Editorial Archive

The Santa Rosa County Commission is expected to approve the revised Land Development Code at a special meeting Monday.
With that in mind, we’d like to share some observations about one of the recurring themes of the last few months’ debates: the alternative subdivision provision.

The newspaper industry has been changing, or as we like to call it, evolving. Some newspapers have survived, and many haven’t. So how does a newspaper survive – thrive even? We have some idea of what it takes. We have experienced growth even in the past year.

Maintaining democracy depends to a great degree on citizens understanding how it works. Unfortunately, too many in Santa Rosa County don’t. Some people believe the First Amendment protects their “right” to speak on any topic they want, for as long as they want, as often as they want, with that “right” extended to rebutting any reply to their original rant.

Working in a newsroom, specifically our newsroom, every day we hear 911 dispatchers handing out emergency calls to our fire departments and ambulances. Some are less emergent than others. Not every day is filled with fires or disasters, but every single day you will hear a call for an overdose. Some days more than one. It is a near guarantee.

In a rare event, law enforcement raided a local newsroom in Marion, Kansas, carrying out equipment, computers, cell phones and files. They also raided the publisher’s and the owner’s home. Apparently, the newspaper received a tip about a local restaurant owner’s drunk driving conviction. The paper chose not to publish any of the information.

We ran this editorial in our March 17, 2022, issue shortly after purchasing the Santa Rosa Press Gazette, and it is a message that needs to be told again. With all the city and county messes happening in Santa Rosa County, you can be assured we will be there for the good and the bad.

If you think a “Housewives of (insert county name here)” show is entertaining, you haven’t been to a Santa Rosa County board of commissioners meeting or a Milton City Council meeting lately. In fact, we think TV producers are missing a huge opportunity here in our county. It wouldn’t be difficult to make a series out of the theatrics; they would just have to pal around with Commissioner James Calkins for all the drama they could ever want.

Using statistics from the Department of Labor, The Wall Street Journal reports that real hourly wages during the Biden presidency have declined. When Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the average hourly wage adjusted for inflation was $11.39. Now, 29 months later, it stands at $11.03, a 3.16% decline.

A revised draft of the Land Development Code is being considered by the Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners. On page 348 of the 532-page document, two short sentences are about to throw open the doors to bars on Hwy 98 from Gulf Breeze to Navarre. Current code restricts bars from being within 2500 feet of schools or churches.

“Who is going to protect the swimmers?” asked a woman during the public forum portion of the Santa Rosa County board of commissioners meeting. Fishermen showed up to speak against proposed measures to ban shark fishing west of the pier. The question of protecting swimmers was posed.