A bowling alley is coming to Gulf Breeze.

Oops Alley of Pace plans to open a new bowling alley, arcade and restaurant in The Funplex of Gulf Breeze building.

Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge held their first ever Nature Fest Saturday, May 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event featured vendors and wildlife exhibits.

Navarre High School held its annual Senior Awards Night Thursday, May 14, in the school gymnasium. The event celebrated the academic accomplishments of the Class of 2026.

Kimahri Blevins, 15, and Gabriel Williams, 16, are due back in court this summer.

The pair were charged with first-degree premeditated murder or felony murder for allegedly killing their classmate Danika Troy, 14. The two teens were indicted Dec. 19, 2025.

A cyber attack left colleges and universities across the U.S. scrambling to adjust amidst finals. Other nations’ institutes of higher learning were also impacted.

The attack, reportedly perpetrated by a criminal hacker group known as Shinyhunters, was against Instructure, the host company of Canvas. The hacker group claimed it had breached Canvas, getting possession of user data such as names, email addresses, messages and ID numbers.

Four years after narrowly losing to Kerry Smith for the District 2 Santa Rosa County Commission seat, Jeff Ates IV is back. This go round, he is facing seven other candidates, including Smith.

Ates is a lifelong East Milton resident and ran a dirt pit in the area for around 25 years. The pit has supplied dirt and other earthworks for projects across Santa Rosa County. He also managed hunting land in the 1980s and 1990s and currently consults for North American IPS, LLC.

While most Santa Rosa County schools are focused on finishing the 2025-26 school year, Kasie Windfelder is already planning for the opening of Soundside High School in 2026-27.

Windfelder is the principal of Soundside High School, the new high school on the south end of Santa Rosa County. Located in Midway across from the Gulf Breeze Zoo, the school is nearing completion. Construction cost around $115 million.

On May 1, Windfelder gave Navarre Press reporter Hansen Hasenberg a tour of the new school.

Jan. 1, 2026, was anything but fun for Monica McBrien, who works for Santa Rosa County Tourism Development Office. While many were ringing in the new year with fireworks, she suffered a seizure.

After coming to, she couldn’t recognize her family’s faces. She knew something was wrong. Shortly after, an MRI unveiled a diagnosis no one wants to hear: “you have brain cancer.”

From May 1 through the end of October, sea turtles come onto Florida beaches to nest. Navarre Beach has seen its fair share of nests over the years.

At the highest point, the beach had nearly 20 nests in a season. In 2025, there were 18 nests found on Navarre Beach.

A few dozen people crowded into Arc Gateway’s South Santa Rosa Adult Day Center for the grand opening of a sensory room.

Arc Gateway serves adults with special needs across the Emerald Coast. The south Santa Rosa location was started nearly 8 years ago.