Ahead of the county adopting an ordinance to reflect the state statute requiring sewer connection, county commissioners assuage concerns.

At the special zoning meeting on March 27, commissioners rejected District 3 Commissioner Rhett Rowell’s proposal to extend the Rural Protection Zone. At the following regular meeting on April 7, Rowell said he was taken aback by the 180 the board had done.

Rachel Wallace founded Ladies Skill Share in January 2023. Now she has hosted several classes, and a large-scale event dedicated to teaching the community homesteading skills.

Ladies Skill Sharing is a women-based group that teaches homesteading skills. The group began because Wallace could see the need to learn and teach the skills that generations before us utilized in their daily lives and sometimes to survive hard times. Wallace believes there is power in knowledge and in wanting to share that with the community she founded Ladies Skill Sharing.

With tax season in full swing, local churches are facing financial hardship they have never faced before. One local church was charged $16,000 for their non-ad valorem assessment that funds fire districts.

The Florida Department of Health and Students Working Against Tobacco, support the banning of not just cigarettes at public parks, but all tobacco use. At the county commission meeting Feb. 10, they shared why.

Carl O’Neal has long been a resolute educator. This year marks his 59th year teaching and he was named one of five finalists for 2024 Teacher of the Year in Santa Rosa County.

On Jan. 9 at the Santa Rosa County Legislative Delegation meeting, Rep. Alex Andrade and Sen. Don Gaetz discussed the funding of various projects. The state has worked with a surplus in its budget over the past few years, but now Florida is trending toward a deficit of more than $6 billion.

At the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Dec. 12 they announced that a developer whose construction has caused runoff into Mulat Bayou was heavily fined.

During the biannual local RESTORE council meeting on Dec.3 the county reviewed projects that have been successfully completed and funds awarded for projects to begin.

The Santa Rosa County School District announced East Bay K-8 Principal as the Innovative Principal of the Year.