Opinion Archive

We are about to be inundated with Spring Breaking students and families. We have a schedule on our 10B. The biggest week of breakers is March 11-18. And, they will be constructing the turn lane during that time due to a delay with AT&T cable, and more. Hopefully the light is fixed. After Mardi Gras, the light leaving the causeway onto 98 was only staying green for 10 seconds – enough time to let 3-4 cars through.

1) Costs

Despite repeated promises of premium reductions, Obamacare has delivered major increases. In the employer-sponsored market, costs continue to increase. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, average family premiums for employer-sponsored plans have increased almost 32 percent from 2010-2016.

What happened Monday in the county commission meeting is an embarrassment to our county and especially to Navarre. What is even more embarrassing is having two chambers of commerce. One, Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce which has been in existence for 41 years and the other, which has been in existence for less than a year. There is not a truer verse in the Bible for a situation such as this, Matthew 12:25 “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” The full context is dealing with the casting out of demons, but I’m not going that far.

I’m sure everyone remembers December 2013 when the commissioners made a strange scoring system to rebid for new  Pier management. The scoring system was made to deny Ms. D. Slye from managing the Pier again. The commissioners picked Rayner, TC’s Coastal Porch, last of the original four. The original four almost broke their arms patting each other on the back about what great business people they were. TC’s Coastal Porch was to have periodic weekend famer’s markets and establishment of an ANNUAL $1,500 scholarship plus do other things and the commissioners fell hook-line and sinker for the story and did no enforcement. We tax payers continue to lose money because the Pier continues to be subsidized by us tax payers. What was a Jewel turned into a nightmare because of another of the commissioners decisions. Oh, by the way, Commissioner Cole, Lynchard and Salter voted for TC’s Coastal Porch.

Monday’s county commission meeting was interesting to say the least. Two chambers on the agenda presented applications to host the same event in different years. It is the same event that the Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce (NBACOC) has hosted for 10 years with a new venue. They built the event, grew it and made it a great success. And now the Greater Navarre Area Chamber of Commerce (GNACOC) wants to ride on their coattails by snatching the event out from under the NBACOC in 2018. But let’s be honest, the divide goes much deeper than one event.

You may have noticed driving down 98 in Navarre – and west of Navarre, there is a lot of building going on which means that people are investing in our area. Across from The Sound at Navarre – the 250-unit luxury apartment homes, you can see the excavators getting ready for the new Walmart Neighborhood store. This will also have an outparcel for a fast food location which is yet to be determined. On the corner of Lowe Road, there is an assisted living facility that we reported on in July. Farther west towards Gulf Breeze, you will see The Reserve completing their additional apartment homes.  Sacred Heart is working on the reported-on clinic at Tiger Point and then there is a Sacred Heart Pediatric facility going in just west of Panera.  You can read about several of the projects mentioned above on page 1B.

The comic character Pogo once said “who are the enemy and they are us”. History repeats itself for those whom do not know the past. Our schools have failed us by not teaching civics and American history. The loyal opposition has become radicalized without regard for the common good.

The county has published their proposed spending plan for an estimated $39 million in local option sales tax funds, and not surprisingly folks aren’t happy with the distribution.

We have a busy two weeks ahead of us. There is the Mardi Gras Ball Saturday night and the parade Saturday, Feb. 18. I don’t want to jinx it – but the parade has never been rained on. I believe there have been sprinkles – but not an all and out down pour.

Ron Ward and Victor Deal now say the CONDO in Navarre Beach Marine Park was in a PRISTINE area….so why did they ask in the first place? I think Ward and Deal should build the CONDO on a barge in the sound. We hope Robbie Williamson doesn’t get involved because with his past decisions the CONDO will be on the PIER. The commissioners have been listening to the sales pitch of Ward and Deal and if the commissioners think the CONDO is a good idea then they should build the CONDO next to their homes.