Editorial Archive

Public input is a key element in the development of governmental policy and community services. We the people, after all, are the government. It is through public input – elections – that we decide who represents us and whether or not we want a tax to pay for something or to fund a service.

To market an area and its events and attractions, a marketing firm needs to fully understand the community. Navarre is a unique location when considering many of its Panhandle neighbors. Marketing Navarre is not like marketing Destin or Pensacola or Panama City, which are well-known destinations that practically market themselves and can easily be marketed from afar.

The Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council (TDC) is recommending county commissioners approve $64,000 to allow for the doubling of the artificial reefs on the Gulf side of Navarre Beach Park. This should be a slam dunk for commissioners, as this is a no-brainer.

Putting the public in harm’s way is bad enough, but when it’s a business that is acting on behalf of the county, it makes us all look bad – the county, its residents and the business.

We’ve been calling it the end of an era for a long time now.

The weather was beautiful, the sculptors were enthusiastic and accommodating and the sights were incredible last weekend at the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpting Festival. Everything was perfect except for one detail: the damage to several sculptures done by vandals Friday night.

When an otherwise ordinary guy like Edward Snowden becomes a household name overnight, you know that his story is about more than whether he’s a good guy or bad guy for leaking information of U.S. and British government surveillance programs to the press.

The county recently held a public meeting asking for input on improvements the community would like to see made at Navarre Park. It was a smart, and necessary move. Now we’ll see if the county listened.

The responsibilities of a newspaper go much deeper than simply writing stories that entertain and inform. The words public service and watchdog are often tossed around, and rightfully so.

The selection process of the management of the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier is turning out to be much like a fishing expedition. Lines are cast, but you never know what’s going to come back.