News Archive

Santa Rosa District Schools on Monday, Oct. 2, announced that Triumph Gulf Coast has awarded the district a $9-million grant to create the Santa Rosa Center for Innovation, “a cutting-edge, STEAM-powered Career and Technical Education Learning Hub.”

After almost eight years, the Eglin icon, McKinley Climatic Lab, returns to 96th Test Wing possession as of Oct. 1.

The realignment moves the lab from Arnold Engineering Development Complex back to the 96th Range Group.  A 2016 Air Force Test Center consolidation moved the lab under the unit at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee.

At a citizen’s roundtable meeting held Saturday, Sept. 23, local citizens’ advocate Carmen Reynolds and a few others discussed transforming a retention pond in the Whispering Pines neighborhood into a community walking area.

Santa Rosa County Economic Development Director Shannon Ogletree has asked the Board of County Commissioners to buy 13 acres adjacent to the Northwest Florida Industrial Park @ I-10 to provide room for expansion.

The Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program (PPBEP) announced the award of $273,000 to local educational institutions, non-profits, and governments to support action projects to help restore and protect area waters. Nine recipients received awards ranging from $11,000 to $47,000 at the 2023 PPBEP Community Grant Symposium on Sept. 22 at the Bayview Community Center in Pensacola.

The Florida Department of Health in Santa Rosa County (DOH-Santa Rosa) and Santa Rosa Animal Control will host a drive-through rabies vaccination clinic for dogs and cats, Friday, October 13, from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. at Santa Rosa County Animal Services at 4451 Pine Forest Road in Milton.   

According to the District One Medical Examiner’s Office, which covers the four westernmost counties in Florida, northwest Florida has the highest number of overdoses per capita in the state. A large part of the issue is the flow of illegal narcotics. To combat this, Santa Rosa County and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office have stepped in to take down a drug house, literally. On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office held a news conference/demolition event at 5912 Congress St.

Navarre residents who live on or near El Paseo St. will soon be getting some new neighbors. Plans have been approved by Santa Rosa County Planning and Zoning for a new 14 unit apartment complex at 8530 El Paseo St., which is at the intersection of El Paseo and Prado St. The County approved site plans for the apartment complex Aug. 22.

Noncompliance with established policies and procedures, contradictory policies and procedures, lack of disclosure of conflicts of interests and insufficient background checks for important positions within the company were just some of the findings of the forensic audit of Holley Navarre Water System.  

From 2010 to 2020, Midway CDP (census designated place) saw a 21.4% increase in population going from 16,115 residents to 19,567 residents. It’s estimated even more people live in the Midway area now.

With a growth in population comes the stress on available resources, including first responders. Midway Fire District is no exception.