Santa Rosa County Commissioners have added some wiggle room for funding a new courthouse. The board voted Aug. 14 to propose a one-cent sales tax for five years instead of four. That decision came after cost projections rose to $50 million.
Results of the Navarre incorporation feasibility study are in, showing a city can be formed without increasing taxes. Now residents in six precincts can express support for or opposition to the matter. Santa Rosa commissioners last Thursday gave final approval for a non-binding straw poll on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.
Sea turtles have been busy making nests along the Emerald Coast, and according to a Gulf Islands National Seashore (GINS) biologist, 143 baby sea turtles found their way to the Gulf from Pensacola Beach Thursday night. The first baby turtles had hatched July 29 from a nest at Perdido Key.
Mozart, Beethoven or even Shakespeare — pregnant mothers have been known to expose their babies to many forms of auditory stimulation. But according to researchers at the University of Florida, all a baby really needs is the sound of his or her mother’s voice.
Michele Branch Calabro has been named as the new Relay for Life specialist for the American Cancer Society Pensacola branch. Calabro will work on the Navarre, Beach Breeze, University of West Florida and Perdido Relay for Life events.
While some Santa Rosa County facilities suffered water damage in late April, you won’t find one that suffered more or has had more of a community impact than the Florida Department of Health in Santa Rosa County Midway Clinic. The facility along the north side of Highway 98 was filled with about 18 inches of water and has yet to reopen. It is the only county facility damaged by floodwaters that is not functional.
Research indicates that breastfeeding is beneficial for both mother and infant. Not only is breast milk easier to digest than formula, babies who are exclusively breastfed for at least the first 6 months have fewer ear and respiratory infections than those who are bottle fed and are less likely to become overweight or obese. Antibodies passed from mother to baby while nursing help protect the baby from communicable diseases for the first few months of life. Mothers who breastfeed have less risk of breast and ovarian cancer, less risk of osteoporosis, and lose the weight they gained during pregnancy faster than mothers who do not breastfeed. There are also economic benefits. Families save money because they do not have to buy formula and bottles. Working mothers who breastfeed may miss fewer days from work caring for a sick baby and spend less on doctor visits and medicine.
