The skies around Northwest Florida are almost always occupied. At any point in time, you can see commercial airliners taking off from Pensacola International Airport or Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, fighter jets and C-130s soaring above the region’s various military installations, and the Blue Angels training along the coastline.

Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers once said, “give me 18 inches of daylight, that’s all I need.” While Sayers was talking about running lanes in football, the Blue Angels have also lived by that moniker.

A Galaxy far, far away will be a little closer to home for Navarre High School’s Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students this April.

On Friday, April 19, Bennett C. Russell Stadium, where the Navarre Raiders play football, will become the site of ‘Raider Wars 2024.’ The Raider Wars, which is “Star Wars” themed, is the latest installment of the annual Navarre High Raider Games.

“An answered prayer.” That’s how Austyn Evans describes knowing her two-year-old son, Conrad, now has a kidney after an agonizing search for a donor. Although the search took them from Northwest Florida to Texas and then to Georgia, the donor turned out to be closer to home (in fact, the donor lives in their home).

With the expansion of artificial reefs across the Panhandle, more and more people are partaking in underwater recreation in the Gulf and in the intercoastal waterways. As more visitors come to our area, there is more risk for something going awry, meaning first responders have to be ready to answer the call.

Pastors often feel called to minister but not too many have been called to fix someone’s electricity.

Jonathan McCullough, pastor of Brownsdale Baptist Church near Jay, can say he has done both. McCullough has worked in ministry and as an electrical contractor. Nowadays, when he isn’t shepherding the flock at church or in the community, he is hard at work, teaching students at Locklin Technical College.

With Navarre being on the Gulf of Mexico (as well as East Bay), there are plenty of options for seafood around town. One Navarre restaurant is getting recognition for their seafood thanks to customers’ Yelp reviews.

With little room left on Navarre Beach to develop large scale projects, a new subdivision might be the last of its kind built on Santa Rosa County’s 3.9-mile portion of the barrier Island.

Water rescues on Navarre Beach’s soundside will soon become easier, faster and safer, thanks to a new custom fire boat Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District is receiving. NBFRD Fire Chief Danny Fureigh said the vessel will arrive sometime in late April or early May.

A single-family residential subdivision development is in limbo.

Captain’s Cove, formerly known as Brooks East, is a development along Noleka Court in Navarre. It sits directly east of Brooks Landing, a series of homes constructed in 2021.