great cause.

The Holley-Navarre Water System board voted 3-to-2 Tuesday to propose a 2021 budget to utility members that includes a 6.2% rate increase. Two board members were absent.

The hike was subdivided into a one-time 5% rate bump and a 1.2% increase based on the Federal Consumer Price Index.