News Archive

The US National Weather Service (NWS Mobile) office has placed Santa Rosa County (except the immediate beaches area) under a winter weather advisory until 12 p.m. Friday.

FDOT’s winter weather plan has been developed to keep Florida’s highway system safe and operational in all types of weather conditions. Motorists may notice an increased number of FDOT vehicles on state routes as maintenance and operations staff respond to winter weather conditions. If icy conditions are detected, FDOT crews will deploy various tankers, bridge […]

Tracey Williams, Executive Director of the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society, has announced that she has tendered her resignation to PAWS to pursue new opportunities.

A press release announcing her resignation was sent out Thursday afternoon. Williams, who has served as Executive Director of PAWS since July 2020, plans to leave PAWS by late February.

With more projects and people coming to the City of Milton, the commissioners approved without objection Thursday to reallocate Santa Rosa’s reserved water capacity for other uses.

For Navarre Beach Fire Rescue, 2021 was a year filled with firsts, funding and heartwarming moments.

The department on Navarre Beach got its first drone to drop lifejackets, was awarded its first custom LandRover, trained Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office deputies for the first time and received a Lifepak 15 cardiac monitor through CARES funding.

Four months after a 36-year-old homeless man was found dead near the Navarre Beach Causeway, an autopsy determined that Jeremy Wheatman died of alcohol toxicity.

Traffic is backed up onto U.S. Highway 98 near the old Gulf Breeze Flea Market for the free COVID testing offered there.

According to county officials, the testing site, which is run by a private company, has had staffing issues that delayed Tuesday’s opening.

Validating its assertions that Santa Rosa County’s school impact fee was inaccurately calculated and legally flawed, the Home Builders Association of West Florida and 11 additional plaintiffs applaud the Jan. 15, 2022, decision by Circuit Court Judge Darlene Dickey to issue Summary Final Judgment in their favor.

The ordinance by the Board of County Commissioners in support of new funding for the School Board of Santa Rosa County went into effect May 1, 2020, with impact fees of $5,000 on each new home permitted in the county, $4,000 for each mobile home, and $2,750 for each multi-family dwelling.

Brad Baker has been dedicated to the well-being of Santa Rosa County residents since he was 18 years old, when he ran across his first structure fire on the way to meet a friend to go hunting. From then on, he was hooked. He also started working at the county’s 911 center that same year, when it was housed in a closet at the courthouse and had one 911 operator on-site at night.

Residents of Hawthorn Drive in Holley by The Sea (HBTS) may have noticed a small yellow sign on a piece of vacant property across from Palmetto Lane at its junction with Hawthorne Drive.