Earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill (HB) 929 at the 81st annual Convention of the Florida Professional Firefighters, held in Palm Beach Gardens.

The bill, which becomes law July 1, updates the Florida Firefighters Occupational Safety and Health Act to include occupational diseases and suicide prevention. The new law will also direct the State Fire Marshal to adopt clear rules to mitigate health risks, including mental health impacts and toxic substance exposure.

Churches and churchgoers often support international missions work but rarely get to see what life is like for those they help. Coastline Calvary Chapel of Gulf Breeze has a plan to showcase the lives of people living in poverty.

For most of its history, Momentum Church has been a mobile church, using rented spaces to worship and hold events. Last year, the church, which has several satellite campuses around Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, bought a building of Summit Boulevard in Pensacola to use as a permanent church and a community outreach center. The building also houses church offices. To help purchase and renovate the building, the church held “Heart for the House,” an annual fundraiser organized to help gather funding for large scale projects of the church or to help the community.

A Navarre High School graduate has just released her debut novel. Willow Cilo-Cilo, who goes by the pen name Willow Grace, is the author of “Creonex,” a science fiction and fantasy novel which was released May 27. The book centers on a female character in a different universe caught between a cosmic war and dealing with her own struggles.

With the summer in full swing, Navarre Beach Lifeguards have invited a new crop of Junior Lifeguards to participate in their series of camps. At the camps, held during the week throughout June, adolescents ages 8 to 15 learn the ins and outs of lifeguarding, from water rescue skills to CPR and first aid. This is the fifth year Navarre Beach Lifeguards is hosting the program.

While other children are earning allowances through household chores or yardwork, a group of just over a dozen children were earning money from strangers earlier this month by selling products, from lemonade to crochet stuffed animals to bracelets. The children are young entrepreneurs and were at Pik-Itz’s Saturday morning market June 7 for the Highway 87 Krafty Kids Expo.

Santa Rosa County has a Navarre Beach lighting ordinance as part of its land development code which has been in place for several decades. The ordinance was extended across the entire island, not just the Gulf side, in 2021.

Audiobooks are the fastest growing format in publishing and sales for audiobooks have risen year over year for the past few years.

According to the Audio Publishers Association’s annual survey, 2024 saw $2.2 billion in sales, a 13% increase from the year before. In 2023, sales were at $2 billion, a 9% increase from the previous year.

Youth can play an important role in the growth of a church, not only in terms of numbers but also spiritually. Pastor Anthony “AJ” Rice of Gathering House, a congregation which meets at West Navarre Primary School, knows this very well.

Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners approved plans for the expansion of Twelve Oaks Recovery Center with some minor caveats based on community input.